Photography For Engravers - FEGA article by Sam

[Sam]

If you missed it in issue #87 of The Engraver magazine, my article PHOTOGRAPHY FOR ENGRAVERS is now available for download. For those seeking a better understanding of photography, their cameras and the controls on them, and to take better photos, this article can certainly help. It's an 11mb PDF which you can download to your computer and print if you wish.

Photography For Engravers

 

[Marrinan]

Great stuff much appreciated-Down loaded to my Kindle-Thanks a lot sam-Fred

 

[mrthe]

Thank you Sam this article is very helpfull i hope can apply it to my hobo nickels that are difficult to make phostos and always drive me crazy

 

[rayf24]

Thanks Sam
Loads of very useful info and so freely give your not just a
pretty face as some say :justkidding: :biggrin:
Ray

 

[thughes]

Sam,
Thanks for taking the time to post this.

 

[Sam]

You're welcome. When you get the proper lighting, everything falls into place, especially when photographing flat objects like guns, knives, nickels, etc. Photographing a shiny bracelet in the round is a bit more tricky as it'll capture unwanted reflections in the room, but that can be overcome with patience and a few white reflectors.

Get the light right and you're 3/4 of the way to great photos.

 

[KCSteve]

Get the light right and you're 3/4 of the way to great photos.

And the other 1/4 is mostly focus so if you use a tripod or other support...

 

[Sam]

And the other 1/4 is mostly focus so if you use a tripod or other support...

I partly agree, but I would say the other 1/4 would be understanding shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. A tripod goes without saying. Without one the chances for sharp photos at a low ISO will be extremely difficult, even with the latest generation of lens image stabilization/vibration reduction.

 

[DiamondCactus]

Where do you get this magazine from?

 

[Sam]

It's THE ENGRAVER, the quarterly magazine of the Firearms Engraver's Guild of America. If you're not a member you should consider joining!

 

[DiamondCactus]

I have many photography books and you did what it took about 5 of them to convey in hundreds of pages in 9. Outstanding article, and incredibly well written.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

Where do you get this magazine from?

The Engraver magazine is the quarterly magazine of the Fire Arms Engravers Guild of America (FEGA) and over the years we have had some great articles. It's the only magazine dedicated to the art of engraving and it covers a lot of ground from "How to" articles like Sam's right through to step by step articles about how a job was done from start to finish and the thought process behind it. We also have our annual show in Reno where you can meet and talk engraving plus a web site www.fega.com where you can join up and become a member.

It's the best $55 a year you'll ever spend.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Sam]

I have many photography books and you did what it took about 5 of them to convey in hundreds of pages in 9. Outstanding article, and incredibly well written.

Many thanks, and I'm glad it helped you.

 

[thughes]

Sam,
Thanks again. I was just going to print your article and take it home, but I ended up reading it instead of working. Awsome, kind of a photography for dummies, which I am.

 

[Sam]

Sam,
Thanks again. I was just going to print your article and take it home, but I ended up reading it instead of working. Awsome, kind of a photography for dummies, which I am.

Well, I've been fiddling with photography since I was a kid and knew a fair amount on the subject, but I struggled with getting good photos of my engraving for a long time. Once I built a homebrew light setup with diffuser my photos went from poor to good, and once I started using a softbox they went from good to really good. My advice is to start with getting the proper light source and then working out the camera stuff afterward.

 

[Andrew Biggs]

The reality of it is that most people never get to see your actual engraving.................all they ever see is the photograph. And if the photos is poor then they assume your work is poor. No different from looking at the bum walking down the road. If they look like a bum, then they are album, no matter how much money they have in the bank.

Most bad photos suffer from the same mistakes. Out of focus, camera shake and very poor lighting. Out of focus and camera shake there is no excuse for because all you have to do is read the manual. The other bad one is bright colored backgrounds that reflect all over the object and no amount of Photoshopping will remove it.

Take your time with a photo. Prepare the object properly. Don't leave grease, hair and all the rest of it over the article. Clean it because it only takes a couple of minutes. You've spent hours and hours engraving the thing and then spoil it all simply by not spending a minute or two cleaning it.

And never, ever, photograph your work with carpet as your backdrop!!! The hairs get everywhere in the photo. And the pattern on the chair/couch may look great as a chair/couch but it sucks as a background for a photo. Buy some medium grey paper/cardboard and use that as a backdrop because it won't play havoc with your light meter, or, make the background as neutral as possible. Otherwise make a nice theme with tools around it or something appropriate.

My own personal pet hate is seeing a coin next to the engraving. It totally distracts from the engraving and should never be used on a web site when you are trying to present your work to the public. If you are trying to demonstrate how small the object is then just say it.

Gone are the bad old days of negatives and rolls of film where you could bang off a roll of film and a week later find that the photos were all bad. With digital photography you can take as many photos as you want to get the one good one ...........and then delete the rest.

People will judge your work on the photo and it's no use telling people how wonderful it looks in real life..............because most people will never see it. All they see is the photo and in their mind, if the photo sucks, so does the work.

Cheers
Andrew

 

[Martin Strolz]

Excellent statement, Andrew!
After reading Sams article I purchased a relatively cheap softbox and I am very happy with it. It can be used for all indoor other photography too. http://walimex-foto.at/Walimex-Daue...-Daylight-720-mit-Softbox-45x65-cm::2109.html

 

[Sam]

It's good for portraits too, Martin! That's a nice looking softbox and the price is good. Fluorescent light softboxes are MUCH more pleasant to work with than brutally hot incandescent bulbs.

 

[D.M.]

Sam, let me add my 1/2 cent. Bright sunny day is good to take pictures outside. You just take your light cube and put it under the direct sun light. Put your piece in it and shoot. I found it better to make the sun shine in the cube's corner(from outside of course). That makes the light inside more even, Yet it has some direction and you can play with the item position.

 

[Sam]

Yes, I've done similar things, Dmitry. The advantage of a softbox is you have controlled lighting that never changes. Your exposures should always be the same and you are not at the mercy of bright days, overcast days, and of course rainy days or nighttime. The advantages of controlled light are great. But yeah, you can shoot outside with a cube and get excellent results when everything is right.