Everybody knows that it can be quite a challenge to take good-quality photos of fresh tattoos. The reason behind this is that the skin where the new tattoo was created will become swollen, forcing it to give off a red throbbing glistening shine all over the tattoo design, which makes it difficult for anyone to capture the real beauty of the tattoo with their camera.
Tips on How to Take Photos of Fresh Tattoos
Although it may be tough to take good quality photos of fresh tattoos due to the swollen skin and the accompanying glare that it produces, the problem can be easily remedied by adopting the following simple techniques and tips mentioned below.
1. Clean the Tattoo to Eliminate or Minimise the Swelling and Redness of the Skin
Before taking photos of the newly created tattoo, soak a few paper towels with Bactine or any topical antiseptic and place them on the fresh tattoo. Allow the paper towel to sit on the fresh tattoo for a while. After 5 to 10 minutes, remove the soaked paper towel and clean the tattoo with a bit of soap and water and then wipe the tattoo dry with clean wipes.
Cleaning the fresh tattoo and wiping it dry will help in getting rid of the redness in the tattoo and swelling of the skin, making it easier for you to eliminate any glares on the photo that you are going to take and enabling you to capture the real beauty of the tattoo design.
2. Adjust Your Camera to the Appropriate Settings
Even though we reduced the redness and swelling of the fresh tattoo by cleaning it with a topical antiseptic, we still need to make sure that our camera settings are set appropriately in order to take the best quality photos possible.
To help you out in accomplishing this task, here are a few tips on how to set and use your camera properly when taking photos of new tattoos.
- It is advisable to learn the settings that are available on your camera. You can do this by taking lots of pictures while experimenting with different settings so that you can find the perfect blend that you need to produce quality photos of the tattoos that you create.
- Utilise low aperture settings in order to focus your frame on the actual tattoo and minimise the focus on any unwanted background on your photo.
- If you are using a cheaper camera, you can take the photo from a distance and just “zoom” the lens as far as allowable in order to produce the same effect as utilising low aperture settings in more expensive cameras.
- Use aperture priority settings when available so that your camera would automatically handle the shutter speed when you take photos of your tattoos.
3. Make Sure You Have Proper Lighting Available
The most important aspect when taking photos of fresh tattoos is your lighting setup. Your lighting source can be the natural light that you get from your window or the spotlight that you installed in your ceiling. It really depends on the style and the feel that you want to bring into your photos. Some tattoos look better with natural lights and others with more dramatic lights. The key is to find the perfect balance of lighting so that the pictures that you take will come out bright and crisp.
To give you some ideas on how to use light sources properly when taking photos, here are a few guidelines that you can follow.
- It is always a good idea to adjust the position of your light source into different angles in order to eliminate shadows and glares that may affect the quality of the photo that you are taking.
- Utilising softbox lighting allows you to shoot forward light that bounces back into a reflective surface, producing a diffused light that is pleasant and soft.
- Position your lighting source closer to the subject so that the light emitted can wrap around the tattoo more efficiently, thus producing better quality photos.
- By following the tips and guidelines stated when taking photos of new tattoos, you can easily solve the glare and swelling problems that can ruin the photos that you take from the tattoos that you have created, enabling you to produce beautiful pictures of fresh tattoos that you can use to make your business more successful.
