Layout Photography Question (Photos Added)

Since LEDs are cool to the touch, find a near by stage lighting store and pic up a sheet of clear diffusion.  Then cut it in strips and tape it over the LEDs.  If needed, tape extra layers.

 

Light your room to near dusk brightness.  Do not use flash, use tripod and set to highest apetures that looks good in viewer. Take shots around that apeture.

May also have to vary background light

Sounds like a 110V AC dimmer switch on the LED's would be the simplest thing.  If the LED's are plugged into a 110V outlet, something like this would work:

 

Plug-In Dimmer

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some of photos:

 

 

Earl,

 

The phenomenon you've stumbled across is a result of the fact that -- as good as camera imaging sensors have become, they still can't hold a candle to the human eye and its ability to "see" a WIDE dynamic range of color intensities throughout nature.

 

In the camera world, if you expose for the highlights in your image, then the a large degree of the layout goes dark -- being underexposed.  And if you expose for the shadows in your image, then the light bulbs wash out -- being overexposed.

 

You really have two choices:  either you REDUCE the dynamic range of light intensities in your image -- i.e., as someone suggested dimming the border lights.  OR you can employ a technique used by professional photographers known as HDR (high dynamic range).

 

When using HDR, you "bracket" the exposures of your image using a range of shutter speeds with a given aperture.  Best to have the camera on a tripod for this.  Then later -- using software -- you combine the various exposures of the exact same image (that's where the tripod comes in very handy), so that highlights aren't blown out and shadows retain their detail.  This technique is often used by pro photographers when capturing architectural images around dusk -- when they want to retain detail of a buildings exterior along with a colorful twilight sky, yet they don't want to blow out the highlights of windows being lit (often with warm tungsten lights) from the interior of the building.

 

Search "HDR photography" on the internet, and you'll find a bunch of hits worth reading.

 

Best of luck... and have fun expanding your photography horizons!!!

 

David

Earl,

 

It's not difficult at all.

 

Set your camera on a tripod.

 

Set your aperture to its smallest setting such as f/22 or f/32 if possible.

 

With the red lights off, but all other layout lights on, press the shutter halfway to see what shutter speed the camera has set.

 

Keep the red lights OFF as you start the exposure.

 

Turn on the red lights for only a brief portion of the exposure time.

 

Experiment with how long the red lights should stay on in relation to the total exposure time. If they are really bright, maybe only a second or two out of a 12 sec exposure, for example, is all you need.

 

This is standard procedure for layout photography whenever one source of light tends to be too dominant in a photo.

 

Jim

cool photos, cooler layout.

thanks Earl

David,

 

Thanks for the info.  I had never heard of HDR before.  I tried the HDR method and here are the results:

 

 Overexposed light photo:

 

Underexposed dark photo:

 

Combined photo:

 

The results are not great, but the combined photo does take the best from the other photos.  Maybe if I experiment, I can get better results.  The lights still do not capture the beauty of the lights viewed with the naked eye.  That goal may be unattainable.

 

Jim,

 

Thank you for the reply, I will try you suggestion tonight when it is dark.  My camera is a small Canon point-and-shoot model.  I don't know if the exposure time will be long enough for me to trigger the lights before the exposure will be finished, but I will try it.

 

Earl Staley

Doing HDR with a point and shoot is difficult at best, but not impossible.  And the more photos in your bracket, the better.  I use 5 photos when I do HDR, one at the camera's selected exposure, and then two each over and under exposed at different levels.  I then use Luminance HDR to make the HDR images and The Gimp to combine the HDR images to get the finished image.  Here is an example of one I did from photos I took on National Train day this year.

 

And another I took of my Big Boy at home, and converted to black and white.