Customikey Works on His Photography

Hi guys. I wanted to use a different thread for this, since you've already seen all these custom-painted figures in my other thread (or when I post in other parts of the board.)

So, this is just for me to work on my photography skills. After posting one too many pics that don't represent my work very well (Obi-Wan being a startling example), I decided it's definitely time to make a change.

So, if you'd let me know what you think of my current efforts, that'd be grand. I can't really afford to buy a better camera than my Olympus Camedia C-60 right now, so it's all got to be a change in lighting and how I use the camera. It's got 6.1 megapixels. Maybe there's a setting on the camera I'm doing wrong....

I'm taking some very good advice from other members, i.e. "natural lighting" bulbs, not taking such extreme close-ups and using pics that are just too big. I'm keeping myself from doing the last two by sticking to a sort of "widescreen" format when I edit the pics down in Photo Editor.

Anyway, here's some of my new effort at not taking crappy pics.

Okay, I love this forum and the passion of it's members, but I'm getting very very tired of all the customizers and painters throwing their flashy, gaudy, large pictured, thrice double damned agendas in my face everytime they post!

King Darkness said:

Okay, I love this forum and the passion of it's members, but I'm getting very very tired of all the customizers and painters throwing their flashy, gaudy, large pictured, thrice double damned agendas in my face everytime they post!

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Just keep re-opeing those wounds, KD....

It's so hard to keep myself from being goaded, but I've said all I need to on THAT subject.

I know you were trying to be funny, but I'm not too keen on being mocked with my own words.

But thanks anyway.

A few picture tips. Please take no offense if you are already doing these things.

1. Mini or full size tripod. If not in your budget then use any stable platform you can to rest the camera on. In any shooting most especially close up work moving the camera just a hair will result in loss of focus.( See #4)

2. If shooting from closer than one foot away make sure the Macro setting is on.

3. Seperate the subject of the photo from the backround. More distance is better than less.

4. Watch your focus. This one is harder than it sounds. In picture one Anakins leather vest is in focus not his face.

4. The hardest to do, but not expensive "3 point lighting."

If you have only natural room lighting to work with( a lamp or window) then you need to get creative. Get a 16x16 piece of cardboard and cover it with aluminum foil, shiny side out on one side, dull on the other. make sure it is as flat as possible. Place this on the opposite side of the figure from the main light direction. Just prop it up with a book or something out of camera view. This will bounce light back on the subject of the photo giving a more balanced lighting look. Use the shiny side first. If its to bright flip it over and use the dull side.

As a point of reference I have been shooting and editing video for the last 18 years. Getting the lighting right on moving objects is a little harder than stills but the same basics apply.

Of course now your figures will be shown in even more glory and I will be even more depressed that mine dont look as good. Keep them coming Mikey.

I was surprised to read you are using a 6.1MP camera, as your pictures usually lack the sharpness and clarity a higher MP camera delivers.

In addition to Icemizer's great tips — and I know this is obvious — check your resolution and compression settings. The most pixels = the highest resolution = the sharpest picture. Conversely, high compression = less sharpness + more artifacts.

Further, when shooting in low light without a flash, be careful that your camera's ISO value is not set too high. The higher the value, the more your camera is sensitive to light, but higher settings also introduce noise, making your pictures appear grainy.

I've probably told you something you already know, but sometimes it's easy to overlook the obvious!

Use focus lock on the focal point then adjust the object to the desired position within the frame.

FYI: Best money ever spent on my camera was my 430EZ flash and my 24-70 F 2.8 L USM.


Jesse

Using a Canon 20D, 430EZ, 24-70 F 2.8 L USM, and many other lenses........

Offence? No way!! These tips are awesome! I'll tell you, I'm not very technologically savvy. Mostly because I hate reading instruction manuals. I prefer tril and error. WHich is probably why I know nothing about compression, etc. The lighting tips and everything can't help but be useful. Thanks guys!

Now I just need a moment to try it all out....

The problem I see is the lighting. The hues look orange. Buy some white bulbs so we can see the natural colors and hues in your images.

And another thing is to take lots of the same photo... sometimes messing with the focus, lighting a bit as you go. Its hard to tell what your shot will actually look like until you start looking on your monitor... and by then it may be too late.

But rest assured, we are all very confident in your painting abilities And actually the Gamorean Guard photo looks awesome!!!

Thanks for posting this Mikey! I needed help here too.... all my pics are out of focus, orange or just bad altogether. Sometimes I get lucky.. but not all the time...

galactiboy said:

But rest assured, we are all very confident in your painting abilities And actually the Gamorean Guard photo looks awesome!!!

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For some reason Gammy turns out very well in the photos. I think it's because the lighting is reminiscent of Jabba's Palace, dark and toplit.





I'm not worried really about anyone thinking I can't paint. In all modesty, I think I've proved myself to y'all, although I expect I'll slip up every now and then with my paint choices. It's just that, well, once painted, I'm proud of the finished figure like it's a child, not necessarily because "I" painted it. I don't know if that makes sense. And I just want to show off my kids.

Here are a couple of attempts at re-adjusting my camera. I need a tripod. Right now I prop it up, put it on auto-focus and use the remote to take the pic. I had the crosshairs aimed directly at their faces.





Once I think I have a good system down, this thread will probably disappear and I'll just post in my regular thread. But maybe others will find it useful for their own pics. Lots of great advice already!!

Much better focus here CM. Good work on getting that camera out of your hands and using the remote. The slightest jiggle on closeups results in poor pics.

It may sound odd for the lighting but what you need to look for is a full spectrum bulb. These are usually in the nursery(plants) section for giving house plants light in the winter. They are not red(warm) or blue(cold) but deliver the full spectrum of light. You can then manipulate this light color to your desire. It will give the most natural "sun light" look to your figures.

Most artists will tell you they paint or work in well light preferably sunlit areas to see if their work "looks" natural. This type of light is as sun like as it gets.

CM, did you replace the fuzzy part of the Gamorrean Guard or did you use something to dirty it up? I have one of those figures but I hate the way it looks out of the box.

Darth Waller said:

CM, did you replace the fuzzy part of the Gamorrean Guard or did you use something to dirty it up? I have one of those figures but I hate the way it looks out of the box.

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I bought mine specifically to give it an overhaul. Great sculpt. Lousy everything else. I scrubbed a heell of alot of taupe acrylic into his fuzzy skirt, trying to do it in layers so it wasn't all brown when I was done. Call it heavy dry-brushing. It destroyed the brush.

I think it's one of Hasbro's best, so I bought it for Jabba. I'm going to try to get some work done on him so his eyes and clothing look more like he did in the movie. Yours looks really good. Thanks for the reply!

Gammy looks nice as you new avatar!

galactiboy said:

Gammy looks nice as you new avatar!

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Gotta love your Gammy.

Yeah Mikey... I know what you mean about thinking of the repaints as your "children"... You have this wierd sense of pride that makes you want to show it to everyone and say... "Check this out!!"

It's a strange thing....

Nice pics too btw.... I seriously need to set up a backdrop and decent lighting one day....

incandescent bulbs usually project a nice yellow cast which can be a bear to remove.
Do you by chance have photoshop?
Auto Levels/Colors can do wonders in a simple couple mouse clicks.
if you dont it would be a great investment for you. You deserve the best images possible to accurately reflect your beautiful work.

How about a close up on Han's face so we can see more facial detail?