# My DIY for the day



## kimbo (14/1/15)

I take quit a lot of vape photos and with my mik-en-druk it does not always look so good. Light in my room is not ideal for photos so i thought i will get a light box. But looking at something cheap was still way over my budget so i had to come up with a plan.
I took a old box and lined it with white A4 paper and took some of my left over LED strip light, cut that into pieces and solder wire in between so i can have a longer reach




And the result




Now i must just get a better camera

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 1 | Winner 4


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## zadiac (14/1/15)

Nice, but you need more exposure. The pic of the atty is a little dark. Or just add some more lighting in photoshop or adobe lightroom 

Edit: Did this in Adobe After Effects quicly 







@kimbo , if you can get hold of adobe after effects program, I'll make you a quick tutorial on how to improve your photos, or even photoshop if you want. I'll hunt for a simpler program for you that can do that and do a tutorial for you if you want. There should be many free programs out there that can improve exposure/lighting on photos. I just need to search.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Andre (14/1/15)

'n Boer maak 'n plan. Looks great to my unprofessional eye.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thanks 1


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

zadiac said:


> Nice, but you need more exposure. The pic of the atty is a little dark. Or just add some more lighting in photoshop or adobe lightroom
> 
> Edit: Did this in Adobe After Effects quicly
> 
> ...






I have lightroom thank you 

Still learning, I am just a bit carefull of the exposure


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

kimbo said:


> View attachment 19300
> 
> 
> I have lightroom thank you
> ...



I am using my mik-en-druk ..


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## zadiac (14/1/15)

Would you like me to do a tutorial for you on lightroom on how to improve exposure and contrast, or do you want to experiment on your own?

Reactions: Like 2


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

zadiac said:


> Would you like me to do a tutorial for you on lightroom on how to improve exposure and contrast, or do you want to experiment on your own?


Yes please, most of the youtube vids are so ovcer my head its not even funny


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## zadiac (14/1/15)

Ok. Just gimme a few hours. Will have it ready for you later tonight.

Reactions: Winner 1


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

zadiac said:


> Ok. Just gimme a few hours. Will have it ready for you later tonight.


 Thank you very much


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## Cat (14/1/15)

Well done! (where's the thumbs-up emoticon?) ja, a must-have for this stuff, but my main concern is to stop being so slack and use the tripod i got an never opened, because i have such shakey hands.
i use the Canon DPP program that came with the cam, easy and does the job well. i should copy the cd for you sometime, so you can try it. i do the tone curve assist /auto, because the light in the room usually low and the flash usually stuffs it up, and i use the un-blur, drag the slider until i see it improve enough, and that's it.


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

Cat said:


> Well done! (where's the thumbs-up emoticon?) ja, a must-have for this stuff, but my main concern is to stop being so slack and use the tripod i got an never opened, because i have such shakey hands.
> i use the Canon DPP program that came with the cam, easy and does the job well. i should copy the cd for you sometime, so you can try it. i do the tone curve assist /auto, because the light in the room usually low and the flash usually stuffs it up, and i use the un-blur, drag the slider until i see it improve enough, and that's it.


Thank you

That will be really helpfull, i long for a DSLR or just a bridge camera, but for now it is me and my Lumix


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## zadiac (14/1/15)

@kimbo , for some reason my Lightroom won't import images....sigh. I haven't worked with it in a long time. Dunno what's wrong.

Wish you had photoshop or after effects. Would've worked much better. I never liked Lightroom.

Edit: Anyway, got lightroom working again and busy with your tutorial. Will let you know

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## free3dom (14/1/15)

kimbo said:


> I take quit a lot of vape photos and with my mik-en-druk it does not always look so good. Light in my room is not ideal for photos so i thought i will get a light box. But looking at something cheap was still way over my budget so i had to come up with a plan.
> I took a old box and lined it with white A4 paper and took some of my left over LED strip light, cut that into pieces and solder wire in between so i can have a longer reach
> 
> View attachment 19290
> ...



Awesome bud  

Just one question...did your Reo turn into a RTA when you took a picture of it?


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

free3dom said:


> Awesome bud
> 
> Just one question...did your Reo turn into a RTA when you took a picture of it?

Reactions: Like 3 | Winner 1


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## free3dom (14/1/15)

kimbo said:


> View attachment 19318



Whew...panic avoided 

Looking good 

I have another suggestion for your setup. Get a fairly strong directional light (such as a desk lamp) and point it into the box from the front (leaving room for you and the camera, of course). Then put some white transparent paper (the kind that is almost like tissue, I forget the name) over the lamp. This will provide you with some fill light to bring out the details, without creating harsh shadows (the transparent paper diffuses the light and creates soft shadows).

