Posted on 26 December 2011 by Sean Farmer
Tattoos have moved from a taboo rebellious statement of yesteryear into a mainstream phenomenon in modern society. With this transition from taboo to mainstream there has been a massive change in the way tattoos are perceived, one such change has come in the way tattoos are shown. Everybody wants to show off a new tattoo, and many shops like to keep records of previous tattoos to show off past work to potential clients. One of the best ways to do this is through tattoo photography.
Tattoo photography is separated into two broad categories: Macro Tattoo Photography and Model Tattoo Photography.
Because the way each of these types of tattoo photography is done I will cover it in two separate sections dealing with each different type, Macro and Model. In this section, we’ll cover Macro Tattoo Photography.
Macro tattoo photography is a photography type dealing strictly with an individual tattoo’s artwork rather than the over all composition that multiple tattoos create on a model. This is the most common type of tattoo photography, because it shows off a person’s individual piece, making it perfect to show off new tattoo work for both a tattoo shop and the tattooed. Shooting macro tattoo photography is fairly easy but requires a few steps to execute perfectly.
1) Face the tattoo towards the camera the way it’s meant to be shown. This is the most important step in setting up a macro tattoo shot. Many people will want to strike a pose that looks “cool” when shooting the tattoo, but since this type of tattoo photography focuses on one work in particular, if it’s viewed any other way than the way it’s meant to be than you risk distorting the image, making it unrecognizable. This is especially true of upper arm and leg tattoos.
2) Isolate the tattoo as best as possible. You want to try to remove any unnecessary distractions from the images. For example if you are trying to shoot a calf or ankle tattoo, you want to make sure that you zoom in enough to remove any dead space around the leg, but you want to leave enough space so that the tattoo’s location can still be identified. Also you want to make sure that you don’t accidentally catch the other leg in the shot, unless it has had some work done as well.
3) Light the tattoo properly. This cannot be emphasized enough throughout photography, but when your dealing with tattoos it’s an even more important concept. Human skin is naturally oily, and when shooting macro tattoo photography you are emphasizing a section of skin, meaning that if you fail to set up a proper lighting system the tattoo might appear either overly reflective or way to dull. A good light set up for a tattoo is a simply three point light system, with a key, soft, and back light.
4) Tattoos look better with higher contrast and sharpness. This is for the most part a completely factual statement. When you increase the contrast of a tattoo you help bring out the colors of the tattoo and make them define themselves as real colors, rather than tinted skin. Increasing the sharpness will make the line art of the tattoos stand out more and create a surreal look to the tattoo, while keeping the artistic appearance.
One main thing to keep in mind when doing macro tattoo photography is that how you shoot a new, freshly inked tattoo is fairly different than how you will shoot an older tattoo. A new tattoo will maintain a wet, sometimes bloody look, while and old tattoo will blend in with the skin more. Depending on which you shoot, you may need to adjust the lighting and the amount of contrast and sharpness of the image. Also you should always make sure you clean a new tattoo well before shooting it.
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Tattoos have moved from a taboo rebellious statement of yesteryear into a mainstream phenomenon in modern society. With this transition from taboo to mainstream there has been a massive change in the way tattoos are perceived, one such change has come in the way tattoos are shown. Everybody wants to show off a new tattoo, and many shops like to keep records of previous tattoos to show off past work to potential clients. One of the best ways to do this is through tattoo photography.
Tattoo photography is separated into two broad categories: Macro Tattoo Photography and Model Tattoo Photography.
Because the way each of these types of tattoo photography is done I will cover it in two separate sections dealing with each different type, Macro and Model. In this section, we’ll cover Macro Tattoo Photography.
Macro tattoo photography is a photography type dealing strictly with an individual tattoo’s artwork rather than the over all composition that multiple tattoos create on a model. This is the most common type of tattoo photography, because it shows off a person’s individual piece, making it perfect to show off new tattoo work for both a tattoo shop and the tattooed. Shooting macro tattoo photography is fairly easy but requires a few steps to execute perfectly.
1) Face the tattoo towards the camera the way it’s meant to be shown. This is the most important step in setting up a macro tattoo shot. Many people will want to strike a pose that looks “cool” when shooting the tattoo, but since this type of tattoo photography focuses on one work in particular, if it’s viewed any other way than the way it’s meant to be than you risk distorting the image, making it unrecognizable. This is especially true of upper arm and leg tattoos.
Image by Michael Tatoo
2) Isolate the tattoo as best as possible. You want to try to remove any unnecessary distractions from the images. For example if you are trying to shoot a calf or ankle tattoo, you want to make sure that you zoom in enough to remove any dead space around the leg, but you want to leave enough space so that the tattoo’s location can still be identified. Also you want to make sure that you don’t accidentally catch the other leg in the shot, unless it has had some work done as well.
Image by St3ve
3) Light the tattoo properly. This cannot be emphasized enough throughout photography, but when your dealing with tattoos it’s an even more important concept. Human skin is naturally oily, and when shooting macro tattoo photography you are emphasizing a section of skin, meaning that if you fail to set up a proper lighting system the tattoo might appear either overly reflective or way to dull. A good light set up for a tattoo is a simply three point light system, with a key, soft, and back light.
4) Tattoos look better with higher contrast and sharpness. This is for the most part a completely factual statement. When you increase the contrast of a tattoo you help bring out the colors of the tattoo and make them define themselves as real colors, rather than tinted skin. Increasing the sharpness will make the line art of the tattoos stand out more and create a surreal look to the tattoo, while keeping the artistic appearance.
Image by Tattoo Lover.
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