Ok so I tried to take some pics they all come out reely bad umm..you can see the one in my gallery (capofmen.shutterfly.com) that itself is very blurry, so now how can I make them better? Also I cant get my pics under 128kb to put them in my gallery on OR?(I tried changing formats but it wont work)

The camera I'm using is a Kodak Digital Camera 6 or 5 something megapixels or I'm sry I have no clue what I'm saying or doing when its about photography?

So while u good folks help me out im bak to my painting table...

First suggestion: Use a tripod. When taking pics of such small subjects even a minute shake will create a huge blur. I am guilty of this as well since pulling out and setting up my tripod takes almost 3 minutes which is just TOO LONG some times. So I usually just stack up some books/boxes/paints whatever and prop the camera on that. It helps but not as good.

A lot of places ( such as Walmart / Circuit City if you live in the US ) sell little portable "tripods" that are only about 6" high and appear to provide a decent platform if you don't want to get something better. I like my larger one because I can set it on the floor and adjust it up to whatever height I want (up to about 6') to get the best angle on the table or counter.

Second, learn how to use the camera's macro setting. It is designed to adjust the focus for dealing with smaller, closer objects.

If you don't use macro, then don't get too close to the model. The camera you mention should be taking very high quality pics and (if you use a tripod and have good light) you can probably take the pic from a few feet away and zoom in after with the software on your computer. Sometimes this will give better results than trying to zoom in directly with the camera (without using macro) on a small object.

As for sizing, get the biggest, highest quality pic you can out of the camera. After putting it on your machine then crop and resize a copy to upload. If you use 'doze a good, intuitive and free program is IrfanView. If you use Linux there are a number of good options but I can't recall the names off the top of my head. I use Gimp which is overkill for what you want, but my wife uses another which she finds very easy for basic manipulation. If you're on a Mac then you probably already have an excellent tool for this as well.

Hope this helps. Remember - STEADY PICs first, good light and proper focus method (macro if possible).

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Wait ye the finish! The fight is not yours.
Beowulf

http://TacticsInMiniature.com

That is great info Beowolf. May I add that I use the timer on my camera to eliminate any movement of the camera due to pushing the shutter release. I don't use a flash, either. It tends to blast the color and detail away. Use a good strong light source if indoor. Try some different situations to see what works best for your camera.
Good luck,
G

You are experiencing exactly the same problem everyone faces when they first start photographing minis - it's actually quite a hard thing to do.

The key things to get right with photographing minis are (in order of importance):

1. Focus
2. Lighting
3. Background

Get those lot right and you'll be taking excellent photos.

1. Focus
A couple of things affect the focus:
Firstly, one cause is accidentally moving the camera while taking the picture! Use the camera’s automatic timer to avoid this problem. Set the timer and hold the camera still until the shutter goes off. A tripod is a good piece of equipment to invest in to overcome this problem and it doesn't have to be expensive either. But if you can't afford one, then you can just rest your camera on something like a book.

The second cause is when you put the camera too close to the model. The temptation is to try and make the mini fill the whole of the screen getting as much detail as possible. You can do this on some cameras, but most have a mimimum focal distance of about 30 cm. All cameras have a Macro setting on them which allows you to get a bit closer too.
But 30 cms is ok. If you have a 5 or 6 megapixel camera then you’re going to get a lot of detail anyway. Take a picture of the model, get it in sharp focus and then crop the picture with the computer to get rid of the space around it.

2. Lighting
Never use a flash - it looks awful. Too shiny and washed out. Use a lamp (or two) instead.
Light from normal light bulbs is very yellow and will tint your pictures quite a bit. There is a setting on your camera called the ‘White Point’ which can be used to compensate for this yellowish tinge. I always use a special ‘daylight bulb’ in my hobby lamps which gives a pure white light and is perfect for photography too. Use two lights if possible, to avoid strong shadows on one side of the model.

3. Background
Use a plain white piece of paper or one with a faint blue colour as the background for your model. If you have a ‘busy’ background (paint pots, books, plants, whatever), it makes it hard for people to really see the detail on your mini.

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Dagster

I use a Kodak EasyShare DX4530 - 5.0 Mega Pixel.

This camera does not have a 'named' Macro setting, but instead states a 'Close-Up' setting ... this is in fact the Macro Setting !

I dont know if your Kodak camera works the same way as mine, but you cannot just press the button on my camera to take a picture, you need to gently press the button, at which point the camera makes a noise and is in fact 'focusing', a green light tells me the camera is focused, or a red light tells me it can not focus. With a green light, I press the button fully down to take the picture.

The only advice I can give you is ... READ THE INSTRUCTIONS !
(why oh why dont most men read the instructions).

Hope this helps !

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There are fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world

Im too lazy to read the manual but my camera does the same thing you press it gently and a green bracket appears on the screen and then you press down harder and it takes the picture,

I try not to do my photos indoors, Sometimes I can get away with it if it's daytime, but after hours my shots all look orange. If I use the flash it's just way too bright, I have been known to use a post it note to cover half the flash...this sometimes gets results. Most of the shots in my gallery are done outside, you dont need full sun, infact an overcast will work, just watch out for where your shadows are in bright sun.

I dont use a tripod, the speeds that the camera runs at in daylight it is not required. You can get away without one , place the camera on a table top or some books for height. Digital photography doesn't all have to be about depth of field and F stops, let the camera do all that, set it on auto and shoot away.

Use the zoom function but dont go in too far, 2 or 3 times magnification is fine, if you can find a picture of a flower on your camera then press it and try some shots in the macro mode. Dont forget, you can move, the minis cannot, so try moving back or closer to get a result.

Your camera only eats batteries, not expensive film. I always take at least four shots of the one mini, after that it's back inside and unload the camera's memory...then I use PIX resiser, it's a free download (google is your freind) that will let you take a 1.5 megapixel shot down to a 90k picture ready for posting with the click of a mouse, you can use something as basic as MS Paint to do your cropping. From what I have seen with Photoshop you can get away with murder, I dont use it..what you see is what you get with my pictures.

The best advise I can give you (at this price) is take lots of shots, go set up a few minis and go for it.

P.S. visit my gallery, it's the only way that you'll get better

Well First off reely nice gallery it seems like you have a good mix of everything and the pic of the Balrog was amazing. But I'll try th outside idea and see what happens thanx!!

The flower macro thing works well..
I opend the window and took some pics and then put my hand over the model and took some so what do you guys think?

O yea andI used PixReziser which works reely good. Thnx

Any links for this 'picreziser'. I still use MS paint and photoshop is much too expensive when I could probably get something free from the net. Just for the record I have the 6MP Canon Ixus 65 so my photos should be good quality (I use a tripod etc.) Light is another problem for me as my only time for both painting and taking photos of the minis is at night. I'm busy in the daytime, and a daylight lamp can be costly. I worry that the photos in my gallery are too big - some of the detail is ridiculous and it makes the mini look really bad (after playing around with MS paint)

Thanks,
Joe

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Brush licking is for better painters.