Here is a quick tutorial on light diffusion:


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

free3dom said:


> Whew...panic avoided
> 
> Looking good
> 
> ...




Thank you

My space is a bit thin here, external lights will not work 

This is one i took just now with the Reo a bit deeper in the box

Reactions: Like 2


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## Cat (14/1/15)

Much better.
Black is the worst, glossy black is really the worst. Most skill, most knowledge. Anything black, be it a bike part or a mod, i look at the silver plain version or a coloured version instead of the black, so i can see the thing.

// free3dom, ja i know what you mean, it _is_ called tissue paper, it's for wrapping gifts, but you want the white, not the coloured. Tissue paper, not tissues. Probably hard to find; they'll have colours and not the plain, cos nobody wants to wrap gifts with plain white.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Thanks 1


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## free3dom (14/1/15)

kimbo said:


> Thank you
> 
> My space is a bit thin here, external lights will not work
> 
> ...



That looks great already...especially considering the Reo is all black, which makes it the most difficult to get properly lit 
Then just a few tweaks with Lightroom and you can definitely go without any more lighting - in a pinch I sometimes use my cellphone's flash turned on for a little bit of extra fill light

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## Cat (14/1/15)

mik-en-druk, is interesting. P&S, should be mik-en-skiet.

Reactions: Funny 1


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## free3dom (14/1/15)

Cat said:


> mik-en-druk, is interesting. P&S, should be mik-en-skiet.



That's called a gun

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Arthster (14/1/15)

Awesome job kimbo. that is pretty much exactly what a proper light box is. just a little tip for the mik and drik. If you take a tissue and fold it in half and cover the mik and drik flash it makes for a perfect very effective and cheap filter. using different color tissue can warm or cool your photo. And all this helps with less work in the digital dark room

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 3


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## kimbo (14/1/15)

The ZNA almost looks better 

Now i can take vape photos at night to

Reactions: Like 2


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## kimbo (15/1/15)

Tried something with a bit more color

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## Arthster (15/1/15)

Awesome work @kimbo. Starting to look pretty professional.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Silver (15/1/15)

@kimbo 

Nothing wrong with your photos at all. They look great

Most mik and druk cameras i think can produce photos good enough for using on the web
Just knowing how to use them properly and to their best potential I think is the key
What Lumix have you got? Lumix make some unbelievable cameras from what i have read

Maybe you need to play a bit with the settings available on the camera to get a better shot
Also keep the camera still on a tripod or a box - that helps a huge amount - and use the countdown shutter release. Most small cameras have that. You will get much better low light indoor shots like that

Sorry if you have tried all these recommendations, just posting in case you havent

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Thanks 1


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## kimbo (15/1/15)

Silver said:


> @kimbo
> 
> Nothing wrong with your photos at all. They look great
> 
> ...


Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55


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## Silver (15/1/15)

kimbo said:


> Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX55



Hi @kimbo 
I see that camera got decent reviews in its day
I think it should be more than adequate for web photos

Has a f2.8 lens which lets in a decent amount of light when not zoomed in

Dont know all the settings of your camera or the modes, but will give you something to try and you can see if it works better or not

- dont zoom in. You need all the light you can get. Just move the camera rather. Some cameras take slightly better pictures when slightly zoomed in (sweet spot of a zoom lens) but i would say rather be zoomed out and get as much light. 
- try sit the camera very still on a box or a tripod. I sometimes use a coin or two under the camera to position it a bit better
- find the countdown timer option. It should have one. Set it to 5 seconds or 10 seconds or whatever. This is so you dont touch the camera when in takes the photo. 
- then half press to focus and compose and full press, then carefully let go and let the timer count down without moving the camera
- maybe play with the ISO setting. The review i read said ISO100 ans 200 was good but noise started creeping in at 400. The higher the number, the more exposure/lighter it will be. I like to use the lowest I can afford and rather shoot near a window where there is enough natural light. But if that is not an option, i put the ISO a bit higher

If you try those things I think you may find you get nicer photos
I am no professional, but have just played with these little compacts for years. 
My avatar image was taken at night after mounting my muk n druk on a road railing

Reactions: Like 3


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## Mike (15/1/15)

Hey @kimbo. You need to fiddle with something called exposure compensation. I have no idea how to change it on P&S cameras, but from a quick google, it looks like it can be accessed using the joystick. What that'll do, is force your camera to take a "brighter" picture. Like Silver says, countdown timer and using a stool/box/table to put your camera on is important as well!

