Adventures in Lighting

[ChrisM]

After years of halfhearted attempts, I'm finally - eventually - going to get good at sword pictures. I started with Darcy's old guide, which calls for placing the blade(s) on a piece of large plexiglass and doing lighting with a florescent tube. 

 

This is my first set of results, using the following:

 

1. 24 x 48 piece of Acrylic (not glass!) from Amazon. 
2. An old black muslin I've got covering up the floor. 
3. GVM RGB Tube DB45R. This is a waaaay more fun than an old fluorescent light. Adjustable everything, no flicker, and a full-on piece of pro gear. 
4. 50mm F/1.4G Lens on a Nikon D5. Mostly shot at F/4, ISO 200, and about 1/1000 as the shutter speed. I'm using a high shutter speed as I'm handholding right now as I move things around... 

 

So far, everything has just been handheld and auto focus. As I get the hang of the lighting and placement, I'll switch over to a tripod/boom, manual focus, and fully tethered shooting. 

 

The images below are all single-shot images, with some global exposure adjustment in lightroom. No HDR, compositing, or masking done. Trying to get the basics first. The sword has oil on it, and there's obviously some dust on the Arcylic still. 

 

Using a single light is making lighting across the angles of the sword really difficult. I can light one side, but not both - and I'm trying to avoid composite images. For my next step, I've ordered a 2nd DB45R light, and as they're wonderfully adjustable in brightness I'll set the blade between them, and get the brightness correct.

 

FWIW, the blade is an Edo period Tokubetsu-Hozon Wakizashi by Hōki no Kami Fujiwara Nobutaka (伯耆守藤原信高), probably from the 1580s or so. 

[GeorgeLuucas]

Really well done Chris! I'm excited to see your progress from here. Also, great meeting you in SF

Taking photos is challenging. Yours look great!

Even the more "simple" shots I really struggle with, with my rudimentary setup. 

Who knew getting into Nihonto would subsequently get me interested in photography 

[kissakai]

Hi Chris

Nice job I look forward to seeing the results using two bulbs

 

[jesse]

Chris, with me being unable to take a decent photo, I'm very interested and looking forward to see the results of your experiments.

Please keep this going as I am taking copious notes.

 

I really appreciate you taking the time to post your results.

 

Warm Regards,

[Katsujinken]

Once on a tripod you could close down the aperture a bit into the zone where the lens is sharpest (maybe f/8?) and go for a longer exposure at a lower ISO for maximum quality. 
 

Shooting in RAW I assume?
 

Fun!