File :-(, x, )
taking pictures of LCD screens Anonymous
question for the /p/ pros

i recently bought a shiny new device with a nice LCD screen

i wanted to take a picture of it on my desk

i have some basic knowledge in taking photos but couldn't figure out a better way to do it, here's the situation:

if i meter on the LCD screen, the rest of my scene is very dark, under exposed

if i meter on the rest of my scene, the LCD screen becomes watched out, so that part is over exposed

i was in Av, at f/4 to get enough depth of field and enough sharpness

so i put it in manual and played around with the shutter speed and even aperture to get a balanced look
Comment too long. Clickhereto view the full text.
>> Anonymous
oh, i also tried bouncing my flash but that made it even worse

my scene was properly exposed thanks to ttl

but then my LCD screen was completely washed out, not by flare or glare or anything, but it was like, lifeless

the stuff on the screen was there, except it looked like the backlight was gone
>> else !L6xabslN96
such is the nature of photos. learn2hdr if you want both highlights and shadows.
>> hekrob !NpuBFNCrvo
>>233049
try a polarizing filter, i've noticed that by varying the angle of my polarizer i can significantly change the apparent brightness of my LCD
>> Anonymous
just do a screen shot or do it digitally. i imagine thats how they do it.
>> else !L6xabslN96
>>233067
hey, it actually works!
>> Anonymous
>>233067

bleh, don't have a polarizer :/

>>233077just do a screen shot or do it digitally. i imagine thats how they do it.

um, i don't want a screenshot of what's on the screen, otherwise i'd just take a screenshot

i want to have the screen display something nicely, like in the OP picture, while in a normal scene
>> Anonymous
>>233065such is the nature of photos. learn2hdr if you want both highlights and shadows.

oh so it's just the way cameras are?

nothing i can do about it?
>> Anonymous
>>um, i don't want a screenshot of what's on the screen, otherwise i'd just take a screenshot
take a screenshot, take a picture, and shoop them together. thats how all lcd product shots are done, including OP.
>> Anonymous
>>233114

oh but that would look so fake, even if you do it well, including the one i posted

plus, my screen is glossy so there are some neat reflections i want to capture along with what the screen displays
>> hekrob !NpuBFNCrvo
>>233115
the only options i can think of in that case would be to use HDR (which would also look kind of "fake")
or to use a polarizer like i suggested before
>> Anonymous
>>233114
is what i meant

>>233115
shouldnt look bad if you get the darkness/lightness on the screen right. and then you can fake reflections.

it really shouldnt look bad unless you try to make it look like the screen is off. its surprisingly hard to model realistically, but then you wouldnt be taking a picture youd be modeling....
>> Anonymous
>>233123
if the guys cranks up the lightning in the room he will get a correctly exposed image.
>> else !L6xabslN96
>>233100
yes. if you have a scene that has a massive contrasting tonal range. like very dark in some parts and very light in others, such as a computer screen at night, you wont be able to capture ALL the detail with one exposure. either the detail in the shadows or the detail in the highlights.

to capture both, use hdr. hdr is a way of capturing a scene with a higher dynamic range than that of one exposure. so you take multiple exposures in RAW and compress their histograms into one, so they show a lot more detail.

google it.
>> Anonymous
else is easily the worst tripfag on /p/ now that martin and sage do not post

he sounds like a huge douche bag in every thread he has posted in
>> Anonymous
>>233049
Fucking retard. The OP pic screens are photoshopped in. That's how you do it if you want good results.
>> Anonymous
>>233135
how so. he was informative although he kinda explained HDR a bit to much which i guess could come off as patronizing but not everyone that comes here knows what hes talkin about.
>> Anonymous
>>233142

oh wow, master of the obvious

what would we do without you
>> Anonymous
Someone said to up the lighting in the room, but you could also try lowering the brightness of the LCD screen in question.
>> Anonymous
>>233498
O. M. G.
>> Anonymous
buy a neutral density filter thats un coated and use a very fine sandpaper to rub away the filter only leaving the shape of the screen. then take picture
>> else !L6xabslN96
>>233143
well im sorry if i seemed patronising but i was just trying to clarify why OP was getting the results he's getting.
>> experimenting in manual mode Anonymous
i suggest going into manual mode and experimenting.
>> Anonymous
what's the difference between a ND and PL?
>> Anonymous
>>234986

one polarizes the incoming light.. the other lets a certain amount of light in.

just google it.
>> Anonymous
The circular polarizer idea will probably work the best if you want to take a picture of what's actually on the screen. So will HDR. So will photoshop. It's up to you. Don't bother fucking with a neutral density filter.
>> Anonymous
>>234995

so a ND just cuts your light by 1/2/4/whatever stops?

what's the use in real life? example situation please
>> Anonymous
Circular polarizers reduce or eliminate light based on the angle of the light beam (useful for things like eliminating reflections on glass). Neutral density filters just reduce the amount of incoming light.
>> Anonymous
Example situation: really bright lighting but you want to shoot at a low aperture
>> Anonymous
>>235007
You might want a long exposure to be able to catch lightning or something like that.
>> Anonymous
>>235007

say you're shooting some architectural photography and you dont want any passing cars or people in the shot. you could mount your body on a tripod and take long exposures while the ND filter wont allow the light of the passing cars through.
>> Mr. Higgzbuffonton !!Xsltv1VWxZT
>>235007
you're shooting water that you don't want frozen by a fast shutter, but shits too bright - slap it on...

you're in a field of wheat with some sweet tree... you want the tree in focus but the wheat to blur together since its blowing in the wind.. you want a slow shutter but shits too bright - slap it on...
>> Anonymous
>>235043
>>235072

so pretty much useless for general use

unless you really want to do some wide open when it's over 9000 sunny outside