Reactions: Like 1


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## kimbo (15/1/15)

Silver said:


> Hi @kimbo
> I see that camera got decent reviews in its day
> I think it should be more than adequate for web photos
> 
> ...


Thank you @Silver 

I will play some, just today my time is a bit short

Thank you for all the help

Reactions: Like 1


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## kimbo (15/1/15)

Mike said:


> Hey @kimbo. You need to fiddle with something called exposure compensation. I have no idea how to change it on P&S cameras, but from a quick google, it looks like it can be accessed using the joystick. What that'll do, is force your camera to take a "brighter" picture. Like Silver says, countdown timer and using a stool/box/table to put your camera on is important as well!


I found that setting, i also see everything is set to auto. I will make manual and play some a bit later 

Thank you


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## zadiac (15/1/15)

I'm looking at buying a new DSLR camera around end of June this year. I have a Canon DSLR EOS 350D http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product_Finder/Cameras/Digital_SLR/EOS_350D/
When the time comes and you're willing, we can make a deal. For now, I don't want to sell it until I'm ready to buy a new one. So you can save up if you want 
My brother wanted it, but in the meantime he got a 600D as a present, so it's available. We'll discuss a price in private if you're interested.


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## JW Flynn (15/1/15)

I somer use my samsung phone, the s4 took perfect pictures, just keep the flash on... hehe... now the new one, note 4 even better!! and then I still have a cannon a490 point and shoot, also pretty damn decent photos... with these I have been getting by.. hehe, the GoPro is not for indoors, lolz, not even close, you'll have to put up 1000W flood lights to get a good picture indoors, LOL


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## kimbo (15/1/15)

Thx for all the help, looks like i am getting somewhere

Reactions: Winner 1


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## zadiac (15/1/15)

It looks much better mate

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## free3dom (15/1/15)

That looks great @kimbo

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## Gazzacpt (15/1/15)

That looks very good. Nice and sharp.

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## kimbo (15/1/15)

Last one i promise. After playing with the setting on the camera this came out ..

Reactions: Like 3


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## Mike (15/1/15)

Good work man. You're improving fast.

Zoom in just a little more. Try disable digital zooming if you can, but at the moment you're on the wide side of the lens which is causing some distortion.

Your next objective will be to calibrate the colour balance and then you'll be producing some very slick results!

Reactions: Agree 1 | Thanks 1


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## Arthster (15/1/15)

Good work there @kimbo

Reactions: Thanks 1


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## kimbo (18/1/15)

The light in the box was to blue so i took some Masking tape and covered the lights 

Looks better

Reactions: Like 1


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## free3dom (18/1/15)

kimbo said:


> The light in the box was to blue so i took some Masking tape and covered the lights
> 
> Looks better
> 
> View attachment 19525



Very nice, and clever 

Does the M&D camera not have white balance?


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## kimbo (18/1/15)

free3dom said:


> Very nice, and clever
> 
> Does the M&D camera not have white balance?



yes


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## free3dom (18/1/15)

kimbo said:


> yes



Then you can set it for fluorescent light to get rid of the blue cast...or just keep using the masking tape 
Either way, it looks perfect


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## kimbo (18/1/15)

free3dom said:


> Then you can set it for fluorescent light to get rid of the blue cast...or just keep using the masking tape
> Either way, it looks perfect






Thank you

Even Alexandra looks better


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## free3dom (18/1/15)

kimbo said:


> View attachment 19526
> 
> 
> Thank you
> ...



Wow, it is indeed looking awesome now


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## Andre (18/1/15)

kimbo said:


> View attachment 19526
> 
> 
> Thank you
> ...


Technical query The air hole should be facing away from you when vaping - otherwise gurgling?

Reactions: Like 1


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## kimbo (18/1/15)

Andre said:


> Technical query The air hole should be facing away from you when vaping - otherwise gurgling?



Technical answer  At that point the cap was a bit loose, but normally vape like this


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## Andre (18/1/15)

kimbo said:


> Technical answer  At that point the cap was a bit loose, but normally vape like this
> 
> View attachment 19532


Ah, good technical answer - then the air hole position is fine. @jtgrey also holds his Reo like that - totally scrambles my mind

Reactions: Like 1


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## jtgrey (18/1/15)

Andre said:


> Ah, good technical answer - then the air hole position is fine. @jtgrey also holds his Reo like that - totally scrambles my mind


Yes I just think its sits better in my claws that whay !

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## jtgrey (18/1/15)

@Andre it must be from my gangster days ....

Reactions: Funny 1 | Can relate 1


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## kimbo (4/4/15)

I am still at it lol, and today i tried the black background on a driptip

Reactions: Like 1


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