Rifle Photography

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dickaye
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Rifle Photography

Post by dickaye »

I have a modest collection of twenty lever action pre1899 Marlin, Winchester and others rifles that I keep in a gun safe within a hidden room in my basement. It is comforting knowing they are relatively safe, but I never get to see them. So, I've hired my part time photographer son to take pictures of all of my collection so I might hang a framed photo on the wall. My son had already done this for me a couple of years ago when my collection was about half it's present size, so we decided to do it again. He did a very good job with the photos on the first group, except there are shadows and other irregularities in the photos which detract from the finished product. He corrected some of these problems with "photoshop" and other imaging techniques, but on this second larger batch of photos he is trying to get the best original pictures he can. It is not easy and we have not accomplished this task to our satisfaction. The primary problem we have faced is lighting of which my son has access to the best photography equipment, but preventing shadows and bright spots has been very frustrating. Currently we are shooting outside in a shaded area with a green backdrop. It appears this is going to work best to bring out the best detail of the rifles with the least irregularities. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I hope to have some excellent photos to post here soon. I guess you will know if it all works out..............
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Road King
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Re: Rifle Photography

Post by Road King »

You're heading in the right direction, outside, out of direct sunlight, early morning is the best time, tripod is a must, try different angles and a macro setting is the best for close ups for details.
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Regnier (gunrunner)
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Re: Rifle Photography

Post by Regnier (gunrunner) »

Richard;

I agree with Brian about taking the pictures outside, but I usually use a lighter background, like I do with my displays. Guns show up much better on lighter backgrounds.
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dickaye
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Re: Rifle Photography

Post by dickaye »

Well Gentlemen,
Your advice concurred with everything that my son and I figured out on photographing my rifles. The completed project is on my son's laptop only so I can't provide you with the results at this time, but the photos turned out magnifico!
Framed, under glass and hanging on the wall in my office is a 30 x 60 inch photo of my 21 antique pre99 lever action rifles. I am now able to look at them every day without fear of them being out of their vault. Wonderful, wonderful!
Rich..............
detnight
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Re: Rifle Photography

Post by detnight »

I have done the same thing for my guns but I used it for indenification and insurance. I put everything on a DVD with three pictures of each gun along with a description. I three copies of the DVD in the gun safe and two other places. They also make a great screen saver
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marlinman93
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Re: Rifle Photography

Post by marlinman93 »

I have a friend who sells on Gunauction.com and takes the finest pictures I've seen anywhere on the internet. All his pictures are taken indoors, and all with a red background. He uses bright lights, but indirect lighting, so there is no glare in his pics. A white sheet or reflective material on a wall behind the camera can serve as a reflector to bounce the light, and not create glare on surfaces.
Check out his pictures at one of his auctions:
http://www.gunauction.com/buy/12864107/ ... te-c-and-r
Marlin lever actions 1870's-WWI, Ballards, and single shot rifles!
Brent
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Re: Rifle Photography

Post by Brent »

Stephen Hughes and Michael Petrov and others have had long discussions on how to photograph rifles. They are both experts at it and have published books of photos of rifles they have collected or built. They are, almost w/o a doubt the best in the business.

You can search out those discussions at the doublegunshop forums right here
http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubb ... d=7&page=1.

Sadly we lost Michael this winter. But Steve is still there, however searching the archives may be enough to get you started.

Brent
PS. Here is a photo of Michael's. It is simply the first one I ran across on the website. Sadly, this website will not accept larger photos that would allow me to present the photo here. But you can click on this link.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/mjpetrov/M3.jpg
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