focus problems and size restrictions

[kittykat23uk]

Hey all,

I need to ask the photo gurus\' advice here. I\'ve got a Sony DSC-P50 camera that I use to take shots of my minis. The problems I have is that they all come out a bit dark to begin with. This I get over using Gamma correction in xn view. I also enhance the focus a bit when the pics are still large (1600 x1200). Then I use adobe photoshop to reduce the size of the pictures, cut and pasting them if needs be to get as much detail as I can before saving them to JPEGs.

Trouble is in order to get them below 100K, they end up smaller and blurrier. As such I think they\'re getting lower scores than they should be because people can\'t see all the detail.

Anyone got any ideas how to get over this? Also the pics seem to be too yellow- any ideas how to remedy this?

Thanks,

Kat

 

[wightzombie]

to correct dark photos use levels in photoshop. ctrl+l or cmmd+l for mac. have fun.

cut away all excess picture around the mini with a half inch to inch border going around the mini.

using the blur tool blur out any background that doesnt have anything to do with the mini. the background contains data. blending the background meshes with jpeg compression well. or use as white a background as possible then blur that.

if you can like in ps6 or 7 etc go to prefs, ctrl+k or cmmd+k and under image previews set it to never save, this will ditch all the desktop related icons and data. or if you have a app like graphic converter on the mac you can rip many uneeded resources out that adobe sticks in.

to get rid of yellow either select the dodge tool set to desaturate and pic a opacity for it and brush and rub it over yellow spots toning down the color or go to ctrl+u or cmmd+U and go to edit/master/select yellow, then move the slider for saturation to the negative.

when you save a file go to file/save as/ then pick a good jpeg compression depth for your picture aka 1-12 and watch your picture at full size and how it reacts to each number till you find a good one etc. make sure preview is on so you can see the effects of the compression on your pic before you save it.

after you take a 1600x1200 photo cut away any excess space with the crop tool, then go to image/image size, and size the pic to the way you want it. to reclaim lost sharpness or clarity go to filter/sharpen/and either choose sharpen or sharpen edges. or you can soften the pic up manully with the sharpen tool.

unless you won a GD dont worry about posting 2 views let alone 4.

 

[Jericho]

Good thing I have a GD trophy under my belt because I just posted 5 angles of a gaming model... showing off lighting effects I was!

Anyway, the point about getting the background plain as possible makes a large difference. I made 2 nearly identical images (one had a couple extra touchups) and the second shot had a blue-white blend in the background while the other had a plain white background. Under the same dimensions and compressions, the one with the blue background was about 20% larger filesize. Had to cut it down to 5 quality to get it in the 95kB ballpark, which I don\'t like doing since the photo starts to get a bit grainy.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Right I\'ll have a go with that. I\'m getting better with photos but am still not happy that I\'m sacrificing a lot of clarity in the pictures to get through the size restrictions. What F factor do you normally photograph at? Mine is at 3.8 atm. I was wondering if I increased that, would that let more light in?

Regards

Kat

 

[wightzombie]

Originally posted by Jericho
Good thing I have a GD trophy under my belt because I just posted 5 angles of a gaming model... showing off lighting effects I was!

well i didnt mean it quite that way

basically unless you paint ungodly good most people just wouldnt care. take a space marine or a guy with a cape etc, a rear shot is a backpack or a cape, nothing to it unless you did some freehand etc. generally you can get a good clean shot in with a simple background pretty easy.

clean insane detail, notice blured background - 92k
http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=32255&c=All&m=All&nm=none

these two images at 52k and 56 show fine detail and are way under the size limits

http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=1569&c=All&m=All&nm=none

http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=1552&c=All&m=All&nm=none

you just have to practice in photoshop and your good to go.

 

[Daan]

I use \'save for web\' in photoshop. Gives a real time preview of your picture quality while you can finetune the size exactly.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Well,

these are the ones as they stand so far:

http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=32416&c=All&m=All&nm=none
http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=32418&c=All&m=All&nm=none

http://www.coolminiornot.com/index.php?id=32471&c=All&m=All&nm=none

They\'re photo\'d against a blue fade background using 2 directional desk lamps, and 1 window and an overhead lightbulb. As you can see, thery are rather blurry and a bit bright on the yellow.

I can get them sharper/ more in focus, but they go over size. I have the originals so resampling is not a problem.

If I remove the current background and place them on a plain white one will that help?

Thanks,

Kat

 

[Aryanun]

This is what I normally do...

When I resize a picture smaller, I\'ll sharpen it up maybe once or twice before I size the image down. This helps to keep the image a little sharper when you reduce the size.

My advice is sharpen it once and then resize and see if it\'s still sharp enough. If not, undo the image resize, sharpen again, and resize again. Normally just once or twice is more than enough if the image was sharp in the first place.

*sigh* I need to get Photoshop reloaded on my machine.

 

[wightzombie]

yah the 1st pic is just too big to be compressed at 100k especially with your crazy lizardman as he has tons of great color on him.

the 2nd one is perfect as to what i was talking about, and yeah if you wanted another level of quality in there id ditch the background or use a white one instead. part of the problem with the lizardman is he pushes jpeg compression really hard with that much colors. i learned after comrpessing tons of graphics that if you have a rainbow of colors your gonna end up with large images. but i think you totally have it going with the 2nd pic there.

maybe use the dodge tool set to highlight with a huge brush and a 25-40% opacity run it over the base so its as clear as the guy. lookin good, specially compared to some of your older wolfen.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Thanks,

I\'ve retaken shots of my forgeworld piece using the flash this time and a white background. I know people normally say to avoid flash, but this seems to be showing more detail and also the inside legs are a lot closer to the original colour- not so yellow as in the above pictures. So I\'m going to try and cut that one down to size and hopefully post it later in the week (or at the weekend).

