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Looking for some photo tips from the pros


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#1 Draznar

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Posted 27 February 2016 - 08:29 PM

Hey guys!

As I'm sure a lot of you have seen, I usually take some pretty crappy photos randomly around my apartment. To fix this, I recently picked up a Foldio. (The original smaller one. Great size for minis.)

Here is what I am currently doing:

Using the Foldio's LED lights.
Sitting in a dark room

Taking pictures with both flash and no flash (because I am clueless.)

Being confused

What do you folks do to get some nice, clear and detailed pictures of minis that I might be missing? (It has been recommended to me to get a tri-pod, so that's something I'm already aware of/looking into.)

See my two examples for a reference. (One is pretty blurry, the other one not half bad. I didn't use flash on either though.

Thanks for any and all help in advance!!

 

Attached File  Agumon1.jpg   74.41K   9 downloads

 

Attached File  Agumon2.jpg   76.4K   9 downloads


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#2 MantisFang

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Posted 27 February 2016 - 09:18 PM

Don't be so hard on yourself brother.
For every decent shot I manage to capture, there are at least 8-10 that come out blurry or screwed up somehow.

I'm by no means a pro, but I tend to avoid flash most of the time. I prefer sunlight and an outdoor setting. However, a strategicly placed lamp bulb can do just fine when the sun isn't the best option.

Using multiple sources of light can also make a big difference. You don't need professional grade equipment to get good results. Just get creative and experiment with what you have on hand to discover pleasing effects.

Tripods can be useful but I find them pretty constrictive when trying to play with different angles and layout aesthetics. You can use your elbow to stabilize your shot by placing it on your knee or a small stool or box to minimize camera shift to get some sharp focus.

Keep it up Draz, looking forward to seeing your results!
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#3 NeonGreen

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Posted 27 February 2016 - 09:43 PM

I'll echo everything that MantisFang said, and add a few thoughts/observations of my own:

 

More light is good, almost always, as long as it's diffused. A cheap pair (or trio) of desk lamps from a nearby retailer will work wonders, with some decent (and reasonably inexpensive) bulbs. I strongly prefer standard incandescent bulbs for their output. If you decide to go this route, buy some bulbs that lean toward the "cooler" end of the color temp spectrum, that pump some decent light. The more light, the easier time your camera or phone will have focusing on the subject, and the less "grain" you introduce into the final image. Be sure to soften the lights, by either aiming them through the sides & top of your light box, or using thin white cloth, or my favorite inexpensive diffuser, good old-fashioned white tissue paper.

 

Sunlight is probably nature's greatest gift to photography and some of my best shots have come from shooting figures on my back porch, while the sun is directly overhead, but under the thin, corrugated roof of my patio. Under the subtle shade of a tree in my backyard is another great spot. Inside the house, at almost any hour of the day, without my light box? Forget about it -- especially when using my phone, as the lack of manual settings means the automatic white balance on my phone is going absolutely haywire and the colors of my photos always come out goofy.

 

Steady your camera of choice as best as you can. The more light you're using, the less of an issue this becomes, especially if you're using the auto-setting on your camera, or your average camera phone. A tripod is nice, but as MantisFang mentioned, it is not always ideal. I rarely use one because it limits my ability to "get in there", so to speak, when it comes to finding a compelling angle, and it slows everything down when you want to move things around for one or two quick shots. A lot of times I'm shooting figures on the ground or floor, and my shoe (with my foot in it) becomes my best friend for steadying a shot! I do it all the time.

 

I probably take at least ten shots before I get one I can sort of live with -- add another ten or twenty when I review those first ten and get angry with the results. So yup, sometimes I burn through 20 or 30 shots to post one silly photo to instagram. What an age we live in, ha ha! But hey, if you wanna get it just right, you gotta click, click, click until it's just so.


Edited by NeonGreen, 27 February 2016 - 09:44 PM.

