Taking Pictures of Bass

[bassface747]

Hi all,

I want to take some good pictures of my bass before I go back to school and have no spare time again. I'm thinking the black background, lots of angles kind of thing - the kind of photos that could be used for insurance or resale purposes, or if it was ever stolen, that kind of thing. I'm not so concerned about the actual camera settings, etc., but more in what types and how many photos you would want to see if you were purchasing a used bass? Not that I'm selling mine... I'm quite happy with it now.

[drurb]

Pictures taken outside in natural lighting seem to turn out quite well. Beyond that, I hope Silversorcerer, who's a pro photographer, will chime in.

[Kevin Hsieh]

I would imagine taking a look at Upton's site and just following what they've done would be a pretty good way to do things. They seem to have an idea of what they're doing and the pictures look topnotch.

Cheers

[drurb]

Originally Posted by Kevin Hsieh

I would imagine taking a look at Upton's site and just following what they've done would be a pretty good way to do things. They seem to have an idea of what they're doing and the pictures look topnotch.

Cheers

Indeed-- but they have fancy studio lights, etc. For those of us without that equipment, it would seem like a good idea to adopt their approach outdoors.

[Marcus Johnson]

Ken Smith's pics of his basses would also be a good example of that sort of think, I think.

[bassface747]

I would do it outside.... but there's a foot of snow! But Marcus, if you want to fly my bass and I to Maui, I GUESS I could do it there.....

Is a black background better than a light background?

[Bassist4Life]

I remember reading a tutorial on Bunny Bass a long time ago. Check it out.

Joe

[Bassist4Life]

Oh man... I just did a search and I couldn't find Bunny Bass. Are they gone?

Joe

[Johnny Crab]

Originally Posted by bassface747

I would do it outside.... but there's a foot of snow! But Marcus, if you want to fly my bass and I to Maui, I GUESS I could do it there.....

Is a black background better than a light background?

Usually....
Dark bass = light background
Light bass = dark background
IMO

+1 on outdoors but you've got Global Warming so indoors with maybe one of those "natural light" bulbs in at least one lamp(the ones that put out about the same freqs as outdoor light contains).

[Silversorcerer]

Originally Posted by drurb

Pictures taken outside in natural lighting seem to turn out quite well. Beyond that, I hope Silversorcerer, who's a pro photographer, will chime in.

+1. A bass is large object. An indoor shot with good lighting can be done if you have a large room and a large window. The limitation outdoors are not there. Also the color records better with daylight. Even if you use a tungsten (2900Kelvin) white balance settings, most basses look too red, as does almost all finished wood.

I have rooms with 11 foot ceilings and 14+ foot dimensions and lighting a large object artificially is still hard to do evenly. A room with a really tall north facing window (no flash with a tripod) gives me this effect:




And this is with the same camera and a 3200 Kelvin photoflood and tungsten white balance on the camera (always on a tripod):



I don't intend these as professional examples, just something you might try if you want to do it indoors. Outdoors will be much easier. And you need white ceilings and walls. Wooden floors like mine also reflect a lot of red light and contribute to the problem.

In the top shot I think I used autofocus and in the bottom one I used manual focus. Manual is better for me. Some cameras don't give you the option and not all autofocus systems deliver the same result. Experiment until you get sharp shots. It is easier outdoors because there is just so much more light and it is all the right color. I would take a good combination of detail shots like you see on any of the better web sites like World of basses, etc.

[Silversorcerer]

I like doing detail shots like these indoors, and you sacrifice color accuracy for saturation and dramatic effect:





Color can of course be corrected or changed.

[jrlynch]

this is kinda like a how-to in bass porn ...

i'd find a nice window with north light ... or just play it.

jeff.

ps: i think the upton lads make a nice bass, but takin' pix ain't their strong point

[BPeder]

I'm an amateur photographer, but a professional production graphic artist who has clipped, color corrected and sharpened in PhotoShop, literally tens of thousands of images captured from film in scanners or with digital cameras. Some things can't be fixed in PhotoShop which is why photographers still have to "get it right in the camera". If you end up with a couple or three images you like that you think might benefit from some color correction and sharpening I'd be happy to help a brother out. You might know someone personally who could do it for ya too, it's not rocket science. PM me and I'll hook you up with FTP directions so you can get your files to me. Good high resolution images will probably be larger than your ISP will allow you attach in an email. let me know.

[Silversorcerer]

Here's where the outdoor lighting shows off the top grain and gives better color:



And if you can stick an itty-bitty book light in the f-hole and turn off the flash, put the white balance on "auto", this is a good documentary shot to get of your bass:



And then you can get real artsy documenting the interior tool marks, lining fit, and reinforcement cleats along the join of the back pieces. This kind of shot is all about the workmanship: