So, the things that you will need:

• A model (to photograph). You might need more than one for some of the exciting options I have for you later on…
• A Camera. Really doesn’t matter too much what kind, I use an old Nikon Coolpix mostly, though a more versatile camera will obviously be more helpful if you know how to use it.
• A Tripod. This is amazingly essential. Seriously. If you don’t have a tripod, get one. If you can’t get one, then it is possible to get by with a pile of books, or something similarly steady.
• 2 pieces of plain white A4 (or Letter, for you foolish Americans out there) paper.
• Some blu-tack (or similar sticky putty).
• At least one lamp. Preferably with a daylight bulb.
• A desk and a wall. I suppose a floor could do in a pinch.
• A computer, an internet connection, a photobucket account and (preferably) some photo-editing software (such as photoshop, paintshop pro, or GIMP).

Right then, assuming you have all those things, I shall continue (well, even if you don’t, I can’t stop you from reading… Mores the pity…).

• Firstly, set up your space. On your desk, lay one (1) piece of paper flat. Add a little piece of blu-tack (or similar) to the middle top of your other piece, and stick it to a wall (or other vertical surface. In the picture below, I have used my PVA glue bottle to prop it up), allowing it to curve onto the ground, like a relaxed L (I believe these are called infinity curves, but I may be wrong about that).
• Position your lamp shining onto the curve, from in front and slightly above.
• Position your tripod slightly in front of the curve, and attach your camera to it.

You should have something that looks like this:

Quick note: Daylight is the best light of all. If you can’t take a photo in daylight, use as many lamps as you can. Because I am lazy (and a student), I only use one lamp, and normally end up taking my photos late at night, which means a lot more work at the editing stage for me. If you can avoid this, you will save yourself a lot of work.

OK, now onto the setting up of the camera. You’ve probably heard people talking about Macro modes. This is the little image of a tulip. If you have one, use it. A picture of mine is below:

This tells the camera to focus on objects that are much closer than it would usually try to focus on, which is very handy for us. I find it works best if you zoom in a little as well.
If you don’t have a macro mode, fear not! For I have discovered a solution, but will go through it in more detail at the end, so as not to distract from the information…

Right, I will assume you managed to figure out how to let your camera focus, and take a picture all by yourself (it normally involves holding a button down lightly while the camera focuses, then pressing harder to take the picture).
The only thing to note here is: use the timer. this way, you won’t be holding the camera while it takes a photo, so you can’t jog it. Very important that bit…

Now that you have your picture, you want to put it on your computer and start editing it, as it will probably look a bit like this:

Alright, but not that great really. At least it is in focus though…

The first thing you want to do is sort out the colour balance. Normally your photos will be quite yellowy, as you will probably have been using mostly artificial light, which is normally yellow tinted (for various reasons, none of which are particularly relevant at the moment…).

There are several ways to do this, depending on how involved you want to be. In photoshop, you can auto-colour balance (which is found in Image > Adjustments). This is normally the best and fastest, but can sometimes get it a bit wrong.

Secondly you can apply a cooling filter, which can be found under the photo-filters in Image > Adjustments. This is quite good, but sometimes doesn’t go far enough.
Finally, you can manually edit the colour levels. This is quite tricky to do properly, and generally isn’t necessary, especially as the other two ways are much faster.
So, your photo should probably look something like this now:

Getting much better, huh?

But there is still more to do. Levels. These things are incredible. Now, you want to be very careful with these, as too much fiddling can ruin any photo, and make it hard to see what is supposed to be going on. They are found in Image > Adjustments (in photoshop, anyway).
So, lets have a look at the normal ‘levels’ display:

[note: I have just noticed this is a screenshot of the levels window for a different image, so please don't be confused at the weird change in shape between this and the next one, they don't normally do that]

This graph is a histogram, but that isn’t really important. The 3 little sliders, however, are. The white one controls the threshold for what ‘counts as’ white, the black one controls the threshold for what ‘counts as’ black, and the 50% grey does the same for 50% grey.
Fiddling with them is the best way to really see what they do, so have fun.

…and ended up with this:

…which will do nicely.
Now, I personally consider this done, because I’ve got a bit fed up of fancy gradients all over the shop, and because it seems more ‘natural’, but that is up to you. I won’t cover doing that sort of thing at the moment, but if it is sufficiently requested, I shall edit it in later.

Finally, upload your photos to photobucket, imageshack or whatever, and let everyone marvel at thier beauty…

So, that is how I take my photographs.

Appendix 1: Macro-less cameras.
Firstly, this is where the multiple models come in, so grab 4 or 5 minis. Anything will do. Then move your camera slightly further back than it is for all of us macro folks.
Line your 4-5 minis up in a diagonal line, like this:

Now, zoom in until you frame all of them. Your camera should be able to focus without too much trouble. Take that photo. Leave the models where they are (very important, that bit).

