How I photograph knives

Doc, this thread is about Basic Photography and I think the photo of the Japanese knife is beautiful.

I do have a thread on "How I Do Image Editing" but I don't go into making selections even on that thread. I will comment on how your Japanese knife image might be improved.

The selection around the knife's handle and the tomatos is a little sloppy.
If you still have the PSD file with the layers I have some suggestions to clean up the edges.

Duplicate the layer with the knife and tomatos.
Command + click on the new layer to activate it.
From the Select menu > Modify > Contract (try 1 pixel) then Command + C to Copy, and then Command + V to Paste onto a new layer.
Click the eye icon on the original knife and tomato layer, to turn it off, and see if your new selection is cleaner.

If that doesn't get rid of the halo around your selection you can try 2 pixels when you do the Contract. Or you could try, Select menu > Modify > Contract 1 pixel and then Select > Feather 1 pixel, Command + C, Command + V to paste onto a new layer.

If there was a smaller section that needed to be cleaned up I would just Zoom In and clean it up with the Eraser tool.

Doc, what method did you use to make your selection?
 
Phil,
I am sorry, was this the wrong thread to post these images?
If so, I apologize.
I was playing around last night and took this photo using both flash and incandescent. The knife and tomatoes were on a white cutting board which ended up looking too yellowish-red (incadescent), so I selected out the "White" board using the magic brush set at 1 pixel, then when it looked a little harsh, I used about 3 pixel feather .I didn't think to use Contract (Good Idea). When it still looked too hard, I tried a bit of blur on the edges. I tried color balance and hue/saturation to try to correct the white board, but ended up just desaturating it. The photo just looked too bland, so I added the Gradient background to give some contrast and pop, however, when I selected the objects, I lost their shadows, so the knife and tomatoes just looked like a decal. I tried to add a little shadow, but found myself "ham handed" in my attempt (time to get that graphic tablet, I guess). Thanks for your help. And, again sorry if I hijacked this thread.
 
Doc, you didn't hijack the thread, but I also don't want to confuse anyone looking for the first time on this thread.

Back to Photography, you just learned a good lesson, Don't Mix Different Light Sources.
With my Basic Lighting Tutorial, there's only one light source, Daylight through a window. Add a couple of reflectors and you're as good as gold.

Regarding the Photochopping, it is heavy handed. I don't think a Wacom tablet would have made it any better. I think what might have worked would be if you did a selection of just the knife and put it as the top layer. Copied the background layer, and made your color correction for the background there. If that color correction removed too much color from the tomatos just add a layer mask and with black just paint over the tomatos to bring them back to the original color.

With the knife on it's own separate layer there's a lot you can do to an image to make it stand out.
 
OK...Here is a quick and simple One-Light (Sun) setup.:
1.Simple white background\reflector ( matte board)
2. Diffuser to filter sunlight and to act as white surface to reflect off of the blade (in the "family of angles" ala Light science & magic by Hunter and Fuqua
This was done quickly, and in my case the sun was moving through the tree tops and occasionally casting shadows. The pummel probably could have used a little more attention (see the sky reflections), but I'm trying to show how a very simple setup can make pleasing photos.
SimpleLightingSetup.jpg


Photo straight out of the camera:
OldRandallYukonSkinnerStraight.jpg


This would make a decent shot for ebay, personal records, or sharing with friends. A bit of post processing could kick it up a notch.
 
PhilL said:
That works.
Click to expand...

I know its not elegant, but I thought I'd show others a simple setup that anybody could do. The diffuser could be a simple homemade device.

I'm still having trouble getting a clean selection, on my Chinese knife photo, I'll keep on trying. I appreciate your help.

Dean
 
Doc, are you talking about a clean selection of the knife or the knife and the tomatos?
 
For selections, what are you using? I use Photoshop CS4. In that, the wand tool or quk selection tool are a great starting point. Then, go in to refine edge and play a bit. One problem I see on your tomatoes, for example, is that it looks like you didn't use any feathering.

I work with larger files, but somewhere between 7 and 12 is a good starting point. This a an easy way to get started with clean selections. Also, be sure to view your selection as a mask.

If all else fails, download The Mask Pro plug-in for Photoshop. I think it's from OnOne Software. I have about $5,000 worth of actions and plug-ins. Some are well worth it.

Also, when working with your selections, it's a good idea to work on a duplicate layer with a layer mask. That way, you can paint in and out as needed. Be sure to soften your brush. This makes a huge difference on the edges.

As for the shadows, all you need a little working knowledge of Drop Shadow under layer effects.

Like I said before, I have a good handful of books on Lightroom and Photoshop on PDF. I'd be more than happy to upload them and send a link for you.

*EDIT - Sorry, forgot this was a photography thread, not the editing thread!

Jonathan
 
I don't want anyone that's just started taking pics of their knives to think that taking good photos has to be complicated or expensive.

I think anyone that takes pictures should have an Image Editing program to help improve the pics as they come out of the camera. To color correct, crop and resize them. I don't think everyone needs Photoshop, it's a great program, but there are free programs like Picasa that will do what you need to do and more. I don't see why anyone reading a basic photography thread needs $5000 worth of plug-ins. I know I don't.
 
No, most pros don't either! I think my point was that there's so much stuff available, that any one thing you'd like to do can be done many different ways.

I didn't mean to make it sound complicated or expensive. Some of the software that comes with the cameras (or free to download from camera manufacturers) produce great results.

I guess I got carried away after mentioning mask pro. I figured since he was using Photoshop, it wouldn't be a big deal to offer a little advice on masking or suggesting a free trial of Mask Pro 4 or 5... Sorry about that.
 
Jonathan, there's no reason to be sorry. It's good for people to know that there are tools available to make life easier. But, if you look at the overall theme of this thread and the Image editing thread it's to K.I.S.S.

This thread was started to help makers and collectors take better pictures of their knives. My goal was to how how simple it really was. Trust me Knifenutz (makers & collectors) will find a way to make the simple complex all on their own. ;)
 
Hey guys, I think I may have been the catalyst for this growing into a more complicated editing/post processing thread. Sorry! I'm going to avoid posting any more photos to this thread, other than what may be helpful to BEGINNERS.
I may start a new thread for the other stuff.

And may I say to the novices...KEEP'M COMING!
A couple of Hints:
Try taking your photos without the on-camera flash which tends to make harsh shadows and flat lighting. Either use off camera artificial light, or Natural light like Phil has shown.
Created a little separation from the background, lift it off the surface, or take it at an angle so that there is some distance from the background (it gives depth to the image, and softens shadows).
 
DoctaD said:
I may start a new thread for the other stuff.
Click to expand...

Please Doc, start a New thread.
Be so kind as to providing a link to that thread on this thread.

I've been thinking about doing one for a long time about doing selections and working up to doing photo montages to display the different features of a knife in one image. I never got past the thinking about if stage.

But, if you start it I certainly will add my 2¢. Hopefully Coop, Jonathan, Wally and the other Photoshop Gurus will join in.
 
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Great write up! I am a freelance photographer and have lots of lighting equipment, high end cameras and the entire adobe master collection for editing... I have still had lots of trouble getting a good pic of my knives. Being a custom maker, I can't sell well if I can't show the subtle details in my work. I ditched my Canon rebel and picked up a Kodak digital cam and set up neat the window. Folded a few paper reflectors and was taking much better pics in 5 minutes with thousands of dollars in less photo gear. Keep it simple stupid, best advice I've never been able to grasp haha! Thanks for the wrote up and you will see a difference next time I post a knife, I guarantee that!
 
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