Photographing Nihontō

[Ukigumo]

I see some beautifully clear images of sword jihada and various hataraki on youtube etc. The photos I take seldom show these very well, admittedly taken with my phone's camera which is supposedly pretty good! Does anyone have any tips on photographing blades to accentuate the jihada and say various hataraki? Is it just a case of using polarizing filters or special lights? I do have a digital SLR somewhere that I could resurrect if needs be.

 

[thomas]

How to Photograph Knives Pt 2 - Japanese Swords

 

[Ukigumo]

Mendōkusaiiiiiiii!

I should be a bit clearer, is there anyway of photographing swords effectively that requires no effort or extra equipment beyond my kitchen drawers

 

[thomas]

I set up a portable mini-studio for my sake shots (which are far from perfect, as I don't want to invest hours in shooting). At the very least, you'll need a tripod, appropriate lighting, and a background.

 

[Ukigumo]

I set up a portable mini-studio for my sake shots (which are far from perfect, as I don't want to invest hours in shooting). At the very least, you'll need a tripod, appropriate lighting, and a background.

Yay! I have those things!

 

[Ukigumo]

How to Photograph Knives Pt 2 - Japanese Swords

I've never heard anyone speak so continuously in the 'vocal fry' range as Mr Sorrel! Not even the Kardashians!

 

[Majestic]

This should have a lot of good info.

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/files/file/95-photographing-nihonto/

I bought about 2 meters of black velvet to use as a background when photographing swords, and its worked as well as I had anticipated. The thing is that swords are basically mirrors: they throw back almost all of the light that hits them. So you have to play around with angles and lighting. The black background absorbs almost all of the light, so it makes the contrast work better

 

[Ukigumo]

This should have a lot of good info.

https://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/files/file/95-photographing-nihonto/

I bought about 2 meters of black velvet to use as a background when photographing swords, and its worked as well as I had anticipated. The thing is that swords are basically mirrors: they throw back almost all of the light that hits them. So you have to play around with angles and lighting. The black background absorbs almost all of the light, so it makes the contrast work better

I thought about doing exactly that…2m length of black velvet! And when I've done with it, I can make myself a nice little cocktail dress