doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shotgun photography and background color

Thanks for all the input, I’ve learned a lot. Seems the consensus is gray, white, or shades of gray-green or gray-blue. I’ll keep experimenting which is part of the fun. Trying to find a used copy of Photoshop on Ebay is good advice and I’ll keep my eyes open. This was fun, maybe next time we can talk about photographing engraving. I took photos of two nickel plated engraved Colt SSA’s and I’m in no hurry to try that again.

Michael- QUIT THAT -those photos are painful! I don't know how you find these critters....

I like that last background the best, but I REALLY LOVE that rifle.

Brent

Thanks Brent, I like to sneak a rifle in now and then, if you really would like some pain click below, a consecutive serial number of the Ballard above.

From the collection of “Anonymous”


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/mjpetrov/3407C.jpg

The treatment of the barrel at the action on the "consecutive numbered" Ballard #6 you have posted at http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v311/mjpetrov/3407C.jpg
is unique in my experience. Glenn Fewless and other single shot metal smiths should take a print of this for future reference.

Thanks for posting it!

If you pick up Photoshop you can use chroma key to replace the background. Same digital magic as in the movies. I have been fooling around with GIMP and doing chroma key is not fun with that software.

Pete

Michael:
Would you provide us with details regarding the technique you used to photograph the Springfield Sporter posted above? That one seems to have very nice balance between contrast and clarity.

Chuck:
Your second picture is also IMO excellent.
Jim

Didn't intend to get involved in this thread, but.... WOW!

If you have Steven Dodd Hughes book “Custom Rifles in Black & White” look on page 182. I use a setup a lot like his, rifle is held vertical on a polished steel rod in the bore. Reflected light from 2-500 and 2-250 3200 photo lights with defuser, all on a rheostat. For the Springfield I lowered the light until I got a nice soft light and used a long exposure, tripod of course. With digital I can do many shots with a faster or slower exposure in a short amount of time and just delete the bad ones. When I shoot engraving I have two leather straps hanging from the ceiling and shoot the gun in the horizontal position and use a hand held light (defused) to highlight the engraving. Background put in later with software Photoshop Elements. I have several colored backgrounds but will get some more, I think the picture can look better with a background and not added by the computer, but the jury is still out.

Just looking at Steve’s book and see the cover has two rifles with a dull red background and they look good.

If to sell the gun, a non-descript background is fine, but for show and tell here, a few trappings are needed to warm-up the picture. Sometimes, if you've seen one gun, you've seen them all.

No 13 seemed to add brightness and color to the stock wood, and detail to the metal. Were the conditions the same as with the other colors? I can't say that I prefer the background color, but it does wonders for the subject.