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Posted: 12/10/2014 7:25:44 PM EDT
Shot these quickly today with the new camera.

Lighting is a new subject I need to get into. I believe I need a flash that I can angle, I'm posting these photos without flash because the camera flash is so strong up close and washes out and bounces back. I also think the pattern of the shemagh contrasts too much with the objects.




I like this in B&W
Link Posted: 12/10/2014 8:41:06 PM EDT
[#1]
Ok I'll offer my thoughts. In these kinds of shots IMHO the weapons look better if most ( preferably all) the gun is in focus. Your depth of field is kinda shallow and point of focus is in the wrong place for either shot to look 'right'. Just my opinion.
Link Posted: 12/10/2014 8:54:21 PM EDT
[#2]
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Quoted:
Ok I'll offer my thoughts. In these kinds of shots IMHO the weapons look better if most ( preferably all) the gun is in focus. Your depth of field is kinda shallow and point of focus is in the wrong place for either shot to look 'right'. Just my opinion.
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thanks, i was trying to figure out WHAT to focus on, composition, does it look better if some is out of focus, all that crap.

Link Posted: 12/10/2014 10:52:30 PM EDT
[#3]
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Quoted:
thanks, i was trying to figure out WHAT to focus on, composition, does it look better if some is out of focus, all that crap.
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That is all the important stuff.  The catch is that you need to answer those questions prior to pressing the button.  

The cool thing about digital is that the film is free which allows for a lot of experimenting.
Link Posted: 12/10/2014 11:45:55 PM EDT
[#4]


Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:



Ok I'll offer my thoughts. In these kinds of shots IMHO the weapons look better if most ( preferably all) the gun is in focus. Your depth of field is kinda shallow and point of focus is in the wrong place for either shot to look 'right'. Just my opinion.
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Yup, what I was going to say.  Make your aperture number higher.


 
Link Posted: 12/11/2014 4:47:08 PM EDT
[#5]
Fwiw doing GREAT gun photography is really hard. What looks good to me may look like crap to you. Some years ago I tried to emulate an American Handgunner photographer names Ichero Nagata. I failed. BADLY. And it wasn't for lack of effort. Purely lack of skill. He set a standard for me though. Razor sharp image and lighting that had exactly the right highlights in exactly the right places.

Found out later he used a tilt/shift for lots of his work
Link Posted: 12/21/2014 2:03:42 PM EDT
[#6]
You'll want to shoot with a higher f stop to increase your depth of field.  One third of your depth of field is in front of your focus point and two thirds is behind you focus point so you'll want your focus point to be one third of the way back from the areas you want in focus.  As you increase your  f stops it will decrease your shutter at a given ISO setting so a tripod with a shutter delay or cable release is helpful.  A tripod isn't necessary when using a flash because you can set your shutter speed and the flash can be used to provide the correct lighting.  You can generally get better pictures outdoors if not using flash, shoot in the shade if it's sunny.  A plain background will generally be better with guns.
Link Posted: 12/23/2014 12:36:14 AM EDT
[#7]
I'd first remove the scarf. It's way too distracting, it hurts my eyes to look at the photos. It's color is too similar to the patch, the grips on the rifle and the light source.

Use a much simpler surface that allows the subject to separate. Then you might be able to get away with using the scarf folded under the rifle or only taking up 1/3 of the frame, at most.

People have already discussed the focus, but choose your point of focus carefully and make sure it's unmolested by other elements of the image... it's the hero. It has to be free to tell the main part of the story and is only supported not fighting against the other elements of the image.

Despite what others say, when shooting a still life like this, ALWAYS use a tripod. Compose your shot with the camera stationary. It allows you to make compositional and lighting changes without altering the perspective.


Link Posted: 2/14/2015 9:04:19 AM EDT
[#8]
Composition: Cutting off the a portion of the main subject in a photo is usually not pleasing to the eye/brain, i.e. cutting off the grip/mag-well in this case.
Composition: When you have something interesting in the background, say the rifle in this case, cutting off a portion is normally a no-no/not pleasing to the eye.
Focus: If you deicide to use a shallow depth of field with the idea of having the subject in focus and most everything else in the photo out of focus, use a plain (not interesting) background.  If you have something interesting, like the rifle, in the frame the eye/brain will strain to try to see it and when it is out of focus it is not pleasing to the eye/brain.
Focus: make sure the entire subject is in focus otherwise the eye/brain struggles to see it in focus, not pleasing to the eye/brain.

