Sword - Recommendations Needed

[Nevermore1]

Below are a few photos I recently took for my Dad of one of his swords. I need recommendations as to how I could get better shots of it. My main issue seems to be the lighting, I have one speedlight available to me. The problem I have is obviously the reflection of the light off the metal and the bevel of the blade. I know I need to move the sword further from the background (and iron the background). Any suggestions on how to improve these would be greatly appreciated as it seems as though I have been volunteered to help him inventory his collection and get pics for the ones he's selling on Ebay.

 

[Shipman]

I say have it professionally cleaned so that it is not to ruin the patina but still bring the original shine out. Also, change up your angle, it looks like a cheap ebay pic. I would have it mounted up straight so that the whole sword is in the shot. I also would get very close the the blade and take a shot straight from the bottom to the tip, where you can get a nice focus on the details yet also come out with a quality photo in general.

2 seconds of a google search "sword photography" can give you an idea of angles and styles you may want to try and replicate.

 

[Nevermore1]

Thanks, he was looking to get the detail of the engraving on the blade, particularly the writing right at the base. I usually do landscapes and animals so this is definitely not something I am used to doing.

 

[tirediron]

This can be challenging, and it's all about the family of angles; angle of incidence = angle of reflection. You're probably going to want a couple of lights, and lots of diffusion, as well as flags and gobos to control spill. At the end of the day, it's going to be a lot of "a quarter inch this way" and "a half degree that". To enhance the engraving, you're going to want the lights to hit at an angle, and not straight on.

 

[MichaelHenson]

You should have shot these in RAW... (Kidding...just referencing the "other" thread...)

I agree with the other suggestions. I'd recommend a different background (without spots) and some shots of the whole sword. Does your Dad have a holder or display of some sort? I'd recommend checking out something like that rather than having it lay on a blanket or fabric. Perhaps, you could put it against a neutral (dark) background in a garage or something and hang it from a beam with a wire or something that could be removed in post? That could be a really cool look I would think...

 

[Nevermore1]

You should have shot these in RAW... (Kidding...just referencing the "other" thread...)

I agree with the other suggestions. I'd recommend a different background (without spots) and some shots of the whole sword. Does your Dad have a holder or display of some sort? I'd recommend checking out something like that rather than having it lay on a blanket or fabric. Perhaps, you could put it against a neutral (dark) background in a garage or something and hang it from a beam with a wire or something that could be removed in post? That could be a really cool look I would think...

These are the the ones I took in RAW and he complained about the "stupid RAW" format for over 45 minutes.

Unfortunately he doesn't have a holder or anything. The few he actually has on display are balanced on nails in the wall. I need to find a better background which doesn't attract dog/cat hair as much (with 2 dogs and a cat it's hard to keep hair off stuff, the cat was actually helping me with the photos, had to keep moving her). Sounds like I need to get at least a few more lights. I think my Dad has about 100 swords laying around and a few dozen old rifles as well. I suspect I'll be busy the next year between those and all the other various antiques he's collected on his travels.

 

[pgriz]

If you're going to be doing more than a few shots, it may be worth your while to get the book: Light, Science and Magic. I have the forth edition. link is here: Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting: Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua: 9780240812250: Amazon.com: Books.

Chapter 6 is all about photographing shiny metal, which is pretty much what you're trying to do.

 

[Nevermore1]

Thanks, I have it but haven't had time to read it yet. Guess I need to make the time to.

 

[pgriz]

You don't have to have fancy softboxes and the like, but you ARE going to have to create a working area for yourself in which you control the light and the reflections. The book is a good investment in the "software" side of the field. I can only wish that other aspects of life were as thoroughly covered by relevant instructional books.

 

[MichaelHenson]

You should have shot these in RAW... (Kidding...just referencing the "other" thread...)

I agree with the other suggestions. I'd recommend a different background (without spots) and some shots of the whole sword. Does your Dad have a holder or display of some sort? I'd recommend checking out something like that rather than having it lay on a blanket or fabric. Perhaps, you could put it against a neutral (dark) background in a garage or something and hang it from a beam with a wire or something that could be removed in post? That could be a really cool look I would think...

These are the the ones I took in RAW and he complained about the "stupid RAW" format for over 45 minutes.

Unfortunately he doesn't have a holder or anything. The few he actually has on display are balanced on nails in the wall. I need to find a better background which doesn't attract dog/cat hair as much (with 2 dogs and a cat it's hard to keep hair off stuff, the cat was actually helping me with the photos, had to keep moving her). Sounds like I need to get at least a few more lights. I think my Dad has about 100 swords laying around and a few dozen old rifles as well. I suspect I'll be busy the next year between those and all the other various antiques he's collected on his travels.

I understand about pet hair! Hard to deal with for sure...I guess you'll end up with plenty of practice!!!

Maybe your dad can chip in and help you purchase some lighting? Adorama has a Flashpoint strobe for $100 that I've heard good reviews on for a starter strobe...diffuser umbrellas are cheap too.

If you're going to be doing more than a few shots, it may be worth your while to get the book: Light, Science and Magic. I have the forth edition. link is here: Light Science and Magic: An Introduction to Photographic Lighting: Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua: 9780240812250: Amazon.com: Books.

Chapter 6 is all about photographing shiny metal, which is pretty much what you're trying to do.

This book keeps being recommended...I'm going to have to go ahead and order it!

 

[Light Guru]

With reflective objects I find it easier to work with constant light and not flashes.

As for the background lay get some black velvet.

 

[MichaelHenson]

With reflective objects I find it easier to work with constant light and not flashes.

As for the background lay get some black velvet.

That makes sense...Would something with a modeling light be essentially similar?

 

[Nevermore1]

I'm back with a few more questions/need some help. Tonight my Dad told me that all the photos I'd taken for him he had saved on his computer that crashed recently and he only has a few low res copies that were on a different system, I didn't keep my copies since I have no need for photos of his swords using up room on my HD. Well, apparently he needs the photos for an article that he submitted to a magazine which was accepted by the publisher so now I have to re-do the photos this weekend to send to the publisher to see if they get accepted. He never told me that's what the photos were going to be used for...

I am planning on getting some clean (meaning no dog/cat hair) dark material to use a backdrop and am still trying to figure out some way to position the swords. I was also thinking of getting one or two LED lights and something to help diffuse the light to help with the reflections. I guess my questions are - does anyone have any suggestions for a cheaper end light (I'm kinda broke right now) and something to use as a diffuser? I know that they have those cubes for product photography to help with lighting but the camera store in my area only has small ones - none big enough to use for a sword. I take most of my photos outdoors so I haven't really played with my flash unit yet or any type of lighting. Wish I had more time to get things together but I'm just going to have to see what I can throw together and do the best I can. If anything this will get me back to taking photos again. I haven't had much time to do anything recently due to being overwhelmed at work, been going to work then coming home and going straight to bed as soon as I get the kids to bed. As usual, thanks in advance for any ideas that may help.

Editing to add - I did read the book and am going to go back and review it again tomorrow. I know this is way over my level but my Dad is guilt tripping me into it - it's his Father's Day present. I told him they'll probably suck.