- Joined
- Jun 6, 2002
- Messages
- 2,986
Jim Cooper arrived at the NCCKS show this weekend, all cocked and locked to shoot excellent photos of excellent knives. He had two tables just outside the entrance to the show, and upon them lay his shooting rig, computer and monitor, hi-res color printer and a space for laying out all the orders he was taking from many of the makers present.
Many of you have seen Jim Coopers photos on this very forum. They visually articulate knife details that are usually visible only upon close scrutiny of the actual knife, as opposed to many photos that most of us capture that do not do our knives justice.
His show pricing was exceptionally reasonable and it was clear many makers were having Coop do his thing on their beautiful wares, taking advantage of the good deal he was offering. And how convenient! Getting it done right then and there - little waiting and no shipping charges or shipping time.
Seeing the man in action is economy of movement - selecting the appropriate background, setting up the shot that brings out the particular knifes details, adjusting his economical and home-built, but powerful lighting setup, and then moving about with the camera, getting just the right angle of view.
His generous examples were displayed on a large monitor, using commercially available slide-show software, that is also a database of the image captures.
Many on this forum have seen Coops photoshop prowess, where he takes several shots of a single knife and juxtaposes them all seamlessly, as though he had duplicate knives to place on the shooting surface, all in specific views of the knife.
I came away from there with a lot more shooting ideas to help my own budding photography skills, as many did, with Coop generously sharing tips on-the-fly.
If anyone out there is thinking of trading or selling a mid to high dollar custom, it might be well worth your time and effort to have the knife shot by Coop. As with many of the fancy folders, looks can kill - meaning a badly shot photo will not let others know the true splendors that your available knife has to offer. Besides the specs, the knife has to look good - paramount if youre selling it on the internet.
Many of you have seen Jim Coopers photos on this very forum. They visually articulate knife details that are usually visible only upon close scrutiny of the actual knife, as opposed to many photos that most of us capture that do not do our knives justice.
His show pricing was exceptionally reasonable and it was clear many makers were having Coop do his thing on their beautiful wares, taking advantage of the good deal he was offering. And how convenient! Getting it done right then and there - little waiting and no shipping charges or shipping time.
Seeing the man in action is economy of movement - selecting the appropriate background, setting up the shot that brings out the particular knifes details, adjusting his economical and home-built, but powerful lighting setup, and then moving about with the camera, getting just the right angle of view.
His generous examples were displayed on a large monitor, using commercially available slide-show software, that is also a database of the image captures.
Many on this forum have seen Coops photoshop prowess, where he takes several shots of a single knife and juxtaposes them all seamlessly, as though he had duplicate knives to place on the shooting surface, all in specific views of the knife.
I came away from there with a lot more shooting ideas to help my own budding photography skills, as many did, with Coop generously sharing tips on-the-fly.
If anyone out there is thinking of trading or selling a mid to high dollar custom, it might be well worth your time and effort to have the knife shot by Coop. As with many of the fancy folders, looks can kill - meaning a badly shot photo will not let others know the true splendors that your available knife has to offer. Besides the specs, the knife has to look good - paramount if youre selling it on the internet.
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