Camera Practice

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Hey guys, i just spent a while taking some practice pics and getting to know my camera a little better and the settings i can change and such to get some better pics. This is a work in progress, thought i would post some shots, well okay a bunch of shots lol

Tell me what you guys think, what i could do to better improve these pics. I used a tripod for most of these pics, but some of them were taken while resting the camera on the old layout itself

My main goal is to try and get as much in focus as i can. right now i seem to be only to get my target in focus and i need to learn how to fix that?

Im going to post the link to my photobucket where all of these pics can be seen. Photobucket gives the details of what settings were used to take the pictures (just noticed that lol) so you guys can see what the settings were that i used.
**Okay so Photobucket doesnt allow a picture much larger then 640x480 so the large image size wont be available to view, ill just post the small pics here :curse: and the original large size pics will only be able for me to view on my computer wall1

You can still see what settings i used to take this pics in my photobucket album tho: http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa46/bnsfcsxcnw/Camera Practice - Small Size/
I took all these pictures at 7M with super fine quality. There original dimmentions are 3072x2304, WAY small then photobucket will upload them at wall1 :curse:

All comments, suggestion, criticism is welcome in this thread. Im going to need all the help and insight i can get if i have a chance at making it into MR or RMC.... :mrgreen: Please also keep in mind that these pictures were taken off a layout that has been taken down (a few things still remain from the old shelf layout lol) so there isnt going to be nice backrounds and such. Its raining outside right now so i cannot take my photo diorama outside to snap some pics off to practice either :cry:
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
First up, i took some shots of a ATLAS BNSF DASH 8-40BW

Here are some pics i took of it using various settings (member, these are smaller sized photos, please see the first post to see them in a larger form). Photobucket also lists what was done to take the pictures

d3e95a48.jpg
 

railohio

Active Member
You know, you don't need to send model photos with the first article if it's just about a track plan. You will however need photos of the railroad you're modeling which will necessitate a trip up to Molesto. Cheer up, though, railroad photography is much easier than model photography!
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Now these last ones really brought out a bad decal, so dont pay attention to it lol (when looking at this cab with your eye, you cant see the decal film, another example of how the camera sees everything!)

SL371850.jpg


SL371851.jpg


SL371852.jpg


SL371853.jpg


SL371854.jpg


SL371855.jpg
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
You know, you don't need to send model photos with the first article if it's just about a track plan. You will however need photos of the railroad you're modeling which will necessitate a trip up to Molesto. Cheer up, though, railroad photography is much easier than model photography!

LOL i know. I did not plan on including any model photos with the trackplan article :mrgreen: im just trying to practice so when it comes time to take some good pics of the modules, i will know how

I think i still have to improve alot though? What do you guys think? It seems my camera is still taking somewhat blurry pictures and not everything is completly in forus and legiable. (i can read them if i am up close to the model with my eyes) Is this a light issue?
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
It's a light issue.

You need lots of light. Don't use the flash, it just over-exposes things. I don't think you need to play with the exposure compensation, just provide lots of light, and the camera will do the rest.

You're also probably putting the camera too close to your subject (IMHO). Try for 6" or more.

Also, you'll notice that the camera reveals what the naked eye glosses over. Missing ties, bare spots in the scenery, blemishes in decals or finishing.... the camera shows all! :eek:
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
It's a light issue.

You need lots of light. Don't use the flash, it just over-exposes things. I don't think you need to play with the exposure compensation, just provide lots of light, and the camera will do the rest.

You're also probably putting the camera too close to your subject (IMHO). Try for 6" or more.

Also, you'll notice that the camera reveals what the naked eye glosses over. Missing ties, bare spots in the scenery, blemishes in decals or finishing.... the camera shows all! :eek:

Thanks Squid, this is why i need to get some good overhead lights lol

I do not ever use the flash on the camera, im against it lol

So i should set the camera a little farther back and use the zoom? or is that just as bad? lol
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
Josh,

Yeah, set the camera back a bit, use the zoom a bit, but you don't have to get too close... it's a bit like taking a closeup of someone's face and seeing their nose-hairs. Step back a bit and get a bit of space around your subject.
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Josh,

Yeah, set the camera back a bit, use the zoom a bit, but you don't have to get too close... it's a bit like taking a closeup of someone's face and seeing their nose-hairs. Step back a bit and get a bit of space around your subject.

Thanks for the tips Squid :mrgreen: :wave:
 

Dan85

New Member
My main goal is to try and get as much in focus as i can. right now i seem to be only to get my target in focus and i need to learn how to fix that?

Hey, I'm in the same boat as you - learning my new camera as well! Hopefully I'm not off base here, but someone correct me if I'm wrong-

To increase your depth of view, try setting the camera to the "aperture priority mode" if it has such a setting. There you can adjust the value; A higher F value will allow for more in depth picture - where everything is in focus. The lower the fstop value, stuff in the background will be blurry.

I also agree with the above poster squidbait, light is really important. I want a set of track lighting for my layout!

But yeah, your white balance and exposure look fairly good for most of them! What I do is keep a little notebook of what works and what does not. Also, a tripod is a real good tool - I usually use the self timer too in order to eliminate any camera shake that might cause blurriness too.


Here's an example:

This is F.8

Picture200965crop.jpg


This is F.22

Picture200894crop.jpg


- Dan
 

TruckLover

Mack CH613 & 53' Trailer
Hey, I'm in the same boat as you - learning my new camera as well! Hopefully I'm not off base here, but someone correct me if I'm wrong-

To increase your depth of view, try setting the camera to the "aperture priority mode" if it has such a setting. There you can adjust the value; A higher F value will allow for more in depth picture - where everything is in focus. The lower the fstop value, stuff in the background will be blurry.

I also agree with the above poster squidbait, light is really important. I want a set of track lighting for my layout!

But yeah, your white balance and exposure look fairly good for most of them! What I do is keep a little notebook of what works and what does not. Also, a tripod is a real good tool - I usually use the self timer too in order to eliminate any camera shake that might cause blurriness too.


Dan, first off you have a BEAUTIFUL layout from the few pictures i have seen so far :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: I think you need to start a layout thread and get us caught up on your layout :mrgreen: BTW, welcome to the Gauge :wave:

Thanks also for the depth of field info, it looks like you got it down pretty good, so im also going to try that :mrgreen: The pictures you posted are GREAT!! Thanks very much :mrgreen:
 

Dan85

New Member
Thanks! I just came here a week or so ago, it was recommended to me by another forum member, kevinkrey.

- Dan
 

Russ Bellinis

Active Member
Even if your camera doesn't have a specific "aperture priority mode", if you can set the f stop it will do aperture priority. The thing to remember is that the higher the f stop number, the smaller the aperture, the better the depth of field will be.

For lighting, get some inexpensive flood lights from Lowes or Home Depot. The clip on style will work fine. Use daylight spectrum bulbs, incandescent bulbs are fine, you won't have them turned on for long periods of time. The floods will put out a lot of heat, so don't put them too close to the models. Use some sort of fill lighting to avoid harsh shadows. I don't think the fill light needs to be daylight spectrum.
 
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