The Energon Pub

The goal of this thread is to step up our photography skills, to share tips and pointers, and to subject our work to critique.

A few brief but important rules:

1. Pictures must be taken under controlled settings or natural light. This means no desktop photography, no quick pics, and very likely no phone pictures. Try to keep the majority of your figures under the "Official" banner, however 3rd party stuff is not prohibited.

2. Pictures should be high quality. Try to keep the longest side between 800 - 1500 pixels. Post-processing should be kept to a minimum. A bit of level balancing is fine, added effects like glowing eyes or added (digital) backgrounds are not.

3. Host your own images. I recommend http://www.flickr.com Many of us already use it and it has some great tools that keep track of your settings on pictures.

4. No more than five images per post and do try not spam the place up with your work. Let the puppies breath.

5. No easily bruised egos. By posting pictures here you are literally subjecting them to public criticism. We're all proud of the shots we take or else we wouldn't be sharing them. Much of the time you'll probably receive praise, but the point is to get better at this point of the hobby. So if you post a picture be prepared to politely thank people when they offer you advice.

Reserved

Picture Hosting: Flickr

Cheap and Effective Lightbox Option: Light Box on Amazon

Reading a Histogram: A Good Guide to Histograms

Tips for improving white balance: White Balance Tips

Here are two that I'm relatively pleased with:

Mirage by ME_Counterpunch, on Flickr

Jazz by ME_Counterpunch, on Flickr

Now, on to these others where I was working on controlled lighting:
1986 Movie Decepticons by ME_Counterpunch, on Flickr

The light sources were from the bottom left and bottom right. It failed to properly light Galvatron's face. I probably could have fixed this by bringing both lights around to the front and a bit further out from the frame. I would have had to lower the exposure time in that instance.


The Decepticon Threat by ME_Counterpunch, on Flickr

This is better, however the lighting source on the side was strong enough to leave a little halo effect on the background material. I probably cropped it a bit too tightly as well.


Overcast by ME_Counterpunch, on Flickr

Here I feel like I got it right. The white is well represented and the lighting captures both of the clear weapons without compromising the rest of the shot.

Lighting is what I'm currently fighting. I wanted to make the background go away like your pics but then I found the figures were way to dark.

And everytime I adjust the lighting I have to fiddle with the camera settings.

I'm using a very cheap rig right now. A couple desk lamps with two layers of parchment paper over them to soften it up a bit.

I've found that having lights at a very wide spread and even with the figures gives a very nice even lighting.

I was just using the desk lamps but then I found that having an overhead light really helped. Of course I had to adjust the camera.

I'm still learning the camera by feel and I'm not real familiar with the correct terms yet.

As far as feedback on what's posted: first two. Look great (I'm loving that background), the next two are just a little dark and I think the last one looks good as is. Well maybe a little more lighting on the front of the figure.

I'm considering more lamps or maybe try and build some sort of a light ring. I snapped a pic of my ghetto rig on my collection page if anyone is curious.

I'll try and add a pic tonight and state what I like and don't like about it.

carytheone wrote:Lighting is what I'm currently fighting. I wanted to make the background go away like your pics but then I found the figures were way to dark.

And everytime I adjust the lighting I have to fiddle with the camera settings.

I'm using a very cheap rig right now. A couple desk lamps with two layers of parchment paper over them to soften it up a bit.

I've found that having lights at a very wide spread and even with the figures gives a very nice even lighting.

I was just using the desk lamps but then I found that having an overhead light really helped. Of course I had to adjust the camera.

I'm still learning the camera by feel and I'm not real familiar with the correct terms yet.

As far as feedback on what's posted: first two. Look great (I'm loving that background), the next two are just a little dark and I think the last one looks good as is. Well maybe a little more lighting on the front of the figure.

I'm considering more lamps or maybe try and build some sort of a light ring. I snapped a pic of my ghetto rig on my collection page if anyone is curious.

I'll try and add a pic tonight and state what I like and don't like about it.

Take a picture of your set up as well. Also, let us see the settings you're shooting with.

This thing here isn't the best, but it's a great way to get started with light box photography: http://www.amazon.com/LimoStudio-Photography-Continous-Lighting-AGG1069/dp/B00DOGIED2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441221333&sr=8-2&keywords=light+box&pebp=1441221357661&perid=08JS0V5EBNG7RJJG8JWB

MGrotusque wrote:

So, a few things to consider here:

There are shadows falling in the corner of the shot, so more light and a filter on the sides of your set up will help with that.

