Dark room shots, handgun and PS3 controller - C&C

inTempus · Dec 20, 2008

This morning I decided I wanted to try and get some shots in a darker room to soften the lighting and get kind of darker images. I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself properly.

So I started off with a PS3 controller and a PS3 headset. The goal would be to make a marketing/sales pic (I'm not of course, but that's the look I'm going for).

Tv: 2.5
Av: 4.0
ISO: 160
manual focus

Next up was my Springfield Professional 1911. Again, the goal was the same. The settings were a little different due to the fact the sun was coming up and things were getting brighter in my living room.

Tv: 2 sec
Av: 5.6
ISO: 160
manual focus

How could I have gotten closer to my goal with these pics?

stsinner · Dec 20, 2008

Awesome pic of the gun. I love the drilled trigger..

If you're bored and have some extra time, there are some great tutorials on making a lightbox on a budget that makes nice pics that look almost like there's no background. People use them a lot for posting to eBay and stuff...

Eldrich · Dec 20, 2008

Yeah, the background is the thing that stood out to me. The black on brown background kind is kind of weird in the first one. I think it looks good and makes more sense with the gun than the controller.

Overread · Dec 20, 2008

The gun really has worked well in the setting and I like the lighting. I would try though maybe getting the gun propped up at a sharper angle rather than just resting on the table, I like your shooting angle, but the gun is getting out of your depth of field (note the slightly more blury muzzle of the gun) and changing angles (of the gun I would say rather than the camera since I do think the shooting angle is right) would let you get more in the depth.
Also using a longer shutter speed and smaller aperture would get you a bigger depth of field.
You also need to do something with the clip since tis all softer being right out of the depth of field

inTempus · Dec 20, 2008

stsinner said:
Awesome pic of the gun. I love the drilled trigger..

If you're bored and have some extra time, there are some great tutorials on making a lightbox on a budget that makes nice pics that look almost like there's no background. People use them a lot for posting to eBay and stuff...

You read my mind. I'm heading over to the local crafts store this morning to get the stuff to build a light box.

I've been thinking about it all week. I'll let you guys know what I come-up with / build.

chrisburke · Dec 20, 2008

great pics! only thing I see to improve is the focus.. on the gun shot, the left side of the clip is out of focus.

inTempus · Dec 20, 2008

Overread said:
The gun really has worked well in the setting and I like the lighting. I would try though maybe getting the gun propped up at a sharper angle rather than just resting on the table, I like your shooting angle, but the gun is getting out of your depth of field (note the slightly more blury muzzle of the gun) and changing angles (of the gun I would say rather than the camera since I do think the shooting angle is right) would let you get more in the depth.
Also using a longer shutter speed and smaller aperture would get you a bigger depth of field.
You also need to do something with the clip since tis all softer being right out of the depth of field

Ahhhh, I bet that's what I was missing. I agree, I don't like the loss of focus on the muzzle and magazine. I will try a smaller aperture and longer shutter speed and reshoot later today (once I loose some daylight). Should I also back off a little from the subject? I was only about a 2ft from the pistol for this pic.

The pistol is propped up about 1/2". I used a spent casing under the top/left corner of the pistol to bring it up. My first pics had the pistol laying flat, here's an example:

Do you think it would look ok if I increased the elevation of the rear? I want it to look like it's laying flat, but I want the detail of an almost straight down shot. I think I've pretty much captured that since you got the sense it's laying flat.

inTempus · Dec 20, 2008

chrisburke said:
great pics! only thing I see to improve is the focus.. on the gun shot, the left side of the clip is out of focus.

Thanks. :mrgreen:

Yeah, I haven't figured out how to get everything in focus yet, but I'll work on it today.

I guess I'm kind of hard on myself, I've only had my camera a little less than a week now but I sit for hours trying to figure everything out. I will shoot a bunch of pics, look at them... obsess over it for a while, reset up everything and do it again. My wife thinks I'm crazy. :lmao: I can't believe how much I enjoy photography, I wish I would have gotten into it years ago!

inTempus · Dec 20, 2008

Eldrich said:
Yeah, the background is the thing that stood out to me. The black on brown background kind is kind of weird in the first one. I think it looks good and makes more sense with the gun than the controller.

I totally agree. I was going for a black on black look with the controller similar to this iPhone pic I took earlier this week:

But that was taken on a workout bench and it's too narrow for what I was trying to do with the controller.

The wood grain stands out more than the black...

Josh66 · Dec 20, 2008

The first one (propped up) looks a lot better. I think what Overread was getting at is to try to get the gun parallel to the film plane (or at least more than it is now), to get it all within the DOF. I don't think you'll be able to get it completely parallel, but a little more elevation should help a lot.

stsinner · Dec 20, 2008

Hey tharmsen, what would have been cool is if you propped your gun up on a King James Bible somehow and composed a pic.. Like clinging to your guns and your religion that Dear Leader mocked during his campaign... I'm going to do that with mine and see if I can't get something creative..

We're such savages here in America... LOL

And another cool thing-you're in my home state. I was born and raised in Indianapolis, and I miss it.. I can't stand this pinko state I live in, but that's what happens when you meet a girl in the Army and have a kid-you have to either settle near her parents or near yours...

Being an engineer, I'm trying to get into that new Honda plant in Indy.. That would be a good reason to move..

inTempus · Dec 20, 2008

stsinner said:
Hey tharmsen, what would have been cool is if you propped your gun up on a King James Bible somehow and composed a pic.. Like clinging to your guns and your religion that Dear Leader mocked during his campaign... I'm going to do that with mine and see if I can't get something creative..

We're such savages here in America... LOL

And another cool thing-you're in my home state. I was born and raised in Indianapolis, and I miss it.. I can't stand this pinko state I live in, but that's what happens when you meet a girl in the Army and have a kid-you have to either settle near her parents or near yours...

Being an engineer, I'm trying to get into that new Honda plant in Indy.. That would be a good reason to move..

Hey, that's a pretty good idea. I won't steal it, let's see what you come up with first.

Yes, we are barbarians for sure. Our guns, religion, etc. Oh well, I love my savage lifestyle. :sexywink:

I live in Indiana but work in Chicago. So I get a little of both cultures. I love the city for work, but I could never live there. Far too many restrictions on my freedom.

We're lucky that we live in a country where we have 50 choices of where to live, each with their own unique qualities. I hope you can find your way back here someday.

elementguy13 · Dec 20, 2008

tharmsen do you happen to have an ipod?

Its so ghetto haha but having your subject, say the ps3 controller on the table in a completely pitch black room and putting your camera on a 10-15 second aperture and holding the ipod at a particular angle will yield results like this:

make sure you have a tripod or something sturdy to rest the camera on at the right angle. But for the only light source being an ipod? You have to admit thats impressive.