Sticky photography thread?

[Jamie Stokes]

Howdy all,
every now and then, the question of photography comes up..not often, but sometimes people struggle to get the best display of their work via camera.

Could perhaps a sticky thread in software and hardware support be created?

While the exact technical specs may be a bit dated, the key concepts could be kept in one handy place.
As could links to other websites that have articles on this.

By keeping the thread in hardware & software, it would keep the other forums free, provide a easy find (it seems related to me) and make linking easy

Similar to sticky "new to miniatures; what you need' thread.

And willing to put my money where my mouth is, I'm happy to draft up some notes with examples to get it rolling, if need be.....then I'll watch as others do a better job!

Cheers

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Photography, quick and easy improvements pt 1

Ok,
my effort to give back to the planet....

While many of us rapidly get the hang of the camera, photographing our figures so it displays well on a website can be very frustrating

So here are some simple things that can be done for low cost, quick and easy set up, and you will be very pleased at how much the photos you take improve.

these two photos show the materials I used, and the approximate set up.

The first photo shows, moving from left to right,
- back drop cloth, light in colour and plain. You don't want the pretty pattern in the background distracting attention from your figure. (blue and tan fabric). I picked up a meter length for a few dollars from a fabric store.
- Plain white paper, to be used as a soft reflector to soften shadows.
- bulldog clips, I use these to hang the fabric from my desk lights
- Tripod for the camera. Not essential, having does give a consistency to your shots, one less variable to worry about (The wobbly camera shots)

The second photo shows how I set them up. I'll discuss the white paper usage later.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Basic Photo Improvement pt 2

Lighting time.
This is a artists drawing mannequin, I'll call him Manny.

Here, Manny is lit by a cool white (Daylight standard) globe from the viewers left. You can see there are shadows on the lower surfaces and to the viewers right.

While this kind of shot is good for checking contours or texture (say, showing chain mail texture) some detail is lost on the shadowed sides.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Basic Photo Improvement pt 3

Now I have lit a incandescent light to the viewers right.

More of Manny's details can be seen, and the shadows from the right have almost disappeared.

This is a better kind of shot for displaying a painted figure.

Please note; see the colour shift between the left side and right side?

The cool white has a cooler tone, while the right side has a warm orange tone.

So do be aware of what globes are in your lamps when taking a photo.

In many industries that rely on colour being accurately replicated, a fluorescent light for day light standard (commonly known as 'cool white') is used.
They are also easier to work under, less tiring on the eyes.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Basic Photo Improvement pt 4

Ok, now is where I use some plain white paper as a soft reflector.
By placing a sheet of paper at the base of the figure (and keep it out of frame!) this soften the shadows that naturally occur on the underside of any figure.

Look at Manny's groin and chest ridges, and you can see that the shadows are not as dark, and if Manny was painted up, more details could be picked out.

A well lit, and properly lit, figure (or diorama or vignette) allows viewers to see you work in the best possible light.

Many a great figure has been photographed with not so great results, and it doesn't really do justice to the work involved.

In my next post, I'll post some pics of Pegasos Chinese Lady, Migs Napoleonic Soldier and Russian Pilot to show what a simple desk top set up can deliver in the way of results.

Cheers

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Basic Photo Improvement pt 4 - phots

Arrgh......try attaching the photos Jamie..sorry about that!

As I said above, a plain white sheet, acting as a reflector, softens the shadows and gently illuminates the lower side of the figure.

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Basic Photo Improvement pt 5

Ok, display work time.

The Cartoon figures are 40mm in scale, the Chinese Lady is 1/9 scale (200 mm)

These are my first few figures, yet the display is more flattering then against a cluttered background.

 

[John Bowery]

Jamie,
Thanks for taking the time to explain the above.
Greatly appreciated.
Cheers
John

 

[Jamie Stokes]

You're Welcome John!

Often, the camera comes with an instruction manual....

But doing a basic set up, often not so obvious. and no instruction manual presented in a plain, instantly usable way.

Cheers

 

[Tommi]

Very nice idea Jamie, maybe we can set up a dedicated section for this type of thing, I know I struggle a lot on the photgraphy side of things,
Cheers
Tommi

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Tommi,
glad to help.

Cheers

 

[Ryder]

I never thought to use white paper to bounce light off the figure like that. I will have to give it a try. I think your idea is a good one. I sticky on forums to use a camera, very helpful.

 

[megroot]

Oke,
Maybe i can also help.
A year ago i made a lightbox for taking my figures under difuse light. This is better then working with two or three lights what makes the shades harder.
If you want your figures be into the correct lighting i prefer a lightdiffusor box. If you want to see the results, looks at Guy's pictures.
I made mine from Tempex and it's a kubus box with 1 opening. I put my figure in and two blue light bulbs from 60 W doing the light. Because the Tempex every lightspot is difuse. Result are great.

The last three month's i made my photographic life easyer with buying this little case. It is a box, 2 light's, 3 backgrounds and a tripod.



Results are great with these.
For those who want to build a box here is a link, and there are alot more published on the internet.
http://www.houseofdexter.com/lightbox.html

Marc

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Marc,
great set up!
I agree, a diffuse light is much better for photography of miniatures then harsh spot lights.

Thanks for sharing

Cheers

 

[Jamie Stokes]

Found an old posting, so now there is a link to it.
Originally posted by Quang
http://www.shortcourses.com/tabletop/

Covers just about everything, and is free.
Still a live link, too.

cheers

 

[Uruk-Hai]

That looks just what a poor photographer as myself need. I will study it in detail.

Thanks for sharing Jamie.

Cheers
Janne Nilsson