Help us improve our photos

OK, here we go! The aim of this topic is to share photography tips with those who are interested in improving their nihon-to photographing skills. If you have succeeded in taking a picture that shows some characteristics of nihon-to in a way you are happy with, please tell us how. Maybe this topic helps us to move towards the ultimate goal (maybe impossible one): a photograph of a blade, showing details of yakiba and hada over the entire length of the blade!

I give an example of the way I’d list the parameters. I am not an expert in photography, nor a native English speaker, so please feel free to correct/suggest! Also, the example picture is not as good as many seen on this forum recently!

Blade: Mumei kanmuri-otoshi wakizashi with naginata-hi, nagasa 51 cm.

What did I want to show with this photograph: The yakiba in (almost) full length

Light source type: incandescent light bulb (spotlight), 40 W, 2 pcs

Light source-blade distance (S2): 2 m

Light source angle (a2): approx. 12 deg (lightbulb 1); 17 deg (lightbulb 2)

Light source elevation from blade level (H2): 40 cm (lightbulb 1) 60 cm (lightbulb 2)

Ambient light: daytime, indoors, room lights off

Camera-blade distance (S1): 2 m

Camera line of sight angle with blade (a1): approx. 15 deg

Camera elevation from the plane defined by the blade surface (H1): 50 cm

Camera type: Canon EOS 450 D

Objective type: Canon EF-S 55-250 mm (I used approx. 150 mm focal length)

Image stabilizer: Yes

Camera pedestal: Aluminum tripod

Flash: No

Trigger: self-timer 2 s

Shutter speed: Auto

Exposure measurement: spot measurement close to the brightest spot

Aperture: 30

Focus: manual

Image postprocessing: crop, compress, slightly adjust brightness.

Sample Picture:

If you do not know some parameter, just leave it blank. Measurements do not need to be accurate. Please feel free to use imperial measurements if that is more convenient.

Please give comments: is this understandable? Is there anything else that should be added into the listing?

Veli

Hmmm, here is a text that I have written some time ago...

I will try to get this as understandable as possible. I did write this in swedish so I used google to translate this to english so I didn't have to rub my head too much

Google are not so good everytime so I have tried to correct the most of the text.

With many photos taken I think I have figured out how it will be rigged.

First, preferably an all-black room so that there can be no reflections. The alternative is to use some dark fabric that suppresses reflections.

I lay the object(blade) on a glass plate (use foampieces between the glass and the blade otherwise the glass will scratch the steel) that is lifted up from the dark fabric that I I put on the floor and up the sides of the "scene".

Lighting - I have 4-8 spots that I highlight the item with. BUT you must be careful so that you illuminate from the sides (kissaki and nakago), otherwise the reflections come up to the camera's sensor. But then you need to also illuminate the center of the item which can be difficult because a Wakizashi or katana around 50-70 cm will require lighting from several directions. But be careful about trying to highlight the center of the item, then it is most likely to get the reflections into the camera. So essential is to illuminate with lights directed on the areas you want to highlight. I also have a fluorescent fixture that I highlight mune side with, be sure to cover the top surface of the tube so that you can not light rays enter the camera, you just want to highlight a small area here. There is a little trick to get mune side will be white, and it is to skip the tubelight and put something white that is as far as the sword away from mune. Then the reflections from the other lights will illuminate the mune from the white object.

The camera - which I must say that it does not matter what you are using, only you can turn off the flash. Otherwise you will get big flashy blobs in the pictures where you get an over-exposure. Spot metering is one thing that makes the exposure easier. I am using an 8MP camera so it does not matter how many MP your camera has.

Tripods are a must!

Exposure - This must be determined by testing. IF you have spot metering so the camera measures on a much smaller area that is usually a small circle in the center of the viewfinder. Then you get a better exposure of the blade to shoot. Now if you take a picture and see that it is completely blank with no details, so try to underexpose the image. This is different for the different cameras, so here you get to read the manual how to do. (I know how it works on a Canon anyway.)