Regards

Kat

 

[ZeCorto]

A good and cheap way to \'smooth\' your flash photographs is to put a simple piece of white paper in front of the flash. Just cut some plain paper to the width of the flash and fold it over the camera/flash so that the end just covers the flash.
This will diffuse the light from the flash, creating less sharp lights hitting the mini and reflecting. The further away you can place the paper, the better the diffusion.
This should enable the mini to still get a lot of light (the more light the better the camera will perform, otherwise it\'s just like your eyes trying to discern details in insufficient light), while giving a nicer diffuse light instead of a sharp violent beam.
Ideally, of course you would build a light box like professionals (or buy one if you are rich) which is a strong spotlight, in a dark box with one of the side transparent, a bit like copy paper. But if you build this, keep in mind that a strong light gives out a lot of heat, so don\'t make a fire hazard.

Une bonne maniere facile d\'adoucir la photographie au flash est de placer une simple feuille de papier devant la source de lumiere. Il suffit de decouper une feuille de papier standard a la largeur du flash et de le plier au dessus de l\'appareil ou du flash pour couvrir la source de lumiere.
Cela va diffuser la lumiere du flash, adoucissant la lumiere qui touche la figurine pour moins de reflexions. Plus le papier est situe loin de la source, plus cette diffusion est effective.
Cela devrait permettre a la figurine de toujours recevoir beaucoup de lumiere (plus il y en a mieux c\'est, sinon l\'appareil est comme vos yeux qui essaient de discerner des details dans l\'obscurite), tout en donnant une bonne lumiere douce au lieu d\'un rayon violent.
Idealement, il faudrait construire une boite la lumiere comme ont les pros (ou en acheter une mais c\'est tres cher) qui n\'est autre qu\'un spot puissant dans une boite sombre avec un des cotes transparent comme du papier calque. Si vous construisez un tel objet, attention au fait que le spot chauffe enormement et peut devenir un danger d\'incendie.

 

[kittykat23uk]

Oooh thats a new one, Might try that!
Thanks,

Kat

 

[frenchkid]

Ok this is it, I\'ve just tried for what must be the 100th time to take a picture of my minis, but I can\'t do it !!!! Alway comes out bad. Here\'s what camera I have if sombody could tell me if I just have a camera that is not good for mini photography : fujifilm finepix 4700zoom.

 

[Aryanun]

Here\'s some specs

Originally posted by frenchkid
Ok this is it, I\'ve just tried for what must be the 100th time to take a picture of my minis, but I can\'t do it !!!! Alway comes out bad. Here\'s what camera I have if sombody could tell me if I just have a camera that is not good for mini photography : fujifilm finepix 4700zoom.

Digital Photography Review

From the specs I\'ve read, you should be okay. You need to make certain 1) that you\'re using the macro function and 2) to make certain you have proper lighting and a nice, neutral background.

A 13% gray background is normally the best for taking static shots. Using white or black will tend to mess with the light sensing, washing out or underexposing your picture.

Lights on either side flanking your mini... one left, one right. If the light is too bright, put some plain white paper in front of them or use the dull side of aluminum foil to reflect the light back. This will help to eliminate shadows. A third light pointing at the background is not necessary, but can also help eliminate shadows and add some extra light.

Don\'t use incandescent or flourescent lighting. This can mess with the color quality, even with digital cameras. If it can\'t be avoided, make certain to set your white balance and use only one type of bulb. Incandescent (standart light bulbs) tend to give off a yellow-orange color. Flourescent is a green-blue in color.

Use of a tripod for close-up photography is almost a must. It\'s especially handy when photographing miniatures because you can turn the camera 90 degrees to take a vertical picture, thus getting more of the subject within the the frame. When you take a picture of something vertical using the horizontal frame, you end up only using 1/3 of the frame.

Try those tips and see if that helps.

Oh, and never say \"can\'t\" ... Can\'t never could do anything. You can do anything you put your mind to.

 

[frenchkid]

Thanks I\'ll have to try again with those tips. Maybe you\'ll be able to see some of my minis afterall

 

[Daan]

Originally posted by ZeCorto
A good and cheap way to \'smooth\' your flash photographs is to put a simple piece of white paper in front of the flash. Just cut some plain paper to the width of the flash and fold it over the camera/flash so that the end just covers the flash.
This will diffuse the light from the flash, creating less sharp lights hitting the mini and reflecting. The further away you can place the paper, the better the diffusion. - snip

This is a very good tip! I tried al kinds of lighting setups and they were all to weak. With the flash all pictures were too bright and everything reflected way too much. I taped a piece of paper over the flashlight and instant good lighting using the flash.

 

[Aryanun]

Originally posted by Daan

Originally posted by ZeCorto
A good and cheap way to \'smooth\' your flash photographs is to put a simple piece of white paper in front of the flash. Just cut some plain paper to the width of the flash and fold it over the camera/flash so that the end just covers the flash.
This will diffuse the light from the flash, creating less sharp lights hitting the mini and reflecting. The further away you can place the paper, the better the diffusion. - snip

This is a very good tip! I tried al kinds of lighting setups and they were all to weak. With the flash all pictures were too bright and everything reflected way too much. I taped a piece of paper over the flashlight and instant good lighting using the flash.

Just make certain that you\'re using solid white paper/tissue, otherwise you\'ll end up with odd coloring from the flash.

You can come up with interesting effects, however, by using thin, colored paper in front of your flash. Remember, it\'s gotta be thin for colored paper.