Studio lighting advice?

well what I used for taking good pictures. A broom stick to hang a good white sheet off for the background. Or what ever sheet you want to try. as long as it's not that transparent. or the wall if you want. For the lighting I like to use color correct photo bulbs. I have not had to buy any in a while so I don't know how much they are now. I only turn them on when I'm about to take the picture. (really bright, and really hot). So a proper metal reflector would be recommended if you go that route. Otherwise you could use a good white light bulb to start with. Or natural sunlight when ever you can. In a couple days I'll be setting up again for some pictures. So I'll post a picture here of my setup then.

 

So basically, it's the type of bulbs you use? I insist on having energy saving bulbs in my room, and I always get terrible photos if I'm just realying on that.
One problem I do have if I use a lamp from another room is that my Hound comes out looking rather...bland? I don't know how to put it...but colours look pretty dull I guess. Is that just camera settings? Never happens when I have good light.

 

I just use a standing lamp (the 'neck' is bendable so I can get light at different angles) I got from walmart, it was kind of cheap too and I get wonderful lighting from it ^ ^ I dont use any special bulbs or anything and these are what my photo's turn out to be



Probably not a good picture but they seem nice to me ^ ^;

The 'white cloth' that someone suggested is a great idea to, I personally use a black cloth behind mine and you can see how dark it makes the picture look, if I had enough white cloth I would do that too ^ ^;

 

Lighting used - Tungstin Photoflood bulbs (instead of the color correct sunlight bulbs)

 

Thats what I use. ^^ Just two big flourescent lights and a backdrop~ nothin fancy. The lamps were cheap too! I forgot how much but I think I got them from Home Depot or Lowes. And theyre small enough to be shoved in a closet!

 

I don't use much spacee when taking my photos. ^^; I usually just drape my background over the edge of a table/drawer/counter/etc. and use those desk clamp lamps, they cost around $7 at hardware stores. I also use a white cloth/piece of paper to help reflect mroe light, sometimes I just tape together pieces of printer paper.

I don't have a picture of my workspace but I took these pictures at around 8PM at night.


I don't know why you think you take bad pictures, I remember your photos, and they're really nice...

 

You don't need to have as big of a setup as the other members have shown. While I have a light tent, I sometimes work by tacking fabric up on the wall by a desk and working with either natural light from the window or one/two clamp lamps. You can still use a desk lamp but you just need to figure out what distance works best for your pics. You don't want it too close as it would be too bright nor too far as it wouldn't be enough light.

 

It seems like Tasha Neko had a picture of her setup floating about somewhere - I'll have a look for it and bring it here if I find it, because she takes especially good photographs.

 

Sorry but I had to delete your next post with the picture as Tasha_neko didn't give permission to post the pic outside of her LJ.

 

Oops, sorry - well, it's there dezarii, back from a post in late 2004 if you happen to browse her journal at some point. It's a very easy setup, simple, and somewhat similar to the ones already posted.

 

Don't worry, lots of space isn't needed. I tend to always end up shoved in a tiny corner whilst taking photos.

My photo setup:

Two cheap clamp lamps, whatever light bulbs I have lying around (which is usually just normal 75 watt bulbs), something to clamp the lamps onto and depending on the background I want, I'll then tack up a white or black pillow case to my wall or leave it as is and just have the wall colour as the background.

 

How do you guys get your light so nice and soft? Yesterday I used a regular desk lamp (60W) roughly 3 ft. away from my subject (Chamomile) and his face was still getting washed out.

Also, how do you avoid picking up the texture of the background? Should I move the camera further back and zoom in more?

 

Don't use zoom when you're trying to get closer. It's best not to use it and to just move in closer cuz you'll get better results at sharpness.

With some desk lamps (I don't know if this is the case with yours), the cone/funnel part might be a bit small and that doesn't help spread the light out more. It will make it more concentrated and if you're aiming it at the face (in general), that might wash it out because it's too bright.

The clamp lights that you can buy cheaply at Home Depot or Lowes have a wider brim and spread the light out more. Does this make sense?

