Hobby tips: Take better pics, easily!

 

 

Looks like crap right?

 

Something that I see time and again, is people who put a lot of effort into their painting, but who cant do justice to their work when taking photos.

 

That's fair enough. If you wanted to be a photographer, you'd have started that as your hobby instead. But rest assured, there are some simple steps that will dramatically improve the quality of the photos you take!

 

 

First up, the tools you'll need:

 

All you need is some blue tac, a paint brush or similar, a piece of plain paper (grey is a good colour as its not too dark or too bright) & somewhere with some decent indirect light.

Note: the tripod is optional. 

 

A separate note on lighting: avoid warm or frosted lamps as they will change how the colours of your mini show up.

Get some clear light blubs & point the lamps directly up rather than at your mini.

I use $5 lamps from a discount store with $2 bulbs from the supermarket. I have one set up either side of my desk. Its also worth noting that all these photos were taken at night..

 

 

 

Next, setup: 

 

Blue tac your piece of paper to a wall as shown above.

Put another wad of blue tac underneath the paper & stick your hobby tool in it (this helps get the angle of your mini right for the pic).

 

 

Place you mini so its in the middle of the paper, above the tool (it should be on a bit of an angle).

 

 

Lastly, take the shot:

 

Get in close.

Real close.

Keep your camera steady (if you are not using a stand, try putting the camera on a flat surface in front of the mini, or balance it on a paint pot, spay can lid etc.)

Note: be careful your shot only includes mini & background. This helps to ensure that the camera has the white balance & focus correct by reducing the amount of things in the photo.

 

 

That's it!

Cameras these days (even the one in your phone) are so good, that they will do the majority of the work for you if you just give them something decent to work with.

 

Now, go on & take some good photos!