I hear ya. mrclean08 does amazing photography and he does
have the pro gear.
For most of us with regular cameras and lights, we can work
with what we have and still shoot good pics...
Camera = any digital camera that is 3mp (megapixels) and up,
depending on what type of camera you can afford.
Right now I'm using a Vivitar DVR 620HD... not the greatest,
but also not the worst. It works best outdoors in broad daylight.
Indoors, I'd have to set it up somehow and I still haven't learned
the best setting yet.
Digital cameras and DVRs are good if you wanna transfer your
photo to your computer immediately after snapping pics.
If you're the very Patient type, most middle-end and high-end
analog (SLR) cameras will take superb pics on film.
Even some of those generic point-and-shoot cameras will do the job...
...and when you take the film to a kiosk for developing
you can have the pics transferred over to a CD disc as
high resolution images.
I haven't bought film in YEEEEEARS, but if I remember correctly
the ASA400 (and higher) type film are best for indoor/outdoor shots.
Tripod = you can find tripods cheap anywhere.
If you can have two (one short, the other tall) you're good.
For photographing your robots and displays, you'd
wanna mount your camera on a tripod and set it
for automatic-timer shoot.
This way you're Not touching the camera, thus avoiding
any jitter that could affect the picture quality.
For my pics above, I held the camera by hand and
my pics turned out blurry.
I have very shaky hands, and I often forget to hold
my breath when I shoot pics this way, thus resulting
in jittery or blurred pics.
So, yes, I try to use a tripod most of the time.
Shooting with camera in hand, I must hold my breath
to relax my body... breathing causes my ribs to rise,
thus my body moving, thus causing blurred or
jittery pics when I press the shutter button.
When you fire a gun, you're taught to
Breathe (hold your breath), Relax,
Aim, and Squeeze the trigger so you'll hit your target.
Any subtle body movement from breathing causes the
bullet to be off your mark by a great distance.
The same principle applies to Photography when you're
shooting with the camera in your hand...
Breathe (hold your breath), Relax, Aim, and
Squeeze the shutter button.
Lights = Standard 75-100watt bulbs mounted on clip-on
aluminum reflector cover lamps are okay. You can buy them cheap
($5 bucks) at any Dollar store.
LEDs and Halogen lights also do a good job... you can buy used lamps
at your local thrift shop, flea-market, or even at Craigslist.
Lamps that are flexible or articulated, and mounted on a base or
a strong clamp, are good for directing your light
at and around your subject however way that suits your taste
and vision.
I've learned from past experience that the Reveal light bulbs
are very good for exposing natural true colors in a lit up area.
These types of bulbs are expensive ($10 or $15 bucks each,
depending on the wattage), but I've managed to get good pics
with them, as seen in my early Toyopsy reviews.
In general photo shoot cases, you can work with one lamp.
The more lamps you use, the better... that is because you'll
want to eliminate shadows from your background behind
your subject.
So, keep one lamp for your subject while the other lamps
are aimed at the background behind your subject.
One more thing: if the lens on your camera has any dust,
specs, fingerprints, or other dirt on the lens, your pics
will turn out grainy.
So, Always keep your lens cleaned... and keep it covered
until the time of the actual photo shoot.
The same rule applies to lenses that have a protective
clear shield in front of them.
If you don't have a lens cap or cover, keep your camera
inside its case or a leather pouch until you're ready
to use it.
Hope this helps
zozo-mag
