Photography Suggestions

[Dennis]

Good morning fellow PGCA members,
I love looking at photos other members have submitted whether the photo is of a firearm, hunting scene, beautiful dog etc. Most are very interesting or in some cases are simply beautiful photographs reflecting good composition and proper exposure of the subject.

However some photos posted on the PGCA forum and other forums are cluttered with superfluous background items, are out of focus, improperly exposed, improperly lighted for conditions or could be made much better by a little thought on the matter prior to clicking that shutter. How often have fellow members posted a photo of a beautiful Parker Brothers shotgun to show it off with pride only to have the stock figure, serial number, engraving etc. be totally out of focus.

May I respectfully offer some suggestions that each member can apply to their photographs to make the finished product come out where fellow members can actually see what is being photographed as well as reflect the pride the photographer wants to show in his/her scene.

1. When taking photos inside use a flash to overcome the fluorescent or incandescent lighting. A flash will have your photos coming out with a natural color rather than orange or green. In some cases no flash or lighting is needed.
2. Please don't hold a gun part in your hands while you are taking photos of it. There is no reason a set of barrels, a receiver or any other part needs to be held. It is distracting to see somebody's hand or fingers holding an object in the photo. Set it on a table, a blanket, or some other uncluttered object and use a tripod when taking photos of stationary objects. You can't possibly hold it as still as a table for a sharp photo.
3. Make sure of your focus. Modern auto focus cameras take photos of what is in front of them. The camera has no idea if you are photographing a serial number or the entire kitchen behind it. When you click that shutter make sure of what the camera is focusing on before that final click. Normally the viewfinder will show you the area in focus. Sometimes it is necessary to fool the camera by locking the focus and then composing the shot. If the photo looks blurry and out of focus to you it will look the same to me.
4. Clean up the background of the shot. There is a gun shop on Gunbroker who violates this with each photo taken of a firearm they are trying to sell. The gun is setting on a cradle on top of the glass counter. Under the cradle is shelves of handguns and behind the counter is a rack of long guns. The gun the owner is trying to sell is totally lost in all of that clutter. Better in my opinion to isolate the gun on a blanket, a piece of carpet, an animal hide, something where the piece you want to highlight in the photo will actually stand out so the viewer can really get a good look at what you want to portray in the photo.
5. Keep the photographers shadow out of the photograph. Oftentimes I see a beautiful photo of landscape or a hunting scene with a couple of pheasants, a dog and a shotgun but the shadow of the photographer is right there in the photo too. When I was a kid the accepted norm for cameras of the day was to have the sun behind the photographer to light up the subject. Not anymore or in maybe in select situations. Keep the sun to your side. You will be surprised at how a flash even used outside will brighten your photos.

Many members submit exceptional photos and could give me a number of suggestions on photography. For those who do not fall into that category please take a second look at your skill level. Believe it or not it is easy to improve with today's cameras.

[MarketHunter]

Some of the guys, me included, just take pictures. I'm glad to see anything on here of anybody out with their guns. Personally, the quality of the picture isn't so important as the quality of the sporting life it portrays.


Destry

[Bruce Day]

Originally Posted by Dennis V. Nix

Good morning fellow PGCA members,
.....2. Please don't hold a gun part in your hands while you are taking photos of it. There is no reason a set of barrels, a receiver or any other part needs to be held. It is distracting to see somebody's hand or fingers holding an object in the photo....

Sorry, I'll try to be more professional in the future.

This were our Sharptail Shootout hosts with their family Parker. Sounds like I messed up.

[John D.]

I'm sorry - BUT - what Dennis is trying to assist with isn't the least bit related to what Bruce and Destry are dumping on....

Dennis is exactly right when it comes to taking good photos of your Parker for posting - and has nothing at all to do with "candids" (Bruce) or "sporting life" photos (Destry).

If folks ask you for good pics of your Parker so we can determine what the heck it is - Dennis is right on track.

If folks post candids, pictures of an event, sporting life photos - post them up... We all appreciate those - and I've posted up a whole lot myself....

Rather, however - Dennis is trying to assist those who don't know an f-stop from a focal length - and you know what? When folks ask for "detailed pics" of a Parker - Dennis is right on. Those have nothing at all to do with candids, pictures of an event, sporting life photos....

Good for him...

Great "how to" Dennis.... Thank you for posting it...

Just from my end of the lens, as it were...

John

[Bruce Day]

C if these are any better.

[Bill Bates]

Very well done Bruce.

[Bruce Day]

You are the one with the talent, Bill. I've seen your work.

[charlie cleveland]

nice guns bruce...ive never seen a photo on here i did not like and admire all who take time to show what they do in thier homes in the field with thier cameras...i have fell down in this area to do my part old habits are hard to break specially me saying i dont know how to do something....thanks to all who posts thier photo s i enjoy them.... charlie

[Dennis]

Thanks to all who replied with comments. I appreciate the input. Bruce is absolutely right on with his photos of the gun which shows close ups that are informative and clearly depict what he is trying to show the viewer. Excellent photos of a beautiful gun. Now just think of the same photos but with a green or orange tinge, out of focus and with the receiver appearing as it it was sitting at the end of your driveway in the shade while the photo was taken. The candid photos of the family Parker were great as candid photos of the hosts and owners of the shotgun. However if the subject matter was to be of the old gun then photos similar to the one posted by Bruce would have been a lot better in my opinion. The photo of the receiver held in open hands would have been much better had the gun been set on a table. John is exactly right in his view of why I submitted my post. I thought while writing that my intentions would be abundantly clear. Guess not. Obviously some were offended and that was not my intention. Others maybe assumed it was specially submitted for them personally and in reality my post was not for any one person but for the many who have no idea what an informative photo is, lighting, composition. Trust me folks, I have been taking photos for over 50 years and still look at a photo, some right here in PGCA land and marvel at how that photographer got such a beautiful shot. I was just offering suggestions.

[Bruce Day]

I certainly was not offended in any way. It depends upon the intent of the photographer. I wanted the interaction of the old rancher with the gun that had seen better days. There would be no point in showing the broken gun alone, in my opinion. It wasn't about only the gun ; it was about the family and the Parker.

Various people at various times, including me, have made basic photography suggestions on this forum. Who knows if any of them had any effect. Very few people even post photos, including some who talk about their gun collection but never post photos. My photos are pretty basic. If you like good stuff, see Bill Bates's website.