Knife Photography

[Rookie]

Here's a few new ones I got some pictures of. I'm kinda happy how these came out.

[313 Mike]

That Infidel looks wicked in that pic! ....and Rookie those are some high quality shots there! Each one really highlights the blade or blades, almost like it is themed set of pics. Nicely done.

[Rookie]

Thanks Mike, I'm a work in progress. Trying to get better at staging the knife and getting the pictures just so, with nice outdoor lighting.

[TripleF]

Awesome pics.....awesome!!

[roofsc]

Stag damascus hunting knife

[Ivoryman]

Oooooooowwww, that's some sweet stag. Not bad Damascus either.

[Ivoryman]

Really liking the 25 EZ lately, looks good in this light too.

[LongBlade]

I-man - those photos do look awesome in that light ... especially like the first photo where the knife and all in front are perfectly in focus and the background just behind knife just blends in as a background - that really draws attention to the knife in my opinion as well as have an interesting backdrop for the photo... Cool stuff... great shots...

and nice knife too

[dcgm4]

Beautiful knife, roofsc!

[Ivoryman]

Thanks for the compliments LBlade.

[Sasquach]

Seems like it's been raining forever around here. I took this one with indoor lighting......

[LongBlade]

Nice shot Charlie ... Like the angle and the "up close and personal" view of the knife alot - abit dark but inside lighting can be tough... Just as an aside - I use sometimes 3 different lights in different directions towards, behind and in front of knife but blade reflection and even reflection off of bolsters can be tricky... While I use 2 bulbs considered natural light I have a 3rd light that is an LED and after much playing around with this for a few months when I first started shooting knives I "think" I figured it out..... but even given that sometimes I can take 50-100 shots at different exposures and angles until I am satisfied... same with my fly photography which is can be actually many more than 100 photos before I get a few that are worthwhile... also does your camera have the ability to change F-stop setting which changes depth of field (which in the end translates to focus)?

One other thing - digital photography now gives us the chance to adjust the photos using editing programs and I have used those programs as well. I am not trying to be critical nor come off as some type of expert and quite frankly not always comfortable giving feedback because of that - just trying to relay what works for me... I find the knife shots for the centerfold in the new version of Knife World (funny centerfold used to have a whole different meaning to me ) are professional shots done by photographers who specialize in shooting knives (I think..)... I would like to see their setup which I can almost guarantee uses special background equipment and especially lights (reflectors etc)... I would really like to pick their brains as to how they get those shots but from my understanding many of them do it for money and they may not be too open with their technique...

Anyway - great job Charlie!!

[Rookie]

LongBlade, you are correct regarding those professional indoor knife photographs in magazines/print. I haven't tried to master any type of indoor photography yet. Outdoor seems a bit easier for me. Maybe if I upgrade to a better camera, I'll give it a shot.

Here is a few photos I took today of a TV muskrat in mammoth ivory.

[Sasquach]

Nice shot Charlie ... Like the angle and the "up close and personal" view of the knife alot - abit dark but inside lighting can be tough... Just as an aside - I use sometimes 3 different lights in different directions towards, behind and in front of knife but blade reflection and even reflection off of bolsters can be tricky... While I use 2 bulbs considered natural light I have a 3rd light that is an LED and after much playing around with this for a few months when I first started shooting knives I "think" I figured it out..... but even given that sometimes I can take 50-100 shots at different exposures and angles until I am satisfied... same with my fly photography which is can be actually many more than 100 photos before I get a few that are worthwhile... also does your camera have the ability to change F-stop setting which changes depth of field (which in the end translates to focus)?

One other thing - digital photography now gives us the chance to adjust the photos using editing programs and I have used those programs as well. I am not trying to be critical nor come off as some type of expert and quite frankly not always comfortable giving feedback because of that - just trying to relay what works for me... I find the knife shots for the centerfold in the new version of Knife World (funny centerfold used to have a whole different meaning to me ) are professional shots done by photographers who specialize in shooting knives (I think..)... I would like to see their setup which I can almost guarantee uses special background equipment and especially lights (reflectors etc)... I would really like to pick their brains as to how they get those shots but from my understanding many of them do it for money and they may not be too open with their technique...

Anyway - great job Charlie!!

Don't be uncomfortable with giving me advice LB, I need all I can get! I appreciate the input. Here's one that I shot "quick and dirty" as we used to say in military. I just snapped a couple of shots before I took it to the engraver to be personalized as a gift for a friend of mine who is heading back to the sandbox. The pic didn't turn out too bad, indoor lighting with some help from sunlight through the window.

[Sasquach]

Rookie, not only did you get some good photos........you got some good photos of a fine knife!!!

[big monk]

Always enjoy the photos guys !!! You all show some ""Love"" for the knives !!!_________ did some playing myself today ___ with my EDC knives***

[LongBlade]

Rookie - real nice shots ... there is something about knives, indirect outdoor light and the grain of wood as a background that just looks so good!!

