is there a best colour back ground

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martin newell
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is there a best colour back ground

Post by martin newell »

Hi folks. I have been catching up on taking photos of my finds for uploading and recording to P.A.S and UKDFD. I am no david bailey and only use a basic digital camera. I have noted a huge difference in ths appearance of images depending on the back ground. Is there a prefered colour to use for all artifacts or is there a better colour of back ground to choose for silver as opposed to copper and bronze items. What would you recommend for these different metals. Any opinions very welcome.

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Puffin
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Re: is there a best colour back ground

Post by Puffin »

A plain neutral colour is what I tend to use, the type of light can also effect the image tone. Look for the colour balance setting in the camera and experiment with those settings until you find the best setting and write down these in a note book for future use.
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martin newell
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Re: is there a best colour back ground

Post by martin newell »

Thanks Barry, When you say the type of light can effect the image do you mean that you take your photo with the object under a liight source, i.e. clear 30w kitchen unit strip light ( thats what I do) using the flash, or would you recommend using say the strip light or table lamp etc but no flash.

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Re: is there a best colour back ground

Post by archer »

If you are self recording for PAS the preference is for a white background. That said the background can easily be photoshopped from whatever colour to white.

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Puffin
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Re: is there a best colour back ground

Post by Puffin »

martin newell wrote:Thanks Barry, When you say the type of light can effect the image do you mean that you take your photo with the object under a light source, i.e. clear 30w kitchen unit strip light ( thats what I do) using the flash, or would you recommend using say the strip light or table lamp etc but no flash.

The white balance setting is what I should have said, under strip lights the image will either look blue or yellow without flash, if the setting is for out door. Change the setting for indoor light, tungsten or fluorescent will correct this colour cast and you end up with a truer colour.

The problem with flash is that it will burn out any details and casts very hard shadows. Using natural defused light. north facing window ledge or multiple electric light sources helps, I sometimes use an LED key chain light to highlight details by holding it almost level with the surface of the object so any low relief will cast a shadow.
Deus, XP GMP, CS 4Pi, Canon 450d, Garmin GPS, PAS Self Recorder.
Hamster Count 55. Then so far this year 0 to the Deus.
Denarius Count 7. Then so far this year 0.

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