How to Photograph Your Models at little cost to you

John W Reid Sep 1, 2011

  1. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    This is something a little different ,a birds eye view of the same area that I dressed up a bit in photobucket.
    The floor makes for an interesting background.I left it a little clean for a shop floor because I liked the pattern and ah what the hell they may have just changed it recently anyway(artistic license)You will notice with this composition that I have not lined up anything in rows or 90 deg to one another .This is a good general rule but in this case almost an necessity because of the uniform floor pattern.
    The theme is common to any engine shop or genre of modeling and the era could be old or modern,unless you can read the newspapers on the floor ! [​IMG]
     
  2. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  3. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    In this pic I used just the interior lighting of the doll house bulbs which were installed especially for my own picture taking purposes.This is a vignette taken from a much larger diorama while it was under construction.It is a good idea to arrange small vignettes like this while you still have easy access to the shot that you are after.
    There is no doubt here what the main subject matter is,the airplane under construction.There is enough here to keep the viewer interested without using a strong storyline.I like my figures in relaxed poses where the viewer really doesn't expect a lot of movement.The only thing moving here would be their mouths in conversation about something which is left up to the viewers imagination.

    The airplane is purposely off center and here again I have used the left wall and corner to help add a third dimension.The colors are selected for harmony red,green,gray and earth tones.I make it easy on myself and use tube colors rather than mixing my own like I did when painting birds.Various tones can be achieved later using pastels if you like.
    It is not always necessary to complete everything for example I wanted the viewer to know what type of construction was used on the fuselage, so I showed only one plywood panel being installed on the far side and out of the way of the framing.
    For those unfamiliar with old aircraft construction it was normal practice to put the open structure together for fitting and preliminary rigging purposes,disassemble it and then it would be reassembled after the fabric and plywood was installed on each mayor component.Finally it would be re-rigged and adjusted for flight.It is depicted here in flying position and the tail is resting on a stand.
    The important thing here is not the subject matter but the composition.Anything that you could build in an old barn ship,car,stagecoach whatever could be the center of attention.
     
  4. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    5,229
    6,224
    103
    Looks like an Albatros, DV maybe?
     
  5. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  6. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    Just about all of my shots that create a lot of shadows and other dramatic effects were taken in a darkened room using this simple hand held light.I hold my camera in one hand and move this light around until I get the shot I am looking for.I experiment with different watts and types,soft cool etc....You could put it on a simple rheostat of course but I just change bulbs.Don't be afraid to break all the so-called rules of picture taking,there really are none just new ways waiting to be discovered .Point and shoot ,erase,point and shoot again the only cost to you is your time.
    Because my dioramas are large and heavy natural lighting in most cases has not been possible for me so I have had to find a way around the problem and create my own style which is kind of an artificial stage type lighting.I experiment with everything and mix all types of lighting together and see what I can come up with.Try bouncing light off the ceiling or walls or use card.A simple Kleenex type paper( in various layers )over a flashlight can make a nice filter for pin point shots.Etc..etc
    Try whatever comes to mind and you may surprise yourself with your own creativity.
    I will post some shots and try to remember what I used to light them as I go along.Some shots are pure luck and even I couldn't duplicate them if I wanted to.Bottom line is to have fun and please yourself,it is your hobby and there are really no wrong ways of doing things anyway.
     
  7. Jim Wiggin

    Jim Wiggin Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    5,229
    6,224
    103
    Again John, is that an Albatros? I'm curious.
     
  8. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  9. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    Here is a little vignette that I set up while the larger diorama was under construction.I wanted to capture the look of fear in the face of the figure yet at the same time project a kind of defiant pose of bravado against the unknown.
    Overhead lighting can be used very effectively to your advantage.The face has been underpainted a flesh color only with no other detail painted on ,it is the lighting alone that is used to bring it to life.
    I used one overhead doll house bulb to light the doorway and another inside the office.The pic was taken in a darkened room with the camera on auto.Except for the face I wanted the rest to be out of focus.The sign above the door has been cut off as I didn't want it to become a center of attention.An old classic car with its drivers side door left open was used in the foreground.The rest of the story is left up to the viewers imagination.
     
