HaarFager
Shooting Setup
Here is the setup I use to get almost all of my diecast photos and the pictures of my cameras. If you've seen either of these two items in my photostream, you'll recognize which ones were taken with this setup.
1. Photo stand what I built
2. Clipboard
3. Empty instant tea jars
4. Prop for background
5. Subject
6. Background for subject
7. Camera
8. Sturdy tripod
A little explanation for all the numbered items. The photo stand is something I built and has become a permanent addition to my photography needs. However, this setup can be done anywhere you have a flat surface of about 2' x 2' in area. The clipboard is just something I use to shield the light from above because it has the required width I need to cover over my background, which is usually 8.5 x 11 inches of computer paper or photo paper. The empty instant tea jars are excellent for holding up the cover because they have the required height to clear my subjects and they have a good surface on top with which to balance my light shield; which in this case is a black clipboard, but a piece of heavy cardboard will work just as well. The jars also work well because they don't cause shadowing from my lightsource.
Number 4 is something I use to hold up my backdrop behind my subject at the required angle, and can be anything. In this particular case, it's a 18-70mm zoom lens! The subject of this setup is another one of my old cameras, but it could just as easily be a 1:64 scale diecast vehicle - or anything that will fit inside a width of 8.5 inches or 11 inches if I turn the paper around for a bigger subject. When I do require more width, I use another piece of identical paper to stand in the back behind the front piece and clone out the line where they overlap.
The backdrop, number 6, can be anything you like, but I use either a sheet of clean bright white printer paper or glossy photo paper. The reason I sometimes use the glossy photo paper is because it leaves a good reflection under my diecast cars. I also have a sheet of photo paper that I have printed a gradient blue to white solid pattern, and one gradient gray to white solid pattern, and by positioning them in such a way, I can highlight diecast vehicles with light colored paint better. (You can use just about any color you like.) It makes a darker background and lighter base and foreground, which really makes some cars stand out.
The last two items are my camera and tripod. For this demonstration picture, I used one of my old 35mm rangefinder cameras, but usually I use my Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D digital SLR because I can get instant results and digital photography is cheap to develop. (Free!) But, once you have figured out your average settings, a film camera will work just as well.
Lastly is the tripod. It helps if it's fairly sturdy because I stand with my feet on either side of it while holding two sheets of blank white legal size printer paper. (Or any size of some reflecting material - tinfoil wrapped around cardboard, for example.) I position them on the left and right of the lens and move them around constantly so that the light they reflect from above ends up lighting my subjects in a uniform manner after the long 20-30 second exposures I normally use. I'll twist and turn them left and right, then up and down so that the background paper showing to the left, right and above my object gets lit as well. I try to expose it in such a manner that my subject is well lit, but the white background is evenly lit, without any shadows. The glass jars ensure that no ambient light is blocked. I just have to make sure that as I'm waving the two sheets of paper, I don't ever cover the front of the lens during the exposure.
One other note about this setup I use. I expose my pictures in the 15-30 second range, with the aperture stopped down as small as it will go. The more I can stop it down, the more depth of field I can achieve and have more of my subject in focus. For tiny cars filmed up close and longways, you need every bit of clarity you can get! A long exposure is needed to light my subjects well enough through such a tiny lens opening. If your lens doesn't stop down to f/36 like mine does, your exposure lengths will probably not have to be quite as long as mine. Digital photograph is great because it allows you the freedom to experiment as much as you need to and you only have to keep the one shot that turns out perfect! And by using an ISO in only the 100-200 range, I keep most of the noise and grain out of my pictures.
Below you can see what the shot looked like that is pictured in the above setup.
If you have any further questions, or I have been unclear about a certain area of this setup, don't hesitate to ask! I hope this helps you take interesting pictures of your diecast vehicles or whatever your hobby is! It helps me immensely in what I do and saves me tons of money over not having to buy expensive lighting equipment.
