Comments | thatpotteryguy: New Pics of Pottery

thatpotteryguy

New Pics of Pottery

Feb 02, 2010 12:45

So, my new Photo Studio Inna Box arrived this morning. I've been playing around with taking pictures of pottery, with the intent of eventually creating an Etsy store. Here are a few examples. Tell me what you think.

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Comments 16

shalmestere February 2 2010, 17:58:49 UTC

Nice crisp shots w/good contrast between subject & background.

(I like the KalmarWare :-D)

thatpotteryguy February 3 2010, 01:54:42 UTC

I like the term "KalmarWare". I'm going to experiment with different backgrounds, themed settings, etc. and see what works well.

kls_eloise February 2 2010, 18:05:05 UTC

Mind the reflections. The flash on the London jug isn't flattering (since I have one of my own to compare to the photo.) My only other thought would be something for scale, although I presume that you'd mention sizes in the listing.

An Etsy shop? Be still my heart! I might just as well give you an open line into my checking account... :-)

fabricdragon February 2 2010, 18:06:31 UTC

looks good!
as a reminder.... many of the art shows are short pottery people. they usually require photos on "gradient grey" or neutral gray backgrounds......

pixel39 February 2 2010, 18:33:13 UTC

I shall point you at www.photo.net which has more than you could ever want about photography.

And a product question. I need a largish mortar (I can probably get my own pestle). How big is sensible, how much would it cost, and when are you next in Northshield?

thatpotteryguy February 3 2010, 02:12:49 UTC

Well, the largest "practical" size is about a quart. That's "practical" as in "for non-specialized uses", such as mulching an entire chicken. For stuff like that, I've made them as large as 1 gallon. That's a big (and VERY heavy) mortar.

A pestle isn't any trouble; I can get Mikey to produce one with about a day's notice. Turned from beech, finished with wax and oil, very nice. Such a deal.

A quart one (without pestle) would be $50. Pestle is an additional $10. It'd take about three weeks to get done, given current dry times (maybe longer if the hinted-at 24 inches of snow shows up the weekend). I'm probably not going to be in Northshield again until Boar's Head - I'd like to do WW, but it just hasn't been possible the last couple years, and I'm not going to guarantee that I'll be able to this year. And that's assuming I don't get sick again over Boar's Head.

Thanks for the tip about www.photo.net - there's a lot of stuff there. I appreciate it.

thornbury February 2 2010, 18:36:45 UTC

I was going to suggest a gray card for a background, too. And the reflections could be minimized by softening the light. But honestly? These are perfectly fine for an Etsy shop - better than most.

As for a new camera, you don't need anything crazy to do this. Either get a Nikon D40 (if you want a DSLR) or a Canon S90 (if you want a point and shoot).

thatpotteryguy February 3 2010, 02:18:37 UTC

Point and shoot, definitely. I was thinking about a gray card, esp. for "gallery shots" and show applications. Probably a couple of other background cards, as well.

I'm not really a camera guy, and I'm not planning on becoming one. I've got too much else on my plate right now. I've got the option of professional gallery-style shots, but that entails packing everything up, giving up half the day, spending another half-day sifting through shots, and ponying up the (admittedly reasonable) session fee. For the moment, I think this is the more cost effective option.

Thanks for the critique. I appreciate input from people who know more about photography than I do.