As for the texture of the background, are you asking about when the background goes soft in a picture?

 

Hmm, that may be it with my desk lamp, the cone is fairly narrow - I do have one of those clamp lamps (the cheap 5 dollar kind) so I will give that a go.



See how you can really tell the texture of the background? (Posterboard, in this case, but I have problems like that with felt). A lot of people are able to lose enough detail in the background that it just looks solid black (or white.) The only way I know of doing this is using a long focal length, but obviously this isn't so appropriate for doll portraits. The light source in these photos was coming from the viewer's left, and while some of the modifications I did to achieve a certain effect (like flattening the color of the image) the others were me messing with the curves trying to correct the errors in my photography.

Thanks for your help!

 

One way to get the textures of your background to soften and appear seamless is to use a smaller aperture. I wrote about this on a previous thread:

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showpost.php?p=329170&postcount=2

That second picture looks slightly darker to me,...the black fur hair is disappearing into the background. I'm not sure if that's what you were wanting. Maybe you could try a combination of both your desk lamp and that clamp light you got, just try different postions with it and make the clamp light the main light. Using 2 lights helps with eliminating the shadows but you do have to mess around a bit with angles to find the right distance to have no shadows showing.

I use velvet cloths as they don't reflect the light as posterboard would. I haven't tried with felt tho I have some at home. Hmm, maybe I should do a mini tutorial on the types of background materials you can use and the effects you get with them? *writes this down*

 

That sounds like a great idea, I'd love to read that. Thanks for the suggestions, I will most certainly try them out!

I think with felt you just have to be careful it's either a thick felt or that you don't have lights behind it, because light will shine through thin felt. I haven't personally had problems with this, but I've seen it happen before.

 

See what your camera is capible of.

Do you have a macro on your camera? That will focus on the doll and not on the background.

You can also try moving the doll forward further away from the background.
(keep the background ...in the background.)

 

Ooo~ I'm definately going to go out and purchase those lamps tomorrow! Even though my camera is still in IL. ._.

I usually drape an afgan off the back of two chairs shoved together. n.n;

Maybe you could take a pic of your room and someone could suggest something? :S

 

okay here I am for some help on this topic too... thanks to NIKITA (big smoooches) my pics are getting a lot better, but still... meh.

they look sort of washed out, the light on their faces isn't very even - I'm befuddled, cuz I use the same set up every time, and they don't ALWAYS look like this, sometimes they're a lot better than this.

My setup:
1) Using an extra window drape I had, tacked over white posterboard
2) A floor tree-light (not a special photog light or anything) with three lights on it - sometimes I turn on all 3, sometimes just 2
3) GE Reveal blue bulbs to help with the yellow
4) Camera with flash turned off, white balance set to whichever looks best to me at the time, aperture opened just a little bit to let more light in, 200 speed

What should I change to improve my pics? Are the lights TOO CLOSE? The lights don't have much of a bell shape to them, maybe I need to try a light that disperses the light better like the lights in Kotori's post (??)

Most of the time I'm taking pics at night; I work during the day, and can't rely at all on natural light.

Are the drapes I'm using as my backdrop too sheer and therefore doing some funky things with the lighting? Should I look for a thick plain white sheet, would that help?

 

Looks like your lights are too close. Pull them back a bit more. On top of that, use your exposure compensation feature on the camera.

It's the symbol that looks like this:

Try your settings at either +1 or +2 and see which work best. Same goes with the amout of distance the doll is from the lighting. Move the lights back and forth till you get the right combo.

You might wanna try getting a clamp light and see how it spreads the lighting for you.

*kicks Sher* Now you're gonna make me bump up the exposure compensation tutorial I was planning on doing to this week! ops:

 

I have that setting the +/- one, currently at... oh I guess just one tick past the 0 toward the plus side, otherwise they get really washed out; but maybe moving the lights back and increasing that... okay will do!! Is my 200iso still okay? Or should that be at 100?

I DO have a clamp light (a desk light - not a photography light) and gave up on THAT, because I had to put it on the left or the right and then of course one side was too bright. I have some little table standing photog lights; gave up on those, too, as they sat really close and I couldn't get the light right at ALL on those.