More importantly, there is an after image. So, your hand shook just a bit causing a slight lack of focus that gets more noticeable the further you go to the edges of the shot.

(Photobucket also put a wonky little ad over part of your picture when I was trying to view it. Really give Flickr a try. It's good stuff. )

Constructive criticism CP. It's gettin serious now.

This thread is all about the A game.

The one thing i have a terrible time getting down is lighting. Shadows have always been an issue and I have some pretty powerfull lights but they almost always seem to read "yellow" on the finish product.

Octopunch

Despite having (most) of the needed equipment, and a Flickr Pro account that keeps renewing, I haven't taken diddly squat for pics in ages. I should get back on that.

Edit: holy crap, well over two years. I am suddenly ashamed.

I'll post of few "recent" ones because I'd like the critique.

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
All taken at 100 ISO, other stats with pics.


My eyes have a hard time noticing reds, so in this first one - how do I make a white background less "red"? Yes, lighting, but outside of that how should I account best for it? (f 10.0, focal length 18mm, exposure time 0.8, no flash)
Roadfire! Pub1 by Scott Putnam, on Flickr


This next one I actually like quite a bit, but the edges of the figure are a bit blurry. Too much light? (f 8.0, focal length 18mm, exposure time 0.4, no flash)
Beast Hunters Dreadwing by Scott Putnam, on Flickr


Focus on the edges again an issue here. Focal length problem? (f 6.3, focal length 23mm, exposure time 0.3, no flash)
Grim 1 by Scott Putnam, on Flickr


Finally, focus tips for group shots like this? Should I try to fit them in a smaller area? (f 6.3, focal length 23mm, exposure time 1/6, no flash)
Recon Team 6 by Scott Putnam, on Flickr

I have been trying to improve my photography skills for showing off some of my custom painted figures, using a cheap light box (amazon special) and 2-3 daylight LED lamps

most shots are taken with my micro 4/3 olympus e-pl1 with either

25mm prime lens f11 auto ISO and relatively slow shutter speed

or

14mm wide angle prime lens f11 auto ISO and again relatively slow shutter speed

I have found that setting up the camera on a cheap tripod (£2.50 bargain on ebay) then using the 2 sec time delay feature on the camera allows for sharper images.

Where I still struggle is knowing how to set the focal point of the image and how to light it effectively.

a few examples below:













any commments or tips welcome

MGrotusque wrote:Octopunch

What's happening in the lower left corner there? Some blurriness or color displacement, perhaps from having the lens too close is happening.

ScottyP wrote:Despite having (most) of the needed equipment, and a Flickr Pro account that keeps renewing, I haven't taken diddly squat for pics in ages. I should get back on that.

Edit: holy crap, well over two years. I am suddenly ashamed.

I'll post of few "recent" ones because I'd like the critique.

Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS
Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
All taken at 100 ISO, other stats with pics.


My eyes have a hard time noticing reds, so in this first one - how do I make a white background less "red"? Yes, lighting, but outside of that how should I account best for it? (f 10.0, focal length 18mm, exposure time 0.8, no flash)
Roadfire! Pub1 by Scott Putnam, on Flickr

I think to start, you're cropped in too far on the shot. I think it's best to maintain a standard frame if possible (3x4 4x6 etc). That might reveal a bit more.

As for the white background, it's a matter of adjusting the white balance White Balance Tips

This next one I actually like quite a bit, but the edges of the figure are a bit blurry. Too much light? (f 8.0, focal length 18mm, exposure time 0.4, no flash)
Beast Hunters Dreadwing by Scott Putnam, on Flickr

Perhaps too much light, probably more that the camera was too close because your exposure time was relatively short. Are you checking the histogram on a shot or two before getting to work?

Focus on the edges again an issue here. Focal length problem? (f 6.3, focal length 23mm, exposure time 0.3, no flash)
Grim 1 by Scott Putnam, on Flickr

I'd have to play with it, but your f-stop and exposure time seem to be too low. With as cropped as these pictures are, I might suggest backing up when taking the pictures. If the image quality is high enough, you can crop down to what you want and not lose resolution.


[quote}Finally, focus tips for group shots like this? Should I try to fit them in a smaller area? (f 6.3, focal length 23mm, exposure time 1/6, no flash)
Recon Team 6 by Scott Putnam, on Flickr[/quote]

No macro lens, much higher F-stop, step back and crop in. With 100 on the ISO, you should be fine so long as you're taking a picture with high res.

