Thread: Photographing Razors

nice and very informative i know where to look once i get a good camera.

I might chime in here as a former professional photographer.

In the studio one of the hardest things to photograph are reflective objects. The thing to remind yourself is, this blade is a mirror. It is always going to reflect something. I cant stop that, but I can control what it reflects. This is the point of the neat little lightboxes that others have shown. Not only do they soften the light but the provide a reflection of nothing, which basically makes the whole or part of the blade a spectral highlight. Looks nice and clean.

Also, opening the lens up and having a shallow depth of field is fine, but the bit that is in focus needs to be something you want your eye drawn to. My biggest criticism of your pictures (and I don't mean to be critical) is that there is no real point of focus. Everything is slightly soft and that just makes the razor disappear into the background.

I'll include this shot, not because it is a good photo, it was really just a quick snap so I could show someone my blade polish, but it sort of shows what I'm on about. Lens open, but focused on a part of the blade that has detail, the stamp. I control the reflection so it is of something I want, in this case to show how polished the blade is. I use one point light source (in this case just the sun) which looks most natural, and just a fill card to lighten the shadows.

Apart from the camera and lens, total equipment value = $0

Originally Posted by Legion

I might chime in here as a former professional photographer.

In the studio one of the hardest things to photograph are reflective objects. The thing to remind yourself is, this blade is a mirror. It is always going to reflect something. I cant stop that, but I can control what it reflects. This is the point of the neat little lightboxes that others have shown. Not only do they soften the light but the provide a reflection of nothing, which basically makes the whole or part of the blade a spectral highlight. Looks nice and clean.

Also, opening the lens up and having a shallow depth of field is fine, but the bit that is in focus needs to be something you want your eye drawn to. My biggest criticism of your pictures (and I don't mean to be critical) is that there is no real point of focus. Everything is slightly soft and that just makes the razor disappear into the background.

I'll include this shot, not because it is a good photo, it was really just a quick snap so I could show someone my blade polish, but it sort of shows what I'm on about. Lens open, but focused on a part of the blade that has detail, the stamp. I control the reflection so it is of something I want, in this case to show how polished the blade is. I use one point light source (in this case just the sun) which looks most natural, and just a fill card to lighten the shadows.

Apart from the camera and lens, total equipment value = $0

Great information, thanks.

Originally Posted by Legion

My biggest criticism of your pictures (and I don't mean to be critical) is that there is no real point of focus. Everything is slightly soft and that just makes the razor disappear into the background

No worries at all about being critical, this is why I asked... Thanks for the feedback, and for the other tips.

I've been doing a little more learning and a little more experimenting.
I built a fully enclosed white lightbox, and still didn't get the results I was looking for... There is another thread somewhere started by holli4pirating that gets into lightboxes, and he mentions that the problem isn't the lighting as much as the reflections. That has been one of my problems as well...

I've been doing some research, and one thing that had never occurred to me (mostly because I'm a moron!) is that (if it's mirror finished) you don't ever see the blade. What you see in pictures are what reflects off of the blade. The angle of incidence equals the angle of reflection... With that in mind I've been getting much better results.
Then... a friend was kind enough to lend me some studio photography equipment, and I finally think I'm getting pretty close.

Feedback and critiques are welcomed.

Eric, the new photos do look great. If you would change anything and what you would change would depend on what you want to show in the photo. For example, in the last photo (the Friodur), you can see the factory grind marks. That is because you have the line of black to white reflection. A photo like that is great if you want to show the factory finish (or if you want to accurately show the finish on a restored blade that isn't quite mirrored). Conversely, if you wanted to hide that, you could use an all white reflection.

From my minimal observations, the black/white line is great for showing the finish, but an all white reflection is better for showing staining. A greyish reflection seems to show frosting/light etching (like in the Craftsman photos above this post) well, while a deep, dark etch is best with a white reflection.

From what I remember of cameras, it's because a camera's sensor (or film, if you use that) can only accurately show light across a rather narrow band of intensity. Beyond that band, things look washed out or much darker than they are. So to show a faint etch, you have to have a medium intensity reflection. But if the etch is very clear, you can use a higher intensity reflection and the exaggerated contrast makes the dark, clear etch stand out even more. The same is true to really show staining on a razor - a high intensity reflection makes the staining appear darker so it looks "worse" in the photos than in person. This is the same effect that makes grind marks stand out; the black/white creates very intense reflections off certain faces of the grinds while the opposite sides of the grinds are very dark. This alternation of exaggerated bright to exaggerated dark makes the grind marks stand out like black and white strips.

Originally Posted by Walt

I found using a light box to be too restrictive. Instead I use two swing arm lamps clamped on either side of a table. In these I put GE helical 20w bulbs that are full spectrum, or daylight rated, with a color temperature between 5,000k and 6,000k (bought at Walmart). This equates to natural light and gives a more even color balance. Over the reflectors of these lamps is taped a single sheet of tracing paper to act as a diffuser. (You could also use a translucent white plastic bag that comes from your grocer.) To give variety to the background I use 9" x 12" felt sheets sold at my local crafts store for less than a buck and come in a rainbow of colors. This is a very flexible setup that allows for a wide variety of camera angles and lighting options.

Regards - Walt

Thanks Walt. It sounds like you've got the low budget version of what I'm playing with figured out. I think I might be headed in the same direction soon. (unless I can work a trade to hang on to the fun lighting toys that I have)

Originally Posted by wallyworld

HNSB those last few shots are great! Since finding SRP, I have supplemented my NAS (Nikon Acquistion Syndrome) for RAD!! If you really want to dial in your shots I recommend checking out David Hobby's Strobist.com! Probably the best site for low tech shooting. David has done an excellent job of providing lighting maps with light ratios and there are lessons to practice in the archives!

rob

Thanks for that website Rob. I didn't get too much time to look at it, but I've already gotten some great ideas for some non-razor photography.

Originally Posted by holli4pirating

Eric, the new photos do look great. If you would change anything and what you would change would depend on what you want to show in the photo. For example, in the last photo (the Friodur), you can see the factory grind marks. That is because you have the line of black to white reflection. A photo like that is great if you want to show the factory finish (or if you want to accurately show the finish on a restored blade that isn't quite mirrored). Conversely, if you wanted to hide that, you could use an all white reflection.

From my minimal observations, the black/white line is great for showing the finish, but an all white reflection is better for showing staining. A greyish reflection seems to show frosting/light etching (like in the Craftsman photos above this post) well, while a deep, dark etch is best with a white reflection.
....

Good advice. Thanks.
I was more worried with getting a "pretty" looking photo; I didn't give much thought to what I want to show in the pictures.

HNSB the reason for all the lightboxes and the umbrellas you are now using is light diffusion. In your original setup that is why the light is so harsh you have something over the bulb it appears but it needs to be farther from the light source to diffuse it.

Less is more in photography sometimes so now with all the lights you have I would try to use just one so you learn to control the lighting.the more lights you juggle the more areas of glare there can be. If you need to fill in a shadow you can use anything white or silver. I use a car winshield shade it is silver and reflects light but it will be a little more harsh than a white card. That is why bouncing a flash off a wall or ceiling works it spreads the light out. Thats why photographers like brighter cloudy days there are less shadows and soft light.

In the quick photos I shot it is one light and a shoothrough umbrella such as you have now. But a white bed sheet works as well.