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#4 NeonGreen

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Posted 27 February 2016 - 10:01 PM

Here are some examples of photos I've taken recently. All with my phone, no light box, no tripod. Just halfway decent light, and patience. They're not great, but I don't hate them, either.  :lol:

 

Attached File  IMG_20160125_171031.jpg   61.88K   5 downloads

 

Attached File  IMG_20160202_122910.jpg   90.21K   8 downloads

 

Attached File  IMG_20160217_163044.jpg   75.78K   8 downloads

 

Attached File  IMG_20151111_160750.jpg   167.72K   8 downloads

 

Attached File  IMG_20151126_103157.jpg   100.97K   9 downloads

 


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#5 Ridureyu

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 02:29 AM

Echoing what folks here said - and adding, a lot may have to do with distance. Does your camera have a macro setting?  Have you tried placing it a little further away, or a little closer  Mono-colored minis give a lot ofdigital camera ssome trouble, so try experimenting with other objects, as well/


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#6 Draznar

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 03:48 AM

Some of my blur could be attributed to digital zoom. I'm sitting maybe 1 or 2 feet away, and to get so close I am using the digital zoom feature. (With the Agumon figure above, I think I was close to around 4x.)


Thanks for all your tips, folks! I definitely appreciate them all!

I usually set the standards bar for myself incredibly high, even when trying something new, (comes with being a perfectionist!)

 

I always thought that I didn't need flash with the foldio specifically, as it's already providing a decent amount of light. (Probably could use more, but I am liking it at the moment.) However, some pictures, like this one, had much better colour than the ones without flash. (Which is why I am so dang confused!)

Attached File  20160227_225345.jpg   83.42K   3 downloads

 

As a reference, here is my Pikmin with and without flash:

 

Flash

Attached File  20160227_225803.jpg   70K   4 downloads

 

Without flash

Attached File  20160227_225759.jpg   61.1K   1 downloads

 

 

And my Z'gok, same thing:

Flash

Attached File  20160227_225848.jpg   176.08K   0 downloads

 

Without flash

Attached File  20160227_225843.jpg   195.03K   0 downloads

 

 

 


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#7 Ericnilla

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 04:09 AM

Good light and a good macro setting
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#8 Draznar

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 04:58 AM

I played around a little bit more today, and I'm beginning to think that perhaps a lack of light is my issue here. (especially considering all of your tips for better lighting.)

I have also been told that white may not necessarily be the best choice for a back drop.

 

Here is one of my better attempts this morning!

 

Attached File  12764308_10153578589079022_4437793822695465794_o.jpg   36.89K   6 downloads


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#9 Beastformers

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 06:44 AM

Try to use daylight (in order to get the best and most realistic color outcome) where you can, take your time (they won´t run away), turn of the flash (this messes up a lot of colors and increases the risk of blurring), get the focus right (distance to the object might be depending upon the focus settings of the camera you´re working with) and snap ;)

 

I´m mainly using white backgrounds but black (or other colors) might also work depending on the colors of the object you´re trying to capture.

Daylight is good in general but on a cloudy day the color tones entering might be a giving a bit of a strange/off color to the item so its best on a clear and bright day, if that´s not available and you´ve to work with artificial light try to use light without to many other color tones (yellow/blue). 


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#10 TheRiddler

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 09:51 AM

I use a polaroid and scan the pictures onto my computer....oh, wait, that's just how my pictures look!


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#11 PlasticSoul

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 12:20 PM

The best tip that I haven't seen posted would be not to take your pics too close to your toys. A little distance always helps me a lot and cropping is easy. Whenever I take shots too close they get slightly blurred.


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#12 TinyPink

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 12:53 PM

I take most of mine on a current gen iPad, but I dunno the 'settings' or any of that crap, so they end up looking like they were taken on a $4 disposable.    :confused:


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#13 NeonGreen

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 12:58 PM

Hey Draznar, as an experiment I'd love to see some photos of the same figures taken outside. I bet the detail goes waaaayyy up!

We're definitely looking at a lighting issue here.

As for the white background, that shouldn't be a problem, as long as your subject is in focus and your camera is capable of shooting reasonably accurate whites, which it looks like yours is.

More light!
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#14 Draznar

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 04:33 PM

Hey Draznar, as an experiment I'd love to see some photos of the same figures taken outside. I bet the detail goes waaaayyy up!

 

It will be harder to do that, but I will certainly give it a college try next weekend! (I work until it's getting dark.)

 

 

Thanks to all of you with your pointers! It's sincerely appreciated.


