Have we ever had a thread on gun photography techniques? We have some very good images show up here. I would like to know what kind of cameras, lighting, lenses and software for postprocessing everyone uses. I just got a new Nikon D70 camera and want to take detailed images of my guns.
Gun photographs
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Harry Tuttle
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http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=57796
The D-70 is a nice tool.
use a tripod and lots of lights
fill, spot and key
The D-70 is a nice tool.
use a tripod and lots of lights
fill, spot and key
I have a Nikon Coolpix 3100 that has worked well for me.
Some tips:
If your camera doesn't come with one, buy the AC adapter; saves a lot on batteries when at home.
Buy a card reader; they are inexpensive and save using the camera for storage and transfer.
Shadows are best eliminated by using under-lit ground glass, but that is a professional technique not many folks are set up for. I usually use just a light blue desk blotter; it seems to work well and there is no reflection or distracting background.
For most identification purposes, close up photography is desireable; see your camera's manual for "how to".
Use Photo Shop or a similar program to crop and edit pictures. A manual for the photo software is a must.
Use the crop and image size features to get rid of extraneous background; we want to see your rifle, not your whole bedroom or most of your backyard. Also edit to reduce the number of pixels (and thus the number of bytes) of the picture. A high pixel count is not usually needed and reducing the size in bytes means quicker downloads and quicker reading, especially for dial-up users.
Some sites allow you to upload pictures to their own server (this one does). Some sites allow you to link to a picture on your own computer, but that is not good unless you leave your computer on 24/7. If you can't upload to the site itself, find a place to put your picture so it is available to readers. Don't use a site that requires logging on or membership to access; remember, we don't have your password and we don't want to provide another Spam address to someone. Most ISP's have a server that will host your pictures and it is normally free, part of the service. Contact your ISP before paying extra for a commercial host site.
Check your site to see what file extensions they can handle, and also remember that some readers might not be able to handle some extensions. You are pretty safe with jpg, but some other extensions might not work.
Some rules of photography don't apply to digital cameras, but the basic laws of light have not been repealed. A good book on photography or digital photography is very helpful. At least, a digital camera lets you learn cheap, without worrying about developing tanks, darkrooms, or trips to the drugstore.
Remember pictures can take up a whole lot of disk space, memory, and server space. So it is a good idea to clean up once in a while, both in your own "My Pictures" and on your picture server. Site files will be taken care of by the site administrator.
Jim
Some tips:
If your camera doesn't come with one, buy the AC adapter; saves a lot on batteries when at home.
Buy a card reader; they are inexpensive and save using the camera for storage and transfer.
Shadows are best eliminated by using under-lit ground glass, but that is a professional technique not many folks are set up for. I usually use just a light blue desk blotter; it seems to work well and there is no reflection or distracting background.
For most identification purposes, close up photography is desireable; see your camera's manual for "how to".
Use Photo Shop or a similar program to crop and edit pictures. A manual for the photo software is a must.
Use the crop and image size features to get rid of extraneous background; we want to see your rifle, not your whole bedroom or most of your backyard. Also edit to reduce the number of pixels (and thus the number of bytes) of the picture. A high pixel count is not usually needed and reducing the size in bytes means quicker downloads and quicker reading, especially for dial-up users.
Some sites allow you to upload pictures to their own server (this one does). Some sites allow you to link to a picture on your own computer, but that is not good unless you leave your computer on 24/7. If you can't upload to the site itself, find a place to put your picture so it is available to readers. Don't use a site that requires logging on or membership to access; remember, we don't have your password and we don't want to provide another Spam address to someone. Most ISP's have a server that will host your pictures and it is normally free, part of the service. Contact your ISP before paying extra for a commercial host site.
Check your site to see what file extensions they can handle, and also remember that some readers might not be able to handle some extensions. You are pretty safe with jpg, but some other extensions might not work.
Some rules of photography don't apply to digital cameras, but the basic laws of light have not been repealed. A good book on photography or digital photography is very helpful. At least, a digital camera lets you learn cheap, without worrying about developing tanks, darkrooms, or trips to the drugstore.
Remember pictures can take up a whole lot of disk space, memory, and server space. So it is a good idea to clean up once in a while, both in your own "My Pictures" and on your picture server. Site files will be taken care of by the site administrator.
Jim
BerettaNut92
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Indirect (buy an SB600 or SB800 and thank me later) lighting or available lighting. Don't use the onboard flash.
This was shot with an SB800 on wireless with the flash pointed up and placed to the side. About 8:00 position from the subjects (see shadows). Sidelighting makes your images look less 'flat' and the D70 wireless gives you lots of options.
D70 specific: Set your WB to cloudy unless you're shooting with available lighting in tungsten or flourescent.
This was shot with an SB800 on wireless with the flash pointed up and placed to the side. About 8:00 position from the subjects (see shadows). Sidelighting makes your images look less 'flat' and the D70 wireless gives you lots of options.
D70 specific: Set your WB to cloudy unless you're shooting with available lighting in tungsten or flourescent.
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