It' difficult to get good pictures to show off the details of your painted models, as most often they do not show all the highlighted detail because of reflected light/shadow on a 3d model. I'm rarely satisfied and need to take a good half a dozen pics of each model then select the best - easy with a digi camera.
Here are 6 easy tips I have learned to follow when readying your models for photographing and taking the pics:
1. Don't use flash - instead use a lamp focussed at a 45 degree angle to your model. This way you can manipulate the light and shadow as you wish by amending the direction of the beam instead of using flashing which is usually too bright and doesn't show the painting
detail well.
2. Don't use varnish. Varnish IMO dulls the paint work of the model, and when a photograph is taken its reflective texture messes up the photo. The only time I'd use varnish is for water/slime/blood effect on small parts of the model/base.
3. Don't use a fantasy background. Use either sky blue or white so that the only attraction is focussed on the model. If you had a fantasy backing of woodland and castles for example, the outline and shade of the model would be less pronounced. So keep it simple and eyes focussed on the model. Also make sure you don't lay the model on a dark surface such as dark grained wood. If you don't have anything else suitable, just use a blank sheet of white paper, its a lot better than a dark paint-stained scratched desk!
4.Variation - if making a gallery vary it a bit to make it interesting. Don't just take pic after pic after pic of white and blue infantry, mix it up to add interest with an example of infantry, an example of cavalry, a character riding a beast and a war machine. Even better, if you collect more than one army like most gamers do, don't just focus on one type.
5. Photoediting - the only thing i'd ever use photoediting for is to increase the sharpness and perhaps contrast of the picture in the event of a slightly blurry photo. Anything else IMO is cheating and not really your model.
6. Basing. Basing always improves a model. even if the model isnt that well painted, a well crafted base upflits it and makes it times better. conversley, an amazingly painted model on a plain black plastic base chepens the look and devalues tyour skill. Basing is really easy - just go into your garden and take a few twigs from some trees, some small pebbles, some soil and some litchen/moss. Glue them onto your base, give the whole thing a watered down black/brown ink wash and then drybrush the twigs/litchen/moss using lighter shades of whatever colour they are: there you go, instant, realistic fantasy forest base.
Hope that helps
-Slyth
