Photography Suggestions
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.
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12-16-2011, 05:08 PM
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