Taking Quality Pics Sticky?

[Cholo]

The Forum has a how to post pics sticky, but taking high quality gun pics are posted here and there and not really available doing a search. I've posted a few and they were fair at best compared to others I see. I've tried but didn't see the need to post my sub quality gun pics.

Is there anyway we can get a sticky started so there's no excuse for posting pics that aren't crystal clear if the person behind the camera does his/her job? It sure helps a seller/buyer of a gun, and those of us who simply like detailed high quality gun pics.

Thanks!

 

[flatgate]

Some folks neither have the time or funds available to do "quality" photography but they still want to share their images. We welcome whatever they've got...

Me? I go the simple route. Rule One? Tripod. Rule Two? No glare, and I have a hard time with that one. Rule Three? Size the pic so it fits the average computer screen.

Some guys do the light box. Some like the outdoors backgrounds. Some like tons of guns per pics, some shoot 'em one at a time.

I don't think we need to get very formal about this.

JMHO,

flatgate

 

[wixedmords]

Cholo,

One thing comes to mind when taking really good pictures, others are more likely to use them. This may of course may not be a problem, but if you intend to own the pictures and not let others use them then a decent pic will suffice.

One point about Photobucket, which could be different than if you hosted your own pictures or hosted somewhere else, is that you retain ownership of the pictures with Photobucket, but, you give up usage rights to the images. In Photobuckets "terms of use", under "Proprietary Rights in Content on Photobucket", "section 6.1" there are these words, "you hereby grant to Photobucket and other users a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, worldwide, limited license to use, modify, delete from, add to, publicly perform, publicly display, reproduce and translate such Content". I just wanted to add this so everyone understands what they are doing with Photobucket. Usage rights may not matter to you.

BTW, those Photobucket terms can be found here: http://photobucket.com/terms

For my viewing, I don't need a perfect picture. A decent picture suits me just fine.

May I add, that I thoroughly enjoy the photography the forum shares.


Wixed

 

[powder smoke]

Some folks neither have the time or funds available to do "quality" photography but they still want to share their images. We welcome whatever they've got...

Me? I go the simple route. Rule One? Tripod. Rule Two? No glare, and I have a hard time with that one. Rule Three? Size the pic so it fits the average computer screen.

Some guys do the light box. Some like the outdoors backgrounds. Some like tons of guns per pics, some shoot 'em one at a time.

I don't think we need to get very formal about this.

JMHO,

flatgate

Yup ps

 

[caryc]

Me? I go the simple route. Rule One? Tripod. Rule Two? No glare, and I have a hard time with that one. Rule Three? Size the pic so it fits the average computer screen.

JMHO,

flatgate

Having a website that sells gun grips by the photos of them, I must have taken thousands of pictures. Your two rules are the most important ones to follow.

As for rule two; no glare.....there is an extremely cheap and simple solution to this no matter what kind of lighting you have. Go to an office supply store and purchase some of that foam board surfaced on both sides with heavy paper. I use white and black. Once you have your shot set with your tripod, you can use the white ones to bounce light around on your subject or the black ones to stop glare from light sources.

This is done, of course, while using the auto shutter most all digital cameras have to avoid "shaking" the camera and to keep your hands free for using the foam boards. Even some large squares of plain old cardboard will be very affective with reducing that glare on the gun.

I am by no means a professional but I have taken some very nice photos. All of them indoors with no flash. I've built my own large light box but no longer use it. I get the best results just using the foam boards.

 

[Kevin]

CaryC;
Nice tips, You do take great pictures. One thing I appreciate about your pictures is you get in nice and close. It makes it easier to see the detail. You are also great with the backgrounds. They complement the grips in color and style.

Tip: With a digital camera, it's super easy to compose your shot before you take it.

Tip: If you don't have a tripod, use a stack of books and the self timer.

Tip: After the purchase of the camera, pictures all cost the same. Take multiple pictures, different angles, different lighting et cetera, and delete the bad pictures. When in doubt, throw it out.

