TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS. SOME ADVICE.

[Duncaninfrance]

OK guys, a couple of words of advice about taking pics of your piece.

1) Don't photograph it on a polished or shiny surface. Do it on a carpet, towel or better still a white sheet so that the flash does not reflect into the lens and under expose the shot.
2) If you want a close up make sure that you are further away from the item than the minimum focal distance. All cameras have a minimum focal distance and the manual will tell you what it is.
3) If your camera is an autofocus one make certain that you are putting the item you want to photograph in the focus zone in the viewfinder, not the surface the item is on.

Not rocket science but a lot of you are posting blurred and under exposed images.

Duncan.
p.s. Process it in a good photo programme like Photoshop before you post it.

 

[dwave]

External light with the flash off helps too

 

[Old Fuff]

You will usually do much better if you you take your photographs outside in natural light rather then indoors using a flash. If possible, pick a cloudy day to eliminate harsh shadows. Otherwise take the pictures in a shaded area. Always support the camera on a tripod or on some other solid surface. Rather then get too close, back off at least 3 feet and then crop the print, or use a zoom lens.

 

[RBak]

Good photography with firearms is something of an art, IMO.
I enjoy taking pictures of my firearms, and I enjoy sharing them with friends.
I have owned a digital camera for some time now....six, or seven years, and can truthfully say that we were just getting to know each other, about 18 months back, when I bought one that was much more advanced, with bells, and whistles, and gadgets, that was not really needed.
I gave the newer one to my wife, and I went back to my old HP Photosmart.....and my pictures are improving.

It seems I always do better when I don't use a flash. I have also learned that multiple lights, at different angles, will eliminate both shadows, and glare, when a soft background is used.....a couple of Hallogen shop lights are hard to beat, but I'm sure there are better lights available for the more professional.
I have also learned it is better to "zoom in", instead of getting up close. And, above all else, I have learned that you have to take the time to learn the camera completely.

The most expensive camera in the world won't take good pictures if your lighting, and presentation, are all wrong.....or so I'm told.


Respectfully, Russ...

 

[Tyril]

I am a terrible photographer, dispite bringing a camera with me to the range every trip

But, because this is in the Blackpowder Section, I shall offer up a small crop of a larger image. Capturing the flash took me no less then two full cylinder's worth of missed attempts.


The gun in question is a cheap Pietta 1858 Remmy copy, stuffed full of Pyrodex.



Motion blur can be a fun thing!



-mike

 

[4v50 Gary]

If you take it outdoors, do it under overcast. The clouds ensure that you won't have direct sunlight and no harsh shadow lines in your picture. If you're working with black & white, use a light blue bedsheet as a backdrop. It turns up white in the photo.

 

[Valkman]

Most of the bad pics are due to holding the camera by hand and using auto settings. Once I went to manual settings, a tripod and made a cheap lightbox my pics got much better.

Oh yea, ditch the flash - nothing ruins a good pic like a great big hot spot in the middle!

 

[hm]

In recline and barely robed with just a tantalizing hint of the trigger showing.

 

[yhtomit]

For small things, a scanner works surprisingly well

Obviously, this won't apply to everything (no large blackpowder rifles ), but for small items which will be presented by themselves, a scanner works surprisingly well even for 3-D objects, as long as they're not *too* 3-dimenional; its short focal range means that dimensionality is evident, but (at least with mine) the raised details still show up pretty well rather than dropping immediately out of focus.

Hints:
1) treat your scanner gently; if you're putting metal objects on the scanning surface, be carefui not to scratch it. I've had good luck by just being sure not to drag things around
2) You want light-tightness, and having objects that are other than flat on the scanner makes this complicated. My solution is to cover the object being scanned with a dark blanket (or a few, depending on light tightness), and just leave the lid flopped out of the way.

Sorry no time to upload samples right now

timothy

 

[HankB]

#1 problem seems to be moving the camera while squeezing the shutter.

 

[Odd Job]

And one other thing, gentlemen: if your serial number shows up in the photograph, do yourself a favour and remove it with a paint program. You can do almost anything with Photoshop. The first picture here was a simple shot on a camera with no flash and auto focus, at a gunshop (the only thing I have done to that picture is blur the serial number). The second picture is after I fixed it up in Photoshop...




And then I thought I would see what else Photoshop can do...

 

[KIMBER45TLE]

Pics

A few others:

 

[Rembrandt]

Borrowed this from another site....can anyone explain how this photo was done? Appears to be floating with no support and the blue background stripe is a nice touch. I've noticed Inchiro Nagata uses the same techniques. Has been suggested that this might be done by laying the gun on a pane of glass????

 

[Odd Job]

@ Rembrandt

My guess is it was achieved by one of three methods:

1) The gun was photographed on a standard white perspex or paper background, and then it was 'etched' or magic brushed out of the white and pasted onto the black and blue background.

2) The gun was supported by a rod that is perpendicular to the camera lens, and attached to the other side of the gun. The background could then be a real dark blue card through which the rod passes. The lighting on the card would produce the area of light blue vignetting. The light on the gun would have to be controlled so that it does not strike the card (there would be a gap between the gun and the card).

3) The gun was suspended by two loops of nylon fishing line and the line was edited out afterwards in Photoshop (or similar program).

If I was to pick one, I would go for (1) because the edges of the gun where they meet the background look artificially softened.

 

[Jeff Timm]

Take a tip from Jerry Pournelle, a well known Python fan.

http://www.chaosmanorreviews.com/open_archives/jep_column-312-b.php

"Bob Thompson says "We just picked up a box of four 100W Reveal bulbs at Home Depot last weekend for about two bucks. They're not daylight color temperature, nor are they full spectrum, but unlike earlier neodymium bulbs they have a CRI (color rendering index) in the low 90's. That's considered excellent, and in practice they work quite well for product shots."

There's an even better way. American Recorder Technologies sells "Photo Studio in a Box" in two sizes. These are complete with folding full spectrum lights and camera stand, and fold into an easily carried package.

When unfolded the unit makes a box lit by diffused full spectrum light. The results are good sharp pictures."

Geoff
Who is trying to rig something cheaper but as effective.

 

[BerettaNut92]

I just let 45R take mine these days

IMO he should be shooting for the SIG catalogs.


Anyway what's wrong with flex-arm lamps in the corner of the garage?

 

[CNYCacher]

I vote for the pane of glass approach. Here is the exact photo, just rotated. Without the gun being in the orientation you would expect it to be in real life, it now looks like it is laying on a flat piece of glass. Take photo, rotate, add blue background, done

 

[Odd Job]

@ CNYCacher

Even if you use glass you still have to etch the gun out of the background, and you have the added problem of specular highlights off the glass. Might as well use white/opal perspex. The other oprion I suppose is to use glass and have the blue background card already in place, but then you are going to have a hard time removing the reflection of the gun in the glass from the blue vignette of the background.
In the end, whatever you find the easiest to do will be the best approach

 

[ChickenHawk]

Thanks to P95Carry

I'm amazed that nobody has mentioned the excellent tutorial our very own Chris put together for our FAQ section here on THR!!!

Check it out HERE

Cheers,
ChickenHawk

 

[spencerhut]

I tried to put a little humor and human (female) interest in my pictures. I posted what I thought to be a very nice, tastful picture of my wife holding our .38 Supers and then the moderator deleted my post. And no, there was no nudity. I keep those pictures for myself. Having a nice pair of .38 Super 1911 pistols held of aginst a nice pair of 38DD breasts with nothing more exposed than you would see in a bathing suit (less actually) is a beautiful site to behold. Too bad . . .