The past week I see on the web a set of superb vignettes from Steven Zaloga, with some beatiful pictures as background. You know, I'm not a master in painting figures and digital photography, but I would like to share however my little knowledge about it.
Although I have not yet explored all its features, I must say that the camera I'm using is a little gem. It's a Pentax Optio S-50, 3x optical zoom, 5.0 megapixel, super-macro function up to 6 cm from the subject, etc., at a very reasonable price. I must confess I didn't read anything from the user manual, but something I understand clearly is about the white balance. The default exposure for most cameras is set to natural light, so when you take 'indoor' pictures, under artificial light, you must set the white balance to bulb light.
The following shows my little 'bonsai-workspace', taken with the white balance option set to natural light (wrong)
and to bulb light (right).
As you can see, the first picture tends to orange/red, while the second shows the right colors (the table is pure white and the wall is light blue).
As source, I use two bulb of 10W on the front and another of 50W on the upper. I don't know if this is the right environment, but it seems to work... All the lamps are masked with a thin tissue. Do not use the direct (unfiltered) light, it's too crude. Try also to avoid the flash usage, it always gives a non natural reflections. Last but not least, the autotimer option with a little tripod gives you a good chance to avoid blurred photos.
The cardboard on the background is required to control the light effects (dark colors tends to absorb the light, while bright colors reflecs it), and to provide the right base for the next step.
To process the picture with the Photoshop, it's essential to use a background cardboard with a different color in regard to the figure. In other words, do not use a black background for a german tanker, or a gray card for a confederate figure.
Although I have not yet explored all its features, I must say that the camera I'm using is a little gem. It's a Pentax Optio S-50, 3x optical zoom, 5.0 megapixel, super-macro function up to 6 cm from the subject, etc., at a very reasonable price. I must confess I didn't read anything from the user manual, but something I understand clearly is about the white balance. The default exposure for most cameras is set to natural light, so when you take 'indoor' pictures, under artificial light, you must set the white balance to bulb light.
The following shows my little 'bonsai-workspace', taken with the white balance option set to natural light (wrong)
and to bulb light (right).
As you can see, the first picture tends to orange/red, while the second shows the right colors (the table is pure white and the wall is light blue).
As source, I use two bulb of 10W on the front and another of 50W on the upper. I don't know if this is the right environment, but it seems to work... All the lamps are masked with a thin tissue. Do not use the direct (unfiltered) light, it's too crude. Try also to avoid the flash usage, it always gives a non natural reflections. Last but not least, the autotimer option with a little tripod gives you a good chance to avoid blurred photos.
The cardboard on the background is required to control the light effects (dark colors tends to absorb the light, while bright colors reflecs it), and to provide the right base for the next step.
To process the picture with the Photoshop, it's essential to use a background cardboard with a different color in regard to the figure. In other words, do not use a black background for a german tanker, or a gray card for a confederate figure.
