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I've been a "serious" amateur photographer since I got my first fully-manual SLR (Pentax Spotmatic 1000) in 1973 when I was 10 years old. I still have it! Though it doesn't work anymore. This is the camera (not my photo).
Back on the MGB forum, there was a thread where a member wondered why his gun had a green cast to it in his photo. I pointed out that it was on a green background and the sunlight reflecting off the green background would affect the color of the gun in the photo.
I also explained that the background color can affect the exposure compensation in a camera (including a phone camera) with automatic exposure and automatic white balance. I decided to do a little experiment / demonstration.
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I did this in my back yard. Natural light - sun behind clouds (which is ideal). Phone camera on auto exposure. Same angle and same distance for each photo. All photos were taken within seconds of each other - just enough time to switch the background. So, lighting angle and intensity was the same for each.
These images are cropped. The camera was further back than would seem the case (before the cropping), so the metering / exposure would be influenced most by the various colored backgrounds. I cropped most of the background out, so the guns would be more visible in this demonstration.
I used two different colored guns to give more than one reference to the various backgrounds. Cool, eh?
The gray background will render the most accurate exposure and color rendition. This background is a "neutral gray" made for use in the light box I have. Photographers use a "gray card," which is "18% gray" or "neutral gray" for this very purpose.
The white background (upper left) looks almost identical to the gray background (lower right) in the photo, right? That's because the camera's exposure system is trying to make the white into "neutral." In doing so, it lowers the value (brightness) and chroma (color intensity) of the subject (guns). Look at the difference in the apparent color of the guns in the white (top left) vs gray (lower right) backgrounds, but the backgrounds appear to be identical in the photos.
But, with the neutral gray background the camera's exposure computer doesn't have to compensate. That's why it renders the most accurate exposure and color of the subjects.
I love doing stuff like this! #ScienceBitches!
I used my phone for these shots of my recently completed P80 Build #2 (G19 clone). Also used a light box with a white background and a white gun stand. The key to good photos (of any kind): LIGHTING!
You'll notice that the pistol stand sort of "disappears" in most of the photos. I did this by cranking up the exposure in Photoshop, which served double-duty by lightening the underexposed gun. Alternatively, if raising the exposure level isn't enough or isn't desired, I can "erase" the gun stand base using Photoshop's "spot healing brush." Works a charm!
When shooting a small dark subject on a light background, the auto-exposure on the camera is going to read the overall light background and shorten the exposure. This turns the white background (below) to a neutral gray. This results in the dark subject being rendered even darker, which can obscure the details.
So, in Photoshop (or other photo enhancing software), you can crank up the exposure to bring the dark subject "UP." This will cause the light background to "burn out." In this case, the background (including the pistol stand) are of no interest anyway. So, it's a benefit. I hope that made sense! Here's a before & after photoshop.
You'll notice that the pistol stand almost disappears (burn-out). That's OK! Who needs it in the photo, anyway?? But, the details of the gun are better / more visible.
This can also be done on the camera with manual exposure settings, if you're so inclined.
Taking it a step further, I can use photoshop to get rid of what's left of the pistol stand showing in the photo, creating a "floating" gun:
Having a little fun screwing around in photoshop. Don't be afraid to experiment!
Of course, a light box "studio" is not necessary. Even if you do have one, it can be boring and resemble commercial marketing photography. One reason I like the light box shots is that there is no distracting background. The viewer can really focus on the details of the gun itself.
That said... Guns in other "natural" environments can make photos interesting. In this one, I used photoshop to crank up the colors and create a "halo" effect. I took this photo out on the patio on a wood table with the sun setting behind me and to my left.
![20211204_155755[1]4.jpg](https://www.patriotgunbuilders.com/forums/attachments/20211204_155755-1-4-jpg.3819/ "20211204_155755[1]4.jpg")
Just play with it and see what you get! Play with lighting. Play with angles. Play with backgrounds. There are plenty of photo editing programs besides Photoshop. Most computers (and even phones) come with basic editing software.
