the Fight Starts... (1 Viewer)

PanzerAce1944 said:
No doubt a quality camera, no camera flash and overhead lighting used ^&confuse
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Hi PanzerAce... firstly there ARE some tank scenes coming ^&grin Secondly the photography is really easy and it is a myth about quality camera... however the overhead lighting is spot on... well spotted :cool: This may sound stupid but there have been NO advancement in photo taking since photo taking began... yes camera bodies have changed but the basic fundamental operation of ALL cameras remains the same. You put film in or you put a flash card in and you set the film speed or ISO, you choose an aperture and a shutter speed and you push the button... that's it no more no less. The real trick is LIGHT... where it falls, how bright... if anyone is interested I can post a quick lesson in how to photograph your figures using the "barneywomble" technique... :eek:

cheers
Marc
 
barneywomble said:
Hi PanzerAce... firstly there ARE some tank scenes coming ^&grin Secondly the photography is really easy and it is a myth about quality camera... however the overhead lighting is spot on... well spotted :cool: This may sound stupid but there have been NO advancement in photo taking since photo taking began... yes camera bodies have changed but the basic fundamental operation of ALL cameras remains the same. You put film in or you put a flash card in and you set the film speed or ISO, you choose an aperture and a shutter speed and you push the button... that's it no more no less. The real trick is LIGHT... where it falls, how bright... if anyone is interested I can post a quick lesson in how to photograph your figures using the "barneywomble" technique... :eek:

cheers
Marc
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Yes please - Yashica SLR 35 mm was a long time ago :) - would like to know if some lights would expand the utility of my pocket digital camera.
 
waynepoo said:
It boils down to a personal style I guess, Marc is a professional and excels at what he does, be they photographs or dios . He photographs his own work a certain way... just as he likes it, which is after all is what this hobby is all about ...self enjoyment. He photographs for others differently has he has for our dios...you can see the different approach he used here.
Wayne.
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Truly love the ALH threads and the BIG desert display the Aussie boys are currently working on{bravo}} it's stunning in scale and not having it flooded with figures gives it that vastness that makes it so impressive. I'm so inspired that I've up-sized my Normandy Dio that I'd started building with a hiss and a roar last winter.....it's just too small to fit everything on it::rolleyes2:.....so back to the drawing board{sm4}
 
barneywomble said:
Hi PanzerAce... firstly there ARE some tank scenes coming ^&grin Secondly the photography is really easy and it is a myth about quality camera... however the overhead lighting is spot on... well spotted :cool: This may sound stupid but there have been NO advancement in photo taking since photo taking began... yes camera bodies have changed but the basic fundamental operation of ALL cameras remains the same. You put film in or you put a flash card in and you set the film speed or ISO, you choose an aperture and a shutter speed and you push the button... that's it no more no less. The real trick is LIGHT... where it falls, how bright... if anyone is interested I can post a quick lesson in how to photograph your figures using the "barneywomble" technique... :eek:

cheers
Marc
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Yes please Marc......post away mate^&grin
 
barneywomble said:
Hi Alex, I agree. It can however be extremely hard to separate the "toy" element from diorama photos when the camera "never lies". the post processing can certainly add to the realism effect but in the minds eye it is still 'toy soldiers". I will have a play with the next lot of images I post and see what you think. In the "MEETING" post I did actually slip a couple of de-saturated pics in to see if anyone picked up or said they were dull and no one did... :)

cheers
Marc
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Marc


Let me say you are an extreme talent, and see a further explanation of my take, on my thread. ORDERS TO MOVE OUT

I think this is a great topic for the troops !

Best
Alex
 
Fitzgibbon said:
Yes please - Yashica SLR 35 mm was a long time ago :) - would like to know if some lights would expand the utility of my pocket digital camera.
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The Brisbane collectors could buy shares in some lighting equipment and share it around. Collaboration has worked well so far!
 
I can save everyone a lot of effort ISBA's Master Photographer Frank Methorst (Fmethorst) Gave an incredible and extensive photography lesson on many aspects of diorama photography the Battleground Art forum.
 
barneywomble said:
Hi Sentaapua, there is no real trick... the photos are taken with an Canon EOS 7D with either a 50mm lens at 250th/sec at f22 or a 70mm-200mm lens at 125th/sec at f32. the large f-stop ensures maximum detail and sharpness is captured. the lighting is two 500watt studio flashes with 1m x 60cm softboxes. there is no real post processing except the images are resized to 1024px x 683px as it is a great size for the forum members to see all the detail.

cheers
Marc
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Thanks for sharing the science Marc! I`ve got a Canon EOS 5D I bought a couple of years ago, and will start making some tests...
 
Model Soldier Photography 101

Hi fellow collectors...

