Showing Handwritten Notes

[Cryptos]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was wondering if anyone can offer a simple guide - the simpler the better for me of course - on how to best take photographs of words on the page. I have a very old digital camera and no special lighting .

 

Up to now I have been illuminating the text with a desk lamp and taking a picture using the macro function (with a little flower symbol - I think that's what it means) and handheld too. I have no tripod.

 

I've also tried propping the text up vertically so I can rest the camera on the table and use the timer thing together with the flower symbol thing.

 

Neither way gives consistent, repeatable or even very predictable results. And so I have to wonder if I am doing something fundamentally wrong, or if there is a simple way to achieve an okay result given my lack of tools, props and skills.

 

And over to you...

 

 

[shawndp]

I have the paper on a flat surface and position a light above to avoid shadows and shoot with my cell phone camera (Samsung S6) and the results are quite legible. If you can do this in natural light it is even better. Some of the best photos I have seen around these parts are from KBeezie, so maybe he can offer ideas about setup. All the best!

[Rednaxela]

If possible, use natural light and let it come in from the side. Stabilise your camera by using a glass or a cup* for it to rest on while you hold it.

 

Daylight will let the colours come out most naturally, and resting the camera will increase the chance of getting a sharp picture.

 

HTH

 

 

*Edit: you could also buy or make yourself a bean bag.

 

Edited June 25, 2016 by Rednaxela

[Costia]

Not specifically for pen/text photography, but I use a gorillapod to set my camera at the position and angle that I want.

 

For consistent lighting you might want to shoot in manual mode (at the same location and time of day if using natural light) or use a flash (preferably off-camera).

[corgicoupe]

Hey guys and gals!

 

I was wondering if anyone can offer a simple guide - the simpler the better for me of course - on how to best take photographs of words on the page. I have a very old digital camera and no special lighting .

 

Up to now I have been illuminating the text with a desk lamp and taking a picture using the macro function (with a little flower symbol - I think that's what it means) and handheld too. I have no tripod.

 

I've also tried propping the text up vertically so I can rest the camera on the table and use the timer thing together with the flower symbol thing.

 

Neither way gives consistent, repeatable or even very predictable results. And so I have to wonder if I am doing something fundamentally wrong, or if there is a simple way to achieve an okay result given my lack of tools, props and skills.

 

And over to you...

 

I strongly suggest getting a simple Epson scanner. They can be had for $50-$100 in the US. I have the portable for $80 and it does all I need.

[Cryptos]

Yeah, well, I was trying to avoid spending any money on this. Really looking for solutions with what I've got.

[Bookman]

Have you looked through the "Handwritten: Your Favourite Quotes" thread in the "Handwriting and Handwriting Improvement" forum? It's almost 100 percent photographed or scanned text.

 

Is this the image-quality you're shooting for or are you aiming higher? There are several regular posters there, including me, and some images are better than others. The good ones are very good, and I'm sure you can find someone there who can give you particularized help with shooting text. My own photos leave a lot to be desired.

Edited June 26, 2016 by Bookman

[Cryptos]

I'll go and have a look.

 

One of the things I noticed is that most pictures do not seem to be taken as close-up shots. When I look at my handwriting from an arm's length away it looks okay, but I take the photos from about 6 inches away, and all the flaws and inconsistencies are exposed. While this may be useful as a learning tool to improve my writing, it's not very presentable to put on a public forum.

 

Remember, I have no tripod, an old camera (don't ask me about lenses and stuff, as I have no idea what goes on inside the box) and, at home at least, the only graphic editor I have is the free paint.net thing.

 

As I may have mentioned, I am cheap (as well as being rubbish at everything, but that's a separate insurmountable issue).

[Rednaxela]

With photography it's good to be cheap. As they say most cameras are better than most photographers.

[zwack]

If you want a good graphics editor for a great price you should look at the gimp. http://www.gimp.org It is available for free for Linux, Mac OS X and Windows.

