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Thantos · 07-29-2013, 07:23 PM

Thanks for the complement, I guess you could say I am a semipro photographer LOL... I do a lot of photo work with bands on the side so photography is nothing new to me.

I used a Nikon D40, (which by today's standards is a relatively low end camera now) with a couple of different lenses. The main thing is to use a controlled light source, I built a light box and diffused the heck out of it to get the lighting correct.

The light box was cheap and easy to build out of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings I think it cost less then $12.00. Then I grabbed one of my wife's red table cloths (had to buy her a new one after I got gun oil all over it, DOH !!!) for a solid background.

For a diffuser I used clear (or opaque really) Polyethylene plastic or visquine. Using Visquine allows you to add or subtract layers for more or less diffusion of the light. As to the type of light I used three 40 watt compact DAYLIGHT florescence's and a matching florescent 4' shop light. So about 160 watts of controlled diffused exposure.

I used a Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8 wide-angle lens with 35mm equivalent of 50mm and a Nikon 85mm f/1.4G Classic Portrait Nikkor Lens and a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR II Lens (72mm) Fast glass = great pictures.

The whole set up lights, PVC and table cloth was less then $50.00 and I can take it apart and put it up as I need, oh yeah the other thing that really make a world of difference is shooting from a tripod ! ! !

The reason for all of this was that I had purchased a copy of a program called My Gun DataBase, that allows you to inventory's all of your weapons for FFL requirements, general collecting, insurance or just all around knowing what you have. With the merger of my collection and my fathers I felt it was time to have an accurate inventory for insurance purposes and obtaining my C&R FFL.

Just so everyone knows the key here really is the light box, even a cell phone camera will take amazing pictures with the right light, you don't need a high end camera or lenses, just good lighting !!!

Hope this helps if there are more questions please let me know! Here is a pic of my home made light box, kinda shabby looking but it works !

Also here is a link to MGDB if anyone else is interested.
http://cmp.mygundb.com/

Thanks, Gene

07-29-2013, 07:23 PM	#15
Thantos User Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Thanks for the complement, I guess you could say I am a semipro photographer LOL... I do a lot of photo work with bands on the side so photography is nothing new to me. I used a Nikon D40, (which by today's standards is a relatively low end camera now) with a couple of different lenses. The main thing is to use a controlled light source, I built a light box and diffused the heck out of it to get the lighting correct. The light box was cheap and easy to build out of 1/2" PVC pipe and fittings I think it cost less then $12.00. Then I grabbed one of my wife's red table cloths (had to buy her a new one after I got gun oil all over it, DOH !!!) for a solid background. For a diffuser I used clear (or opaque really) Polyethylene plastic or visquine. Using Visquine allows you to add or subtract layers for more or less diffusion of the light. As to the type of light I used three 40 watt compact DAYLIGHT florescence's and a matching florescent 4' shop light. So about 160 watts of controlled diffused exposure. I used a Nikkor 18.5mm f/1.8 wide-angle lens with 35mm equivalent of 50mm and a Nikon 85mm f/1.4G Classic Portrait Nikkor Lens and a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR II Lens (72mm) Fast glass = great pictures. The whole set up lights, PVC and table cloth was less then $50.00 and I can take it apart and put it up as I need, oh yeah the other thing that really make a world of difference is shooting from a tripod ! ! ! The reason for all of this was that I had purchased a copy of a program called *My Gun DataBase*, that allows you to inventory's all of your weapons for FFL requirements, general collecting, insurance or just all around knowing what you have. With the merger of my collection and my fathers I felt it was time to have an accurate inventory for insurance purposes and obtaining my C&R FFL. Just so everyone knows the key here really is the light box, even a cell phone camera will take amazing pictures with the right light, you don't need a high end camera or lenses, just good lighting !!! Hope this helps if there are more questions please let me know! Here is a pic of my home made light box, kinda shabby looking but it works ! Also here is a link to MGDB if anyone else is interested. http://cmp.mygundb.com/ Thanks, Gene Attached Thumbnails