For product photos this doesn't apply as much or at all as it does for "artistic" photos:
Composition: Start with the rule of thirds.  Then realize we read a photo like we read a book, top left to bottom right.  So IF you are going to place the subject out of the center of the frame, moving it towards the bottom right is generally best. Have the less interesting stuff in the top left and build to the most interesting in the bottom right.  This doesn't apply for single subject on a plain background where centering the subject is the norm.
Link Posted: 2/14/2015 5:13:48 PM EDT
[#9]
How can I better focus on everything? A different lens?

How are these?



Link Posted: 2/14/2015 5:14:45 PM EDT
[#10]
I think I'm losing resolution when I upload to photobucket. Any way to fix that?
Link Posted: 2/14/2015 5:45:06 PM EDT
[#11]
Lots of good advise posted here.
Sometimes a quick trip to photoshop or similar can salvage what you thought might not be the best photo.

I've spoke with the OP and got his permission to post an edited photo, yeah we all have different taste so some may or may not like it.
What I'm getting at is to show by cropping out some of the background and focusing on the subject(s) that are in the foreground, it draws the eye to what you intended them to see in the first place.

The photo was also angled slightly to fill the frame and small border added to finish it off. Thanks for the PM, appreciate it....here ya go.

Link Posted: 2/14/2015 5:54:13 PM EDT
[#12]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
How can I better focus on everything? A different lens?

How are these?

<a href="http://s744.photobucket.com/user/napearfcom/media/8B7CDEF8-6D8B-463B-AA61-ED60349072FA_zpsaxsp5n4c.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx81/napearfcom/8B7CDEF8-6D8B-463B-AA61-ED60349072FA_zpsaxsp5n4c.jpg</a>

<a href="http://s744.photobucket.com/user/napearfcom/media/DBDDA46A-9FB3-46B2-A18E-FC2D3791601C_zpseqmuk8bt.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx81/napearfcom/DBDDA46A-9FB3-46B2-A18E-FC2D3791601C_zpseqmuk8bt.jpg</a>
View Quote

These are better.
In short there are two ways to improve sharpness throughout a composition this close to the camera.
- Increase the F-stop which increases the depth of field (area in focus).  The trade off is you will either need to decrease shutter speed or increase ISO the same amount of stops to get the same exposure.  If you are using a tripod leave ISO low say 100-200 and let the shutter speed slow down to compensate since nothing is moving in the photo. Your camera most likely has an "aperture priority" mode. Choose this mode and dial the F-stop up to say 9-11.
- Concerning the lens, magnification and position from the subject; if you are using a kit lens set it to 50mm, high F-stop as described above, fill the frame and everything should be clear.
- Adding supplemental lighting makes all this easier as you can manipulate ISO, F-stop, and shutter speed to get the desired depth of field.
Link Posted: 2/14/2015 5:59:41 PM EDT
[#13]
We are talking manual focus correct? Do you guys recommend sighting in with the window or the screen? I always use the window.
Link Posted: 2/14/2015 7:25:58 PM EDT
[#14]
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Quoted:
We are talking manual focus correct? Do you guys recommend sighting in with the window or the screen? I always use the window.
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You can switch to live view and autofocus. Should be spot on.
Link Posted: 2/14/2015 9:17:45 PM EDT
[#15]
I'd suggest reading the strobist group on flickr. They show the finished photo and how they laid out the lights for the shot. If you pay attention it's a good workshop on using strobes.
Link Posted: 2/14/2015 11:29:36 PM EDT
[#16]
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Quoted:
I think I'm losing resolution when I upload to photobucket. Any way to fix that?
View Quote

It is probably not Photobucket.

AR15.com will automatically reduce larger images to 800x600 pixels for viewing purposes regardless of the actual size downloaded into your browser's cache.
Link Posted: 2/15/2015 2:43:56 AM EDT
[#17]




Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
It is probably not Photobucket.




AR15.com will automatically reduce larger images to 800x600 pixels for viewing purposes regardless of the actual size downloaded into your browser's cache.




View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:




I think I'm losing resolution when I upload to photobucket. Any way to fix that?
It is probably not Photobucket.




AR15.com will automatically reduce larger images to 800x600 pixels for viewing purposes regardless of the actual size downloaded into your browser's cache.









I've seen it before on Photobucket, with this image as an example.  In direct side-by-side comparisons there is a "ghosting", fringing, blurriness around the perimeter of the larger one in Photobucket that isn't visible on the original.  I've got so much stuff in there and have used it for so long though that I just live with it, but would recommend something else (Imgur?) for better pic quality.





Agree with you on arfcom's resizing though - save images at 800 wide for display here.
Uploaded at 1200 wide:





Uploaded at 800 wide:





 
 
 
 
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