 

[caryc]

Another rule to go by is the "thirds" rule. If you were to draw three lines horizontally across a picture, don't have your subject, in this case gun, smaller than one third of the screen. There is such a thing as too much background. There is nothing more aggravating on a dial up modem when waiting on a picture to load than having almost half of the picture visible and still not a gun in the picture. Especially if it's just a boring background like a bed spread or something similar. Make the gun catch peoples eye, not all that boring background.

Below are a couple photos that show the same background. This is a loose background that I set up for taking photos. The background is interesting but there is still plenty of gun metal in the photos. The first photo is even on the Ruger website. Both photos taken indoors with no flash and using the foam boards, timer and tripod.

 

[Cholo]

Thanks to all who responded. I'll work on my photography skills which are lacking. Great info was given. I just want to post pics, like caryc's, where others could see a pinned barrel on a Smith if necessary.

I can't believe one Forum member's gun hasn't already sold. The pics are about what I'm able to take and I think detailed pics are the reason.

 

[mm6mm6]

All great tips. I'll throw this in for my two cents. A high megapixel is great but even more important is a close up feature on the camera. I use an 8.0 megapixel Kodak C875 that I bought on Ebay for $139. It takes great pics if I do my part. The lighting is the most important thing after the camera. But Cary has a great point about making your pics look good with backgrounds and props.

 

[wixedmords]

mm6,

That stuff is really rockin'. Desktop-worthy with every picture.

Wixed

 

[flatgate]

mm6Squared,

Beautiful images. Me, I don't want to see or be distracted by all the "busy" background. I want to see the Ruger in the image. Does it have a Type 1 or does it have a Type 2 Ejector housing? Are the grips Varnished or Oiled?
Now, don't forget, I'm a "dyed in the wool" collector.

Got any images of the "Mag Only" Single-Six Logo?

OK, just making my point. For me, the Collector, the beauty is in the
gun.

Cheers,

flatgate

 

[Yosemite Sam]

mm6, nice pics, but you broke Flatgate's rule #3.

BTW, there is a Windows utility that allows you to just right click on a picture file and resize it. It's available at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/down ... rtoys.mspx, search on the page for Image Resizer.

Of course, most services like Photobucket will let you resize a picture on upload, or once on their servers, too.

BTW, I'm not suggesting you should/"have to" change them or whatever, I'm just mentioning this exists because it's a useful utility.

-- Sam

 

[flatgate]

mm6, nice pics, but you broke Flatgate's rule #3.

-- Sam

You must have a tiny screen....... :shock:
I'm on a laptop and the pics are just fine!

flatgate

 

[Yosemite Sam]

mm6, nice pics, but you broke Flatgate's rule #3.

-- Sam

You must have a tiny screen....... :shock:
I'm on a laptop and the pics are just fine!

flatgate

I'm on a 21" monitor with 1152x864 resolution, using Firefox in full screen mode...

If I remember right, you're a Mac user. Different platforms and/or browsers might shrink certain images for your screen.

The first of mm6's pics is 1024x768. Conversely, Cary's pics are 640x480. Max "screen" sizing is generally considered 600-800 pixels wide when working with the web.

-- Sam

 

[Yosemite Sam]

Some other things I thought of for this topic, that might not be obvious to a novice photographer:

• Don't use your flash. It generally does not work with shiny surfaces. Try to set up external lighting and disable the auto flash on your camera.
• Use the Macro setting. It makes a big difference.
• Long guns are exceptionally hard to get good pictures of, with the whole thing in the frame
• Don't be afraid to use the photo editing software than comes with your camera. These utilities can be used to lighten, sharpen, crop (remove those toes from the long gun shots), and compensate for lighting errors. Try using it, and if you don't like the results just throw the changes away without overwriting the original file.

Just simple stuff, but if you're just starting out it may not be obvious.

-- Sam

 

[wetidlerjr]

I often shoot handgun pics with my scanner. Just put it on the scanner, close lid and cover scanner with towel or cloth to keep out exterior light and scan. Of course, you are limited by scanner size. :mrgreen:

Here's some: