Sahara
Command Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 7, 2008
- Messages
- 2,622
A couple shots featuring the wonderful Soviet figures.
How awesome is this!!! Wonderful shots! Great work once again!
Stalingrad 1942-43 (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter fmethorst
- Start date
How awesome is this!!! Wonderful shots! Great work once again!
fmethorst
Command Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Messages
- 2,436
Thought I would show a couple pictures of my hobby room.
Get to know your lights and get to know your camera.
I use two video lights, 1 LED 50w (500w equivalent) and 1 CFL 100w (400w equivalent). I prefer video lights to flashes because I can gauge the final scene lighting much better. The LED light has much better throw than the CFL so I use this one as my main light (the sun). The CFL light I use as a fill light which brings out details that would otherwise be lost in shadows. In the real world on a clear day the sun is obviously the primary illumination for any scene but there are other factors as well. The sky acts as a giant diffuser ensuring light reaches a scene from all around. Various objects can reflect light as well. On a cloudy day the overcast sky again becomes a diffuser and the sun is not a factor at all. In order to simulate a cloudy day I point my lights at the ceiling. This produces a much softer light that doesn't cast any directional shadows. On a cloudy day objects still cast shadows (i.e. under a vehicle) but the shadows are softer and generally under objects.
My camera is Nikon D300s and I use a variety of lenses (i.e. Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR, Nikkor 18-200mm VR etc.). I use a manual White Balance setting of 4750 Kelvin (to best match these particular lights). I use manual aperture and speed settings. I use the autofocus (to the horror of macro photographers everywhere I'm sure). I use the camera light meter as a guide and adjust exposure to taste. All shots are taken from a tripod, using a cable release with the camera in mirror up mode. Mirror up mode snaps the mirror (on DSLRs) up on the first press of the shutter release. The second press of the shutter release takes the picture. This mode eliminates any vibration caused by the mirror snapping out of the way.
Taking pictures of miniatures is a compromise between depth of field and diffraction. Depth of field is the distance front to back in the picture which can be said to be "in focus". Various factors affect depth of field such as lens focal length (i.e. 105mm), distance between the camera and the subject and the F-Stop value. The easiest of these to adjust is the F-Stop. The higher the F-Number (i.e. f/32) the greater the depth of field and conversely the lower the F-Number the lower the depth of field. So the obvious question is why don't we just crank the setting to the highest the lens supports? The reason is diffraction. Diffraction, which is caused by the physics of light passing through an aperture, causes a picture to become blurier the smaller the aperture (higher the F-Nmuber). So as you can see we have two negative factors that work in opposite directions. As a result of this I like to use the middle apertures, f/16 is a recent favorite of mine. While my depth of field is quite a bit less than f/32 the overall image sharpness is worth the trade-off. Careful setup of the scene in regards to overall depth and selection of the focus point in the middle of the subject result in images I think look pretty good. There is still diffraction at f/16 but it is easily dealt with in Photoshop. BTW, the sharpest pictures for most lenses are in the f/4 to f/8 range. This results in a paper thin depth of field however.
Regarding the picture of the Soviet infantry emerging from the forest, the scene consisted of the custom H&A Marshland scenic and two H&A Hedgerow segments (2020). The hedgerows represented background trees and I turned the Marshland scenic sideways taking the picture lengthwise. Once the picture was taken I cropped to frame it the way I wanted and painted out the bases in Photoshop.
Get to know your lights and get to know your camera.
I use two video lights, 1 LED 50w (500w equivalent) and 1 CFL 100w (400w equivalent). I prefer video lights to flashes because I can gauge the final scene lighting much better. The LED light has much better throw than the CFL so I use this one as my main light (the sun). The CFL light I use as a fill light which brings out details that would otherwise be lost in shadows. In the real world on a clear day the sun is obviously the primary illumination for any scene but there are other factors as well. The sky acts as a giant diffuser ensuring light reaches a scene from all around. Various objects can reflect light as well. On a cloudy day the overcast sky again becomes a diffuser and the sun is not a factor at all. In order to simulate a cloudy day I point my lights at the ceiling. This produces a much softer light that doesn't cast any directional shadows. On a cloudy day objects still cast shadows (i.e. under a vehicle) but the shadows are softer and generally under objects.
My camera is Nikon D300s and I use a variety of lenses (i.e. Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR, Nikkor 18-200mm VR etc.). I use a manual White Balance setting of 4750 Kelvin (to best match these particular lights). I use manual aperture and speed settings. I use the autofocus (to the horror of macro photographers everywhere I'm sure). I use the camera light meter as a guide and adjust exposure to taste. All shots are taken from a tripod, using a cable release with the camera in mirror up mode. Mirror up mode snaps the mirror (on DSLRs) up on the first press of the shutter release. The second press of the shutter release takes the picture. This mode eliminates any vibration caused by the mirror snapping out of the way.
Taking pictures of miniatures is a compromise between depth of field and diffraction. Depth of field is the distance front to back in the picture which can be said to be "in focus". Various factors affect depth of field such as lens focal length (i.e. 105mm), distance between the camera and the subject and the F-Stop value. The easiest of these to adjust is the F-Stop. The higher the F-Number (i.e. f/32) the greater the depth of field and conversely the lower the F-Number the lower the depth of field. So the obvious question is why don't we just crank the setting to the highest the lens supports? The reason is diffraction. Diffraction, which is caused by the physics of light passing through an aperture, causes a picture to become blurier the smaller the aperture (higher the F-Nmuber). So as you can see we have two negative factors that work in opposite directions. As a result of this I like to use the middle apertures, f/16 is a recent favorite of mine. While my depth of field is quite a bit less than f/32 the overall image sharpness is worth the trade-off. Careful setup of the scene in regards to overall depth and selection of the focus point in the middle of the subject result in images I think look pretty good. There is still diffraction at f/16 but it is easily dealt with in Photoshop. BTW, the sharpest pictures for most lenses are in the f/4 to f/8 range. This results in a paper thin depth of field however.
