Taking High Quality Slides of Your Pots
A Primer in 2 parts
Part 2: Setting Up and Taking Pictures
by John HesselberthCopyright 1998
Note: This article is now availbable for downloading as a .pdf file for viewing on Adobe Acrobat Reader(R)
In Part 1 of of this article I described the equipment needed to take high quality slides of pots and made the case that the equipment could be procured for about $500. Now let's get that equipment set up and use it!
Setup
The setup is most easily described by referring to the figure below. Put a sturdy work table having a top surface of at least 2 feet x 3 feet up against a wall. Mount your background (graduated or solid color) so it forms an arc from the wall to the front of the table with enough of the background resting horizontally on the table so your pots have a flat spot on which to sit. If you are using a graduated background, pay careful attention to how high on the wall you mount the top of the background with respect to the height of your pots.
This will determine how much of the graduation actually shows in your photographs. The soft box, with electronic flash inside, is mounted 3-5 feet above your pot; a foot or so to the left or right of the pot; and, front to back, in between the camera and the pot. Hang the soft box from the ceiling with picture wire or buy a $25 light stand from Porters and hang it from that. Aim the soft box directly at the pot. You may want to experiment with the soft box location after you have shot the first few rolls of film so try to hang it in a way that it can be moved around. Put the camera on the tripod, attach a synch cord from the "X" plug and your camera to the flash, plug in the flash unit and you are ready to shoot.
Film
Before shooting, though, you have to decide on film. I would make a couple points. After your initial experimental phase is over, pick one slide film and one print film and stick with them. Do not be tempted by what is on sale when you happen to buy your film. While nearly all films are good, their color balance differs brand to brand and type to type within a brand. The speed of the films also varies slightly; although in most cases you won't notice that. Nonetheless, you will have the most consistent and reproducible results if you pick one film and one film speed and stick with it. For your first roll of film I recommend you buy a 24 exposure roll of slide film with an ISO rating of 100 or 200. This will give good, fine grain and yet still be fast enough to allow you to use f-stops like f8, f11 or f16 for good depth of field. Pick Ektachrome(R), Kodachrome(R), Agfachrome(R) or Fujichrome(R), but pick a brand right now that you plan to stick with. While Kodachrome is the best known brand, it is also the most difficult to get processed. It has to be sent to a limited number of labs around the country and processing time is normally about 7-14 days. If you will occasionally want film processed on a tight time table then you should stick with one of the others which uses E-6 processing. E-6 processing is normally available locally. If you are extremely sensitive about the color of the slides exactly representing the color of your pots, then you better try one of each type and pick the one that reproduces your colors most accurately. For a recent evaluation of 10 available slide films see the February 1998 issue of Peterson's Photographic magazine. I personally use Ektachrome Elite II 200. If you will be working with color print film you should also pick a single brand and film speed and stick with it. For color prints I use Kodak Gold 200.
Taking the First Pictures
Before you put film in your camera, make sure the camera and the electronic flash are working together properly. Wind the camera, press the shutter and make sure the flash goes off. Learn how long it takes the flash to recharge and be ready for another picture. I always wait until the ready light on the flash comes full on and then a few seconds more. Having consistent exposures requires having a flash that is fully charged each time it is set off. Check the shutter speed on the camera to make sure it is set at the proper speed for synchronization with electronic flash. That is usually 1/125 of a second and that speed is normally in a different (red) color on the speed setting dial. Make sure any built-in flash is turned off. Now you're ready to load your film and shoot.
With the first roll of film you should focus on one pot and try to accomplish two things: learn the correct exposure for your specific situation and begin learning about composition. First and most important is to take a series of pictures at every f-stop opening on your camera starting with the smallest number and progressing to the largest. Keep a record of your settings! Having good records will save you a lot of time and money later. Some cameras have click stops in between the numbered settings. It is not necessary to stop at all of these; however you want to try at least half a dozen different exposure settings. Then set your lens at f8 or f11 do some initial work on composition. The exposure may not be the best, but you will still begin the learning process. Try some different angles and different camera elevations. You will find big differences in the way the resulting slide looks with seemingly very small changes. This is particularly true on non symmetrical pots like pitchers or teapots. This is one thing I can't teach from an article. You need to learn yourself what camera angles (both horizontally and vertically) work best for your pots. Always nearly fill the frame of the viewfinder with your pot and always make sure the pot is in focus before you release the shutter. You will be adjusting the camera position a lot and this is one of the reasons I recommended buying a reasonably good tripod in the first part of this article. If you still have a little film left after doing the above, find a pot of a different shape and try a couple compositions with it.
