Partly testing to see if I can add a picture; partly trying to stir up interest in mini discussions. This is the Chainmail Otyugh with some base debris from Warhammer. Probably the best angle to photo him from is the side-shot used on the box, but I thought I'd try something different. Hmmm, I wonder if this is working....
-
NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Mini: Chainmail Otyugh
- Thread starter Gizzard
- Start date
Somehow I dont think the Otyugh and the Goblin will be hanging out together for very long. I suspect that the Goblin will very shortly become a snack for a hungry abomination. ;-)
A digital camera is a great thing for minis, though getting the lighting right is an art in itself. A lot of times I'll take a picture and think it doesnt look half as good as the actual mini. (The Otyugh pic is probably 80% as good as the the mini; he's a little blurry at such a close focus and he's so dark on the base you cant really see the sort of detail you could in person.) But the beauty of digital is that you just take 10 pictures, look at them right away and decide if you got the shot you wanted. So good!
A digital camera is a great thing for minis, though getting the lighting right is an art in itself. A lot of times I'll take a picture and think it doesnt look half as good as the actual mini. (The Otyugh pic is probably 80% as good as the the mini; he's a little blurry at such a close focus and he's so dark on the base you cant really see the sort of detail you could in person.) But the beauty of digital is that you just take 10 pictures, look at them right away and decide if you got the shot you wanted. So good!
Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
Those look really good, Gizz! 
I use the cheapest Kodak camera I could get that had a zoom feature (which I think is essential). It's a DC215 Zoom. I put it on the zoom, at the highest resolution, light the figs from above with a reading lamp and take the shots from about eight inches away. That seems to work pretty well though sometimes I don't follow my own format. You can check out some shots I have taken in the threads on my own message boards or in future threads here when I have a new mini to show off. 
I use the cheapest Kodak camera I could get that had a zoom feature (which I think is essential). It's a DC215 Zoom. I put it on the zoom, at the highest resolution, light the figs from above with a reading lamp and take the shots from about eight inches away. That seems to work pretty well though sometimes I don't follow my own format.
You can check out some shots I have taken in the threads on my own message boards or in future threads here when I have a new mini to show off. > light the figs from above with a reading lamp
Wow, those photos came out clean. Whenever I use artificial light I get that yellow incandescent tint to my pictures. If I use the flash, I get clean white light, but I also get glare off the matte varnish. So I usually wait until the sun gets to a good spot and then take a picture out on the patio.
I'm using a Fuji FinePix1400Zoom which my GF won at an office party 2 years ago. (hehe.) It has a "macro mode" for close shots which (I think) is a 3x Optical Zoom. On another tack, I believe some digital cameras have color correction to compensate for indoor lighting, maybe I should read the manual again.
Wow, those photos came out clean. Whenever I use artificial light I get that yellow incandescent tint to my pictures. If I use the flash, I get clean white light, but I also get glare off the matte varnish. So I usually wait until the sun gets to a good spot and then take a picture out on the patio.
I'm using a Fuji FinePix1400Zoom which my GF won at an office party 2 years ago. (hehe.) It has a "macro mode" for close shots which (I think) is a 3x Optical Zoom. On another tack, I believe some digital cameras have color correction to compensate for indoor lighting, maybe I should read the manual again.
Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
Gizzard said:> light the figs from above with a reading lamp
Wow, those photos came out clean. Whenever I use artificial light I get that yellow incandescent tint to my pictures. If I use the flash, I get clean white light, but I also get glare off the matte varnish. So I usually wait until the sun gets to a good spot and then take a picture out on the patio.
I'm using a Fuji FinePix1400Zoom which my GF won at an office party 2 years ago. (hehe.) It has a "macro mode" for close shots which (I think) is a 3x Optical Zoom. On another tack, I believe some digital cameras have color correction to compensate for indoor lighting, maybe I should read the manual again.
I should have been more clear. I light them from above with a reading lamp and use the auto flash. I'm guessing that the lamp offsets the flash so that I don't get that glare you're talking about. Plus the lamp difuses the shadows a bit. That might take some of the ambience away but I think it helps to highlight the details even more than the shadows help. Other people I know also prefer to just take them outside and those turn out really well. I'm probably too impatient to wait since I usually wind up finishing figs in the evening.
Let me know what you discover about the color correction compensator. Maybe there's a feature on my own camera of which I am unaware.
psychognome
First Post
That's one neat otyugh...
...and the goblin ain't bad either.
...and the goblin ain't bad either.
frankthedm
First Post
Looks like a poison arrow otyugh. Good effect. Post more monsters, i want to see lots.
D'karr
Adventurer
I would not recommend using the camera's flash for photographing miniatures, specially in Macro mode.
Macro lets you take pictures very, very close to the miniature. We are talking distances of less than 3 inches on some camera models. The camera flash at this distance will cause a glare on the mini and will "wash out/burn out" all the details and color. The effect is similar to what happens when you use a flash to photograph something through a glass pane/window. The glass window reflects the light directly to the optics on the camera and al you get is a picture of the flash reflecting off the glass.
The Cool Mini or Not website has many articles/tutorials on how to set up a rig for photographing minis. I tried to add a link but the site seems to be down.
You can use a single source of light for photography though I'd recommend at least two. An overhead light and a front/side light. With at set up like that your minis will be illuminated in a way that creates good shadow balances. Essential for mini's photography is a tripod. You can get an "elcheapo" tripod at Wal-mart for less than $10. The next thing is a camera with a Macro feature.
That's my two pence.
Gizzard, very good job on both the Otyugh and the goblin. I'd like to see more detail on the base. A well done base adds so much to a miniature.
Macro lets you take pictures very, very close to the miniature. We are talking distances of less than 3 inches on some camera models. The camera flash at this distance will cause a glare on the mini and will "wash out/burn out" all the details and color. The effect is similar to what happens when you use a flash to photograph something through a glass pane/window. The glass window reflects the light directly to the optics on the camera and al you get is a picture of the flash reflecting off the glass.
The Cool Mini or Not website has many articles/tutorials on how to set up a rig for photographing minis. I tried to add a link but the site seems to be down.
You can use a single source of light for photography though I'd recommend at least two. An overhead light and a front/side light. With at set up like that your minis will be illuminated in a way that creates good shadow balances. Essential for mini's photography is a tripod. You can get an "elcheapo" tripod at Wal-mart for less than $10. The next thing is a camera with a Macro feature.
That's my two pence.
Gizzard, very good job on both the Otyugh and the goblin. I'd like to see more detail on the base. A well done base adds so much to a miniature.
BigFreekinGoblinoid
First Post
Darn, from the thread title, I was expecting the Otyugh to be WEARING chanimail! Nice job Gizzard!
Similar Threads
