Learning to do photos?

[mike williams]

I hope this photo shows up this time. I have been three hours trying to do this. If it does come up; could I get some tips from some of you more savvy guys on what I could do to make my photos more presentable. I don't think they will ever be really good but I would like to be able to send some that doesn't make my work look a whole lot worse than it is.
The conditions were overcast outside light with off white background. Camera set on auto.

thanks
Mike

[Peter Elovich]

GREAT looking knife Mike. I've admired your knives for a while and recall seeing the "Cloud" bowie a few years ago that had an incredible hamon.

The damascus on this one is VERY nice!

If you use "bladeforums.com", there is a subforum on photography that has a lot of good information.

Peter

[mike williams]

Thanks Peter,
Just trying to up my skill level on some things that I absolutely stink at. It is finally sinking in to my thick skull that presentation of your work is about as important as any of the other parts of knifemaking.

Mike

[Kevin Jones]

A light box helps a great deal Mike.
http://www.customknifecollectorsassociation.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=17

[Jim Cooper]

Just trying to up my skill level on some things that I absolutely stink at. It is finally sinking in to my thick skull that presentation of your work is about as important as any of the other parts of knifemaking.
Bravo! Knowing this is half the battle. Learning to display your work is as invaluable to a professional maker as is heatreat and leatherwork.

I'm the first guy to help a maker take better photos, and it's never hurt my business to do so.

First things first: Taking shots outdoors in available sunlight can have great results and disappointing results. All the day the color shifts or the cloud cover changes and the lighting may be simply too even. It's better than a crappy indoor shot, but for absolute consistency, day in, day out, or even nighttime, you should make a light tent and utilize this. Kevin pointed you to a link of a basic setup that's still the basis for every knife photo professional.

Even using outdoor sunlight, you can use a diffuser to calm the harshness. Go indoors and your settings remain consistent.

Second: I've taken over 6000 professional images and you still won't see me trying to use props. Not that it's invalid, but my clients and my market has decided that a great clear shot of a knife is good enough.

My point is to eliminate this confusing aspect and take it down to the simplest of shots: How clear can you show a knife on a muted background?

Only then will you see if you have gotten control of lighting to show the handle highlights and blade patterns. Until then, anything else in the frame is cluttering/reducing the impact of your own work.

I feel that it's a must to have (3) sources of lighting for a great shot:

(1) blade/overall lighting bulb
(1) handle highlighting bulb
(many) reflectors kicking some of this light back in.

Study a great knife photograph and you will see the textures in the handle and other faceted elements. The blade isn't too bright. The shot has contrast to give it depth and a 3-D look. This is a combination of soft and harder lighting.

By simply moving a light in closer to a diffuser, you make it harder. Move that light back and it's softer and more overall. Create a tent, create some plastic brackets and move them around.

Please keep trying and show again your progress. Boy, did I stink my first trials, and I also though a camera was my hindrance. Now I 'see' that it's all about lighting.

Basics.

Coop