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Posted: 9/7/2005 4:14:34 PM EDT
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Well I made my first attempt at taking some digital pics of my hardware. What tricks do you guys employ to get such great whole gun closeups? My pics look like the rifles are far away to get them in the whole frame. Thanks in advance. |
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Post a sample of what you're doing and it will be easier to give some help. This is one I did real quick last weekend. Shot the pic on my kitchen table and used Photoshop to change the background. A simple uncluttered background actually makes a lot of difference. No one wants to see my dining room or kithen in the shot, and it makes the rifle look distant. Angle the rifle a bit to get it in a narrower frame. Stright into the side makes for too wide a shot. http://home.comcast.net/~azrael2004/images/Bushy/NewBM2.jpg Here is the original photo http://home.comcast.net/~azrael2004/images/Bushy/BM2orig.jpg |
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I'll comment a few quick things to get you going in the right direction. Lets start with layout. Your picture is almost all wall, which is what you've already said you know is an issue. Instead of proping it up against the wall, consider laying out the ground at an angle. This will give you a more viewable area inside your picture. This also gets rid of having it be a straight line in the picture, and makes it less static. Anything in the middle of a pic is usually a no-go. Next, lets think about subject matter. The weapon by itself doesn't say much, especially without a magazine. Lets think about putting a magazine in it, and maybe another mag somewhere in the picture. If not an extra mag, think about something else which goes with the weapon, but doesn't detract from the weapon itself. Lastly, we need decent lighting. If you look at your picture, you can see areas that are dark and unevenly lit. Without even lighting, NO picture will ever look decent. It doesn't matter whatelse you do, without good light, you've got nothing. Natural lighting is almost always best. Shooting pictures on a cloudy day give great results. If you can't find a cloudy day, think about being out of direct sunlight. Here is a basic simple picture. The lighting was natural light around 1100hrs inside my garage out of the direct sun. For a background, I used one of my desert night camo jackets. I positioned the weapon at an angle, and then used the mag pouch to creat a little more interest in the picture. Between the sling and mag pouch, I think it offsets the picture enough to give it a decent look. I do NOT consider this a perfect picture, but it was quick to setup, easy to take, and required no playing around with a computer (aside from hosting). 
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The most important thing is good lighting. Avoid the indoors at night with heavy flash picture. Outside on a bright cloudy day is best. If you lay it on the ground, try elivating it up (balancing your gun on a spray can works) to separate it from the floor gives a nice effect.
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I like to use a simple background and natural light. To get more detail in your pic, use a photo editing program and crop out some of the edges of the photo to bring the subject in closer. I also just recently started converting my pics to B&W, I think it brings out more details. Here are some of mine.    
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I must say Stickman does take some very nice photos. Here's just a quick cleanup of yours. Cropping in reduces the distance effect. Then a bit of lighting fix and a warmer light feel. Rifles photographed vertically most always look longer and distant. Shot horizontally or downward usually look best. http://home.comcast.net/~azrael2004/images/m1asmall.jpg |
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- Use a tripod (and a remote or a timer) - Take your time...better to shoot one well-planned pic than a dozen bad ones - Use indirect lighting (Overcast days with a bright gray sky is perfect for outdoor photos. Avoid using a flash) Bouce lighting off a nearby wall instead of pointing it right at the subject. - Experiment with different types of indoor lighting for different "warmths" - Keep it simple, if you want to add more, take your time to keep it uncluttered and well-composed. - Don't feel as if you need to show the whole subject (sometime cropping works better) - Use a tripod (and a remote or a timer)    
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Like mentioned above, you might try to angle the rifle towards you too. I consider this pic the best one I've taken and I like it the most.  I'm no photographer, I just listened to the tips Stickman gave me and took a pic. This is totally un-photoshopped too.....because I don't have photoshop  WIZZO |
I absolutly love this pic........probably the nicest looking AR I've seen......made it my screensaver.....my wife thinks I'm nuts... 
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I'm not a big fan of adding accessories in a photo so I usually photograph just the weapon with a magazine inserted. When I'm going for detailed pics, I use a white background (white poster board) with LOTS of light. Using the camera setting, I even "overexpose" to add more detail to the weapon while "washing out" the background. Experiment with light and angle the weapon in the pic to make it more dynamic. Close up shots are usually more interesting than framing the entire weapon showing a table top or carpet. Showing feet/shoes in a photo will definately take attention away from your weapon. The following pic (MK-760) is out of focus with excessive shadows, but the other photos below it came out better due to further practice and experimentation. Experiment and take lots of pics. You'll continue to get better results.     |
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