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Copy of article in past BCCI Newsletter, Flatlander wanted it as thread for folks without access to newsletters, HEY join BCCI and you won't miss anything.
Maybe it will help someone. Not the last word on photography by far. Just a starter talk. 300
My Buck brothers talk at the Post Falls 2008 Seminars turned to the next celebration and it was mentioned that a seminar on knife photography might be in order. This brought to mind two things for me.
1. I hope they would get someone other than me, but someone with common sense and not a digital photography “geek” that would talk at such lofty levels (and expensive ones) and use computer terms that would cause us to run off in terror.
And -
2. It’s sad that people could not get pointers for another five years.
Well, I am not a photo ‘geek’ and as member of the knife viewing public I enjoy seeing a good photo as much as the next guy, no matter if a chimp took it. (Which some of mine look like one did).
If you are in the market for a camera don’t go below 5 mega pixel and 8 is even better. Get one that lets you take close-ups (macro mode), and I mean close – inches away is good. Let’s don’t get into any digital photo computer stuff for now. Computer photo editing is a whole different ball game someone else can be the expert on..
So, here we go – MY ideas on common sense photography that I hope will increase all of our viewing pleasures…..now before I get started I know that there are some of you that take great photos and do know more than me….SO HOW COME YOU DIDN’T WRITE THIS FOR THE OTHER PEOPLE ALREADY???????????
For you smart folks, be helpful in your comments to others and have them build slowly on this basic information and try not to scare anyone off with tech talk.
Here are the rules to follow:
FOCUS, REFLECTIONS, BACKGROUND, LIGHTING, LIGHTING AND MORE LIGHTING.
FOCUS
I hate it when a knife photo is out of focus. If your photos are blurry you have - tried to hand hold a picture in low light, you were closer to the knife than the focus limit of the camera or your camera is broken. SHARP MEANS STEADY. You can hand hold if you have LOTS of light. I mean LOTS and LOTS. Even if you handhold a shot, take a stick, pipe or a even lean against a wall or chair and brace your camera against it. If you have no other alternative, squeeze your elbows to your sides, take a couple of deep breaths and let the last one out half way and shoot. But day in and day out use a tripod or stand. Come on now if you can’t get a cheap tripod invent something. Duct tape might even come to play in this arena.
Also READ your camera instructions, find out what the close-in limits are. Use a tape measure to prove to your brain the actual distance. For a good just-the-knife-only photo - ALWAYS get a full frame shot if possible. That means each end of the knife is near the edges of the viewfinder or screen. If you are doing art remember we are all looking at the pretty scene but we want to see the knife first. It should be the dominant object of the pretty scene. My rule is – visualize the average size living room, now place a beer wagon draft horse in the room, THAT is how dominant the knife needs to be to the scene.
And if your camera has one, use the remote or timed shutter release. Just your finger pushing the button imparts vibration that can be avoided. Remember sharp focus is steady, steady, brace and more brace….. Check your instruction book on how to use your camera timer, always think when the picture is about to be taken – Look Ma no hands.
REFLECTIONS
Don’t you just hate it when someone takes a nice, bright, focused photograph of a great knife and there reflecting in the shiny metal is an image of them holding the camera, or Aunt Edna standing in the door of the room.
Here is photo of some ole junk knife from another forum with the dreaded "PHOTOGRAPHER" reflection in the lower bolster. Now wouldn't it have looked a lot more classy with just nice clear silver/white reflections instead.
Come on, you may look before you leap, but look before you snap. Carefully look over the screen or viewfinder, see yourself - then do one of two things……move the knife or move the camera. Find an angle where there is no reflection or light glare showing. Or move the knife in the scene. One of my tricks is to use a soft moldable putty drafting eraser. You can make little balls or dabs to set knives on and get them just the right lean. I also cut regular white square school type erasers into different shapes to prop or hold knives just right. I sometimes use a prop of a shotgun shell, small rock, piece of drift wood, etc. just use it as a prop not as something that will become the main item in the photo. Also the use of folded paper reflectors or a large piece of white cardboard on the front of your camera with a hole just big enough to see and shoot through will “blank” out some reflections. These ideas are also used in the lighting section. Watch the sharp edges of bolsters and other metal faces for odd reflections or light glare (stars). Work for no reflection or light glare, look carefully they can sneak in while you are fooling with settings…..
