Better pictures

[henningssom]

Hey guys!

I've got a better camera with macro lens.
I hope you can see the engraving better now.
Please tell me what I can improve, feedback is always good.
Mike

 

[diandwill]

Can see it fine. Nice pics of very nice engraving. Which camera did you get?
Will

 

[henningssom]

Thanks for the comment.
I got a Nikon D3100.
The important thing is the lens.
This one is called Micro NIKKOR 60mm 1:2.8 ED
MIke

 

[jpatter]

If you manually set your lens to a F stop of 7 then manipulate your shutter speed (depending on your flash). You can get very sharp and crisp detail with very little loss of focus.

Jpatter

 

[Sam]

Not bad, Mike. What was your lens aperture setting? Also, what was your shutter and ISO?

 

[grumpyphil]

Each lens is it's own entity but traditionally Nikon macro lenses tend to be best above f16.
Aside from that, personally, I think what you've done is quite beautiful. I am particularly impressed with the balance you achieved between the Damascus blade and the engraving which is no small trick. That's really a gorgeous piece. Could you list the details? Size, lock, materials and so on?
Phil

 

[Titian]

Awesome engrave and awesome pic.

 

[henningssom]

Hi all.

I have some difficulty understanding the camera language you use but I will try to explain how I did.
1# Camera tripod
2# f 8 with automatic shutter speed.
3# By a window with a light curtain pulled down.

Now I have to f 13 and enlarged in a computer environment.
I'm not the one you should ask when it comes to pictures, but when it comes to making knives, I can respond much better.

The knife:
Blade length: 2.50 in.
Overall length: 5.90 in.
Blade width: 0.95 in.
Blade thickness: 0.11 In.
Item weight: 3.60 oz.
Blade: RWL-34 stainless steel
Handle: Engraved stainless steel.
Style: Folding liner lock
Click to visit my website:
http://henningssonknives.wordpress.com/

Thank you very much for your kind words, I appreciate it very much!
Micke

 

[henningssom]

Hi all.

I have some difficulty understanding the camera language you use but I will try to explain how I did.
1# Camera tripod
2# f 8 with automatic shutter speed.
3# By a window with a light curtain pulled down.

Now I have to f 13 and enlarged in a computer environment.
I'm not the one you should ask when it comes to pictures, but when it comes to making knives, I can respond much better.

The knife:
Blade length: 2.50 in.
Overall length: 5.90 in.
Blade width: 0.95 in.
Blade thickness: 0.11 In.
Item weight: 3.60 oz.
Blade: RWL-34 stainless steel
Handle: Engraved stainless steel.
Style: Folding liner lock
Click to visit my website:
http://henningssonknives.wordpress.com/

Thank you very much for your kind words, I appreciate it very much!
Micke

Opps, i forgot. The blade damask is called Odins eay.

 

[mrthe]

I have the same camara ,i will check this micro objective, i haven't use it yet for make photo of my work,but i have to try,thanks for sharing

 

[Sam]

Mike: The last photo is the best. As for light, what you have is working for you. The illumination is even and well diffused. Unfortunately you can't shoot at night but for daylight shooting you're ok. So at this point the major hurdle and most important part of the photography equation (light) has been addressed.

The first two shots you posted are slightly out of focus on the edges. You can increase the amount of in-focus area (called DEPTH OF FIELD) by stopping the lens down to a higher number like f16, etc. When you do this the camera will slow the shutter speed to compensate, but since you're using a tripod (great!) then this shouldn't be a problem. Just be very careful to avoid camera shake when you trip the shutter, or better yet use the self-timer.

The downside of stopping down past f8 is that while you'll get greater depth of field, the sharpness of lens will start to deteriorate. This is normal and usually not a huge problem, but you should be aware of the difference between depth of field (area that's in focus) and sharpness.

I would suggest shooting one photo at each f-stop number and then loading them onto your computer and viewing each one at full size and studying the results. This is will show you exactly what's going on when you change f-stops. Of course it's imperative that you get NO camera shake during this test so use a tripod and the self-timer.

And since you're using a tripod, maximize the quality of your shots by setting your camera to the lowest ISO setting! This will render photos with less digital 'noise' and they'll be sharper and better.

You're doing well with your first shots...especially the last one. I'm happy to see someone making a serious effort to getting quality photos. Your engraving certainly deserves it.

If you haven't seen this, check it out. It's an in-depth article I wrote for FEGA called PHOTOGRAPHY FOR ENGRAVERS.

 

[henningssom]

Thanks for all the advice.
It is almost as difficult to take pictures as it is to engrave.
It's hard to take good picture of the engraving, while bringing damask steel and background as good as possible.
What light is best do you think?
1 # or 2 #

1#

2#

You can see the pictures in larger format on my website
http://henningssonknives.wordpress.com/

Mike