Zeroing in On Perfection
A 24 exposure roll of slide film with processing will cost $12-15. You should plan on the first 2-4 rolls just being consumed with experiments. Get the first roll processed and evaluate it before you take the second roll. The biggest problem you may face is if none of the exposures are in an acceptable range. If they are all over exposed (too light) you will either need to use slower film or cut back on the amount of light. Of course, if they are under exposed the reverse is required. Color slide films are available from ISO 25 to about 1600. Every doubling of ISO number decreases the amount of light required by 50%. Every decrease in f-stop (e.g. going from f11 to f8 or from f16 to f11) also decreases the light requirement by 50%. Adjusting the amount of light is most easily accomplished by moving your soft box closer to or further away from the pot you are photographing. You might also put a double layer of translucent plastic on the bottom of your soft box to lessen the light or find a plastic that transmits more light to increase the light. In addition, some of the more expensive electronic flash units can be adjusted for more or less light. The equipment I specified in the first part of this article gives me excellent exposures with ISO 200 film at f11. The odds are pretty good that you will not be much different from this if you set up the same way I have.
On the second roll of film you should be able to narrow your testing of different exposures down to 2 or 3 unless you were completely out of range as described in the preceding paragraph. Use the second roll to concentrate on composition with 4 or 5 different shapes of pots. You will, more than likely, find that several of the pots from your first roll of film look terrible. Would a higher angle help? How about turning the pot a few degrees to the left or right. You will learn than any defect of any size on a pot shows up as a glaring defect on a slide. It will take some experience before you get your eye calibrated to really see what a slide will look like by viewing a pot through a camera viewfinder. Experiment and keep accurate records! After your third or fourth roll, though, you should be ready for a real photo shoot of your pots. By then you should know what exposure to use and you should have a good idea how to set up each type of pot that you want to photograph.
Processing Your Film
Finding a reliable processor can also be a challenge. As with film, though, once you find a good one stick with him. While each processor theoretically uses the same chemistry to develop your slides, their quality control procedures will vary considerably. Some will use their chemicals too long. Some will not maintain good temperature control or simply run their process a degree or two warmer. Some will do a sloppy job of mounting your slides. And, perhaps worst of all, some will "lose" your work for a few days. While I am one the subject of mounting, make up your mind early on whether you want cardboard or plastic mounts for your slides and stick with that decision also. Most processors can do either; although they nearly always have one they prefer and may not do a good job on the other. Nothing looks less professional than sending a set of slides to a gallery that are all mounted differently. Always specify to your processor which you want. I am still struggling with the question of a processor myself. It is essentially a balance between convenience and consistency or quality. Price is usually not enough different to have any relevance on the decision. What I am moving toward is shooting my slides enough ahead of time to be able to use a processor who has 7-10 days turnaround via the mail. I simply have not been able to find a local processor with fast turnaround who gives me consistent, high quality work. I hope you can.
Additional Tricks of the Trade
Once you master the basics of making quality slides you can easily extend your knowledge and capability. For example, when you photograph a bowl and the underside is lost in shadow you will find that you can easily direct more of the light from your electronic flash to the underside of the bowl with a well placed reflective surface that is held out of view of the camera lens. You will find yourself making invisible brackets so you can stand a plate on edge to be shot. Or you may learn to put reflective foil on the inside of a vase where the camera can't see it, but where it will reflect light better onto the inside back wall of the vase. Also go back and experiment with the position of your soft box to get a larger shadow or one positioned more to the rear of your pot. Perhaps the most difficult problem you will encounter is when you photograph pots that have a glossy surface and a lot of flat area. Here you must be prepared to adjust the position of your lighting or take additional steps beyond the scope of this article to get high quality shots. Like the craft of pottery, the craft of photography offers the opportunity to get better and better forever.
Is It All Worth It?
What I have described in this and the proceeding article is, admittedly, a lot work and not a little expense. Should you take it on or should you use a professional photographer? I think that depends on what your needs and your interests are. If you are a production potter whose work evolves slowly and you only need a set of 5 slides for show applications I would definitely stick with having a professional shoot your pots every year or two. Or if you would much rather be making pots than shooting pots you should depend on a professional photographer. On the other hand, if you are a studio potter who makes expensive, one-of-a-kind or few-of-a-kind pots and you want a photographic record of each, I would definitely learn to take my own. In my own case, my work is rapidly evolving and I hope it will continue to do so for some time to come. I would need to have work shot at least 3-4 times a year to have slides that are reasonably representative of what I am doing at any given point in time. In addition I like the idea of having a good photographic record of my development as a potter. Another advantage to me is that I never have to have slide duplicates made with all the worry about good color on the duplicates. I simply take 5 or so shots of each pot and that usually gives me enough originals to meet my needs. Doing that is actually less expensive than having duplicates made and is, of course, a higher quality way to go.
I have a lot of fun taking my own slides and I definitely feel I am in better control of my own future destiny as a potter when I do so. I hope your will feel the same way and I wish you good luck in your slide-taking endeavors.
© 1998 John Hesselberth
