What do you guys think of these photographs...

I place a manilacard and curve it to take photos of my car models. I think in the future i will do this way. please give me feedbacks about it ;)

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/692ae100.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/b50febc3.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/407b572b.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/746d6803.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/16d97367.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/001.jpg

It's a great start. Add some lights to the right and left and maybe one over the top if you can. The best thing you can do is practice. Like I said you've got a great start.

Chris

It looks good to me. The manila card removes visual cues about the scale. One thing that you might consider is using a similar product with some color (posterboard maybe?) to give some contrast - particularly on the lighter colored models. I think it would help draw the viewer's eye to the model in the image.

Looks better, but you still need more light I think. Try to do this while there is a lot of sunight during the day. What kind of camera is this? Are you taking the pictures in Macro mode?

thanks guys ^^
can anyone tell me about 'visual cues' ?

winstona
i am using canon powershot a400 3.2 megapixel.
i set to manual with iso400,fluorocent mode,lowsharperning,superfine adn 640 x 480.
i took it at the living room with lights off :)
i set to close view photographing (macro?)

By visual cues I meant hints about scale. Some are very obvious, people know about how big a hand is, so if you have your hand in the pic people know how big your model is. Some are less obvious, if you take a picture of your model on a table, the wood grain can give some impression of how big your model is (plus in my household it will show how much modeling crap there is on the table :naughty: ). Some are even less obvious. Nobody is 4 meters tall, so if you take a picture from way up above the car, something about the picture doesn't look quite right. Taking the picture on a background that doesn't have anything of recognizable scale, from a reasonable angle, removes those hints.

thanks guys ^^
can anyone tell me about 'visual cues' ?

winstona
i am using canon powershot a400 3.2 megapixel.
i set to manual with iso400,fluorocent mode,lowsharperning,superfine adn 640 x 480.
i took it at the living room with lights off :)
i set to close view photographing (macro?)

As long as it is Macro mode or close view photography, it should be fine. You don't really need that much resolution to post pictures on the web anyways. The most important thing is the picture must be in focus and the details are crisp. These will need lights.

Winston

http://www.spc.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/r33-skyline-jw0-020.jpg

This was taken the same way with Card curved up behind.
It was taken on an old 3Mega Pixel Nikon Coolpix 990
Taken outside, Manual Mode, Macro on and focus set on rear wheel

You are nearly there, just need to get the focus correct

More tips can be found here : http://www.spc.org.uk/tips/photos.html

OK, now that we're tlaking about shooting outside-

How do you get the lighting so even?

http://www.spc.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/r33-skyline-jw0-020.jpg


Are you using a sunlight diffuser? Is this a special feature of the elusive British sun? When I shoot outside, I tend to get superbright highlights, and dark shadows.

http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/8850/z30087ub.jpg

you seem to have too much light directly on your model (as if you didn't know that already....)
my advice would be to find a way of indirectly lighting the model using a white surface reflector (as they do in a studio) or to use a diffuser as you suggested.
the biggest reason for taking photos outside is that the light is much "whiter" than what you get indoors, even with a decent tungstun light set-up.
the downside is that it is often too bright; hence either totally whitewashed images or in yor case, too big a difference between the white/black points.
(if you can read the histogram given by most digital camera's you can to a point find a good set-up/position for taking photos).

or, you can try the old film-makers trick and try to take photos at dawn/dusk when the light, while still bright, is more diffused than when the sun is directly overhead.

The pics are decent. Change the ISO speed, put it on Auto if you can. Thats why your pics appear so grainy. Also, the lightining needs some work. Dont forget to set the aperature value, white balance, and the EV if you can on your camera.

ISo 400 is way to high for this class of camera. way too much noise.

on this type of camera, you should never go over 100.

Lots of good advice so far. :thumbsup: Get a tripod if you can, it keeps the shot steady when you use longer aperture settings to get a deeper depth of field. I also find for keeping the whole model in focus, it helps if you move the camera back and zoom in.

