Okay, so I had this task to do the other day – I needed to get some pictures of a ticket, like, really good pictures. “fotos del boleto,” that’s what they called it. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong! It turned out to be a bit of a journey, so I figured I’d share my little adventure.
Getting Started
First things first, I grabbed the ticket. It was one of those thermal printed ones, you know, the kind that fades if you look at it wrong. So, step one was definitely not to leave it on the dashboard of my car.
I cleared off my kitchen table – best lighting in the house, especially in the morning. Natural light is your friend, folks. Remember that.
The First Attempts
I started with my phone. Just held it up and snapped a few shots. Nope. Blurry, too much shadow, and the details were all washed out. Strike one.
Then I tried getting fancy. I remembered some photography tricks from… somewhere. I propped the ticket up against a book, trying to get a good angle. Used a piece of white paper to try and bounce some light onto it. Still not great. The text was readable, but it looked amateurish. Strike two.
Experimenting and Adjusting
I realized I needed to get closer. A lot closer. My phone has a “macro” mode, but it’s kinda junk. So, I dug out an old magnifying glass – the kind detectives use in movies. I held it in front of my phone’s camera lens. It was awkward, but it actually helped! The details were sharper, but now I had a new problem: keeping everything steady.
- Problem: Shaky hands.
- Solution (attempted): Stack of books as a makeshift tripod.
It was…precarious. But it worked, kinda. I managed to get a few shots where the text was pretty clear, and you could see the barcode without it looking like a blurry mess.
The “Aha!” Moment
I was still struggling with the lighting. The shadows were harsh, even with the white paper reflector. Then it hit me – my scanner! Why hadn’t I thought of that before?
I carefully placed the ticket on the scanner bed. Closed the lid. Hit the “scan” button. And… bam. Perfect image. Crisp, clear, evenly lit. All the details were there, sharp as a tack. I felt a little silly for not trying that first, but hey, live and learn.
Final Touches
Even with the scan, I did a tiny bit of editing. Just bumped up the contrast a smidge and cropped out the extra white space. Nothing fancy, just enough to make it look professional.
So, that’s my “fotos del boleto” saga. From blurry phone pics to a perfect scan, it was a good reminder that sometimes the simplest solution is the best one… even if it takes a few tries to get there.
