Model photography...

[nighthawk78]

This is just a quick tutorial showing how I take pictures of models, hopefully it will help people take professional like photo's
Feel free to tell me what you think :)
Enjoy!!!
NH78

[Leif Ohlsson]

Good advice, and a welcome reminder!

Will there be more? - If not, I'd like to add the use of a tripod and always using the self-exposure feature of your camera. And - DO NOT FORGET TO ENGAGE MACRO SETTING ON CLOSE-UPS.

The purpose of the tripod and self-exposure is two-fold: 1) eliminate blur from slight shaking of camera, and 2) letting your hands (or at least fingers) get into the picture. Action shots of the building process are really fun and creates a sense of "being there" for the viewer.

Thanks for publishing this and raising the subject.

Leif

[nighthawk78]

@Leif, I can add those into a new PDF aswell, but would you be able to supply me with pictures of the tripod and camera, because I don't have one. You'll get credit for the pictures.

[Lrjanzen]

Very good. I would suggest using a larger sheet of paper/backdrop to allow a curved surface. That would avoid the paper lines. I would also add some generic info on the camera settings such as using the max aperture (smalled f stop) to reduce the depth of field and blurring the background. Also keeping the model as far from the background as possible to blur it. Great potential here though. A lot of times on the forum there are several threads that cover a topic, but seldom does someone got to the effort to consolidate a topic in a single document. This is especially useful to the beginners out there.

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks Nighthawk. If you wish. Here's what I got (and published somewhere):

http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=198073&stc=1&d=1392659786

One of the best presents I ever treated myself to was the simple Minolta Dimage X20 I got many years ago. It has been replaced since then, but I still miss it. It opened up this world of communicating with others about papermodels.

After a lot of mistakes, and with the advice of others, I arrived at the following simple rules:

1) Set the camera to its highest quality & image size - reduce image size and "weight" (quality; jpg compression) later on in the computer, in order to fit restrictions of the site. Any standard graphic programme should do the trick.

2) Never use the flashlight. I use my standard work table lighting, nothing fancy or special. In this photo (taken by the now defunct Minolta in the photo, with the help of a mirror) a background ramp of four weak energy-saving bulbs is the only source. Normally, the standard halogen desk lamp you can see is turned on, providing the main source of concentrated lighting (I only turn it on to half its full strength, which lets the background lighting in to soften shadows). Set your camera to "fluorescent bulbs" if you use them (I have that setting turned on as default).

3) Get the cheapest and smallest tripod you can find - but get it, and use it religiously. Set the camera to self-exposure each time. Then you have ten seconds to get your hands or fingers into the picture, to provide some action and comparison for size. Use the self-exposure setting, even if you don't plan to get into the picture - it prevents blurred pictures.

4) If you are holding up a small detail, use something substantial, such as your hand or finger to focus on, while pressing the trigger (that's when the camera automatically focuses and sets exposure). You then have ten seconds to position the part correctly, which is ample time.

5) Get in close. And don't forget to engage the "macro" setting.

Best, Leif

[nighthawk78]

Part No.2 will be coming soon :)
NH78

[3Turner]

It's always great to see posts on "how-to" take photos of the models we build. Here is a previous thread which discussed the same thing, but included a "white box" method to take the photos.
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/cardboard-lounge/7649-tabletop-studio.html

My post specifically on the subject: http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/cardboard-lounge/7649-tabletop-studio.html#post113026

[nighthawk78]

Here's part No.2,
Thanks for the link 3Turner, Would it be useful to have a PDF of that?
Lrjanzen, That's good advice I'll add it to another PDF...
NH78

[hecfran]

That are a very interesting tips

[busoramas]

Its better if your white paper background is rounded in the corner to avoid the horizontal line in the papers and better if you put the model a bit far from the wall.

regards