Bones 4 Gauth

[Razalas 100]

Hi All,

 

First time posting...been working to up my skill in the hobby and thought i should start posting to get some help and inspiration from fellow hobbyist. 

 

Finally finished the Dragon for a friend of mine who help buy some bones 4 for our gaming group... i used all reaper paints.. and magic sculpt for the base and to help pin the dragon down so it doesn't tip over.  looking forward to any feedback.

 

also sorry for the bad pics still learning how best to photo minis

 

Thanks,

Razalas

Edited December 24, 2019 by Razalas
update

[Crissair 327]

Great first post!

 

I really like the colors you chose. Not flashy and bright, which I sometimes like on dragons. The earthy tones really work for this guy.

 

There are other people here that can help with the photo tips, but I think having the similar tone as your background is what may be not allowing it to pop.

[Razalas 100]

Thanks! 

 

I will try a white background or maybe a grey, just need to get enough lighting as the mini is to big for my small amazon light box. LOL

[Evilhalfling 24930]

welcome to the forums !

that is a good Gauth.  

 

its not a terrible photo - curved sheet, not white in color.  - your moving in the right direction.

 I usually use two lights if possible one on each side of the camera.  I also like a darker background (I use black construction paper) 

 

 

[Doug Sundseth 56789]

5 minutes ago, Razalas said:

I will try a white background or maybe a grey, just need to get enough lighting as the mini is to big for my small amazon light box. LOL

 

Photography comments:

• In most of your shots, the light is clearly coming in from the left side and you don't have enough light on the front of the figure. I'd recommend lighting from more in front than the sides and lighting from both left and right. (Light boxes tend to exacerbate this problem. If you know exactly why you are using a light box, they can be a good tool, but if you're only using one because you heard that they're a good way to take photographs, I'd recommend not using it.)
• Background color might be shifting the entire photo a bit toward blue, though perhaps your dragon is intended to be a cool, bluish gray. If that is happening, it's a result of the camera detecting lots of red in the scene, assuming that the light is balanced toward that color, and "fixing" it for you. You can probably specify a light color for the camera when setting up, you can use a neutral background, or you can shift the color in post if this needs correcting.
• As noted above, the background is a bit close in color to the wings, which is making them disappear a bit. If you want to use a colored background (remember to handle any white balance shift as mentioned previously), I'd probably go to something like a sage green (desaturated, palish green), against which the miniature will probably show up better.
• Your general exposure is generally pretty good. Your background is a mid-tone, so the camera isn't "correcting" for a dark or light background. If you go to a black or white background, you'll need to use exposure compensation or set your exposure manually, or the photo will tend to over- or underexpose. (Black backgrounds tend to cause overexposure and white backgrounds tend to cause underexposure.)
• Adding light in the same places you currently have light will not affect your overall exposure as long as you're using an automatic exposure mode. The camera will pick the correct exposure and adjust to maintain that. It's not the amount that needs to be adjusted but the placement.
• For your full-figure shots, I'd recommend pulling back until you can see the entire figure. If you want to show details, detail shots are a fine idea, but showing almost the whole miniature is seldom a good composition choice.
• One exception to the "amount of light doesn't really matter" advice above is that if your camera is set to compensate for low light by raising the ISO (digital light amplification), that can result in significant digital noise. I'd recommend locking your ISO to the lowest available value and compensating by slowing down the shutter. (Make sure you support the camera with a tripod or something so it doesn't move during the exposure.)

Hope that helps, and feel free to ping me if you have any questions.

[Recksnfx 304]

I like your concept for this model!  A group member of mine handed off the same model for painting and I’m working up to it; I hadn’t seen it posted yet so It’s fun to see it done as opposed to in pieces in a bag.

 

Great job.

[Razalas 100]

7 hours ago, Doug Sundseth said:

 

Photography comments:

• In most of your shots, the light is clearly coming in from the left side and you don't have enough light on the front of the figure. I'd recommend lighting from more in front than the sides and lighting from both left and right. (Light boxes tend to exacerbate this problem. If you know exactly why you are using a light box, they can be a good tool, but if you're only using one because you heard that they're a good way to take photographs, I'd recommend not using it.)
• Background color might be shifting the entire photo a bit toward blue, though perhaps your dragon is intended to be a cool, bluish gray. If that is happening, it's a result of the camera detecting lots of red in the scene, assuming that the light is balanced toward that color, and "fixing" it for you. You can probably specify a light color for the camera when setting up, you can use a neutral background, or you can shift the color in post if this needs correcting.
• As noted above, the background is a bit close in color to the wings, which is making them disappear a bit. If you want to use a colored background (remember to handle any white balance shift as mentioned previously), I'd probably go to something like a sage green (desaturated, palish green), against which the miniature will probably show up better.
• Your general exposure is generally pretty good. Your background is a mid-tone, so the camera isn't "correcting" for a dark or light background. If you go to a black or white background, you'll need to use exposure compensation or set your exposure manually, or the photo will tend to over- or underexpose. (Black backgrounds tend to cause overexposure and white backgrounds tend to cause underexposure.)
• Adding light in the same places you currently have light will not affect your overall exposure as long as you're using an automatic exposure mode. The camera will pick the correct exposure and adjust to maintain that. It's not the amount that needs to be adjusted but the placement.
• For your full-figure shots, I'd recommend pulling back until you can see the entire figure. If you want to show details, detail shots are a fine idea, but showing almost the whole miniature is seldom a good composition choice.
• One exception to the "amount of light doesn't really matter" advice above is that if your camera is set to compensate for low light by raising the ISO (digital light amplification), that can result in significant digital noise. I'd recommend locking your ISO to the lowest available value and compensating by slowing down the shutter. (Make sure you support the camera with a tripod or something so it doesn't move during the exposure.)

Hope that helps, and feel free to ping me if you have any questions.

 

Thank you for so much detailed information!!!

[Razalas 100]

well.. I have learned that I don't have a good space or lighting for large miniatures... retook some pics with different setting and after trying several backgrounds that were not big enough I just settled on a my light blue wall...now I know what I want for Christmas LOL... have a happy holiday everyone.

[Doug Sundseth 56789]

FYI, you'll need to add some exposure compensation (around +1.0) when using that background. The very light colored background is making your camera think there's more light than there is, so it's underexposing. (It's much like taking pictures outdoors when it's snowy.) Or you can increase the exposure in post, of course.

[Glitterwolf 207804]

Great work on the Dragon.

As for the pics, use a more neutral background.

[Warlady 4351]

Nice job!