Take better pictures of your firearms....

Packard · Jan 22, 2012

andrewb70 said:
I am all for learning! I saw this picture in a member gallery:

To me, that picture looks like it might have been taken in a lightbox. The light seems to be very diffused.

Andrew

The first thing to look at is the shadow. It is directly under the subject and it is very soft-edged. So we know the main light source is from above. The soft edges tell us that the light source is "large", that is it is larger than the subject and probably diffused. This could have been taken in a tent with the light from above, or it could have been taken with a large soft box with the light from above. Sharply defined shadows indicate a "small" light source. I say small because the sun (which is quite large) is small when you look up at it. You can frequently obscure it with just your fist. So it is small relative to the subject. A small flash unit that is 6 feet from the subject is "small", but that same flash just a few inches from a small subject (like a watch) is "large".

The only specular highlights are on the brass disc. The texture on the grip is enhanced because the light is skimming over the surface. If it had been lit from the camera position the texture would have been killed.

There is not much internal contrast. A guess (just a guess) is that this was shot in a tent.

(I'm a lot better at analyzing people photos.)

Sometimes you will pick up a reflection on the surface that is a "tell" that indicates the shape of the light source. I don't see anything like that is this photo. So my guess is that it was shot in a tent.

LouisianaJoe · Jan 22, 2012

Sometimes you can get away with using your scanner. These images were scanned. the Magnas came on a 64-3 I bought yesterday. I replaced them with some Pachmayrs.

Notice that there is no depth to the image.

Here is the rear:

dacoontz · Jan 22, 2012

Try one of these with your I phone

Got this little lens kit when I bought my I phone. You get some cool effects and super close up shots with this kit.

andrewb70 · Jan 22, 2012

Packard said:
The first thing to look at is the shadow. It is directly under the subject and it is very soft-edged. So we know the main light source is from above. The soft edges tell us that the light source is "large", that is it is larger than the subject and probably diffused. This could have been taken in a tent with the light from above, or it could have been taken with a large soft box with the light from above. Sharply defined shadows indicate a "small" light source. I say small because the sun (which is quite large) is small when you look up at it. You can frequently obscure it with just your fist. So it is small relative to the subject. A small flash unit that is 6 feet from the subject is "small", but that same flash just a few inches from a small subject (like a watch) is "large".

The only specular highlights are on the brass disc. The texture on the grip is enhanced because the light is skimming over the surface. If it had been lit from the camera position the texture would have been killed.

There is not much internal contrast. A guess (just a guess) is that this was shot in a tent.

(I'm a lot better at analyzing people photos.)

Sometimes you will pick up a reflection on the surface that is a "tell" that indicates the shape of the light source. I don't see anything like that is this photo. So my guess is that it was shot in a tent.

OK, so I wasn't too far off, as far as you or I could tell. Right?

I am going to play around with the gold and silver reflectors this week and post some pictures.

I hope that everyone is learning something and is willing to take a chance on taking some pictures. So far I have yet to see anyone post some pictures that they have taken with the tips that I outlined in mind.

Once again, I ask that if you post pictures in this thread, please include the :

Camera brand
F-stop
shutter speed
ISO
and lighting source

Andrew

7tenz · Jan 23, 2012

Andrew

Looks like this may be as close to the best that can be had with my camera. Still no tripod yet.
Everything is automatic except for turning the flash off. Oh well, good enough for the girls I go with.

There's a # on the lens 1:3.2-6.5. Is that the range of the f-stop?

I still have control over a lot of external variables, and I can take advantage of some,
but manual control over ae and fstop is not an option. You gave me a lot of good advice.

It was done with flash off and minor darkening with windows picture viewer.

edit: I added a photo of my camera taken fron their website to show you what I'm up against.

Packard · Jan 23, 2012

andrewb70 said:
OK, so I wasn't too far off, as far as you or I could tell. Right?

I am going to play around with the gold and silver reflectors this week and post some pictures.

I hope that everyone is learning something and is willing to take a chance on taking some pictures. So far I have yet to see anyone post some pictures that they have taken with the tips that I outlined in mind.

Once again, I ask that if you post pictures in this thread, please include the :

Camera brand
F-stop
shutter speed
ISO
and lighting source

Andrew

Add: "Light modifiers" to the list.

