Taking photos of your pc

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

(really not sure where to post this thread so if a moderator could please move if needed)

Seeing as there has been alot of guys battling with getting decent pics of their rigs, I thought I'd try out some different ideas to show how they come out. My camera is a Nikon D5000, with a 50mm F1.4 lens and a SB-600 external flash. I have not tweaked these pics other than to correct the white balance. the ambient light was sunlight coming in through a door on the right.

Photo at generic settings and no flash:

This was taken at 200 ISO with an aperture of F8. Settings almost any camera will do. Note that it took a 2 second exposure, and I am using a tripod.

This time at a Higher ISO and bigger aperture:

This time the ISO was 1600, and the aperture F2. The difference is the shutter speed was now 1/50 of a second. And the reason why not everything is in focus is that the bigger the aperture, the smaller the area of focus is.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

Next up I put the camera on full auto, and used the on camera flash.

As you can see, the camera decided to keep the aperture quite large, so focus is a problem.

Next I set the flash to slow sync, or fill.

This lets the camera combine the ambient and flash for a more balanced pic.

Next I used the paper diffuser trick as mentioned here: http://www.lighting-academy.com/index.php?id=820&L=1

Might need to increase your exposure a bit, but works well.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

Next up I broke out the big gun, my external flash:

Also shot on full auto. Same storey with a serious hotspot.

Then I dropped the output on the flash by 2 E.V.

Better. You'd be amased how often just turning down your flash a bit can help.

Lastly I added a Stofen diffuser on the flash. http://www.stofen.com/

Handy little gadget, and helps a bit. Great for weddings.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

For my next trick, I turned the flash head around and bounced it off a white reflector.

Now this is looking pretty good.

And the same with the flash turned down by 2 E.V.

A white reflector can be a wall, ceiling, white card, Whatever. But seems to be the best looking way of lighting the pc.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

And next up was a soft box diffusor on the flash. Similar to this: http://www.lumiquest.com/products/softbox-ii.htm

Better than the flash alone, as it spreads the light more. But still not so good.

Then I turned down the flash by 2 E.V.

Better, but still not so great.

Then I switched the camera to slow sync/ fill on the flash at -1 E.V.

Getting there.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

For my next party trick I took the flash off the camera using an extension cable.

Flash on the left of the camera at -2 E.V. with the softbox on. Not bad.

Then at -1 E.V.

I could live with that.

Then with the flash at 0 E.V.

Nope. Too bright.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

And the last ones are with the camera set to slow sync/ fill on the flash. 0 E.V.

Note the colour looks browner. That is because I'm mixing sunlight and flash.

Then at -1 E.V.

I think that is a pretty successful photo. Of course the colour can be corrected in the software.

Please note than other than the first 2 pics, the camera was left on auto, and I wasn't checking the auto focus. The focus here was on how the different lighting would work.
Of course your equipment will respond differently, but hey, go play. Best way to learn.

Fatal · Jun 8, 2010

Great thread I need to get a new camera the two I have are done. Would like to take pictures of my case.

Fourstaff · Jun 8, 2010

For all who cannot (or not bothered to) understand what Wookie said, he meant lighting, Lighting, LIGHTING!!! My condensed version: Take your pictures when the sun is up and you are not using artificial lighting. Taking pictures at night with(out) lights is wasting your time unless you are quite good with your camera or you are willing to experiment. If necessary move your rig to a well lit place (under shade) and take a photo there. Don't be lazy, you horrible picture does not do your rig justice.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

Fourstaff said:
For all who cannot (or not bothered to) understand what Wookie said, he meant lighting, Lighting, LIGHTING!!! My condensed version: Take your pictures when the sun is up and you are not using artificial lighting. Taking pictures at night with(out) lights is wasting your time unless you are quite good with your camera or you are willing to experiment. If necessary move your rig to a well lit place (under shade) and take a photo there. Don't be lazy, you horrible picture does not do your rig justice.

Quite true. My personal favourite is the flash bounced off the reflector, but for that you need an external flash.

Of course this did force me to dust out my rig. :eek:

caleb · Jun 8, 2010

Love the title

Alaways try to get low ISO. good pics are 400 max. Computer is 'dead' unmoving object. Try to set the ISO to 200 and increase the shutter opening time. Ofcourse your camera must be standing still or on a stand. Release the shutter with a timer so u dont touch the camera while it takes a pic.

I also think that bright board LED's are messing with light sensor. Board is almost totally black and it might not be doing its best in setting up shutter/iso.

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

caleb said:
Love the title

Alaways try to get low ISO. good pics are 400 max. Computer is 'dead' unmoving object. Try to set the ISO to 200 and increase the shutter opening time. Ofcourse your camera must be standing still or on a stand. Release the shutter with a timer so u dont touch the camera while it takes a pic.

I also think that bright board LED's are messing with light sensor. Board is almost totally black and it might not be doing its best in setting up shutter/iso.

Agreed. Between the black board and components, and the very reflective stickers, my pc is a pain to photograph. Hence why I thought it would be a good subject. But lower ISO is better. Not all cameras work as well as mine at 1600. And there are better cameras out there that will cope with much higher ISO's.

