Firearms photography

(I don't know if I ran this on the old CSP forum or not. In view of the fact that there has been a lot of discussion about posting pictures, I thought I'd post (or maybe "repost") these hints on firearms photography. I will never be mistaken for Ansel Adams, but I've gotten where I can take useful pictures. Feel free to chime in with your own hints. --RtL)

Although it can be hard to take "archival" firearms pictures, it isn't hard to take usable ones. If you follow a few simple rules, you can greatly improve the quality of your pictures.

1) Make friends with your camera software's photo editing program. I know it can be a hassle, but it will pay big dividends. My program has a "quick fix" feature that often drastically improves the picture quality. The cropping feature I use a LOT!

2) Edit out all extra detail. Note the top picture taken of one of my M1903s. How many of you have seen these pictures with, not only a lot of extra "background" but even the photographer's feet in the picture! (I've even seen pictures with the photographer's BARE feet - and sometimes they WEREN'T clean!!). Your photo program should have a cropping feature. Compare the top photo with the bottom one - the exact same picture, just cropped. (I also used the editing program to get the lighting a little better)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tandard-26.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tandard-27.jpg

3) The "if close is better, getting REAL close must be better still" - problem
How many of you have seen rifles offered for sale with blurry, out of focus pictures, like the top one below. This is usually caused by the photographer trying to stick his camera right up close - beyond where it can clearly focus on the subject. Another secret - take a picture relatively far away at MAXIMUM resolution, so you know it will be in focus. Then, again, using the cropping feature, focus in on the details.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tandard-28.jpg

(picture taken farther away at maximum resoution)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tandard-29.jpg

(picture above cropped and light corrected to capture closeup of rear sight)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...tandard-30.jpg

4) Lighting -- This is something I still haven't totally conquered, but I think I'm getting better. However, take pictures on a "high overcast" day, NOT in bright sunshine. Another suggestion is taking pictures in an area, outside or inside, with "light" shade. Avoid flash, if you can.

5) "Steady as she goes" - If your camera has a mount for a tripod, invest in one. You can sometimes find a cheap one for $20 or so. Another cheap alternative is the tabletop variety, which I've seen for $10 or more. Mount your camera on a tripod, and make use (if available) of the self timer.

There isn't that much difference in time and money between "snapshots" and near-archival pictures.

Good luck!! :D

To emphasize what Rick said about the tripod, the tripod will go farther than anything else you can do to make quality photos. The best camera with the highest megapixel and the best lens won't make a good photo if there is camera movement.

You should add, if you're going to include your feet, be sure to have shoes or at least socks on. I remember one post, it might have even be an auction and bare feet were included at the bottom of the shot. The feet comments made for a funny thread and the rifle got lost in the conversation.

-Jeff L

I'm strictly an amateur at this but I've had some success using a light blue background. Flash is generally bad unless you use a diffuser and indirect (diffuse) light greatly reduces glare.
Rifles are awkward to shoot because they're so long and skinny.

Hey Rick,
Just tried your cropping techniqes on one of your photos. How does it look?
BEAR
Pesonally, I prefer Carhart boot socks.

Background color and material is critical for enhancing details.
Attached are 4 pictures taken in identical conditions. Best colors seem to be the blue grey and light blue. All materials are non-reflective cloth.
BEAR

I second light blue for a background. I like to use a desk blotter; they can be had in various colors and are non-reflective. For any dark areas, use bounce lighting or a reflector made of aluminum foil tacked to corrugated cardboard.

For highlighting markings, I use a white grease pencil (not a china marker) or just a moistened white powder like flour. Chalk can be used but could scratch a fine finish.

I love digital photography. No more darkroom, no more chemicals, no more enlarger. And if the photo doesn't turn out, there is no wasted film, paper, and developer. Just delete the garbage and re-use the same card. I don't know who invented digital photos but he/they did us all a good turn.

Oh, and BTW, PLEASE reduce the size (pixels) of your pictures. You will seldom lose any significant detail and you will help us in the boondocks who are stuck with 56k dialup lines. Those 12 meg photos take a LONG time to download and are no better than a 150k pic.

Jim

Hmmmm, I don't understand. The file I downloaded was only 125kb. Sorry about that.

Hey, at least the socks were clean!

The floor in our covered porch is a great shade of gray - almost perfect for taking "casual" rifle pictures. I agree that light blue is another good background. I've even seen pictures taken with a darker blue background that look good.

I can second Jim's comments:

1) "Amen" to digital photography. I used to develop B&W, darkroom and all, and I don't miss it a bit!

2) Important point about picture size. 600x900 pixil is fine. 50-100Kb of picture is reasonably detailed but helps the rest of us to avoid those long "waits" while the picture downloads.

Hey Rick,

Thanks for your efforts.

As far as lighting goes, the best photos I have ever taken of firearms are in full sunlight in the backyard, yes, not too close, shows off the wood real nice. Background? I like a bright cypress plank and the green St. Aug. grass in the backyard. Sadie the Whippet is always a nice touch also.

Lancebear

If I can mildly disagree, I find that full sunlight sometime exaggerates the colors, especially the metal. It might do well on the wood, though. A "high cloudy" day or "light shade" continues to work well for me.

