meaneyme Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Hey guys, I am interested in taking a few pictures of my models. I just built a small light booth so I have the lighting I need, my question for you camera gurus is more what settings should I use in my camera? What Fstop settings should I use? Aperture? Speed? Please help. I have a point and shoot type digital camera but I am able to manually change a few settings if need be, I just need to know which of those settings are the best to use.
Big Daddy Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 I have a sony 580 and i always shot in aperture mode with the highest Fstop indoors,and manual focus, outside on a bright day you won't need such a high Fstop
Darin Bastedo Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 Drew Hierwarter just did an excellent article on this in the previous issue of Model Cars Magazine. If you ask me it's a must have for anyone entering an online photo contest or posting pictures online.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 10, 2012 Posted February 10, 2012 It's a wonderful article indeed, Darin, thanks for remembering it. There's also this quick how-to: http://www.modelcartips.com/photograph-model-car.html
MikeMc Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) If you are old enough to use silver ..the "sunny 16" rule works....or set it to aperture priority@ f8 and focus carefully. Edited February 11, 2012 by MikeMc
Erik Smith Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 This depends. You get a greater depth of field with a smaller aperature (larger number) but, and this is important, lenses differ drastically in how sharp they are at different aperature settings. So, setting your camera to the smallest aperature will give you the greatest DOF, but, overall, the picture won't be a sharp as, say, f11. The great thing about digital is, you can shoot tons of photos and compare which are the best. And usually the camera will record all pertinent information so you can replicate the results. On my Canon SLR, I can shoot upto f22, but the pictures are sharper around f13. I shot the same photo at all the f stops, loaded them on the computer, zoomed in on a spot, and compared and that let me know where my lens was the sharpest.
MikeMc Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 (edited) This depends. You get a greater depth of field with a smaller aperture (larger number) but, and this is important, lenses differ drastically in how sharp they are at different aperture settings. So, setting your camera to the smallest aperture will give you the greatest DOF, but, overall, the picture won't be a sharp as, say, f11. The great thing about digital is, you can shoot tons of photos and compare which are the best. And usually the camera will record all pertinent information so you can replicate the results. On my Canon SLR, I can shoot upto f22, but the pictures are sharper around f13. I shot the same photo at all the f stops, loaded them on the computer, zoomed in on a spot, and compared and that let me know where my lens was the sharpest. Do not use any color to check sharpness or resolution..as light refraction can change your results due to lens coatings...use one of these... Digital and Silver are totally different..read here http://www.normankoren.com/Tutorials/MTF5.html Unless you are shooting in JPEG mode....I shoot in RAW and sharpen before and after....A jpeg uses an algorithm to give your results..not what the lens sees. After 20 plus years of fixing camera lenses...I can talk about resolution, refraction, and depth of field and depth of focus. I will put my 30 and 40 year old lenses from Leitz and Schneider up against any newer multi coated optics ....and the new ones will be sharper, but with less contrast. I love Photoshop..and it will solve most image issues. Edited February 11, 2012 by MikeMc
Erik Smith Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I guess the essence of my post was...with digital technology, take pictures at different settings and see which ones look the best. Don't lock into smallest aperture just because it offers greatest DOF. Also, what others do may not apply to your camera, so again, experiment. It costs nothing to shoot and compare.
MikeMc Posted February 11, 2012 Posted February 11, 2012 I totally agree...I used to preach film is cheap.....but with digital keep shooting and then get it BIG and look!! I have found that Canon does have some very well made cameras and uses some algorithms based on the EOS that are incredible ! I do also agree to play around with your camera and its modes...let it work for you...after all thats what DELETE is for!
MonoPed Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 (edited) I posted this sometime back, hope it helps... http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=45767 Edited February 12, 2012 by MonoPed
Gary66 Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 One of the best (if not the best) model photographers was the late Jerry Sims, known as Luke57 or Mitchum on many forums. He always said get your stuff outside in the good old sunshine when taking pics, and that's what I do.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 Gary, I have to agree with you. Jerry not only took some amazing photographs, but he also had a great sense of humor and everything about his models and photos just rang of a great deal of FUN. He is sorely missed.
MonoPed Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 There is something to be said for shooting in sunlight, this was shot on my asphalt driveway, with the camera mounted on a desktop tripod.
Dr. Cranky Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 Brian, that turned out to be a great picture of a beautiful model. And you are right, there's no way to go wrong out in the daylight.
Tony T Posted February 12, 2012 Posted February 12, 2012 It was a Jerry Sims suggestion that I take my garage diorama outside. Here is one of the results of that exercise!
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