Well, I was never happy with the previous photograph of the Pilot Elite that I had taken. I was trying something new and took the picture with the pen on a blue plastic folder. I was trying to find a background that would let me use the "Magic Wand Tool" in Elements.

As far as using the tool this worked pretty well, but I wasn't please with the results of the image. I ended up with a blue haze around the pen. (Link not found) [0]

As you see in this side by side set of the pens you will notice the blue haze around the top pen. In addition, and perhaps it has to do with the angle I took the shot the clip actually looks longer in the top shot.

In addition I've learned a little trick when shooting pens and nibs. It's all about angles. If you take a shot from above of a metal pen or nib, both of which can be highly reflective, you will probably end up with a reflection of the lens in the pen or nib. This happens even while using a lampshade if the camera is directly above the pen or nib. What you have to do is prop up the nib or lampshade or both.

The nib on the left was shot from directly above. Notice the reflected dark spot of the lens. The same nib on the right was shot with the lampshade tilted slightly. Probably around 10 degrees.

Even if the pen isn't metal this will often show up in the clip. There is probably a fine line here, espically if you want to get a good shot of just the pen. Too much of an angle and the pen might look distorted. I believe that's why the clip may look longer in one of the pen shots above.

- Mark