Ok folks,
I've tried and tried to get decent photos of my models. I've used my Mavica digital camera with fairly horrible results, It takes wicked close close-ups, but not so good general views and intermediate close-ups. I've recently borrowed my fathers slr camera and here's the best I could do. http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4290968567
He thinks I need more light ( i agree ) and that the additional light will help me get clearer photos. Does the light level really have that much effect on depth of field and general clarity of the picture? What sort of lights do I need?.....dad suggested a photographic flood with a diffuser.....I don't expect I could afford that. Basically I need some guidance from those of you who post your awesome professional looking pictures in the gallery.....I want to be able to get such great results too!

More light is definetly needed to bring out the depth and detail.
If I may suggest a cheaper form of light. The natural light from the cheapest source...sun light. Just take your pics outdoors.
If this is not possible due to cloudiness or time of day or whatever, you could use incadecent coupled with flourescent. This will provide at a better spectrum than one alone without the other.

I did a little looking around on the WWW to find some sites which provide some tips on "Macro Photography".

Here's a descent site with plenty of info to get your skills up.

Close-up, Macro photography techniques, tips and advice

Not familiar with the camera you mention, but I do know that many 'autofocus' digital cameras have a 'two stage' shutter release button. What this means is that although you only feel one click when you press the button to take your shot, you should push it gently up to the point where it's about to click and hold it for a split second, as this it when many cameras of this type read the distance to the object. Hence, pushing the button quickly prevents it from auto-focusing correctly. This may or may not solve your problem, but it's worth a try. Doing this also reduces camera shake so it's a good idea anyway.
If you are using an SLR, what you really need is a 'macro' lens, as this will solve your depth of field problems, which are most likely to be caused by the type of lens rather than the lighting. Particulary if it is a standard 35mm lens you are using.
You could also try using a faster film which would allow you to employ higher shutter speeds whilst gathering more light and hopefully eliminating 'camera shake' induced blurring (remember to adjust the camera's setting for the new film speed). A tripod will also help, or failing that, brace yourself against a corner, or even on a pile of books or something.
Another suggestion is to get hold of a copy of Adobe Photoshop, the industry-standard image manipulation programme. It's expensive, but you may find an earlier version of it for sale in a shop that sells used software. Or you could search the Web. Failing that, see if you can get a trial version of it on the CD of a Digital Imaging magazine.
Photoshop can do a lot of things but specifically of interest to you, it features a selection of 'filters' to help sort out your images, one of which is called 'Unsharp mask' This is really useful for sharpening up blurred images. I know, I'm the Sub-Editor of a daily newspaper in the UK and I use it all the time. Send me the image if you wish and I'll try this for you, so you can see the difference for yourself before you splash out! ([email protected])
One other thing you might consider, is digitally increasing the contrast of your pictures, as this 'fools' the eye into thinking the image is sharper than it actually is. Many lower-end image manipulation programmes can do this.

Hope this helps a bit.

I have a Mavica (FD95) as well. All the shots in the Long Island Show folder were taken with this. One thing you absolutely have to do is keep the subject centered. One shot I lost had two figures uncentered and the camera "thought" I was taking a picture of the wall behind it. The one shot I saw looked backlit and that may have confused the camera, too. While autofocus has some great advantages, it takes a lot of getting used to comparted to a regular manual focussing camera.

Also, some general tips to remember. More light is better since that forces the camera to use a smaller aperture and give you more depth of field. If you're having trouble getting a good focussed shot up close, move back and use the zoom feature with the flash, letting the camera do its thing, as it were. When I take pics at home, I set my subject up on a stand on my work bench with a light grey backdrop. I have 3 incadexcent bulbs giving an even light and eliminating shadows. IMHO, sunlight without fill in flash, can give extremely harsh shadows and you can't easily control the angles. (:-)

I would do just the opposite. Use a very slow film withas long an exposure at as small an aperture as possible. The slower the film, the finer the grain. The smaller the aperture, the greater the depth of field. (:-)

Actually, I would use a larger aperature to focus in the armor versus everything in the frame.

From the photo I saw, the easiest way to make a major improvement, barring taking the photo outside and buying alot of specialized lighting would be to:

1. Set up the photo in a room where you have plenty of lighting - especially overhead lighting directly above the subject and make sure all the lights are on when you take the photo. Make sure the subject is on a table or something sturdy

2. Get a mini-tripod for $6.00 at WalMart if your camera can accept this (look on the bottom of the camera for the threading)

3. Mount the camera on the tripod on the table, focus the subject, switch the camera to timer mode, press the button and let the timer snap it - this eliminates any potential jarring when you manually snap the shutter button

If you can't get a tripod, use books or vhs tapes or something stable to put your camera on top of to set-up the shot.

If you just do this, your photos will be much better.

GR8Voyager

Greg,

Try shooting outside on a slightly over cast day. Make homemade reflector (cardboard cover with aluminum foil or gold foil paper) to highlight area of interest.

Use a slow speed film (25 or 100), a tripod and a remote trigger.

Regards,

SCUDHunter