A couple of firsts

KarlB

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2015
Messages
10
Location
Surry, New Hampshire
Hello forum members. This is my first post to the forum and my first attempt at photographing my work.

These knives were done for my two sons, who are are very close. I wanted the engraving for each of them to be very close as well.

Any pointers or suggestions, for my future improvement, would be appreciated.http://www.engraverscafe.com/images/smilies/tiphat.gif
 

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Southern Custom

~ Elite 1000 Member ~
Joined
Mar 8, 2013
Messages
1,026
Location
Baton Rouge
Photographing engraving is an exercise in frustration if you don't have a proper setup. I do it on the fly quite a bit but it was only through a lot of trial and error that I learned how to get the lighting right.
Try indirect lighting or make a simple studio light with white fabric or something similar. Black backgrounds work well. They are easy to darken post production and help the piece to pop out well. It's also hard to shoot a piece flat. Try setting the knife on an angle, aim your filtered light at it, and play with where you shoot the pic from. As you watch your viewfinder, you'll see that at some angles, the engraving will suddenly sharpen and go dark. That's what you are shooting for. After the shot is taken, use whatever photo processing software you have to darken shadows. That's the easiest way to get the engraving darker and sharper. On the Iphone you can go into lighting and adjust the Black Point. Also since engraving is by nature tiny, close those knives and get a closer shot.
There's your idiots guide. I shoot with the Iphone and manage some great shots. I may need to shoot 10 to get one good shot and they will always need to be adjusted but it works in the end.
If you drop by my website, www.southerncustomengraving.com, (And sorry for the mess, in the middle of rebuilding the site) all the photography, save the first gun, were shot with Iphone.
Good luck and have fun, and nice work on the knives! And welcome to the forum!
Layne
 
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