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Double Rifles, Single Shots & Combinations >> 'Classic' Firearms Photos & Archive
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mckinney
.400 member


Reged: 29/01/09
Posts: 1225
Loc: usa
Firearms photography
      #237641 - 09/11/13 08:27 PM

Anyone out there willing to share some secrets on firearms photography? (CptCurl Dorleac, etc?) I'd like to improve the photography of my own collection and am trying to get a result something like what you see on Morris Hallowell's website. At this point my knowledge is limited so I don't even know for instance how to show only the gun in a photo with nothing in the background. I also struggle photographing anything nickel plated. (I understand a 'light box' may be the cure for this one.)

I'd be grateful for any comments.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: mckinney]
      #237642 - 09/11/13 08:37 PM


If you haven't got a professional set up, this is the way I do it.

Firstly, plan what you are wanting to do ahead of doing it
so when conditions are right, it flows smoothly.

I pick a day outside when it is very bright but cloudy.
This give a good light but no light point source (like the sun) which gives you that bright spot.

You need to also account for where you live, angle of the sun etc. You can still get some shadow areas which aren't good but these can be minimised. Play around with a gun outside.

Use a Bipod ! This is important.

I lay out a blanket or something, felt, towel or whatever
on the ground.

It is worth having some small things to keep a gun in position, ie
Small piece of wooden dowling, 1/2 inch or so to go through the trigger guard.
- Small piece of clear perspex for the same as above.
- Box of matches for under the double barrels (they tend to be small enough to use without having to edit them in Photoshop.
- Square or rectangular blocks of perspex also work.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Of course, with digital cameras, you can play around, practice taking photos and see straight away whether
it is good or not.

Good luck.

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gryphon
.450 member


Reged: 01/01/03
Posts: 5487
Loc: Sambar ground/Victoria/Austral...
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #237652 - 10/11/13 04:19 AM

Good stuff Nige ,now you have no excuses for posting pics!

--------------------
Get off the chair away from the desk and get out in the bush and enjoy life.

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mckinney
.400 member


Reged: 29/01/09
Posts: 1225
Loc: usa
Re: Firearms photography [Re: gryphon]
      #237655 - 10/11/13 04:59 AM

Thanks, but how do I get background material (towel, sheet, etc.) out of the photo and show only the gun? And how can I photograph a rifle as though it is lying flat suspended in space? (again, thinking of the images at Hallowell and Co., Julia auctions, etc. as a benchmark). Perhaps I need a professional setup?

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: mckinney]
      #237664 - 10/11/13 12:18 PM


Gryph

I can now post photos.

I'll try and upload a few.


McKinney
let me go and look at Julia and Hallowell.
Back soon.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #237666 - 10/11/13 12:23 PM

McKinney

Every single one of the Hallowell guns is photographed against a Green Felt Backdrop.

Re "suspended", i would say they are resting on some stand, like two pieces of perspex rod that is hidden behind
the guns.

This "raises" the gun off the green felt and therefore the green background is slightly out of focus and the gun in very sharp focus.


Remember, these guys have so many guns going through that they probably have a little set up that is permanent and it just requires dropping the gun onto the set, bang, snap photos and download. The lighting is all done.

One thing with gun photography, you only get better with practice.

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Huvius
.416 member


Reged: 04/11/07
Posts: 3561
Loc: Colorado
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #237667 - 10/11/13 12:33 PM

All of the guns pictured in Winfer's books, or at least those taken by Tom Rowe, were taken with the rifle barrel slipped over a pin in a stand with the rifle muzzle down with a white backdrop.
When using a backdrop, make sure your gun is about a foot from the background to mitigate shadowing on the background.
The white background is the easiest to work with for use in books.

There is cheap software available to enable you to take the pictures with a green screen background so you can add whatever background you would like as well.

--------------------
He who lives in the past is doomed to enjoy it.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Huvius]
      #237669 - 10/11/13 12:58 PM


Huvious

That is a good point re the barrels.

Stuffing a piece of dowling down the barrels to hold it up
is a good one and can easily be removed in Photoshop without
knowing a whole amount about it.

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Huvius
.416 member


Reged: 04/11/07
Posts: 3561
Loc: Colorado
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #237674 - 10/11/13 03:17 PM

Quote:


Huvious

That is a good point re the barrels.

Stuffing a piece of dowling down the barrels to hold it up
is a good one and can easily be removed in Photoshop without
knowing a whole amount about it.




Yes, when Tom photographed my rooks and my Fraser, he had a white teflon or delrin spacer, like a 1" thick washer, which the muzzle rested on.
He had a variety of dowels sized for different bore diameters so the rifles stayed pretty much vertical.

The white spacer blended in with the white background so after photoshoping, was quite invisible.

--------------------
He who lives in the past is doomed to enjoy it.

