Rick's WIP Thread

KruleBear

KruleBear

Active member
Lighting definately sucks (sorry about that). Minis look great, but you need the lighting resolved to really show them off. You can get bulbs for any lamp now a days that are near "day light" spectrum. Just shut out all the other lights in the room when you take the picture otherwise the camera can get confused by the different light spectrums. It also helps to diffuse the light which can be done different ways: bounce it off a white background onto a the mini; put a piece of thin parchment paper in front of the light; use a fancy light tent; etc...
 
Maenas

Maenas

New member
yup, I agree with Mr. Bear.

Pics are just too subexposed, it is more evident on the batman picture and specially on the last one, where details are completely lost. You definitely need some of the following:
1. More exposition time on the camera.
2. A wider aperture so more light enters the camera.
3. A tripod.
4. A lower ISO setting. -->http://www.wikihow.com/Avoid-Noise-in-Your-Digital-Photography
5. And if the previous points still do not make a difference, better lighting, or you can also try this one first!
6. Also some image editing can do the trick, but it is always better to have a nice shoot than some editing later. IMHO.

A fast editing with photoshop of your first pic would look like this:
View attachment 51949
Still, you can see some noise in the background. Also the dark parts remain a bit too dark, but maybe a little better.
 
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Cheers folks.

My setup is an olympus E-410 DSLR, it is on manual setting, ISO 100, F stop 13, setting to flourescent light, model is in material diffusing lightbox, and model is lit from above with a daylight rated 14w flourescent modelling lamp.

I think the issue is that the camera is too far away from the model, it sits about maybe 60cm from the figure give or take, the camera sensor i think is telling me that the lighting is correct for the exposure setting on the F stop, BUT i think i just need to click it over a few more to let more light in.

Having the camera a bit closer to the models would remove a lot of the noise\diffusion as the set up itself is more than adequate to get high quality photo's, so its me that's doing it wrong :)

Constructive criticism helps as i need to improve this for the website.

This is an uncroped original with a better set f stop, its much clearer, so i think i am there, just need to close up distance etc

View attachment 59363
 
Last edited:
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
i am still getting a fuzziness or noise, i cant work out if its because its not focused properly or just the camera. basically to focus on the model from the distance of the camera id very hard as its so small in the viewfinder, i can move the camera closer or zoom in with the lens, but i have read that this isnt good for sharpness, its really annoying.

These pics were taken with my camera phone held in hand under same lighting:

View attachment 59364

This is my photo setup i am using:

View attachment 59365

I do have a Macro lens for the camera too, but i have read that you shouldn't use this for miniature photography??
 
Last edited:
KruleBear

KruleBear

Active member
There are much more knowledgeable people than me on here. BUT

My two cents to try are to move the front of the light tent even to the front of the light tent. Use the optical zoom to move in on the mini from there. I believe I run my Sony in aperture mode and set the exposure a couple tenths over exposed...more for dark minis and less for whiter minis. On some cameras when the view is larger than the backdrop the auto focus can go bonkers. Also be sure to use the timer delay to take any operator shakiness out of the process. Btw your latest pictures look much Better.

Now if I could just get the dust off my lens....
 
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Hi Lee,

yeah i think i am getting the shot okay but need to up exposure a wee bit and then do a levels update in post.

I also need to move camera in a little bit so its a tad closer but still zoom\crop in post. simply so i can focus the model better.
 
B

bgcdazzler

New member
The pictures are getting better and better – one thing, it might be better to go with a grey background rather than cream/yellow – that much warm colour can add a tint to your painting. Check out BaM's or Bailey's or Sproket's shots against grey, it really lets the colours on your mini speak for themselves.
 
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Think i have cracked it.

I moved the light further forward so it was actually facing the model but still near the light tent material, then found out how to set the white balance manually with some white card, then took played with exposure aperature at an fstop of 13.

Then in post i set the light to auto in RAW file and then set auto levels in photoshop.

I also changed the background to something more neutral

This was result, its like night and day.

Original:

View attachment 59366

Now:

View attachment 59367
 
Last edited:
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Hi folks,

Been a bit of a crazy couple of months, we've just had an offer accepted on our first house, so thats great, but doesn mean handing over more money than i ever have in my life :S.

As to the painting, ive had a couple of commissions for something a bit different, one is a 3d printed figure for zombicide and the other is a D&D faun type character the client wanted to a high gaming standard.

I have also just finished my Knight warden that i've been meaning to finish for ages, quite pleased with how it came out. He is up for sale on a few FB groups and ebay.

Would be really appreciated if you can have a look at my website (link in my sig) as it helps google bots find me :)


View attachment 59376

View attachment 59374

View attachment 59373

View attachment 59377

View attachment 59375

View attachment 59372

View attachment 59378

View attachment 59379

View attachment 59380

View attachment 59381
 
Last edited:
Foxtail

Foxtail

New member
Super neat looking Knight. I sympathise completely with them taking a long time to finish. Hope he sells well for you, he'll deserve it.
Quality work on the skin tone of the faun as well, it really suits him.
 
Pictish Mini Painting

Pictish Mini Painting

I'm actually a man!
Hi folks,



The good thing just now is that painting for a living has been a sea change in my quality of life, looking forward to doing more and more.

Few pics of my current commission, from a game called Bushido. Guy wants a mortal Kombat theme:) with sculpted bases to a high gaming standard.

I have The new GW Dain Iron foot coming soon to display standard so looking forward to that.

View attachment 59383

View attachment 59384

View attachment 59382
 
Last edited:
Meph

Meph

Cat-herder Extraordinaire
Ooh, nice ninjas! The MK colours suit 'm well actually.
And I'm liking the knight, even though it's a bit too clean for my taste. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back To Top
Top