Lighting

Fluro is best (BULBS!!!! "NOT" tubes) - its cheap to run and it does not get hot. three fluro bulbs are perfect any wattage but the more the better (there is no substitue for watts) the more watts the brighter the light. Tempreature... huh thought you said they don't get hot... well in photography temperature has to do with the COLOUR of the light being emitted (from your fluros). These days you can get your fluro bulbs in cool white (no thats not the colour of the package or the glass part of the bulb) or warm white... Cool white is a blue tinge while warm white is a yellow tinge, Cool White is MORNING light while Warm White is AFTERNOON light... I use warm white... it's your choice... :) Desk lamps are probably the best and cheapest to get a hold of... you will need three for your light setup. two to light the front of your figure or dio and one to highlight the rear of your figure or dio (this is a key light and separates the figure from the background giving it some definition). Get em HIGH... think SUNLIGHT and watch your shadows... make some stands out of cheap wood or use chairs or anything just get them high so they shine down on your subject... NOT DIRECTLY OVERHEAD more at a 45 degree angle... turn them on and have a look for SHADOWS... move your lights to ELIMINATE the shadows and get your figure EVENLY lit... when your happy with how everything looks grab your camera...

Camera... OK your are going to need a TRIPOD... this is because you DON't have huge 500wat studio lights... the MORE light you have the FASTER the shutter speed, the LESS light you have the SLOWER the shutter speed... the slower the
shutter speed the LONGER the EXPOSURE... the LONGER the EXPOSURE the more evident CAMERA SHAKE IS (BLURY PICS!)... so you NEED a tripod... or a box or anything to sit your camera on. Setting up your camera... it makes no difference if you have a new $7500 EOS 1DX or a $250 point and shoot... firstly set you camera to MANUAL... I know its scary but sometimes you just have to hop out of the nest and fly around... :) now your in "M" mode you can control EVERYTHING... Set the "ISO" (film Speed) to between 100 and 400 (preferably the lowest number). Then set your cameras f-stop to the BIGGEST NUMBER POSSIBLE (usually between f8 to f32) The F-Stop or Aperture is an adjustable hole in the camera that allows light into your camera, the bigger the number (f8-f32) the smaller the hole, and the smaller the number (f5.6-f2.8) the BIGGER the hole (confused...?) Its easy... to MAKE a photo as opposed to TAKE a photo you have 3 settings... Film Speed (ISO) Shutter Speed (length of time) and F-Stop (how much light). Anyway You have set your "Film Speed" to the lowest number, you have set your apature the the biggest number and now you set the "shutter speed" so the the camera says it is a correct exposure... this is usually achieved by turning a dial that changes the shutter speed to align a couple of markers in the viewfinder indicating a correct exposure. the length of the exposure could be anything depending on just how much light you have but I would assume could be 5secs or longer maybe even 15sec or 20sec...

Some things to remember...

The F-Stop dictates how much of your picture is sharp and in focus (depth of field). the bigger the number (f8-f32) the more stuff in your pic will be in focus... the smaller the number f5.6-f2.8) the less stuff will be in focus and sharp.

I will admit it is a little hard to put all this into words on a page witout OVER COMPLICATING the process. Best advice is to get your camera out and learn how to change the settings on your camera (there is only three). then get some cheap lights and start taking pics... :)

ok... I can take questions now... one at a time please... {sm3}

Cheers
Marc
 
I love photos of dioramas but some time I think people try too hard to make it look like a real scene that the actual fact that they have made a great looking diorama gets forgotten. I would rather see 1 photo of a diorama which is clearly a diorama than 10 shots of an edited aged looking photo.

Just my opinion!

P.s. great dio mate! Like how you have covered all the bases...literally haha!

Scott
 
barneywomble said:
ok... I can take questions now... one at a time please... {sm3}

Cheers
Marc
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Marc, very nice work.

One concept I'm having a hard time with it White Balance. You write that you choose your bulbs based on different light temperature, but doesn't white balance neutralize the effect & provide the same average result regardless? That's only my guess. I really don't know what white balance is doing.
 
Blowtorch said:
Marc, very nice work.

One concept I'm having a hard time with it White Balance. You write that you choose your bulbs based on different light temperature, but doesn't white balance neutralize the effect & provide the same average result regardless? That's only my guess. I really don't know what white balance is doing.
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Hi Blowtorch... most cameras have an auto white balance setting or you can manually set a specific light source (eg; tungsten, fluro, mercury, etc). However on some camera's you can set the temperature in Kelvin Degrees (5400 etc). I like to use warm fluro bulbs and the choose a temperature that gives a slightly warm tone. If I set the camera to Auto white balance they tend to come out wrong, if I set it to a tungsten they come out too warm so I pic a temperature setting. You also have to remember that the "FLURO Light" setting for camera white balances does not generally take into consideration the fact that you can now get warm and cool fluros... it thinks fluros give off a slightly greenish tone. its a personal thing. Just have a play. One thing to remember is that White balance in cameras is NOT fool proof. you could take a series of 10 images and 2 of them will possibly have a different temp. The only sure way is to buy a white balance filter or shoot a piece of white card in the same light and set up a custom white balance in your camera but again the results many not be what you are after.

Cheers
Marc
 
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