NorthIdahoLeather

Tom, thank you for taking the time to spell that out for me. I’ve been reading as much as I can, but you have answered some of the questions that arose from my studying. New camera will be here tomorrow. I’m hoping to have a chance to get some practice time using your comment as a reference. Great info and I really appreciate it. Thank you! For those who were kind enough to steer me away from a light box/ tent, yoj were right. It’s a total joke. Spent a couple days with my iPhone trying to get a decent picture. Shadows? I couldn’t get rid of em and those that said the sheets they supply were bad? Horrible. No matter what I do, I can’t get rid of the wrinkles. But, now I know. Lol

I appreciate the feedback gentleman! Thank you! I have long way to go in my drawing skills. Chuck, I agree. My vine work is pretty crude. I’ve been studying pictures of other folks work and I can see how your advice applies. I hope to do better on the next go round. I have a lot of practice ahead of me, but I think the results will be worth the effort. Thanks again!

fredk, thank you. I will get a copy of that book. I’m at the point where it will be a few weeks before I get a decent photo. Still learning to understand iso, aperture, shutter speed and how they all relate. I’ve been reading as much as I can, but it means nothing until my camera shows up and I can go make some mistakes. Thank you for the tip! I did order a 48” light tent and some LED lighting and a good tri-pod. I’ll give it a go and see what I think. I like photographing the gun belts and holsters outdoors for the reasons mentioned above, but I’m having a hard time doing it in the winter months where I am. It just doesn’t look right with snow all over and poor natural light. But with a manual camera, that could all change. New camera and equipment will be here next week, so I’ll get some practice and experimenting in shortly. Thank you all for the helpful tips and advice. I greatly appreciate it -Jeff

Yes! I think this would be close to perfect. My concern is that I may not have the proper lens for taking photos through the holes provided. Is it possible to open the side and achieve the same quality of photos? This seems like it would work well with an iPhone or maybe a wide angle macro lens!? I’m sorry, I’m very new to photography. As I mentioned above, it was recommended to me to purchase a prime lense. I have just purchased a Nikon camera, so I went with the 50mm af-s f/1.8.

Thank you all!!! I greatly appreciate the help and sharing of your knowledge. I almost bought the camera today, but I found a great deal online that will save me $400. That translates into a pretty decent lighting setup. I’m getting excited. Haha. Thank you all!!!! -Jeff

Mike, welcome. I’m brand new to this site myself. I can already say that folks are more than willing to help you with your questions. Good luck with your new endeavor. It is addicting. -Jeff

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses. I definitely have a solid understanding for what I’ll need now. For what we are doing, is a macro lense better suited than the 50mm prime that I was planning on? Specifically, it’s the Nikon 50mm AF-S f/1.8G Nikkor Lens and will be paired with a D5600. This was recommended by my sister who is a professional photographer, so I’m just trusting her here as I really don’t know anything other than what I’ve read. Dangerous place to be because I don’t know what I don’t know. Haha. Again, thank you all for taking the time to help this newby out. I greatly appreciate it.

Thank you so much!!! That looks like a great setup! I like it. It makes your work really stand out. Thank you! I really appreciate your advice. I’m a total newb when it comes to photography, but I’m looking forward to learning. The results will be well worth the effort. Thanks again!

Toxo, thank you!!!! I agree, the blanket was a REALLY bad idea. But I had to try it. Lol To answer the lighting question, this is a problem that I’m looking to solve. We have terrible natural light indoors and outdoors I can only find it 3-4 months out of the year. (I’m on north slope with a hill behind the house that blocks out the sun except for the peak of summer). Even then, the lighting outdoors is better for photos than my current indoor lighting. I’ve seen so many different styles of light and light box setups, I’m just not sure what would be best. There a lot of great options for smaller items, but the larger ones have me questioning my plans. At this point, I think anything with a proper lighting and plain bright background is better than what I’m doing now. Thank you for your response. You bring up up some really great points that I will need consider. I wish I had the space right now for something permanent, hopefully in the next year, but for now it will need to be something that is taken down and put away between photos. I’ll probably try to make due with a white screen or box from amazon or something with a couple of decent table lamps... Again, thank you for your help! -Jeff

I am on a mission to improve my photo quality for my website, social media and other advertising. I am currently using an iPhone and outdoor props, which is all bad in the winter in Northern Idaho. Lol. I am new to photography, but will be purchasing a DSLR and a good 50mm prime lense. My main question is lighting. I’ve seen some really nice light box setups, but being new, I’m unsure of what to get for the large items that I’ll be photographing. The majority of my items are gun belts and holsters. These items seem quite large for most light boxes that I’ve seen and I’m also concerned about getting proper angles of these products in a confined space. To make the situation more complicated, I still don’t have a shop and I’m working out of a small corner of my living room in our tiny house. So, something that can be stored compactly when not in use would be ideal. In short, I’m not sure what I need or the best way to go about it. I’ll attach a small sample of photos of the items that I feel will be most difficult for me to deal with. I greatly appreciate tour help, tips, and advice.

Awesome!!!!

I am just learning how to draw floral. Up until now I’ve just used purchased patterns for my tooling. Frustrated with how some of these patterns don’t fit certain shapes, I am encouraged to learn. I enjoy tooling and I know what it should look like, but doesn’t always flow out of my hand the way it is in my head. Time to Practice drawing as much as I can. Anyway, this is the first item that I actually drew on leather and tooled it. I was going for a heavier background here intentionally as I thought it would look best on this type of item. Constructive criticism is welcomed. I know I have a long way to go before I’m ready to do saddle fenders and scabbards. Haha.

New member here, found the site doing a google search. My leather journey started about a year and a half ago. Like so many others, I needed a holster and decided to make one for myself. I had never touched leather before then. It’s been all uphill since then. I’m hoping to perfect my skills and learn as much as I can. I fell in love with the trade and have gone into business full time. I’m learning the business end of it all as I go. I enjoy all things leather and really appreciate the variety of what is out there from items to personal styles. My main focus is with holsters and Cowboy action gear, though I also make wallets, belts, and custom orders. I’m hoping to branch out into bag and pack making, chaps, western tack and hopefully next summer I will be taking some classes in saddlery. I’ve always been attracted to all things old western, is history and firearm history as well as the Cowboy way of life. apparently my pictures are too large to upload, so here is my Instagram for anybody who would like to see pictures. https://instagram.com/north_idaho_leather_co?r=nametag -Jeff, North Idaho Leather