Week 5 Photo Contest - Composites CLOSED for entries

[Cory Martin Imaging]

(ADMIN NOTE: I had to move this post to week 5 and can't change the order of posts in the thread....See msg#2 for this weeks entry information. Thanks. Bossdog)


I really enjoy the "inset" (or "Multi-View" as I like to call it) photos because it's sort of like a blank canvas for a painter. Based on how intricate of a knife I'm photographing, I need to be able to visualize where I want each new view of the knife to be placed within the photo frame. Each new "view" should be just that, a new view of the knife. The goal is for the viewer to be able to see all the important details of the knife in a matter of a second or two, all neatly packaged in one image.

I use a home-made photo diffuser tent I made out of pvc tubing and diffusion cloth materials. I didn't glue it together completely but made it modular so it's able to be broken down and transported between home and shows. I have a Canon Rebel T1i (it's about 3-4 years old and will be upgraded soon) with hot-shoe adapters running to 2 strobe lights. I bought the lighting kit from Ebay and each strobe is 150w and has a variable output and each light has it's own fully adjustable stand. That allows me to have one strobe as the "main" and the other as the "fill" light. I use home-made adjustable mirrors to bounce / reflect light anywhere that may be too dark...90% of the time I have only one mirror directly opposite of the "main" light shining towards the belly of the knife. In thos particular photo, it highlighted the liner enough to show that there is a texture there (file work, jewelling, etc.).

The backgrounds are another Ebay find; wallpaper samples. There are collections of a specific style of wallpaper (rustic, modern, contemporary, floral, etc.) and I looked specifically for "Faux" wallpaper books because these are usually earthy tones, non patternized and sized just right for most knives. I use a modelling putty under 2 (usually) spots of the knife, handle and blade, to elevate it off the background to help throw and somewhat diffuse the shadow under the knife. This simple trick, which I found on a knife forum a few years ago, DRAMATICALLY changes the way the photo looks. It makes the knife really stand out from the background, no pun intended.

I shoot in RAW format and do the processing in Photoshop. My simple advice for Photoshop (or your chosen editing software) is to make subtle changes, walk away from the photo for 10 minutes, come back and see if your happy. It's easy to get into a sort of tunnel vision when you're zoomed in on a picture 600% and looking at pixels for hoirs on end.

Hope my long winded description is helpful.

Enjoy

 

[BossDog]

Week 5 Photo Contest - Composites Post your entries..

Week 5 photo contest is about composites.

Composites may be the king of knife photos. The Grail.
You take one knife and layer on several different views into one image that looks like some crazy kind of reflection.
Watch your composition, lighting, shadows and color balance. Lot's of balls to keep in the air all at once.
An inset photo (week 4 contest - entries going on till 12/28/14) take just minutes to pull together. A good composite can take hours - for me anyway.

bonus (optional) challenge for this week...create a frame around your image and bleed over some or all of the composites in your image onto the frame...
I'll have go see if I can find an example and post it later...

This means multiple views of the same knife edited to appear like several identical knives layered into one image.
Below is a composite image. Same knife, multiple images blended into one image so it appears there are three identical knives in one image.
This image has same angle of viewing but three different focal lengths. It appears this could be done by just cropping and enlarging the same picture but this was three different images blended into one. It's a busy picture but I made it that way on purpose. I really wanted the viewer to see the wood and also how the bolster fit into it. I also spent hours hand sanding those bolsters so I was darn sure gonna show them off a little.
I tried several different variations of this and below is where I landed. The drop shadow frame is what you see most pro pictures use and really add a professional touch to a photo. In this case, since the knife had three different focal lengths, I really pushed the depth on the drop shadow frame to give a 3D look that matched the knife photo.

Your week 5 photo entry should be a composite... We will (attempt) to be judging on composites and how you use them.


View attachment 52472
Here is another composite example. The deer scene on the front is the same scene on the back but viewed from an entirely different perspective.
View attachment 52473

Here is a Jim Cooper composite image...

Below is a framed image. The problem with this one is the back ground and the frame are the same colors depending on what "skin" you are viewing this message wtih.
I didn't put a box around it like the Coop did in the image above...




Another framed image with bleed over. Like any photo technique it can be done to death but so far it hasn't been...

 

[N.N]

This one was fun. I really like the way these look.

 

[Ebbtide]

Well, I wasn't looking forward to this at all.
Not a fan of the insets or the composites.
Personally I'd rather see 3 separate images than 3 jammed into one.



Took the opposite road with this one and made the detail big and full view small.
Mainly since the knife itself is small and it appears true to size...

 

[Ausbrooks]

Here is my composite entry. I've made a few before but have really challenged me to get anything close to what the real photo guys make. The mirror finishes are kind of a nightmare to get right so changed setup completely for this round by inverting the light tent so open end is down and cut a hole for lens to poke through new "top", which required I make an extended camera mount 14" long off of tri pod so camera directly over tent. Also started using a 94 CRI LED bulb to better colors.

 

[cjwest]

This is my first attempt at a composite for a dagger my husband, Travis Fry, just completed. It isn't perfect but after a couple of hours at the computer, I began to lose perspective.

I still haven't figured out how to keep the reflection of the camera out of the image. I spent a couple of hours skimming and taking notes of Jim Cooper's post on Blade Forums last night to prep for these shots. The post was very helpful. This is shot with a Canon Rebel and a 50mm lens. I used f/18, an iso of 100, and a tripod with a shop light.

Travis is teaching me to make knives, so hopefully I'll soon have a few of my own to take photos of.

 

[Buddy Thomason]

Composites can can be tricky and time consuming.
The 'selection' tool within one's photo editing software (in Photoshop I use the pen tool) is essential for making good composite images. It helps with the blending of multiple views and provides a way to actually remove a knife from its background so it can be more easily positioned in the composite if desired. The selection edge can be hard with no feathering to make clean cut-outs or feathered for easy blending.