MPWR - try shooting in shadow, not direct sunlight. That's what I always do.

http://www.rallyraider.nwwo.com/build/jaguar-xjr-14/DSCF5913.JPG

I also find for keeping the whole model in focus, it helps if you move the camera back and zoom in.


But doing so will make your minimum F to go too high and you will be more subject to camera shake, and blurry picture.

The higher the F (aperture) the lower the light will enter. Lower the light enter, the longer the camera will have to open to have a correct exposition. But higher aperture will give you better deep of field, which will help in some case, again, if you have a lot of light.

wow,
thanks for all the respond guys. you guys really know alot about photographing techniques. i reallly appreciate all your feedbacks. i will take more photos later and post here. :)

thanks once again. i learn many new things today about photography from you guys :)

But doing so will make your minimum F to go too high and you will be more subject to camera shake, and blurry picture.

Yes, hence the need for the tripod to stop the shake.

The higher the F (aperture) the lower the light will enter. Lower the light enter, the longer the camera will have to open to have a correct exposition. But higher aperture will give you better deep of field, which will help in some case, again, if you have a lot of light.

Yeah exactly, less light but longer exposure (higher F-stop) gives you a better depth of field so the whole model is in focus. Or at least that is how I understand it - seems to work for me.

Yes, hence the need for the tripod to stop the shake.



Yeah exactly, less light but longer exposure (higher F-stop) gives you a better depth of field so the whole model is in focus. Or at least that is how I understand it - seems to work for me.

Tripod will help, but the finger press when you hit the shutter might cause camera shake. Using external way to trigger the shutter is the best idea. (software or remote) or be very careful. (finger shake can cause problem under 1/15, so often if you use high aperture)

As for the F stop, it will only help focusing 3/4 pictures. If you try to take a picture of the side of the car, it won't. Too much deep of field can also be bad. too high DOF will make the front of the car blurry (out of focus) and the rear end correct. You have to find the best F for your need.

Finally, having photo knowledge is the best way to take good pictures. The best picture here aren't from insane camera, it's from user that know what they are doing with their camera. Mine is 8 years old and my picture are better than 95% of the users here. (can't wait to change my camera to reach the other 5% :D)

in case you missed it, i was replying to MPWR and his "over-lit" Z3 model...

OK, now that we're tlaking about shooting outside-

How do you get the lighting so even?


Are you using a sunlight diffuser? Is this a special feature of the elusive British sun? When I shoot outside, I tend to get superbright highlights, and dark shadows.

http://img481.imageshack.us/img481/8850/z30087ub.jpg

1. Sun directly is very hard. a Diffuser is a good idea, or taking picture early before the sun is too high.
2. Your picture is overexposed. If you don't have a diffuser, you need to underexpose the picture and post-process it after with a good software.

There is always a way to bring up detail in dark area, but you are much more limited when you loose detail in white. If you camera have an histogram (many have) you should always take a look at it and see if your exposition is correct.

what camera do you have?

Y'all and your fancy digital cameras. While I do use mine for quick shots, if I want high quality detailed ones, I get my Yashica FX-D. Put on the 35-70 zoom with 2x teleconvertor and #4 closeup lens. Now those are some detailed pictures, but they have a very small area that is in focus.

http://www.spc.org.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/r33-skyline-jw0-020.jpg
These are the camera setting used for this one.

Exposure time: 1/15
F-stop: 10.5
ISO speed: 100
Focal length: 21.2000
Flash: Not fired
Orientation: Top-left
Exposure bias: 0.0000
Metering mode: Pattern
Exposure program: Manual
Digitized date/time: 2006:06:12 11:52:42

This was taken outside on a sunny day, but I waited till a cloud passed over the sun just enough to stop the it over exposing and casting shadows

http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/3046/thumbs0ki.th.jpg (http://img116.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thumbs0ki.jpg)

I also must say, I don't go out take 2 photos and get it right, I usually take 20-30 pictures at various settings and positions, then review them on the PC and pic the best to use.

Tripod will help, but the finger press when you hit the shutter might cause camera shake. Using external way to trigger the shutter is the best idea. (software or remote) or be very careful. (finger shake can cause problem under 1/15, so often if you use high aperture)


Better yet use a built in timer (most cameras will have it). Tripod + timer pretty much eliminate the danger of camera shake when it's taking the picture.