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#15 Draznar

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 05:15 PM

I think I've discovered part of my problem!

My wife pointed out that I send them to Facebook, and then download them from there before sharing. Apparently Facebook downgrades photos, to a certain degree, and that likely explains some quality loss.

It's been driving me crazy because my shots are almost crystal clear on my phone!
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#16 steverotters

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Posted 28 February 2016 - 05:44 PM

I think I've discovered part of my problem!

My wife pointed out that I send them to Facebook, and then download them from there before sharing. Apparently Facebook downgrades photos, to a certain degree, and that likely explains some quality loss.

It's been driving me crazy because my shots are almost crystal clear on my phone!

 

Bingo!

 

The only other thing that I might add that hasn't already been said is to try to get eye-level with the subject  Focus on the eyes, man, the eyes.

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#17 NeonGreen

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 03:59 PM

I think I've discovered part of my problem!

My wife pointed out that I send them to Facebook, and then download them from there before sharing. Apparently Facebook downgrades photos, to a certain degree, and that likely explains some quality loss.

It's been driving me crazy because my shots are almost crystal clear on my phone!

Android users suffer the same fate from Instagram. I'm not sure who's fault it is, but all Android uploads exhibit a huge loss in quality vs. Apple. It's almost literally enough to make me switch back to Apple; I use Instagram all the time and I hate when my photos look like a dream sequence from a soap opera.


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#18 imperfecz

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 04:08 PM

Just....... the tips?


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#19 Draznar

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 04:47 PM

Just....... the tips?

 

I want it all!



Android users suffer the same fate from Instagram. I'm not sure who's fault it is, but all Android uploads exhibit a huge loss in quality vs. Apple. It's almost literally enough to make me switch back to Apple; I use Instagram all the time and I hate when my photos look like a dream sequence from a soap opera.

 

So using IG isn't going to solve my issues either.

I wonder if a direct transfer from my phone to my PC will fix this.

But I am too damn lazy to get my cord from across my house.


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#20 TinyPink

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 04:58 PM

"I promise baby, just the tip....."


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#21 MantisFang

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 06:41 PM

Don't bother transferring to your PC unless you need to free up space on your phone or back up your photos.

You can get a decent photo edit app to fine tune your shots and upload your full size images to a free photo hosting site.

TinyPic.com is what I use most of the time, but there are other free sites that will host your full size pics without the huge loss of quality.

So using IG isn't going to solve my issues either.
I wonder if a direct transfer from my phone to my PC will fix this.
But I am too damn lazy to get my cord from across my house.

You can definitely use Instagram to tweak your photos. Instead of posting an image, I will send it directly as a DM to myself.
I haven't noticed a huge loss of quality doing this. ndvs3m.jpg
I think the Android Instagram App/Mobile Browser definitely displays posted images in a lower resolution.
2rx6tn8.jpg

Edited by MantisFang, 29 February 2016 - 07:42 PM.

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#22 Draznar

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 06:46 PM

Any recommended apps for Android??


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#23 MantisFang

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Posted 29 February 2016 - 07:17 PM

PicSay is a good photo editing app.
Check your PM.. ;}
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#24 bachamn

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Posted 01 March 2016 - 07:42 PM

Some of my blur could be attributed to digital zoom. 

not much more to add here, except that "digital zoom" is garbage, and you shouldn't ever rely on use it. The camera is essentially blowing up (read: interpolating) the existing image at the realistic zoom multiplier like you would if you were to "zoom" in an editing program, only it's capturing the original image that way. don't do it bro. optical zoom or bust.

 

also, screw flash if you can. Just try to find somewhere well-lit or get into the sunlight. Using flash properly and reliably can be one of the most time-consuming and frustrating aspects of photography. If you can avoid it, I'd recommend doing so

 

for android, I use Photoshop Express at the moment. It's nice, though kind of clunky running (seems to take up a lot of system resources on my new Nexus phone, not sure how that would translate to other devices)


Edited by bachamn, 01 March 2016 - 07:45 PM.

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#25 Draznar

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Posted 01 March 2016 - 07:43 PM

optical zoom or bust.

 

Where is the optical zoom button on my Galaxy S5 though!?!?

(Just kidding, in case you thought I wasn't.)


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