BACKGROUNDS
This is pretty simple, watch out for backgrounds that are too shiny, too dark or too busy. I have seen some good photos on old wood, rocks, lawn furniture, grass and sticks. But if you take more than just a couple of knife photos think about getting a few fake ‘backgrounds’ that you know look good and show up well. I use some 11 X 14 sheets of paper from craft stores that are used in scrap booking work. I use the fake sand a lot. I also like weathered wood, floor tiles both vinyl and ceramic, some short napped carpet squares and heavy cloth. Don’t use anything black unless you can spotlight knife brightly. Don’t use colored transparent glass but I have seen some good photos taken on patio furniture glass that was green, but they were taken on a cloudy day. Don’t use anything reflective, why fight that fight. Don’t use backgrounds that are too wild in color or are busy – multi-colored paisley patterns come to mind. If you take a photo looking more down than up, a flat background is OK. If you take it at lower angle use something large enough to allow you to curl the background up behind the knife to give the seamless effect of a pro’s photo background. Remember always - the knife is usually what
everyone is interested in, not how your yard is landscaped beyond the wooden rail of your deck the knife is setting on.
LIGHT, LIGHT AND MORE LIGHT
If you have too much light to take a good photograph then you are within 5 miles of a thermo-nuclear explosion. For others than those that really know what they are doing, we need to get all the bright high quality light we can. It will increase the cameras ability to take a good picture and make up for some human shortcomings. You may need to cut-off or tape over your camera flash to avoid its concentrated light and glare. Try it with and without the camera flash if you want.
For photographing outside – bright, mid-day direct sunlight is generally NOT desired. It is too harsh and too much for the camera system to deal with. On clear days take photos in the shade of something or use an artificial shade. (A light colored umbrella will work if the wind is calm) Use reflectors of white cardboard or paper to light up shadow areas of knife. On a bright cloudy day you are in luck, generally lighting will be even but you will still need reflectors for shadows at the bottom of knives. You can buy or build a portable white light tent you can use to even out the light even for outside use. Some old white sheets, tee shirts or even split white trash bags will work. Make some type of tent with whatever means you can come up with. Dowels, tree limbs, PVC pipe will all work. Keep the opening for the camera as small as possible and move it around to throw light on the knife in different ways. Try not to have dark shadows that hide any of the knife. Use white cardboard propped up or folded paper to reflect light in dark spots. Use cut eraser or putty to position knife just right. Try not to show any reflectors or props in photo if possible. Photos at dawn or sunset can have a dramatic effect but again this is art stuff and most everyone would rather see a good knife photo with only a little bit of art thrown in it.
Homemade trash bag light tent made using other very common materials. You can do this, heck you probably already have the duct tape. A leftover vinyl floor tile on top of cardboard. A cheap camera but a pretty good tripod. See this backyard studio result below.
The actual photo taken with the $ 100 dollar, 8 mega pixel point and shoot camera using the trash bag light tent set-up shown in the above photo.
For indoor photography this is the rule – use the correct type light and plenty of it, or wait till the sun comes up. DO NOT use light from regular old style incandescent light bulbs. These are the orange photos we try to see someone’s knife in. Also don’t use long tube fluorescent bulbs either; they will generally photograph dark with green tint. Both light sources are the wrong color light. It’s just a plain waste of yours and the viewer’s time to take a picture in that light. If you want to learn how to use them, then multiple electronic flashes are great and generally that is what pros use. But I am a knife person who uses photography, not a photography person that likes knives. I also am of moderate means and if you think knives are pricey try buying fancy photo gear. All I use for indoor photography is stuff you can buy at the Mart or a hardware store. I use ONLY helical coil fluorescent screw base bulbs. Buy the biggest wattage you can find, I use seven (7) 26 watt bulbs in my indoor setup. Look on the package, and be careful here, get only bulbs that are listed as Daylight 6500 Kelvin in color temperature. At certain chain stores these will be in packages with blue printing talking about how energy smart they are.
