How to produce good photos for Ideas

[jonwil]

Does anyone have any tips on what I should do to get good photos for an Ideas submission to increase the chance that I can get votes for said submission? Or do people not care how good the photos are for an Ideas submission?

 

[bonox]

Google "product photography". You may also get some value from "high key lighting"

 

The general idea is to either put the article in a background that makes sense, or get rid of the background completely to make it stand out. Often product photos use both techniques by photoshopping a high key stand alone product onto a muted background.

If none of that appeals and is too much like hard work, then at least try making a curved plain colour backdrop to reduce sharp background shadows and use lots of natural light to reduce harsh shadows from a built in flash.

Edited September 28, 2017 by bonox

[Littleworlds]

Hi there jonwil. I think people care a lot about the pictures. Its after all the "calling card" of your project and de facto the only way people will ever get in touch with it on the site. Having a technical solid and visually appealing presentation is therefore really essential, if you ask me.

As for tips: using a light tent, some spotlights, a tripod and a decent camera (doesn't needs to be 4-digit price) should already cover most of it. Apart from that I would use relatively low ISO setting (100 or 200) and long exposure times.

Experiment with angles and see which perspective works best with what you want to do. Also people want to see long shots of the whole build, ideally from different sides, plus pictures of relevant details and functions. 

Afterwards, tidy up the pictures in a photo editor, like Gimp or Photoshop. Crop if needed, ensure that the colours look roughly like they do in reality and enhance contrast, where necessary for example. 

Thats it in a nutshell. The rest is finding tutorials, equipment and experiment! 

[jonwil]

My current camera is a Canon PowerShot SX 120 IS point and shoot, hopefully that will be good enough.

As for a setup, I dont own a light box/light tent (and dont have the budget for one) nor do I have any kind of lights (and after seeing the eye-watering prices a couple photo gear shops wanted to charge, I dont think I can afford those either)

And yes I want to make the photos of my bus project as good as possible to increase the chances of getting the votes :)

 

[dr_spock]

A good presentation is important.  You are trying to sell something.   

A light tent is not necessary.  It may not be practical if your model is too big. You can try to photograph outside on an overcast day and use white boards as reflectors and such. Point and shoots generally work better in good light conditions.  If you're part of a LUG, you could ask to borrow equipment or a member help to photograph for you.  Barter LEGO for photo services. 

 

 

[Littleworlds]

I got my light tent from Amazon, plus some LED lights for about 30 € and it does the job. Its not professional-level equipment and I'm fine with that. About taking photos outside vs. in a light tent setup inside: I find it in general easier having a controlled environment where I don't have to adjust the settings on my camera halfway through due to changing light conditions.

[jonwil]

I suspect I dont need the super-expensive lights the photo gear shops wanted to sell me and some cheaper lighting from elsewhere would be OK even if its not specifically for photography.

Is there any particular color temperature/type of light that works best for reproducing LEGO colors accurately?

I will ask the guy in our club who built the Ecto-1 Ideas set how he takes his photos, he may have some tips for me :)

 

[samurai-turtle]

You could try to make a shadow box. All you would need is a big box just cut two sides off and the top. Plus get two adjustable light sources. And you a third source like the overhead light in the room. 

I was able to have a set up like that for fairly cheap. I found a big box around the house that was not getting used and cut it up. Then I bought two desk lamps for $2 each (I found them on clearance) plus $2 more for the right lightbulbs (they were smaller size bulbs). And this might be optional but you could paint the inside of the box if you don't think brown would work for you. 

P.S. I just borrowed a camera with a macro setting (it will be with a flower icon). 

Edited September 30, 2017 by samurai-turtle
I added a comment

[Lego_Talk]

You could try and render a digital version and then enhance as you wish.

[Jim]

Some interesting topics in Technic:

And a generic topic:

 

On 28-9-2017 at 5:50 AM, jonwil said:

Does anyone have any tips on what I should do to get good photos for an Ideas submission to increase the chance that I can get votes for said submission? Or do people not care how good the photos are for an Ideas submission?

Pictures and presentation are very important, but at the end of the day it boils down to the actual MOC itself. Pretty pictures don't change a mediocre MOC or Idea.