Taking pics.... backgrounds?

Discussion of photography, editing and publishing techniques
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ludzik
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Taking pics.... backgrounds?

Post by ludzik »

Ok, so here's the scoop - does anyone have a recommendation for a good "background" setup that easily collapses and quickly sets up and doesn't take much space? If I build something big for white background my wife will skin me alive as the LEGO's themselves seem to multiply and exist everywhere :D

What I was thinking about was a 3 piece setup that is attached on one edge between pieces (kinda in a figure L shape) fold outs and give me a "Corner" to take pics in where I can rotate the model as needed and then unfold it backout and store it flat?
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Sir Valiant
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Re: Taking pics.... backgrounds?

Post by Sir Valiant »

Hey Ludzik!
I think I can help you with this one. For my pictures, I use a regular chair and then stick to it a large sheet of white Bristol Board.
I set one (or two) pieces on a chair and then place the MOC on top. All my pictures are taken outside, in natural light, but never in straight sunlight as the sun will create shadows.
After I take the pic, I will adjust the brightness (this is very minimal adjusting) and crop the photo in an program called Picasa.
Finally I will edit out the parts of the photo that still show some of the house siding, or chair. These are usually in the corners. Which reminds me that all you have to make sure is that their is a white border all around the photo then you wont have to worry about erasing part of your MOC.
I use Paint and just select the colour of the background and fill it in with a paintbrush.

The picture goes from this:
Image to this: Image
NOTE: (The two photos above are actually not the same but I just wanted to show an unedited version so you can see the chair/house in the background)

This is the easiest way in my opinion as all you need is a chair, white Bristol board, and your MOC.

Also AK_Brickster has a helpful tutorial/advice if your into using GIMP.

Hope this helps some!

Sir Valiant~
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Sir Erathor
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Re: Taking pics.... backgrounds?

Post by Sir Erathor »

What Sir Valiant said is pretty much perfect, but I do something slightly different. I usually take a white sheet and put it outside, take the pic and open it in the free editing program called GIMP. I use the lasso tool to go round the MOC itself and then, when I'm done, I invert the selection. Next I click on the icon that fills the background with white, and it's all good! That gives a perfectly white background that highlights the MOC so it stands out really nicely. Hope this helps!
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Brickninja
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Re: Taking pics.... backgrounds?

Post by Brickninja »

This will not be a permanent setup for me, but for now, for smaller things and minifigs I just use printer paper. For larger things, I put them on my white armchair, take the photo, then in iPhoto I edit out the smudges and things on the chair and brighten it up. For even bigger things such as this http://www.flickr.com/photos/110008680@N03/12119979653/ I draped a sheet behind it. I know the background in that photo is pretty hideous, but I had to bring it up to my extremely cramped and tiny room, so the sheet was wrinkled, and the lighting in there is not terrific. Hope that was some help!
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Bruce N H
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Re: Taking pics.... backgrounds?

Post by Bruce N H »

Hey,

This is Peter Hoh's setup, but it's largely what I use - a big sheet of white paper (you can buy a large roll fairly cheap), some tape, and a couple of lamps. By taping the paper to the wall, and letting it kind of curve down to the table without a crease, you get fewer shadows.

Image

Bruce
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