Mecha Talk

As the topic states does anyone have any tips for taking good pictures of my gunpla without them getting ridiculously blurry and other stuff that would cause the picture to result in pretty much nothing but garbage filler. Please and thanks.

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Mobile suits: RX-93 Nu Gundam/RX-94 MP Nu(Fin Funnel Type), RGM-89S Jegan
Cars: '93 Mazda RX-7 (FD3S)

use a standard background, like a sheet or a large cardboard box

don't get super close, if you are too close to the model the camera will often think your trying to take a picture of something farther away. Take a picture from a distance then crop and zoom in on the model later.

finnaly for mettalic kits, IE Hyaku Shiki or Harry's Sumo, do not use a flash get to a well lit area and take the picture.

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Xbox Live, Playstation Network, and Twitter : Jabman025
and check out my gunpla reviews on youtube http://www.youtube.com/user/jabman025

Read through this: http://gamerabaenre.com/photography.htm

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My Blog: http://gamerabaenre.com

Those Gundam Guys

1st Annual Southern California Gundam Model Competition

The aforementioned article is somewhat moot if you don't have the right equipment. I have taken a couple of college art photography courses. The type of camera you are using is paramount to this. If you are using your cell phone's camera then you are just causing yourself trouble. I also doubt most of you would be using a film camera for this so I'll keep this to specific camera types. I would suggest a digital SLR (single lens reflex) style camera. Namely because even if its an older one it will do the job without much trouble and they usually have good auto settings so you just need to stick it on your tripod, adjust focus and shoot.

However most use whats refered to as the digital box camera, the most common thing you can find in stores for cheap as I assume that cost is a factor. with these it takes some doing because of menus BUT depending on the cost you could have a problem with parallax. from my memory most of the $5 cheapies only have a digital screen reading out its f-stop and how many pics you've taken. I would suggest taking a close look at the camera you use and its manual to see how it works before you decide to use it for your model pics.

For those who don't know what parallax is its a fault of twin lens cameras and when they take close range pictures. Namely the closer you get the higher chance you are off base on the picture. Most of you won't have to worry about this because most of your cameras have an LCD screen showing you exactly what the main lens sees. I will take any further questions on this subject as well.

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A supporter of the HARO mafia.

The Cross-Culture Hero.

This should probably be a secret but... MY NAME IS ANIME-MUN!

hmm... I've never taken any classes on photography; but I do build models, and I do take pictures of my kits, and based on my own experience, I wrote the little tutorial in hopes of helping others. But what the hell do I know, I've just only taken thousands of pictures of models using your simple every day digital camera - never once having stepped foot into an art photography class.

But thanks for your post, as it truly helped me understand what I was lacking in my photography, and directly answers the original posters request for tips.

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My Blog: http://gamerabaenre.com

Those Gundam Guys

1st Annual Southern California Gundam Model Competition

I didn't mean it as an insult, I just wanted to help people think about the actual camera they use for it. Particularly so they can get the same quality you do out of your pics. I'm sorry if it seemed harsh.

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A supporter of the HARO mafia.

The Cross-Culture Hero.

This should probably be a secret but... MY NAME IS ANIME-MUN!

The cameras I use are just your run of the mill digital cameras. It is not some fancy SLR, or anything; and I do not have all sorts of fancy equipment. I've found that a good number of digital cameras have several of the same features standard - again, highlighted in the article.

But the short answer to getting clearer pictures is the following:
Get a tripod and use the macro setting that most digital cameras have.

To get rid of any off color tints that come from the lights in the room/area you photograph:
Play with the white balance function on the camera.

I just figured that since I had written the article several years ago, posting it would be better than just rehashing what was already written; or over simplifying things

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My Blog: http://gamerabaenre.com

Those Gundam Guys

1st Annual Southern California Gundam Model Competition

Fair enough, I was just citing my own experience as an alternative. The people on this forum I assume are all intelligent enough to form their own opinion and strategies and thought it wouldn't hurt to give them a little something more to think about. Most of them will probably use what they have which I guess is the same level as yours. I'm just saying that I've only really used the SLR style since thats what I've been given. Whether it be in film or digital photography.

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A supporter of the HARO mafia.

The Cross-Culture Hero.

This should probably be a secret but... MY NAME IS ANIME-MUN!

Thanks guys that helped alot. It also helped that i borrowed a friend's Nikon D40

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Mobile suits: RX-93 Nu Gundam/RX-94 MP Nu(Fin Funnel Type), RGM-89S Jegan
Cars: '93 Mazda RX-7 (FD3S)

That is a nice camera.

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A supporter of the HARO mafia.

The Cross-Culture Hero.

This should probably be a secret but... MY NAME IS ANIME-MUN!

You bet it is! I was taking pictures I could have never done on my own camera....

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Mobile suits: RX-93 Nu Gundam/RX-94 MP Nu(Fin Funnel Type), RGM-89S Jegan
Cars: '93 Mazda RX-7 (FD3S)

Oh yeah. Nikons are nice...I have my dad's old D70 that I use when taking gunpla photos, and it's worked wonders...way better than the crap Olympus camera I used to use.

I plan on, if all goes well, making a couple of purchases tomorrow and start working on a long-running custom project I've been planning built around the Blue Frame MG. I'll keep y'all posted on how that's going as it progresses.

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// ART/PS STUFF THREAD // NOT ACCEPTING REQUESTS
// GUNPLA THREAD //
// GSD REWRITE PROJECT // UPDATED 02/24/13
"Outer Space has a bad habit of sending menacing objects to Earth"

Yeah, I use currently a Sony DSC-F828 cybershot.

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A supporter of the HARO mafia.

The Cross-Culture Hero.

This should probably be a secret but... MY NAME IS ANIME-MUN!

Yeah having a dSLR will produce better pics but without proper lighting/backdrop setup photos still won't look as good as they can be. Even with a good compact point & shoot all you need is

1. good lighting
2. neutral color backdrop
3. TRIPOD because shaky ass pics are a waste of time when you want to show off your works

My DIY backdrop setup made with used cardboard and black backdrop paper

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5109/570 ... 42de_z.jpg

to produce a photo like this:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3234/570 ... f878_z.jpg

404'ed. Here's the updated link for everyone's convenience:
Gamerabaenre.com photography tutorial
Related: building a light box