wellsprop Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I really envy your photographing ability, how do you get the image to look so real? Id really appreciate any suggestions regarding how to take a photo like that on a digital 'point and shoot'? Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CplPunishment Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 (edited) Ben, this is how I took the photos... (I'm not a pro so others will be able to improve on this method - and there's a bit more detail and example images on my website, here.... https://www.vexillummilitaris.co.uk/?page_id=1299 ) Lighting I take all my photos on a table in my conservatory. I get good natural light in there, and on a sunny day I get good naturally-strong shadows too (but I have to watch out for shadows cast by the conservatory window frames). Set Up & Background Over the table top I lay a Games Workshop roll of grass about 4ft wide (1.2m) and about 6ft long (1.8m). See picture below. I selected a high resolution picture from the internet as a background. It must be as high a resolution as you can find since it is going to be blown up/enlarged quite a bit. I think I used one of an actual airfield in the UK. It's important to get the right image with a very simple grass field foreground and hills and sky in the background. The image was printed off on 5 portrait sheets of A4 (I don't have a large format printer, only a little old Ink Jet). These sheets are glued with spray-on mounting glue onto a thin sheet of plywood (anything will do really). The background image on its board is propped up on a chair's arms and back. The slight angle helps it get some natural light too. Camera & Settings The camera is an old Sony Cybershot 4.1 mega pixel 'point and shoot' thing with some basic settings/options/adjustments. It has a timer and auto focus and some basic configurable settings. The trick is not to place the camera too close to the model. The shots you see posted here are cropped after they have been taken. If you get too close the camera can't focus and the image will be blurred. Also, placing the camera a bit further from the model gives the model a better chance of being completely in focus - from nose to tail. This is important to the shot. The camera settings are set to give the biggest 'focal depth', or biggest 'depth of field'. You need to check your camera's functions - typically it's not the function used for people/portraits but the one for scenery. You need to play; there may be some manual functions that allow you to set an even bigger depth of field. I think that getting the greatest depth of field - as much of the model in front-to-back focus as possible - is the single most important factor in taking realistic photos of models. By the way, the lens on my little camera performs better for these types of shots than the one on my more expensive Canon SLR. The other essential camera setting is to make sure the camera uses the highest resolution setting - the most pixels for the image. Later, on a PC, this'll allow you to crop in tight and still have a picture that doesn't pixelate (look blocky). The camera is positioned on the table surface. This keeps it steady and also creates an angle for the shot that is more like someone standing on the ground in front of the real thing. Also, using the timer and keeping the camera steady on the table-top surface prevents motion blur when the auto settings for depth of field make use of a longer exposure (when the shutter stays open longer). I take several using the timer (rather than my finger to press the shutter button) and usually taken with different settings set on the camera - I never seem to remember the best ones! I don't worry about framing the shot. I just try and get good, bright and in-focus picture first. PC Image Editing On the PC I use a free-bee image editor (Photoshop-like) to crop the image in tight on the subject, may be do a tweak rotation by a few degrees and then I adjust the brightness, contrast and de-saturate the colour a bit (take out the strength from the colour; sort of heading towards black and white). That's about it. In some other images I have played a bit more - like adding an old-style film grain or that sun burst. Oh, and I blur the edges of my background image together so that you can't see the joins between the A4 sheets. Here's a pic of the set up... Edited November 23, 2020 by CplPunishment 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul178 Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Its all been said. I would have believed it was real. I can't see how anyone can top that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted April 25, 2014 Share Posted April 25, 2014 Cheers Cpl! Thanks for the tips, i was very suprised that this wasnt taken with a dslr ill have to have a go with both my 12 and 4 mp point and shoot. Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val Posted April 28, 2014 Share Posted April 28, 2014 Absolutely brilliant, 10/10 from me! As good as it gets 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 Thanks for the camera tips Cpl! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonl Posted April 30, 2014 Share Posted April 30, 2014 That's a fine lookin' plane! Thanks for the tips on photo taking, I'll give that a go! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F7F3p Posted May 18, 2014 Share Posted May 18, 2014 looks like this girl has seen a fair bit of action , very nicely done 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggers Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 You're right Paul,she should really be on three spokers,but good old Airfix don't tell you that and only give you 50% of the option to start with(no over-wing blisters to accommodate them- check out pictures of SX336) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ezQ3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=Seafire+SX358&source=bl&ots=cCGk0T8Ko3&sig=HK49QMs6jg3cMMcJL3noILEm0qs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAmoVChMIxuSlm5DgxgIVCWkUCh25vwb7#v=onepage&q=Seafire%20SX358&f=false Generally FAA('speshly post war ones) kites didn't exhibit chipped paintwork,salt air plays havoc with aluminium. You'd see fresh paint where the chips/scratches had been touched in. Nice work though mate,nice work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synopsis Posted July 16, 2015 Share Posted July 16, 2015 Super shots of a super build! Very nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CplPunishment Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 You're right Paul,she should really be on three spokers,but good old Airfix don't tell you that and only give you 50% of the option to start with(no over-wing blisters to accommodate them- check out pictures of SX336) https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=ezQ3AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30&dq=Seafire+SX358&source=bl&ots=cCGk0T8Ko3&sig=HK49QMs6jg3cMMcJL3noILEm0qs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAmoVChMIxuSlm5DgxgIVCWkUCh25vwb7#v=onepage&q=Seafire%20SX358&f=false Generally FAA('speshly post war ones) kites didn't exhibit chipped paintwork,salt air plays havoc with aluminium. You'd see fresh paint where the chips/scratches had been touched in. Nice work though mate,nice work. Hi Miggers, Thanks for the feedback and comments. Research, research, research. Can't really do enought. I've started to pretty much build only Spitfires and Seafires just cos there's so much detail to learn. I didn't realise the issue with salt-water and aluminium (though I should have; I have an old Land Rover that's slowly disolving). Now that I look back at this model I really, REALLY over did the chipping. Anyway, I have 2 more in the stash, and a Special Hobby Mk XV, so I have three more chances to do better next time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggers Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 I spent ages researching SX358's post 800 Sqn service so that I could do her with 1832 at Culham. A lot of FAA records for the period went to the tip in the 1960's,so it can be hard work to take down a particular airframe to a particular time period. '358 and the particular mods.done to the late XVII's were as usual hard going,but it all surfaced bit by bit. Edgar,Graham Boak and gingerbob all earned their corn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted July 20, 2015 Share Posted July 20, 2015 Top Building !! Excellent and very realistiv pic`s!!!! Thx for sharing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickydicky210 Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Great Seafire 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJP Posted April 20, 2020 Share Posted April 20, 2020 Fabulous work & you've really captured the sit of the aircraft CJP 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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