O' Tanenbaum

[Suzanne]

OK, it's that time of year again and I need to photograph the trees that I have up in my shop. I have NEVER been able to get a good photo of my Christmas trees. Any suggestions? Looking for technical advise, thanks.

The setting is this: interior with florescent lighting, some ambient light from windows (not much). I do have a couple of spot lights available to me, and of course the millions of twinkly lights on the tree (white). There is merchandise displayed all around so I'll probably be going for a shallow depth of field.

[Donald]

Ah, she's going to start with the easy questions! It's unusual not to have had a response by now.

Not my area of expertise by any stretch of the imagination. But I wonder if you're needing to think about taking a number of photos and then stacking them. If I'm right (and someone will no doubt soon let us know), then click here for a helpful paper on the subject.

If I'm wrong, it's still a good read.

[Suzanne]

Thank you! Donald!!

I will read this and then ask you what you mean by stacking. LOL

[Katy Noelle]

Yes, I could just call you on the phone (sister) and talk about it, but....

I think that this is a good question!

Last year, before I started blogging or photography or anything like that, I noticed that many of my blog friends (who all seem to have lovely Canon 450Ds) were remarking that they were disappointed with how their shots were coming out - particularly of their trees. I've, also, noticed that many of the photos in magazines are under par when it comes to the decorated trees. (when the rest of the shots are lovely enough.) A lot of times, photos of the trees, in general are not very thrilling compared to the real life encounter. What's going on? Too many lights and the ornaments needing a different exposure?

The problem is compounded when you consider how cliche so many of the shots are. Much of the time, they all seem the same.

Suzy, maybe, after you've worked on it a little, you could post some photos and, then, someone might come up with am idea to get it better.

I hope stacking isn't the only solution. I have no idea how, yet, and it's getting kind of busy, nowadays, to try and figure it out.

[Suzanne]

LOL OK so I went to attempt a few shots and my batteries promptly died. I usually keep an extra set on hand but of course I forgot to charge those, too. Feeling deterred. Will try again tomorrow.

[Suzanne]

Well, I was finally able to take a few shots. Who new you had to turn the lights "out" to take pictures. LOL
Happy to hear your advice.





Would it have been better with lights on? They seemed so washed out to me until I turned the lights off.

[Suzanne]

Oh, and Donald I wasnt brave enough to try stacking yet, but that paper sparked my interest. Maybe when I have a little more time to work on these things. Is it silly to take a bunch of shots now and file them away to be stacked at a later date? hmmmm Might loose the mojo of the moment if I do that.

[Peter Ryan]

Hi Suzanne,

I do like the idea of #1 but its not working fully for me. I am not sure what to do to better the shot but I like the perspective and these are things you must try.

In # 2 the tree is neither in nor out of the image. It looks just like a snap shot that went wrong. There is no balance or porportions in the image; but

# 3 has nice balance and proportion it tells a story and shows the light and warmth we want to see at Christmas. I do like this one.

The lesson here is to work the subject and all the angles. Well done.

[Sahil]

Hi Suzanne,

First pic is very interesting, but the moment I saw it I tilted my head towards left. Did you try rotating it 90 degrees CW or may be 180 Degrees?

As pointed out by Peter, about the picture being out of proportion, I guess there isn't much space in the room you are taking picture. What lens are you using for these shot? A wide angle lens will be of great help.

And I like the last one a lot. It has a good potential. Is it possible to decrease the light or may be you can lower your EC by a stop or two.
Hope that makes sense & helps.

[Suzanne]

Thank you so much guys. Yes the room I'm working in is very small and the tree is surrounded by merchandise accept for one window. So most backgrounds are very cluttered. I tried for a shallow depth of field, but couldn't get it shallow enough to blur out the background. I would love to hear suggestions for that.

Also, I do have a wide angle lens bit it is actually an adapter so it tends to blur around the edges a bit. Which in hind sight would perhaps be ok for a shot like this. I'll try this one again.

As for #1 thats interesting that you turned your head. I rather liked this position. I liked that it was a little bit dizzy, much like it actually is when looking down a staircase. That said however, I'm going to try different angles again. I have another floor I can go up too. Might try and see what that does.

Good stuff, thank you guys.

[Suzanne]

Hi Suzanne,

First pic is very interesting, but the moment I saw it I tilted my head towards left. Did you try rotating it 90 degrees CW or may be 180 Degrees?
.

Here it is rotated 90* cw just for fun. I still like the original, but would like to know your thoughts.

[Katy Noelle]

Here it is rotated 90* cw just for fun. I still like the original, but would like to know your thoughts.

MUCH better!

[Donald]

I agree with Katy. The image makes sense now. As it was, I couldn't work out what I was looking at.

[Suzanne]

Ok, so here is an attempt at the stairs again. Now you REALLY can't tell the tree's a tree. LOL
I made many more attempts at that small tree in the "yellow" room, (Katy knows) #2 up above. I'm having no luck. I really don't want this silly tree to defeat me, so I'll try again tomorrow.

[Sahil]

Suzanne,

What camera & lens are you using for this shot?
There isn't enough light to take this shot hand-held. This could be an interesting perspective.. Try zooming in more. Try framing the tree in between the lower railing. I am not too sure if stairs should be included.