Gun Photo How To...

Taking pictures of your firearms is easy. Taking good photos of your firearms isn't much harder.

Here's a few suggestions...

1. Familiarize yourself with your camera. Learn how to turn off the flash, set the white balance and focus manually if needed.

2. Turn Off The Built In Flash. The majority of pictures will look better under natural light. Hold the camera still as available light exposures can be slow which could lead to blurry photos. Sometimes the flash looks OK and it doesn't hurt to try using it.

3. Choose a simple background. A sheet of white paper for handguns works well. A concrete floor makes a nice background for rifles (try not to get your feet in the picture). A single piece of OD green or Black canvas makes a great background for multiple shooting scenarios.

4. Choose good lighting. Take the photographs where the existing light is bright. Near a window or outside at the shooting range are good places. A 500 watt shop light is a great light source for shooting indoors, it can be used directly or bounced off a white surface to produce a more diffuse light source.

5. Take some time to think about the image before shooting it. Look at the firearm from different angles to find the view that looks best to you. Try using props and backgrounds that make sense to keep the photo from looking too contrived and to help establish a setting that suits that particular weapon. Adding tactical gear, ammo, knives and other suitable items to the edges of the image can really spice things up but it is easy to overdo.

6. Learn to use a photo editing program to perform contrast and color adjustments. If you take the pictures by a window the images will probably turn out kinda blue. Use a program like photoshop to remove some blue and add some snap with a contrast adjustment.


Here is a pic of an AR taken on Auto exposure with the built in flash of a Nikon Coolpix 990. The image was shot from upon ladder which helps the flash spread out and allows a longer lens to avoid distortion.  Tight cropping and placing the rifle on an angle help add drama.


Here is a picture of a Kahr pistol taken next to a large window using auto exposure with the flash turned off and a small white card (folded envelope) to bounce some light on the grip. A white sheet of paper was used as the background and the image propped to support a 'daily carry' theme.


These window shots look good but can be a little 'flat' in contrast and also a bit blue. This daylight IS blue in comparison to an incandescent light bulb. Adding  an incandescent light  to this shot would look yellow in the picture. Try to keep all light sources the same color temperature, IE: all daylight or all incandescent.


Outdoor, 'real life' shots often look best but there is a place for studio type images as well. Using controlled studio lighting, it is possible to light up all the important details. It also makes it easy to keep the unwanted stuff in the dark. For firearms, try to get highlights on the black stuff and light to dark gradations on the silver stuff. This was shot with the Nikon 990 and strobe lighting but could be duplicated with 3, edison based 150w household spotlights.


A studio photographer might choose to use a large format 'view' camera. These accordion shaped cameras provide flexibility in setting the plane of focus to make everything sharp ...or just the part you want sharp, sharp. View cameras also distort or correct perspective in the same way a slide projector on a movie screen distorts when somebody moves / twists the screen.
In this example the lens is looking 'up' at the base of the magazine but the perspective has been corrected so the muzzle end of the barrel does not appear to 'fall away' and instead stays visually upright. The focus has been limited to only the flat top surface of the pistol keeping the table and props out of focus.


Any firearms photographer worth their salt should know who Ichiro Nagata is. To simulate one of his most popular looks, use red and blue gels on two lights from either side skimming across the set.


Here is the set for the above images. Three Speedotron lampheads. One through a diffusion panel made of translucent plastic film (tough rolux) on a wood frame. the other two are low and from the right and left. All lights have 'grid' attachments to restrict the beam to a spot. Notice the black paper on the diffusion panel. This helps the scene from being over-lit by further blocking the top light.
The camera pictured is a Sinar P view camera with a Sinar 54 digital back attached with a sliding adapter made by Kapturegroup. The lens is a Rodenstock APO Digitar 90mm.


Modern digital cameras are capable of taking great pictures, even inexpensive ones. Many of the pictures we take are only intended to be viewed online or on a computer. These images would likely look good at web sizes regardless of the camera used. The Nikon Coolpix 990 used here has a 3+ megapixel sensor which is fine for web use but when zooming in the image begins to pixelate which makes it unsuitable for print work.


Todays professional photographers are required to invest heavily in their equipment to get the highest image quality for print and advertising uses. Image sensors are available as large as 22 megapixels with larger sensors always around the corner. These sensors combined with ultra high performance lenses  have been able to provide a level of quality as good or better than their best film based counterparts.


To sum things up, keep it simple, experiment with light and make sure there isn't a tube of Preperation-H in the background.

********** Always Practice Safe Photography **********
******* Make Sure Firearms Are Unloaded First *******



You may use these images for any non profit purpose.
You can contact me at the AR15.com forum via IM to cugir

Very informative! Thanks!

Pfft. That's only if you want good pictures. I'll have none of that in my house!

Oh so tagged. Thank you.

Nice work.  What do you recommend for a good digital camera with macro or close up capabilities.  I have a nice canon 5 megapixel camera, but it sucks for close ups?

bd

.

