A (silly) question about taking photos of steel bandings/grains

[Martyn]

Since going down this rabbit hole (big thanks to you all lol) I have gathered some decent rocks and blades (like most of you guys ). And I think we can all agree that part of the fun of the polishing game is to share your joys with the fellows of this community, or in another word, showing off

I have got some rocks that can really hightlight the bandings and grains of the steels but for some reason, I struggle to get them to show up in photos. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Full disclosure - I am not a camera fanatic so the only cameras I have are those on my phones

 

[ethompson]

This thread isn't getting any traction, which I think is a shame. I also would love to know more, ideally working within the same restrictions as @Martyn (using a phone). Knives are reflective and the capturing the subtle details that make a good polish is HARD. Anecdotally I've found indirect natural light works well - hence why all of my photos are typically in front of my large window that gets no direct sunlight in the afternoon. I've also found, at least for an iPhone, that video for some reason does a better job than photos.

This thread covered the same topic, but quickly got into camera lingo that is beyond me. Good place to start though.
https://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/threads/taking-good-photos-of-knives.52289/
Some of our better knife photographers - @nutmeg & @EricEricEric come to mind - maybe could offer some tips.

 

[captaincaed]

The light is the real trick. Anything to direct our unfiltered is going to make reflections your enemy.

My best photos come from cloudy days, partial shade, or using a bright light source, full spectrum bulb, with a white sheet between the light and the photo subject to diffuse and soften the light.

Also a plain white background to get the color balance right. I’ve seen a sheet of butcher paper hanging straight down then curving to lie on the table top as an easy and effective option.

I’m no pro, but those should get you closer.

Edit: the photo box in the second post from @ethompson link above really combines all those elements, should do well for single subject photography.

 

[EdgeFundManager]

If you want to deep dive into this topic, the book “Light Science and Magic” by Fil Hunter is a classic photography reference with a lot of info on photographing reflective objects.