need some help please

[dskmanch]

hi all

i'd like to take some pictures of my collection, but am really struggling to get decent results. i have a dSLR, but think my lack of success is because i don't have a lightbox - the lighting from the flash alone gives horrible results.

now i'd appreciate suggestions on how to make my own, or some pictures of the lighting setup others are using to get their results.

thanks very much

[razorback1595]

hi all

i'd like to take some pictures of my collection, but am really struggling to get decent results. i have a dSLR, but think my lack of success is because i don't have a lightbox - the lighting from the flash alone gives horrible results.

now i'd appreciate suggestions on how to make my own, or some pictures of the lighting setup others are using to get their results.

thanks very much

i'd say put off the flash. I don't have any profesional equipment. I have an cheap nikon camera with macra and a daylight lamp.

Gives me results i'm proud of







Or i go outside

[The Deacon]

This is the lightbox I use, and I highly recommend it.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/electronics...tography/a205/

The other "must have", in my opinion, is a tripod. It does not need to be top of the line, WalMart sells decent ones for around $30.

[LorenzoL]

OK, here is how I do it:
DSLR set to aperture priority, with an aperture of 11 of less to have a good depth of field. A macro lens is not required unless you want to capture details, I prefer a 35 to 50 mm equivalent.
Shoot RAW so that you have more latitude in PP.
A tripod is absolutely necessary.
I shoot with natural light that I bounce off a reflector, so no flash. Properly placing the reflector is achieved by trial and error. The tricky part is to retain detail on the highlight areas like the blade.
Finally, I place a neutral gray card in one corner of the frame, where it does not affect the composition and can be cropped later. You will use that card as the reference to adjust the white balance during post production.

[rangefinder]

There are lots of knife photography tips in this thread on Blade Forums: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=328550

Ken Lunde has info on his process at the bottom of this page: http://lundestudio.com/firearms.html

[LorenzoL]

I forgot to add that when using a tripod any image stabilization system you may have on the camera or the lens should be turned off.

[dskmanch]

thank you all very much - your help and advice is very much appreciated.

i have some reading to do and then some experimenting and soon i hope to have some pictures that will do justice to the knives i have

i'll then post them up for your opinions

[merthyrmafia]

One make sure all your white balance settings are correct, such as if you are shooting indoors under tungsten light, or floresent, set your white balance ,

tips, colour set to vivid, make sure you use a tripod very important for composing your photo, means you have more control, make sure your shutter speed and appertures balance, with a tripod you can use slow shutter speeds with the knowledge you wont blur the shots, dont be affraid to focus up closely to the subject, try with flash and without flash, and have a look at some pictures of knives which you think are good and copy what you see, also natural light as long as it's not to harsh always looks good, if it's to strong use a fine diffuser, and dont be a scared of playing around with the settings, because you are using a digital SLR there's no waste if you dont like it when you upload it to your computer delete it, but also with he editing system most computers have these days you can slightly tweak your shots, such as sharpening, colour enhancement contrast so on.

[ozspyder]

I have good results from generally using no tripod, no lightbox and no flash.

For idiot-proof results try shooting in overcast conditions or with any filtered light (ie: indoors with light from a window or bounced light)

A tripod is good and you should use one. I am lazy and cannot be bothered grabbing a tripod on most occasions

Aperture settings as per above is good to follow but it depends on whether you want to capture a lot of detail/ depth of field or if you want to limit it to get certain effects or artistic impressions on certain features of a knife/ knives.

From my own experience in shooting my own knives and other subject matter.... it is al about composition. Choose a subject or a theme and go for it. Not necessarily required to shoot a whole knife in one frame. Try shooting features, try different backgrounds/ foregrounds, try different lighting and camera settings.

The beauty about the digital era is that we can now shoot as many shots as you like and experiment with different settings. Delete anything you don't like, keep the ones you do and try to remember the settings you had on those and go experiment some more and refine to find you own 'style'

Can't wait to see your results !

[ChapmanPreferred]

Lots of great info here.