Chicken Patty · Jun 8, 2010

Great stuff, thanks for taking your time to do this and post it :toast:

Black Panther · Jun 8, 2010

King Wookie those photos are just awesome. :toast:

Your informative posts are very much appreciated!

______________________________

I've just started experimenting with an old dslr, so yup plenty of mistakes the first one being still shooting on auto settings, still learning... :eek:

Here's a shot of my pc in sepia:

King Wookie · Jun 8, 2010

Is it me, or does the lack of colour make it more interesting? Like you have to look more closely to see what is what.

Nice photo BP. :toast:

johnnyfiive · Jun 8, 2010

Nice info for sure!

King Wookie · Jun 9, 2010

I decided to work a bit on the 2 lighting setups that I think gave the best results.

First off, the ambient light with camera on a tripod and long shutter release.

Again I had sunlight coming in through a door on the right, but used a white reflector to bounce some light into the darker corners of the rig.

Next, the big flash bounced into a large white reflector.

Again, the head of the flash was pointing behind the camera into a large white reflector.

Slightly different look to both, but can't say one is much better than the other.

King Wookie · Jun 9, 2010

Lastly, I tried to improve the photos with the paper diffusor.
Best results were having the onboard flash firing through a piece of white typing paper.
Reason is to see if you can get better results with a camera with built in flash.

Not the best, but better than a bare flash by a big margin.

End of the day, it seems the best approach is to use a tripod or other solid support and a long exposure. (shutter open for long)

My 2 cents.

Fitseries3 · Jun 9, 2010

i take all my pics with sunlight(usually outside) and long shutter. usually 6-20sec. using a tripod of course.

Fourstaff · Jun 9, 2010

Fitseries3 said:
i take all my pics with sunlight(usually outside) and long shutter. usually 6-20sec. using a tripod of course.

Anytime I use more than 5 sec in daylight the picture gets whitewashed. :eek:

Tips?

Delta6326 · Jun 9, 2010

i don't know if its me but i think the best picture is the very first one

I'm thinking about getting a Canon T2i i have always wanted to get a DSLR!

King Wookie · Jun 9, 2010

Fourstaff said:
Anytime I use more than 5 sec in daylight the picture gets whitewashed. Tips?

Comes down to the meter in your camera. Check and see what it tells you. That ambient pic of mine was 2 seconds with not bright sunlight at ISO200. Try taking them at different times to see what works best.

Black Panther · Jun 11, 2010

Close encounters - with hardware

King Wookie · Jun 11, 2010

Very nice!
Experimentation is a good thing in photography. And if it doesn't work, delete.

Chicken Patty · Jun 11, 2010

Like that last shot BP :toast:

System Name	Blackbox
Processor	Intel i5 750 @ stock for now
Motherboard	EVGA P55 LE
Cooling	Corsair H50 with 2 x Zalman ZM-F3 push/pull
Memory	2 x 2g team extreem DDR3 2000
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 460 Top
Storage	Seagate 500.12, Seagate 320.11
Display(s)	BenQ FP222W - 22 inches
Case	CM 590 with 5x various fans (Thermalright/Noctua)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	XP home SP3

System Name	Blackbox
Processor	Intel i5 750 @ stock for now
Motherboard	EVGA P55 LE
Cooling	Corsair H50 with 2 x Zalman ZM-F3 push/pull
Memory	2 x 2g team extreem DDR3 2000
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 460 Top
Storage	Seagate 500.12, Seagate 320.11
Display(s)	BenQ FP222W - 22 inches
Case	CM 590 with 5x various fans (Thermalright/Noctua)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	XP home SP3

System Name	Blackbox
Processor	Intel i5 750 @ stock for now
Motherboard	EVGA P55 LE
Cooling	Corsair H50 with 2 x Zalman ZM-F3 push/pull
Memory	2 x 2g team extreem DDR3 2000
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 460 Top
Storage	Seagate 500.12, Seagate 320.11
Display(s)	BenQ FP222W - 22 inches
Case	CM 590 with 5x various fans (Thermalright/Noctua)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	XP home SP3

System Name	Blackbox
Processor	Intel i5 750 @ stock for now
Motherboard	EVGA P55 LE
Cooling	Corsair H50 with 2 x Zalman ZM-F3 push/pull
Memory	2 x 2g team extreem DDR3 2000
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 460 Top
Storage	Seagate 500.12, Seagate 320.11
Display(s)	BenQ FP222W - 22 inches
Case	CM 590 with 5x various fans (Thermalright/Noctua)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	XP home SP3

System Name	Blackbox
Processor	Intel i5 750 @ stock for now
Motherboard	EVGA P55 LE
Cooling	Corsair H50 with 2 x Zalman ZM-F3 push/pull
Memory	2 x 2g team extreem DDR3 2000
Video Card(s)	Asus GTX 460 Top
Storage	Seagate 500.12, Seagate 320.11
Display(s)	BenQ FP222W - 22 inches
Case	CM 590 with 5x various fans (Thermalright/Noctua)
Audio Device(s)	Onboard
Power Supply	Corsair HX620
Software	XP home SP3