Charlie - that shot of the Kabar knife is what I call the "money" shot - great background for it and the knife just looks lovey - all it fits together so well ... and that was just some quick shots ... do more quick shots ..

Nice EDCs Big Monk ... probably 2nd photo is my fav among them... I can even see your toes on bottom left corner ... but seriously trying different angles always gives different perspectives that show off different aspects of the knives... changing the angles of the knives is something I always play around with and can really make or break a good photo... again all just my opinion...

[Sasquach]

Nice shots of some nice EDCs, Big Monk!

[Sasquach]

LongBlade, I have a spare room that I use like big closet. I have several chests of drawers in there, some clothes racks, hampers, and an ironing board set up in front of the window. The ironing board gets more use as a platform for knife photos than ironing! It was the first sunny day in some time and I saw an opportunity. This knife is a gift and will be parting company with me shortly. So I decided to get a couple of shots before it goes out to be personalized. I threw an old cammo bandanna across the ironing board, grabbed my favorite chunk of weathered wood, sat the lid of a Stetson hat box up so you couldn't see the rest of the ironing board, placed the knife and sheath in a horizontal position in front of the wood and took 5 or 6 shots. Then I lifted the knife up and rested the guard on the wood and took 5 or 6 more shots. After that I wiped the knife down, put it back in the box and went out to run some errands, including dropping off the knife for engraving. I didn't really put any time or much thought into it 'cause I had a lot to do. I used an older Kodak digital camera set for close-up. The camera came to me with no manual, I need to google a copy.......but I'm lazy about some things. Anyway, when I got back home I downloaded the pics and was pleasantly surprised to see that a couple of them had turned out pretty good. The ones with the knife in the horizontal position didn't work so well but with the knife propped on the wood there were a couple that I liked. I have a photo manager program called Shotwell and it allows me to edit photos. I'm still trying to learn how to use all of the editing tools. So I guess the moral of this story is - I should do knife photography in a big hurry more often? Or - I dummied up and got it right completely by accident?

All joking aside, thanks again for the advice and encouragement.

[Rookie]

That was a nice looking show Sasquatch. It was laid out very well, even if you rushed it, I think you hit the nail on the head.

Big Monk, I like the little bit of color from the flowers in the background on those shots. Well done!

[LongBlade]

LongBlade, I have a spare room that I use like big closet. I have several chests of drawers in there, some clothes racks, hampers, and an ironing board set up in front of the window. The ironing board gets more use as a platform for knife photos than ironing! It was the first sunny day in some time and I saw an opportunity. This knife is a gift and will be parting company with me shortly. So I decided to get a couple of shots before it goes out to be personalized. I threw an old cammo bandanna across the ironing board, grabbed my favorite chunk of weathered wood, sat the lid of a Stetson hat box up so you couldn't see the rest of the ironing board, placed the knife and sheath in a horizontal position in front of the wood and took 5 or 6 shots. Then I lifted the knife up and rested the guard on the wood and took 5 or 6 more shots. After that I wiped the knife down, put it back in the box and went out to run some errands, including dropping off the knife for engraving. I didn't really put any time or much thought into it 'cause I had a lot to do. I used an older Kodak digital camera set for close-up. The camera came to me with no manual, I need to google a copy.......but I'm lazy about some things. Anyway, when I got back home I downloaded the pics and was pleasantly surprised to see that a couple of them had turned out pretty good. The ones with the knife in the horizontal position didn't work so well but with the knife propped on the wood there were a couple that I liked. I have a photo manager program called Shotwell and it allows me to edit photos. I'm still trying to learn how to use all of the editing tools. So I guess the moral of this story is - I should do knife photography in a big hurry more often? Or - I dummied up and got it right completely by accident?

All joking aside, thanks again for the advice and encouragement.

Charlie - while you say you rushed the setup etc you knew exactly what you were doing and the closet sounds like the perfect photo studio - you imagined the shot in your mind & accordingly the background and angle of knife was perfect and a real tribute shot to that special knife (and some folks work better under pressure )... just as an aside my brother who retired from being full-time Army as a career received a very similar Ka-bar from his battalion with a special etch to him - I'll have to show him your photo which he will no doubt enjoy

[terryl308]

Here is a couple of photo's I took this afternoon, out in the shade of my shop. One is a Remington R1303 1984 and the other is a Remington R1253 1992. Still practicing with the lighting/shade thing. I still like outdoor pics. Thanks for looking. Terry

[Rookie]

Cool pics Terry. I've owned a few of those myself. Yours look like the Delrin is crack-free! How did you manage that. The 5 or so Remington repos that I owned all had Delrin cracks develop.

[terryl308]

rookie, you mean like this one! LOL, I have 12 and only 2 have cracked delrin, lucked out I guess. I have a R-3 I bought new a long time ago and it has a crack also along with the one I posted. Terry

[roofsc]

mother of pearl