Want to take a picture of my gear and need help

[Amen-Moses]

Not sure where best to ask this so let's start here.

I want to take a picture of my computer (either the PowerMac or MacBook Pro) complete with image on the monitor whilst also including in the picture a second monitor which has a shiny black surround.

I have a Canon EOS 400D and if I try this on auto setting I either get the second monitor image too bright so that the computer is hardly visible or the black surround showing reflections and the background is so dark it looks like the image is floating in space.

What I need to know is how best to do this, should I do it in daytime and just try to reduce reflections? If I do will the image on screen be visible enough, should I use a tripod and turn the brightness down on the monitors then use a longer exposure time?

If anyone else has done this and has some tips I'd be grateful.

Amen-Moses

 

[giulio]

This is what I did....

Fill the screen with green pixels. Take your photo. Restore your desktop. Take a screen grab of your desktop. Import your photo into photoshop. Manually place the screen grab into the green pixels.

And you get something like:

Oh, I said green pixels. You'll want to pick a color that is not in the surroundings. So maybe red or blue. Depends on your situation.

 

[Amen-Moses]

Well I was trying to show off the picture quality of the monitor (actually it's a 1080p TV) but if all else fails I'll keep that method in mind.

Amen-Moses

 

[giulio]

... that would be impossible. Because you're showing it off on someone else's monitor. Silly =) It's like showing off a great sound system by recording it's output from a mic, recording to tape, and letting people listen to it on their walkman.

You'll go through much muddying:
1) Scene lighting
2) Capture device (ccd/slr)
3) Device compression (save to file)
4) Image decompressor (read file)
5) Resize
6) Copmress (save jpg)
7) Image decompressor (the web browser)
8) Monitor calibration
9) Maybe the other user has a crappy monitor

 

[dekan]

what about taking 2 similar pictures. 1st shows one monitor in really good quality, second picture the other one. exchange one "crappy monitor picture" in one picture with the good one of the second picture, et voila...