I see many of you have some excellent skills
taking pictures of your knives.
I am going to try and take some tomorrow,but have a question or 2.
I have read some of the guides and do have a home made
light box. Do you turn OFF the flash on the camera and
just use like a 100watt lightbulb in one of those
clamp reflector lights?
Do you shine that light through the lightbox from the sides,
or do you shine it into the lightbox from the front?
Seems it wont be bright enough.
I have a Sony Cybershot digital camera,7megapixel whatever.
Do you think that will be good enough to take some "good" pictures?
I can see Im gonna have to fool around with this a lot.
Any tips are more than welcome.

I don't consider myself a pro at all a taking pictures, however I do edit photos as part of my profession and I have to say that sometimes half the work is after the pics are taken (Photoshop <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> ).

Also a light box is very helpful and a flash usually isn't. Lighting needs to be bright but subdued using a sheet of paper or something. Sometimes I just tape a piece of paper across in front of a light. Be careful not to let the paper get too hot though... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

I'm sure some of the other guys will probably do a better job than me at explaining some of the details. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

If your camera has a decent macro mode on it, you can take some mean close up pics of the various textures of your blade, and/or handle.

Rainwalker said it well; bright, diffused light helps give you nice, clean results, as well as accurate color reproduction.

For these pics of my NMSFNO, I literally just threw the knife on my bed and aimed two 40 watt bulbs at it, and set the aperture on my camera as wide as it would go, so it would let in the most light while also creating a very small focus plane.

http://flickr.com/photos/puhlig/

Now I know these aren't the best, but I think they are neat. I will have many more pics of the knife this weekend, including some 'in use' shots.

I use a Nikon D80, so it allows me to have complete control over almost all aspects of the photo.


What kind of pictures are you looking to take?

A bright white background with nothing but the knife?

Do you have a tri-pod? If not, even a cheap one will do. They help A LOT.

I recommend full spectrum (daylight) florescent bulbs. They’re the right color for photos, and they don’t make you hot if you’re too close. Tripod is good. I’ve posted a LOT of links and info in this thread, check it out and let us know if you have any more questions.

How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio

Great thread. I have just recently got a little Sony Cybershot with a 7.2 megapixel and 3.5 zoom--whatever that means. I am just learning to take pictures. I got tired of people saying if there is no pics it's not real LOL. I hope to have my SOD soon, got the email saying it shipped monday, and I can do something crafty or artsy with it. Then again, you guys might just have to deal with my bragging and crappy pics!!!!!!

Mine is a Sony DSC-W1 5.1 megapixel w/ 3x zoom.

Wow,some good tips so far...
Thanks!
At first I just want to take some pictures of some of the
knives I have so far.
Maybe just laying on a sheet or posterboard (if i have one downstairs).
Eventually I would like some pictures of the knives outside,
action shots as well...

"A picture tells a thousand words" and I really wanna talk!
Lets see what I can come up with later today.

Great thread- I just bought the wife a Canon SX10IS ( 10MP- 20 x zoom) and a Canon 590 IS. Should be fun having here take pics and I will try too-Thanks for the tips

Andy's $10 link always cracks me up. The author is using at least $600 worth of high tech gear to light it. Other than that I know nothing. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Took a few pictures this evening...
Amazingly,they came out ok I think
(for a first try)
Here is my GameWarden Fatty .270



And below is my regular GameWarden .200


Now I have to figure how to make them smaller!

Can your Sony change the shutter speed?

If so, leave the shutter open longer, and turn down the ISO settings so there will be less digital noise.

You will need a tri-pod, as the camera needs to be absolutely still while the shutter is open.

A lot of point and shoot cameras attempt to keep things simple, by boosting the cameras ISO (its sensitivity to light) to a high level so it can keep the shutter speed fairly quick. If you can make the shutter speed slower, and turn down the ISO, the camera will 'soak up' more light..essentially getting the same result with much less static-like digital noise.

It will make your black back drop much more rich and pure.

Your composition looks great though!!