This unique Pattern is the result of the Damasteel Knife Production.
So how to shoot this Knife and give it a dramatic, dark Look?
The Surface of the Damasteel is Semi-Glossy, almost matt, and a little curved. To make this visible it is very helpful to create a Gradient Light.
I wanted the Light in the Setup to look like a Corridor in a Shape of a Knife, being cut by the Knife itself.
The Challenge is to highlight the whole Blade, even outside the Light Corridor, without creating a visible Spot on the Shooting Table.
The complete Lighting-Setup is just one Light. I used a Reflector as Light-Modifier with a 20° Grid attached to it. The Light hits a Diffusor Panel on a shallow Angle, so it creates a Gradient Light due to the Grid. The Diffusor Panel itself is about 45° to the Shooting Table.
To create the Light Corridor in the Shape of a Knife, I used two black Cardboards and attached them in the Shape of a lying „V“ on the Diffusor Panel.
The Shooting Table I used here, has a black acrylic, glossy Surface. With a matt Surface, this Shot would not be possible.
Because the Light hits the glossy Surface at a shallow Angle, the Blade has to be positioned that way, that the Blade itself reflects the Light into the Camera. From the Camera itself, it seems, that the Light Corridor is on another Position. So the whole Blade is highlighted, even in the dark Areas of the Shooting Table Surface. This is the Result:
