Does it sometimes mesmerize you when you see great product pictures, especially considering that you have tried without success to take such pictures?
Well, if you are a knife enthusiast, one of the skills you should learn is professional folding knife photography techniques.
Unlike what you might think, it takes more than just propping or dropping a knife on a good background and taking pictures. It requires a particular skill set of its own. After all, you are trying to transform a piece of metal work into an eye -popping item and the best you can do is find out how you can achieve this with less effort.
Knives are made of metal and as such, they are highly reflective. If you have been struggling to take those pictures, listed below are some techniques that would help you take amazing pictures. They are as follows:
Set The Scene
If you want to take really good pictures, then you should start with setting a good scene for the photo shoot. While the background might not be the focus of the proposed photo shoot, it is important that you prepare a good background.
You can get studio -quality backgrounds with just few sheets of scrap papers, metals, and fabrics. While you can get these items from any scrap materials store, you can also get resourceful and find the things you need right within your home. From the sitting room to the dining room, kitchen, and even the laundry room, there are everyday objects that can serve as awesome backgrounds for your knife photo shoots.
Be Flexible
When it comes to professional folding knife photography techniques, nothing is really set in stone. While there are certain positions and angles you are expected to take your pictures from, you should create adequate room for flexibility.
Sometimes, those shots you didn't really take your time to take might turn out to be the best among the lot. Therefore, even when you have made mental notes of the angles you want to shoot from, never say no to certain changes that might crop up along the line. If it looks good in the camera, it is definitely good.
Invest In A Few Gears
Remember you want to take pictures that look very professional and as such, you should be prepared to invest in a few inexpensive gears.
If you already own an iPhone or any other smart phone with good lens, then all you need to invest in might just be two or more LED lights, a portable tripod. You can get an adapter for the tripod to enable you effortlessly attach your smartphone to the tripod.
One good thing about these gears is that they are so portable that they hardly occupy any space and as such, you can easily log them around. If you are using an iPhone, you will also find that you don't need to buy any editing gear as all your editing can be done right on your mobile device.
Make It Less Noisy
This is where backgrounds come into the story of professional folding knife photography techniques, yet again. While you might be tempted to shoot your pictures on dramatic backgrounds, it could take the attention away from the main focus of your photo shoot — the knife.
To ensure that this doesn't happen, it is important that you make your background as noiseless as possible. From while to gray and down to black, you can opt for something simple and interesting. Choosing chaotic background will not do your photo shoot any good.
Take Off The Lens
This trick works very well for those shooting with cameras. With this technique, the lens is taken off and held in front of the camera to get a macro view. In order to ensure that this works well for you, your camera needs to be set on manual mode.
In order to achieve maximum focus and sharpness, you should move closer or far off from the knife being photographed. You can also get a portable reverse lens mount for a few bucks. This way, you can be sure of shooting very sharp pictures since the lens is steady. Your camera mounted on a tripod would also do more magic for this macro visual.
Don't Forget To Share
This is one of the professional folding knife photography techniques you should take very seriously. If you are looking forward to experiencing improvements in your knife photography skills, then you should not hesitate to share your photos. This technique will be very constructive if you are already a member of any of the photography communities.
This way, you will be able to receive constructive criticisms and at the same time, get inspired by knife photos posted by other users, especially when it comes to creativity and resourcefulness.
Improvise
Sometimes you take very poor quality pictures because you don't have certain gears and you are unable to improvise. Take for instance the tripod. If you cannot afford to buy a tripod for the moment, there is a household item that could suffice — your lamp.
All you need to do is remove the lamp shade, screw your camera to the shade holder and bam!, you are ready to start shooting professional pictures at a go. With the size of the bolt threads being the same as those found on tripods, mounting your camera will be done in a flash without any stress or hassles.
Final Verdict
These are just a few of the professional folding knife photography techniques that would help you take amazing pictures always. Apart from these techniques, it is also important that you always remain inspired always.
Try out your hands on various knife designs. Some of the things you should take into consideration are the blade material, blade shape, blade length, handle material, design and details. With all these put into perspective, you can be sure of getting incredible results each time you carry out a photo shoot of your various knife collections.
Over time, you will see a significant improvement in the quality of your knife pictures, whether they are taken indoors or outdoors.
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