 

Leave your ISO where it is but definitely move the lights back and see how that goes after you've set your exposure compensation up. Like I said, try different distances to see how it goes. Keep the camera stationary but the lights moving back and back till you get the lighting to show up how you want on the pics.

If all this doesn't work, maybe bring back that desk lamp and see how that goes again.

 

Just a suggestion to make your lighting softer,

what you could do is to find a piece of translucent white cloth, and drape it in front of your lights. something fine, like muslin?(even a few pieces of tissue paper taped together might work)

e.g.
Lights cloth doll Backdrop
[light/s]< | :fangirl []

This will help diffuse the light, but your lamp has to be reasonably powerful, and you'll have to adjust the distances in between the light/doll/cloth as required.

Hope that helps

 

Yeah dont mess with the ISO - it makes pictures a LOT more grainy when you turn it down. But the exposure setting on your camera is your friend

 

Okay it's me again. Still really struggling with lights. I move them back further. Bump up exposure. They just continue to look overexposed when I bump up exposure. Put exposure back to where it was, move lights closer. Now they're a little blurry.

I have 100 watt GE blue bulbs in - should I try 60 watt? 40? I am getting frustrated, I don't know what to do to fix this and I'm NEVER home during the day to take natural light pics.

 

I'm having troubles with my lighting/setup as well. @_@ I have about a three to four foot space to take pictures in, a ceiling light, and a desk lamp (with a rounded cover) to work with. I'm using the GE Reveal bulb at 60W, and my pictures have this AWFUL drop shadow that's absolutely driving me insane. @_@

Example of the annoying drop shadow of evil:



Ugh... -.-;

I have the lamp pulled back as far away from her as I can, but it's in front of the dolls. I think if I put it anywhere else, like above, she'd have an evil demon shadow over her eyes. ;_;

My setup is: wall : sheet : dolls/props : camera : lamp (and I'm shoved off to the side where I can't look through the viewfinder. XD )

Yea... Am I missing a lot? @_@

 

Never use the ceiling light as it's probably contributing to the drop shadow. What you need are 2 lights on opposite sides of each other. You angle them to where the shadow disappears.

 

Sher, show us examples of your latest efforts so we can see what's going wrong.

 

If I'm understanding the process right, and if you have the room, pull the doll away from the backdrop, and pull back the lights so you keep the same doll--> light distance.
If the doll is further away from the backdrop, her shadow will fall on the floor & not on the backdrop.
I got this tip from Mimi's Doll photo tutorial (Mimi Weiner makes cloth dolls, but taking pictures will work on either). http://www.mimidolls.com/ click on the taking photos link.

Ann in CT

 

I'm sorry I'm so USELESS at this! wahhhh.... :cry:
Now - I'm not using a tripod; for shots like these, yes, I should have, because they are straight on, so... kicks to sher for not doing this in the first place, but still, sometimes I don't want to use a tripod because I'm trying to get a more interesting angle and I just can't with a tripod.

Pic 1 - REALLY blurry. I had moved the lights back for this shot, trying to do what you told me to do a couple weeks ago.


still sort of unclear but better; and kinda washed-out looking.


sorta washed out... too...


Looks VERY overexposed.

 

Sher, you will have to use the tripod. There's no getting around the blurriness unless you've got really steady hands.

To be honest, I think I prefer that first pic over all the others as it's not overexposed.

 

but what do you do when you want an interesting angle like kinda overhead? or sideways, or sort of crooked on purpose to make a neat shot? So now I'm back to all these unbelievably boring pics of my dolls from a head-on angle. the gallery is not going to thank me. glargh.

I thought turning on enough lights would mimic natural light enough that you could get clear pics without a tripod, and monkeying with the white balance would counter the fact that it's lights and not sunlight. sigh. i give up.

do you think the best photographers here are using natural light, all the time? and I'm just... doomed?

