"Critique my firearm picture" thread

[Stickman]

20171916_01.jpgI hope it's ok to use a firearm related pic with no gun in it. I got a canon 7d a few months ago and have been having fun with it. I am slowly getting a little better. Unfortunately my computer is so old it wont run any photo editing software. So I do everything on my phone. I use snapseed and it works pretty well for me. With my skills a better computer based software wouldnt add much right now anyway. For this picture I used a tupperware container and lined it with a black under armor t shirt and then filled it with some 9mm gold dots. A couple of the bullets are a little outside of the depth of field.

I think it works very nicely.

[WS6]

I like this photo because I'm just now learning how to use rudimentary editing, and I have always thought black and white photos were classy, which jives with Hodge's marketing schema, as well. I tried to emulate a 1960's era black and white photo, slightly over-exposed to highlight the markings on the lower. It shows of/highlights the minimalist/KISS approach I took with this carbine.

In this photo:

Hodge Defense MOD 2 14.5" (serial # sterilized via photo editing), Vltor A5 Buffer System, Larue MB2S Trigger, Haley Strategic Sling, Magpul MOE SL-S Stock, Surefire M300 300 Lumen mounted with MAGPUL Polymer Mount, MOE K2 Grip, MOE RVG, MLOK, Magpul MBUS PRO F/R Sight, PMAG, Surefire Closed Tine Warcomp w/Surefire SOCOM 556 MINI mounted, V7 Ambi Ti/7075 Safety, in 90* configuration, V7 Ti takedown pins, Magpul MLOK Sling Mount, Noveske QD Endplate, V7 Ti Castle Nut.

[Stickman]

I like this photo because I'm just now learning how to use rudimentary editing, and I have always thought black and white photos were classy, which jives with Hodge's marketing schema, as well. I tried to emulate a 1960's era black and white photo, slightly over-exposed to highlight the markings on the lower. It shows of/highlights the minimalist/KISS approach I took with this carbine.

In this photo:

Hodge Defense MOD 2 14.5" (serial # sterilized via photo editing), Vltor A5 Buffer System, Larue MB2S Trigger, Haley Strategic Sling, Magpul MOE SL-S Stock, Surefire M300 300 Lumen mounted with MAGPUL Polymer Mount, MOE K2 Grip, MOE RVG, MLOK, Magpul MBUS PRO F/R Sight, PMAG, Surefire Closed Tine Warcomp w/Surefire SOCOM 556 MINI mounted, V7 Ambi Ti/7075 Safety, in 90* configuration, V7 Ti takedown pins, Magpul MLOK Sling Mount, Noveske QD Endplate, V7 Ti Castle Nut.

There isn't much question in my mind that you nailed it. The human eye goes directly to the Hodge logo, which is what I think you were going for. Job well done.

[wct097]

I took a couple pictures when I finally got around to ordering the 12.5" 'kino' upper for my PSA build. The intent was to show a few friends the new 12.5" 5.56 build alongside the older 8.2" suppressed 300BLK build. A "cheap" and "expensive" build side-by-side. I took them outside at my old place to get better lighting after I kept getting shadows inside. Not being a photog, but being a big fan of gun porn on the various gun forums, I was very pleased with the outcome. For some reason, that crappy worn out deck that the new owners were quick to replace appeals to me as a backdrop.




They would probably look even better with some editing and if I actually knew what I was doing with the camera.

[Stickman]

I took a couple pictures when I finally got around to ordering the 12.5" 'kino' upper for my PSA build. The intent was to show a few friends the new 12.5" 5.56 build alongside the older 8.2" suppressed 300BLK build. A "cheap" and "expensive" build side-by-side. I took them outside at my old place to get better lighting after I kept getting shadows inside. Not being a photog, but being a big fan of gun porn on the various gun forums, I was very pleased with the outcome. For some reason, that crappy worn out deck that the new owners were quick to replace appeals to me as a backdrop.




They would probably look even better with some editing and if I actually knew what I was doing with the camera.

The blacks are off and the angle of the shot is off a tad as well, but the overall feel of the picture is good. In general, I think this works nicely.

[WS6]

This was shot in my livingroom using a Galaxy S8. It is of my Benelli M4 SBS. I took the picture kindof as a "stock" type photo, meaning to showcase the shotgun as I've set it up as a whole, rather than emphasizing any one "thing". I am frustrated at how "reflective" the slab of a receiver is and tried to mitigate it as best as I could, I am both proud of how well I did, and annoyed at the other reflections that avoiding it reflecting led to. This in my opinion is part of what separates amateur hour from "decent hobbyist". Lighting control. The background is my rug. It provides relief and "texture" without being too distracting (my opinion subject to education and correction).

