Figurine shooting

[wyred]

Hi guys.
I'm new to photography and because of my day job, I haven't had the chance to practicing outside during the day. Thus at home, I've decided to do try some photography on my figurines.

This figurine is about 15cm tall. I'm using a Nikon D80 with the kit lens. I used my flicker-free desk lamp as lighting and placed a mirror on the opposite side. I used one of my black t-shirts to create the black background.

1. Is the lighting/shadows ok? Anyway I can improve it using cheap means?
2. Was I able to show the beauty of the figurine?

Any C and C welcome. Thanks for reading

Shutter: 1/20s
ISO100
F5.6
Focal: 18mm

 

[voldisinarta]

Your idea of using a black t-shirt is good.:thumbsup:

It's good for a start, but I think you may want to use a smaller apperture so the leg part won't be so blur...

And also, in any human-shaped figurine, maybe you want to experiment more with the lighting so the eye won't be so dark.

Just my two cents...

 

[zac08]

The crop is kinda tight and the WB seems off. Would advise that you shoot in RAW and edit the WB in post processing as you're using a table lamp. Ayanami's uniform is white but it looks very orangey here.

Would suggest that you shoot more and choose the best in your own personal opinion after your own critique, you'll improve faster.

 

[wyred]

Your idea of using a black t-shirt is good.:thumbsup:

It's good for a start, but I think you may want to use a smaller apperture so the leg part won't be so blur...

And also, in any human-shaped figurine, maybe you want to experiment more with the lighting so the eye won't be so dark.

Just my two cents...

Thanks
I will take note of the aperture next time when I try this again.

The crop is kinda tight and the WB seems off. Would advise that you shoot in RAW and edit the WB in post processing as you're using a table lamp. Ayanami's uniform is white but it looks very orangey here.

Would suggest that you shoot more and choose the best in your own personal opinion after your own critique, you'll improve faster.

I still have the raw file. But haven't learned how to adjust WB during PP yet. Perhaps I'll start looking into that tonight. I couldn't notice any orange-ness, is it because my LCD monitor isn't properly calibrated? Thanks!

 

[tjhan]

Yo Wyred! You're doing figurine photography at last? I have the same figurine and she's quite photogenic. You should visit Super Rats' site if you haven't. I think no one on the web is better at it

 

[Garion]

Nice Ayanami Rei figure. I'm new to figurine photography also, but agree with the rest comments...the face is (mostly) in shadow and can't really see the details clearly. Try using another source of illumination to illuminate the face.

Yo Wyred! You're doing figurine photography at last? I have the same figurine and she's quite photogenic. You should visit Super Rats' site if you haven't. I think no one on the web is better at it

Besides Super Rats there's also this site: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/gallery/. The owner of the site does quite impressive figure shoots as well.

My fave from this gallery: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/art/Niniane-Toxic-96680597

 

[wyred]

Yo Wyred! You're doing figurine photography at last? I have the same figurine and she's quite photogenic. You should visit Super Rats' site if you haven't. I think no one on the web is better at it

Yo
I actually bought it after reading your review about it, lol. Can you PM me the url for the site?

Nice Ayanami Rei figure. I'm new to figurine photography also, but agree with the rest comments...the face is (mostly) in shadow and can't really see the details clearly. Try using another source of illumination to illuminate the face.

Besides Super Rats there's also this site: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/gallery/. The owner of the site does quite impressive figure shoots as well.

My fave from this gallery: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/art/Niniane-Toxic-96680597

Thanks, will check out the gallery

 

[Brightblade]

First thing thing, I think that the lighting is kinda off, Ayami jumpsuit looks off-white, and it overall looks kinda dark.
I would suggest focusing on her eye for this shot, and maybe using a higher aperture to capture the entire figurine in focus.

A home-made lightbox does wonders for figurine shooting.
Its cheap (mine cost less than $5, lol), versatile (can be used for other form of photography like simple product shots), and its basically a nice project to keep you occupied over a long weekend.

I got my inspiration from this site http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=281524

For my case, i'm using an ikea laundry basket instead of a cardboard box.
Something like this:
http://sodoityourself.com/the-ikea-hamper-light-tent/

Just my newbie 2 cents .. ^^

 

[tjhan]

Happysoda.com I think. It's on the featured feeds on my site!