 

I've always wondered this myself. I don't use a tripod at all (don't even own one). Borrowed one once and tried it for about five shots and had to stop, because it was just too limiting for me. Especially for photo stories, I stand, sit, kneel, crouch, crawl on the floor, shove myself into corners, and so on and so forth in order to get certain angles and shots. I can't imagine how one would do it with a tripod...

 

I, myself, don't use a tripod most of the time but then, my camera is able to cope with far less light when focusing. On top of that, one doesn't have to compose the shots directly when shooting as you might find that cropping an image later results in better composition of an image.

I suggested that Sher use a tripod as it seems that she is having problems with the focusing of her camera. Having the camera on a tripod helps with maintaining the same distance between doll and camera when you're trying to figure out what's the right distance the lights need to be from the doll in order to achieve the right exposure. Being even less than an inch from where one originally shot from can give a completely different exposure reading as your camera is forced to take a reading from a place different from the last picture.

 

I use a tripod because in any mode of shot other than the P mode (next to the Manual mode, I'm using a Cybershot W-7) it looks interlacy, which is just plain ugly. :/ If I don't use the tripod on the P mode, then it's a guaranteed blurry shot, due to the time it takes to take the picture.

 

I have an old tripod that doesn't have the screw on it anymore for screwing in the camera and put my lights on that. :3

 

well now this is just depressing, LOL, how on earth does valentine get such amazing shots then without a tripod??? sighhh this isn't fair (can I have some cheese with my whine please)

the OTHER thing I'm struggling with (regarding cropping a shot like nikita suggested - I do do this) is that my camera focuses where it damn well pleases half the time. and I can't adjust it. I read the manual a thousand times and can't figure out HOW to tell it to focus on the middle of the frame, or always here, or there. Sometimes I get 3 little green boxes (that's what tells me where I'm focusing). Sometimes I get none, or one, or four. WTF??

what's really upsetting me the most is that for a while there - they were getting pretty darned good (for me I mean) and although I haven't changed anything, lately they've been getting to be on the crappy side again. SHOOT and shoot.

wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

Sher, you DO know that you can focus manually with your camera? I'm sorry you're having a hard time with your camera but I really think you need to go into a camera store and have someone explain to you on how to use it. That camera you use has 3 different focus modes, on top of having an actual manual focus feature. It's hard (and frankly, quite frustrating) that I can't be there to explain to you on how to use it but I think, you need to have someone show you how to use it. If you feel that you don't want to go this route, then feel free to email me and I will try my best to help you. I just don't want this thread to focus all about your camera as not everyone has your particular camera.

Photography is NOT something you just pick up within a couple of weeks and using a camera, ANY camera still takes time getting used to. I've known Valentine online for what, 3 years now and she has probably worked with this same camera for...2 years? (correct me if I'm wrong, Valentine) I've seen how she has started out with learning to use that camera to getting more familiar with how to use it. The only way you will be able to produce better pictures is if you get more familiar and comfortable with your camera.

 

What kind of camera is Sher using? It sounds a lot like my Cybershot. To manually set the focus on mine, you just go into Manual mode (I think you can do this on the 'P' setting, too?) and press the menu key until you see focus: multi, and then adjust it to 'center'. ^^

I figure it's either a Cybershot or a Canon, since it has the green focus boxes, and I don't know if any other brands do that..

 

Sher is using a Canon A95.

 

I figured it was probably a Canon. XD Oh well. :3

 

Sher, I typically use my nose to steady the camera, if I'm using the built in flash, otherwise my tripod can get into nearly any angle I need it to for the artsy shots. Not sure what kind of tripod you have.

Do you have an instant messenger? Maybe chatting it out will help. I have a Canon A75, so I might be able to help some.

 

*hands over some cheese* XD

Well, for starters... I usually only use natural light. I don't even have decent quality lamps to attempt photo shoots with artificial light, although I'm hoping to get some lights for Christmas. Even in Rochester during the winter (which is, like, the cloudy day capital of the world), there's some daylight coming in through my window.

