Question

[TheDeinonychus]

I read through the topic about the improvised difused light box, and while that's interesting, I'd be more interested in finding some tips on how to take sharper pictures of miniatures useing terrain as background. Useing the light box realy limits what you can put behind the miniature.

[House of Dexter]

You can make the lightbox as big as you need...check out Durak's article on his lightbox...

 

Also...dont use the Macro mode on terrain...as you want to open up your focal length...

[Kheprera]

It really depends on how much in focus you want the background to be. In order for the mini to really stand out against the terrain you'll want a shallower depth of field, but you can't go too shallow or you'll risk making part of the mini out of focus.

 

If you have a camera where you can adjust the apeture of the lens, then I'd advise taking some test shots, adjust the apeture each time (make sure to take notes) and find out which setting works best for you. While doing this make certain you set up your area in a way that you have complete control over the lighting. This way time of day (and sunlight through windows as well as excess ambient light) don't interefere with your "studio." Once you have everything set up exactly as you like it, make yourself a small map and some notes so you can set everything up again the same way if it's a setup you have to collapse (which, for large terrain, I would imagine you would).

 

Reading your owners manual will best tell you how to adjust for depth of field, if that option is available on your camera. Look for "Apeture settings" or "depth of field" in your Table of Contents or your Index.

 

If you can't find either in your manual, check out Digital Photography Review online. They have forums for each manufacturer of digital cameras where you can post and ask questions from people who really know their cameras. Just make certain to explain to them what you're taking pictures of (and post a sample picture so they can better help you). Also, tell them what settings you used when you took the problem photo. Doing this always helps to determine what the problems are and solutions for those problems.

[Durak]

Another good source of information would be Viking Lodge as he uses scenery in most of his pictures.

[Kheprera]

Right, but his scenery just tends to be a wall with very little depth. If this is your scenery, then great. Also, unless they have the exact same digital camera, what works for VL might not work for TheDeinonychus. Maybe something similar, but digital cameras aren't as user friendly as the old manual film cameras (I still miss my Pentax K1000).

[TheDeinonychus]

If this helps, I have an Olympus D-370 Camedia, 1.3 megapicels. It has a macro mode but realy all it does is darken the image, doesnt realy help much with the focus. It only has a digital zoom, unfortunatly.

[Durak]

Could you post a test image. That would be the best way to help you out.

 

Edit: I never mind I saw your terminators in the show off section. Are you using the flash? It seems to me the head on shot of those minis (great paint job btw!) is a little bright.

[TheDeinonychus]

Actualy, yes, for that picture (and the picture of the dreadnaught) I did use the flash. Seems that for some reason, useing the camera's flash with an all white background produced a clearer picture than trying to use a moveable light at any distance. I still take pictures useing both methods of lighting just incase one turns out better than the others, but so far I've had better results useing the flash.

[Durak]

So you have used the three light set up one on top and two on either side?

 

These tutorials might help

 

http://www.dragon-miniatures.com/tips.php?page=photography

 

http://www.bananaking.net/cento/workshop/photography.htm

 

http://www.coolminiornot.com/article/aid/130

[Spike]

I had been having real problems getting my focus-field deep enough in macro-mode with my Olympus C5000 Zoom, but recently I made a breakthrough.

 

When taking pics of models in scenery or of models such as larger monsters or mounted models, I kept having to leave at least some part of the model blurry in order to get other parts sharp because my F-stop will only go to 8.5. So noiw, rather than use macro mode, I use the normal close-up mode so that I can still use the zoom, and I set the picture resolution to the highest TIFF level. This way, I can take the photo from further away, then crop out the superfluous bits in my photo-editor once I download. Now my horses and riders, tentacled monsters and my dungeon halls are in clean focus (at least much cleaner than before).

[Kheprera]

If this helps, I have an Olympus D-370 Camedia, 1.3 megapicels. It has a macro mode but realy all it does is darken the image, doesnt realy help much with the focus. It only has a digital zoom, unfortunatly.

One thing I've noticed from your Terminator pic. You're too close to the lens. That's why the pic is fuzzy. Move the minis a little further away.

 

Every lens has a "focal length" which is equal to the closest possible distance you can get to a lens before it cannot focus on the subject. This is another instance where you need to read the manual so you know how close you can really get. Some lenses have a focal length measured in centimeters, some have them measured in feet. Digital Photography Review (www.dpreview.com) should have the specifics for your camera listed on their site if you cannot find it in your manual.

 

As for lighting: You need at least one light on each flank of your mini (one right, one left) and diffused (plain white paper taped over it works fine). A third diffused light from the top will help a lot. Then you can turn off your flash (again, check your manual if you don't know how) and let the lights do the work.

 

Just make certain to check your white balance.

 

I apologize if I get too technical. If you don't understand something I've mentioned, please ask me to reiterate it. I tend to go off on tangents sometimes.