Dwight,
Looking Good!

Another light on the side and something under the blade, like an artist's kneaded eraser or some kind of small piece of putty/clay, to angle the knife a little more towards the camera and the blade will be less "hot" and the grind lines more visable. Actually, the first shot is very good! You can see the grind lines better!

Tony

Appreciate the tips Tony - I'll try them out. Thanks for posting the light tent link.

D.

I've had a few compliments on my pictures. Thank you all.

Before we begin let me say that the pics are indeed pretty darn good but the con is that the free version of photobucket just doesn't seem to like my laptop or phone and shows a lot of ads. I do use the free version.

Thus far, I've used an older cell phone "Nokia 920 Lumia". Then I upload them to photobucket. After they're uploaded to photobucket I then....

1. click on my photo library on photobucket, click on the picture I want to add to the forum.

2. look to right of screen, I see 4 rectangular options to copy, copy the bottom one that says IMG and paste it to the forum...

That's it.. Obviously lighting and background scene and background layout can be important and can take some playing around with.

This phone as far as I know doesn't allow a lot of editing but the phone its self does allow you to change the lighting by viewing the photo and editing it, this can drastically improve and sometimes distort picture quality.

Crutcher,

Check your App Store for your phone to download a free app called, "Snapseed" from Google.

It has many editing features to crop, rotate image, change light balance, add texture, and other possibilities right on your smartphone.
Did I mention, FREE?

Check it out. I use it on my iPhone 6.

Here's a photo I took just the other day... both knives belonged to an Army veteran who served in Vietnam.

Sometimes you can just get lucky with a shot, other times you can shoot, rearrange and shoot again and never really capture the right image. I think I got a little lucky with this one.... I used the bamboo to give a simple background and also a southeast-asia feel to the image.

I used a standard light tent - about 3' square. I keep the tent set up in the garage that has regular overhead fluorescent bulbs. However, my main light is two spot lights on small tripods - one on each side of the tent. This is a similar set up that most people use.

The lights can be aimed right at the subject or slightly upward. It really depends on what you're shooting.

For this shot, I used my cell phone, believe it or not! (iPhone 6) I have a very nice Canon camera and a heavy duty tripod that I usually use for nature shots, but my cell phone is proving a lot easier to use in the long run. I emailed the image to my computer and made minor adjustments. I cropped it a bit and darkened the overall lighting to make the black background go completely black - which hides the fabric pattern. My background is a piece of black fabric that is not very reflective.

One thing that helps with the cell phone - I shoot and then immediately review the shot. If it's not right, I adjust the lights or in this case, move the blade a bit to fix the reflection. Sometimes, the angle of the shot makes a difference... whether you shoot straight down or shoot from a lower position. I do like to "fill" the complete frame with whatever I'm shooting. Cropping the picture helps put more focus on your subject.

Thanks for looking!

EXCELLENT shot! Well Done.

Thanks, Tony!

Thanks Linda, for your contribution.

Smartphone cameras are getting better and better.

I believe the iPhone X (Ten) will have a 12MP sensor and telephoto capability.

I appreciate your help as more people are using cell phones for photo capture.

Buck, you’re right about cell phones. They may not have the quality or detail of digital cameras but it seems most people have them which means they’ll be used more often.

I like to set my subjects up at an angle versus horizontal. The knife would look good either way, but placed at an angle makes the shot more interesting. To keep the shot from being too busy, the blades are parallel to the bamboo and the sheaths at another angle. The shot might have looked a little boring if everything was placed at the same angle.

I try to fill the whole frame with whatever I’m shooting and go in as close as I can. Most cell phones will let you get pretty close and still be in focus. You can always crop out unwanted areas.

I like to add interesting items especially if they relate or add color or texture. More than two or three items can clutter the picture and detract from the main subject. If it seems like I have too much extra stuff, I take out one at a time until it looks right.

I’ve seen some great shots on this forum... especially the ones featuring tree stumps, rocks and other outdoor settings.

Don't forget to have a re-size app, or you won't be able to post on most forums, including this one.

Pap