The color of light from these bulbs is not perfect but it is very close to the fancy screw base and pricey, bulbs you can buy at a photo store. These fluorescents are cooler running in tight spaces than screw base photo bulbs which is helpful when it’s hot in your photo area. They do require a short period of warming up. Let them be on a minute or two before taking a photo. All I use to hold them are regular hardware store metal clamp-on reflectors type portable lights. They generally come with about 5 feet of cord. I have a multi-outlet power strip I turn everything on and off with. Figure out what you need to get the job done. If it has to be portable due to use and space limitations, then do something like, put a piece of conduit or pvc in a big coffee can full of concrete and clamp one or more of the lights on that. You should have two at minimum. THE MORE THE BETTER. Don’t forget to turn off the room lights or you will get the dreaded incandescent orange effect.
Even out the light. Usually you will have lots of trouble with direct bulb light. I like to use a “white light” tent or box. Check out the how to make one in knife forum websites photo sections. Something as simple as a three dowel rod white trash bag tent to a fancy drafting film or cloth covered metal or PVC frame will work well. Make it large enough to not be cramped to work in, but don’t make it so big you cut down on your light power by distance or increase your reflections of the dark area the camera is in. I like to have something white or use a large piece of white cloth to stick the camera through for reflection control and fill in the front shadows. This is going to be trial and error for the first couple of times. Just don’t short yourself on the lighting you will be going back for more the next day. For safety’s sake don’t put anything over or touching a bulb or reflector, no use burning your knife collection up….
My new inside photo tent setup as described in the story. You can invent yours to your hearts content. Always work for a bright sharp photo with no odd reflections visible in the shiny parts.
My first Inside photo rig, worked OK, folded up, available on internet auction sites. Good starter rig.
Ok, folks, that’s a start on the road to good photos. And you know all my tricks, that you might have thought was skill.... Remember the basics, focus, lighting, reflections…….. Buy a tripod first thing. Go outside in the bright shade and take some knife pictures, first one way then another. Use white paper or cardboard reflectors to fill in shadows. Don’t take photos under incandescent light. Let’s all get so good we won’t need a photography seminar. Digital photo computer editing work is whole other ball game. Only one recommendation here - start simple. You can buy the 500 dollar program after you get good….. Working the camera is like sharpening your Buck knife, find the right tools and use the right technique and the camera won’t let you down……… 300Bucks
Maybe it will help someone. Not the last word on photography by far. Just a starter talk. 300
My Buck brothers talk at the Post Falls 2008 Seminars turned to the next celebration and it was mentioned that a seminar on knife photography might be in order. This brought to mind two things for me.
1. I hope they would get someone other than me, but someone with common sense and not a digital photography “geek” that would talk at such lofty levels (and expensive ones) and use computer terms that would cause us to run off in terror.
And -
2. It’s sad that people could not get pointers for another five years.
Well, I am not a photo ‘geek’ and as member of the knife viewing public I enjoy seeing a good photo as much as the next guy, no matter if a chimp took it. (Which some of mine look like one did).
If you are in the market for a camera don’t go below 5 mega pixel and 8 is even better. Get one that lets you take close-ups (macro mode), and I mean close – inches away is good. Let’s don’t get into any digital photo computer stuff for now. Computer photo editing is a whole different ball game someone else can be the expert on..
So, here we go – MY ideas on common sense photography that I hope will increase all of our viewing pleasures…..now before I get started I know that there are some of you that take great photos and do know more than me….SO HOW COME YOU DIDN’T WRITE THIS FOR THE OTHER PEOPLE ALREADY???????????
For you smart folks, be helpful in your comments to others and have them build slowly on this basic information and try not to scare anyone off with tech talk.
Here are the rules to follow:
FOCUS, REFLECTIONS, BACKGROUND, LIGHTING, LIGHTING AND MORE LIGHTING.
FOCUS
I hate it when a knife photo is out of focus. If your photos are blurry you have - tried to hand hold a picture in low light, you were closer to the knife than the focus limit of the camera or your camera is broken. SHARP MEANS STEADY. You can hand hold if you have LOTS of light. I mean LOTS and LOTS. Even if you handhold a shot, take a stick, pipe or a even lean against a wall or chair and brace your camera against it. If you have no other alternative, squeeze your elbows to your sides, take a couple of deep breaths and let the last one out half way and shoot. But day in and day out use a tripod or stand. Come on now if you can’t get a cheap tripod invent something. Duct tape might even come to play in this arena.