Regarding the picture of the Soviet infantry emerging from the forest, the scene consisted of the custom H&A Marshland scenic and two H&A Hedgerow segments (2020). The hedgerows represented background trees and I turned the Marshland scenic sideways taking the picture lengthwise. Once the picture was taken I cropped to frame it the way I wanted and painted out the bases in Photoshop.
lasalle
Specialist
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2010
- Messages
- 320
Thought I would show a couple pictures of my hobby room.
Get to know your lights and get to know your camera.
I use two video lights, 1 LED 50w (500w equivalent) and 1 CFL 100w (400w equivalent). I prefer video lights to flashes because I can gauge the final scene lighting much better. The LED light has much better throw than the CFL so I use this one as my main light (the sun). The CFL light I use as a fill light which brings out details that would otherwise be lost in shadows. In the real world on a clear day the sun is obviously the primary illumination for any scene but there are other factors as well. The sky acts as a giant diffuser ensuring light reaches a scene from all around. Various objects can reflect light as well. On a cloudy day the overcast sky again becomes a diffuser and the sun is not a factor at all. In order to simulate a cloudy day I point my lights at the ceiling. This produces a much softer light that doesn't cast any directional shadows. On a cloudy day objects still cast shadows (i.e. under a vehicle) but the shadows are softer and generally under objects.
My camera is Nikon D300s and I use a variety of lenses (i.e. Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR, Nikkor 18-200mm VR etc.). I use a manual White Balance setting of 4750 Kelvin (to best match these particular lights). I use manual aperture and speed settings. I use the autofocus (to the horror of macro photographers everywhere I'm sure). I use the camera light meter as a guide and adjust exposure to taste. All shots are taken from a tripod, using a cable release with the camera in mirror up mode. Mirror up mode snaps the mirror (on DSLRs) up on the first press of the shutter release. The second press of the shutter release takes the picture. This mode eliminates any vibration caused by the mirror snapping out of the way.
Taking pictures of miniatures is a compromise between depth of field and diffraction. Depth of field is the distance front to back in the picture which can be said to be "in focus". Various factors affect depth of field such as lens focal length (i.e. 105mm), distance between the camera and the subject and the F-Stop value. The easiest of these to adjust is the F-Stop. The higher the F-Number (i.e. f/32) the greater the depth of field and conversely the lower the F-Number the lower the depth of field. So the obvious question is why don't we just crank the setting to the highest the lens supports? The reason is diffraction. Diffraction, which is caused by the physics of light passing through an aperture, causes a picture to become blurier the smaller the aperture (higher the F-Nmuber). So as you can see we have two negative factors that work in opposite directions. As a result of this I like to use the middle apertures, f/16 is a recent favorite of mine. While my depth of field is quite a bit less than f/32 the overall image sharpness is worth the trade-off. Careful setup of the scene in regards to overall depth and selection of the focus point in the middle of the subject result in images I think look pretty good. There is still diffraction at f/16 but it is easily dealt with in Photoshop. BTW, the sharpest pictures for most lenses are in the f/4 to f/8 range. This results in a paper thin depth of field however.
Regarding the picture of the Soviet infantry emerging from the forest, the scene consisted of the custom H&A Marshland scenic and two H&A Hedgerow segments (2020). The hedgerows represented background trees and I turned the Marshland scenic sideways taking the picture lengthwise. Once the picture was taken I cropped to frame it the way I wanted and painted out the bases in Photoshop.
Hello Franck,
Many thanks for this tutorial very accurate and to share your experience.
In my case, I use a Nikon D5100 with a Nikkor 18-70mm combined with a SB 600 flash and a daylight spot , selector on manual.
To improve quality pictures, I used Aperture for Mac (I'am a Mac addict!).
In the future (end of the year), I think to buy a macro ring flash R1 from Nikon and video light.
Congratulations for your fantastic pics and dioramas!
Best regards from France
Xavier
Currahee Chris
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2007
- Messages
- 4,704
Should I even ask what that one Russian in the softcap is doing crouched down in the bushes?? {sm3}{sm4}
Beautiful shots Frank, Thanks for letting us into your laboratory!! {sm4}
Beautiful shots Frank, Thanks for letting us into your laboratory!! {sm4}
Northgate Woods
Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2007
- Messages
- 1,522
Frank mate,
Love your work cobber. You make your dios really come to life. Your photography room is outstanding. But please drop the Eastern Front and get back to your best work, The Western Desert.^&grin^&grin
Also once again many thanks for your research help with the AK Stugs.
Cheers Howard
Love your work cobber. You make your dios really come to life. Your photography room is outstanding. But please drop the Eastern Front and get back to your best work, The Western Desert.^&grin^&grin
Also once again many thanks for your research help with the AK Stugs.
Cheers Howard
TomNT
Lieutenant Colonel
- Joined
- May 7, 2011
- Messages
- 7,986
Yes, these pic's are awesome, very much top shelf! Well done Frank {bravo}}
Tom
fmethorst
Command Sergeant Major
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2008
- Messages
- 2,436
I've been taking some pictures of my Samurai over the last week and before I put away the Hudson and Allen scenics I thought I'd take one more shot from this series.
For those interested here are the Samurai shots
http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/showthread.php?7828-Connoisseur-Figures&p=479472#post479472
For those interested here are the Samurai shots
http://www.treefrogtreasures.com/forum/showthread.php?7828-Connoisseur-Figures&p=479472#post479472