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Using guns and weapons as props
Just a note on the images below. The U.S. Army exhibits at trade shows for recruiting purposes. The exhibits are populated with soldiers in full battle regalia, including all the latest guns. They hand the guns to anyone who approaches or asks to hold them. They encourage people to aim the guns anywhere and look down the sights. They especially like you to see the laser targeting system and the little red aiming reticule in the sights. So all around the exhibit area, you see people holding and aiming the guns at anything and anyone they want to, and pulling the trigger. No one thinks anything of it . Gotta admit it was kinda fun standing on the corner of a major intersection in downtown Los Angeles holding the latest military weapons and aiming at the occupants in the cars through optical scopes, placing the red dot on their temples, and squeezing the trigger.     Inside this particular trade show, models are always pointing guns at you.  -Glenn Sep 19 06 07:58 pm Link I was thinking of doing a picture w/me and a bow, but I was more thinking at a range (I've shot a bow before) where the photog wouldn't stand in front (cuz even ME I wouldn't allow that). Sep 19 06 08:16 pm Link My new Christmas card. "The promised Christmas surprise waiting at the hotel turned out to be an un-expectedly bad one..."  I never use real weapons with models or on a film/video set. I have some very nice realistic looking blank firing replicas. Using real weapons is dangerous and irresponsible. When I have used swords or blades of any kind they were almost always modified for stage combat. This means that the blades were intentionally dulled and the points rounded off. Even after that there is still a risk of injury. As for video and film work... Good luck getting a cheap insurance rate for production after telling them there is gunplay in your film. No inurance = no film permit. Dec 11 06 12:54 pm Link I have used real weapons in my shoots and will be using some in my future shoots as well. If I feel that it may be too dangerous or if someone is uneasy about doing it then I do it myself for example the girl is holding the sword to my throat in one of my photos... Dec 11 06 06:37 pm Link The folks I have photographed with firearms, had to go thru a short saftely course. Part of which was to show them how to check to make sure a weapon WAS unloaded. And to give them some perspective on how to handle a firearm safely and not look like a flat lander city dude or dudette!! I won't let a model touch a gun unless they can recite the safety rules and agree to follow them and I've taught them some kind of reasonable grip/stance. Dec 11 06 06:42 pm Link Tis a sad state that the anti gun crowd NEVER EVER state any thing half way intelligent about the REAL CAUSE of why some one would use a gun to do harm. Maybe that would be looking too closely at their own problems and short comings. Some people get really stupid when it comes to guns even looking at photos of them brings up years of brainwashing by the anti gun crowd and they get all upset and go into bot mode. Dec 11 06 06:44 pm Link Weapons make me hot and bothered ;p On a serious note, I love shooting with weapons. I would have no problem if a photographer handed me a gun, I might pout that it was too small of a caliber though. However, I never had that happen. I always have provided my own guns. I also always make sure that it is unloaded before I bring it to the shoot, and it is a first thing I do when I take it out of the case. I also show the photographer that it is unloaded and let the photographer hold it an inspect it. I am also very weary about shooting a photo where a gun is pointed at the photographer, even though I have a shoot like that. I will admit I felt somewhat uncomfortable making that one because I have always been taught to always point a gun in the safest direction. With blades, I always treat them as if they are "scary sharp". Better be safe than sorry. I have absolutely no problem with shooting with weapons. In fact I would love to do more shoots with them where I could handle weapons that are not provided by me, as I only have access to limited amount of them. Dec 12 06 01:15 am Link Threads like this irk me. Not because the photographers have opinions, but because they get so "holier than thou" with them. I've used guns for several of my shoots. Safety is easy. You don't keep any ammo in the house/studio. With clip removed and slide cocked back, you give the gun to model to get comfortable with, and personally show her that there is no ammo in the gun, none in the clip, none in the slide. When you insert the clip and bring the slide forward, unless there is a devious little imp pulling tricks involving sleight of hand, the gun is safe. As for girls and guns, if it isn't your thing, cool. But don't be so condescending about it. Maybe I dig the empowered female look, maybe you dig the submissive looking female portraiture and I don't. Different strokes for different folks makes this world go around. Dec 12 06 03:31 am Link Kaos Beauty Klinik wrote: I think how this was said was right on!! And I agree 100 percent... I'm a young model and just did my "louie Louie" last week. My photoshoot with