Miniature Photography Made Easy

This miniature toy looks bigger than it actually is.

Shooting miniatures or little objects indoors does not really require elaborate and expensive set ups. Now, if you are a beginner, you would probably want to shoot right away. Right? So I will forego of the usual mumbo jumbo of photography and go straight to the point to keep you shooting in no time. ( The procedures  also applies to general still photography )

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

I call this a make shift studio , making use of any available material

1.  A Camera -  Any SLR or DSLR , brand is irrelevant. Low end, high end, heck they all give the same results provided they are used skilfully. 
2. A tripod – A must!  In case you don’t know, it is a three legged adjustable gear in which the camera is screwed into the top . The purpose here is to steady the camera, so as to keep pictures sharp.
3.  White / Black or any dark color “Cartolina”- Get the biggest size you can. The cartolina will be your background for your miniature objects.
4. And of course, your ‘models” to be photographed!  Since we’re dealing with miniatures, they can be toys, car matchboxes, etc.

STEPS

Now that you have all your basic gears and materials, you have to find a suitable place in which to shoot your images. Find a place where there is sufficient light. If you are indoors, the best place would be near the window.  Lay out your white cartolina ( for dark colored models) on the floor or on top of a table. Lift half of the paper semi vertically. Place a stock of books or anything that would keep the paper in the semi vertical position. Fasten it with tape or just put any solid thing such as a book , to keep it in place. This will be your background.

Position your model on the cartolina. Place your camera on the tripod and position it to focus on your model. You will be shooting in available light. Use your 50 or 55mm lens for this purpose.  Get your lens close to the subject and fill the viewfinder with the image.

Place close attention to the shadows. Try an angle that would eliminate any visible signs of shadows in your image. But personally, I think a little subtle shadow is tolerable or even good. Shadows cast a liitle depth to the image. Without any shadows, the image might look like an illustration on a cardboard. Some may disagree as wether to completely eliminate shadows or not. I think it’s a matter of taste. But conventional miniature photography favors eliminating shadows. But I think a little shadow , for me at least, makes for a more realistic looking miniature image.

Now that you have the image focused in your finder, observe the meter reading and the f stop.  You may want to put your camera on aperture priority mode so that you can choose a suitable f-stop so as to render the whole model in sharp focus. Do not worry about how to blur the background so much. The white ( or black) background would do just fine.

To properly keep the images sharp. I recommend setting the aperture to f10 . Do not worry about the low speed setting that would automatically adjust. You have your camera on a tripod. That would take care of any shake that might blur the image.  Then , when everything is in order, put the camera in self timer mode. This way, you need not touch the shutter release, which would otherwise somehow shake the camera ( even if it’s on a tripod). 

Now, click.

Preview your image on the LCD ( if digital) . Not satisfied?  DO NOT DELETE! Keep that to be able to review it later as to what went wrong, etc. Then keep on shooting. In time, you will get the hang of it.

Now, wasn’t that easy?