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4/21/2025 6:30:38 PM
 
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Section 23: Gun Collecting Subject: Expensive pistol, So-so photos Msg# 1224061
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I was thinking of that 2-3" thick styrofoam the comes in packaging padding electronic equipment--but it doesn't usually have that plastic backing mentioned. It's not consistently sized either. But then I thought that something similar in flat blocks could be had at a well-stocked hobby shop. We have a chain in the Midwest called Hobby Lobby that is huge.
I built a plywood box for photos. Not just guns but any smallish objects. Three sides and open in front. About four feet "wide" (I guess you could say long), two high, and two deep. Open on top of course. I often have clamped backgrounds to it. It does keep random or stray light from getting in from across the room, and I then mainly just have to worry about the actual light I project. By the way, I also have one of those reflectors that are gold one side, silver the other. I rarely used it because I don't have a lot of experience with reflectors. You have given me a great idea for it though. I never thought about the gold side as reflecting that look of morning light. I've attempted to recreate it with filters, but not for a long time, preferring the real thing. Never considered it for indoor photos though... |
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For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: I do use color-temperature-rated bulbs in standard reflectors. I mount mine from above from left, right, and slightly behind, but it is a task for me to avoid all reflections. I use three lights, two at 500 watts and a smaller 250-watt spot. It is always a chore to place them where they work best. I start with the stronger lights and try to place them where they cancel out each other's visible shadows. This usually means one is set to one side and the other is set to the opposite side but slightly behind the subject. Then I set the spot in front to light up areas that need it or to side-light roll marks on a slide or frame so they show up better. I also use a cable release on my tripod mounted camera, just to avoid any movement. That is really important as you need to prevent any motion. I use the camera's built-in shutter release timer. I set it for a long delay so the camera has time to stop moving from my touching the shutter button before the picture is taken. After touching the shutter button I check the viewfinder to make sure I haven't moved the camera and changed the composition of the shot. Some of my lenses have a very small F-stop capability and the shutter may remain open for 20 seconds or more. I do many of those things you mentioned but have not tried a couple of them--bouncing the light off styrofoam is clever as heck! I also have a portable collapsable reflector that is silver on one side and gold on the other. Silver gives you "morning" and normal light while gold gives you something more akin to evening light. Sometimes the gold side brings out pleasing colors on a gun or background that I don't see when taking the pictures. I stumbled across using Styrofoam as a reflector by accident when I was looking for something to backlight a shot with and grabbed a piece left over from a project. Thin, non-backed Styrofoam isn't great because a lot of light passes through it. Construction-grade panels with opaque plastic backing on one side reflect better as the backing seems to act like the backing behind a glass mirror. It seems to produce brighter, whiter light. (Is it still legal to use the word "white" in a positive way??? Just checking, I don't get out a lot anymore... |
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