A Trick of the Light: Photographing My Fedora
Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:03 pm
Over the years (mostly prior to the last few years when several of the facts that most of us agree on began to emerge) many of us have driven ourselves near-crazy when trying to calculate the specs of the hat worn by Indy in the various movies.
This was not only because each individual movie often featured a variety of hats masquerading as the same hat, but also because even photographs taken with Harrison Ford sporting a single, same hat - but under varying circumstances - would sometimes give the illusion of differing dimensions.
When any one of us is posting a photo of our latest - and greatest - "hatquisition" we put ourselves out there to the possibility of praise OR criticism.
Sometimes, claims of "I think my new hat looks JUST like the hat in the scene where..." can be met with "I disagree, there's too much/not enough taper/brim curl etc, etc..." from one of the people who looks at the photos you post.
Even when we sit at our computers looking at a photo of over treasured hat while we're still holding it in our hands we can often see some discrepancy... "Hmmm... it looks a little different in that photo than it does in person..."
It's clear that we're all the pawns of contributing factors like natural lighting vs indoor lighting, use of flash (or no), the angle of the camera as the photographer holds it, the tilt of the hat-wearers head, the proximity of the camera to the subject and whether (or not) the camera person uses zoom to get a tighter shot... and since I'm no photographer I'll say "to name just a few", as I'm sure there are many others.
I'm sure that on these boards there have already been several discussions (or debates) about how taking a photo indoors/outdoors with/without flash on a cloudy/sunny day while at close range/from a few yards back using the zoom (and all of the many, many different combinations that these circumstances can provide) can often produce photos that can
- make a hat look lighter
- make a hat look darker
- make a brown hat look "greyer"
- make a grey hat look "browner"
- make a brim look bigger/smaller than it is
- make a crown look taller/shorter than it is
- make a crown look more tapered/less tapered than it is
(or, again, any combination of the above that these "tricks of the light" can produce which show obvious differences between reality and photograph ... even when they are the same hat!)
Since getting my Penman Distressed Rabbit in the mail the other day I've had a few photos taken in an effort to show BendingOak's beautiful hat in it's "best light" (no pun intended).
In reviewing these pictures I couldn't help but notice how much difference there was in the different shots (please keep in mind: these photos are of the exact same hat, taken over the span of just three days)... sometimes on a darker, more overcast day... sometimes with a little more sun... sometimes from 15 feet or so back & zooming in... sometimes from only a couple of feet back... etc, etc...
Now, the differences aren't anything earth-shattering... just... interesting to see. So, I thought I'd share some of the photos with you that illustrate some of what I'm rambling about here.
This thread isn't asking any questions or looking for information or even asking for help in resolving an issue...
I guess this is really just meant to say "Hmmm... well, would you look at that... It IS pretty weird how the camera can trick your eyes like that..."
But I do hope you have something to say or add. I also hope any of you with comparison photos of your own hat (the same hat looking different under varying circumstances but during the same time - remember, not 6 months apart, please) will contribute to this thread as well.
I hope you find this interesting. Let me know.
Mitch
First of all, here's a shot taken outside, sitting under an outdoor canopy one hour from sundown on a clear day with a flash from a distance of about 8 feet.
This Link will show a shot to compare it with that was taken outside, standing under the same outdoor canopy on an overcast, drizzly day with flash from a distance of about 6 feet.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2338-1.jpg
Next, here's a shot taken outside, sitting under the outdoor canopy one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash from a distance of about 8 feet.
Compare with this Link again showing a shot taken taken outside, standing under the same outdoor canopy on an overcast, drizzly day with flash from a distance of about 6 feet.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 40-1-1.jpg
Not exactly the same angle here, but the same idea, this time with a little "distortion due to closeness" issue: Here's a shot taken standing outside, about one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash but from a distance of only about 3 feet.
This Link shows a shot taken standing outside, on an overcast, drizzly day with NO flash from a distance of about 12 feet using ZOOM.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2348-1.jpg
This one was taken outside, sitting under the outdoor canopy one hour from sundown on a clear day with a flash from a distance of about 8 feet.
Compare it with this Link showing a shot taken standing outside, on an overcast, drizzly day with NO flash from a distance of about 12 feet using ZOOM.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2350-1.jpg
More - but milder - "distortion due to closeness" issue. Outside, about one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash but from a distance of about 3 feet.
Link shows another shot taken standing outside, on an overcast, drizzly day with NO flash from a distance of about 12 feet using ZOOM.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2351-1.jpg
And here's a little bit of a different take on the whole idea...
It's almost the exact same - slightly distorted - shot (outside, about one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash but from a distance of about 3 feet) only this time just a slight tilt of the head made the difference (check out how just the little bit of movement movement PLUS the distortion made the hat in the first photo look like it hade more taper than the second... or, taper at ALL, for that matter...) funny how that works.