Now, put that onto your computer, and sort out the colours and levels (if you want).
Then, zoom in on each model. Hopefully, one of them should be in focus (shown below).

In this case, I managed to focus on the 3rd model back. This is where you want to put your models when you photograph them, so maybe mark a small x just behind the models base, to remind you.

As usual, any questions, feel free to ask in a reply, or PM. Hopefully that has been of some use to you, and stay tuned for the next installment of minus_t’s guide to:…

OK, now everybody asks – how can you get such great pictures with just one lamp? OK, here comes the advertising for a particular type of lamp. This is the best lamp, either for painting or for photographing. The lamp does not use a bulb, but a 20cm tube. This is the trick, as the light doesn’t come from one point, the lamp doesn’t serve as a single
source of light, but a pretty good area! And for this reason, in the rare case you get a shade somewhere, it’s still very soft shade.

Even better, the lamp is mounted on 3-joints arm, so you can position it really the way you like. This is very important, as I put it very close to the “watching object”, being it either the lens of the camera (for photographing) or my very own eyes (for painting).

Such a lamp can be bought here in my country in several DIY stores, hypermarkets and of course stores with lamps. Of course the lamp is not the cheapest one, but it’s still pretty affordable. Here it costs about 400 Czech Crowns, which is something like 12 US dollars.

Photographing setup
OK, so look at the pictures and you’ll get the idea, I’ll write few things later:

(Yes, there’s a decent hifi on my painting table. My results are much worse
if I don’t listen to my favorite music when painting.)

Fine, you see my camera is on tripod. This is very important, as we are going to
photograph without using flash, the camera will use a long timing and simply we would not be able to hold the camera to get sharp picture. In fact we are making the picture from just few centimeters, so even tripod doesn’t help that much, so on top of using tripod, I recommend to photograph using either timer or remote control, so you really don’t touch neither the camera neither the tripod when the picture is actually made. So again, I’ll repeat the most important things: use a tripod, do not use the flash, and do not touch the things when the actual picture is made, use camera built-in timer or use remote control for making the picture.

The second important thing is the way the lamp is positioned. It is put as close to the lens as possible, so all places that the camera lens see get light. And as I explained on
the previous page, this is a lamp that doesn’t work as a single source of light, but an area of light, so we do not get any sharp shades at all.

I use plain white paper for easier post-processing of the image in the computer, with any other background it wouldn’t be so easy.

OK, that’s it! Now just take all the pictures and transfer them to the computer. On the next page we’ll look at what more is needed to be done.

Post-processing of photographs
OK, now look at the picture we get from the camera (it is already cropped for this article)

Well, this is quite dark and not that fancy. So we have to do something about it. OK, to tell it technically, the problem with the picture is that the camera captured wider range of light that we would want.

Now get any image processing program – I use Adobe Photoshop, but nearly anyone will do. From the commercial range the other famous and good ones are Corel Photopaint or Jasc Software PaintShop Pro, from the shareware and freeware range ACDSee and Gimp can do this thing as well.

In the imaging program of your choice, open the dialog called Levels. This is a magic dialog, usually explained as “most used dialog by a Photoshop expert, but beginner doesn’t understand this dialog at all.” You will see a histogram, something like that:

And yes, as I said, in the histogram you see the range of light that was captured by the camera. And if you think about what you see, you’ll find out that the camera didn’t get much of the very light and lightest light (lightest light, I kinda light it, oh I wanted to write I like it…). All right, we know that the camera got all the light, even the lightest one, but it simply expected even lighter points and this is why the image is darker, because the lightest light the camera got was not processed as the lightest one, but like it was somewhere in three quarters of the rage.

Enough of theory! Let’s do something about it. Fortunately the image software is able to define new range for the picture:

So move the slider representing the lightest point to a sensible place and
whole picture will look much much better. Easy trick, isn’t it!

Voila! We’ve got perfect picture for our presentation on web. One last note to the Levels dialog: sometimes it happens, that the picture has a bit more of one color (green for example), or it misses some parts of colors (red, for example). With my camera, sometimes violet ends like a blue. Also this can be easily corrected with the levels dialog: on top of the dialog there is a combo, from which you can choose only a single
part of spectrum in which you’ll do the corrections. You can play with it and you’ll quickly understand how to do this.

Now, if you want, you can add other effects (lights from laserguns, motion-blur,
flares, etc.) and get the final picture. And the last thing: Always scale the picture a bit down! With my camera, I’m able to get a picture of miniature that is larger than the screen of my monitor. This is very good for processing in Photoshop, it gives better results. But for presentation, the mini looks much better if it is scaled down.