I guess I also have pretty steady hands...and, as mentioned, I've had my current camera (Coolpix 4500) for the past several years. Before that, I had its predecessor, the Coolpix 995, so I've gotten used to how it works. I dread the day I get a new camera and have to go through the learning curve all over again. Trust me, my photos from two years ago, a year ago, six months ago, are not as good as they are now. It's always always always a learning process. (If you want proof, check out a journal entry I posted yesterday - Memory Lane. I used to be horrendous.) =^^=;;;;

Absolutely. As I've already said, I've been working with my Coolpix for a couple years now. Mm, it's been...three years? Four? And I'm still learning. =^^=

 

Hi, everyone.

I just wanted to say that I was reading through this thread today, and it inspired me to actually go and read my camera's manual. (Er. . . a little late, I know, since I've had my Cannon A510 for over a year. ^^; ) But! Sher, I was having some of the same problems that you are, and I thought. . . well, since our cameras are similar, if not the same, maybe some of the tricks I discovered will help you too. ^_^

Discovery #1. The Tungsten light setting! I don't know if the A95 has this, but it gets rid of ALL yellow tinges caused by indoor light. For example:

Before


After


Discovery #2. Manual focus is so, SO much better than autofocus. It takes a little while to figure out how to use it, but the difference is that it will focus on exactly what you want and not just one irritating spot like a doorframe or a piece of lint. Example:

Before


After


Discovery #3. Changing the aperture setting really does make a difference when it comes to the likelihood of the camera focusing on the background. If you put it down around 2.0 instead of 5.0 it give a nice, soft background for portraits AND it doesn't focus quite so randomly.

Before


After


Anyway, I just wanted to share these tips! I was so geekily excited to discover them. . . I hope they help someone else. ^_^

 

thanks for the tips, everyone... like nikita said, I don't want this thread to be all about me so I'll stop whining in it (thank you very much for the cheese, valentine, lol) and just keep chugging along. I'll see if I can try some of the things mentioned.
thank you

 

The tungsten setting has to be my favorite (nearly all digital cameras above pure point and shoot have it) setting ever. I think your tips will be helpful for anyone coming in.

I'm free to chat for anyone who needs it btw. =)

 

Ooh, I've got to re-read my Canon manual again. I end up having to take a lot of pictures at night, and while the yellow/orange glow is sometimes exactly what I want, other times I hate it.

 

Hm...

there's a lot to photography really, and lighting. Where to start....

first off I use an oooold manual camera which really taught me a lot about what all the fancy things on the digital means. Also the below info is very very veeery general.

Lighting:

unless you want shadows (especially heavy shadowing) it's better to use reflected light than direct. Like someone mentioned earlier a thin white cloth can help with diffusing the light to avoid those heavy shadows. if you're not using natural lights try a light walled room or off of white sheets or something. however you will need more lights using this method to make an overall brighter area (it's like pointing a flashlight at a wall and not directly at an object). Anyhoo just think about it like taking a picture on a very very sunny day out in the sun or on a cloudier day.

honestly speaking it's easier to start out with using natural light on a cloudy day set up can be a pain if you're going for that picture perfect shoot.

Coloured light: your average light blub will usually have an amber or yellowy tint to it. if you have access to theatre lighting gels then this can work to 'remove' some of the yellow, also there are diffusers and other light correcting gels to help soften the light. Just remember that this is additive so any coloured gels you're using will be in addition to the natural colour of the light rather than 'removing' it. if you're interested in this you can probably pick up a free little booklet from Rosco or lee filters. A nice generic 'white light' sort of look is the roscolux #60 (no colour blue) and a nice frost which can help diffuse the light is a roscolux 114 or 115. however you will need strong lights with these since they're built for powerful lights (1k + wattage but can be used with lower)

Backlighting can help loads. one of the first lessons in theatre lighting I learnt was how to effectively use backlighting. This will help define the back outline of your doll. it doesn't need to be harsh or bright but enough to give a slight 'glow' to the outline of your doll and pop your doll out from the background

Camera Filters:

You can purchase these which will help also with controling the colour of your lights if you don't want to purchase specific types of bulbs. However if you don't know what type of filter you're looking for ask the clerk at the counter and clearly let them know what type of look you're going for as well as the environment you're shooting in (e.g. out doors, indoor studio with tungstun lighting etc).

