Light Reflections in Pics

Japanese Knives - by Tokushu Knife
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The Forest Ninja

The Forest Ninja

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I won't lie. 🙄

Taking really high detail pics of knives or swords is not easy when the light reflects back.
Whether, I'm using my Canon camera with it's bazillion settings or my Brio 4K webcam
it's lighting issues that are frustrating.

So it seems there's info out there about this problem that I'll have to try out.
Figure this topic could help others with the same issues.

Cheers







 
Yes, it won't work for light reflected off polished, smooth metallic surfaces, but not all knives or all parts of the knife are polished...
 
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I haven’t watched those videos posted in this thread, but these are very effective and inexpensive methods:

1) Photograph outdoors on a cloud-coverage day

2) Use a fixed light source (not on-camera flash), and point it at the ceiling for generalized non-directional light in the room. This will result in diffuse reflections rather than specular reflections. An inexpensive shield is necessary to keep direct light from falling on the subject—
IMG_2786.jpeg


It’s still necessary to experiment and position the knife so that the diffuse light reveals what you want to show. I sometimes put a tiny balled up piece of paper under the blade, invisible to the lens, to prop up the edge.
 
Last edited:
Rainy day/morning lighting is always my preferred when shooting patina porn for the blue thread. I also go into the camera editor and turn down highlights which will help on those super shiny or overexposed pictures. Messing with exposure also helps too. But with proper ambient lighting like Seemore notes, you won't have to do too much on the back end.
 
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