I’m not sure if this area has been covered by another thread so here goes[%-)]
I want to be able to photograph some of my models and a diorama when it is finished[^] I have both a digital camara and a single reflex 35mm with wide angle and telephoto lens[8D] Which would be better[?] Do I do it indoors with flash or outside with sunlight[?] You must know by now I don’t know a lot about taking photos[:(]
Any and all help will be greatly appreciated[:D]
Richard
I recommend using the wide angle lens. The telephoto lens will focus on a small part of the diorama and will not show much of the diorama. If either camera has a “macro” function, be sure to use that as well. Macro will allow you to photograph the diorama at close ranges and the pictures will still have very good detail. As for lighting, take a couple of pictures outside and inside and then go with what you think looks the best. HTH.
My only piece of advice is to not use the flash, it really effects the colours.
For web posting, a digital camera will give better results and be much more convenient. I don’t own a digital, but plan on getting one soon. If you photograph for the web with a 35mm film camera, you then have to scan the photos into a digital format, and resize them, which results in a significant loss of quality, compared to a digital photo. If you just want photos for an album, both formats would be good, with film being slightly superior, depending on the size of the enlargements. As far as the lens goes, a wide angle can cause perspective distortion, especially when photographing an aircraft model. I much prefer to use a moderate telephoto in the 85mm to 105mm range on a film 35mm SLR. Unless you have a DSLR, this would be toward the max on most P&S digitals. On a digital camera, only use the telephoto setting in its optical range. If you use the digital extended tele mode you’ll introduce pixelation which will degrade quality. Indoors you can use flash or inexpensive photofloods. Most digital cameras have an adjustable white balance feature which can compensate for differences in color temperature. If using color negative film, most processing labs will compensate for the differences.
Lighting is tricky when taking photos of things like that. Getting the light in the right place will make them look more realistic, but you can lose a lot of detail in the shadows. I’d recommend taking your photos outside, and if possible on a slightly overcast day since that will dampen shadows. You can also use a large piece of WHITE cardboard (poster board or something like that, but make certain it is white and not any other color) to reflect sunlight into shadowed areas. Don’t use the flash alone, as ShermanFreak mentioned. If you can set it on a low setting and use it for “Fill” lighting to get some light into the shadowed areas that will work fine, but using it as the only source of light will highlight what the light hits and everything else will be in deep shadow. The colors wil also get washed out to nothing.
Using the telephoto setting on your digital camera or a long tele lens on your 35mm can cause depth of field problems. If you look at a closeup photo of something, you’ll see that objects very close to the camera and objects far from the camera are out of focus while the subject is in focus. This is “Depth Of Field” and most digital cameras have a very shallow depth of field, especially when focused very close up. I’ve taken some pix of my models and fish that had a depth of field of less than 2 inches. If you use your digital, preview the images before you tear everything down to make sure you got what you wanted. [:)].
I agree with Rick on the lens choice, but I’d recommend between 50mm and 85mm. You are going to be shooting pretty close and those will give you the best depth of field if you can get them to focus close enough. Try to avoid very wide angle or telephoto settings if you can because you’ll start to get into some distortion problems as he said. Wide angle lenses tend to add some horizontal distortion whereas long telephoto lenses tend to distort perspective. Using the macro setting is fine if you can get the depth of field that you need to keep everything in focus. Most macro settings will drastically reduce depth of field and the only thing that will be in focus wil be a narrow band right in the middle.
Take lots of photos from dfferent angles and different settings, discard about 90% of them, and be happy with the 10% that looks decent. I used to fool with photography a lot, and that’s what usually happened to me.
Scott, I suppose it depends on the camera, but in general, P&S type Digital Cameras are designed to have a very large Depth Of Field. The CCD that is the “film” in a digital camera is very small compared to the 35mm film equivalent and the DOF is much greater than a 35mm film camera equivalent. This makes critical focus much less of a problem for the Auto Focus systems used in the average P&S. For a Digital SLR, like the Canon DRebel, NikonD70, etc., the CCD is much larger, but still only approximately 1/2 the size of a 35mm film equivalent.
I used to do this a lot and as MusicCity said about 90% were discarded. I used “gray cards” to establish the light settings and then went one stop either side. The gray cards are some specially made neutral colour on which you set your light meter. This saves a heap of film as the light settings through the lenses may be hugely different to what the gray card will say. I also used extension tubes and the wide angle or 50mm lenses. Now I use a $150 Sony digital and it takes about 30secs for a better result!
Thanks to all for your ideas[^][8D]
You have given me some things to try and I will post the results[:D]
Richard
RSaddlemire,
Got just what you are looking for - excellent article !
http://www.missing-lynx.com/articles/other/bgphoto/bgphoto.htm
Good luck