Well, that’s it! It was a quick guide and I hope you liked it. Now I expect much better Website

I have received some compliments and comments on my photos so I figured that others might benefit from a setup like mine. I have a standard inexpensive digital camera and nothing special in terms of equipment. I should start by saying that I am a voracious scratchbuilder (on a budget too), so my setup is also very affordable and easily assembled at any hardware store. I am not a pro, so my terminology may not be pristine. Real photographers, my apologies.

Equipment Canon s100 Elph Digital Camera – 200.00 (used eBay)
This camera is an excellent choice for model photography and an incredible bargain. While it will NOT capture the individual pores in your skin, I find that level of macro is rarely useful in model photography. Most folks (excepting the McVey’s, Haley’s and Wong’s) do not want a 1024×768 shot of their models eye. It wouldn’t be flattering Everyone has a favorite choice and camera geeks make computer nerds look tame by comparison…;-0

The camera I use in shooting the tutorial is my Elph. I also use my digital camcorder on occasion.

Lightweight Tripod – 40.00 (Best Buy)
Look at all that they have and buy the cheapest one that will be relatively steady. You should shoot with the timer on the camera so steadiness is not that critical as you won’t be touching the tripod while the shot is being exposed.

2 Pipe Clamps – 20.00 each (hardware store)
½” pipe clamp heads and a 60” length of black pipe creates these versatile clamps that have about a million uses besides model photography. These are the verticals for mounting lights in our lighting setup.

3 Shop Lights w/clamps – 5.00 each (hardware store)
Cheap aluminum clamps lights with shades. The shades help focus the light on the model and the matte aluminum finish helps to diffuse the light and eliminate hotspots.

6 Reveal Bulbs – 1.00 each (hardware store)
These bulbs are quite good at simulating daylight. They are cheap and replaceable. They do have a noticeable pinkish hotspot, but rotating the spot off your model is pretty easy and it doesn’t show up much against the background.

Adjustable Model Stand – Scratchbuilt
I built this so I had a stable platform to shoot models on. I wanted it wide enough that I could move the model all around to get the right angles. I curved the leading edge so my camera/tripod could move around it easily and still maintain a 4in macro range. Another tripod with the L-shaped piece attached to the top would work well too.

Base can be a piece of plywood (12”x12”), vertical can be a 2×4 (24”-36”) and the L-shaped top two more pieces of plywood (8”x8” each). Glue the base onto the end of the 2×4 and run a couple of 2” drywall screws through the base and into the 2×4 to secure it tightly and let dry. Glue and screw the L-shaped piece together and let dry. Glue and screw the L-shaped pieced onto the top of the 2×4 and let dry. Voila! Instant model stand.

Get as fancy as you like, but here is the most basic version.

ade Backdrop Photoshopped on Matte Inkjet Paper
Use your image editing software to create a gradient that is full page sized to print out as a backdrop. I like blue because it tends to brighten the appearance of the photo, but you can use whatever color you like. I would avoid reds, oranges or other super bright colors as they may distracting from the model. My gradients run saturated blue to white on an 8.5×11 sheet (11×17 is better, but my printer won’t do it). The top 25% is pure blue, the bottom 25% is pure white and the middle is a gentle gradient. Print this on good matte paper or card stock and it will last a long while.

Tip: If you know someone with a color laser printer or Fiery printer at work, ask them to rip one for you. These printers can usually handle 11×17 paper and print at a much clearer quality.

Setup
1. Find a open place to work where you can connect to power easily and without tripping over a bunch of wires. Trust me. When you snag a cord and it brings down your lights, camera and painstakingly painted models you will curse, LOUDLY.

2. I use the end of a table and place my tripod as close to the edge of the table as possible and my model stand just beyond that. I put pipe clamps on either edge of the table and tighten them down securely. Attach the clamp light to the upright pipes.

3. Adjust the lights to flood the area with light. It will look really bright but trust me too much light is rarely a problem as long as you adjust the exposure on the camera to compensate. With this setup I am still setting to a positive value for exposure. Just goes to show that as bright as this seems…it ain’t that bright.

4. When taking your shot dont worry if it does not fall dead center in your screen. You will probably crop the photo in the end. Try to think of the cropped shot you will end up with and try to take the best framed shot of that. This is easier on colored backgrounds than on photos or landscapes as things do not need to line up. Practice and learn.

Place your model and line up the pMiniature Photography – Page 1review screen. I never use the view finder. Mark the stand where you model is placed. This makes it easy to remove your model and then place it back at the same point. A number of issues might arise that cause you to move the model: shadows/hotspots, dramatic angle, autofocus sensor not aligned, etc.

5. Set your camera to macro mode, turn off your flash, check your exposure settings, frame your model, set the timer, take your shot. Ahhhhh Art….Now it belongs to the ages!

Camera Specs and Settings
Macro – 4in this is more than enough for amateur model photography. Serious photographers will disagree, but the point for me it to get good shots on the cheap.

Zoom – Who cares? I do not use zoom as it typically degrades the Danny Grimes Gallery