It sure beats trying to work out those complicated lighting setups!!

I have collected old movie lights from thrift stores and use them for indoor photography---because I don't want the neighbors to know what I keep in the house.
Bounce the light off a textured white ceiling to break up shadows and then use your camers's color correction software---if you must.

"I find that full sunlight sometime exaggerates the colros..."---absolutely.

-----krinko

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...35912090-1.jpg

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/...e=6#Post122674

With a little patience, it's amazing what one can do... Using a white cloth to diffuse a light source indoors can be a godsend. This photo is taken that way:

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P2202286-1.jpg

In photography, when shooting a closeup, if your camera has the setting, lower the f-stop down as far as it will go and you'll get a sharp subject and a soft background. Photo enthusiasts call this effect "bokeh":
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...P2202287-1.jpg

Anyway, you get the idea. All are taken indoors with a tripod and a diffused (white cloth) manual flash setup. Camera is an Olympus E330 with an f2.8 35-70 lens.

Regarding resizing pictures:

If you right-click on the image while it's still stored on your computer you should see an option called Resize. Select Resize and click Medium. This automatically resizes the image into a smaller new file. It can then be uploaded to your photo host in a format that will remain consistent without having to manually select the resolution or image size.

It's the size I use and displays like this. Image is 640x480 resolution and aprx, 77kb.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/deleted.gif

This one is also 640x480 (you get this size every time you resize to Medium) and about 60kb. That's me on the left.:)

https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/deleted.gif

Thanks for saving the afgan as your avatar, Rick. I'm pretty well all at sea today with the loss of a dear friend and CSP as well. Rodfac

Just trying the new format. Rodfac

https://www.milsurps.com/images/imported/deleted.gif

Rodfac,
Pasting the image location on your computer into your post won't display the image here. It needs to be uploaded to Milsurps/CSP directly or linked from a web host.

How do I upload or post images? (click here)

How do I use PhotoBucket to display images? (click here)

How do I post pics? - A tutorial by Wally (click here)

Hope that helps ... :)

Does this mean that brightly colored Afghan blankets are no longer the Jouster CSP standard for the background of firearms photographs? Another venerable tradition has died and is "Gone With the Wind."

Another hint is to photograph your guns right side up. An upside down picture of a gun is like trying to read a book upside down. If you have to photograph it upside down to get the lighting right, flip it right side up before posting.
If you are shooting your camera on automatic, don't use a white background. If the white background composes most of your photograph your camera will expose the white correctly, underexposing your subject. As others have mentioned, a matte background of a neutral color will generally expose correctly on automatic. Most point and shoot cameras have exposure controls, so you may have to play with exposure to get you subject correctly exposed.
I used 35mm for years, and even though the camera had automatic exposure, I always read my closeups with a hand held meter.

Johnny, I also came from the 35mm days. I didn't have a light meter, but would bring my camera right up to the item I wanted to photograph and use the whole camera as a "light meter". Not effective as you actually using a light meter, but better than nothing.

The thing I continue to enjoy about a digital camera is the "instant feedback" you get on photos. No waiting for development of prints. And, a heck of a lot cheaper!!

You have some good pointers here. There's actually someone that's asking for photo help on this page (M1903). I see that you have this as a sticky on this page, I think it would be a good idea to have a sticky on all the pages.

Old Nikon 6 MP D-100.
Direct Flash/Indirect Background Light
I-Photo Post-Processing to adjust sharpness, contrast,brightness, color and effects.

Sometime simpler is better.
Sometimes accessories help.
Like fashion, like women!

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...04/LRB22-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...4/Kimber-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC_0021-1.jpg


https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...lderColt-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...DSC_0016-1.jpg

My contribution to the gallery...

(click for bigger)
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19031-1.jpg https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19032-1.jpg https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19039-1.jpg https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19037-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19033-1.jpg https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19036-1.jpg https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...th_19038-1.jpg https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...h_190310-1.jpg

Looks like my biggest photography no-no's are the use of a white background, and the use of direct light (both indoor and outdoors). Could some one elaborate on some simple methods to create indoor diffused lighting ? Any tips other than waiting for overcast conditions for outdoor lighting?

Regards
Pat

Two suggestions:

1) If you have a shady part of your yard outside, that works pretty well. "Light shade" works well.

2) Inside, near a large picture window, but not with direct sunshine coming through.

A tripod and self-timer is invaluable, too.

As far as background, I got a neat idea from John Beard - go to a fabrics store and buy a large sheet (maybe 3x4") of gray felt. Use that as a background and it works almost perfect.

How does one remove a photo posted here? I want to delete some before I exceed the limit.

That might be worth emailing/PMing the other moderators. T be honest, I've found going through Milsurp for pictures a little hard to do and tedious. I cotinue to copy and paste from my photohosting site.

Rick, Nice tips!

I just found this site, but I remember you from the old CSP site. You forgot to add the part about colorful afghan backgrounds!

this is a 1943 A3 remington receiver affixed with a redfield original base and original lyman all weather alaskan scope. the bolt is an A4. if ever I find a A4 stock I will have about a 95% A4 shooter. the stock does have the arsenal P by trigger housing, but no cartouche.
How much invested ? round figures about $500 +
Sorry to say I did not do the technical changes.