0738cf
Shooting Setup
Here is the setup I use to get almost all of my diecast photos and the pictures of my cameras. If you've seen either of these two items in my photostream, you'll recognize which ones were taken with this setup.
1. Photo stand what I built
2. Clipboard
3. Empty instant tea jars
4. Prop for background
5. Subject
6. Background for subject
7. Camera
8. Sturdy tripod
A little explanation for all the numbered items. The photo stand is something I built and has become a permanent addition to my photography needs. However, this setup can be done anywhere you have a flat surface of about 2' x 2' in area. The clipboard is just something I use to shield the light from above because it has the required width I need to cover over my background, which is usually 8.5 x 11 inches of computer paper or photo paper. The empty instant tea jars are excellent for holding up the cover because they have the required height to clear my subjects and they have a good surface on top with which to balance my light shield; which in this case is a black clipboard, but a piece of heavy cardboard will work just as well. The jars also work well because they don't cause shadowing from my lightsource.
Number 4 is something I use to hold up my backdrop behind my subject at the required angle, and can be anything. In this particular case, it's a 18-70mm zoom lens! The subject of this setup is another one of my old cameras, but it could just as easily be a 1:64 scale diecast vehicle - or anything that will fit inside a width of 8.5 inches or 11 inches if I turn the paper around for a bigger subject. When I do require more width, I use another piece of identical paper to stand in the back behind the front piece and clone out the line where they overlap.
The backdrop, number 6, can be anything you like, but I use either a sheet of clean bright white printer paper or glossy photo paper. The reason I sometimes use the glossy photo paper is because it leaves a good reflection under my diecast cars. I also have a sheet of photo paper that I have printed a gradient blue to white solid pattern, and one gradient gray to white solid pattern, and by positioning them in such a way, I can highlight diecast vehicles with light colored paint better. (You can use just about any color you like.) It makes a darker background and lighter base and foreground, which really makes some cars stand out.
The last two items are my camera and tripod. For this demonstration picture, I used one of my old 35mm rangefinder cameras, but usually I use my Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D digital SLR because I can get instant results and digital photography is cheap to develop. (Free!) But, once you have figured out your average settings, a film camera will work just as well.
Lastly is the tripod. It helps if it's fairly sturdy because I stand with my feet on either side of it while holding two sheets of blank white legal size printer paper. (Or any size of some reflecting material - tinfoil wrapped around cardboard, for example.) I position them on the left and right of the lens and move them around constantly so that the light they reflect from above ends up lighting my subjects in a uniform manner after the long 20-30 second exposures I normally use. I'll twist and turn them left and right, then up and down so that the background paper showing to the left, right and above my object gets lit as well. I try to expose it in such a manner that my subject is well lit, but the white background is evenly lit, without any shadows. The glass jars ensure that no ambient light is blocked. I just have to make sure that as I'm waving the two sheets of paper, I don't ever cover the front of the lens during the exposure.
One other note about this setup I use. I expose my pictures in the 15-30 second range, with the aperture stopped down as small as it will go. The more I can stop it down, the more depth of field I can achieve and have more of my subject in focus. For tiny cars filmed up close and longways, you need every bit of clarity you can get! A long exposure is needed to light my subjects well enough through such a tiny lens opening. If your lens doesn't stop down to f/36 like mine does, your exposure lengths will probably not have to be quite as long as mine. Digital photograph is great because it allows you the freedom to experiment as much as you need to and you only have to keep the one shot that turns out perfect! And by using an ISO in only the 100-200 range, I keep most of the noise and grain out of my pictures.
Below you can see what the shot looked like that is pictured in the above setup.
If you have any further questions, or I have been unclear about a certain area of this setup, don't hesitate to ask! I hope this helps you take interesting pictures of your diecast vehicles or whatever your hobby is! It helps me immensely in what I do and saves me tons of money over not having to buy expensive lighting equipment.
0738cf