Taking pictures of your models

[Cool Hand]

Marcus your builds are very inspirational and high qaulity,they would look exceptional shot reflective style.

Here is a couple more I found on AF forum the builder is soono87

I presume the model is sitting on glass

Edited February 12, 2012 by Cool Hand

[Dr. Cranky]

This kind of photo reminds me of some of these pictures they take in swimming pools under water to capture some amazing details . . .

Like this one:

[Tony T]

Luke...those are fabulous pictures! Remind me of real car photo shoots where the flood the ground to gain the same effect. Car and Driver did a lot like that over the years. Could have been a dry lake bed, I don't recall. I'm sure indoors the same effect could be done with a shallow pan with a piece of glass to keep the model up out of the water...will have to try something out like that! Will have to wait for spring to try to find a spot outside...or just use ice...

[Dr. Cranky]

Tony, I think you've come up with a great idea when you said "ice." It'd be so cool to take a picture of a model inside a freezer where you have allowed the water to form into stalactites.

[Tony T]

LOL! My wife might not appreciate the artistry at work though!

[Gregg]

Jim Keeler told me he used to shoot the models on a piece of glass. I'll try to see if he has any prints/slides left of them.

This is a great thread, even though it had a few bumps in the road along the way.

Luke, I love your work.

Please see Harry and me after class...

[Dr. Cranky]

Thanks, Gregg, it's kind of refreshing not to have to explain every single time why these kinds of threads should get everyone salivating. Just the fact it brought us Luke's work is plenty for me.

Now, a question about the glass, which is pretty cheap still to buy in a large enough piece. If you paint it underneath, it would still work . . . as a reflective surface. Some interesting ideas already a-swimmin' in my noggin'!

[Rob McKee]

Hey Virgil,

Just thought id share a way that I like to take pics of my builds outdoors sometimes.

Its not really next level or an elaborate set up, but I feel its a cool way of getting a different type of pic.

Basically I just hose down the concrete which forms a shallow puddle,which helps to capture reflections of the model.

Very cool!!

I'll give that a try for sure.

How long do you set the exposure for?

[Cool Hand]

Thanks for the comments about my pics Tony and Gregg

Now, a question about the glass, which is pretty cheap still to buy in a large enough piece. If you paint it underneath, it would still work . . . as a reflective surface. Some interesting ideas already a-swimmin' in my noggin'!

I think it would still work Virgil.

Experimentation is the go.

Very cool!!

I'll give that a try for sure.

How long do you set the exposure for?

Thanks Rob.Hope too see your results soon from trying out reflective style pics.

I mostly have the exposure set to auto, but ocassionally i go manual and set it to ISO 100 or 200.

Too much exposure can affect the amount and depth of the reflection.

[Dr. Cranky]

Last night, after this thread started to work on me, I ran upstairs to the loft and set up a couple of pictures just to have fun. I've always wanted to take pictures of models at night and with low light. I still have to tinker with the camera settings a bit, but shooting these kinds of pictures is all part of having fun.

I am going to continue tinkering until I get the look I am after.

[Darin Bastedo]

I don't know How "next level" tis is, but I've always thought adding some color to the back ground either contrasting or complimenting, the color of the model adds an interesting dimension to the photgraph.

Here is a shot taken on the hood of my truck...

Here is an experiment I did with using poster board in the same color as the model. I was trying to go for a similar look to the 90's BF Goodrich posters.

In this one I went with a more extreme angle and added some Photoshop to it...

[Dr. Cranky]

Darin, the last shot is FABULOUS. Yeah, man, that's the kind of "next level," we are talking about. Fun and different.

Cheers, DC

[sjordan2]

This won't give you much in the way of specific technique, but it you look at the way this guy sets up his amazing shots of 1:1 cars. it could lead you to new improvements. The key is to have very diffuse overhead lighting, with a light from above on paper to highlight the top, then organizing your lighting from minilights at strategic locations to add highlights. For models, I recommend searching tabletop photography.

http://www.photodesignstudios.com/video.html

[Harry P.]