Also READ your camera instructions, find out what the close-in limits are. Use a tape measure to prove to your brain the actual distance. For a good just-the-knife-only photo - ALWAYS get a full frame shot if possible. That means each end of the knife is near the edges of the viewfinder or screen. If you are doing art remember we are all looking at the pretty scene but we want to see the knife first. It should be the dominant object of the pretty scene. My rule is – visualize the average size living room, now place a beer wagon draft horse in the room, THAT is how dominant the knife needs to be to the scene.
And if your camera has one, use the remote or timed shutter release. Just your finger pushing the button imparts vibration that can be avoided. Remember sharp focus is steady, steady, brace and more brace….. Check your instruction book on how to use your camera timer, always think when the picture is about to be taken – Look Ma no hands.
REFLECTIONS
Don’t you just hate it when someone takes a nice, bright, focused photograph of a great knife and there reflecting in the shiny metal is an image of them holding the camera, or Aunt Edna standing in the door of the room.
Here is photo of some ole junk knife from another forum with the dreaded "PHOTOGRAPHER" reflection in the lower bolster. Now wouldn't it have looked a lot more classy with just nice clear silver/white reflections instead.
Come on, you may look before you leap, but look before you snap. Carefully look over the screen or viewfinder, see yourself - then do one of two things……move the knife or move the camera. Find an angle where there is no reflection or light glare showing. Or move the knife in the scene. One of my tricks is to use a soft moldable putty drafting eraser. You can make little balls or dabs to set knives on and get them just the right lean. I also cut regular white square school type erasers into different shapes to prop or hold knives just right. I sometimes use a prop of a shotgun shell, small rock, piece of drift wood, etc. just use it as a prop not as something that will become the main item in the photo. Also the use of folded paper reflectors or a large piece of white cardboard on the front of your camera with a hole just big enough to see and shoot through will “blank” out some reflections. These ideas are also used in the lighting section. Watch the sharp edges of bolsters and other metal faces for odd reflections or light glare (stars). Work for no reflection or light glare, look carefully they can sneak in while you are fooling with settings…..
BACKGROUNDS
This is pretty simple, watch out for backgrounds that are too shiny, too dark or too busy. I have seen some good photos on old wood, rocks, lawn furniture, grass and sticks. But if you take more than just a couple of knife photos think about getting a few fake ‘backgrounds’ that you know look good and show up well. I use some 11 X 14 sheets of paper from craft stores that are used in scrap booking work. I use the fake sand a lot. I also like weathered wood, floor tiles both vinyl and ceramic, some short napped carpet squares and heavy cloth. Don’t use anything black unless you can spotlight knife brightly. Don’t use colored transparent glass but I have seen some good photos taken on patio furniture glass that was green, but they were taken on a cloudy day. Don’t use anything reflective, why fight that fight. Don’t use backgrounds that are too wild in color or are busy – multi-colored paisley patterns come to mind. If you take a photo looking more down than up, a flat background is OK. If you take it at lower angle use something large enough to allow you to curl the background up behind the knife to give the seamless effect of a pro’s photo background. Remember always - the knife is usually what
everyone is interested in, not how your yard is landscaped beyond the wooden rail of your deck the knife is setting on.
LIGHT, LIGHT AND MORE LIGHT
If you have too much light to take a good photograph then you are within 5 miles of a thermo-nuclear explosion. For others than those that really know what they are doing, we need to get all the bright high quality light we can. It will increase the cameras ability to take a good picture and make up for some human shortcomings. You may need to cut-off or tape over your camera flash to avoid its concentrated light and glare. Try it with and without the camera flash if you want.
For photographing outside – bright, mid-day direct sunlight is generally NOT desired. It is too harsh and too much for the camera system to deal with. On clear days take photos in the shade of something or use an artificial shade. (A light colored umbrella will work if the wind is calm) Use reflectors of white cardboard or paper to light up shadow areas of knife. On a bright cloudy day you are in luck, generally lighting will be even but you will still need reflectors for shadows at the bottom of knives. You can buy or build a portable white light tent you can use to even out the light even for outside use. Some old white sheets, tee shirts or even split white trash bags will work. Make some type of tent with whatever means you can come up with. Dowels, tree limbs, PVC pipe will all work. Keep the opening for the camera as small as possible and move it around to throw light on the knife in different ways. Try not to have dark shadows that hide any of the knife. Use white cardboard propped up or folded paper to reflect light in dark spots. Use cut eraser or putty to position knife just right. Try not to show any reflectors or props in photo if possible. Photos at dawn or sunset can have a dramatic effect but again this is art stuff and most everyone would rather see a good knife photo with only a little bit of art thrown in it.
