Secret Agent:Photographing Props Part 3

Here are some more tips I picked up through experimenting:perspective, massing models, angles, lines and over the shoulder shots.

One illusion to enhance your table is to find 15mm terrain and to place your models a certain distance away. Take a photo with the camera flat on the table so the 15mm terrain appears massive  in the distance.

  Let the models crowd your camera so you are caught up in the atmosphere.

 Take photos from interesting angles. It makes your images unusual and changes the viewer's focus.

Lines are also visually pleasing:horizontal or vertical.

Also try to photograph over the model's shoulder so that you feel as if you're in their shoes. This makes the photos dramatic and personal.

 You can create a menacing atmosphere if you photograph from the villian's point of view.

 And a bit of humour!

Hope these tips spice up your wargame photos and allow you to appreciate your models as well as scenery!

Secret Agent:Photographing Props Part 2

Welcome to the second part!

 Try to match up your scenery with your figure's persona so everything blends in and is not out of place.

 The villain here resembles a bonviveur. As a result, it seems as if he collects antiques and various outdated weapons.

 Notice how I place the furniture in the foreground. This adds depth to the photo as you glance over the sofas.

Here's an example of creating layers in your photos.

 Once again correspond the props to your models. The evil genius in this photo is quite modest in his tastes. His focus is on world domination not home decoration.  Consequently, his office is sparcely furnished.

 The scenery gives the miniatures a context as opposed to a blank sheet of white paper.

 

Here again the props detract from any sloppy paint work and poor basing.

To be Continued....

Secret Agent:Photographing Props Part 1

As I always say, I am not a professional photographer or for that matter a painter. In actual fact, I look for quick easy methods to get satisfactory results. Today I will take you through my resin furniture collection from Frontline Miniatures and Copplestone Castings. I will also mention some photography tips I picked up.

The number one aim of scenery is to deflect a sloppy paint job and to distract the vewer from unfortunate scratches on your figures. By equal measure, props add enchantment to your photos.

You have probably noticed that I incorporate many resin doors in my photos. The reason is because they give a sense of enormity. What appears to be an everlasting complex is in reality a 20cmx15cm diaroma.

There is a sense of trepidation:will the hero escape from the bad guy down the long corrdors?

 The doors also add a sense of mystery:what could be lurking behind on the other side? Why is there a need to guard them?

An enemy agent?

 Could there be untold treasures?

Computers with top secret data?

 A meeting in progress?

Let's move to the guest quarters. When looking for scenery I try to look for a homely feel. By having familiar objects, the pictures appear charming. Here the hotel provides a bed, study desk and a grandfather clock.

 It makes it surprising when a villain appears or for that matter a crocodile!

 Keep the camera close in order to capture the tension.

Other props reveal much about a villian such to what degree they are cultured and the extent of their hobbies.

 Here I did not crop the photo.Consequently, the tension is diffused and therefore lost.

Notice the subtle differences.

Ink is amazing on resin as it creates shadows and creates further deepth from an almost flat object.

 For food and wood, ink gives a nice aged, stained look.

I find that photos, where the vision leads upward, can be very pleasing.

It is also intriguing to have little details in the background. You almost forget how I could not be bothered to base the figures!

To be Continued....