Photography Beginner: Help with camera

Darazan

Darazan

New member
I am very new to photographing miniatures and I don't know all the terminology or what the settings do, and this has hindered me in being able to take the best pictures of my minis that I can. I have looked up tutorials on photography and set up, but most of the information just doesn't stick because it tends to be a lot at once. I look up one thing, only to have to look up five more, and even more along the way, just to understand a single concept, and it's just very overwhelming and I get information overload.

I use a Sony DSC-W120 camera for my photography right now. I don't even know if it's a good camera for minis shooting, first off, but it's the best I have right now. I'd like to be able to continue to use it for minis photography, but if it's just not going to be a good enough camera for that, then there's no point in wasting time taking pictures that just aren't going to turn out good. If the camera is good enough for shooting minis, awesome! Then I just need to know how to use it to its fullest. I'm willing to learn how to do all of this, and I'm really only limited in funds and space. I have plenty of time to learn how to do this right.

I have an art desk with two clip on desk lamps with energy saving bulbs in them. (If I need different light bulbs, that shouldn't be a problem, I just need to know what kind). I do not have a tripod, but the camera I use does have a place to connect to one. I do not know how much tripods cost or what kind I should get if I needed to get one.

If anyone has any advice or help that they can give me, I would be very appreciative.

Thank you!

~Darazan
 
nels0nmac

nels0nmac

Member
A quick look on the Sony website shows that it should be alright for taking pics of minis. The lack of being able to alter the aperture manually is a bit annoying ( to me).. but it just means that you will have to get the light set up just right for taking pictures. Once you have that set up then it is no longer a problem.

Quick tips to make the best of your camera....

1.Use the cameras macro setting - normally indicated with a little pic of a flower...if your camera has two settings then sorry but not sure which will be best.
2.Make sure the flash is turned off.
3.Use a tripod to eliminate any camera shake...you don't need to spend much money at all. £30 - $45ish will get a basic one that will do the job for taking minis.
4. Make a light box to place your mini in. They are easy to make.. look in the articles section here on CMoN..I am sure there are some in there on making one.
5. Place the lights either side of the camera so that you get as even light on the figure as possible. Experiment with the layout but once you have it just right make a note of where everything is, or better still leave it set up (if you have the space) so that you can easily replicate the setup
6. You may find it best to use the cameras optical zoom ... NOT the digital zoom... and zoom in as much as possible. Then move your camera so that the mini is nicely framed in the viewer. This increases the range at which the focus is nice and sharp and should mean that for most minis all of the parts look sharp and in focus.

I hope that helps you some. I'm sure there will be more comments to follow. Good luck
 
kathrynloch

kathrynloch

New member
Ditto on the above. You can make a light box for under $5 using either PVC pipe or a cardboard box. If you don't have a white sheet you can throw over it you can go to a fabric store and check out the remnant table. When they get to the end of the fabric bolts they take the remaining fabric off and roll them up. They usually sell for a buck or two on that table. The two desk lamps are perfect. I bought two Reveal bulbs - they have a bluer light and don't have that nasty orange cast. They're a little more expensive than regular bulbs but not much.

If you don't have the owners manual to your camera you will probably be able to find it online. It can help you with some specific settings. If you can change the ISO you want to keep that at 100 or 200, lower ISO, less camera noise. You'll probably still need to tweak your photos but there are plenty of good free programs on the web. CNET.com has reviews on a few so you can check them out there.
 
Darazan

Darazan

New member
Thank you for all the advice nels0nmac.

How do I know if I'm using the optical or the digital zoom?

kathrynloch: I have Photoshop CS3 so tweaking the photos shouldn't be a problem. What are Reveal bulbs? Where did you find them?
 
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kathrynloch

kathrynloch

New member
Darazan said:
Thank you for all the advice nels0nmac.

How do I know if I'm using the optical or the digital zoom?

kathrynloch: I have Photoshop CS3 so tweaking the photos shouldn't be a problem. What are Reveal bulbs? Where did you find them?
Click to expand...

Cool! There should be a little "gauge" that you can see when using the zoom function and it will delineate when you're using optical vs. digital. But the simplest way is when the lens physically moves as you zoom in, that's optical. When it stops moving but you're still zooming, that's digital. Digital zooms by mucking about with the pixels, whereas optical uses the physical abilities of the lens, that's why optical is better than digital zooming.

The Reveal bulbs are just plain ole light bulbs but they have a blue tone vs. orange of regular "soft white" light bulbs. In fact, the bulb itself looks blue compared to a regular bulb. I first discovered them at my local grocery store. lol! They were right next to the regular bulbs. But I've since started purchasing them from Walmart - again, right next to the regular bulbs. I've also seen them at my local ACE hardware store. I live in a very small town so its rare when I can find things like that in multiple places. ;) I also have them in the ceiling fan above my painting area and they are wonderful. I use a desktop Ott-lite on my table but the ceiling fan light makes a huge difference!
 
Darazan

Darazan

New member
Awesome! I'll have to go get some of those, it should certainly help get rid of the yellow cast that kept cropping up in my photos.
 
kathrynloch

kathrynloch

New member
Darazan said:
Awesome! I'll have to go get some of those, it should certainly help get rid of the yellow cast that kept cropping up in my photos.
Click to expand...

Another thing that will help is to check your white balance. Typically orange/yellow casts are due to the setting being on the "warm" side. You can adjust this in Photoshop too. Sometimes your camera might have a setting where you can adjust to the light you're shooting under. You might be able to see the change on the digital screen and when it goes more blue you know you've compensated for the orange light. See if you can check out that sort of thing with your camera.
 
Darazan

Darazan

New member
Kalidane said:
Hey there good-looking!


So do you have some pics to show off beyond those in your gallery?
Click to expand...

???

I'm going to have to reshoot all of my minis, but I got some natural light bulbs, so things should turn out much better this time! Yay!
 
kathrynloch

kathrynloch

New member
Darazan said:
???
Click to expand...

Pssst...compare avatars.

thundercats.jpg
 
Painted By-g

Painted By-g

New member
I'm a photographer by trade and I have a tutorial on my website: www.paintedbyg.co.uk

There's a lot of info there too and I hope it's not overwhelming, but the way I've written it, all the important info is first and then goes onto whittering on about less important stuff :)

All of what nels0nmac says is good advice! Main difference in the way I go about it is that I use daylight where I can. A window and a couple of mirrors gives a wonderful light that is hard to replicate with lamps and does away with pesky colour casts and funny reflections..

There's also some Photoshop post production tips on there which you might find useful..

I'd appreciate some feedback on my tut anyway, if people find it useful (or not) as I's the first one ive done! :)
 
Mallows

Mallows

New member
Using mirrors to make use of natural light is such a clever idea G, your work proves it's effectivness! I will definatly try that with my pictures.
I agree, minor photoshop adjustments can make major changes in the outcome. I myself have much to learn in that department but you tutorial on it is great.
 
ericb45696

ericb45696

New member
I'm new to painting mini's and taking pictures of them also so this thread has actually helped me out quite a bit. I was actually upping the ISO to 1000 for some reason, so that's one thing I learned at least.hehe.
 
paintingpatrick

paintingpatrick

New member
guys, i dont know weither you are ment to use flash on not, when i dont, the image id so dark you cant even see what colour something is, and i know what your thinking, not the right light, but i have got good light, a light box with two 60 watt lamps on boths sides and natural light. please tell me where i am going wrong!
maybe its the camera?
 
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Avelorn

Avelorn

Sven Jonsson
you use automatic settings? Because then a lot of light might mean that the automatic settings of the camera exposes for the background and leaves the mini dark.
 
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