Need advice for a gun-related job...

[trooper]

Hi everybody,

I got a REAL cool job the other day...

There's this ex-army guy I know who is currently in the process of writing a couple books about firearms training for military and law enforcement. And he asked me (!!!) to take pictures for his books... (come on... admit that you envy me a bit )

I'll have a great time at the range, take pictures of it AND get paid a load of money

There will be some close-ups of the different weapons in the book but mostly he needs pictures of all different kinds of stances, grips, drawstrokes etc etc.

Do you have any suggestions or advice for me? I've been a serious hobby photographer for a couple years but I never worked on anything gun-related.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.



Regards,

Trooper

 

[Andrew Rothman]

If shooting indoors, good artificial lighting is important. A cheap 3-head flash system can be had in the $500 range.

If outdoors, "cloudy bright" days make for better lighting than bright, sunny days, when shadows can be harsh.

If you must shoot in bright sun, get an assistant with a reflector to open up some of the deep hadows.

Practice ahead of time -- take some pix of friends in similar poses and make sure you have the fundamentals down before doing it "for real."

Best yet -- take a class from Oleg!

 

[another okie]

1. Degrease the guns thoroughly on the outside before taking the pictures.

2. Find someone with good-looking hands. Don't laugh! Some people have good hands and some people have really ugly ones.

 

[rayra]

hunt up the guy that does the beauty shots for American Handgunner - Ichiro Nagata? ask his advice. His work is fantastic.

 

[Josey]

Get a contract, in writing. Be certain it spells out your payment. BTDT, got a rubber check.

 

[DonNikmare]

Go digital if you haven't already. You can see your pics right away and will have a lot more options as to editing them to improve them.

Nik

 

[another okie]

Ichiro wrote a short article some time ago about photographing guns. That's where the degreasing tip comes from. I don't have a copy of it or a link.

 

[trooper]

Thanks a lot, guys!!

I'll be using a digital camera. While it's not exactly a high-end SLR, it'll do the job.

I already took some test shots of my brother toting his BB gun (who is about to join the army and therefore totally gung-ho ). BTW that's what got me the job in the first place so I guess the guy must have liked them.

I also figured that a not-too-dark overcast day might provide the best natural lighting, so I asked him to reserve some range time on an outdoor range.

I might check with that "beauty" photographer but most of the work will be "action shots" anyway.

I won't have much choice regarding the models as the author insists on having only real soldiers and cops in his book.


Thanks again,

Trooper