Topic: How to Rig, Stage, and Shoot Your photos Professionally! (Cross Posted)

[ActionFigEmpire]

Hey there custom makers! having poured over tons of your hard work and awesome and very imaginative works I have noticed that not everyone knows how to get the best possible quality image from their cameras. As collectors and artists we want our figures to stand out and pop! Not fade into the background or be too dark or blurry. A great photo can make a mediocre figure look amazing. I know some of you out there also take amazing photos with tons of photo shop work and digital enhancements which look awesome!

Now this is a very simple, easy to do at home, way to get professional shots without having to be a photographer or own a photo studio.

First start with a solid background. Either fold a large piece of material such as metal or paper (at least 12 inches wide and 24 inches long) so that there is no crease. Affix one end to a flat surface, this becomes the floor of your studio for your figures and vehicles to stand on, and then affix the opposite end to a sturdy support so that it forms a loose 90 degree angle. There should be a continuous flow in the material and no creases or hard edged folds. This creates a vanishing effect from your foreground to your midground to your background which fools the eye into thinking your figure is almost suspended in space. Next grab a roll of tinfoil and some lights. Small table lamps, goose-necked desk lamps, clip on "hot-lamps" and even flashlights work. Cut squares of tinfoil (the smoother the better) into 12"x12" lengths and place at angles around your stage at varying heights and angles to bounce more light onto your subject(s). To form another great background you can even just cut two lengths of the same material (metal, paper, etc.) and make a 90 degree or 85-75 degree angle using supports and a flat surface and get much the similar effect. This is what I have done. Simply created an angle with 2 separate pieces of aluminum sheeting to make a nearly invisible seam between the two pieces.

Remember to think simple. Large sheets of cheap sandpaper can be laid on the stage floor to look like sand, add bits from your collection such as vehicle parts, droid parts, engines, boxes, etc. to form a more complete environment. Clip another piece of sandpaper to the backdrop for a "lost in the never ending desert" feeling.

Another great place to pick up props for cheap is the pet store. In the aquarium/terrarium aisle there are all sorts of interesting fake trees and rocks and logs and such, perfect for creating simple environments and other worldly flora and fauna.

having trouble getting a figure to stand up? try a little ball of blue fun tack on the bottom of the figure's feet. This also works for hanging props, or getting them to stand and hold a detailed position for a while.

Even powdered sugar or flower sprinkled around can resemble dusted snow. Get creative and play around. Learn how to "fool the eye" with tons of other staging tricks.

also if your climate allows for snow, an overcast day in the snow can render some amazing photos of Hoth battles and other great stuff!

I have attached some photos of the home made rig that i cobbled together in under 30 minutes. Used: Sheet aluminum, duct tape, fun tack, 2 free weights, 2 comic book box lids and some average size TV tables.

Also, despite trying to be froogle the kind of camera and lens you have matters. i shoot with a pretty good professional grade tripod by Sunpak, and a Nikon 3000, with a decent Nikkor 55-200 tight focus manual zoom lens with auto focus. (Camera available at walmart for about $650 lens for $250) The better the lens and camera the higher you can push your quality. Also photo shop isn't necessary! While it's great for effects and digital fixes and cool things like that, a bare bones basic photo editing program like Microsoft Office Picture Manager can be all you need to adjust contrast, color, and brightness and darkness. I use it all the time to touch up my photos. Remember: high contrast, and high detail will make your images pop. But even if you only have a cell phone camera, these tips and tricks will improve your quality.

If you're using the right amount of lighting, don't worry about your flash. Turn it off and shoot on a tri-pod and/or with a timer. Your flash will wash out your dynamic lighting set up and wipe out any dramatic shadows or lighting you might like. It'll add too much light and Star Wars figures, most of them, do well in some shadows. Also Cropping is key! Don't want your messy house or ugly drapes in the photo? Crop it down and bring the focus in tight on your subject and the background props you've created.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions feel free to post them!

Hope this helps a bit!


First image: Our stage with flash. Everything is washed out and in bright focus. Looks great for portraits of people and other things, but check the next image without flash with nice dynamic lighting and shadows--much better for Jabba's palace.

the third image is of the actual set up i have now for my photos.

Thanks for viewing and be sure to tune in to Action Figure Empire for more figures, photos, and reviews! http://actionfigureempire.blogspot.com/

[ActionFigEmpire]

Ok now for the next tip: Digital Zoom versus manual/regular zoom. You might be saying: "What difference? They both say zoom!" Or "That's easy! One's obviously on digital cameras and the other's on film cameras!" Good guesses, but not so. Digital zoom is a standard feature on most any basic digital camera. It's dded to most digital cameras as a selling point. However it's not going to be your friend. Sorry. When you zoom with your camera, assuming you have a zoom button or rocker dial for your zoom that extends or retracts your lens and a bar on the screen fills and empties when you push "+" or "-" ("far" and "near") you might see that there's a bit more of the zoom indicator bar and if you continue to push the zoom increase button it begins to zoom even more. This is your digital zoom. Most cameras have a 10x or 20x or even a 100x digital zoom. This is not the same as a regular zoom. While it does pull your frame of focus in closer, and makes far objects seem closer it does this by sacrificing image quality. While it's ok if say you're photographing the sky, or a field of wheat--the image quality deterioration won't necessarily be as noticeable as when you're tightly focused on a bird you want to capture from a distance but not scare off. If your file is going to be viewed small, for instance as a thumbnail or a profile avatar that's fine. If you're photographing your new custom Jawa or Ewok (a smaller figure) you don't want to use digital zoom. And you'd probably want to get at least a couple feet away from it (maybe 4 at the least). You should notice with your digital zoom that things get fuzy looking. Like watching an old VHS on an old TV. Regular zoom won't give you so much image deterioration and will work better. Play with distance. Obviously if your lens is touching your figure you're way too close and if you can see your whole room in the photo and your figure is a tiny dot next to your cat you're too far.

