Is this a common problem?

[dreadful tom]

Hi there right a quick question. I have just posted some pics of a recent painting. I tried to use some more advanced techniques on this model and it came out ok, there us still a great deal in need to improve on . However whilst initially i was pleased and thought i had made a real step forward, the pictures look terrible. I feel that the model looks ok in the flesh and is a dramatic improvement on my previous attempts however in the pics posted in the gallery it looks awful. U gave a decent enough camera . Is this common? ( does taking a photo pick up on faults in the painting that an eye doesn't?) Have any of you guys experienced this?the picture is of an ultramarine terminator and is is my gallery and i think its on the main gallery now. Any advice would be great as the pictures do not do the painting justice i feel the models was a real step forward form my past attempts however it nasty in photos. Cheers in advance if you can help.

 

[sm51498]

pictures of a model often look worse than seeing it in person. However, there are some things you can do to fix this. Paint under better lighting. Take pictures as you paint and fix things you notice that are wrong. Slow down, be precise. find someone's work that you really like and want to imitate and look at how they would paint something. When I was first learning to paint well I had the good fortune of being able to see Golden Demon and slayer sword winning models in person while i painted so that I could see how it was done. I wish I still had those references to work off of but the same principle applies to pictures.

 

[Bailey03]

In short, yes, that's a very common problem. A lot of people feel their models look better in person than on camera. There are some simple reasons like the picture version is larger than the actual figure, so small mistakes are easier to see. If the paint isn't completely matte, some shininess and glare from the lights can be distracting and make it look worse.

If you want to improve your photos you can create a photobox setup reasonably cheaply at home. I found the tutorials on MassiveVoodoo helpful when I made mine: http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2009/10/tutorial-overview.html#photography
You can look around online for other tutorials, but in the end you can put something together for less than $5 or $10. Maybe a little more if you want to buy new lights. (That won't solve all your problems but it can help)

 

[uglybug]

People on this site are very critical with scoring too. Don't post pictures looking for approval but rather how to improve, which I notice the comments have all been good criticisms. I would suggest posting more in the discuss submissions were you will get a lot of helpful advise with the painting.
Your camera is probably fine but lighting can make or break. Also clean up your base, paint on the white base makes it look sloppy.
Also keep in mind why are you painting the mini? If its for gaming we tend to over do the highlights and shadows because we are looking at the mini from further away and among lots of similar models to make a unit. The paint jobs that get great scores would get lost on a battlefield if it were not for some Awsome basing that normally accompany them.