Re: [MOPO] Avoiding the Star Wars effect...

[JR]

Natalie,   You have to either place the poster to be photographed on the wall or on the floor. If on the wall, you light it evenly (best to use indirect lighting that is "bounced off" the wall opposite the poster). Then you stand back from the poster -- put the camera on a tripod, they're cheap -- and center the camera on the center of the poster, making sure the image in the LCD screen is showing straight lines up-and-down and left-to right compared to the border of the screen. That will give you a reasonably straight-edged photo without a lot of "keystoning" (the technical term for the "long ago, far away" trapezoid look you get when one part of the poster is closer to the camera than another).   If you put the poster on the floor, directly beneath an overhead light source, it will tend to have even lighting. Then, you stand on a chair or sturdy coffee table and lean out over the middle of the poster to center the image in the LCD screen as above. This is the tricky part, but it can be done with a little practice.   Either way, the trick is make sure that all parts of the poster are the same distance from the camera.   --JR   "...I used to wish that my computer were as easy to use as my phone.     Now my wish has come true... I can't figure out how to use my phone, either".     -- Rick Weiss   ----- Original Message ----- From: Natalie To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU Sent: Saturday, August 13, 2005 4:48 Subject: [MOPO] Avoiding the Star Wars effect... I'm soon to be photographing a heap of lobbies and posters with a view to both culling the collection and cataloguing them. But how do I avoid the "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" look that is so prevalent on ebay? You can see the bottom third really well, but heaven help you if you want to see any defects in the top two thirds! Natalie          Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com    ___________________________________________________________________               How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List        Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]             In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L     The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.