How to take great photos of your models
Taking pictures of small items at close range like models is more difficult than most people think but is possible to do with a 35mm SLR manual camera and a few other accessories using regular 100 speed film. The problem you will have using a regular setup or an automatic camera is the depth of field (how deep your focus will be) is very short when taking pictures at close range. This is even worse when using an automatic flash. Most automatic flashes use an f-stop of 4 to 8, which will give you about 1” of focus depth at about 18” away. To solve this problem you must increase your lighting, which will allow you to increase your f-stop to aprox. 16 to 22. If you only use one strong flash, the model will be washed out with too much direct light, so it is best to use 2 flashes. Using two flashes requires a flash slave, which is a small unit that connects to the flash that isn’t plugged to the camera and fires as soon as it sees the other one fire. Second you will need a flash meter, which measures the flash intensity. To adjust the flashes you will need to do some adjustments on where you place your flashes. (See diagram to see how I do it) Set your camera to manual and find the highest f-stop it will go and set it there, then adjust the distance and angles of the flashes to get enough light onto your model. You should get the same reading at all three angles. First place the meter where the model would be and point it at the camera and fire both flashes, then point it at each flash and fire only that flash. With some distance and angle adjustments, you will get the same reading at all three spots. It is best to have the flashes about 12” to 18” above the model to get a realistic lighting effect.
Here is a full list of the equipment you will need.
- 35mm single lens reflex camera that can be set to manual.
- Ordinary lens (45 to 55mm will do) with an f-stop of 16 or higher.
- 2 medium quality flashes with an automatic override setting (should be able to reach aprox.40ft.) and some kind of stand to hold then (I modified some cheap tripods to do this)
- A flash slave.
- A flash meter, not a light meter.
- A background (I use a roll of white paper held with bungee cords from the ceiling)
- Good quality 35mm 100 speed film.
Here are some tips I can give you to avoid making the same mistakes I made.
- Have your pictures developed on glossy paper because the matte one will hide some of the fine details of your model.
- Tell your photofinisher to not automatically color adjust your pictures and maybe even take in a sample of your background to show him what it is supposed to look like.
- Your background shouldn’t be too bright or dark. Find something that is almost white and not glossy.
- Try to take the pictures at almost the same level as the model. That way it will look like you are standing beside the model as opposed to on top of a building.
- Use only good quality film. A photographer recommended Kodak Royal gold as his favorite and I also like it a lot. It’s only $1.00 more per roll.
- If you take pictures outdoors, do it on an overcast but bright day. Direct sunlight will washout the photo.
- Do not use filters. You don’t need them.
- Cheap photo processing is almost always not the best.
Experiment and try new things with your camera. It can be fun but if you go overboard, it can be pricey. A way to cut down on the cost of this is to look for used equipment, split the price with some buddies or if you are in a model club, maybe everyone can chip in and then it wouldn’t be expensive. If you need some more help or advice, e-mail me and I might be able to help.