BUT even if you have spot metering, you have to most likely underexpose anyway, but it becomes easier with spotmetering.

Then you can talk about focus! Here I always focus manually!

Otherwise you do not know really where the focus hits.

Program Mode - MANUALLY (no green squares, or similar, you must manually set the exposure times and aperature.)

Aperture value - aperture, I usually have around 16-22 or something like that because then the depth of field will be LARGER. Now if you still drive on we say 4 or similar then you get a picture where the focus is not so deep on. But in some cases may suffice 8-12 of aperture.

Shutter speed - the shutter speed tends to be about 1 "(seconds) or up to 10" (seconds)

So here I usually go about it .....

Everything is rigged, you have the blade on the glass with foam under it. Mune side facing you. Set the focus manually. Then I set the camera first in P (Program Auto) mode so that I can check what times the camera wants. Remember the times in the head and turn the camera to "M" (Manual). Put in the values in the camera that we have in the head. Pushing an image with a delay so that you can shoot a picture, but that it counts down the time before taking the picture. (SELF-TIMER) would avoid camera shake when the picture is taken. It is VERY easy to go get camera shake if you do not have a good tripod that can be trusted.

If you want to reduce camera shake even more some cameras got a function that you can lock the mirror, not all cameras have this function.

If the picture you took is good, you're happy ... BUT I can say that it took me around 30-50 shots before I felt I had got it pretty good .. I'm still not satisfied, I will have more light, in the middle of my blade the HAMON disappears a bit were there is no light left to shine up the hamon.

The first value that I change if I do not like is the aperture value. Usually I set down to 16 right away. Take a picture again and see that this picture is almost entirely black except for some parts that is illuminated properly. If the picture is too dark, you must put more light in the picture and then we will change the shutter speed set it

around one "(SECOND), take a new picture. Ahh, now maybe it will start to turn up. If it was not enough, you get change the shutter speed again, set it on three "seconds.

So here you have to test things out, and when you hit it right but your background (the carpet in my pictures) is showing in the pictures. Then you change the depth of field with the aperture (16) that I had before to maybe 12th Take a new image and check, then this picture will be bright as hell, it becomes because you have changed the size of the hole(aperature) as the light coming in through the lens. To get the bright blade to be seen properly you have to change the shutter speed again to a faster "shutter speed" We are taking it from 3 "to 1" again and take the picture. Hopefully the picture will come back again. You can say like this, if you change shutterspeed 2 steps then you must change aperature 2 steps too.

Hello,

Here are some basic rules for you and I hope it wll help you to improve your pictures.

1. A GOOD PICTURE TAKES TIME!

And I don´t mean 10 min. or one hour. I am talking about a week or more.

First the light. Normal daylight is more than enough. Don´t use any bulbs or flashlights. The blade will be too bright. You can see perhaps a few inches. But no more.

2. USE A TRIPOD!

I recommend a Manfrotto 190XPROB. So you can take the picture right above the blade. Take a look at all those pictures from the Japan sword dealers. There is no angle at all.

Or look at this: http://www.ronbingham.com/sword_photography.htm

Or you just grab a Meito Zukan. There are pictures so beautiful I just want to cry.

3. MAKE IT BLACK & WHITE.

The human eye can only see 32 different shades of grey. So it is easier than a color picture.

As an example I have some pictures from a Minamoto Masao Tanto.

I hope I could help you.

Uwe G.

The first reply was more about equipment and the right light. Now we go on with the right technique.

The problem is: when you are too close you only see the details in a certain part of the blade and when you are too far away you only see the blade but not the details.

Fortunately we are no longer in the BD*-times.

So, the magic word to do it right is:

PANORAMA

The reason is very simple. You can be close and then you can stitch the pictures together. And then you will have all the details and the blade as a whole.

I got 4 different computer programs for panorama pictures. The most important point is, that you have to stitch the pictures manually. All programms do it automatically.

