Knives and Digital Cameras

[Ed Caffrey]

Merry Christmas to everyone!
I'm stepping into an area that I know very little about. My wonderful wife got me a Sony Mavica 83FD digital camera for Christmas. I have been talking about one for about a year, becasue there are so many things that I would like to record,(knives and processes), but can't always justify having every knife sent out for photos. I've been playing with the thing today, and sorta have the hang of things, but lighting seems to be a major problem. (lots of shadows and such). Do any of you have any experience with these things? And if so, I could sure use any tips you might have. A bladesmith, I might be, but a photograher I'm not! Thanks Gang!

http://www.mtn-webtech.com/~caffrey

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Ed Caffrey
"The Montana Bladesmith"

 

[L6steel]

Ed, pick up one of those swing arm lights that has a 4 power magnifier glass in it, they come with a clamp to attach it to your desk. Also get a nice backdrop of medium blue or red crushed velvet to put knives on.Turn the view window on the camera on so you can look at the picture without having to hold the camera up to your eye. With this light, you can set the item down, then simply move the light around till you get the best picture you possibly can. I used to sell factory knives on Ebay, and I used the magnifier glass to take picture of exceptional handles, and mostly tang stamps. You have to play with it, but you'll be suprised how sharp your pictures will come out. Take care!! Michael

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"Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!"

 

[barnaby]

I used to shoot product catalogues with a medium format camera plus a couple of flash lights (not studio lights). The trick is instead of lighting your subject directly, try to bounce the light off a couple of large (3'x3' or more) flat surfaces of neutral color (white). That is my poor man's studio light.

With a large format camera you can have great perspective with tilt and swing (don't ask if you don't know what I'm talking about

), but with a medium format camera I can at least control the exposure and depth of field. Unfortunately all consumer class digital cameras treat the users as idiots

. FYI professional digital camera starts from $20K and up.

 

[PhilL]

Ed let me say first of all I'm a great admirer of your work. I was a Professional Photographer for about 15 years, though I have been out of the business for some time.
I don't own a Digital Camera, but I think I might be able to help you with some Basics.
First read the manual, second find out how close you can focus on your subject manually. Third I would suggest you get a Tripod, it doesn't have to be expensive, just get one that's solid and doesn't shake, this will make your life a whole lot easier, and once you get the setup it'll be easy to repeat the next time you needit.

The Setup; Get yourself a small worktable, (a 2' by 3' piece of 3/4" plywood will be fine.)
Place the worktable on the floor, or a low platform.
Cover the worktable with any background you like, (fabric, leather, rocks, etc.) try not to make it too busy, it'll detract from your work.
Place your subject piece on the background.
Place your tripod and camera directly over the subject, or just a very slight angle. Frame and Focus. Lock the camra in position.
Next, time to light your subject. Shiny obects can be tough, since they reflect everything back into the lens. Metals photograph best with reflected or diffused lighting. I wouldn't reccomend using a flash on the camera.
For Reflected light: Get yourself a piece of white foamcore, (about 3' by 3'). Lean the foamcore against the top of the camera and the top of your worktable at about a 45 degree angle. Place a focus light between the legs of the tripod, and bounce the light off the foamcore, you will also pick up a highlight on the edge of the blade and on the handle.
Look through the viewfinder, adjust the light if necessary. If your blade is a mirror polished, you may see a reflection of the camera, just change your camera angle.
Exposure; I assume most of these digital cameras have Auto-exposure, just do a few test shots, then try moving your light just a little and see how that looks to you. When you think you have it, try another knife with the same setup, or change the background if you like. Once you get it down it's easy to repeat, even if you can't leave it setup.
For Diffused lighting; it's basically the same technique, only instead of the foamcore you can use a frame with Mylar, and put the light behind it, small reflectors can be used to put highlights where you want them.

I hope this makes sense to you, it would be easier to explain with a diagram, but I hope this helps. If you have any questions you can E-mail me.

Happy Holidays, enjoy your new camera,
PhilL



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"Will work 4 Knives!"

 

[Blues]

Ed,

I think fellow Montanan, Rob Simonich, uses the Mavica as well.

Looks like a collaboration may be in order.

Blues

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Live Free or Die

Some Knife Pix

 

[Radioman]

I've got a white cloth (not rubber lined)shower curtain hanging from the ceiling of my office

with 3 halogen floods pointing at it. Breaks up the light nicely with no shadows. Experiment with white balance settings. Do use a tripod. I use the LCD for framing - the viewfinder lies. Not too many SLR digicams out there.

A. Dale McLean
<A HREF="http://adamsharps.com" TARGET="_blank">ADaM Sharps Cutlery - <FONT COLOR="#FF0000">Canadian</FONT> Knife Dealer</A>