 

At the very least it can be used to adjust the white balance... :-)

 

 

If you want a simple tripod type set up, go to the hardware store and get a 1/4-20 machine screw and two nuts and two washers. Take a soda bottle or similar (ideally smaller and wider) and drill a hole in the lid, put one nut and washer on the machine screw, then thread the screw through the hole, then put the second washer on the outside and the second nut. Tighten them leaving enough of the thread to screw the camera tripod mount onto. Put enough water or sand into the bottle to make it heavy (or at least heavy enough for the camera) and you are done. This will help hold the camera steady. Total cost should be well under $5 even including the water bottle.

 

I hope that this helps.

Edited June 26, 2016 by zwack

[Cryptos]

Heh, I had to google what a machine screw is. I also don't have a drill. I guess I could punch a hole with a screwdriver? I have one of those I think.

[zwack]

Sorry a "Bolt" as you are going to put a nut and washer on each side, any threaded rod, 1/4" diameter with 20 threads per inch will work.

 

Anything to make a hole in the cap lid will work. A heated skewer would do the job for a plastic lid. A screwdriver and a hammer can be used for thin metal caps... a sharp knife... your choice. If you use a split ring washer then the accuracy of the hole is irrelevant as long as it is big enough for the rod to go through and not so big that the washer goes through.

 

You want to end up with a threaded stub sticking up from what will become a weighted base. 1/4-20 is the standard size so it should work for you.

 

Good luck. If you can't find the parts locally PM me and I will go and buy them and mail them to you. I can even send a plastic bottle cap with a hole in it and we can hope that they use the same size bottle caps here and there.

 

These "monopod mounts" only work for lighter weight cameras but I am guessing your digital camera will fit into that category. Generally unless it is a DSLR it will.

[vinniekowalski]

I'll go and have a look.

 

One of the things I noticed is that most pictures do not seem to be taken as close-up shots. When I look at my handwriting from an arm's length away it looks okay, but I take the photos from about 6 inches away, and all the flaws and inconsistencies are exposed. While this may be useful as a learning tool to improve my writing, it's not very presentable to put on a public forum.

 

Remember, I have no tripod, an old camera (don't ask me about lenses and stuff, as I have no idea what goes on inside the box) and, at home at least, the only graphic editor I have is the free paint.net thing.

 

As I may have mentioned, I am cheap (as well as being rubbish at everything, but that's a separate insurmountable issue).

 

+1 on using natural light for color balance. As for a tripod, you could get fancy or MacGuyver-y, but if you get creative you may not need one. You simply need to look for any way possible to brace the camera as you're taking the shot. It could be as easy as resting the camera on a railing or your elbows down on the ground as you click the shutter.

 

Lastly, depending on how geriatric your camera is, you may get better images using your smartphone as long as you still use natural light and any stabilization possible. Then you can use something free and fairly intuitive like Snapseed (I particularly like it's magic balancing button) to make your pics look even better.

[Cryptos]

What is this 'smartphone' of which people speak? I don't have anything like that. I think my phone makes calls, and possibly text messages (it's been a while since I looked).

 

At present I had the paper on the desk, a lamp, and a stack of books that I would hold the camera against to keep it steady while it points downward at the paper.

 

I may just about be the lowest tech level person here I guess.

[Sandy1]

Hi,

 

If I may be so bold as to offer my suggestions:

 

> if you're working at six inches, then deploy the Auto-Focus and Auto-Exposure features of the camera, though try to keep the Value of the paper accurate, (keep your whites white not grey) you might need to fiddle with the Exposure control : +1 f stop should do it.

> I'm uncertain, but it seems to me that cameras at short range are at a wide angle setting, so it is best not to zoom the zoomy thingy.

> Auto White Balance is also good.

> Under daylight, your camera should be at ISO 200-ish, giving shutter speed of 1/500-ish and aperture of f 8-ish. (Check the EXIF data after shooting.)

 

As for actually taking the photo:

> it should be done under daylight.

> Simply set the [flat] page on a table in full sun light, then without casting a shadow, stand with your feet slightly wider than your shoulders, keep your knees straight, keep your elbows on your ribs, exhale, lean in to frame the text, achieve a calm hover, and get the shot. Inhale.