But the outcome is very different. A katana is suddenly 10 cm long. Trial and error at it´s best.

PTGUI is the most advanced and only for professionals. Panorama Studio is good for landscapes. Then, of course Photoshop CS or Elements 8.0 and higher. Photoshop has Photomerge.

But hands off. To explain why is too technically. So you just have to believe me.

I use Panorama Factory. It´s the best programm, when you want to stitch manually.

The rest is very simple then. Cut out the blade, change the background to black and you are on the same level as every Japanese sword dealer.

To be honest, you are then still miles away from a Fujishiro-picture or now Ron Bingham.

The only thing that helps is practice, practice, practice. And the right idea in a special moment.

There is just another picture from the Masao. As you can see I stitched 4 pictures for 29 cm.

I think, that`s the only way for a good picture.

I wish you Good Luck and I hope it will help you to improve your pictures.

Uwe G.

* Before digital

Hello Uwe!

Thanks for the nice instructions. I completely agree about several points, like using a pedestal and making panoramas manually. One question remains, however: if you have a blade with hadori polish, and you photograph it in daylight, you end up with a picture where the real yakiba is not necessarily visible. A light bulb would bring the hamon out, wouldn't it?

BR,

Veli

Hello Veli,

Do I agree? You will get a definitevely maybe. First of all I don´t bring the light to the blade but the blade to the light. I have a small table and I rotate it until I have that, what I want to see. Whether it is Hamon or Hada. Don´t forget, what the people had in old Japan. Only the sun and candlelight. That was all. And so I say that the sun is more than enough. As you can see in the most pictures when a flashlight is used, you have only a small part of the hamon then. To get a whole picture from a katana then would need 30 stichted single frames. And the outcome is more than questionable.

But before you do something like that, try the Fujishiro-Way. Whatever blade he took a picture from, he only had a small part. Something between 10 or 15 cm. But he had all the details. Nie, Utsuri, Hada, you name it. There are two real famous pics. One is Yamadorige (or Sanchomo) and the other one is a tanto by Norishige. Try to aim a picture like that. A small part with all the details. When you have somthing like that, you can go for bigger parts. And someday you will have the whole blade.

And by the way, the method of polishing plays no role at all.

Greetings

Uwe G.

Thank you all for the suggestions and advice. I am experiencing difficulty in photographing the very shiny surfaces of polished blades and in consequence the depictions of surfaces are often deficient and flawed. I hope the visitors to my web pages will excuse these shortcomings while I improve my photographic techniques. In am working diligently on the problem. Unfortunately I am old, decrepit, sick and grouchy!

I think I am a step closer to my goal of taking a full legth picture of a katana yakiba...

Hi-res pictures can be found here:

http://www.nihontofinland.com/18

(click on the pictures for original resolution)

I still need a better tripod, smaller minimum aperture, full size ccd-cell...

Veli

Depending on your photography skills, equipment (or ingenuity to compensate for the lack thereof) and obsessive-compulsive attention to detail, here are a few suggestions, some of which may have been mentioned before.

Use a neutral, non-reflective backdrop, preferably in a dark color. If you've got it, black velvet is great for this

Convert your photograph to grayscale and consider upping the contrast. Do not use the nifty sharpen tool or unsharp mask. If you take your time and focus properly, there will be no need to mess with this anyway.

Consider your lighting and remember to change the white balance/exposure on your camera to accommodate. Even if you convert to grayscale, the white balance will make a difference.

Use non-direct, diffuse lighting whenever possible. It may be helpful to cover your light source (or flash, if you're going that route) with some translucent fabric as a diffuser. Shooting through the side of an empty milk carton, even the opaque white ones, can work wonders. You want to see the details, not the flash.

If you're taking a photo of the entire blade and you want it all in focus, in great detail, this is possible, it will just take some doing. Experience the joy of focus stacking.