  10. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  11. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    This is very unusual subject matter but interesting nonetheless.Even wreckage and junk can be interesting to look at.This pic was taken outdoors in natural light and converted to B&W.The title comes from an old pilots saying "any landing is a good landing as long as you can walk away from it".
    I blurred the edges of the pic to concentrate the viewers attention on the cockpit area.It is an upshot of an upside down WW1 biplane fuselage with trees from my backyard in the background.The camera was hand held and set at auto with a little magnification.
     
  12. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  13. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    The car in the weeds is a 1/16th scale plastic kit that I weathered and stuck in the corner of a building.An interesting feature here is the brush.It is something my Huskey dog chewed on years ago and was left outside in the mud.The bristles weathered as you see them here and look quite natural as old dead grass.Nothing has been airbrushed,it is flat acrylics and pastels only.Here again I used a corner to add depth to the piece.The siding is called board and batten and is painted like barn siding.
     
  14. SteamDonkey74

    SteamDonkey74 TrainBoard Supporter

    7,160
    171
    90
    Nice work here. A lot of people get hung up on having the latest whiz-bang gizmo, but really, if you have a reasonably decent film or digital camera, and you're willing to take the time to frame your shots and adjust the lighting and keep the camera steady (tripod, table-top, leaning against a post, etc.) you can do a lot with a little.

    One suggestion I have for nearly everyone making model shots is to go for longer exposures at a smaller aperture. If you can turn your camera to f/16, for example, you'll get much better depth of field. There's no reason to snap a quick action shot if it's a static model.
     
  15. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  16. PW&NJ

    PW&NJ TrainBoard Member

    1,201
    24
    23
    This is a great thread, John. Thanks for putting it up here. I've been a photographer for a long time, and follow a lot of these rules, too. My cameras include a Panasonic Lumix FZ100 (not a DSLR, but pretty nice setup, with lots of manual override features), an older FZ10, and a Canon point-and-shoot and these tips help make for some really terrific photos. Here's what a photo using the aperture-priority mode can come out like:

    [​IMG]

    This is N-scale on a simple diorama built on wood with track and PlayDoh. I edited in the headlight reflector and some smoke/heat coming off the mufflers mounted on top of the locomotive. This diorama was shot in natural light on top of a stool and some boxes out my back window on my deck. The shot was really close up and I specifically angled it to capture the shadows on the boxcar to bring out the details.

    Also, for fun, I modified the photo for an "old picture" effect:

    [​IMG]

    I ran a sepia-tone filter on it, added a little photo edge and put in a description in white text that looks enough like handwriting (just comic sans for now, though more realistic handwriting fonts are available for free).

    Thanks again, John!
     
  17. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    Here is a fun shot through one of the windows.The lighting is dollhouse from fixtures in the rafters above.Unfortunately these shots will never be available again and were taken during construction of the larger diorama.The interior lighting will be impossible to maintain in a museum setting which is too bad but at least I have the pics.
    This downshot uses the flooring to advantage for a 3D effect.There are a lot of square shapes in this piece so I took the pic at an angle to make it more interesting.I got lucky with the depth of field as my camera set this up automatically.Each pane of glass has its own reflective surface and is quite clear considering the problems usually involved when shooting through glass.It is high quality plexiglass with little or no distortion.
     
  18. BoxcabE50

    BoxcabE50 HOn30 & N Scales Staff Member TrainBoard Supporter

    67,560
    22,735
    653
    If I didn't know this was a model, I'd have a very difficult time believing it was not real. I want to go get it and start a restoration! :)
     
  19. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
  20. John W Reid

    John W Reid TrainBoard Member

    551
    14
    15
    Smoky and dusty with filtered light,your typical 1920's workshop.The pin up girl is Mary Pickford,a Canadian girl that went on to fame and fortune in Hollywood.Under the other light is Harley the company mascot sitting in the cockpit of a Jenny Canuck biplane.The darkened area beyond could lead to another room or to an outside porch.
    If I knew how to do it I would tone down the shiny hinge on the door as it attracts too much attention for my liking.This is another shot that I took when the diorama was under construction,there is an exterior wall where the camera is now positioned.I have again used the rooms corner and the open door and slanted window for increased depth.The lighting is again dollhouse with real bulbs screwed into in a modified Christmas bell type fixture.In this case out of focus is a good thing.The open window set at an angle adds a little interest and suggests maybe a hot and humid summer evening..
     

Share This Page