Nice pictures...but I'm still a fan of stickman's compositions when it comes to pictures of guns.

Originally Posted By Zack3g: Nice pictures...but I'm still a fan of stickman's compositions when it comes to pictures of guns.

Got any examples handy, or do I need to start searching for his threads?

Originally Posted By SubnetMask: Originally Posted By Zack3g: Nice pictures...but I'm still a fan of stickman's compositions when it comes to pictures of guns. Got any examples handy, or do I need to start searching for his threads?

Check the picture thread in the AR15 forum. His stuff generally puts the rest of us to shame....

tag

Originally Posted By Tomislav: Pfft. That's only if you want good pictures. I'll have none of that in my house! img378.imageshack.us/img378/3093/dsc006252uh.jpg

Awesome write-up!

Holy hell. O so tagged.

This thread's too good not to tag!

Thanks for the great info!!  

Originally Posted By Tomislav: Pfft. That's only if you want good pictures. I'll have none of that in my house! img378.imageshack.us/img378/3093/dsc006252uh.jpg

I'd rather have a good scope than a good picture

tagola

Taggeth for the plethora of info and great pics!  Thanks!

Thanks for the great post!

Heres the best I can do , how did I do with my $300.00 camera? It only took me like 20 or more trys. hehe

Originally Posted By bluduk15: Nice work.  What do you recommend for a good digital camera with macro or close up capabilities.  I have a nice canon 5 megapixel camera, but it sucks for close ups? bd

I have no idea what the current crop of consumer / prosumer cameras are like. It's best to go check them out at a camera store probably.
I believe you that your Canon might suck for close ups but so does my nikon 990.
For macro you may be able to set the autofocus to close up mode. Then be patient while the camera searches for focus. You may only be able to focus real close at certain zoon settings. Mine only focuses max closeup in the middle of the zoom scale.
Canon may have different, selectable autofocus zones you can try. Auto focus also requires a bit of light to find focus quickly.

For real closeup / micro stuff, it is better to use manual focus if possible. Then use the LCD on the back of the camera to confirm focus while moving towards and away from the subject until the image is sharp. You want LOTS of light for micro as you'll need small apertures  to extend te zone of focus (depth of field).

I posted an example at this thread about O-Rings in the AR section.

www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=118&t=252822&page=1

Tagged for future reference.  

Thanks.  

sweet..thanks

eta:  Excellent advice cugir, & some awesome pics.  

Thanks for the tips.


From hg112,

(Maybe some more in  here.)

TAG?  no no..this calls for a SNAG!

You can see the fingerprint in the last picture.  WOW!

Very cool, thanks!

Is that a Leapers Fake-COG scope?

I like the "stand on the bed" picture method... it works well.  Ladders... pfft.


Note:  Slipping and falling off the bed may result in back injuries.  


- BG

Originally Posted By basketcase: Thanks for the great post! Heres the best I can do , how did I do with my $300.00 camera? It only took me like 20 or more trys. hehe photos.imageevent.com/therivernorth/myart/Glock22.JPG

I can make a couple technical obsevations.

The background is a good choice.

Camera looks steady.

The picture looks yellow. Either your white balance was fooled by the tungsten light or was set for daylight.

The muzzle is OOF (out of focus). That the part I'd want to see in focus if not the whole thing. Sometimes you have to shoot even more frames to get a sharp one.  You can also use the LCD screen and 'lock' the focus. Do this by pressing the button down halfway and the camera will select a focus point, it may show this point on the screen with a box or something...then still holding the button halfway down, recompose the scene so the muzzle is sharp..then complete the button press.

The image is too big to view all at once on my screen. this give your picture less impact and takes longer to load. Use an image editing program like photoshop to set the size of the image to about 600 pixels on the long dimension. This would be the same as 8.333 inches at 72 dpi.  Then use some sort of sharpening to lift some of the blur.  I use unsharp mask filter in Photoshop set at  Amount: 80-150  Radius: .5-.7  Threshold: 4. Then Save the image for the web as a JPEG at medium to medium-hi quality. Routine images should stay under 100k each if possible.

The image is kinda overlit. Thee is little you can do short of blocking the light with something. There is one thing tho'.....Photoshop!
There are numerous ways to 'brush' in drama in photoshop and shadows are your friend. You can use the burn tool on a duplicate of the original image to darken the corners and background. You can also use adjustment layers in Photoshop to make a curve that is darker then use a mask on that curve layer to brush this dark correction in to the image with the brush tool and black or white 'ink' on the mask.  

Here are the layers for the glock image. The bottom curve used the grey eyedropper to correct some of the yellow. The hue/sat layer took the saturation down to -20 or so to further correct out the yellow cast. The next two layers are the dark curves with masks to let the effect through (white areas are active). The top mask is to add a little snap to the gun portion of the image  and that curve is pictured.



Here is an example that is WAY overdone in the shadow dept.... just like Ichiro.

