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Experiment
- Thread starter JK Knives
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2006
- Messages
- 958
Needs more light I think(from left and right side too).
- Joined
- May 25, 2011
- Messages
- 854
Looking good John. As the others noted: experiment with the lighting a bit and you'll have a shot that just pops. You can probably get the side-lighting by using mirrors or reflectors. You can make a reflector (for next to nothing) by covering cardboard cutouts with aluminum foil - but you want to be careful about blowing out the highlights.
If you wish, you can buy reflectors for not much money (the big photo sites sell them). A silver reflector will give you brighter lighting; a gold reflector will cast a nice golden warmth on your subject.
You can soften your lighting by cutting out a piece of a milk jug - use the whitish jugs - and placing it in front of your light sources. Typically you'll want the back-lighting to be roughly 1/2 power (of the front lighting).
If your camera has manual focus - use it to focus on the subject. Setting your aperture at a lower number - say f-4 - will also help to make the subject "pop" by making the props slightly out of focus.
You might also want to experiment with the placement of the subject (and the props). In the above photo, my eyes were immediately drawn to the .44 and the hawk was the "prop" (secondary to the .44 and the speed loaders). If the hawk is the subject - an assumption on my part - I would place it in a more forward position (bottom of the handle in the bottom right corner and slanted toward the top left corner). This should place the head right at the "rule of thirds" position (divide the frame by thirds with imaginary lines - where they intersect is typically the preferred positioning for the subject). I'd then place the .44 in the top right corner and the speed loaders (probably only 1 or 2 of them) around the .44. I would also make sure the .44 was pointed into the picture (like it is now) which would mandate turning it over if you were to place it in the top right corner).
The reason for my suggestions is to focus the viewer's attention on the subject. The props help tell the story and the subject is the story. I would leave the hawk facing as it is - the maker's mark is an important part of the story.
Don't be afraid to crop if needed, and don't constrain yourself to the restrictions of the camera's native crop. You can arrange the subject (and the props) to your liking and zoom out a bit to get it all in the shot. Then crop the shot so that the final picture best tells the story (which is the subject). For web use - anything less than a large crop will still produce a viable shot.
I do like the shot and would suggest only a bit of tweaking with the lighting if your intent was to feature the .44. If the subject is the hawk, I'd do a bit of tweaking with the composition and the lighting. I do think you're on the right path. Have fun and experiment a little - you'll find what you like and what you don't.
If you wish, you can buy reflectors for not much money (the big photo sites sell them). A silver reflector will give you brighter lighting; a gold reflector will cast a nice golden warmth on your subject.
You can soften your lighting by cutting out a piece of a milk jug - use the whitish jugs - and placing it in front of your light sources. Typically you'll want the back-lighting to be roughly 1/2 power (of the front lighting).
If your camera has manual focus - use it to focus on the subject. Setting your aperture at a lower number - say f-4 - will also help to make the subject "pop" by making the props slightly out of focus.
You might also want to experiment with the placement of the subject (and the props). In the above photo, my eyes were immediately drawn to the .44 and the hawk was the "prop" (secondary to the .44 and the speed loaders). If the hawk is the subject - an assumption on my part - I would place it in a more forward position (bottom of the handle in the bottom right corner and slanted toward the top left corner). This should place the head right at the "rule of thirds" position (divide the frame by thirds with imaginary lines - where they intersect is typically the preferred positioning for the subject). I'd then place the .44 in the top right corner and the speed loaders (probably only 1 or 2 of them) around the .44. I would also make sure the .44 was pointed into the picture (like it is now) which would mandate turning it over if you were to place it in the top right corner).
The reason for my suggestions is to focus the viewer's attention on the subject. The props help tell the story and the subject is the story. I would leave the hawk facing as it is - the maker's mark is an important part of the story.
Don't be afraid to crop if needed, and don't constrain yourself to the restrictions of the camera's native crop. You can arrange the subject (and the props) to your liking and zoom out a bit to get it all in the shot. Then crop the shot so that the final picture best tells the story (which is the subject). For web use - anything less than a large crop will still produce a viable shot.
I do like the shot and would suggest only a bit of tweaking with the lighting if your intent was to feature the .44. If the subject is the hawk, I'd do a bit of tweaking with the composition and the lighting. I do think you're on the right path. Have fun and experiment a little - you'll find what you like and what you don't.