> It may take a bit of practice to eliminate parallax, but the devil takes only the hindmost.

 

Shoot lots. When I borrowed the camera of Cathy_Next_Door to get a close-up comparo of two Estie nibs* I persevered : shoot until either the battery's dead or the card's full.

 

OBTW, my personal camera is a hand me down rollei 35 that lives in a ski boot, and I haven't finished the roll in years.

 

Bye,

S1

 

__

* https://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/topic/282704-esterbrook-9450-extra-fine-nib-tines/?p=3243610

Edited June 27, 2016 by Sandy1

[Cryptos]

Okay, I understood the second paragraph, but none of the words in the first paragraph. Perhaps I should go read a book?

 

 

Edit: I am assuming that I have to work from six inches to show writing. Otherwise I'll be further away and the writing will be too small or I'll have to use the zoom in and out thing - which kind of means I would be better staying close. I heard somewhere that it is better to be closer than to use the make-thing-look-closer button. Is that right?

[Sandy1]

Okay, I understood the second paragraph, but none of the words in the first paragraph. Perhaps I should go read a book?

 

 

Edit: I am assuming that I have to work from six inches to show writing. Otherwise I'll be further away and the writing will be too small or I'll have to use the zoom in and out thing - which kind of means I would be better staying close. I heard somewhere that it is better to be closer than to use the make-thing-look-closer button. Is that right?

 

 

 

Hi,

 

I reckon that manuals for almost everything are online these days, (FPN being a good example), so figuring out the controls of an older camera for this sort of close-up stuff is a good thing.

 

Oh, EXIF data is the the metadata associated with the camera' image file which should include basic shutter speed and aperture (f stop); and viewing that will depend on your camera playback/display and/or your computers image viewing software.

 

Bye,

S1

Edited June 27, 2016 by Sandy1

[Rednaxela]

I heard somewhere that it is better to be closer than to use the make-thing-look-closer button. Is that right?

Not always. Sometimes it's better to stand back and zoom in, for instance with portraits. Try and understand why this is the case, and experiment to find the sweet spot for your written text photography.

 

Out of interest what camera model is it that you use?

 

 

 

 

Edit: added quote.

Edited June 27, 2016 by Rednaxela

[Cryptos]

Hang on, got to get it out of the drawer...

 

... it's a Nikon Coolpix 4300. On the lens front it says "Zoom Nikkor" - whatever that is - and "1:2.8 - 4.9" - which I thought initially was a date but really doesn't look like anything familiar.

 

There are some buttons on the back of the case: a +/- sign with a couple of arrows, a group that looks like two upside down ice-cream cones a flower and an alarm clock, another group consisting of a lightning thing and an eye (I think), and a button marked 'menu'. There's another button that says "quick" underneath. No idea what that's for. Another that say 'transfer', of what is unclear. The zoom thing is a kind of rocker and for some reason I cannot fathom is a marked with a "w" and a "t" (perhaps they represent non-English words?).

 

Oh and there's this wheel type thing that doesn't turn but actually is more like a 4-point joystick, only flat. That has "monitor" on the up part and "small pic" on the down part. Again, no idea what that is for.

 

On the top of the camera there is an on/off button and a firing button. I know how to use those!

 

And there is also an actual wheel with symbols: "SETUP", an arrow in a box, a camera symbol with an "A" next to it, a black rectangle with "scene" written on it, another camera symbol with an "M" next to it, and what looks suspiciously like a stage of a lunar rocket with an arrow pointing to the side of the capsule.

 

There's a screen on the back above which is a window to look through and two little lights marked with the lightning symbol and the letters "A" and "F".

 

 

 

Does that help?

[Rednaxela]

Thanks, W and T stand for Wide and Tele, zoomed out and zoomed in respectively.

 

For a camera this old, good light and plenty of it is basically essential.

 

If I were you I'd leave the camera on auto as much as possible and focus on light, composition and perspective.

 

Hope this helps.