You said you got this shot that was posted here? Can you query the guy who posted it on the lighting? Let's see if we got it right.

andrewb70 · Jan 23, 2012

7tenz said:
.....

There's a # on the lens 1:3.2-6.5. Is that the range of the f-stop?

Those numbers represent the minimum f-stop at the extremes of the zoom range. In other words, when the lens is fully zoomed in, the minimum f-stop is 6.5 and when the lens is fully zoomed out the minimum f-stop is 3.2.

The camera that you are using should be fine. I would stand your Kimber up and get it off the carpet

Andrew

andrewb70 · Jan 23, 2012

Packard said:
Add: "Light modifiers" to the list.

You said you got this shot that was posted here? Can you query the guy who posted it on the lighting? Let's see if we got it right.

Excellent idea! I just sent a PM to the member that posted that picture. Here is a link to his album:

S-W Forum - -rags-'s Album: The S&W "Auto's"

I asked him to comment in this thread, and hopefully he will share some details with us.

Andrew

W.E.G. · Jan 23, 2012

You don't like my cell-phone pics?!!!

7tenz · Jan 23, 2012

andrewb70 said:
Those numbers represent the minimum f-stop at the extremes of the zoom range. In other words, when the lens is fully zoomed in, the minimum f-stop is 6.5 and when the lens is fully zoomed out the minimum f-stop is 3.2.

The camera that you are using should be fine. I would stand your Kimber up and get it off the carpet

Andrew

It was good enough that I see I need to get it steam cleaned again. It was just a quickie where I could get a flat shot. I'm going to go outside and play with it when it stops raining.

andrewb70 · Jan 23, 2012

7tenz said:
.....I'm going to go outside and play with it when it stops raining.

I am very eager to see what you come up with. The Kimber is gorgeous...

Andrew

7tenz · Jan 23, 2012

andrewb70 said:
I am very eager to see what you come up with. The Kimber is gorgeous...

Andrew

Thanks. I got those grips at a gunstore that messed up on the price. They should have known better. The sights are tritium. If you didn't see the filename, it's a 10mm.

It's late in the day and still showery, and when it quits I'll have to go back to work. Don't know if I'll get to it before the weekend. I'll get out my ColtCombat 10. All I have to do is look at it and it scratches the electroless nickle. If it shows up good in the photos I'll know I'm doing something right.

rags · Jan 23, 2012

andrewb70 said:
Excellent idea! I just sent a PM to the member that posted that picture. Here is a link to his album:

S-W Forum - -rags-'s Album: The S&W "Auto's"

I asked him to comment in this thread, and hopefully he will share some details with us.

Andrew

Trying a different route now and yes it's a lightbox. I have 2 Panasonic point and shoots at the moment.

I made this one...
Light Box / Light Tent Photo Gallery by Bill Huber at pbase.com

Still experimenting but taken better photos than I used to.

ckprax · Jan 24, 2012

cell phone photo shoot

So I definitely need to get a tripod and set up a lightbox (apt. living) but I was messing around with my cell phone last night and got a couple of photos that I'm not too ashamed of. They are better than what I'm used to taking.

To me it looks like the f stop is too low on this first one. Is this correct?

I can't really adjust the f stop but their are settings for the white balance, I was using auto and it isn't that great. I will have to play with it. I think a tripod and timer will help a lot. I have a point and shoot digital camera that has a lot more adjustment than my phone, I will have to give it a shot as well.

I also need to control the light better, I was just using the overhead light in my bathroom and a white t-shirt to give me a bit of shade. Here is my pitiful setup.

Camera: Droid Bionic
App: Camera ZOOM FX
f stop: ???
White Balance: Auto
No Flash
Hand held

Packard · Jan 24, 2012

That's the first bathroom studio I've ever seen.

A better choice for a cheap diffuser is a shower curtain liner. They come in clear (which you don't want), translucent (a light texture that makes everything look indistinct, and makes a good diffuser) and white which is also a good diffuser but transmits the least amount of light.

The best diffusers from my experience are two layers about 1 inch apart. So if you made a frame of 1" x 2" wood about 36" square and stapled the translucent shower curtain liner to both sides it would make a good diffuser. It will also work to diffuse direct sun light. Just place the diffuser between the sun and the subject. The closer it is to the subject the softer will be the light will appear.

