Backdrops and props
- Thread starter CraigC
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bannockburn
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- Apr 24, 2007
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A few of my revolvers and props photos:
GunnyUSMC
Member
CopperFouling
Member
What's the story on those sixguns, @CraigC?
Yup, photographers call that the "golden hour." It is quite surprising how different a photograph looks then as compared to how it looks at, say, noon.
Boomholzer
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- Jun 4, 2021
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- 231
my wife is a photographer and also often insists on cloudy days.
Inside, repost, 'cause it fits the barnwood themeView attachment 1032936
Inside, repost, 'cause it fits the barnwood themeView attachment 1032936
Pat Riot
Contributing Member
All the photos that I have posted here were taken with iPhones.
I like this photo. I thought the red white and blue polymer coated bullets in the .22 cartridges would add some color to a mundane blue rag with my model 63 lying on it at the indoor range. The revolver is pointing down range sitting on the bench. I just turned the phone to snap the photo.
I like this photo. I thought the red white and blue polymer coated bullets in the .22 cartridges would add some color to a mundane blue rag with my model 63 lying on it at the indoor range. The revolver is pointing down range sitting on the bench. I just turned the phone to snap the photo.
hawg
Member
My pics don't usually turn out well but I actually won a handmade holster with this one in a photo contest on another forum. I let the guy that came in second place have it tho.
hawg
Member
duplicate post
Night stand gun on the nightstand. Which I thought was appropriate.
Candid camera shot of the back door at my house. Not a prop deal at all, just the way it was that day. And is most days, with changing hats and jackets.
I like the shirt.
Ok, a prop backdrop.
Best gun photo I've ever taken, I think.
I'm no photographer by any stretch. These were all taken with a Samsung Galaxy S7. Which comparatively speaking is a real dinosaur of a phone.
Candid camera shot of the back door at my house. Not a prop deal at all, just the way it was that day. And is most days, with changing hats and jackets.
I like the shirt.
Ok, a prop backdrop.
Best gun photo I've ever taken, I think.
I'm no photographer by any stretch. These were all taken with a Samsung Galaxy S7. Which comparatively speaking is a real dinosaur of a phone.
Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
I like to take my photos outside. I live in a condo/townhouse, so this puts some restrictions on where I can take out door photos of firearms. It just will not do for me to wander around the condo property with revolver in hand to find some nice old stump to use as a backdrop. I take most of my photos outdoors on the deck behind our townhouse. I usually wait for a cloudy day when the lighting will be diffuse and not show harsh shadows and reflections.
This photo of a S&W Schofield 1st Model is typical. The boards on our deck are painted a light gray color and they make for a good background for my photos. The diffuse light of a cloudy day softens the photo.
I make an effort to take good photos. I use a nice digital Nikon Single Lens Reflex. I will usually sit in a chair on the deck and brace the camera on my knees to keep it steady. Ansel Adams used to set up perfectly for his outdoor photos, and only take one exposure. He did not have the luxury of a digital camera. Pixels are cheap. I always take a few shots, and then select the best one in my computer. I never take just one photo.
I take detail photos of the insides of a revolver indoors. I don't want to be messing about outdoors with a disassembled revolver and lose parts under the deck. I usually use a red piece of cloth for a backdrop. I have a Lume Cube that generates diffuse light and I will hand hold it and move it around until I get the photo I want without too much glare or shadows.
When taking photos to compare more than one revolver, I line them up so they are all oriented the same way. I also try to get all the barrels parallel. Clearly I did not do a great job with the Russian model at the bottom of this photo. Also, parallax sneaks in sometimes. Notice the perceived views of the three revolvers are slightly different because of how close I had to hold the camera for this photo.
I have been experimenting more recently with not lining up the barrels perfectly parallel with the boards on the deck. This seems to be a more forgiving layout and I will probably be doing more of this.
Now, if you will all allow me to voice a pet peeve: I really dislike it when someone asks questions about a firearm and the only photo they post is a poorly lit and poorly focused cell phone photo. Nothing wrong with cell phones, I use mine for photos all the time. But I take the time to use good lighting, make sure the object is in focus, and I take more than one shot.
I like to take my photos outside. I live in a condo/townhouse, so this puts some restrictions on where I can take out door photos of firearms. It just will not do for me to wander around the condo property with revolver in hand to find some nice old stump to use as a backdrop. I take most of my photos outdoors on the deck behind our townhouse. I usually wait for a cloudy day when the lighting will be diffuse and not show harsh shadows and reflections.
