Whats the trick to taking good photos of slabbed books? 3 3

[Westy Steve]

I can't figure out the trick.  I either have a reflection of my camera, a reflection of my light fixture/ceiling fan, or it looks like it was shot in a cave.  How do ya'll do it?

[F For Fake]

Legal sized scanner. Don't have one myself, so my pics usually suck, but most of the guys around here, that's how they roll.

[Transplant]

Yep.  No trick for photos.  Get a scanner.

[VintageComics]

25 minutes ago, Westy Steve said:

I can't figure out the trick.  I either have a reflection of my camera, a reflection of my light fixture/ceiling fan, or it looks like it was shot in a cave.  How do ya'll do it?

The best you can expect is to try to take a pic in bright sunlight but find an angle for the camera and the book with the least amount of glare possible.

The sunlight give you the best color saturation and means you don't have to use a flash.

Comic Connect and some other dealers use a photo set up specially set up to take photos of slabs. If you can't use a special photo set up a legal scanner is the way to go (make sure you get the right one that captures slabs correctly).

[namisgr]

Indirect light.

[VintageComics]

26 minutes ago, namisgr said:

Indirect light.

That's what I tried to say.

Although I will say that Comic Connect's pics don't do their books justice IMO. Their pics look a bit dark IMO.

[FN-2199]

You need a light box and other lighting equipment. I have a set up for non-comic eBay items. If you are photographing glass or a slab of a black comic (i.e. ASM vol. 2 #36) you need something like black paper to deflect the glare (actually reflect the color of the paper). I stopped short of this. I enjoy amateur photography but you really need  a good set up for photographing reflective still life. You'll also have to play with the features of your camera in manual mode to find the best setting for your lighting. Best to look up blogs or YouTube tutorials for reflective photography.

Even though I have all of the photography equipment, I use a legal size scanner for slabs.

[Martin Sinescu]

If you have your camera on a tripod, buy a sheet of foam core (22" x 28" should be big enough), cut a hole about the size of your lens (assuming you're using a DSLR) in the center and just hang it around the lens. That will block out the reflections behind you that your slab will pick up. I use a clean white backdrop behind mine and have a couple of cheap studio lights. If you're camera's on a tripod, you will also be able to shoot at a slower shutter speed, so if you're shooting in a room that doesn't have a bright light, you can slow it down to let in more light (just let your timer trip the shutter -- if you push on it, the camera will shake and blur the image).

[W16227]

There is an app called photoscan - that helps with the glare - you take the image - then move the phone and take more at the corners - the app then merges everything into one picture.

 

Works OK - not as good as a scanner ( see the legal sized scanner thread - only certain models can scan "depth" which is needed for a slab)- but much better than a standard cell phone.

 

 

 

 

 

[Silver_Couch_Surfer]

HP Scanjet 8300

 

 

[90sChild]

You really don't NEED a scanner,  but they are convenient.  I take all my pictures with a DSLR but you can do this same thing with a modern camera phone.
Using the flash will give you a cleaner image,  but you have to angle where the flash bounces so the glare does not come back at the camera.  Look at the angles below of my pictures to get an idea.  
somewhere around 45 degrees is a good start and go from there with trial and error.

Alternatively, this was taken with no flash, but I was right next to a window with bright natural daylight and no direct sun.
The text on the slab becomes harder to read and you have to hold the camera perfectly still otherwise you will slightly blur the whole image.
The flash method is easier, especially if you are only doing one or two books.

Edited August 18, 2017 by 90sChild

[Inhuman Fiend]

1 hour ago, 90sChild said:

You really don't NEED a scanner,  but they are convenient.  I take all my pictures with a DSLR but you can do this same thing with a modern camera phone.
Using the flash will give you a cleaner image,  but you have to angle where the flash bounces so the glare does not come back at the camera.  Look at the angles below of my pictures to get an idea.  
somewhere around 45 degrees is a good start and go from there with trial and error.

Alternatively, this was taken with no flash, but I was right next to a window with bright natural daylight and no direct sun.
The text on the slab becomes harder to read and you have to hold the camera perfectly still otherwise you will slightly blur the whole image.
The flash method is easier, especially if you are only doing one or two books.

Agreed, I take all mine with my camera phone in bright light with flash on, angled so reflection/glare is minimal. I lay them on white paper on kitchen counter, and take them standing on a kitchen stool. The height helps to deflect the glare and then I just zoom in and crop them with photo editor. They come out pretty good...

[valiantman]

3 hours ago, Ovrclck said:

HP Scanjet 8300

 

 

My method is similar... but I usually put the book upside down to move the "glare edge" to the bottom. 

[Silver_Couch_Surfer]

43 minutes ago, valiantman said:

My method is similar... but I usually put the book upside down to move the "glare edge" to the bottom. 

 

I will give that a try. Thanks!

[oakman29]

Stand on a ladder approximately 6ft. , Have lighting for effect,use a backdrop either white or black( your preference) use a flash that lights approximately .05 seconds before you take the picture, making sure your apperture opening is correct. Then you will have a great photograph. Easy!

[Tony S]

If determined to use a camera, a lightbox is the answer. You can make your own - find instructions online at sites like wikihow. Or buy decent ones for $50 or less on Amazon. I'd steer clear of the ones that are sold for under $10. The key is indirect lighting and white background. 

Personally, I found it easier to just buy a scanner that works well with slabs.  You need legal size scan bed AND you need the scan technology to be CCD, not CIS.
CIS is what is now almost universally  used because its cheaper and smaller. But it won't work with slabs. New scanners using CCD that are legal size start out at $700 - $800.  So when looking for a scanner for slabbed comics, older scanners on eBay or Craigslist are your friend.  As Overclck mentioned, I too have an HP Scanjet 8300. They were widely used by government agencies and large corporations so are reasonably easy to find in good shape. 

Edited August 21, 2017 by Tony S

[badback83]

On 8/18/2017 at 3:54 PM, Inhuman Fiend said:

Agreed, I take all mine with my camera phone in bright light with flash on, angled so reflection/glare is minimal. I lay them on white paper on kitchen counter, and take them standing on a kitchen stool. The height helps to deflect the glare and then I just zoom in and crop them with photo editor. They come out pretty good...

That Adventure though! 

[Inhuman Fiend]

Thanks Doc!

[StarryNight]

Tried the scanner method and the book seems to far and blurry as opposed to just a raw directly on the scanner bed. Is it my scanner, a brother printer/scanner home office combo?

[lizards2]

On 8/18/2017 at 5:02 PM, oakman29 said:

Stand on a ladder approximately 6ft. , Have lighting for effect,use a backdrop either white or black( your preference) use a flash that lights approximately .05 seconds before you take the picture, making sure your apperture opening is correct. Then you will have a great photograph. Easy!

I do the same, only I rub the slabs down with Deep Woods Off first  -  drastically reduces glare and improves the image capture.

Don't forget to scrub your slabs in warm soapy water afterwards though.  Dawn works the best.