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#1
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Photographing tombstones.
Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit
cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter |
#2
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Photographing tombstones.
On 1/25/19 6:57 PM, Peter Jason wrote:
Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. Since it's fairly difficult (and illegal in some areas!) to move the stone for better lighting, you are stuck with waiting for the sun to be in a better spot. Consider morning or evening when the sun is lower. Consider also using a reflector (or/and a scrim) to get the light where you want it (or don't want it). -- Ken Hart |
#3
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Photographing tombstones.
On 26/01/2019 01:27, Ken Hart wrote:
On 1/25/19 6:57 PM, Peter Jason wrote: Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. Since it's fairly difficult (and illegal in some areas!) to move the stone for better lighting, you are stuck with waiting for the sun to be in a better spot. Consider morning or evening when the sun is lower. Consider also using a reflector (or/and a scrim) to get the light where you want it (or don't want it). Or a flashgun on a long lead, or (these days) a cheap video light from eBay. Don't locate them too close to the stone. |
#4
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Photographing tombstones.
newshound wrote:
On 26/01/2019 01:27, Ken Hart wrote: On 1/25/19 6:57 PM, Peter Jason wrote: Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. Since it's fairly difficult (and illegal in some areas!) to move the stone for better lighting, you are stuck with waiting for the sun to be in a better spot. Consider morning or evening when the sun is lower. Consider also using a reflector (or/and a scrim) to get the light where you want it (or don't want it). Or a flashgun on a long lead, or (these days) a cheap video light from eBay. Don't locate them too close to the stone. Also consider using an off camera flash with a remote trigger. My current budget setup is a Godox TT350F with their X1T-F trigger. -- Regards, Savageduck |
#5
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Photographing tombstones.
Peter Jason:
Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Ken Hart" Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. Since it's fairly difficult (and illegal in some areas!) to move the stone for better lighting, you are stuck with waiting for the sun to be in a better spot... That is one way to do it. I'm not a habitual tombstone photographer, but I had occasion last autumn to make some such photos. I knew the challenge going in and decided not to place myself at the mercy of the solar angle, but to make my own sunlight. I used a 2-stop diffuser and I skimmed the surface of the granite with a Profoto B1 flash. It required a couple of trial pics to get the flash angle right, and I ended up with natural-looking light (no harsh shadows) and legible engraving, even on one worn stone dating to 1812. Where do you suppose that it *is* legal to go into a cemetery and move tombstones about? -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
#6
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Photographing tombstones.
newshound:
Or a flashgun on a long lead... You mean like my grandpa used in the 1950s? How quaint! How about a battery-powered Profoto 500 watt-second with its own radio trigger? -- I agree with almost everything that you have said and almost everything that you will say in your entire life. usenet *at* davidillig dawt cawm |
#7
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Photographing tombstones.
On 2019-01-25 20:27, Ken Hart wrote:
On 1/25/19 6:57 PM, Peter Jason wrote: Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. +1 -- "2/3 of Donald Trump's wives were immigrants. Proof that we need immigrants to do jobs that most Americans wouldn't do." - unknown protester |
#8
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Photographing tombstones.
On 26/01/2019 00.57, Peter Jason wrote:
Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? If you want legibility, I would try adjusting the curve (however photoshop calls that), trying to enhance a portion of the "greys". Hopefully the letters are just a bit darker, so the idea is to increase the contrast between the letters and the surrounding area. I don't know if I explained it well... I have done this often, but not explained it. -- Cheers, Carlos. |
#9
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Photographing tombstones.
On 1/26/19 5:54 AM, Savageduck wrote:
newshound wrote: On 26/01/2019 01:27, Ken Hart wrote: On 1/25/19 6:57 PM, Peter Jason wrote: Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. Since it's fairly difficult (and illegal in some areas!) to move the stone for better lighting, you are stuck with waiting for the sun to be in a better spot. Consider morning or evening when the sun is lower. Consider also using a reflector (or/and a scrim) to get the light where you want it (or don't want it). Or a flashgun on a long lead, or (these days) a cheap video light from eBay. Don't locate them too close to the stone. Also consider using an off camera flash with a remote trigger. My current budget setup is a Godox TT350F with their X1T-F trigger. In either case, with that off-camera flash throwing light across the surface of the stone. The goal is for the engravings to create their own shadow, making them stand out more. Of course if you are going for an artistic composition, little of this applies. -- Ken Hart |
#10
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Photographing tombstones.
On 1/26/19 8:32 AM, Davoud wrote:
Peter Jason: Sometimes, on a sunny day, I like to visit cemeteries to photograph tombstones. However, the text on most old headstones is hard to read. Is there some PShop trick to enhance the writing & engravings? Peter Ken Hart" Are you going for 'art' or research? If your goal is legibility, you want the light coming across the face of the stone, so that the engravings cast a shadow. Since it's fairly difficult (and illegal in some areas!) to move the stone for better lighting, you are stuck with waiting for the sun to be in a better spot... That is one way to do it. I'm not a habitual tombstone photographer, but I had occasion last autumn to make some such photos. I knew the challenge going in and decided not to place myself at the mercy of the solar angle, but to make my own sunlight. I used a 2-stop diffuser and I skimmed the surface of the granite with a Profoto B1 flash. It required a couple of trial pics to get the flash angle right, and I ended up with natural-looking light (no harsh shadows) and legible engraving, even on one worn stone dating to 1812. "Skim the surface" is exactly the point that I failed to make. Thank you! Where do you suppose that it *is* legal to go into a cemetery and move tombstones about? I suspect that it is pretty much universally illegal to randomly move tombstones, but since I don't know as an absolute certainty, I prefer to hedge my bets. If I were say that it's always illegal, some anal-retentive (with no shift key) would cite an exception somewhere, and we would be off to the races! I find that it's usually safer to avoid speaking in absolutes. Even now! -- Ken Hart |
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