- Joined
- Oct 1, 1999
- Messages
- 6,490
I have been impressed by the willingness of knife makers to share what theyve learned with others. As a way of saying thanks Id like to offer a way for everyone to take bettter pictures of their knives.
This is a very easy setup for taking pictures of knives. It can be set up in seconds, and folds up until you need it again. This setup is suitable for film or digital cameras. It can be used with any light source, from inexpensive Photo Floods available at any hardware store, to long lasting high powered quartz halogen lights or a flash unit. It can even be used outdoors with direct sun as the light soucre. Do not use fluorescent lights. I don not suggest you use the flash on the camera. Once you determine the correct exposure for this setup simply measure the distance of the light to the screen and your exposures will be the same.
What youll need:
Besides the light on a stand, or clamped to a chair.
A tripod is recommended.
A 2 by 3 piece of plywood, as the shooting surface.
A 2 by 3 frame covered with white frosted Mylar (available at most art supply stores) or several layers of tracing paper.
A couple of hinges to attach the long side of the plywood to the frame.
Supports on the side of the frame to hold the screen up at different angles.
A couple of small white cards or mirrors as reflectors to bounce light back into the shadow side of knife handles.
How to use:
Place unit on floor, lift screen, cover plywood with your choice of background material.
Support screen at about 45 degree angle to floor. Place light behind the screen, shinning through, adjust so that there is no Hot Spot.
Place subject knife on background, place your eye near the top edge of the screen, (where the camera will be) adjust angle. If needed some clay can be used to tilt the knife to a better angle.
To show more texture on the knife lower the light, to flatten raise the light.
Place camera on tripod where your eye was, zoom in to focus on knife, zoom out to compose, but dont show too much background. Take a shot. Next try positioning reflectors to bounce light back into the shadow side of the knife. Look through the viewfinder and make sure the reflectors arent in the shot. Take a shot. You can compare the two shots, with and without reflectors later.
If you want to shoot another knife, just put it in position.
Thats it.
BTW, I said 2 by 3 because its a good size to shoot even up to small collections, you could if you prefer make a smaller setup 18 by 24 for example.
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"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site
This is a very easy setup for taking pictures of knives. It can be set up in seconds, and folds up until you need it again. This setup is suitable for film or digital cameras. It can be used with any light source, from inexpensive Photo Floods available at any hardware store, to long lasting high powered quartz halogen lights or a flash unit. It can even be used outdoors with direct sun as the light soucre. Do not use fluorescent lights. I don not suggest you use the flash on the camera. Once you determine the correct exposure for this setup simply measure the distance of the light to the screen and your exposures will be the same.
What youll need:
Besides the light on a stand, or clamped to a chair.
A tripod is recommended.
A 2 by 3 piece of plywood, as the shooting surface.
A 2 by 3 frame covered with white frosted Mylar (available at most art supply stores) or several layers of tracing paper.
A couple of hinges to attach the long side of the plywood to the frame.
Supports on the side of the frame to hold the screen up at different angles.
A couple of small white cards or mirrors as reflectors to bounce light back into the shadow side of knife handles.
How to use:
Place unit on floor, lift screen, cover plywood with your choice of background material.
Support screen at about 45 degree angle to floor. Place light behind the screen, shinning through, adjust so that there is no Hot Spot.
Place subject knife on background, place your eye near the top edge of the screen, (where the camera will be) adjust angle. If needed some clay can be used to tilt the knife to a better angle.
To show more texture on the knife lower the light, to flatten raise the light.
Place camera on tripod where your eye was, zoom in to focus on knife, zoom out to compose, but dont show too much background. Take a shot. Next try positioning reflectors to bounce light back into the shadow side of the knife. Look through the viewfinder and make sure the reflectors arent in the shot. Take a shot. You can compare the two shots, with and without reflectors later.
If you want to shoot another knife, just put it in position.
Thats it.
BTW, I said 2 by 3 because its a good size to shoot even up to small collections, you could if you prefer make a smaller setup 18 by 24 for example.
------------------
"Will work 4 Knives!"
My PhotoPoint Site