System Name	KAREN / EVA / GHOST
Processor	Intel Core i7-950 / AMD Phenom II X4 940 BE / Core i5 3570k
Motherboard	ASUS TUF Sabertooth X58 / DFI LP DK 790FXB-M2RSH / Asrock z77e-itx
Cooling	Thermaltake Frio / Corsair Cooling™ Hydro Series H50 / Corsair Hydro Series H60
Memory	Corsair Dominator 6GB DDR3 1600 / Corsair Dominator Quad2X4096-8500C5DF / G.SKILL Ripjaws Serie 1600
Video Card(s)	XFX HD6950 CF unlocked /XFX HD5770 CF/ MSI R4890 Cyclone
Storage	OCZ Vertex 2 60 WD Raptor X WD1500AHFD / Seagate Barracuda /Western Digital 80gb, Toshiba 1TB
Display(s)	2 Acer P215H 21.5 Widescreen / Acer S211HL 21.5 / HP 2009F 20inch
Case	SILVERSTONE RAVEN RV02-BW / NZXT Phantom /Bitfenix Prodigy
Audio Device(s)	On board / Philips MMS 321 - PC multimedia speakers
Power Supply	Ultra X3 ULT40311 1000W / Cosair CMPSU-750TX 750W/ CORSAIR Gaming Series GS700 700W
Software	Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 7 64 bit / Windows 7 64 bit

System Name	Orange! // ItchyHands
Processor	3570K // 10400F
Motherboard	ASRock z77 Extreme4 // TUF Gaming B460M-Plus
Cooling	Stock // Stock
Memory	2x4Gb 1600Mhz CL9 Corsair XMS3 // 2x8Gb 3200 Mhz XPG D41
Video Card(s)	Sapphire Nitro+ RX 570 // Asus TUF RTX 2070
Storage	Samsung 840 250Gb // SX8200 480GB
Display(s)	LG 22EA53VQ // Philips 275M QHD
Case	NZXT Phantom 410 Black/Orange // Tecware Forge M
Power Supply	Corsair CXM500w // CM MWE 600w

System Name	HAL
Processor	Core i5 2500K
Motherboard	Asus P8P67 Pro Rev3.1
Cooling	stock
Memory	2x4GB Kingston 1600Mhz Blu
Video Card(s)	Asus 560Ti DirectCuII TOP
Storage	Kingston 120 3K SSD,WD Black WD1502FAEX
Display(s)	LG 1440x900
Case	Chieftec Mesh Midi
Audio Device(s)	onboard
Power Supply	Corsair TX750V2
Software	w8

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E Hero
Cooling	ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 360 A-RGB // X12 Phanteks D30-120 D-RGB Fans
Memory	G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB Series (AMD Expo) DDR5 RAM 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MT/s CL30
Video Card(s)	ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 AMP Extreme AIRO
Storage	Samsung Pro 980 2TB NVMe (OS and Games) // WD Black 10TB HDD (Storage)
Display(s)	SAMSUNG 34-Inch SJ55W Ultrawide Gaming Monitor (LS34J550WQNXZA) – 75Hz Refresh, WQHD Computer Monito
Case	Phanteks NV7
Power Supply	Seasonic Vertex GX-1200, 1200W 80+ Gold, ATX 3.0
Software	Windows 11 Pro

System Name	Black Panther
Processor	i9 9900k
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO Wifi 1.0
Cooling	NZXT Kraken X72 360mm
Memory	2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro DDR4 3600Mhz
Video Card(s)	Palit RTX2080 Ti Dual 11GB DDR6
Storage	Samsung EVO 970 500GB SSD M.2 & 2TB Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm
Display(s)	32'' Gigabyte G32QC 2560x1440 165Hz
Case	NZXT H710i Black
Audio Device(s)	Razer Electra V2 & Z5500 Speakers
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus GX-850 Gold 80+
Mouse	Some Corsair lost the box forgot the model
Keyboard	Motospeed
Software	Windows 10

System Name	THE CUBE 2.0
Processor	Intel i5 13600k
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z690 EDGE DDR4
Cooling	Phanteks PH-TC14PE BK 2x T30-120 Fan mod mount
Memory	G.Skill TridentZ 3200 MT/s C15 32GB 2x16GB
Video Card(s)	Gigabyte Aorus 1080 Ti 11GB OC: Core 2GHz, Mem 5.7GHz
Storage	WD SN770 250GB / 3x WD SN850X 2TB / Toshiba X300 4TB / 2x RAID1 Toshiba P300 3TB
Display(s)	Samsung 49" Odyssey OLED G95SC 240Hz 5120 x 1440
Case	"THE CUBE" Custom built, pure Red Alder wood
Audio Device(s)	Beyerdynamic DT 880
Power Supply	Corsair RM1000X
Mouse	Logitech G700
Keyboard	Logitech G910
Software	Windows 11 Pro

Taking photos of your pc

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