I've been practicing with my digital camera and last night I took these. I think I still need work on my lighting, but I wanted the opinions from my fellow modelers. So what do you think?

Pete, looks good! Nice focus, good detail, good color - seems like you've got a nice setup.

What are you using for the background? To my eyes it looks like it might be a smidge too dark, but that may just be the lighting.

Do you have only one light source? I'd suggest adding a second and use a large piece posterboard for a reflector, or some sort of sheet as a diffuser.

I look forward to seeing more pictures!

WHAT THE H***!?! German WWII armour? Have you lost your mind, Pete? :-) :-) :-)

Seriously: Pics look fine. A few pointers though. Try to experiment with one more lamp to get light on the top of the model as well. The shadows are a bit to "hard" for my personal taste. Try to crop some of the pictures as well. More model, less background. Last thing is to add more overall light to the picture. This might be my screen, but your pics seems a bit dark.

BTW: Love your Hummer!!! How did you make the toilett roll?

Pete,

Much better than my typical efforts. What kind of camera are you using?

I have to wait for a sunny day with my camera. That pretty much precludes me from taking pictures in Indiana from October to May...

Shaun

I knew if I asked, i would get the answer I needed!

Yodaman,
I'm using a poster boared from Hobby Lobby. I did try only one light source. Question though, what is a diffuser and what/ how do you use a deflector?

Erik,
Its the Dragon Tiger, I couldn't pass up all thse goodies in the box. I even have the early version in my stash. You have to baranc out a ittle bit when you get bored or stuck on the modern stuff.
Pictures are a little dark, so you and Yodaman are right about the second light source. Have to scrounge up another desk lamp.
I knew you would like the toliet paper. I just rolled up some tissue paper soaked in diluted Elmers glue on a peice of Evergreen rod. While still wet, I placed it in his hand to shape and let dry.

Shaun,
It's a Gateway DC-T50 5.25 megapixal digital camera. I'm still learning the ins and outs of it.

Pete, diffusers and reflectors are both used by professional photographers in portrait studios. They're those big umbrella-looking things on stands - attached in some manner to the flash (or other lighting).

Diffusers - do just what the name says; diffuse the light. Think of it as a lampshade - it takes the "harshness" out of a light, so you can look at it. In photography, it also reduces glare on the subject and softens the shadows.
You can easily rig one up using a bedsheet or a thin T-shirt.

Reflectors (or deflectors) - can be anything from a chunk of white posterboard, to a sheet of gold or silver foil. (even aluminium foil from the kitchen). These are used to change the angle at which the light hits the subject, creating different shadows and also reducing the harshness of the lighting.
You can get different effects and colors depending on what material you use...

Hope all that mumbo-jumbo makes sense, I've been reading the fiance's photography book.

Makes perfect sense Joe. See what you can learn form your significant other!!!!!

Any advice on the picture taken is well appriciated.

Looks good for a new camera.
I agree with the lighting comments.

Composition is generally good, I'd be careful of chopping off the helmet and barrel etc. Barrels are tough, sometime you have to. If so, just balance the main body.
Depth of field is very natural, just a teeeny blurry in the very fat back and very close up. This give it a pretty good nautural look. Be careful when you want a deep field of focus.

Ok Scott, well huh? Really, I got half of what you said. Can you repeat it in terms a knuckle dragger like me can understand. LOL!!!!!! :-) "Deep field focus " and "depth of field" , what does this mean?

depth of field in layman terms is really how much of your picture is in focus versus the rest that isnt. If you took your camera and went real close before taking the photo, chances are only the middle portion is in focus while the rest isnt. If you took it from a longer distance, more of the picture is in focus. Like modelling, there is no right or wrong way with photography.

As already mentioned, definitely go with 2 light source. A reflector is not really needed if you dont have access to one. Just move the light source further away and increase your exposure time.

I got lazy when i took photos of my M1046 and decided to use only one light source. I tricked the eye however by placing the light source directly above the camera to avoid the shadow on the other end.

Jeremy,
Thanks a bunch for your explenation, but one thing, what is exposure time?

Exposure time is another term for 'shutter speed'. It's a way of measuring how much light is able to get to the film to create the image. Shutter speed (or exposure time) is usually listed as fractions, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, etc.

Basically, the slower the shutter speed, the more light will be 'caught' by the film. If you take a picture outside on a bright and sunny day, you'll be looking for right around 1/500 or so. If you want to take a picture of a city skyline at night, then you'll want about 1/2 to one second of exposure time or more.

For using a flash indoors, 1/60.

The tricky part is, as you slow down the shutter speed, you'll have to hold the camera steady. Say you're shooting in low-light at 1/25th a second. In terms of camreas recording an image, that's a long time. If you move the camera during that 1/25th of a second, you'll end up with a blurry picture.

Faster shutter speeds are so fast, a little camera movement doesn't usually cause blurriness.

If you want to ignore all the long-winded stuff I just said, I'll say this: Get a tripod for indoor shots - it will simplify your life.

Yodaman,
Got the tripod. Bob(burik) sugested that I use 1/32 for shutter speed, but my digital jumps from 1/30 to 1/40. Is that ok?

Sorry about all the questions and i know there is a tutorial in the features section, but I like to ask specific questions and get the answer translated to me in a way that I can understand.

Pete,
The shutter speeds on your camera will be fine. 1/30 is just a bit slower than 1/32, 1/40 a bit faster. Really, it depends on the lighting. If it seems like the images are a bit too bright when using 1/30, switch up to 1/40.

What I love about digital is that you can expirament to your heart's content without worrying about how much it'll cost you to develop the film.

If you want to see the results yourself, try this out:
-Start with a blank memory card
-Grab a paper and a pencil
-set up your camera and the subject of your picture
-take a sequence of 3 or 4 pictures, changing only one setting per picture. For example, take a picture at 1/30, next one at 1/40, then 1/50 and so on...
...making sure to write down what settings you used for each picture, so you can duplicate your results.
-after you're familiar with shutter speed, start tinkering with the other settings on the camera in the same way. I've found it's the easiest way to actually see what all the settings do.

It'll take some practice, but when you know what button does what, it'll be a heckuva lot easier to take some decent pictures.

Thanks again Joe. I think I'm getting the jest of it. See, all you need is someone o explain a little easier and more understandable.

:[]--By the way, did you pick up the new AMT/Ertl Episode III Jedi Starfighter. And what about that FineMolds Millinum Falcon. I want one so bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sure, Pete! If you've got any other questions in your photography odyssey, let me know!

No, I haven't gotten any of the new Star Wars models yet... but I am going to Wal-Mart tomorrow. I'll see if I can get my better half to let me see if they've got anything worth picking up. As for the new Falcon - That's a drool-producing kit if I ever saw one... but it'll be a while before the budget allows me to buy piles of plastic again.

Pete,
Keep asking buddy. I'm lurking and learning with you.

Chuck

Chuck,
I think Yodaman answered all that I needed to know. Feel free to jump right in, maybe there is some thing I missed.

I tell you what though, the background does make a difference. Now just have to work on that lighting.