I’ve had a few inquires regarding my camera, lighting and such so I thought it might be a good time to start a thread on the subject.

I’m now using a Nikon D70s that is a SLR digital camera that uses Nikon lens, I am using only one lens for full-length as well as close ups and that's a Nikon 60mm.

My set up at home is a camera tripod converted to accept polished tool steel rods in different calibers (bore diameter) to hold the rifle (shotgun) in the vertical position.

My lighting is four 250 W FCA (GE) 3200K two with diffusers and two without controlled by two rheostats. These are reflected on two sheet metal reflectors (see picture) pained FLAT white.

I never, ever run the camera on auto and many of my exposures are well over a second. All pictures are taken with the camera's timer.
The biggest mistake I see in online gun pictures is using a light background with an auto camera, it shuts down the exposure and the result is a dark picture.

My background is a white pull down shade that I bought at Home Depot, that I can roll up out of the way when I’m not using it.

Michael, will you get underexposed pictures even if the camera metering is set to center meter? I don't have a lighting setup but instead rely on my cameras flash!
bigbull

Using the same 60mm lens.

quote:

Originally posted by bigbull:
Michael, will you get underexposed pictures even if the camera metering is set to center meter? I don't have a lighting setup but instead rely on my cameras flash!
bigbull

Sorry, I have never used a flash. Hopefully more and better informed than myself will help you.

Background color done by computer, photoshop. This is a photo that I am happy with, it conveys the warmth and color that I see in this stock.

Rifle by Fred Adolph.

Michael --

That is a really nice setup. My wife is a professional photographer but I can never get her to take pictures of my guns (or even the kids!!). Your "bore-pod" is a novel idea.

-- Brian

quote:

Originally posted by aleaddict:
Michael --

That is a really nice setup. My wife is a professional photographer but I can never get her to take pictures of my guns (or even the kids!!). Your "bore-pod" is a novel idea.-- Brian

Others have used rods to hold the rifle in the vertical. I went a step further because I wanted everything at eye level. "Bore-Pod" I like it!

Michael:
That is outstanding information. The white pull down surprises me but with the magic of computer color modification you've captured the best of it. Just wonderful.

Another comon mistake is placing the subject too close to the backdrop.

Last year I traveled outside (lower 48) to take some pictures of classic rifles and bought a set of lights which I got online. These are called softbox lighting and seemed to work well. They use a quartz bulb that is a little different and I could have spent more time learning to work with it but shipped the lights directly to my destination. If I was starting over I would buy a set of these and work and learn to use them.

Something like this,
http://cgi.ebay.com/2000-WATT-D-V-CONTINUOUS-STUDIO-LIG...QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Taken with the quartz lighting & soft boxes.

Great pictures Michael. I was just in Anchorage and should have got in touch with you. I will be back this year. I would really like to stop in and chew the fat on a few things.

Having done some professional photography, I would add the following.

1. Because you can change your color temp. in photoshop its not so important anymore, but color temp of the lights is important. I myself would prefer to use electronic flash into either softboxes or umbrellas because of their color temp and more imporant because they are cool rather than hot lights.

2. I would add a couple of "kicker" lights if you can. these would be placed very high and way to the rear of the part you are photographing to give just a little bit of highlight and roundness to the part. If you look at your photo of the single shot it appears rather dark on the top of the part. if you play around with the direction and strength of the kicker light you can lighten that top up just a little bit to provide better detail in the top while still keeping a round three dimensional look to the photo. If you do use kicker lights, also use flags or gobos to block the light from shining directly into your lens, which might give you flare.

Also, remember that light falls off at the square of the distance. So for example, if you double the distance of the light from the part from 10 feet to 20 feet, you will have only 1/4 of the amount of light rather than 1/2 of the light. Why is this important? Because of the background is why. Your background is always going to be further away from your lens and lights than your subject, and therefore will have considerably less light on it than the subject. If you want your background to be white you will have to light it independently from the part you are photographing. If you are using flash instead of quartz lighting, you could take advantage of using a longer shutter speed to add some abient light after the flash had flashed, but since you are using quartz lighting, if you want your background white, or whatever color you are using back there, you should probably think about lighting it independently.

And finally, shiny object will reflect what is in front of them. If you are having trouble with flat surfaces that are really shiny and therefore show up in the photo with no detail whatsoever, place a dark card out in front of the part so that the reflection isn't white without detail.

Ive seen photos that folk paid proffesionals many dollars to capture their rifles...with poor results, am surprised they accepted payment.
Heres what turned out one day in the shed, when we just quickly threw an old sheet over the work bench,roughly positioned the rifle so it caught the natural light coming through the near window(that was bouncing of the straw color hill afew hundred yds away) and began haphazardly snaping away freehand on auto mode(with hamburger in other hand)
with an old 2 megapixel canon compact that you could not give away...

quote:

Originally posted by Bill Soverns:
Great pictures Michael. I was just in Anchorage and should have got in touch with you. I will be back this year. I would really like to stop in and chew the fat on a few things.

Bill, you are very welcome to come by, that goes for other forum members as well who find themselves in Anchorage with some time to kill.

22WRF:
Thanks for your post, interesting information. I have thought for some time to try strobes and umbrellas, it would be handy for traveling. Every system I've looked at is going to run around 1K plus, do you have any recommendations?

Woodjack:
If I took pictures using natural light there would not be very many of them ;-).

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Petrov:
22WRF:
Thanks for your post, interesting information. I have thought for some time to try strobes and umbrellas, it would be handy for traveling. Every system I've looked at is going to run around 1K plus, do you have any recommendations?

Woodjack:
If I took pictures using natural light there would not be very many of them ;-).

Michael

I use Photogenic brand stobes. I have two sets. One with the powerpack separate (called Photomaster), and two of what they call Powerlights, where the power pack is part of the lighting unit. Almost any brand would work. Look for a used set on Ebay. Many times you can find a set cheap. I use a Minolta VI light meter.

I use a small digital Sony Cyber-shot, handheld.
Subjects are lying on the floor, in front of a sliding glass panel.

Mike

I like the vertical setup and your pics are fantastic.


I take mostly closeup picture using a box with 2ft florescent lights from above and a diffuser (tracing paper). The last pic shows how I lit the full length pics.

A hint for standing the rifles up with out a stick through the trigger guard. Use sandbags under the rifle. I used old shot bags filled as much as possible with packing peanuts and then the sand to fill the voids. I use them at the range too. They're MUCH lighter than using only sand.


eat your heart out rube goldberg :-)

BRNO
http://home.pipeline.com/%7Eshootzg/rifles/Brno%208x57mm.htm

7x64mm
http://home.pipeline.com/%7Eshootzm/Krupp/Krupp%20Mauser%207x64mm.htm

1909
http://home.pipeline.com/%7Eshootzg/custom/m1909n.htm

the trouble with photographing things on the floor is that you get cast shadows, and especially so if your light is directly overhead. (thats why taking portraits of people outside in sunlight when the sun is very high in the sky gives very unflattering portraits. You get black eye sockets and dark shadows underneath the chin.)

That is why its better to have the background some feet away from the object you are photographing, and the light source in front of and behind your subject rather than directly overhead.

Michael,
Im glad you started this thread.
interested now to get a more decent camera to improve results over the quick snaps, via a sharper lense and slower exposures-smaller apetures, for greater depth of field.