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2008
- Messages
- 5,773
John I also think you should also check your White Balance. There are a number of tutorials on the web about this.
You should post this over on the photography section. I am sure that Coop and a few others will give you excellent advice.
That urban hawk is a winner........
You should post this over on the photography section. I am sure that Coop and a few others will give you excellent advice.
That urban hawk is a winner........
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,409
Hi John -
I can tell those are much better - nice color too!
I always have to fidget around with the knife and the camera angle to eliminate the reflections - and recently I determined that I have been using too much light.
Nice job! I have a lot of fun taking pictures, and I think you are having fun doing it too!
best regards -
mqqn
I can tell those are much better - nice color too!
I always have to fidget around with the knife and the camera angle to eliminate the reflections - and recently I determined that I have been using too much light.
Nice job! I have a lot of fun taking pictures, and I think you are having fun doing it too!
best regards -
mqqn
- Joined
- May 25, 2011
- Messages
- 854
Very well done. I really like the warmth in this shot and my eyes are immediately drawn to the knife.:thumbup:
You should be quite proud of yourself, John. That is an excellent shot.
If you remember the exposure used with this shot, I'd try to duplicate the shot with a couple of changes.
1. Set your shutter speed one stop faster (while keeping the aperture the same and the lighting the same). See if this helps with the highlights on the blade.
If you can meter on the blade, that should get you in the ballpark (as far as the correct exposure is concerned). Some cameras will let you meter without auto-focusing (1/2 press on the shutter button). Take note of those settings (when metering on the blade). If your camera doesn't have such a feature, here's a trick.
Set the camera to auto-focus and whichever mode you wish. With the same lighting (as above) focus/meter on the blade and take note of the settings that the camera's algorithms is suggesting. Take a few shots as tests to see how they're turning out. If you like the results (concentrating on the correct exposure for the blade and - to a somewhat lesser degree - the handle of the knife) go to manual mode and dial in those settings. Then compose your shot, focus so the blade is nice and sharp, then take the shots. Take multiple shots - later you can toss out those shots that aren't quite as good.
2. I'd move the pistol back slightly, or take the shot from a slightly lower angle. Either action will help place the pistol further away in the photo - which draws even more attention to the knife. You could bring the knife slightly closer too.
A couple of other things for your consideration...
Gimp is a software program (free) that can be used to work on photographs. I have not used it in years, but there are a lot of people (heavy into photography) that do use it for all of their work. It has a learning curve, as does any other program, but the price is fantastic (free).
It's important, in digital photography, to expose for the highlights. Once blown out, they cannot be recovered by software. I don't worry (myself) about blown highlights if those highlights don't matter in the story I'm attempting to tell. I do worry about the highlights if they're vital to the story/subject.
You expose for the highlights by metering off of the brightest part of your subject. Being able to separate metering and focusing is a big help in doing this, but there are some tricks to get around that.
One is to focus/meter on the subject and then (while holding the shutter button halfway down) recompose the shot to your liking.
Another is bracketing - a lot of cameras do have this feature. It basically takes 3 (or more) shots - one according to the meter (and algorithms) built in the camera, one that is under-exposed and one that is over-exposed. This can help you find the correct exposure fairly quickly.
It helps if you use a tripod or some stable platform for your camera. When using a tripod, it helps if you use the timer function on your camera.
As for the white balance, I think the colors are excellent. My monitor is calibrated, so I am assuming that I am seeing the correct colors. Bear in mind the fact that I almost always prefer "warmer" shots.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2007
- Messages
- 1,121
Good job, that is an improvement. I need to work on my photos,too. It's nice of Tahts to take the time and offer up advise/suggestions for all of us.
JK Knives
Moderator
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2001
- Messages
- 28,094
I know! When you look at his photos in his reviews, the just pop out at you. mqqn is no slouch when it comes to taking photos either.
JK Knives
Moderator
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2001
- Messages
- 28,094
The Glock is one I modified for my wife. Shortened the grip frame to G19 specs, removed the hook on the front of the triggerguard, and installed Heinie Straight 8 sights. She is deadly with it, between the Glock and her killer Boxer, Stella, she is not one to mess with!I can only suggest Hogue grips for the glock!