Better yet use a built in timer (most cameras will have it). Tripod + timer pretty much eliminate the danger of camera shake when it's taking the picture.

yea, but one some (most) camera, timer will kill the macro ability. :D

Okay!

This is all highly educational, I really appreciate you guys who know a bit about this stuff sharing. I come to photography with some background in telescope making- so I know something about lenses, but not much about imaging.

My camera is a Canon Powershot A70. Point and shoot ('happy snappy' for those of you who know cameras). I've only shot it in full auto, but I think I'm learning enough here to experiment. I've just discovered that I can do a 2 sec delayed exposure wit the macro on! :p On to slower exposures!

So, for order of operations, a good way to shoot would be: (?)

-Set model and camera up, tripod, lights, etc.
-Flash off, ISO selected, Macro on, shutter delay set
-Set the Fstop for the slowest setting possible (mine only seems to go as high as F/8 :disappoin)
-Shoot a dozen or so pics, varying exposure time
-Pick the best, and massage it as needed digitally.

Sound right?

What about ISO speed? I'm not sure how it applies to digital cameras. Keep it on 100? Is 50 better?

Okay!
What about ISO speed? I'm not sure how it applies to digital cameras. Keep it on 100? Is 50 better?

In the best world, Iso should be always at the lowest. But sometime your shutter speed is too low so you have to make it higher.
Every time you make a step (from 50 to 100, to 200, to 400 etc..) you will gain 1 stop for your opening. So if you have ISO 50 with 1/15 opening, Iso 100 will give you 1/30. It can also affect the Aperture (F) instead of your opening speed. It's hard to find the best combo, this is why we usually take many picture with different setting.

-Set model and camera up, tripod, lights, etc.
-Flash off, ISO selected, Macro on, shutter delay set
-Set the Fstop for the slowest setting possible (mine only seems to go as high as F/8 :disappoin)
-Shoot a dozen or so pics, varying exposure time
-Pick the best, and massage it as needed digitally.

Sound right?

What about ISO speed? I'm not sure how it applies to digital cameras. Keep it on 100? Is 50 better?
I used a Canon A80 for most of my model pictures,
I think I set the iso at 100.
ex;
the picture was taken at indoor, near the window.
light source - normal day lights that coming through the window from outside.
camera setting ;
camera on a tripod.
Exposure mode : M (manual)
Exposure time : 2 second
F-stop : 5
Flash : off
Resolution : 1600x1200 (2MP)
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6955/img07023qz.jpg

there's something else with digital cameras.
nearly all that i've come across have a tendency to overdo the white level to the point that i make a point of knocking the ev down to -0.3 or -0.7 when taking in sunlight as it seems to gives me a better range of colour in the image.

i'm not sure you should be using the f-stop as a way of getting more/less light on the object as it's more to do with the depth of field. what you should be doing is to set up the aperture (and use the lowest iso number you've got) to get the image+focus+depth you want, then adjust shutter as neccessary, especially seeing as how most normal digital cameras have a not too impressive focal range anyway when in macro.

This thread and Hiroboy's how to is great and very educational. After some experimenting, I too can take some pretty good pics. I am a happy man! :)

Here's a before and after comparison of a picture taken a week ago in full auto mode VS a pic that I have just taken tonight with manual mode (ISO 50 and manual white balance):

Suprisingly, the before pic was taken in broad daylight and the second one taken just on my workbench with a desklamp. I am impressed...

Before:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/379173CIMG0740a.jpg

After:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/379173CIMG0063a.jpg

Winston

yea, but one some (most) camera, timer will kill the macro ability. :D

You're being a bit negative about this aren't you? :lol: Why would the timer affect macro? I've only had a few cameras and never seen that connection. As with most things in our hobby different things will work for different people (and cameras). If we kick a lot of ideas around people can experiment and see what works best for them.