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Huvius]
      #238333 - 27/11/13 03:37 PM

For traveling,




For Home,

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238334 - 27/11/13 03:42 PM





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AkMike
.416 member


Reged: 19/11/05
Posts: 2576
Loc: Anchorage, Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238335 - 27/11/13 04:13 PM

Wonderful work Michael!

--------------------
"When you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing; when you see that money is flowing to those who deal not in goods, but in favors; you may know that your society is doomed." Ayn Rand

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: AkMike]
      #238336 - 27/11/13 04:16 PM


Michael

Awesome, top stuff.


What camera are you using ?

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #238347 - 28/11/13 04:38 AM

Quote:

Michael, What camera are you using ?



A Nikon D70s which is a digital camera.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238349 - 28/11/13 05:13 AM


Awesome.

I used to sell Digital Cameras when the Kodak DC460 came out,
was at the forefront of technology !!!

Edited by 500Nitro (28/11/13 07:11 AM)

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #238352 - 28/11/13 06:07 AM

Now it's obsolete and you can get them off eBay for 10% of what I paid for mine. The 60mm Nikon lens is a different story and that was the reason I went this way, keep the lens and get a new body.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238355 - 28/11/13 07:15 AM


I just edited my post, it should have said DCS460 !!!

$40,000 each !

Interesting what you say about "obsolete".

I look at things differently. A camera you bought 3 years ago
may not be "current" technology but is very likely to still
be able to do it's job, what it was designed, built and
purchased for and therefore, IMHO, something isn't obsolete until it really can't do the above.

Just because something comes along that is better.

We still use MS, M98, Lever action rifles, Doubles etc
even though the semi auto and Machine gun is available.
Does that make the MS, M98 etc obsolete ?

What about the SxS Shotgun ?

Anyway, again, great photos.

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500Nitro
.450 member


Reged: 06/01/03
Posts: 7244
Loc: Victoria, Australia
Re: Firearms photography [Re: 500Nitro]
      #238358 - 28/11/13 08:14 AM


Was testing before I try to upload a gun photo.



Edited by 500Nitro (28/11/13 08:15 AM)

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mckinney
.400 member


Reged: 29/01/09
Posts: 1225
Loc: usa
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238371 - 28/11/13 06:19 PM

Michael, great stuff. This is what I have been looking for. Can you share with us a description of the other equipment, lighting etc. (I know nothing about photography).

many thanks

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Orvar
.300 member


Reged: 31/12/08
Posts: 164
Loc: London, UK
Re: Firearms photography [Re: mckinney]
      #238386 - 29/11/13 06:00 AM

Awesome stuff! Been looking for this for a while - thank you!

Any ideas o/ diagrams on lighting angles would be awesome

Thanks!

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Orvar]
      #238387 - 29/11/13 06:25 AM

Lets start with the tripod that I converted to hold the steel rods of different caliber with a nylon bumper to protect the crown. I wanted the rifle or pistol to be at eye level when taking the pictures.

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Orvar
.300 member


Reged: 31/12/08
Posts: 164
Loc: London, UK
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238388 - 29/11/13 06:33 AM

Are you fabricating the rods or buying them?

Also, are you coating the guns with anything to get the shine right?

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238389 - 29/11/13 06:43 AM

The reflectors I had made at a sheet metal shop, they are 48" tall by 36" rolled into a half circle. I then painted the inside flat white and attached three legs.

The lights (two in each reflector) are ECA 250-watt 3200k photoflood lamps easily found. Both sides are on a rheostat so I can start them slow and adjust the amount of light. The top lights have a light defuser on them. No other light source is used and the room lights are turned off.

The white background behind the rifle is a window shade that I can pull down and I have a white sheet on the ceiling to help defused the light.

The camera is always on a tripod and each picture is taken with the timer, I never touch the camera, or move around when the picture is taken.

Background color is done with Photoshop.

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Michael_Petrov
.224 member


Reged: 29/11/05
Posts: 29
Loc: Alaska
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Orvar]
      #238390 - 29/11/13 06:46 AM

Quote:

Are you fabricating the rods or buying them?

Also, are you coating the guns with anything to get the shine right?



I made the rods from drill rod and scrap in my shop.

I wipe down the guns so no fingerprints show and if the wood is dry I use what I always use and that's raw linseed oil.

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416rigby
.300 member


Reged: 16/11/05
Posts: 141
Loc: Port Angeles, Washington USA
Re: Firearms photography [Re: Michael_Petrov]
      #238476 - 01/12/13 06:00 AM

I used an old Fuji digital camera and set up some items I wanted in the photo, played with lighting in the house (window shades open in various degrees, etc) and shot some cool pics of some of my guns. It was fun, just play around with it.

Here's my 416 Rigby




500 Nitro Express 3 1/4"


--------------------
"Life's too short to hunt with an ugly gun"

U.S. Coast Guard, retired

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