Just remember... Lots of light! And, sharp focus!
Hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something!
Back on the MGB forum, there was a thread where a member wondered why his gun had a green cast to it in his photo. I pointed out that it was on a green background and the sunlight reflecting off the green background would affect the color of the gun in the photo.
I also explained that the background color can affect the exposure compensation in a camera (including a phone camera) with automatic exposure and automatic white balance. I decided to do a little experiment / demonstration.
------------------------------------------------
I did this in my back yard. Natural light - sun behind clouds (which is ideal). Phone camera on auto exposure. Same angle and same distance for each photo. All photos were taken within seconds of each other - just enough time to switch the background. So, lighting angle and intensity was the same for each.
These images are cropped. The camera was further back than would seem the case (before the cropping), so the metering / exposure would be influenced most by the various colored backgrounds. I cropped most of the background out, so the guns would be more visible in this demonstration.
I used two different colored guns to give more than one reference to the various backgrounds. Cool, eh?
The gray background will render the most accurate exposure and color rendition. This background is a "neutral gray" made for use in the light box I have. Photographers use a "gray card," which is "18% gray" or "neutral gray" for this very purpose.
The white background (upper left) looks almost identical to the gray background (lower right) in the photo, right? That's because the camera's exposure system is trying to make the white into "neutral." In doing so, it lowers the value (brightness) and chroma (color intensity) of the subject (guns). Look at the difference in the apparent color of the guns in the white (top left) vs gray (lower right) backgrounds, but the backgrounds appear to be identical in the photos.
But, with the neutral gray background the camera's exposure computer doesn't have to compensate. That's why it renders the most accurate exposure and color of the subjects.
I love doing stuff like this! #ScienceBitches!
I used my phone for these shots of my recently completed P80 Build #2 (G19 clone). Also used a light box with a white background and a white gun stand. The key to good photos (of any kind): LIGHTING!
You'll notice that the pistol stand sort of "disappears" in most of the photos. I did this by cranking up the exposure in Photoshop, which served double-duty by lightening the underexposed gun. Alternatively, if raising the exposure level isn't enough or isn't desired, I can "erase" the gun stand base using Photoshop's "spot healing brush." Works a charm!
When shooting a small dark subject on a light background, the auto-exposure on the camera is going to read the overall light background and shorten the exposure. This turns the white background (below) to a neutral gray. This results in the dark subject being rendered even darker, which can obscure the details.
So, in Photoshop (or other photo enhancing software), you can crank up the exposure to bring the dark subject "UP." This will cause the light background to "burn out." In this case, the background (including the pistol stand) are of no interest anyway. So, it's a benefit. I hope that made sense! Here's a before & after photoshop.
You'll notice that the pistol stand almost disappears (burn-out). That's OK! Who needs it in the photo, anyway?? But, the details of the gun are better / more visible.
This can also be done on the camera with manual exposure settings, if you're so inclined.
Taking it a step further, I can use photoshop to get rid of what's left of the pistol stand showing in the photo, creating a "floating" gun:
Having a little fun screwing around in photoshop. Don't be afraid to experiment!
Of course, a light box "studio" is not necessary. Even if you do have one, it can be boring and resemble commercial marketing photography. One reason I like the light box shots is that there is no distracting background. The viewer can really focus on the details of the gun itself.
That said... Guns in other "natural" environments can make photos interesting. In this one, I used photoshop to crank up the colors and create a "halo" effect. I took this photo out on the patio on a wood table with the sun setting behind me and to my left.
Just play with it and see what you get! Play with lighting. Play with angles. Play with backgrounds. There are plenty of photo editing programs besides Photoshop. Most computers (and even phones) come with basic editing software.
Just remember... Lots of light! And, sharp focus!
Hope you enjoyed and maybe learned something!
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