The best kind of zoom is manual. It puts you in control. If that's too much control, then opt for a zoom lens with both manual and auto focus modes. bring your manual focus in so that your subject is clear by twisting your lens clockwise or counterclockwise (depending on if it's too zoomed or not zoomed enough) then depress your shutter button without triggering a shot and your camera will auto-correct and compensate for any out-of-focuss-ness you might have that you can't see. once it auto-corrects shoot the frame. Or do the same process, key for a timed exposure, tightly focus and allow or auto-correcting and then shoot the frame. The timer will count down. Remove your hands from the camera and step back and stand still.  You'll get a perfect crystal-clear frame every time.

Electronically powered zooms (they do all the moving and focusing with the push of a button) are of lower quality almost always. Doesn't mean you'll shoot a bad photo or that you have to run out and buy a million dollar camera. This just means if you want the highest quality image you will want to treat yourself to a manually operated zoom lens with auto focus features. Trust me, you, your fans, and your figures will thank you for getting it!

[Tamer]

Having had a number of recent queries related to the blurry picture problem I created this small guide too. I am hoping other members can add to this thread with all of their tips for better pics too.

Above all, unless you have a very good phone with very good mega pixels, I have found that using a blackberry, ipod, or similar device just causes headaches and doesn't give you a real good picture, at least one I can use for the fp anyhow. Get a camera, period end of story. Also understand that with your camera the more megapixels the better, but be ready to edit said pics for size or you ar gonna have a heck of a time  uploading them.

1. Get some type of background whether is be plain white paper or one of the Hasbro diorama inserts thats included with vehicle packaging and what not. The less glossy the better and it seems to help the camera's auto focus. Lets face it, it also looks for thought out.

2. Take pictures with different settings on the camera. Start out with auto focus with flash, take a few pics, then take the flash off and if you have a good secondary light source without flash sometimes willl come out better. Then switch your camera to the macro setting (small flower that looks like a tulip on most cameras) and do the same thing you did before. Use auto focus and take some with and some sans flash. Try some far away and then move in. The goal here is to get something that makes the figure look good. Don't worry about having too much background as you can always crop that out later. Then try a few without auto focus and auto flash (if you have  a good light source) and see what you come up with. If you are new to using a camera, get your parents or a trustworth adult you know to help you start.

3. Try to limit anything extraneous in your background. You just want people focusing on your figure. If you get your picture too busy with other figures or doodads or with lots of other things that is gonna take away the focus from where you want it, on your figs.

4. If supplies permit, build yourself a light box (Phatty has done a neat one and I know will be glad to take questions) and you will find most of your problems eliminated.

[DocOutlands]

Something a number of more experienced photographers have told me:  Expect to take TEN pics to get ONE good, usable pic.  Frustrating?  Time-consuming?  Dude, you just customized an action-figure - a few extra minutes with the camera to get GOOD pics beats 12.7 seconds for a ... NOT-good pic.  Besides - picture-taking is fun!  And since pretty much the entire world has converted to digital cameras, taking 17 pics from slightly different angles with different lighting doesn't cost you any more in materials than shooting just one.

So go practice.

[ActionFigEmpire]

Great suggestions guys! And yes Tamer is pretty much correct. In the professional photography world cell phone and ipod cameras are a "last resort" kind of camera. You're out shopping for groceries and want to know what your wife/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend wants. You snap a pic of what the market has and text it to them. Sure. But if you want the quality of a studio shot you'll have to get a camera you can't play music on or answer the phone with

Doc also points out some useful tips too! Just like with anything practice makes perfect. To add to his great suggestions about taking pics from different angles. Remember just because you have a tripod doesn't mean you can't move it around too. While moving your figures around is also helpful, try different heights, and depths with the tripod. If you're shooting Yoda--or another very short figure maybe work it so that you're looking up from down low at it. This can lend a neat sense of height and shadow weight to a bad ass little guy. I move my tripod all the time. Mine has double telescoping legs and a telescoping neck so i can get about 6.5 feet of height out of it... tho I'm only 5'8... a little short for a stormtrooper? No! I'm average height haha. In any case set up your photo stage and rig so that you can at least move in a semi-circle around it for better angles and shots.

Another tip would be to remember to shoot the backs of your figures. We all know the front looks the best/coolest, but if you add a back shot of your fig's neat pack or rocket backpack, or creepy tubes and cyborg parts, etc. it gives your viewers a more complete look at the figure and gives them a sense that it's a completely customized piece. There are tons of dramatic shots from behind too! There's a great one in AFE's review of Jarael http://actionfigureempire.blogspot.com/2011/03/jarael-every-fanboys-dream.html    where she's looking over her shoulder in a sexy mischievous way. That's a great pose for male or female characters! Especially mandos as they're always checking their six to make sure no one's sneaking up on them.

Rmember what Tamer and Doc said: Good camera and lots of practice can help you get the quality you want and need to get on the front page!

[DocOutlands]

(and to "prove" I "know" (*snicker*  yeah, right) what I'm talking about, I have now had several photos published as illustrations - including the cover - for a fantasy game product called "The Genius Guide to the Time Warden" by Super Genius Games, available as a pdf from paizo.com and rpgnow.com - and the pics were all shot using the advice and techniques espoused by *REAL* photographers here on the 'Yards!  So remember, kids - listen & learn, because you could be the next success story!!)

[ActionFigEmpire]

That's awesome Doc! Dream big guys! At least 12 megapixel dreams anyway