Setting up

Before taking any photos of your objects you should emphasise on correctly setting up your photographic equipment. This is an extremely important step. In all, please keep the following in mind:

1. Make sure that your camera is parallel to your object. This will help you avoid any perspective distortions and will also make sure that the whole of your image is in focus.
2. Always use a fixed/prime lens i.e. no zoom lenses (ideally a 50 mm lens with a full frame camera). Remember that wide angle lenses cause barrel distortion while zoom lenses cause pincushion distortion.
3. Your aperture should ideally be set to f/8 for the sharpest image. Remember that a small f number means that more light enters the camera but the depth of field is smaller. A large f number on the other hand allows less light to enter the camera but gives a larger depth of field.
4. The programme on the Canon EOS 6D camera should be set to “Av” (Aperture Value).
5. The programme on the Fuji S3 Pro camera should be set to “M” (Manual).
6. Always remember to use the correct white balance values depending on your light source!
7. Don’t trust the preview! Always examine the histogram on your camera.
8. Make sure that you fill the frame. As Robert Capa had said: “If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough”.