You're going to need a way to ensure the blade does not move through this process, your lighting really, really needs to be uniform and diffuse and you need to rig up a way for your camera to be positioned at various points along the length of the blade while remaining at a consistent distance and orientation from the blade. You can rig up two "rails" out of dowels or 2"x2" or even evenly stacked books. They need to run one on each side down the length of the blade, and you'll set your camera (facing down, obviously) on these and just move it down the length of the blade, taking photos every so often. The closer your camera is to the blade, the more photos you'll have to take, but the more detail you'll get (and the more work you'll have to do for it). Macro settings can be very useful here. If you can, manually focus your camera for the initial photo, then don't touch it; autofocus always manages to find some other random thing to focus on. If you've ever taken a panorama, this is a similar concept. you'll want a little overlap from one photo to another to help you align in the next step and prevent you from accidentally having a gap in your blade picture.

If your lighting is not overall, you can also move it along with the camera, just make sure it stays in the same orientation as in the very first photo. Attaching it to your rails or camera can help with this.

Take the photos into your chosen image editing program or give them to a willing friend and knit them together. If you've got Photoshop, you can use photomerge (File>Automate>Photomerge) and you should get pretty decent results (make sure you use the "Interactive Layout" button so you can manually position things if you don't like how the program does it. You may want to pay attention to the file names on each photo so you can be sure everything is in the correct order. If you decide not to use photomerge, or have another program, you can align the images manually, it just may take some tinkering. The zoom in features are your friend in this case.

Focus stacking can be as detailed or simple as you'd like, with two or three photos or dozens. The more photos, the more detail, generally speaking. Even if things look in focus, lenses have a "sweet spot" typically in the center, where focus is clearest. This will result in larger file sizes, but it should do away with blown out areas and ensure that you have the most detail possible. I'll try to post a few example photos in the next week or so.

Hope this helps.

Photo Stacking.

Well, this is a very long and very hard way. And mostly because it takes time Trial and error. Just like panorama but with more chances to fail.

But I know, that the results are phantastic. To see how it´s done go to youtube. This is a very good one but it is in german: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF2jFgT6r70

Sometimes it just needs a little bit playing with white balance and brightness. I took a photo from Veli´s Masahiro for that.

Hope, I will see your photos very soon.

Greetings

Uwe G.

I finally experimented with Photoshop layer merging of two similar blade pictures with different lighting. This way the whole yakiba of a 64 cm nagasa gendaito can be photographed rather sharply and without lamp reflections. I still need to improve the photo quality, however.

Full resolution:

http://files.kotisivukone.com/nihontofinland.com.kotisivukone.com/Kiyokuni/yakiba6.jpg

Veli

Veli,

I always have trouble with Photoshop's merging of overlapping photos because the lighting (and to some extent focus) are different in the overlapped region. How did you work around/minimize/avoid this issue? Pointers are appreciated as always.

Regards,

Hoanh

Hi Hoanh!

Well, I did not move the light source too much. That way there's only a small difference in the brightness of the two photos when you look farther away from the lamp reflection. Then the secret is to use a big fuzzy erase tool to soften the boundary between data from the two images. Despite of these tricks, you can see the brightness variations in my photo, so it is something I should improve further... Furthermore, the light source should be as small as possible (a naked bulb).

Any suggestions for improvements are welcome!

Blade photography is time-consuming work and every improvement is hard-earned, but I am having a good time trying it!

BR, Veli

I recall that Fujishiro used a carriage mounted light source that moved over the entire blade during the exposure.....He was one of the first to take really amazing pictures of swords.....many are in the books about Yasukuni Tanrenjo.

Richard K George has written some very good advice on this subject:

http://www.rkgphotos.com/articles/ktk_p ... t_2012.pdf

I have adopted similar setups to produce images. It requires a bit of setup and a lot of experimentation, but you can get good results. Some real essentials include shooting only in RAW images (for much better editing), white balancing using a grey card, using a tripod, switching to manual exposure, checking depth of field (either with the optical preview button or in the LCD), etc. Using a bit of white posterboard to make the mune pop is good, but sometimes you need to edit a bit in post anyway. Make sure all your light sources are of a single type, so there is only one color temperature to the scene (easy to fix in post). Manual focus using magnified live preview is a good technique, prevents "hunting" AF due to reflections.

