# Cameras and models and closeups, oh my!



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay, so I get a new camera for taking videos and stills. A nifty flexible tripod so I figure I can take some close up pictures. How hard could it be. Sheesh, really hard. I can see I have a ton to figure out about lighting. I can't take a pic without being too dark or completely washed out. Anyway, here are my first efforts with the new camera.


Here is my two truck Bachmann Shay close up of the cab.










A close up attempt of the coal load.












The tool car for the end of my logging consist.












And another closeup attempt.










Don't know how I thought a new camera would make me a photographer. But it's a start.

Best,
TJ


----------



## Mike Reilley (Jan 2, 2008)

It's a GOOOOOOOOOD start too. Keep em coming...


----------



## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice start. 

I sometimes have better luck backing off and zooming in on the part I want to photograph. Otherwise, the camera has LOTS of pixels so you can crop real tight and still get plenty of pixels on the screen. 

I also have better luck outside on the picnic table.


----------



## noelw (Jan 2, 2008)

*Looking good TJ. Nice work.







*


----------



## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

I'll third Mikey's, and Noel's comment, and say keep up the good work. If at least ya are a tryin, your a doin sometin right????? Looking good The Regal


----------



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

The first thing that jumps out at me is the mixed light. It appears that you've got daylight coming in from behind the model, and incandescent room light in front of it. That really freaks the camera out, because it can't figure out which color to balance for. (Way back when they used to use this stuff called "film" in cameras, there was "daylight" film and "indoor" film, to match the lighting conditions.) Today's digital cameras do a great job of automatically balancing to match the lights, but having the blue daylight mixed with the orange indoor light, it just sits there and says "duh, I guess I'll choose something in the middle, which gives you lots of oranges and blues as you see in your photos, instead of an even representation of the actual colors. If you've got a lot of natural light in the room, first put that light source behind you so you're not shooting into it. Next, change the bulbs in the lights in the room to a full-spectrum bulb (like GE's "Reveal" brand) that isn't quite as orange as a normal bulb. A "cool white" CFL bulb will also be a bit better than a regular incandescent bulb if you want to go that route. 

Check out the thread on lighting for more tips on getting more even ligthing that will really show your models off well. 

The camera itself does a good job close-up, and the modeling is super! 

Later, 

K


----------



## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Dang nice pics, you are a lot closer to perfection than I. 
Listen to K, it's all in the lighting for you, your focus and subjects are quite good, 'cept I noticed the saw needs sharpening! lol 
My attempts get fuzzy that close. 
Don't be shy sending more, we love to see 'em. 

John


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks for the positive feedback, everyone! 

K is right on the money, room light plus daylight coming in through the window behind the table. I think I'll go with Torby's suggestion and try shooting outside on the picnic table. 

At least digital film is cheap! 

I'll be back with more soon. 

Best, 
TJ


----------



## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Great job, TJ.... Yes, good equipment certainly helps. 

You've gotten a good start..


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Okay, back again with another effort. Man, lighting is hard!

Here's one with daylight pouring in via the window with shutters wide open and room light off...










And here's another using room overhead electric light and shutters closed...










And finally with shutters half way and room light on.










I think I need to take the advice offered here and move my picture taking outside.

Best,
TJ


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

TJ

Maybe the following link will be of help to you, and not cost you an arm & leg doing it. As for the different light sources, there should be a "light balance" control on your camera to adjust for various sources (daylight, tungsten, & florescent etc.)

*http://www.strobist.blogspot.com/2006/07/how-to-diy-10-macro-photo-studio.html*

*http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/02/welcome-to-strobist.html*


----------



## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Your light is coming from the wrong side. You need it in front of the model, not behind.


----------



## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Here's the set-up I use for my indoor shots: 










To be technically correct, the second key (the one high up) should be labeled "fill," but that also implies that I want the closer one to be a dominant light source; the goal is to have both front lights more or less even. The kicker side light is what gives the photos a slight directional light punch--not enough to create any harsh shadows, but enough to give some semblance of depth. 










Unlike using a soft box, which completely diffuses the light, I don't mind having shadows; they're just not very pronounced. You can see the shadows cast by the handrails, but they're very subtle, and you can still see the details in the shadows. 










On the wide shot, you almost don't notice them at all, but they give some added dimension to the barrel of the boiler. 

Later, 

K


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

TJ, 

A couple of thoughts. 

The lighting is a problem for these kind of pics, as you discovered. My camera has a 'manual' mode and one option is to choose which kind of lighting - there are icons of sun/clouds/light-bulb/fourescent, etc. These are actually setting the white balance that Kevin described, and that's what makes you pics look brown or blue. You can change it while looking at the viewfinder, so you can see it change. 

These cameras, as you also discovered, are designed for shooting snapshots in bright outdoor light. They produce fabulous pics in strong sunlight. I take my models out onto the patio to shoot them in the sun. 

A reflective surface is great to bounce some light onto the shaded side of the model. I have a piece of insulating foam from Home Depot with aluminum foil on one side, and I lean it up on the wall behind the model. 

