British infantry camera woe

[BlessMyBeard]

Hey guys. Just finished up my first section for Bolt-Action. I've even based them, which is a first for me. However after all that time working on them, I've been defeated by my poor camera skills. I can't manage to get a clean shot, or the lighting right. has anyone got any tips. This is the best shot I managed, but it doesn't show the layering/shading well at all. Thanks

[Comte Michel]

This guy....

http://www.bananaking.net/cento/worksho ... graphy.htm

has a very good guide to photographing minis, and without using a ton of expensive kit.

The best tips I can give you are to use a tripod, and to turn the flash off.

Oh, and by the way, even with the 'bad' photo that mini looks pretty nice

[BigMike]

Your best bet for a simple fix is to take the picture outside under natural light! Artifical lighting can be a nightmare.

[Humbugged]

Second the tripod tip. It looks like you're holding the model with one hand and the camera with the other, a recipe for fuzzy pics If you don't have a tripod just balance the camera on a table or prop it upright with some books/solid objects and if its got one use the cameras timer to minimize camera shake.
And I also second the fact that it looks great even blurred!

[airborne321]

Really nice Tommy! and good paint job to!

[Undave]

Are you using a camera phone? Holding the mini in your hand is probably not a good plan as both it and the camera will be shaking ever so slightly. Try putting the mini on a stable surface and taking your shot from slightly further away to allow the camera to focus properly, then use photo software to crop the image. Your lighting looks OK, there is a bit of heavy shadow under his helmet rim and behind the rifle but that shouldn't matter too much. The best thing you can do is to use a room with plenty of natural light but no single strong source to cause shadows. If you're outside partly cloudy days actually work better than glorious sunshine.

Otherwise, as the guys said, from what I can tell he looks like a nice job.

[BlessMyBeard]

Great advice guys, thanks. Yeah I'm a total noob. Holding the model with one hand and my camera phone with the other. Will do better I promise. The lads deserve it. I might have to treat myself to some SAS, for actually finishing something.

[Panzermike]

Not being an expert by any stretch of the imagination, I have had prttey good results with my minis being placed on either a white surface or my gaming green matt. I use and place my daylight bulb hobby lamp above and slightly to the rear of the mini. Camera I use is the Cannon IOS 1000D. Switch off the flash. My best results were with the panoramic setting that focuses on everything. The close in setting is great for individual pictures however takes some practice to get right. I found at first that the camera would focus just on the face and blur the rest. Distance and light and some tweaking got it right.

Below is a very rushed snap shot of 15mm Tigers for a comission paint job under the daylight lamp. Lighting is your biggest pain. Thank God for digital cameras is all I can say. Most of the pics are throw away until you get the setting just right. Fun and games!!!

IMG00030-20120227-2104.jpg

(84.39 KiB) Not downloaded yet

[Undave]

White can be a pain as a background as it can sometimes throw off the camera's white balance and mess up the colours. I have a light tent thing I picked up for about £15 which has three backgrounds, red, blue and black but they crease too easily and look rubbish. What I find works best as a background is an old, faded black t-shirt

[Cubster]

I use a bit of light blue paper.