CC Please on handgun photo

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Hello all, I'd enjoy any CC you can give on a shot I just took of two SIG Sauer P226 pistols. The photo stats are as follows:

Lighting: one bulb in a living room lamp at night
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 400
Shutter speed: 1.3seconds
Focal Length: 105mm
Taken with: 5DMk2, tripod, and 24-105f/4L lens

Due to the lighting, the original photo was exceptionally hot. I reduced the temp quite a bit in Lightroom, along with lowering the exposure by about 1 stop, and some pretty heavy vignetting. I also increased clarity in LR by about 50%. The only other PP was slight cropping and spot-fixing to remove part of the serial number for security purposes.

Not bad, but I'd darken the worn area at the ejection port.

Why not ISO 100?

I didn't like the color in the pic yours looked a little too brown. I also tried to bring out the grain in the leather. Hope this helps

PhotosGuy wrote in post #15869135
Not bad, but I'd darken the worn area at the ejection port. Why not ISO 100?

Thanks for the suggestion on darkening the ejection port.

I actually started off at ISO 100 and took most of my photos there. For some reason the three I took at 100 were all a bit blurry from shake, even with the tripod. This shot at 400 was the only one that came out crisp when blown up huge.

Joe, I'll play around with the temp a bit more. I like the blacker version you put up, nice effect.

I definitely like Joe's black image. The light looks good, focus is good, subject is excellent. There does appear to be dust on the grip of the left hand gun. Getting these shots clean is a tough job but results in better images IMO.

Does it need to be that symmetric? Perhaps moving them a bit so that symmetry is broken would make the photo a bit more interesting?

Here is the redone version, with reduced vibrance and a more black tint instead of brown:

I'd shuffle the jacket around a little too (and you very well may have), for me that zipper underneath the trigger guard is distracting. If it was just the gun on the left, I think it would work well as framing, but the intersection isn't adding to the lines for me. It is a solid result though.

Motor On wrote in post #15876276
I'd shuffle the jacket around a little too (and you very well may have), for me that zipper underneath the trigger guard is distracting. If it was just the gun on the left, I think it would work well as framing, but the intersection isn't adding to the lines for me. It is a solid result though.

Thanks, that is a good point about the pocket zipper. I debated using the back of the jacket, which would be a plain leather field, but thought that might be a little too ho-hum. But you're right, the zipper does compete with the trigger guard for attention. I'll have to play around with more positions.

Scrumhalf, I've never been one for symmetry in photos, but I'm not sure exactly how to avoid it in this one. I want the handguns to both be large enough that they are the subject, instead of the jacket. Having two of them and the same style of gun makes an asymmetrical shot hard to picture. So I just gave up. But I'm welcome to ideas on how it could work.

Scrumhalf wrote in post #15871107
Does it need to be that symmetric? Perhaps moving them a bit so that symmetry is broken would make the photo a bit more interesting?

My exact thought as soon as I saw the image. Maybe placing the muzzle, at an angle, of one over the upper half of the handgrip on the other? Reason for this suggestion is not so much to avoid symmetry for the sake of avoiding symmetry, but rather to make this more of a "candid" shot. The current arrangement makes me think that the guns were intentionally positioned for display. Might be more interesting if it looked as if you had just removed the leather jacket and tossed the weapons down on top of it.

Just my $0.02

Scrumhalf wrote in post #15871107
Does it need to be that symmetric? Perhaps moving them a bit so that symmetry is broken would make the photo a bit more interesting?

Kinda my thought too, just a couple of Sigs on a leather jacket, no real "story" there. Use the back of the jacket and throw in some ammo or magazines to add some interest, maybe a shredded target as part of the background...

I like the one Joe did as well, and nice weapons too. I have a couple P226's as well, .357/.40 and a 9mm

You know the sort of photos of a nice table with a wallet or billfold, a Rolex, passport, keys, a nice fountain pen, etc? Kinda like someone placed all the things they were going to take the next day in the morning?

What if you had the two guns kinda casually placed maybe some ammo, a nice pair of aviator glasses or other shooting paraphernalia, etc?

Firemike wrote in post #15880398
Kinda my thought too, just a couple of Sigs on a leather jacket, no real "story" there. Use the back of the jacket and throw in some ammo or magazines to add some interest, maybe a shredded target as part of the background...

I like the one Joe did as well, and nice weapons too. I have a couple P226's as well, .357/.40 and a 9mm

Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I might try the shot again using the back of the jacket and changing the arrangement.

Michael, you nailed the calibers of these two P226's. The German SIG on the left (which I bought new two decades ago) is 9mm, and the new US made one is in .357 SIG. I'm going to try and buy a .40 barrel for it since I have WAY more .40 ammo than .357 SIG.

Here are a couple new pictures. I tried taking shots that told more of a story, to follow earlier advice in this thread. I'm not sure which of them I like the best, I'd love to hear any feedback:

1)

I like the first one, looks like an Indiana Jones movie plot twist, the second one is kinda neat too, my first thought was to darken the photos up to give them a more "eeerie" feeling. I have a S&W .357 magnum similar to yours (mine's a blued Model 19) that I bought in the late 70's. Been a great gun and often enjoy shooting that one more than the Sigs.