The photo:
The Link:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2371-1.jpg
This was not only because each individual movie often featured a variety of hats masquerading as the same hat, but also because even photographs taken with Harrison Ford sporting a single, same hat - but under varying circumstances - would sometimes give the illusion of differing dimensions.
When any one of us is posting a photo of our latest - and greatest - "hatquisition" we put ourselves out there to the possibility of praise OR criticism.
Sometimes, claims of "I think my new hat looks JUST like the hat in the scene where..." can be met with "I disagree, there's too much/not enough taper/brim curl etc, etc..." from one of the people who looks at the photos you post.
Even when we sit at our computers looking at a photo of over treasured hat while we're still holding it in our hands we can often see some discrepancy... "Hmmm... it looks a little different in that photo than it does in person..."
It's clear that we're all the pawns of contributing factors like natural lighting vs indoor lighting, use of flash (or no), the angle of the camera as the photographer holds it, the tilt of the hat-wearers head, the proximity of the camera to the subject and whether (or not) the camera person uses zoom to get a tighter shot... and since I'm no photographer I'll say "to name just a few", as I'm sure there are many others.
I'm sure that on these boards there have already been several discussions (or debates) about how taking a photo indoors/outdoors with/without flash on a cloudy/sunny day while at close range/from a few yards back using the zoom (and all of the many, many different combinations that these circumstances can provide) can often produce photos that can
- make a hat look lighter
- make a hat look darker
- make a brown hat look "greyer"
- make a grey hat look "browner"
- make a brim look bigger/smaller than it is
- make a crown look taller/shorter than it is
- make a crown look more tapered/less tapered than it is
(or, again, any combination of the above that these "tricks of the light" can produce which show obvious differences between reality and photograph ... even when they are the same hat!)
Since getting my Penman Distressed Rabbit in the mail the other day I've had a few photos taken in an effort to show BendingOak's beautiful hat in it's "best light" (no pun intended).
In reviewing these pictures I couldn't help but notice how much difference there was in the different shots (please keep in mind: these photos are of the exact same hat, taken over the span of just three days)... sometimes on a darker, more overcast day... sometimes with a little more sun... sometimes from 15 feet or so back & zooming in... sometimes from only a couple of feet back... etc, etc...
Now, the differences aren't anything earth-shattering... just... interesting to see. So, I thought I'd share some of the photos with you that illustrate some of what I'm rambling about here.
This thread isn't asking any questions or looking for information or even asking for help in resolving an issue...
I guess this is really just meant to say "Hmmm... well, would you look at that... It IS pretty weird how the camera can trick your eyes like that..."
But I do hope you have something to say or add. I also hope any of you with comparison photos of your own hat (the same hat looking different under varying circumstances but during the same time - remember, not 6 months apart, please) will contribute to this thread as well.
I hope you find this interesting. Let me know.
Mitch
First of all, here's a shot taken outside, sitting under an outdoor canopy one hour from sundown on a clear day with a flash from a distance of about 8 feet.
This Link will show a shot to compare it with that was taken outside, standing under the same outdoor canopy on an overcast, drizzly day with flash from a distance of about 6 feet.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2338-1.jpg
Next, here's a shot taken outside, sitting under the outdoor canopy one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash from a distance of about 8 feet.
Compare with this Link again showing a shot taken taken outside, standing under the same outdoor canopy on an overcast, drizzly day with flash from a distance of about 6 feet.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 40-1-1.jpg
Not exactly the same angle here, but the same idea, this time with a little "distortion due to closeness" issue: Here's a shot taken standing outside, about one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash but from a distance of only about 3 feet.
This Link shows a shot taken standing outside, on an overcast, drizzly day with NO flash from a distance of about 12 feet using ZOOM.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2348-1.jpg
This one was taken outside, sitting under the outdoor canopy one hour from sundown on a clear day with a flash from a distance of about 8 feet.
Compare it with this Link showing a shot taken standing outside, on an overcast, drizzly day with NO flash from a distance of about 12 feet using ZOOM.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2350-1.jpg
More - but milder - "distortion due to closeness" issue. Outside, about one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash but from a distance of about 3 feet.
Link shows another shot taken standing outside, on an overcast, drizzly day with NO flash from a distance of about 12 feet using ZOOM.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2351-1.jpg
And here's a little bit of a different take on the whole idea...
It's almost the exact same - slightly distorted - shot (outside, about one hour from sundown on a clear day with a NO flash but from a distance of about 3 feet) only this time just a slight tilt of the head made the difference (check out how just the little bit of movement movement PLUS the distortion made the hat in the first photo look like it hade more taper than the second... or, taper at ALL, for that matter...) funny how that works.
The photo:
The Link:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e38/M ... 2371-1.jpg
).
