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Taking knife pictures
- Thread starter Tom Lewis
- Start date
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- Apr 8, 2016
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- 6,630
you may have to use more light or different light sources. overall thats not bad.
you could try daylight, sunlight is great for photos, especially on a nice wood table or rocks.
the light tent you have is suppose to difuse the light, thats what its doing, but your light sources may need to be re-positioned, add more, or change the ones you have. There is a photography section on the forum for more questions and answers you have (tho i couldnt find it sadly)
you could try daylight, sunlight is great for photos, especially on a nice wood table or rocks.
the light tent you have is suppose to difuse the light, thats what its doing, but your light sources may need to be re-positioned, add more, or change the ones you have. There is a photography section on the forum for more questions and answers you have (tho i couldnt find it sadly)
Josh Rider
Stuff maker
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- Sep 2, 2014
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- 2,428
Will be watching this thread. I built a small tent based on the old thread I think Coop did and bought three of the daylight lights and still am getting sub par pics.
screencast
screencast
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- Feb 27, 2006
- Messages
- 5,191
tom, i think that looks good. nice inlay too. this is the best post on it http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/328550-No-Frills-75-00-home-studio-tent-lightbox josh, i think one of the things you need is a front reflector. on one of those pages he shows a with/without reflector comparison.
Josh Rider
Stuff maker
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- Sep 2, 2014
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- 2,428
Thanks John, I must have missed that.
Josh Rider
Stuff maker
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2014
- Messages
- 2,428
Tom, do you prefer a certain bulb?
It looks like you have good color and no problem with shadows.
It looks like you have good color and no problem with shadows.
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2010
- Messages
- 1,154
To me, the most important factor in good knife pictures is strong, but indirect natural light. I prefer to use backgrounds that provide contrast and a complementary color and texture.
For example, this kitchen knife picture has a wooden cutting board as the background. It kind of gives people an idea of what it is used for well.
You can also get creative with your backgrounds. This one is the bottom of a wheelbarrow. The blue plays off nicely with the blue in the handle.
And sometimes you can't go wrong with a simple white background. As long as the lighting is good then it should work out well in the end.
A photo editing application can also work wonders in making the knives appear more like they do in person. Often the colors get washed out and have to be corrected afterwards.
I hope this helps a little, let me know if you have any questions and I'll try my best to help out.
For example, this kitchen knife picture has a wooden cutting board as the background. It kind of gives people an idea of what it is used for well.
You can also get creative with your backgrounds. This one is the bottom of a wheelbarrow. The blue plays off nicely with the blue in the handle.
And sometimes you can't go wrong with a simple white background. As long as the lighting is good then it should work out well in the end.
A photo editing application can also work wonders in making the knives appear more like they do in person. Often the colors get washed out and have to be corrected afterwards.
I hope this helps a little, let me know if you have any questions and I'll try my best to help out.
- Joined
- Nov 15, 1998
- Messages
- 3,133
Retired now, but have done professional photography in the past. If you want accurate colors, you must measure the light. Even expensive cameras only guess, and guess wrong over 90 percent of the time. No worries, I have spent hundreds of dollars on equipment to measure light so you don't have to. Conclusion ... nothing is more accurate or easier to use than a whibal (no affiliation) available on the big auction site or their web site. Buy one, or at least some grey reference of some sort.
I shoot in the shade of my house on sunny days, use the entire sky for your lightbox. Set your whibal or other grey reference card on the edge of your photo, doesn't matter because you will crop it out anyway. Set your knives barely in the shade, right on the borderline between shade and sun. Shoot in RAW mode and use your grey reference to accurately set the color by clicking on it using the white balance adjust tool. Your colors are now accurate. This background is a piece of scrap marble, used a blue wheelgun to hold the knife at the angle I wanted. Straight lines are boring, angle your knife slightly. Don't put the maker's name upside down!
Observe the reflections through your viewfinder and adjust to keep them to a minimum, hard to do with multiple knives. You can see the blue sky in the bolsters / shields in this pic. An old piece of lumber makes a good background.
It ain't rocket science ...
I shoot in the shade of my house on sunny days, use the entire sky for your lightbox. Set your whibal or other grey reference card on the edge of your photo, doesn't matter because you will crop it out anyway. Set your knives barely in the shade, right on the borderline between shade and sun. Shoot in RAW mode and use your grey reference to accurately set the color by clicking on it using the white balance adjust tool. Your colors are now accurate. This background is a piece of scrap marble, used a blue wheelgun to hold the knife at the angle I wanted. Straight lines are boring, angle your knife slightly. Don't put the maker's name upside down!
Observe the reflections through your viewfinder and adjust to keep them to a minimum, hard to do with multiple knives. You can see the blue sky in the bolsters / shields in this pic. An old piece of lumber makes a good background.
It ain't rocket science ...
