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Author Topic: ''Professional'' results for Armour Photography Merv Cannon New Member Member # 517 posted 05-28-2006 10:43 PM                I have notice how many distinguished Armourers frequent this forum whos work I have long admired. I have made armour myself, and will again, God willing, but for the last 25 years or so I have ran my own company doing professional commercial photography and other things within the Advertising Industry. Polished Armour can be among the most difficult things to photograph well, as all curves act like a disco mirror-ball ! Add to this other problem substances like Velvet, and you have quite a difficult subject. Great results can be obtained without spending heaps of money on equipment, etc.....like Armouring itself, it just requires the right knowledge. It would be impossible to discuess everything in this single post, but I thought I'd humbly offer my advise, if it required by some. For now, suffice to say that soft lighting is a good thing for armour. Take advantage of any overcast days ( or even smog/fog) anything that will diffuse the light and lower the contrast. The 'cold' colour can always be 'warmed' back up easily enough. Also, grab some thin ply about 6ft. high and paint one side white and the other side silver. Fix a way to stand it up (kinda like a big pavaise) and use these as reflectors, one on each side of the Armoured subject(full length). They will act like big soft lights. Silver gives a stronger light and white a softer one. For colse -up shots (helms, etc.), you can put one on either side of you and poke the camera through the middle. Even four of these is worth it if you want to take a lot of shots. You can even use old white bed-sheets sometimes. Just through them over a board and you have a reflector, albeit a primitive one. Oh, and ,YES, you can use you flash outdoors on a sunny day ! Just post any questions you may have and I'll try and be of some help ! Cheers..........................Merv -------------------- Merv Registered: Nov 2003  |  IP: Logged Erik Schmidt Member Member # 424 posted 05-28-2006 11:25 PM             Good info. In the armoury in Vienna I was told that they would be setting up an enclosure made from walls of cloth that would be backlit using movable lights. The armour, and to an extent also the photographer, would be within that enclosure. At the time I was there the building was undergoing renovations, and the setup was planned for the new workshops. Obviously, such a setup is more space and effort intensive than just using reflectors. Erik Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged Merv Cannon New Member Member # 517 posted 05-30-2006 04:32 AM                Hi Erik, Yes thats actually also a good way to do it. String up a white bed-sheet, muslin or thin linen and put the light behind it...although it will be more 'directional'...that is you wil have a soft white-spot....it just needs good positioning. The best way is to ALWAYS use a tripod, regardless of the type of camera, so you can hold your position and you or an assistant can move the lights or reflectors about while you stay with the camera and observe what the light is doing. This effect can also look great as a backlight. Place the sheet behind the subject and 'hide' a light behind it facing the camera and also behind the subject. You will get a nice 'vignetted' spot. If you want a nice colour, just place coloured 'celophane' over the light ( but let there be an air-gap between the gel and the lamp or it will melt) This will work well for close-ups and three-quarter length shots. Its a bit harder to do full-length shots that way unless you use a very long length of fabric and get the person to stand on it and then drape it up behind them just like they do in a studio. -------------------- Merv Registered: Nov 2003  |  IP: Logged

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