MarcusCole1978 wrote:I have been trying to improve my photography skills for showing off some of my custom painted figures, using a cheap light box (amazon special) and 2-3 daylight LED lamps

most shots are taken with my micro 4/3 olympus e-pl1 with either

25mm prime lens f11 auto ISO and relatively slow shutter speed

or

14mm wide angle prime lens f11 auto ISO and again relatively slow shutter speed

I have found that setting up the camera on a cheap tripod (£2.50 bargain on ebay) then using the 2 sec time delay feature on the camera allows for sharper images.

Where I still struggle is knowing how to set the focal point of the image and how to light it effectively.

I think you're on the right track. I would suggest taking a few range pictures. Go through multiple settings. Take a picture of your rig and how you're setting your lighting and I can help further.


***Disclaimer, now and forever*** This is a hobby for me. I'm by no means an expert. I'm just trying to converse on what I know and I may very well and frequently be wrong.

I do keep it pretty close on everything, so yeah, I'll definitely try keeping the camera further back (along with your other hints, of course)

(I am tempted to move this in Photo Blitz, and have it feature in the next round-up.)

cheers next time i set up the studio I'll take a shot of the set-up

Powerlinx Smokescreen by ME_Counterpunch, on Flickr

Here is my setup.

I've got a little parchment paper strapped on those lamps to try and tone down / soften the light.

I'm using an Olympus Pen EPL2 with an old Canon 50mm lens. It's ISO is set to 200 and the rest of the settings don't seem to match up with the terminology being tossed around here. I mostly just play around with the settings until I like the way it looks. I have to go to pretty extremes with the lens I'm using to get anything more than just a black image.


For this pic I also held a light filter in front of the over head light.

I'm actually pretty happy with this picture. It is 100% from the camera. Normally I feel I have to adjust the levels after the fact to get the lighting and color where I want it.

I choose those figures, because I've been having problems with dark figures getting enough light and with bright figures having way to much saturation. Again, I just played around with the settings until I was happy and the light filter did wonders.

I would like to get rid of the remaining shadows. I would also like to figure out how to make the background disappear.

carytheone wrote:Here is my setup.

I've got a little parchment paper strapped on those lamps to try and tone down / soften the light.

I think your lights are too far away from your source. If the overhead light stays on during the shot, then your primary source of light is the overhead lighting and the sides are doing close to nothing.

You need to more setup like this:

Counterpunch wrote:I think your lights are too far away from your source. If the overhead light stays on during the shot, then your primary source of light is the overhead lighting and the sides are doing close to nothing.

You need to more setup like this:

light-box.jpg

I can feel that. Those lights are pretty bright and I kept moving them farther away. I was using them only but decided to try a picture with the overhead light on. I liked the results.

I can snap a few more pics of the same shot with different light options if you'd like to see the difference.

Other than that, any critique on the shot itself?

I have been trying to boost my photo skillz, I must admit that my DSLR does a lot of the work!

Thanks to Carytheone to pointing me here.

At any rate here is a photo that I believe I have gotten mostly right. Let me know what ya'll think...

I'm using a Sony A200 with a Sony AF DT 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 lens.

F5.6
Shutter speed 1/40 sec.
ISO 400
Auto Exposure
Metering mode -- Multi-patter (I am thinking I should make this center weighted??)





Here is another that did without a lightbox and therefore less control with the lights...





P.S. I don't have a hosting site still looking into that...not very trusting of the "cloud".

Sneak peak!

Heres the original of that Octopunch. I tried to get an underwater vibe with some filters on the earlier one i posted. That should answer your question Counterpunch about what was going on in the left corner of the first pic i posted.

Also....you posted a pic of your set up. What is the fabric you are using to diffuse the light?

Id like to try and get more focus for a cleaner shot. Beast Wars figs have a lot of interesting detail that with a better camera could really pull out some of it. I like this one but sadly it's just not sharp enough.

MGrotusque wrote:Id like to try and get more focus for a cleaner shot. Beast Wars figs have a lot of interesting detail that with a better camera could really pull out some of it. I like this one but sadly it's just not sharp enough.

Are you using a tripod? I found that and a 2 second timer combined with manual focus is the way to go. Auto focus can bounce around at the last second.

I use a digital zoom on the plane I want to focus on and then zoom back out to take the pic. With the timer, the camera stops bouncing by the time the picture is taken.