Finally, *a really sneaky trick for indoor or outdoor shots.* Your photos are taken at decent resolution (probably 2816x2112 or some other huge numbers) and you re-sized them to 640x460 for us. Take a photo with flash from a distance and then crop the part you want out before you re-size it. Flash won't work at close quarters, but get about 10 ft away and zoom in a bit, then crop out what you want. 

These two are the same photo - original is 2016 x 1512:









So I cropped it down to 720 high and resized it to 640 x 511.


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow, you have got to love MLS forums... where else could a guy get so much great advice so quickly. Much thanks to Pete, Kevin, Torby and Steve... that is all killer advice and I will see what I can do with it. Steve, those links are wonderful for a newbie like me, I really appreciate all the help you've given me over the last couple of years.


Kevin, your pics are truly awesome and set the standard that I can only keep trying for. I'll have to rig up something like what you have for close up pics. 

Pete, I like your suggestion about cropping and will try that. Like your boxcar picture a lot.

Thanks again guys!


Best regards, 
TJ


----------



## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Like your boxcar picture 


I picked a good one for you!


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Steve, those links are wonderful for a newbie like me, I really appreciate all the help you've given me over the last couple of years.

No problem TJ, glad they were of use to you.


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

TJ

While the camera(s) that are used may not be the same as what you have, the basics of macro-photography still hold true. So here's another site that may be of help hopefully and provide additionally idea that you can spring-board from.

*http://www.bmpt1.com/*


----------



## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Russ, at Outdoor Railroader had good advice for me. Put your model outside in the shade, sitting it on a large sheet of paper, for a smooth background. Use a tripod. Best shots I ever took was following that advice


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Jerry, 

Thanks for the tip. Outside light would certainly help me deal with the color issues I'm seeing using artificial light. Appreciate the help! 

Best, 
TJ


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey TJ

Just curious, how are your model photography experiments doing?


----------



## RimfireJim (Mar 25, 2009)

I'll second Pete's suggestion of using a reflector (or even multiple reflectors) when shooting outdoors. They accomplish what Kevin does with his multiple lights. Your best outdoors light is a cloudy day, because the lighting is omnidirectional. A bright sunny day can produce some harsh shadows. The reflectors help solve that problem. They can be almost anything you have handy around the house - white poster board, butcher paper, Styrofoam®, foil, etc. Pros use silver or gold foil or white (or others) to get different effects. Play around with one and you'll be amazed at the difference it can make. 

I also suggest getting a good-sized piece of neutral (light) gray matboard to use for a backdrop. It has a flat (matte) finish that doesn't reflect the subject, and the neutral color plays nice with the camera's color balancing algorithm. Or use a piece of cloth of a like shade.


----------



## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

SteveC, 

Been too hot for outdoor shooting. This time of year in Fresno area we are triple digits until 7PM or so. Once the weather moderates I'll be trying again. Staying busy building some boxes to store trains in for now. 

Thanks for taking an interest, I really appreciate it! 

Best regards, 
TJ


----------



## SteveC (Jan 2, 2008)

Hey TJ

I can understand, looking at the news & weather you sure are getting a cooking lately.


----------



## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Nice pics!  
I also agree that natural light is the way to go.. 

I like to photograph models outdoors, with a plain white backdrop, (I have some old pieces of styrene..a white bed sheet works good too) 

shoot late afternoon, an hour or two before sunset, when the sun is low, so you dont get harsh "mid day" lighting when the sun is straight up.. 
shoot with the sun to your back, so the sun is lighting the side of the model.. 

and I like to wait for "bright overcast" conditions..when the sun is behind thin clouds.. 
not direct sun, because I dont like the harsh shadows of direct sun.. 


Scot


----------



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

TJ, beautiful modeling! Loved looking at it. 

As for photo tips, ya got plenty from some of the best in the business (or our hobby). My two cents: shoot in open shade, like on the north side of a building. Nice even light. And if you shoot on white background material, make sure you compensate for what the camera's light meter says by overexposing by probably a stop by one F stop or one notch slower shutter speed (i.e. f 8 versus f 11, or 1/60 vs 1/125). If you let the camera set itself, it will read the white as gray and underexpose, making your photos a tad dark. 

As for background material, I use white background paper, which comes in widths up to about 8 feet, I think. Some pro photo studios use it and ya might be able to talk 'em out of a few feet of the stuff. Or you can buy it from places like Samy's Camera (at least I think they sell it 'cause they have a big pro photo dept) or from BH Photo in Noo Yawk. I know some of the guys use a white bedsheet, but it doesn't lay flat and you can see the occasional wrinkle. Of course, if you have Photoshop or any photo processing program (and you should), you can fix that problem and almost anything else.


----------



## joe rusz (Jan 3, 2008)

TJ, I checked BH Photo and a 8.9 foot wide by 36-ft long roll of white background paper would cost you about $56 delivered. That's a lot of paper, but maybe ya could find someone to share the cost with. 

On second thought, see if you cab glom some from a local studio photog, provided he still uses it. Big studios have coves (that's where the floor and walls all meld seamlessly into one surface) and don't use paper.


----------

