Back to Articles Introduction

Simple Approaches to Photographing Your Figures

Fusilier Mike MacGillivray gives some advice and hints on how to photograph your miniature soldiers.

Over the past few months, I've begun photographing (vs. scanning) miniatures for the Spanner & the Yank website. And queries were received about what I use and how to do it. I'll start with the disclaimer that this is not an article about the plethora of equipment options available. Nor is it more than a few simple examples of how to obtain pleasing results. Any photo buff will tell you, there are oodles of choices for achieving basic and/or special effects. This will cover one simple, basic approach. As time passes (and I've had an opportunity to build some terrain.... and macro experience), I'll cover more complex lighting schemes, etc.

Light is God

Whether you're using a digital camera, an SLR, or camera obscura, photography is all about light and how it plays on your subject. You pretty much photograph a miniature as you would a model (though it's debatably less enjoyable). However, your subject is 25-28mm's tall, making it easy to either wash it out with too much light, or bury it in murky shadows. So the first thing you need to think about is, "What is my source of lighting and what effect does it produce?"

You'll need two lighting sources to get interesting results: the first is called your primary, or key light; the second, not surprisingly, is called secondary. While I have studio lamps from a 'former' life, I prefer using off-camera flash as the primary light-source, and natural light as the secondary. This allows you to use of daylight film vs. tungsten (digital folk will need to bear this dated SLR parlance).

The Set-up

Look at the light in your house. What you want to find is some light entering from a side window (left or right) that is soft, but sufficiently bright enough so that you can make out all the detail on your figures. Avoid strong light, light from above, light tinted by colored curtains or blinds, and frontal lighting (at least for this scenario). This will be your secondary source. Put a table within that light.

Errand: Go to a local photo store that sells backdrop, portrait, or scrim paper (all one-and-the-same). They typically come in rolls of 6 and 9 ft. width, and can be found in multiple colors. I suggest getting a 6ft. roll (less expensive) of sky-blue for starters. You can either purchase aluminum bars that allow you to hang the roll, or cheaply find a way to tape a piece from the ceiling, or wall. Either pull down the roll, or cut a piece off that is large enough to provide a backdrop for the table, and drape a portion across the table itself.

With this backdrop in place, and the table now covered, you can choose to do a product-type shot by simply placing your miniature subjects on the paper. Or, as I prefer, create a small piece of non-descript, generic terrain, and set it atop the paper, using the background scrim paper for sky.

Getting the Actors to Their Mark

Now the fun can begin. Place the miniatures you wish to photograph on the piece of terrain or scrim paper. Now, how do you decide what will look most effective?

The Camera and Macro Capability

Put your camera on a tripod and center it in front of the figure(s) you wish to shoot. To get interesting shots of mini's really requires popping for either a macro-lens, or magnifying (or close-up) filters. The latter are attached just as any normal filter, to the front of your lens, providing a 2X, 4X, or 6X increase in image size. 4X is ideal.

Rotate the lens so it is at it's shortest focal distance. This will vary, depending on its focal length. Put a figure in front of the camera and move it around until it pops into focus. If you're using a standard 50mm lens, this will be only a couple of inches from the lens. What you'll see is the limit of the closest shot you'll be able to shoot. Move the figure back a few inches and refocus. Compare how that looks? Here's where we come to some important trade-offs. The closer your figure is to the lens, the shorter your depth-of-field.

Depth-of-field and f-stops

Depth-of-field is the 'area in focus'. The closer the figure, the less depth you'll have. It means figures just a few inches behind the one in focus may be blurred, and this may be desired aesthetically. It depends on the type of image you're after. In any event, light + depth-of-field are two major components to be thinking about. And when it comes to depth-of-field, distance from the lens is only one factor that determines it. The f-stop (your aperture) is the other.

At this scale (using macros), you'll want as much depth as is possible, for you can't get that much! In order to achieve this, select the smallest f-stop on your lens (typically f-16 or f-22). [If this is beginning to sound like Greek, you'll need to lay your hands on a basic photographic primer.] Note that in the viewfinder of most SLR's, reducing f-stop, or aperture, is a trade-off with shutter speed (1/500, 1/125, 1/30, 1/15, etc.). Hence the earlier mention of a tripod. But... we're planning to use flash, so you can set your shutter speed to 1/60, 1/125 (or whatever speed your camera syncs with flash at). The tripod is more a tool for framing carefully.

Where are we?

• We have our secondary light source (side window light)

• We have a table (we'll call it our "stage")

• We have our backdrop for the stage (scrim paper)

• We have either a bare stage (simple scrim paper) or have added scenery

• We have established the closest the figure(s) can be positioned to the lens

• We have set the f-stop to the smallest aperture

• We have selected the appropriate shutter speed for flash-sync

Now, it's on to our primary light source....

Flash as Primary Light

I can only reference my own equipment, but unless you're using a point-and-shoot camera, most allow you to remove or attach a flash off the body. You'll want to do this for reasons to be explained.

I use an old Vivitar 283 flash that has an accessory extension cord which attaches to my camera's hot-shoe. This allows the flash to sync with the shutter speed and can be used on a light-stand, or hand-held. The reason you want to move the primary light source off the camera is because straight-on flash tends to wash the subject out, and/or look predictable. I hand-hold my flash when tripping the shutter. But I don't aim it directly at the figures being photographed. I bounce it off a flash attachment card which diffuses the intensity of the flash. It could also be bounced off your ceiling, or a side wall to achieve the same effect. The main consideration is that this primary light source is simulating the sun. I have found that the best results are achieved with the flash light source hitting the figs from about 10:00. Interesting also, but contrasty, are shots where the light is at 12:00, directly above (Foundry seems to like this angle). Early morning or late afternoon images can be achieved by shooting the figures with the flash at about 3:00. Make sense?

Film Speed

While my flash syncs at 1/60 sec., I found all I really need in terms of film speed is ASA 200 film. ASA 400 film can still look a tad grainy.

Summation

As you can tell, most of the basic concerns are technical rather than creative. The areas where creative choices come into play are:

1. What type and intensity of light do I choose for the secondary source?

2. How do I want my figures arranged? Are they positioned in a way that tells a single frame story?

3. How strong do I want my primary light to be? (Weaker? Hold the flash further away when tripping the shutter.)

4. What time of day is it is it supposed to be?

These are just a few examples to help achieve some consistency and pleasing results. Once you start using multiple light sources and colored filters, you can create glows on the horizon, smoke, and all the rest (can't wait). And certainly, natural daylight as a sole lighting option is there. But with the limitations of close-up shooting, artificial light gives you the power burst you'll need to achieve some depth-of-field.

My explorations have just started. Hopefully this triggers your own interest in using a camera as on of your hobby tools and toys.

See some of Fusilier Mike's miniatures photographed using this method on his gallery.

Back to Top

www.fusiliers.net