That uzi lookin' gun on white on page 1 is a great image IMO.

The home user cam simulate that look by making a diffusion frame as discussed and using 1 or 2 layers of milky or  micro faceted shower curtain material over the frame. Then set the frame over the firearm at an angle as pictured  in the studio shot on page 1. Shine a 500 watt shop light on it and set up a large white card under the camera lens to bounce light back on the front of the subject.
Be careful not to melt the shower curtain.

Oh, what the heck......

Here's an example I just did.


Here's the setup with the home depot light and Fome-core white boards. You could paint some cardboard white for a similar effect.

Originally Posted By M15A2: You can see the fingerprint in the last picture.  WOW!

I think those are the machining marks. I never knew they were there till I saw the pic.

The new large format digital lenses are really incredible. They are many, many times better than even the finest hasselblad, Mamiya and Nikon lenses. They are many times better than the finest large format APO lenses.

Originally Posted By cugir: Here's an example I just did. tinypic.com/eijyu1.jpg

 Awesome.  

 It's well lit, but not 'harsh'.  Detail's are clear.

Originally Posted By FortyFiveAutomatic: Is that a Leapers Fake-COG scope? tinypic.com/ei9fm9.jpg

Why yes it is. One of the last from Clearview. It works great.
I am an optics snob but do just fine with my T-168.

Originally Posted By parshooter: Originally Posted By cugir: Here's an example I just did. tinypic.com/eijyu1.jpg  Awesome.    It's well lit, but not 'harsh'.  Detail's are clear.

Did you shoot the uzi pic?
That one is really clear. It looks more lke a softbox than a diffusion panel was used on that one.

Originally Posted By BUCC_Guy: www.students.bucknell.edu/clanger/arfcom%5Cminesmall.jpg I like the "stand on the bed" picture method... it works well.  Ladders... pfft. Note:  Slipping and falling off the bed may result in back injuries.   - BG

The American Flag is a perfect background, simple and iconic. that image would make a great tshirt or logo.

tag!!!

I was gopnna post somsethinsg funny and a picture, but I forgot to take a pictuer.


Fuck.

Thanks for the tips!

tag

tag

Yeah, but theres just something quaint about the carpet pose with the gratuitous toe shot....

Originally Posted By Lumpy196: Yeah, but theres just something quaint about the carpet pose with the gratuitous toe shot....

I agree. I also like looking at the junk in the background of any shots on the web...just to see their stuff.

My favorite is the rifle leaning against the wall with the floor in the pic, then when it's posted it gets turned on it's side and looks like it coming out of a wall and floating.

Originally Posted By cugir: Did you shoot the uzi pic? That one is really clear. It looks more lke a softbox than a diffusion panel was used on that one.

Oh, Hell no.  I'm all point-n-click.

But do appreciate the talent & technology involved.  

Hoping your tips will help make my future pics better.


Think hg_112 did that & several other's in the thread.  

Here's more good better than I'd take, work from JohnHollister:

from This Thread

Thanks for the tips.

I've got a few how-to photography books but, damned if they're too boring to read. You were pretty much to the point in your post.

(Nice pics BTW)

Originally Posted By parshooter: Originally Posted By cugir: Did you shoot the uzi pic? That one is really clear. It looks more lke a softbox than a diffusion panel was used on that one. Oh, Hell no.  I'm all point-n-click. But do appreciate the talent & technology involved.   Hoping your tips will help make my future pics better. Think hg_112 did that & several other's in the thread.   Here's more good better than I'd take, work from JohnHollister: from This Thread hollisterimaging.com/albums/suppressors/Evo_01_900.jpg hollisterimaging.com/albums/suppressors/Suppressed_G19.jpg www.hollisterimaging.com/images/Suppressed_P22_02_72dpi.jpg

Those suppressed glock shots are great. The have a suitable  backgrounds and nice light.
That type of lighting can be found on an overcast day or in the shade. A great place to find that light is inside an open garage door or regular door that opens outside to the north.

It is also great to shoot portraits of people standing in a north facing outside doorway with the photographer standing outside looking in and subject standing inside looking out. Of course you want to not capture the door frame and it might be good to put some kind of solid background back behind the subject.

The only thing I don't like about the suppressed Glock shot is the file size. That original image is 576K !!!
Those kind of file sizes are what keep dialup users like me from enjoying the photo threads.
It is everyones best inteest to keep file sizes down unless otherwise requested.

Here is the Glock image reduced to 84K in file size and it looks almost the same as the original...except that I removed some of the blue and added some contrast.

wow

how do I avoid getting so much glare?

not the best in the world but not bad.

Originally Posted By cugir: Originally Posted By FortyFiveAutomatic: Is that a Leapers Fake-COG scope? tinypic.com/ei9fm9.jpg Why yes it is. One of the last from Clearview. It works great. I am an optics snob but do just fine with my T-168. tinypic.com/eik2g7.jpg

Duly impressed!

Very nice pic.  thats the best out of all them.