I would not recommend using automated stitching unless you are very practiced with the technique. The software will distort and skew images to shoehorn them together, and the final sugata will no longer be correct. Plus the lighting will usually be uneven as a result.

Don't convert to B&W unless you have a good reason to do so, e.g. file size for very large images that are going to be printed B&W anyway. Color is information, and digital images store a lot more information (and monitors display much finer detail) with multiple colors than with pure luminance values; each subpixel in a typical 8-bit display can only portray 256 levels of grey, but using three different subpixels you up that to 16.7 million colors. Your brain can use color cues to differentiate fine details that would be lost in greyscale. Besides which, if you standardize your white balance etc., the colors of different steels are actually representable; why wouldn't you want that in your photo?

Just as an example, I can tell you to "ignore the blue streaks" in the photo below because they are just some leftovers from an alcohol wipe. If that photo was grayscale, it would just look like scratches.

Hi Veli,

first of all you should think about the beauty of a Japanese sword and the 4 elements: form, steel, hada, hamon. Question is, what can you see in the picture of yours? Start with the form.

Forget the lightning. Then hamon. Then hada. I still try to get the form correct.

Greetings

Uwe G.

When it comes to doing stitching of photos, I've found that Microsoft ICE (http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/groups/ivm/ice/) does a really good job, & the price is certainly right.

The trick is to NOT use a featureless background, but rather one that the software can sense so that it can correctly overlap the images. Once the entire blade looks correct, then you can use Photoshop to remove the now-extraneous background, & then add in whatever you would like. Do work in TIFF format, as it is lossless; JPGs will cause you grief, except as the very last saved image.

Ken

Gabriel, I agree with the tips you mentioned! If I should add something it is the use of the remote trigger or delay trigger to prevent camera vibrations. Locking the mirror up in SLRs also is a good idea.

Uwe, on my webpage you find a set of pictures for each blade, illustrating sugata, hada, boshi, nakago and hamon. I have concentrated in developing the hamon photography, since I felt it was the hardest part, in case one wants to show the whole blade length in one picture.. 95% of published blade pictures show nioiguchi obscured or totally hidden by hadori. Combining all the beautiful features of nihonto in a single photo is a gargantuan, not to say impossible task, and I have not aimed at that.

Does anybody have any further tips about the light source? A super-bright pointlike source would be optimal...

Veli

Hi Veli,

please, send me the link. Either it cannot be found or the access is forbidden.

Uwe G.

Hi Uwe!

This should work:

http://nihontofinland.com/

Veli

Okay, I know that this isn´t perfect yet. But the next time it will be. Promised!

Kuruma ju Suketoshi: 1865

Uwe G.

Sharpen a photo

Uwe G.

Sharpen a photo.pdf

Thanks for the tutorial! I am having fun with photoshop.

Dodge and burn

And don´t miss the second link... :D

Uwe G.

Dodge and burn.pdf

Thanks again Uwe. I have used dodge and burn on blades where some areas need darkening/lightening.

Uwe, do you only use external lighting and no flash ?

I tried looking at my sword using a halogenous lamp... It was substantially different as when looking in moderate or natural light. (a little like those horror images you see when looking at yourself in a mirror lit by a fluorescent lamp ).

Same happens when I use the flash.

KM

The koshirae with tanto,there I only used broad daylight. The rest was Adobe Camera Raw or ACR. Photos like these I only do in Raw. Distance 1,20 m and so daylight is enough. When I get closer with a macro lens, then I use something like this. It´s a kitchen lamp. I can move it and it is a real hard and bright light. 15,00 EUR. ACR will do the rest. White balance especally and clarity. Hada comes out very good. And it is the same light for the whole length. Distance 30 cm and closer.