Here’s how to take better photos or pictures of your miniatures so you can get the most likes and comments online!
To all the painters out there, we all have that one model we’re especially proud of. We slave over that model for hours and get it looking exactly the way we want it. Then, of course, you want to share it with your friends on social media, right?
Well, don’t cut corners when you take pictures of your miniatures! There are actually a few things to look out for the next time you want to unveil your latest finished project, that isn’t hard, but if you don’t know, then you don’t know!
So here are a few pointers and different methods of how to capture all the details when you take photos or pictures of your miniatures!
How to Take Better Photos & Pictures of Your Miniatures
Years ago, Warhammer Community gave us this infogram showing hobbyists how to capture their models in the right light and right angles.
You’re going to want:
- A decent camera. (Any modern iPhone/Android should be fine).
- Two sources of light. This is where some people tend to neglect. Don’t try to get the right angle by holding the model right next to the light bulb from the lamp on your desk. Clear a spot off and buy two cheap lamps, set them on either side of the model, and flip the switch! (You’ll eliminate so many unnecessary shadows by doing this.)
- Neutral background. You’ll want to pick something that doesn’t take away from the model. Don’t snap a pic of the model with your dirty clothes on the floor in the background. Clear a section off of your desk and set a long sheet of white paper as the backdrop!
- Focus & Crop. Make sure your camera is in focus and don’t be afraid to get up close and personal with your pictures. Really zoom in and capture the tiny details you threw in! (This is really what sets some showcases apart from the others).
A Different Hobby Photo Setup
Keep the basics that we just told you about in mind. You’ll still want two sources of light and a neutral backdrop:
If you’re really trying to get professional, you can set up a photo box. A good one is the LimoStudio 16″ x 16″ Table Top Photo Photography Studio Lighting Light Tent Kit in a Box, AGG349. The photo box creates a little “bubble” of studio-level lighting.
You set up the walls of the box and place the light sources on either side.
Photo from Hellfire Hobbies Photography Article
The light will still shine through and onto your model, but it won’t be as harsh, thanks to the material of the box. Remember, keep a sheet of some kind of cloth that’s a neutral color with you so you’re not taking away from the model!
Once you’ve set everything up, just make sure your camera is in focus and start snapping all the angles of your masterpiece.
Using What You Have
If you don’t feel like getting a lightbox or building something, you probably already have great background materials lying around! What are they? The boxes that your minis come in. Just look how dope this picture looks of an unpainted model.
Here’s how to do it: tilt your phone clockwise to the 2:30 o’clock position. This gives the model a more dynamic and interesting pose. Then, zooming in on the mini with the box art as a background gives a ton of depth. Plus, the background will somewhat match what you’re taking a photo of.
Just a super quick and simple trick on how to take better pictures of miniatures!
A Pocket-sized Light Source For Snapping on the Go!
So say you’re always on the go and you don’t really have a desk-sized space where you can set up a small studio. That’s fine! You’ll just have to think outside the box. Remember, a light source is KEY.
Luckily, This awesome little hobby tool is relatively cheap on Amazon, and the best part is that it clamps over any phone or tablet to help keep the light right where you need it every time.
The SRL lighting tool is perfect for keeping in your hobby go-bag or in your back pocket when you’re walking around events. If you want to capture a model, just clip it around the camera of your phone, adjust the brightness setting that you need, and start snapping.
While it’s not as ideal as two light sources coming from different angles, it’s definitely a huge help and better than taking a photo in ambient light.
Before the SRL light clip
After the SRL light clip
See just how much shadowing was eliminated by the light? You can see the full detail of coloring and wash on the plating and Terminator hood.
How to Take Better Pictures of Miniatures: Posting Pics to Social Media
Using this example of Gotrek that we’ve posted in the past, innately, there’s nothing wrong with this picture. It follows all the steps that we talked about above. However, Facebook has an algorithm set in place that sort of “pulls out” the main points of whatever photo you upload, zooming in on the detail (which is what you see on your Facebook feed before you actually click the picture).
One thing that’s always a great habit to get in is to grab a picture of a “head and shoulders” shot of the model. If you notice, that’s how most of the cover photos on all of our articles are displayed. We get a close-up of whatever artwork we want to use and it pulls the attention of the viewer.
Next comes snapping a few other angles of your mini to show the full spectrum of detail.
You can see that we’ve uploaded different angles of the mini, which look great. However, they don’t quite pull in the viewer. Even though we have the head and shoulders pic, it’s small and a little off to the side. Again, nothing really wrong with this. However, it can be better.
Slimming down the pictures that were uploaded, four seems to be the magic number here. You get the head and shoulders shot as the largest image to pop up on your timeline. As well as a few other essential angles of the mini.
We mentioned the Facebook algorithm earlier and it’s important to note that four images will not always be the magic number for your mini. However, assuming you are showing off GW miniatures which are all roughly the same scale, you should come somewhere close. It just takes a little playing around and swapping a few pics out here and there.
The goal of all of this is to help do your finished models some added justice when you flex them online! Hopefully, this tutorial on how to take better pictures of miniatures has helped you and we look forward to seeing some of your favorite minis shared!
What are your favorite and easy methods for how to take better photos and pictures of your miniatures?
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About the Author: Wesley Floyd
Wesley Floyd
Job Title: Staff Writer
Joined: 2018
Socials: @RealmbrushPainting
About Wesley Floyd: Wes has been in the Warhammer hobby since 2015 and joined the Spikey Bits writing team in 2018. He is known for his satirist takes on trending topics and imaginative yet amazingly affordable hobby solutions to painting Warhammer miniatures.
Imperial fanboy, tabletop fanatic, and the self-proclaimed King of Sprues. He knows for a fact that Mephiston red is the best-tasting paint and is the commission painting equivalent of a Wendy’s 4 for $4. If you like what he writes and want to contact him or have your tabletop minatures painted (to a mostly okayish standard), message him on Instagram.
