posted on December 24, 2000 05:18:32 PM
HI, I have six wonderful old sterling silver state spoons and I have spent the last two days with my digital camera and my scanner and cannot get a picture worth putting on Ebay. They are terrible and I wouldn't bid on anything that looked like my pics. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations for taking pictures of silver? Thank you for any assistance you can provide. LMM
lmm
posted on December 24, 2000 05:27:56 PM
If you are in a pleasant climate, take the silver outside in the shade of a building or patio and shoot with no flash.
If you are snow-bound and unwilling to risk frostbite ....
Get TWO lamps with bulbs of equal brightness.
Turn the flash on the camera OFF.
Arrange the lights and camera as shown here:
If the glare is still bad, get some frosted glass or even tissue paper and place it between the light and the object as shown here. BE CAREFUL you don't set the reflectors on fire!
posted on December 24, 2000 05:57:44 PM
I was desperate a month ago, wanting to sell some old silver. I just scanned them and played with the pictures just a little bit with Adobe. I wasn't particularly satisfied until I looked at others' pictures of silver and saw that most have the same problems. So I just listed them with the best scanned shots I could do. And they did very well, bringing in more than I expected. The only pieces I didn't like scanned had deep bowls, like large serving spoons nad a gravy ladle, both of which will wait until I buy my first digital camera. Good luck!
posted on December 24, 2000 06:09:36 PM
This same problem came up about 2 months ago with silver jewelry. Someone suggested setting the scanner to monochrome. I tried it and it worked great for me. Don't know how it would work with spoons, but it couldn't hurt to try.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on December 25, 2000 06:56:45 PM
THANK YOU SO MUCH. Your recommendations worked and I'm so pleased. While I live in Bangor, Maine, and right now we are in the middle of an artic freeze, I didn't try the outdoor ideas. I finally have some pics I can use and am appreciative to all who took the time to respond. LMM
lmm