Slings normally don't photograph well, but I feel like I did okay with this one, considering the purpose of the photo.



-Benelli M4 11724 (swapped C-stock out for PG stock with Limbsaver. I just prefer it.)
-Aimpoint H2 4moa in a Scalarworks SYNC mount
-Metal trigger guard (OEM...yeah, Benelli civilian/LE guns now come with polymer from t he factory. I had an OEM aluminum TG laying around...) with a black TTI safety
-Lead Faucet Tactical sling (I love this thing! It is by far better than any other sling I have used.)
-(not visible in picture) plain rear ghost ring LPA (vs. the OEM one with "ears and dots")0
-IWC Surefire Scout/Benelli M4 mount with Surefire 500 lumen M300C
-Tango Arms stippled forend.

[Stickman]

This was shot in my livingroom using a Galaxy S8. It is of my Benelli M4 SBS. I took the picture kindof as a "stock" type photo, meaning to showcase the shotgun as I've set it up as a whole, rather than emphasizing any one "thing". I am frustrated at how "reflective" the slab of a receiver is and tried to mitigate it as best as I could, I am both proud of how well I did, and annoyed at the other reflections that avoiding it reflecting led to. This in my opinion is part of what separates amateur hour from "decent hobbyist". Lighting control. The background is my rug. It provides relief and "texture" without being too distracting (my opinion subject to education and correction).

Slings normally don't photograph well, but I feel like I did okay with this one, considering the purpose of the photo.



-Benelli M4 11724 (swapped C-stock out for PG stock with Limbsaver. I just prefer it.)
-Aimpoint H2 4moa in a Scalarworks SYNC mount
-Metal trigger guard (OEM...yeah, Benelli civilian/LE guns now come with polymer from t he factory. I had an OEM aluminum TG laying around...) with a black TTI safety
-Lead Faucet Tactical sling (I love this thing! It is by far better than any other sling I have used.)
-(not visible in picture) plain rear ghost ring LPA (vs. the OEM one with "ears and dots")0
-IWC Surefire Scout/Benelli M4 mount with Surefire 500 lumen M300C
-Tango Arms stippled forend.

Two different light temperatures/ degrees Kelvin is one of the first things I see. Like you said, lighting is all important, and perhaps the blue is actually a reflection off the TV, your shirt, or something else. It is a shame you the receiver is illuminated well, because that degree of perfection is lost in the rest of the image. A portion of this is simply what you are shooting with, and the wide angle that is involved with your lens for this shot.

The background is busy, and certainly doesn't add anything to the image. Had this been shot on concrete, it would have created a MUCH MUCH better overall look.

I agree with you about slings, they just aren't all that good looking in pics, but this one isn't bad, though it does still detract from the overall image to a degree.


Clean up that background and swap it to concrete, shoot the same pic with fractionally better light, and you will be onto pure gold.

[baffle Stack]

Took this one for an EDC thread. Was mostly showing off the watches. I like that there's a lot of reflective surfaces but not a lot of distracting reflections. I think bounced a speedlight off the roof for this one and shot a few different angles till i found one that worked. I dont like gun being propped up with a holster. It's distracting and blends in with the trigger too much. I remember having a hard time finding something inconspicuous to prop it up at the right angle. Overall I like this image and kept it for long after the watches were sold. Still have the gun and multitool though.

IMG_0683.jpg

[Stickman]

Took this one for an EDC thread. Was mostly showing off the watches. I like that there's a lot of reflective surfaces but not a lot of distracting reflections. I think bounced a speedlight off the roof for this one and shot a few different angles till i found one that worked. I dont like gun being propped up with a holster. It's distracting and blends in with the trigger too much. I remember having a hard time finding something inconspicuous to prop it up at the right angle. Overall I like this image and kept it for long after the watches were sold. Still have the gun and multitool though.

IMG_0683.jpg

The parts are much greater than the sum in this case. Each item stands out well on their own, but when put together it just is too much and the pic is cluttered. We could go into technical discussions about angles leading all over and dis similar planes running amuck, but I think we can just leave it at cluttered. Again, very nice individually.

[Ryno12]

First and foremost, if you are going to take pictures, carpet is never going to be a good overall look. Your lighting appears nice and even, but it still doesn't make anyone take real notice as it is still "a gun on the floor".

With regards to "a gun on the floor" picture... Do you feel if an individual were to include their feet in the photo, should they match their socks to the carpet, or should they match them to the firearm?

Thoughts?

Of course we all know that bare feet are just nasty & should never be included...








Congrats on your own sub-forum Stick! Thanks for your service & keep up the good work.