how-to take awesome digital pics of your knives?

Ron Andersen said:
I'm just learning myself. Picked up a Nikon 4300 in February and have enjoyed starting to take pictures...lots of pictures! The picture attached is among the first ... and still among my personal favorites! The .40 caliber hollowpoint was dug out of a tree stump (with a SOG Tomcat) after a day of shooting. :)
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I have to agree, that Nikon 4300 is an amazing camera for the price. Its macro capabilities are great, and its not a bad camera otherwise.

here's my Obenauf.

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Nitin
 
Here's an example of what I use. It's terribly simple to make. Just a few sections and elbows of PVC piping. I'm so cheap, I got the smallest size - 1/2" diameter.

photosetup.jpg



Here's a few of the pics (straight from the camera - edited only for size)


skinner1.jpg


curvy2.jpg


sexy1.jpg



Basically, it's just a box with white fabric wrapped around it - to diffuse the light (indirect light = good, direct light = bad). I used 2 clip-on lamps (el-cheapos from the hardware store) for lighting. Also, a tripod is a must. Again, got the cheapest, tall one I could find - $15.

There are many other options out there....but this one was quick and dirt cheap and does a pretty decent job, wouldn't you say?

;)
 
I echo Burkstar's comment that lighting is critical. I would also like to second Pendetive's thoughts, that you don't need to spend a lot to get a rig that works well.

I use a "box" made from 4 pieces of white plastic (bottom, back, sides) and one piece of translucent plastic (top). The whole affair is loosely zip tied together so it can fold up when not in use. I use a single lamp (for now) and tried sunlight, but it's a pain to shoot outdoors (results below). I use a simple Sony P8, 3.2 MP camera, and slightly tweak the results in Photoshop.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that there is no need to go overboard on the equipment, a simple set up will go a long way. The rest is experimentation and experience.

WH.jpg
 
As far as equipment goes:

1. A good tripod is required. I have bought the cheap K-Mart/Walmart tripods and have a collection of them going. With the cheaper ones you end up with legs and the various angle adjustments slipping. IMHO you don't need a super expensive professional tripod, but you don't want the bottom of the line either. A rough estimate is to stay away from $35 and under tripods, but hopefully a $50 - $60 tripod will suit you perfectly.

2. The camera. I've had three digital cameras, an Olympus Camedia 2300, a Nikon CoolPix 880 and my newest camera a Canon Digital Rebel EOS. Megapixels, for general use are over-rated, as long as you've got at least 2 MPs. My Olympus had 2.1 while the Nikon had over 3, yet the Olympus was a more usable camera for Macro pictures of knives because of the 3X optical zoom. My point here is that the lens abilities are the most important aspect of the camera. Thats the reason that I love the Rebel, number 1 its an SLR and two, its got a 28mm to 55mm zoom lens. The macros I can get with this camera without having to resort to a lot of fiddling with Adobe Photopaint is really impressive and makes this camera worth being almost 3 times as expensive as my other two cameras. With the cheaper fixed lenses you're stuck with a fixed focal point which makes it tough to not have to use digital enhancing to get the picture you need. With an SLR your focal point is variable depending upon your situation.

Bottom line, you can take great pictures with an inexpensive camera and a cheap tripod, you just have to work a whole lot harder, spend a lot of time practicing and have decent photo editing software.
 
FivePointOhh said:
Hey nice picture Notdos, did you use a light box/tent/cube for that shot?
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I used a tent for that one. I started out using a Clud Dome which is a fairly inexpensive way to do diffuse light.

P :)
 
Agree with everyone here. You can build an inexpensive light box, I used some white styro poster material that was being thrown out at work, with some velcro strips holding it together. Makes for easy take-down. I bought a diffuser panel that goes into a 4x2 flourescent light fixture, and cut it in half. Buy the solid frosted white one, not the clear one with the cross-hatch pattern on it. You will see the reflection of the cross-hatching on the blade or bolsters. I had some old Smith Victor tungsten lights from years ago that I had to find new bulbs for, but they're working out pretty well. I am also pretty new to digital photography, but am having a blast with my new toy.
I just got a Canon G5. Here's a close-up of a Randall.
randalltangweb.jpg
 
I don't really have anything to add of value, as my picture taking skills SUCK!!...but I just had to say this whole thread is fantastic. I read part of it last night and the rest this morning. Now I'm looking forward to the weekend and trying out some of the things mentioned here.
 
All these folks saying you have to have a tripod - that information is BOGUS. All you have to do is open up the aperture and speed up the shutter. I get good results like this all the time, as the pic attests to.
 

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Boink said:
All these folks saying you have to have a tripod - that information is BOGUS. All you have to do is open up the aperture and speed up the shutter. I get good results like this all the time, as the pic attests to.
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LOL! Good one Boink. Gotta big laugh at that pic.

-patrick
 
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