Film Speed:

The higher the film speed the more sensitive to light it will be. However the more sensitive the film the higher the graininess of your image. Higher speed films are used generally for photos taken for action shots or in more dimly lit areas as less light exposure is needed.

Focus and f-stop:

With a lense on your camera you can normally adjust how large your apature opening is - the wider is it (smaller the number) the more light can get in but at the same time you loose depth of focus. What I mean by that is that you loose the ability to focus in as large a range in terms of distance to and from the camera (back and forth). The smaller you have the aparture (the bigger the number)the better the focus will be for objects that you physically focus the camera on as well as the backgrounds.

Shutter speed:

if you have a tripod and the object isn't moving in the picture the slower you can have your shutter speed, thus allowing more light into the camera. Since you're taking pics of your doll a slower speed should be ok allowing you to use a smaller apature opening, lower speed film or lower lighting environment (if you choose to do so). For hand held cameras you'll need a faster shutter speed in order to cut out the possibility of the camera moving while you're holding it. For action shots you'll need faster shutter speed yet unless you're going for the blurry action look.

Once you get more comfortable with photography you can start looking into things like cross processing which can come out with some very spiffy looking results (if you use film not digital cameras) or start using programs like Photoshop to alter the look of your pictures. If you're already comfortable with a photo editing software just play around with it or correct any issues in your images or try for funky effects.

Just remember this isn't a be all end all to photography or lighting. To be honest I'm sort of rusty (and I could be remembering some things incorrectly). There's probably a lot of people out there with other opinions outside of mine so go with what you feel comfortable with.

 

Good pointers rillystar

Another handy feature for those cameras that have it, is manualy adjusting your white balance based on the lighting you are using. With my Pentax ist DS, I set it to manual, position a good white sheet of paper in the area I'm taking the picture, and capture the image. The camera will adjust it's self based on that white. Makes a good difference if other settings just don't quite work out for you.

 

lol thanks!

I always forget stuff so I'll keep adding as I think of them:

Most cameras should be set to industry standard of 18% grey (I think if I remember correctly...or is it 12%?) you can buy these in card stock to use to focus and adjust the light settings on your camera (like with the white paper) for that particular environment you're shooting in.

Also as a side note about film speed, the graininess shouldn't be too big a deal if you're keeping below 800 and aren'y blowing up your prints to large sizes I'm personally just picky that way and typically don't use anything above 400 if I can help it.

If you're taking a closeup shot, and using a digital camera....try changing your camera settings. There should be two icons, one is mountains the other probably flowers. The mountain setting is more for those panoramic long distance shots. The Flower setting is for closeups and will help with the manipulation of the focus and whatnot. Depends on the camera though as well. if you're getting super close you probably want to invest in a macro lens

 

Yup, unless of course you like to manually over ride the camera settings. that where the TV (shutter priotity), and th AV (apature priority) come in handy. some Digital cameras do have a ISO sensitivity up to 3200 which can be handy in some cases. but really has little difference when using a tripod. Other than slightly faster shutter speeds when using really low light levels. ie. using only candles as your light source. A good macro lens can be pretty exspensive too, one handy way around it is by picking up a "sigma Telephoto/zoom lens" 70-300 mm Mine has a macro setting, so instead of being really close you can stand back and get right onto their eys. plus being farther back allows you to use the flash with out washing out the picture.

 

Well, it's best to just use a tripod and stick with a lower ISO, rather than going with a higher ISO and get the grain. Most members' digital cameras can't go any higher than ISO 800 (some only have ISO 100, 200, and 400 and that's it!). I've never used ISO 800 on any of my doll pics,...I just don't want to see the grain.

 

Thank you for resurrecting this, guys! ^_^

 

Sorry to interupt here, but I've wanted to share my experience since I found the opposite effect when dealing with digital photography and macro settings. I find that, at least with my A80, that if I step back and zoom in, my camera will focus far sharper. I had a lot of focusing issues before I did this.

