Is this deceptive?

[Bailey Knives]

I have figured out how to finally take decent pictures of hamons. (it involves a black background). I want to make sure that I am not misleading my customers, though. Here are two pics. In different light, sometimes you see something like the first picture. Hamons respond greatly to different light angles, and are notoriously difficult to catch on camera. The knife does not always look like pic #1, but sometimes does (in the right light). It often looks like pic #2. What should I do? Maybe a disclaimer? It really does have a nice hamon, and I want to show that as much as possible in the pictures.

 

[Leu Custom]

"Your hamon on your new custom knife will look only as good as my photography skills at the moment"

 

[Bailey Knives]

Thats perfect!! I might cut and paste that for future use. Thanks!

 

[JatMat]

Disclose that the darker hamon was intently darkened as to show it off. And that it does show up like that in certain lighting conditions.

BTW: Nice knife and beautiful hamon.
Congrats,
Jim

 

[Redrummd]

Post both pictures and note that the one showing the harmon so well was taken against a dark background withthe light at the optimum angle to show the harmon line.

 

[JasonSCarter]

"The process of creating a hamon highlights the natural chatoyance of the steel. diffrent lighting conditions will produce diffrent results."

Jason

 

[strahd71]

"just keep turning the knife in the light slowly until you get the desired affect.... then dont move"

jake

 

[hardheart]

I would say this is no more deceptive than using a lightbox. You aren't editing the image after capturing it, and you aren't altering the knife, you're just compensating for the inherent limitations of 2D photography.

 

[strahd71]

old hartheart kind of summed it up..... take the best pics you can, be honest and don't worry!

jake

 

[Ken Hurst]

"Hamon photographically inhanced " --- yeah, that's the term.

 

[NickWheeler]

If anybody says that it's deceptive, then they've never produced a clay hardened and polished blade.

You cannot capture all the effects of a hamon in a static photograph. It simply CANNOT be done. But wanting to give an idea as to what someone would see while holding the blade is 100% acceptable.

Japanese swords are photographed with a black material above them for the same reason.

Jim Cooper found out just how effective a black reflecting surface could be for this when working to get an image for me about 4 years ago.

Here it is without:

And here it is with a black reflective surface above the blade:

You could see a lot more activity in the hamon while rolling the knife around in your hand... but Jim did an excellent job bringing the main character of it out... and I do not feel it was deceptive in the slightest little bit. Of course YMMV.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

It is not deceptive at all. Nick demonstrated perfectly how hard it is to photograph a hamon. Anyone who purchases a knife with such features would have the knowledge of this. Japanese sword enthusiasts sit for long time periods, slowly turning the sword to study the hamon. The nuance can be hard to catch, and then suddenly jump at you in 3D.

If you want to put any statement at all, don't make it sound like a disclaimer, as that would sound like you were covering some flaw or other deception. Simply post two photos, and state that the one photo is showing the hamon. Using Nicks photos for example, the captions would read:
Photo (1) - "The Blade Details"
Photo (2) - "The Hamon"

Stacy

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

If Burt gets mad at me, I'll just have to take the heat.
If you can do just some basic photo editing you can show both views:

 

[mdoyle]

If Burt gets mad at me, I'll just have to take the heat.
If you can do just some basic photo editing you can show both views:

Karl
Looks like you have REALLY been bitten by the integral bug!!! Man those are just outstanding!:thumbup:
Matt Doyle

 

[Salem Straub]

This is why I love Bladeforums. An interesting conversation, a great photo technique I didn't know about, and some BEAUTIFUL knives! Rock on, guys.:thumbup:

 

[Marion David Poff]

It is not deceptive at all. Nick demonstrated perfectly how hard it is to photograph a hamon. Anyone who purchases a knife with such features would have the knowledge of this. Japanese sword enthusiasts sit for long time periods, slowly turning the sword to study the hamon. The nuance can be hard to catch, and then suddenly jump at you in 3D.

If you want to put any statement at all, don't make it sound like a disclaimer, as that would sound like you were covering some flaw or other deception. Simply post two photos, and state that the one photo is showing the hamon. Using Nicks photos for example, the captions would read:
Photo (1) - "The Blade Details"
Photo (2) - "The Hamon"

Stacy

+1

Marion

 

[Mike Krall]

Show three, all distinctly different, with; "This is the knife and hamon in differing light".

Everybody's and expert... =]

Mike

 

[okzj]

Holy crap!!! THAT'S how you guys get the hamons to stand out in the pics? I've been trying for ages to get my hamons to etch that dark, and here it was phototrickery all along...

I feel better now, and no, it's not misleading.