Lighting for Photography

[Scottl]

Thanks, that makes sense.

[lashedup]

I posted a photo of this around here years ago, but this is a cheap but effective way to do it as well.  Just two cheap painters clip on lamps, 5000k 100w CFL bulbs and card stock which you can buy in any color:



Tom's diffuser box solution can also work with these lamps too.

With a white or light colored background you will need to adjust the exposure in your camera a bit as it will see what it thinks is too bright of a scene and try and compensate resulting in a darker photo.

This shot required exposure adjustment big time. I also manually adjusted a couple exposure issues with photoshop afterwards as well...



- j

[peteski]

Here is my quick and dirty setup for in-progress photos of my projects (and even for beauty shots too).  When I need to take photos I bring in a portable stage and I place it on the extended top drawer of my tool chest under the desk.  The stage is just a piece of shelf board. The frame that holds the paper stage is made from flat aluminum bars . I use plastic clamps to hold the paper stage to the frame and the frame to the base board.  The stage is a paper sheet I picked up at a craft store. I have several colors (blues, grays, white and black, but I usually use the grayish blue).  What is nice is that it takes just few seconds to set it up and take down, or I can leave it in place while I'm still working on the workbench.

The illumination cannot be simpler: the circular fluorescent magnifier lamp on my workbench. I just rotate it to be over the stage. It is large enough in diameter do provide a decent and diffused light for small objects (like N scale cars).  I locate the lamp in a best spot for each photo. Sometimes straight above, sometimes off to one side or behind the camera.

The camera is on a tripod and remote release is needed for the long exposures needed under those lighting conditions.

On the camera I select aperture priority and I use the smallest possible aperture (for best depth of field.  I also always use custom white balance to give me best color rendition under that fluorescent bulb (which is 3000K).

[ Guests cannot view attachments ]

Here are some samples of photos taken on that setup.

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=70338

More photos at http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=68661


More photos at http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=58447


More photos at http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=64947

More photos at http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=65324






More photos at https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=34952.msg408111#msg408111

And a beauty shot.


I also have a larger version of the stage for larger models (1:24 scale autos). For illumination of that one I use 2 tripod-mounted 25W halogen mini-worklights from Lowe's.

Here are some of those photos.







These are not perfect, but are still good enough to get them published.

You also need a good camera with manual modes, variable aperture and good macro capabilities. Mine is not so good with the depth of field for some subjects. Then I take stack of photos at a different focal point and combine them into a photo with excellent depth of filed using Helicon Focus.

[lashedup]

Peteski that Engine 51 from Emergency is awesome!

[peteski]

Peteski that Engine 51 from Emergency is awesome!

Thanks, but that is not my model. I take photos at a local model car contest which get sent to Scale Auto magazine for publication. That model was scratchbuilt by Charlie Rowley - a famous modeler of fire apparatus.

[randgust]

Not sure how helpful this will be...but anyway.....

I do all my shooting right on the layout.  And it is simple-stupid.   The entire layout is lit with 'daylight' tubes, typically 5400-deg.   I have EVERY PANEL with a 2-bulb shoplight inside of it, so my ambient light over the layout is sufficient that I can do an existing-light photo at f11 at about a second and a half maximum with a tripod.

That works, but the light is 'flat', and I've been told that by magazines.   Verne Niner (warbonnet fan, if you remember) had great photos and when visiting him he showed me the secret - he had portable daylight halogen clip-ons to cast shadows in addition to the ambient room light.   I got one little daylight halogen clip-on like this:  http://www.walmart.com/ip/CAL-Lighting-Cal-Lighting-BO-228-WH-50-W-Mr-16-Halogen-Clip-On-Lamp-White-Finish/34756900

That clips on the suspended ceiling grid wherever I need to cast some additional light and depth.  Sometimes the softer light is enough, sometimes the additional dark shadow on the subject helps significantly.


Now for my 'backdrop', I have a wife that's a teacher.   She has no end of large sheets of colored construction paper.   I typically take a large sheet and make a fanfold out of it so it can either be propped up behind track, or draped over the front of the fascia, or a full sheet softly curved and weighted down so that it does the same thing as the fancy tents.    Construction paper won't reflect at all, and you can change the backdrop color to suit.  I like a light blue myself.   I set up a tripod and work right off the edge of the layout.

That's pretty much it.  You can look at randgust.com and see that virtually every shot I have posted is done that way.

[Denver Road Doug]

Thanks to everyone that has posted on this thread.   I have received some great feedback.   

Still not 100% sure what my plan is, but I have a good idea.   Likely going to start with one of the foldup tents and likely two fairly cheap (Home Depot-esque) lights with the doggy-doo fluorescents.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Doug
I ordered a system as shown by BCR 570 off Ebay yesterday. I got all the same as shown in his pic for A$40.00 with free delivery to my home in Melbourne. Once it arrives I plan to purchase two additional 5000K globes based on Toms recommendations. The same seller has 5000K CFL globes for about A$24.00 for a pack of 4.
So here's hoping it gives me what I want.
I couldn't build one for that price.
Rod.

[peteski]

I bought and tried couple of those photo "tents" but I wasn't impressed. The are sitting packed away. Not only the supplied lamps were too weak, and the fabric stage was never perfectly flat, the lighting was too diffused (flat) for my taste.  Even with just my circular fluorescent light I have some shadowing.