My Springfield Armory M1 Garand 30-06 , Jun 1944 (D-Day) and my Colt 1911 45 ACP , 1943
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...mg5105iw-1.jpg

BACKGROUND - Think like a sniper and be aware of your gun's background. Clutter distracts from the main subject matter. Try standing back from your computer and looking at the photo. Is the firearm clearly and obviously discernible?

If your photo is to set a mood to show off your babies in context, then a flag background, army or hunting vehicle or camouflage parachute material, possibly with a helmet, web gear and ammo are great. They are like calendar photos, but they require the viewer to study them and the details of the gun may not be obvious. If on the other hand the purpose of your photo is to sell a gun, and or share technical detail such as markings, then a simple background is best. As we used to say in the military, KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Think of targets. A paper target on a range is clear and uncluttered and you are drawn to it right away. A deer in the bush is a lot harder to make out and count the points on his antlers.

So many gun owners photograph their guns on couches, beds and on kitchen tables. They do not think too much about the background. The simplest thing is on the floor, on a PLAIN background such as a one colour (color) , light coloured (colored) carpet. Another simple idea is to take an old bed sheet (if you are a bachelor who loves the smell of gun oil at night you may use a new bed sheet). Draping the sheet over some furniture hides the empty beer cans and if you continue the sheet out onto the floor you create a neutral background for your long arm.

Check the background for distracting elements such as furniture legs, cat paws, clutter on the floor ... and if you are going to include your toes, please wash your feet first.

OUTSIDE LIGHTING - If photographing outside, as mentioned by others, an overcast day is usually best, for the three Gs - guns, girls and grandchildren. The overcast light does not create the harsh shadows that a bright sunny day does and the ladies are not squinting. Remember this if you are photographing a beautiful woman holding your (or her) rifle. Think of the famous Lee Harvey Oswald photo taken of him holding his rifle in his backyard. The shadows made it harder to analyze the rifle details.

FOCUSSING AND SPOT METERING - If you are using a cellphone camera such as an iPhone, they often allow you to touch the screen to select the spot you want the camera to focus on and expose for. This is handy for markings and details in dark areas. If for example you are photographing the follower in an M1 Garand while the rifle is assembled, focus and meter on just the follower (iPhone touch the screen for that spot or DSLR camera set for spot metering). The result should be a brighter follower and so what if the surrounding background is brighter than usual? You can crop some of it out if necessary. Remember that a camera averages what it sees. This is why photography on a snowy day often looks grey. You sometimes gave to override that function to get the exposure that you want. This is especially important if you are photographing a "black rifle".

WATCH YOUR SHADOW - as you are taking the photos. Remember to look around the viewfinder to see if your shadow or the shadow of the camera intrude into the image. If so change your position. Move the camera back and/or move around so that the light is not behind you.

WATCH THE GUN SHADOWS - The shadows cast by the gun sometimes make it hard to tell where the gun ends and the shadows begin. Extra light shone on the darkest areas can help. Another option is to lift the gun away from the background. This can be as simple as using a rifle cleaning stand or something that does not appear in the image to distract the viewer. For a small item such as a Derringer, placing a sheet of clean glass on some bricks (which are out of the camera's view) can make the gun float in the air with no distracting shadows. In this case, lighting from the sides at about 45 degrees can work well, then one avoids reflections from the glass. Angled lighting can show texture better. Markings are more legible with side lighting.

AVOID KEYSTONE EFFECT - Long guns are more difficult to photograph than pistols. They are best photographed at right angles usually. If they are photographed from one end, your Garand will be saying to you "Does my butt look too big?" Any married or divorced man will tell you that is not a good situation to be in. Having said that, deliberate keystone effect can work at times, e.g. Photographing your "Ma Deuce" (M2HB) .50 cal from the muzzle end.

SIMILAR PRINCIPLES TO SHOOTING A GUN - Bracing, trigger squeeze, follow-through. Do these sound familiar? Shooting photos is a lot like shooting bullets.

CHECK YOUR PHOTOS BEFORE POSTING THEM - As mentioned by others:
If it is blurry, discard the photo and reshoot. Unlike the old days of 35mm, digital images are "free".
Crop out distractions such as feet, price tags and furniture.
Basic photo editing (even iPhone has rotation, crop, brightness editing etc. these days)
Reduce photo size. Computers display well at 72 dots per inch (DPI).

Great tips here. Thanks. Any suggestions on how to avoid how some forum sites that despite every editing effort on your iPhone or computer, the site still displays the picture upside down?

Jeff

Can anyone make a recommendation for a reasonably priced camera to take good photos of long guns (M1993s and M1s). My cellphone camera ain't getting it done. Any info appreciated. Dokcop.

I think that you need to decide what sort of money you wish to pay for a camera first. You say "reasonably priced" but that is a matter of opinion. I paid somewhere around £250, several years ago, for my digital camera which I considered reasonably priced for a reasonably good camera but others may consider expensive while some may wish to pay more to get a better camera.