Firearms photography

[High Plaines Doug r]

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.

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[BEAR]

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

[BEAR]

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

[Jim K]

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