Shout out to GW

[Dlatrex]

I am not sure if there is a better location to make mention of this, but I was a little taken aback when looking at What's New Tod-...I mean White Dwarf Daily on GW's site:


Taking Pictures with Dan and Glenn
http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/wnt/blog.jsp

This was a perfectly simple, well illustrated, very practical hobby article. Time and again these are well received, but underrepresented. I don't know if BOLS has done any articles on photographing miniatures previously, but I for one certainly welcomed this little visit! :D

[magickbk]

I enjoyed this. Frequently I've found that camera tutorials online go a little too far in the photography hobbyist direction. This was short and simple.

Many of the WDD articles are like this. It is a good format for what is technically a blog post. I never find it TL;DR.

[inquisitorsog]

You'll notice they don't say use Macro setting!

Using macro all of the time is a pretty common mistake when taking pictures of minis in order to showcase your modelling/painting skills. Macro is great when it's great, but not a jack of all trades. Most cameras with a macro mode are pre-set to create those wonderful pictures where a flower is in sharp focus, but the rest of the plant is blurred. This will carry to your models. One portion of the model will be in crisp focus, but other parts will be blurred somewhat. This is great if you want to draw focus to the face, but not great when trying to showcase the model itself.

Get that f/number up (Actually down, it's a fraction.. f/22 is smaller than f/3.5). Step back a tad and zoom in. Get a tripod or box or something to rest the camera on. Shoot. Shoot many times making little adjustments each time. It's digital, more shots are free!

[Wildeybeast]

The online stuff they are doing has been really good of late. We are all too quick to criticise when they get things wrong, so here's to them getting stuff right!

[Psychosplodge]

But I can't possibly praise something on the internet.

[Wildeybeast]

Do you mean you can't praise something which you found on the internet or you can't praise something using the medium of the internet?

[Psychosplodge]

yes.

[Asymmetrical Xeno]

Hey, that is a pretty good article - I've always found it difficult to take photos of minis myself, so maybe this will help :)

[Sainhann]

But I can't possibly praise something on the internet.

Plus it is GW which is to be hated with whole hearted passion.

[chromedog]

You'll notice they don't say use Macro setting!

Shoot. Shoot many times making little adjustments each time. It's digital, more shots are free!

+1. "Use macro" is shorthand for noobs, really. I've used lower settings, zoom lenses and distance to get a better effect than macro could give me. You really DO need a tripod or something though (fortunately, my previous life as a catalogue photographer means I have these.)

[Dlatrex]

You really DO need a tripod or something though (fortunately, my previous life as a catalogue photographer means I have these.)

Hmmmm. This is probably looked down upon by real photographers, but has anyone seen a tripod configured for smartphones or even tablets computers? Given the progress that is being made in their photo capabilities I'd imagine there would be a market for them.
Somewhere.

[Wolfshade]

Apparently http://joby.com/smartphones

[Bigred]

You can certainly use tablets and smart phones (the latest iPads have quite good cameras), but there is still no comparison to SLRs.

There is no getting around the tiny lens size of most smart devices - and thus the quality of images they can produce compared to the much larger lens diameters of SLRs.

I've found in tests that if you put the smartdevice down in a fixed position (don't hold it), and flood your subject with light - you will get decent results.

But you buy a tripod mounted SLR so you can take high quality pics in difficult environments, such as indoors in a fast moving environment, with tiny subjects, that are often somewhat far away (like say miniatures in a game store).

Almost all of our pics of the day are taken in-game at major tournaments - so you are dealing with a fast paced, dark environment, with minis being moved quickly, and players shifting about all the time. It also means flash photography and controlled lighting is unavailable. Its a challenging task.

BoLS uses:
Canon 50D (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/eos_slr_camera_systems/eos_digital_slr_cameras/eos_50d)
70-200 F.4L telephoto lens (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_70_200mm_f_4l_usm)
Manfrotto tripod
Remote Trigger

I usually shoot at f22, with camera controlled exposure time, shifting down quickly to f4-f8 for the "artsy" stuff if it comes up.
The remote trigger saves immense time and roughly doubles images shot compared to using the timer, while a heavyduty tripod is mandatory.

[inquisitorsog]

Hmmmm. This is probably looked down upon by real photographers.
If it gets the job done and the effect that the photographer wants, then a "real" photographer won't care how you did it. Don't confuse the gear geek/snob with "real" photographers though. 1/2 the time the fan boys are jsut trying to rationalize to themselves their expenditures on gear instead of figuring out how to use it.

[Deadlift]

My mrs uses a Canon SLR, however I'm not allowed anywhere near it. So I make do with a £100 canon compact with a macro function (the little flower symbol) I won't win any awards with it but then neither will my painting anyway, however for eBay and posting pics online it does the job :)

[magickbk]

I've found that my little point and shoot works great using some of the tips from that WD Daily article. The biggest problem I have is my camera is awful in low light situations. When possible, I've found taking pictures outside results in some good shots.

[Bigred]

Yeah - that's the rub.

Photography is about light. Any $10 camera can take a good shot with enough time and tons of light. You pay $$$ for the ability to take good shots as the amount of light decreases.

That said, you can get into a base level Nikon, Sony, or Canon SLR for about $400-500, so its not as expensive as most people think. Some point and shoots get that high. You just have to sit down and read the books and play around a bit. Once you go SLR, its hard to go back. I've found its a natural fit for miniature hobbyists. We already like fiddling with complicated things, enjoy reading, and have attention to detail!

[Psychosplodge]

BoLS uses:
Canon 50D (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/support/consumer/eos_slr_camera_systems/eos_digital_slr_cameras/eos_50d)
70-200 F.4L telephoto lens (http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/ef_lens_lineup/ef_70_200mm_f_4l_usm)
Manfrotto tripod
Remote Trigger

That's A pretty nice looking lens, that ad-revenue must be good :D

My mrs uses a Canon SLR, however I'm not allowed anywhere near it. :)
I've had one a year and still can't get the hang of it...

[Bigred]

That's A pretty nice looking lens, that ad-revenue must be good

The funny part is I bought that lens by selling my 20 year old Magic the Gathering Alpha and Betas...

[Psychosplodge]

:eek:

Worth it? Is that alpha/beta meant the same way as computer gaming uses it now?