the gun was exactly like acting out a fantasy of being some bad ass gangster girl... I really enjoyed it. Dec 12 06 03:47 am Link U can get plenty of plastic BB guns that look identical in every way. No issue Dec 12 06 12:46 pm Link neoracer_xox wrote: About the say the same thing. They have some damn nice replicas for really cheep. Which is loads safer then having a real gun on set. May be a orange tip, but I think anyone with photoshop expereince or a paint brush can remove that. Dec 12 06 12:57 pm Link Guns R fun. Dec 12 06 10:08 pm Link UnoMundo Photography wrote: Fortunately, a license is not required to own guns in Minnesota. Dec 12 06 10:22 pm Link What if youâre doing a product shoot that includes a power saw, chain saw, nail gun, hot stove for a food shoot, etc. I would think that mishaps would be more likely with these than with a knife or unloaded firearm. Dec 12 06 10:27 pm Link does the gun have to be real? does it take so much away from the shot if its not? i mean unless your doing ads for guns and ammo or any other gun zine , id think a prop would be safer. Dec 12 06 10:28 pm Link Gold Rush Studio wrote: Also, âDon't keep or allow any ammo in the studio buildingâ might go a long way in preventing a gun from being "accidentally" loaded after it's been confirmed to be unloaded. Dec 12 06 10:38 pm Link GRHorn wrote: The gun involved in Brandon Lee's death WAS real. Bullets were stripped from cartridges, the powder discarded, and the bullets re-seated to make dummies so a closeup of the revolver's cylinder rotating could be shot. The dummy cartridges still contained live primers, which should have been punched out or fired before seating the bullets to make the dummies truly inert. When the closeup was shot, the primer of the dummy round produced enough pressure to force the bullet into the barrel, where it was still lodged when the dummy rounds were replaced with full-power blanks. In the later scene, when the revolver was fired at Brandon, the bullet lodged in the barrel plus the blank, equaled a regular cartridge and a tragic, yet avoidable accident. First, the importance of the primers was ignored when the dummies were made, and second, whoever ejected the dummies didn't notice that one was missing a bullet. Also, in the staged gunfights I've acted in, we've always shot to the side of, never directly at the other actors. The audience can't tell the difference. No live ammo is allowed near a set where blanks are to be fired and all guns are inspected at the beginning of every performance. Dec 12 06 10:59 pm Link Stephen Bodi wrote: hahahahaha...that is great! Dec 12 06 11:03 pm Link BTW, unless you have some rare, historic weapon which is going to be the star of the shot, there are plenty of realistic looking replicas that are safer and cheaper, allowing you a larger variety to use in your shoots. Teach your model some technique, too. Inept weapon handling looks SOOOOOOO cheesy and annoys gun buffs like me-no matter how hot the girl is. Dec 12 06 11:05 pm Link neoracer_xox wrote: "BB guns aren't safe, you'll shoot your eye out!" - Christmas Story Dec 12 06 11:18 pm Link missing fingers product wrote: If I shoot with a gun, for my purposes, it has to be real. I want to show other women, especially petite ones like me that they can handle and own a gun. That guns are not just for boys. It would seem somewhat hypocrytical if I shot with a gun that is not real or the kind that I would not fire myself. Dec 13 06 04:06 am Link I have really mixed feelings on this one. First, I don't mind using real guns. I check to make sure they're unloaded 3 times before handing them to anyone else and I'll show the model how and advise that she check it too. And I keep the safety on if there is one. When (s)he hands it back I'll check it again. My real dilemma comes with the images of girls with guns. It has all sorts of angles. The black widow, the reversal of power roles, female with a phallic symbol, etc. But more often than not I don't like how it's done. It can be done well if some effort is made to tell a story with the image, but if you just have her point the gun at the camera and look menacing it's trite. To say it never can work I believe is false. Here's one of my attempts at it, I have actually sold prints of this image, one buyer was female!  and a guy:  Dec 13 06 04:14 am Link  Dec 15 06 11:32 am Link Kaos Beauty Klinik wrote: It's all about bringing the two most dangerous things a man can get his hands on together into one frame. Guns and girls. Won't ever grow old because it fascinates the average male. Dec 15 06 11:36 am Link  The antis don't like it but these models had a blast (pun intended). Dec 15 06 11:39 am Link I've used swords and weapons with just about every model i've shot with. i usually use prop guns because from a distance they look real. but the swords and knives are real. i make sure that they understand that a sword is still a deadly weapon. i wouldn't hand anyone a sword unless i was sure they were going to use it with caution. stylistically, i've fallen out of love with the images though. it's a rather easy way to make a model seem tougher and in your face, but I've just used it too much. time to let it rest for a while. or at least until i get a new weapon... Dec 15 06 11:48 am Link |
