G-man Wrote:Chim meh? Only if you expect to be spoonfed I suppose.

Spoonfed? No lah, not as if I wan ya to take photos for me.
But Diffuser, reflector etc juz not my language level yet.
For example ya tell me bout softening the light.
I can nv pic how light can be soften.
To me, its only bright light & dim light.

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Zeo Wrote:

G-man Wrote:Chim meh? Only if you expect to be spoonfed I suppose.

Spoonfed? No lah, not as if I wan ya to take photos for me.
But Diffuser, reflector etc juz not my language level yet.
For example ya tell me bout softening the light.
I can nv pic how light can be soften.
To me, its only bright light & dim light.

Eg, u shine a light onto your model kit, what do you see? Then next you place a tissue paper in front of the light, notice the difference? This is because light has been diffused. When you diffuse something, it becomes softer. Try it for yourself. You'll see what I mean.

Hope that helps.

 IP Address: 218.212.76.187

I found a pretty damn good site about lighting in case you guys see the need for great lighting in photos and don't know how (like me).

http://www.photoflexlightingschool.com/

And as a bonus, theres a product that looks pretty much exactly the same!! Down to the cover used. Maybe came from same factory.

http://www.photoflexlightingschool.com/L...index.html

Something about hard and soft light

 IP Address: 172.21.202.9

Oke, I really learn something now!
Now I understand why my photos always put me in a dilema.
Example, no flash, I get something like:

The whole photo got a yellowish tint. Insufficient light.
Then when I on flash, I get this:

The white parts appear white but some parts are overexposed and some parts are darken & covered by shadows.
Learned a good lesson. Thx!

 IP Address: 218.186.70.204

Zeo, the strange colours has to do with yr cam whitebalance setting.

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Its really quite a deep hole you're going down if you talk about photography.. there's already a great tutorial about all that in the tutorial section! Can go see for yourselves.

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[jus trying out smthng on a small scale]

mahjong paper + 2 flo lights on the sides

click to enlarge









with mahjong paper as diffuser(unshopped)


w/o mahjong paper as diffuser(unshopped)


PSed


personally i cant see a diff ah...haha...bcos my flo light already got some kinda diffuser casing.

but if wanna nick pick can say:

if direct light u can see a more intense influence of white light thus more glaring.

if got diffuser the obj takes on the tint fr the mahjong paper thus making it softer.

sorta learn fr here one:
http://www.instructables.com/id/EKTSDWUR5HEP286OV2/

 IP Address: 202.156.184.33

Zeo, your lighting without flash is due to flourescent light, which casts a greenish cast over your colours. Your flash is definitely too strong. You probably can't cut down the amount of light emitted from your flash through camera settings BUT you can still cut down the light by softening it. Try 1 or 2 tissues covering the flash and you'll see a huge difference in flash photography.

 IP Address: 218.212.76.187

An ikea laundry bag that might looks like a promising alternative to a light tent.

 IP Address: 220.255.126.101

I decide to construct the light stand based on the instructions from link posted by neXus.

CONSTRUCTION

I first picked up a useless cardboard box from office.
This size is small enough to create a trial prototype.


The dimensions of the box was just right for me to shoot a 1/144 scale.


I cut the windows into the sides with 1 & 1/2 inch borders, as instructed. Namely the 4 sides of the box. I feel that just the top, left and right are necessary.


I put the box up and sealed the box into shape with masking tape.


I applied adhesive to the window frame using glue stick and applied the diffuser. I have used 70gsm white A4 copy paper as the diffuser.


I briefly layed 2 pieces of A4 copy paper (same as diffuser) as the background. I have not done a continuous background as instructed by the tutorial because this is just a trial prototype to see if this project is worth continuing.


I know that I should use a fluorescent daylight lamp for this trial setup, but I wanted to see if I can make use of my incandescent lamp. Basically, incandescent lamp is 'warm' light and has a yellowish tone.


THE TEST
Camera: Compact type Canon Ixus 40
Subject: HG Gouf Ignited Yzak Custom
Lighting: Incandescent Lamp x1, No Flash.

Test #1 Incandescent Lamp
Parameter: Custom WB (Fluorescent)
Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/13s, Exposure Compensation 0.


Test #2 From Top
Parameter: Custom WB (Incandescent) fromTOP


Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/20s, Exposure Compensation +0.7.


Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/30s, Exposure Compensation +0.3.


Test #3 Direct from Front
Parameter: Custom WB (Incandescent) Direct from FRONT (outside tent)


Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/40s, Exposure Compensation +0.7.


Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/50s, Exposure Compensation +0.3.


Test #4 From Side (Right)
Parameter: Custom WB (Incandescent) from Side (Right)


Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/13s, Exposure Compensation +0.7.


Setting: F/2.8, Exposure 1/15s, Exposure Compensation +0.3.


CONCLUSION
I have white balanced with the background as reference and kept the pictures unPSed.

The diffuser filters off quite a bit of the light. Any immediate impact of the light on the kit is visible from Test #3, where the white areas on the Gouf Ignited looks to have a tinge of yellow
The lamp from the top (Test #2) and side (Test #4) gives identical colors. However, Test #1 results in a darker shade on the face and body while Test #4 shows the whole MS clearly, but casts a shadow to the left side. Hence, I believe that with 2 lamps on the sides will yield the best results. Over the top lighting may not be necessary.
All in all, the light tent does reduces the shadows to a certain extent.

Understanding your camera is important and not all cameras are the same. Play around with your settings to get them right. I have used the lowest ISO to reduce noise, hence I need to compensate by stepping up the exposure. I tried +0.3 and +0.7 and felt that +0.3 works best for me. By stepping up exposure, I am prone to blur pictures. Hence, I have used a tripod and a short timer to take the pictures.

I am definitely going to scale up and build a large one, so that I can engage the subject from more angles. I will be trying out different diffusers along the way, while I will still use mahjong paper. I will be using various coloured paper as background (for this trial, I shouldnt have used white over a white model).

If you are keen on trying, Things you need:
1. Cardboard box
2. 2x Fluorescent/Incandescent Table Lamps
3. Mahjong paper
4. Coloured paper
5. Masking tape
6. Pen knife
7. Scissors
8. Glue stick
9. Ruler

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