Here is an example. Indoor lighting was a desk lamp (a $6 one at about 3 feet away), daytime with ambient lighting.



When I used to get very close, my camera would have problems because you end up blocking the light source (or so I imagine after experimenting for awhile).

Another zoom in, but with my backdrop and professional lighting set up (three lights):



Here is a newer one, one light 1 inch away from the dolls face (a desk lamp 30 w) zoom in. At night, indoors, the rooms lights were all off save the desklamp (I believe).



Oh, the last one was on a tripod, the rest were not. I almost forgot to mention that! Duh.

You really need to play with the camera and see what is best (and take notes. Some cameras work better one way and others work better another. SLRS you can get right up against the subject within inches and can focus, but not a lot of the little non-SLR digitals.

And play with lamps. Like it was mentioned, you don't need huge set ups. My first set up three years ago was my backwall with with of my painting canvases. Now I have a tendacy to stretch white/gray backgrounds or fabric/textures backgrounds that aren't black because my dolls usually wear black and I'd rather not deal with backfill lighting to separate them from the background. White and certain lighter textures sometimes reflects the light, which can be both good and bad depending on what you are doing. Keeping your set up as simple as possible really is the best thing.

Just thought I would give a few examples. Sorry. Not trying to horn in. I'll go now. Good luck!

 

never mind, my server is down most of the time so posting pics is useless

 

As a note, photography is a skill, so maybe you just need to practice. I don't have a tripod so I've found tons of other ways to get by without one. I once borrowed one and found it just a tad cumbersome for a few photos. Here are some tips for photographing sharp, sharp pictures on lower shutter speeds without a tripod:

X Keep the camera close to your face and hold your elbows pressed against your body. This will minimize shaking.

X Rest. Sometimes you'll take up to five minutes playing with the manual focus, aperture, shutter speed, white balance, and so on. If you're holding your arms out (and squatting-- since these are small things you're taking pictures of), then you'll get tired and you'll shake. So take a break if you start feeling shakey-- the doll is not going to run away.

X Lay on your belly with your elbows on the ground if you're taking low, low shots. That will also stabilize you.

X Don't be afraid to get down on the ground or climb on tables. When you craaaaane your arms above your subject or hunch over it, you're straining yourself. You also might cast some unwanted shadows. So grab a chair or climb onto your piano if you need to. And with the low, low shots-- don't just stand there and hang your arms lower. Lay on the ground or squat. Once I went with a friend to take pictures in the park. She found a ditch with a frog in it, so she squatted low to the ground and whipped out her camera. Meanwhile I flailed and threw my jacket onto her back. She was wearing a miniskirt. XD

X Use a towel as a tripod. I saw this tip on DIY network! Stack one or two towels on top of each other and put your camera in the middle of the top towel. You'll find that you can angle the camera up and down easily. It also won't move, due to the texture of the towel. If the towels aren't high enough, stack them on a chair or something. It makes a lovely make-shift tripod! Just beware that you don't have some of the towel poking out on the bottom of your picture. If that happens, smooth the towel out or place your camera closer to the edge. You can also zoom if your camera is capable of focusing well when zoomed.

X Use the timer. Sometimes you might jab the button too hard so the camera tilts or wobbles. I set the timer to ten seconds so I can make last minute adjustments and whatnot, such as if the camera moved I can simply just nudge it back.

X This only works in certain cases... but you can also just bring up your shutter speed. But beware, because there's a "science" to shutter speed vs. aperture, so you might want to read up on that. It'll make your picture pretty dark if you use a high shutter speed.

I can't really think of any other tips and tricks, so there you go! Note that even if your picture has perfect light and crisp focus, it still might look a little dull. The composition of a picture is very, very important.


In short: Practice, practice, practice and think of the layout of your pictures while you take them.

 

All are good points, provided you don't have tremors.

The only thing I'll ever do in photoshop is minor adjustments to the lighting. But overal I try and get the lighting effect I want for real. Photoshop is just the easy way to cheat I think. I know in some cases it's the only way.