There are some very nice commercially produced ones that collapse (I have several). If anyone is interested in purchasing them I will refer you to a vendor. Not too expensive, but more than a shower curtain liner.

ckprax · Jan 24, 2012

Packard said:
That's the first bathroom studio I've ever seen.

A better choice for a cheap diffuser is a shower curtain liner. They come in clear (which you don't want), translucent (a light texture that makes everything look indistinct, and makes a good diffuser) and white which is also a good diffuser but transmits the least amount of light.

The best diffusers from my experience are two layers about 1 inch apart. So if you made a frame of 1" x 2" wood about 36" square and stapled the translucent shower curtain liner to both sides it would make a good diffuser. It will also work to diffuse direct sun light. Just place the diffuser between the sun and the subject. The closer it is to the subject the softer will be the light will appear.

There are some very nice commercially produced ones that collapse (I have several). If anyone is interested in purchasing them I will refer you to a vendor. Not too expensive, but more than a shower curtain liner.

Well curiosity got the best of me, so I used what I had on hand. I should charge my camera and give that a try as well. I will probably put together a light box this weekend if it's raining, I'll see if I can get some better results. Thanks for the suggestion, I was planning on using a white bed sheet. I'll see if I can get a small universal tripod for a reasonable price as well.

When I view the photos on my phone they look awesome but once they are on the computer you can tell I didn't use a tripod. When I rest the phone on the floor the photos are better but the f stop is set so only the first inch or two of the barrel are in focus.

I would like to have nice clean and focused photos of each of my guns like what rags posted. Although I think I did get a couple cool shots I am looking to improve. Here is another, similar to the first, I like them better in grayscale, the towel is kinda ugly. I'll have to work on keeping the reflections down.

andrewb70 · Jan 24, 2012

I tried playing around with a gold reflector and not using a tri-pod. Here is what I came up with:

Canon T2i Rebel w/28mm 1.8 lens
Manual mode
ISO 200
F-stop 2.0
shutter 1/80 second
Auto white balance

Andrew

loutent · Jan 24, 2012

andrewb70 said:
I tried playing around with a gold reflector and not using a tri-pod. Here is what I came up with:

Canon T2i Rebel w/28mm 1.8 lens
Manual mode
ISO 200
F-stop 2.0
shutter 1/80 second
Auto white balance

Andrew

That's a great shot Andrew - I sometimes use the "camera filters/warming filter" option in Photoshop to warm up a shot - really makes wood grips pop sometimes. My Nikon D700 has great high ISO performance (being FX) - I have some soccer shots (under lights) of our niece @ ISO 12,800 that would have been impossible just a few years ago. ISO 1600 is about like ISO 400 was with my D200 (which is still a great camera.)

andrewb70 · Jan 24, 2012

loutent said:
That's a great shot Andrew - I sometimes use the "camera filters/warming filter" option in Photoshop to warm up a shot - really makes wood grips pop sometimes. My Nikon D700 has great high ISO performance (being FX) - I have some soccer shots (under lights) of our niece @ ISO 12,800 that would have been impossible just a few years ago. ISO 1600 is about like ISO 400 was with my D200 (which is still a great camera.)

Thank you for the compliment. I know that a lot of things can be done in Photoshop, but I prefer to do it all with the camera and lighting. It's not that I think that post processing is "cheating" its just that I enjoy learning about the various manipulations that are possible with a camera and lighting, without the use of Photoshop. I actually use Photoshop to re-size that image, but the only command I used was "save for web" and nothing else. I had the jpeg compression set to "10."

You certainly have a point about the modern camera's amazing low-light performance. As I mentioned before, I had a Canon 10D as my first digital SLR. It hit a wall at anything above ISO 400. The "noise" was just terrible. My Canon 5D will go easily to 1600, and the much less expensive, but newer T2i is quite clean at ISO 1600. It is truly quite remarkable. And as you noted, some cameras can go even higher, which is like taking pictures in the dark!

For me the ISO is the last ditch adjustment. If I can't get the shutter speed fast enough for the f-stop that I want, I'll bump the ISO to compensate.

Andrew

7tenz · Jan 25, 2012

andrewb70 said:
For me the ISO is the last ditch adjustment. If I can't get the shutter speed fast enough for the f-stop that I want, I'll bump the ISO to compensate.

Andrew

For a camera without a manual shutter speed adj, which way do I go with iso to simulate or maybe force a slower shutter speed, if it's at all possible?

Take better pictures of your firearms....

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