Create visually appealing Instructables

Want make an Instructable that is visually easy to follow? Has less people asking how its done 'because I cant see what goes on behind your hand'?

If a picture is worth a thousand words then a better picture is worth far more. Keeping that in mind, the better the picture is composed, the less you should need to write. To see an example that I have created, see my Instructable on how to tie a bowline knot here.

Step 1: Photographic equipment

The quality of the camera can make a difference to the overall quality of the image, but there are some other factors that can make a bigger difference and that's what I'll be focusing on (pun not intended).

You'll essentially need three things.
- A camera with a built-in flash (or a way of remotely triggering a flash) and a countdown timer.
- A method of mounting your camera (tripod or bean bag) while you trigger the timer and get yourself into position.
- And lastly a flash that can be triggered either by another flash (slave mode) or cable or even a remote.

To take these pics, I have used a Fujufilm F470 camera and a second LumoPro flash triggered optically. As you can see, it's not the camera, it's the way you use it.

Comments

[nlsnglls]

what does it do?

[ayoung5]

I don't quite know what you mean.

[astroboy907]

Hahaha oh my gosh I took a look at your main photo, read the title, and thought "Ohmygosh he must be joking to think the main picture has anything to do with the subject"... so I took a look at this. Really good ible- I usually keep up doing a few of these tips, but definitely not all of them- I will be adding a little white photo shoot spot to my desk :) Thanks for the tips! I'm only an amateur (so no add on remote flash- yet) but I have an ok camera that gives me good results. And I can definitely say its the photographers fault most of the time- not the cameras.. Makes me sad how people have a camera but dont know how to use it... Great project!

[splazem]

Me too!

[gogglecrab]

I have a question, My camera has a build in flash but it always ends up looking like the third photo in this, So should I add extra lighting from the surrounding or try to tweak the camera?

[Lorddrake]

you can add extra light if you have it available. another solution is to use a tissue or paper napkin in front of the flash to help diffuse it to get better lighting in your picture

[ayoung5]

Yeah, have a look at http://www.instructables.com/id/Camera-Hacks/ there's a couple of simple hacks there. http://www.instructables.com/id/Cigarette-Packet-Flash-Diffuser/ looks like it could work for you.