Using Backdrops for Your Photos.....And So On.

[Blackwolf]

Never done this before; anyway give it a go,my expression is terrible

 First you need a backdrop; I like to make my own,so I often carry my camera in my car......Here's one I took on the way home from work, from my trusty Impreza;


  

 I look for vaguely dramatic days,and often have an idea of how I'm setting up the photo which gives me an idea of the backdrop I need.
  And remember cropping is your friend,try and take a reasonably balanced pic with a bit of depth,light is important; darker in the background,lighter in the foreground.

  Next up setting the shot up with a scenic (or not) base.

[Blackwolf]

And here's the basic set up; The scenic base is polystyrene,perfect for trees,you can just plunge the tree in where ever you like,the rocks are slate. The base is pretty average,I built it for LPL5,it won't win any prizes,does the trick though.

 


 Next; taking the photo.

[Blackwolf]

Now here is the pic;

  

 Only the figure bases have been photoshopped out,other than that nothing has been done to the photo (well cropping).
 Taking the photo?
  Hopefully your camera has an AV setting,set this high,the higher this setting the higher the focal area (ie more of the scene will be in focus).
 Fix your exposure levels to either -0.5 or 0.0,I find any higher than this you get glowing green grass

 Adjust your white balance,I find my best pics are outside on cloudy days or at dusk,selecting the 'cloudy' white balance icon (this is an personal preference).

 Use a tripod and set the timer,depending on your exposure levels this can change the shutter speed...Be patient
 When you take the photo,don't put the minis right at the edge of the base,leave a little foreground......

  That's about it for now,it's a bit of a rambling mess,hopefully you will see how easy it is,laughably so really

  Now some questions?

[Sangennaru]

That's cool, it worked really well!

i tried to do something like that A LOT of time ago, like when i was 15... the minis are quite horrible, but the overall look is nice!

[Blackwolf]

Nice,like the Tiger,very dramatic

[dijit]

That's fantastic - Thankyou! Now to try some better scenic photos.

[Doomhippie]

Thanks a lot, great to see how you're doing these outstanding pics...

[Mason]

Thanks, Blackwolf!

Any advice regarding the taking of photos is much appreciated!
(Mine are not good, always something out of focus!)

[Marine0846]

A really great show and tell.
Thank you.
Now will have to try to put it in practice.

[infelix]

Very nice and definitely something I should try out.

[Croaker343]

Beautiful.  Give me a reason to save some of those scenic calendars I sometimes get from family members for Christmas.

[dampfpanzerwagon]

I have in the past tended to use a simple pale blue bed sheet or shirt.  Last year while checking out a discount stationers I came across some huge forest/sky posters which I have been planning to use with my terrain to improve the images I take.

I use a Minolta Dimage Z1 just 3.2 mega pixels but a great macro feature. However I have never been able to use the timer - can anyone help with advice?

Tony
http://dampfpanzerwagon.blogspot.com/

[kitrok]

Thanks for this tutorial.  Would something like this work for a game in progress?  Like maybe adding a big panorama to one or two corners of a game board in order to convey a sense of the environment beyond the play area?

[Keith]

I like doing these, its a good use for holiday snaps
I find that faking depth of field by blurring can work wonders too (and helps stop the background from taking away from the figures too much).

[AndrewBeasley]

I often wondered about using a picture on the computer monitor behind the figures.

It may need a polarising filter to cut out reflections and the brightness dropping down but it would make a Martian landscape possible...