Need help photographing comic books

[AndyJClarkeArt]

Hi everyone, I'm looking for a bit of advice.

I'm a writer and illustrator and I self publish my own comic series. I'm trying to revamp my online store with some photography of the comics instead of simply using the raw digital art files. I've only dabbled in a small amount of photography and thought this would be a good use for my DSLR. However the results are not coming out that great. I've tried different distances/zooms and lighting environments, as well as with flash and without (flashgun and built in flash). My camera is old by today's standards, but I still expected to get better results than I am.

Focus/crispness seems to be an issue, and I am relying on auto focus. I've also been using the timer to ensure I don't introduce any tripod wobble when pressing the shutter.

I've attached a couple of examples of what I've got so far. The first image of the comic cover is passable, but I do think it could be better.

Below is what I am using/have available to me.

Used so far:
Nikon D3100
18-70mm DX Lens
Budget Metz Flashgun
Tripod

Have available:
55-300mm DX Lens (Not sure if applicable for this)
Halogen work lights (Need new bulbs so not been able to put to use yet)

Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[snowbear]

Welcome aboard.

Try putting them under a peice of glare-free glass (used in picture frames). Regular glass would work but you risk reflections and glare; a circular-polarizing filter would reduice them..

 

[480sparky]

So.... you want to photograph copyrighted material?

 

[AndyJClarkeArt]

So.... you want to photograph copyrighted material?

Material that I own the copyright to, as the creator.

 

[Original katomi]

I believe OP said it was their own work
OP advice;
make copyright ownership clear here
use a remote trigger to take the shot
DO NOT USE auto focus you focus
try using the camera tethered to pc/laptop then use the tools there

 

[snowbear]

Yes, OP stated they are writer / illustrator and self publish.

 

[smoke665]

Could you scan them on a flat bed scanner?

 

[AndyJClarkeArt]

I believe OP said it was their own work
OP advice;
make copyright ownership clear here
use a remote trigger to take the shot
DO NOT USE auto focus you focus
try using the camera tethered to pc/laptop then use the tools there

Unfortunately the D3100 doesn't support tethering. The frustrating thing I'm finding is the images look great on the camera's display, and everything seems in focus through the view finder. But once I transfer the images to my PC they aren't as sharp as they first appeared. So I don't feel I can trust what I'm seeing when I manually focus.

 

[AndyJClarkeArt]

Could you scan them on a flat bed scanner?

I'm afraid that would defeat the purpose of the photos, as they are intended as "product images" that showcase the physical books. Scanning would only achieve the same as the raw digital pages that would also be used alongside.

 

[Hardus Nameous]

Since the subject isn't moving you could also try a longer exposure with a smaller aperature at a lower ISO. It looks like your examples were shot wide open @ f4.5, I'd try around f8 or f11 and play around with exposure time without flash. Don't forget to set your white balance for whatever light you're using.

 

[Rickbb]

Since the subject isn't moving you could also try a longer exposure with a smaller aperature at a lower ISO. It looks like your examples were shot wide open @ f4.5, I'd try around f8 or f11 and play around with exposure time without flash. Don't forget to set your white balance for whatever light you're using.

This is the way. Smaller aperture = greater depth of field = better edge to edge focus.

 

[Thiophilos]

I agree about stopping down to around f/8. Your depth of field should be adequate at f/8 (judging from your setup and guessing the distance).

Autofocus or manual focus should both work, but manual can ensure you are putting the focal plane in the center where it will have the most benefit.

The lighting looks good for creating a nice shadow, giving the books some presence. However, it might be creating some glare on the originals. I suggest making little changes to the lighting (raising them) to see if it could be improved. You could get rid of the glare using a circular polarizer filter, but that will reduce the light, and we need lots of light.

It appears from the photos that you need a deeper black. After the shoot when you are editing the files, make adjustments to the black point. That might make the shadow areas look a bit dark, but they can be opened up (depending on your software) with the shadow adjustment. Or, depending on the software, forget about black point and shadow area and just boost the contrast. In short, a lot can be accomplished in post-processing to get the look you want.

Flash will give excellent light color, and flash will freeze any motion. It might help to modify the flash light by bouncing it off large white surfaces. Try to arrange them so they are quite bright on the books so you can shoot at a lower ISO. Halogen lights should also work well, but they will have a warmer color. The color is easy to correct but if the light is not very bright, you might end up with an underexposed blue layer which will give noise (grainy appearance). Avoid LEDs or fluorescents as they are not color-true.

It is common for the photo to look different on the camera's LCD display and the computer.

You have a nice project and it is already looking pretty good.

I love the comic art!

I don't think this is the place to discuss legal issues.

 

[AndyJClarkeArt]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and pointers, I've got a few things to go forward with and try now. I'll report back with the results.