Homemade trash bag light tent made using other very common materials. You can do this, heck you probably already have the duct tape. A leftover vinyl floor tile on top of cardboard. A cheap camera but a pretty good tripod. See this backyard studio result below.
The actual photo taken with the $ 100 dollar, 8 mega pixel point and shoot camera using the trash bag light tent set-up shown in the above photo.
For indoor photography this is the rule – use the correct type light and plenty of it, or wait till the sun comes up. DO NOT use light from regular old style incandescent light bulbs. These are the orange photos we try to see someone’s knife in. Also don’t use long tube fluorescent bulbs either; they will generally photograph dark with green tint. Both light sources are the wrong color light. It’s just a plain waste of yours and the viewer’s time to take a picture in that light. If you want to learn how to use them, then multiple electronic flashes are great and generally that is what pros use. But I am a knife person who uses photography, not a photography person that likes knives. I also am of moderate means and if you think knives are pricey try buying fancy photo gear. All I use for indoor photography is stuff you can buy at the Mart or a hardware store. I use ONLY helical coil fluorescent screw base bulbs. Buy the biggest wattage you can find, I use seven (7) 26 watt bulbs in my indoor setup. Look on the package, and be careful here, get only bulbs that are listed as Daylight 6500 Kelvin in color temperature. At certain chain stores these will be in packages with blue printing talking about how energy smart they are.
The color of light from these bulbs is not perfect but it is very close to the fancy screw base and pricey, bulbs you can buy at a photo store. These fluorescents are cooler running in tight spaces than screw base photo bulbs which is helpful when it’s hot in your photo area. They do require a short period of warming up. Let them be on a minute or two before taking a photo. All I use to hold them are regular hardware store metal clamp-on reflectors type portable lights. They generally come with about 5 feet of cord. I have a multi-outlet power strip I turn everything on and off with. Figure out what you need to get the job done. If it has to be portable due to use and space limitations, then do something like, put a piece of conduit or pvc in a big coffee can full of concrete and clamp one or more of the lights on that. You should have two at minimum. THE MORE THE BETTER. Don’t forget to turn off the room lights or you will get the dreaded incandescent orange effect.
Even out the light. Usually you will have lots of trouble with direct bulb light. I like to use a “white light” tent or box. Check out the how to make one in knife forum websites photo sections. Something as simple as a three dowel rod white trash bag tent to a fancy drafting film or cloth covered metal or PVC frame will work well. Make it large enough to not be cramped to work in, but don’t make it so big you cut down on your light power by distance or increase your reflections of the dark area the camera is in. I like to have something white or use a large piece of white cloth to stick the camera through for reflection control and fill in the front shadows. This is going to be trial and error for the first couple of times. Just don’t short yourself on the lighting you will be going back for more the next day. For safety’s sake don’t put anything over or touching a bulb or reflector, no use burning your knife collection up….
My new inside photo tent setup as described in the story. You can invent yours to your hearts content. Always work for a bright sharp photo with no odd reflections visible in the shiny parts.
My first Inside photo rig, worked OK, folded up, available on internet auction sites. Good starter rig.
Ok, folks, that’s a start on the road to good photos. And you know all my tricks, that you might have thought was skill.... Remember the basics, focus, lighting, reflections…….. Buy a tripod first thing. Go outside in the bright shade and take some knife pictures, first one way then another. Use white paper or cardboard reflectors to fill in shadows. Don’t take photos under incandescent light. Let’s all get so good we won’t need a photography seminar. Digital photo computer editing work is whole other ball game. Only one recommendation here - start simple. You can buy the 500 dollar program after you get good….. Working the camera is like sharpening your Buck knife, find the right tools and use the right technique and the camera won’t let you down……… 300Bucks
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