I'm all for taking your photography to the "next level," but a lot of people first need to get their photography to the "first level!"

How many times do we see photos like this posted?

[sjordan2]

The key is, forget about reflections, mirrors, water, etc. First learn how to make the car look right regardless of environment. This is not simple, and a search of tabletop/still life photography will lead you to better answers. It's more about how to shoot those general subjects than how to shoot a model car.

Edited February 13, 2012 by sjordan2

[Cool Hand]

Here is a basic table top set up I use.

Just a large piece of white poster board and few A4 sheets.

[Harry P.]

Luke, I don't mean to bust your chops, so don't be offended... but your photo reminds me a lot of the typical photo I get submitted for the contest issue. Almost always, the model is so dark and murky that you can't really see anything except a silhouette. If you lit your shot better, your photo could have looked like this:

I may have overdone it a bit to make my point, and I don't mean to pick on you specifically, but your photo perfectly illustrates the problem I have to deal with all the time. I spend SO much time retouching photos before they get into the magazine, you'd be amazed. Too many people don't realize that there's more to shooting a model than a clean backdrop. Lighting is the most critical variable of all.

[Darin Bastedo]

Luke, I don't mean to bust your chops, so don't be offended... but your photo reminds me a lot of the typical photo I get submitted for the contest issue. Almost always, the model is so dark and murky that you can't really see anything except a silhouette. If you lit your shot better, your photo could have looked like this:

I may have overdone it a bit to make my point, and I don't mean to pick on you specifically, but your photo perfectly illustrates the problem I have to deal with all the time. I spend SO much time retouching photos before they get into the magazine, you'd be amazed. Too many people don't realize that there's more to shooting a model than a clean backdrop. Lighting is the most critical variable of all.

Harry could your Monitor be out of adjustment? On my end, I see every detail of his Model clearly, and your adjusted photo looks washed out and over exposed.

[Harry P.]

No, my monitor is calibrated. I overdid it a bit to make the point, though.

[Harry P.]

Also. if you're using a laptop, the angle that you look at the screen makes a big difference in what you see.

[Dr. Cranky]

Skip makes a great point, of course, about getting the "basics" down first. But, after the basics, every model builder moves on to the level of exploration this thread is trying to get at, and many of you are there already, having fun with your cameras.

Harry, I thought of you and your comments about figures, and here's a diorama by a master builder (Per Olav Lund) who always tells some interesting stories in his work.

[Harry P.]

So what's the story there? The National Guard is pulling over a guy for stealing a fridge?

[Dr. Cranky]

Oh lordy, Harry . . . there's a war on, the man is taking his fridge to his next home. This is one of those that tells a thousands stories in one image. Look at the juxtaposition between the small car (still running) and the burned out tank.

LOL, you are cracking me up! In a good way!

[MikeMc]

Darin....I would trust the monitor...Its in the camera....Simply put if your camera shoots in the jpeg mode...what you see is not what you get !

If you go back to the "old days of silver" you got a negative, which exposed on a sensitized surface gave you a print. Most good printers in the lab corrected by feel..and usually got it right. If not, you sent it back for reprinting. When a digital camera takes a image in "RAW" that is an uncorrected image, you then must correct it using software.....When you get a jpeg from the camera it has been "corrected" inside the computer that took it as the camera uses an algorithum to give you your resulting image. When I process my RAW images I store them as " Digital Negatives"....when I post an Image it is in jpeg, as thats what monitors like.

This is an image of one of the good Dr's cars shot in raw and played with...like the reflection...or notice the "pop" in his shiny paint!

Edited February 13, 2012 by MikeMc

[Harry P.]

Oh lordy, Harry . . . there's a war on, the man is taking his fridge to his next home. This is one of those that tells a thousands stories in one image. Look at the juxtaposition between the small car (still running) and the burned out tank.

Whoa........ heavy, dude......