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larryf1952 · March 9, 2011, 05:42 PM

I'm no pro by any stretch, but photography has been another of my hobbies since the early '80's. So, here's a few tips...

When you put your gun out to take a pic, try laying it on a neutral background, such as a white terry cloth towel, or some other soft fabric. Some guys have taken some really great pictures using a light box, but they're more into it than I am. I usually use a kitchen stool or chair, and lay the towel on it...then, I move the chair to a window or door that has ambient light filtering into it.

TURN YOUR FLASH OFF. I will often hold a sheet of white paper or another white surface behind the gun to bounce ambient light back onto it. This helps to illuminate the shadows on the surface of the gun, and make it stand out. Move the paper around a bit, and you can see what it does. Put your camera into the macro mode, and move in close so that the gun almost fills the frame from side to side. Focus about 1/3 of the way back from the closest point of the gun, frame the shot and take the photo.

If the photo is too dark, I'll sometimes go into the flash mode and reduce the flash by 1/3 to 1 full stop, then move out from the gun and reframe to fill the frame again. This will help to subdue the effects of flash. Experiment with it and try some different techniques and angles...it'll be fun.

When you're finished, you can use a site like photobucket.com to host your images. Once you get your pics uploaded, you can edit and resize them to fit on the page. I use the 800x600 size. Then, when you want to post a pic, just copy the IMG tag of your photo and insert it into your post.

Here's an example of what it looks like...

March 9, 2011, 05:42 PM	#6
larryf1952 Senior Member Join Date: July 17, 2004 Location: KCMO Posts: 615	I'm no pro by any stretch, but photography has been another of my hobbies since the early '80's. So, here's a few tips... When you put your gun out to take a pic, try laying it on a neutral background, such as a white terry cloth towel, or some other soft fabric. Some guys have taken some really great pictures using a light box, but they're more into it than I am. I usually use a kitchen stool or chair, and lay the towel on it...then, I move the chair to a window or door that has ambient light filtering into it. TURN YOUR FLASH OFF. I will often hold a sheet of white paper or another white surface behind the gun to bounce ambient light back onto it. This helps to illuminate the shadows on the surface of the gun, and make it stand out. Move the paper around a bit, and you can see what it does. Put your camera into the macro mode, and move in close so that the gun almost fills the frame from side to side. Focus about 1/3 of the way back from the closest point of the gun, frame the shot and take the photo. If the photo is too dark, I'll sometimes go into the flash mode and reduce the flash by 1/3 to 1 full stop, then move out from the gun and reframe to fill the frame again. This will help to subdue the effects of flash. Experiment with it and try some different techniques and angles...it'll be fun. When you're finished, you can use a site like photobucket.com to host your images. Once you get your pics uploaded, you can edit and resize them to fit on the page. I use the 800x600 size. Then, when you want to post a pic, just copy the IMG tag of your photo and insert it into your post. Here's an example of what it looks like...