I used a Canon A80 for most of my model pictures,
I think I set the iso at 100.
ex;
the picture was taken at indoor, near the window.
light source - normal day lights that coming through the window from outside.
camera setting ;
camera on a tripod.
Exposure mode : M (manual)
Exposure time : 2 second
F-stop : 5
Flash : off
Resolution : 1600x1200 (2MP)
http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/6955/img07023qz.jpg

I would say that F5 wasn't quite enough. In your picture only the left front corner of the model is in focus, but the rear and the right corner aren't quite so. Try F8.0 and also a self timer (of course, adjusting exposure as necessary), the result should be even better.

Another thing to consider is a macro flash (or a flash diffuser for taking closeup pictures that would fit your camera). Unfortunately, there is none for my Canon A75 :(

I've played with my friend's Canon S2 IS a few weeks ago. That thing has awesome 0 cm macro and a bunch of other useful functions, and it's not that expensive, especially in the US. I'd strongly consider getting one, but "unfortunately" my A75 is quite an adequate camera for my needs.

I would say that F5 wasn't quite enough. In your picture only the left front corner of the model is in focus, but the rear and the right corner aren't quite so. Try F8.0 and also a self timer (of course, adjusting exposure as necessary), the result should be even better.


I don't agree with that,
1, to take a good picture of a model car, you should to try some new or different ways, I think as long as people could see the model clearly, it doesn't matter which part of the car did you focus more on it, I mean if you keep doing the same thing forever... like keep focus on the whole car on ever pics, then why do you need to get so many different part or angle of the car.
2, in photographic, F-stop isn't the only setting to control the DOF(depth od field), to control DOF, you aslo need to measure the focal length, camera's CCD size, etc... .

PS:its just my personal point of view, hope you don't mind what I had said.

I don't mind it at all, however weird your desire to have the area where the view of the car is clear start at the VW badge and end around the front of the door may seem to me.

This thread and Hiroboy's how to is great and very educational. After some experimenting, I too can take some pretty good pics. I am a happy man! :)

Here's a before and after comparison of a picture taken a week ago in full auto mode VS a pic that I have just taken tonight with manual mode (ISO 50 and manual white balance):

Suprisingly, the before pic was taken in broad daylight and the second one taken just on my workbench with a desklamp. I am impressed...

Before:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/379173CIMG0740a.jpg

After:
http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/502/379173CIMG0063a.jpg

Winston

Glad we managed to help :)

You're being a bit negative about this aren't you? :lol: Why would the timer affect macro? I've only had a few cameras and never seen that connection.
Nikon, for exemple, have the Timer and macro in the same "circle" of option.
So: Infinite focus, Macro, Timer

You can choose only one at the time. I guess there is other that have the same.

So, what does one look for in a camera? I think when my income tax return comes in I might invest in a better camera, not just a silly snapshot one.

Here is my experimenting.
I just find the time to do it..
1) In the house without flash with 2 ceiling lights on
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/IMG_3324.jpg

2) Out of the house without flash
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/IMG_3349.jpg

3) Inside the house with flash
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h57/cham2022/IMG_3366.jpg

All on auto mode, 640 X 480

The best way to capture nice and even light, is on an overcast day, outside, then the sky acts as a gigantic diffuser, castin' no shadows! If your gonna' be usin' a white background the camera will always expose this as a grey colour, the camera will be fooled into thinkin' it is too bright, and will underexpose, so you need to dial in about 1 to 11/3 overexposure, to keep the background the right shade of white, no one likes a nasty, greyish background! Better still if you meter off of a 16% grey card, (you can pick these up at any good camera store), in the same light, your exposures will be absolutely spot on, and correctly exposed! All my photos are taken outside! I never use flash, it's hideous, and I never use any lights, or a tripod! :icon16:

External, quetly overcasted sky, only few sun rays, on a semi-gloss white backdrop: macro setting from a little Casio exilim on the tripod & shutter: like Hiroboy adviced looks like I done a wong focus setting. Before reading that great thread I was quetly happy for the result: now I know I could do better :) so, thanks. The result was a bit underexposed: I done some try with exposition but at least I used some "levels" setting in PS.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c159/gionc/3.jpg