PHOTO TALK
Prepared by the staff of Marshall’s Camera
Auburndale, Florida -A08

So you thought you had taken a prize winning picture but it didn’t turn out that way. Help comes in unexpected ways. Read on.

QUESTION: I went to see my niece and nephew graduate from high school the other night. The ceremony was held in a big stadium. My sister had bought a fancy new camera with a telephoto zoom lens to make sure that she would get some good close up pictures of her children. The flash on the camera appeared to work properly but when the pictures were processed they were so dark that the people in the prints were almost invisible. My sister was devastated. What did she do wrong?
ANSWER: This type of photographic tragedy occurs much too often. The fact is, no flash that is built into a camera provides adequate light for distances more than about twenty feet. Because of the way the zoom lens is designed the more the lens is zoomed out the shorter the distance the flash will reach.
Although the instruction book for the camera does not stress this, somewhere in the book there should be charts that show the distances at which the flash will be effective with different films and zoom settings. Typically none of the distances will be in the range needed for pictures in a stadium at night.
Basically your sister tried to take pictures at distances greater than the flash was designed to reach.
If her camera is not a model on which she can put an additional flash then she can not take flash pictures at distances more than about twenty feet. Unfortunately the camera manufacturers do not put this warning on their cameras.
If her camera is designed to use an additional flash then she should determine the greatest distance that she needs to illuminate with a flash. This information will help her determine what flash to buy. If she needs help with understanding the relation between distance, lens opening, and flash guide number then any of the sales technicians at Marshall’s Camera can assist.
QUESTION: My mother recently passed away and I inherited a lot of pictures. I made the mistake of telling

some relatives about how young they appeared in the photos and now everyone wants copies of all the pictures. I have only the pictures and no negatives. I don’t have a clue about the best way to do this. Can you make any suggestions?
ANSWER: Nothing will ever take the place of pictures to bring back those memories.
Your question was sufficiently vague so that I don’t know whether you want to make copies for everyone or find some way to politely decline the requests.
You could hint that maybe Santa could be visiting everyone with pictures but not say which Christmas it might be.
If you have determined that you will make the copies then there are a number of ways to proceed.
The old fashioned way is to have each picture photographically copied so that a negative is produced. Then you can have as many copies as needed made from each negative. If you are not prepared to photograph each picture yourself this could be the most expensive route to follow.
If you have decided to photograph the pictures yourself then the use of a copy stand with included lights is most convenient. You must use a film based camera to get negatives. A gray card with 18 percent reflectivity is necessary to set the proper exposure. Marshall’s Camera carries gray cards. A true macro lens or auxiliary close up lenses will be helpful. Also a remote release for your camera will insure sharper detail in the copied picture. Many digital cameras can also be used with a copy stand.
Another method is to scan the pictures into a computer with a scanner and then print them out as needed. This will require a computer, flat-bed scanner, printer, and the patience and determination to learn how to use the equipment. In passing I will note that a flat-bed scanner does best with prints but does not make good scans with negatives or slides, even with a transparency adapter. A different type of scanner should be used for negatives or slides.
Yet another way to copy those pictures is to bring them to Marshall’s Camera and we will make copies that are very close to the originals in appearance. The copies can be made quickly and the cost is reasonable.
If you want more information on the copying of pictures then come to us with questions or email us at marshall@marshallscamera.com.
Copyright 2004 by Marshall Ledbetter