This photo of a S&W Schofield 1st Model is typical. The boards on our deck are painted a light gray color and they make for a good background for my photos. The diffuse light of a cloudy day softens the photo.
I make an effort to take good photos. I use a nice digital Nikon Single Lens Reflex. I will usually sit in a chair on the deck and brace the camera on my knees to keep it steady. Ansel Adams used to set up perfectly for his outdoor photos, and only take one exposure. He did not have the luxury of a digital camera. Pixels are cheap. I always take a few shots, and then select the best one in my computer. I never take just one photo.
I take detail photos of the insides of a revolver indoors. I don't want to be messing about outdoors with a disassembled revolver and lose parts under the deck. I usually use a red piece of cloth for a backdrop. I have a Lume Cube that generates diffuse light and I will hand hold it and move it around until I get the photo I want without too much glare or shadows.
When taking photos to compare more than one revolver, I line them up so they are all oriented the same way. I also try to get all the barrels parallel. Clearly I did not do a great job with the Russian model at the bottom of this photo. Also, parallax sneaks in sometimes. Notice the perceived views of the three revolvers are slightly different because of how close I had to hold the camera for this photo.
I have been experimenting more recently with not lining up the barrels perfectly parallel with the boards on the deck. This seems to be a more forgiving layout and I will probably be doing more of this.
Now, if you will all allow me to voice a pet peeve: I really dislike it when someone asks questions about a firearm and the only photo they post is a poorly lit and poorly focused cell phone photo. Nothing wrong with cell phones, I use mine for photos all the time. But I take the time to use good lighting, make sure the object is in focus, and I take more than one shot.
OP
OP
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
That's a custom Ruger Old Model flat-top .44Special by Jim Stroh. Finished in matte hard chrome. The other is a USFA Rodeo II in matte nickel. Turned out to be a good pic to illustrate the color difference.
Phones have come a long way. Dad was over one day and took a better pic of my engraved Schofield with his iPhone 12 than I could with my SLR, even with PhotoShop's help.
GunnyUSMC
Member
GunnyUSMC
Member
A French MAS 35A with 1946 French 32 Long ammo.
Old Dog
Member
Anybody see the theme here? (Hint: old song by Jim Lauderdale)
Old Dog
Member
Posted this one before.. what a cop might carry... the "back in the day" theme
GunnyUSMC
Member
v8stang289
Member
Lighting and contrast play an important role, and sometimes there's a fine line between artistic and cluttered. I do what I like, and hope others may like it too.
Just took this with the aid of bourbon, my galaxy s7, and a few props.
The revolver and belt are my Grandpa's(Mom's dad) and are both repro's, the books are my Great Granddad's (Dad's Granddad) and are 1st editions, copyright 1881. Took this pic 10 minutes ago in my kitchen, I played with the color, clarity, light & vignette a bit with the basic photo software my pc came with. I like the way it turned out. But at the end of the day, art is subjective, and photos are art.
Just took this with the aid of bourbon, my galaxy s7, and a few props.
The revolver and belt are my Grandpa's(Mom's dad) and are both repro's, the books are my Great Granddad's (Dad's Granddad) and are 1st editions, copyright 1881. Took this pic 10 minutes ago in my kitchen, I played with the color, clarity, light & vignette a bit with the basic photo software my pc came with. I like the way it turned out. But at the end of the day, art is subjective, and photos are art.
bannockburn
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- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 26,308
v8stang289
Very nicely done! Especially like the two books in your photo! Gives the scene a certain continuity with the past and with everything else there.
Very nicely done! Especially like the two books in your photo! Gives the scene a certain continuity with the past and with everything else there.
OlKrom
Member
Old Dog
Member
No props really necessary...
v8stang289
Member
But....Isn't the magazine a prop?
Old Dog
Member
Eh, er, mebbe. Or simply coincidence that I had the April 2020 issue of G&A on my kitchen island on the day I cleaned the Python over morning coffee...
Big Bore TX
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- Joined
- Dec 11, 2019
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- 93
Took this of my PC 44 this past weekend while out on a midday walk at my lease.
stonebuster
Member
I've been experimenting with outdoor pictures trying to improve my skills. Took these
of the 1978 DW 15-2 357 this morning.
of the 1978 DW 15-2 357 this morning.
YellowcatDaddy
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- Joined
- Sep 24, 2021
- Messages
- 59
Contrast helps. But what works for the stainless—not so much for the blued. What can you do but keep trying.- Status
