Tips and Techniques

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on October 28, 2009 at 1:02

Old photo guides would call that situation "Cloudy Bright". Bright enough for good pics yet no glare from the sun.

"Chances are, though, that you’ll want soft, diffused light more often than not. On a bright, cloudy day, the sky acts like a giant softbox. You’ll have a much easier time metering for a scene as the contrast will have been reduced – no deep shadows or bright highlights to try and rectify later on your computer. You’ll be able to reveal much finer detail, and colour appears more saturated."
From : Digital-Camera-Magazine-Complete-Photography-Guide-Mastering-Light.</</u>b>

Permalink Reply by Rusty R Halsey on October 29, 2009 at 6:39

Personally, I've not had much luck shooting knives outdoors. There have been some great photos taken outside, but I can't duplicate them. Maybe I'm just too impatient to wait for the right conditions to happen. Almost all my pics are shot indoors, inside a light tent under a florescent(?) light. A tripod is a necessity. At first the light values had to be adjusted in PhotoShop, but the camera seems to have become smarter lately and the light and colors come out fine by themselves. I probably found the right setting and managed to save it, but I couldn't find it again if you beat me with a stick. These digital doohickeys give me some trouble, get me lost in all the menus and layers of commands. But the results are worth the hassle, especially being able to see the pics right away for free! Did I mention I may a little impatient sometimes?

Permalink Reply by J.J. Smith III on October 29, 2009 at 10:34

Understand the "getting lost" part. Cut my teeth on the likes of this...

Digital pics are definately easier to edit and manipulate. No filters to really have to worry about and like Rusty said, immediate previews.

Permalink Reply by Derek Smith on November 2, 2009 at 22:20

Cloudy days are great, they require very little in the way of extra gear.
However, the light can often appear too flat. I plopped this little EDC down on
a rock on a very cloudy day for a quick test. I had to bump up the contrast
afterwards on the computer. It's still a little flat for my taste.

Permalink Reply by Derek Smith on November 2, 2009 at 22:21

This is the same knife on another cloudy day. This time I added a little artificial light to make the contrast pop more. (Small soft box off to the side). Notice how the texture of the handle is more distinct.

Permalink Reply by Derek Smith on November 2, 2009 at 22:28

These were both shot on a cloudy day as well. The original images appear flat and I had to adjust the color and contrast in post production, (fancy name for sitting in front of the computer late at night in your underwear).

Another thing I have to watch out for on cloudy days is focus. When you come in close
and the camera lens is wide open, to let in as much light as possible, you run the risk of a very shallow depth of field. Some of your knife may start to fall out of focus. The tip of the spear blade on this cigar jack is starting to go soft.

Permalink Reply by Dave Thinkstoomuch on November 6, 2009 at 12:07

Cloudy day is good advice. So far my best pics have been takin outdoors under these conditions. Glare is most def an issue.
I like your indoor set-up Trent. Gets me thinkin...

Permalink Reply by Randy, HHH Knives on November 6, 2009 at 17:09

Hello everyone, This is my first post here. I am a newbee to photography. .. I have bought light boxes, many back drops, and im on my 3rd camera.. I tried shooting outside.. tried inside.. All had some pros and cons. But the best pics I have ever taken were in the early morning.. I think the light is softer. and seems to let the camera get the colors right, and fine detail better.

Shoot many, and get a few! Seems to be my standard technique..

Permalink Reply by Rusty R Halsey on November 13, 2009 at 5:27

This is my first attempt at outside knife photos. I had two knives and took about a dozen shots of each using a tripod. These are the best pics. The cloud cover kept changing so the lighting was always different. My little camera doesn't seem to have an aperture setting, so depth of field is uncontrolled. However, it does set the exposure for the area I focus on.

Permalink Reply by Trent Rock on November 13, 2009 at 20:31

I was always told that you should at least "sharpen the edges" with photoshop
I did and I can't tell the diff
I don;t do a whole lot of editing
Mostly cropping
It is one of the things I need to learn to do

Some one post me a pic of "before sharpness adjustment"
and an "after sharpness adjustment" pic
See if I (we) can tell the difference with the ol' naked eye....

Permalink Reply by Trent Rock on November 13, 2009 at 20:33

That is a cool backdrop!!! Maybe sprinkle some wood shavings? LOL..Give it that WHITTLIN' feel??..Both of the pics are nice....

Permalink Reply by Rusty R Halsey on November 14, 2009 at 6:34

Sharpening a photo, with my 10 yr old PhotoShop, makes the edges a little 'harder'. The unsharpened photo may be in sharp focus, but looks fuzzy compared to the treated version. Also, the contrast is affected and the overall photo lightened up some. Here is a before & after photo - notice the grooves in the handle and the etching on the blade.

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