Fun With Photography

[SavaTheAggie]

For the recent article in Railbricks magazine, I spent a good few hours playing with the settings on my camera and was able to figure out that long exposures can give you some really awesome detail on all-black MOCs. In fact, a 30 second exposure made my Pere Marquette stand out in a way that I've never been able to achieve outside of LDraw.

It worked out so well, I decided to continue with a few more. Only the green TSRR #500 had a shorter exposure time, 25 seconds, because its' high contrast was getting washed out.

I only had to photoshop the background to get the clean white I was looking for.

Could I use reflectors and different camera tricks to achieve the same result? Yeah, but I'm lazy, and my camera does good work.

--Tony

[Siegfried]

Hmmmm... thanks for the tip! I'll give this a go ASAP. Do you mind if I move this? It seems like more of a general interest topic...

[WesternOutlaw]

Sava: I love your creations. These trains are fantastic. Each of them looks great, esp. by changing your camera setting as you've done. I really enjoy looking at these and may try adjusting my camera for future MOC pictures.

[SavaTheAggie]

Hmmmm... thanks for the tip! I'll give this a go ASAP. Do you mind if I move this? It seems like more of a general interest topic...

Sure, whatever floats your boat. A word of advice - if you're using a DSLR (which are probably some of the only digital cameras that have such capabilities as long exposures), be sure to zoom in a bit. This will help keep the amount of wash-out to a minimum.

--Tony

[Siegfried]

Sure, whatever floats your boat.

I'll move it then.

A word of advice - if you're using a DSLR (which are probably some of the only digital cameras that have such capabilities as long exposures), be sure to zoom in a bit. This will help keep the amount of wash-out to a minimum.

--Tony

I don't have a DSLR, but my Sony DSC-H50 can do 30 second exposures.

[CP5670]

Are you using flash on those? They look quite nice, but you can get the same kind of effect by just using flash. This is why I prefer flash in a lot of situations.

[SavaTheAggie]

I try to never, ever, ever, ever, ever use the flash. I recommend you never, ever, ever, ever, ever use the flash. Unless you have a secondary, removable flash with an adjustable head, you should never use the flash on your camera to take a picture of your LEGO. It's just about the worst mistake you can do.

Rule #1: Do not use your onboard camera flash. The onboard flash removes shadows, which makes things look fake and odd, and washes out depth. I have NEVER seen a LEGO picture that looked better with an onboard flash than without (if you follow the rest of the rules).

Rule #2: Use as much light as you can, either through multiple lamps or reflectors. Reflectors can be mirrors (though they'll make the light harsh), or homemade such as cardboard covered in aluminum foil. The more light, the clearer your pictures will be.

Rule #3: Use natural or "natural" light when possible. Photograph in a room with many open windows, if you have one, but not in direct sunlight. Use ambient sunlight, like in an area of the room where all of the sunlight is being reflected off the other surfaces in the room, or using a reflector. If you don't have such a room, or you're photographing at night, you'll need to create "natural" light. This can be accomplished one of two ways: 1. For many many years artists have been using "artists lamps" which combine an incandescent blub (bulbs with glowing filaments) surrounded by a round fluorescent blub, this combination mimics natural light. Using a combination of these two light sources will do the same. 2. Use a "natural" light bulb. Most all "curly cue" fluorescent bulbs have a temperature rating measured in degrees Kelvin (K). Most incandescent bulbs are rated in the 2000K-3000K range which look red or pink (compared to white). Most all fluorescent bulbs are in the 6000-6500K range, which look blue. Bulbs in the 5000K-5500K range are the closest to pure white, and is what you want to look for, it'll be written on the bulb's plastic base. They're harder to find, but they're becoming more common.

Rule #4: Always use a tripod. Or if you don't have a tripod, rest your camera on something sturdy. This will greatly improve your photos, especially close up shots. If you don't have a tripod, save your money, they aren't very expensive (some can be purchased for $10-$20), and you won't regret it.

Rule #5: Choose your background! Don't take a picture of your MOC on a cluttered table (unless that's the look your going for or it's a throw away or work in progress picture). Either create a scene for your MOC, or use a solid color background. If you use a solid color background, use a sheet, large piece of paper, or even the side of a large box. Your background doesn't have to be all white, black can work well, too.

Rule #6: Use zoom carefully. The more you zoom in, the more things in the background will look blurry. Conversely, the more you zoom out, the more of the surrounding objects will be in focus. This can be used to your advantage. If you camera has a "digital zoom" - NEVER use it. Digital zoom blows up pixels without adding detail. It's a horrible joke of a feature camera manufacturers include to improve the stats on the box of the camera.

Rule #7: If your camera has a self timer, use it. Pressing the shutter button can cause your camera to shift slightly, blurring your picture.

Rule #8: If your camera has image stabilization, use it. This will also reduce blur.

Rule #9: Learn your camera's other features! Some cameras can adjust light balance which can make up for breaking rule #3. Longer exposures can help you if you are forced to break rule #2.

--Tony

[Front]

I always photograph my models with the "paint with light" method.

1: Dark room

2: small flashlight

3: Camera (DSLR) on manual (M) set to maybe 30 seconds and apperture f/9 and often Iso 200.

4: Timed shutter firing after 2 sec after I press button (also "mirror up" method, minimizing shake)

5: Now paint where I want my lightning, moving flashlight round and "hitting" the model from different directions during the exposure.

Front

[CP5670]

I try to never, ever, ever, ever, ever use the flash. I recommend you never, ever, ever, ever, ever use the flash. Unless you have a secondary, removable flash with an adjustable head, you should never use the flash on your camera to take a picture of your LEGO. It's just about the worst mistake you can do.

Rule #1: Do not use your onboard camera flash. The onboard flash removes shadows, which makes things look fake and odd, and washes out depth. I have NEVER seen a LEGO picture that looked better with an onboard flash than without (if you follow the rest of the rules).

I hear everyone say this, but sometimes that "fake and odd" look is exactly what you want. It produces exaggerated lighting and contrast that makes accents on models "pop out" more in many situations, similar to what you see on the box pictures.

The main reason I like flash though is that most cheap point-and-shoot cameras have a lot of trouble taking a completely sharp picture unflashed, even with a lot of bright ambient light and a still surface/timer. I am no photography expert, but I always get some amount of blurriness on low ISO settings with the cameras I've used, no matter what I do. This is probably not an issue with more expensive models.