photography to bring out more detail.

[1-32]

ok now for the lens in your previous comments you mentioned a lens with a 100 mm focal point but also 35 -135 or 70 - 200 , are these different lenses with different focal lengths.also with these lenses is the biggest f stop the better. is this right?
I supposed I should explain why there has been such a return in interest in photography for myself.
Last weekend I attended the Australian Narrow Gauge Convention for me very hard work and not enjoyable I really don't think I will go to another. Hats off to the organizers they did a great job for basically a very selfish crowd. Australia is an amazing place but by its nature isolated and with 3 dimension display work conservative.I am a creative person as are the other members of this forum and i see the only way out for me is to be able to present my work in a convincing form thus all these questions about photography.I know that the rest of the forum and the many visitors will also benefit from this information.
cheers

[finescalerr]

Kim, I know you are familiar with cameras but I will assume some of us know nothing. The length of a lens determines whether it is designed for wide angle shots, portraits, or long range (telephoto). Short lenses are for wide angle, long ones are basically telescopes, and mid-length lenses, like a 100mm, are usually for taking portraits. A portrait lens can range from 70mm to 135mm.

The two lenses you mention, 35-135 and 70-200, are multi purpose zoom lenses. You could shoot a model with either but, in each case, you'd probably zoom the lens about halfway out so it's close to 100mm. That's usually the lens's "sweet spot", where it is sharpest overall.

When we talk about a lens's f/stop, we're talking about how large or small the lens opening can get inside. It has little to do with its focal length. It's actually like the pupil of your eye. You open it up to let in more light and close it down to allow less light. And, just like the eye, when the pupil gets smaller, it has greater depth of field. In other words, more stuff, from front to back, is in focus.

It doesn't matter what lens you use; all have adjustable f/stops. And the big numbers, like f/22 or f/32, reduce the amount of light they let in but, in return, allow more depth of field (more stuff in focus).

The reason a portrait lens, about 100mm, is good for models is because of the perspective it offers. But a 100mm lens that only stops down to f/8 gives a shallow depth of field -- not much is in focus from front to back.

So your camera, with its zoom lens, probably has an f/stop range of between f/4 and about f/16. You would want to shoot your model with the lens zoomed most of the way out (semi-telephoto) and at the biggest f/stop number (probably f/16 or f/22). That big number means the lens opening will be as small as possible. That means less light will come through and so you'll have to use a longer exposure time. That's why a tripod is necessary: To keep the camera steady during the long exposure.

Russ

[Lawton Maner]

The first sketch is basically the same as the setup in the RMC article except the author used a kitchen chair, poster board, and a large spring clamp.  The rest is a bit more complicated then needed.  Follow Russ on light and setup to progress towards becoming as good a photographer as you are a modeler.  The editor of the former magazine Mainline Modeler recommended keeping a camera and light table setup near to his workbench to photograph models in production.  With digital cameras that idea is like having your harshest critic looking over your shoulder 24/7.

[1-32]

Hi, good morning.
looking for a bit of feedback, in the last couple of days I have been fiddling around with some new photo's. the first one, the anchor is coming along, with the last one -the massed items I am wanting to find out how to get them all in focus plus any other thoughts.
cheers.

[finescalerr]

Kim, those photos are a noticeable improvement over the last one you posted, of the new electric loco. As for the focus on the one showing a bunch of items, two possibilities:

1.) Brighter light might help. That would force your lens opening to get smaller so you'd have better front-to-back focus. Remember, all model photos should be at the largest f/stop number your camera has, such as f/32, f/22, or f/16. You must set your camera to Aperture Priority to choose that setting.

2. Maybe you could have tried a shot where you manually focus on the figure in the center of the photo, the guy with the hat and green shirt. As long as he's not too far behind the foreground objects, and as long as your f/stop is right, maybe more things would be in focus. One way to test that would be to shoot the same basic setup outdoors in the middle of the day. Remember, most cameras need a lot of light to do their best work.

Russ

[peterh]

Kim, It is natural that lenses (cameras, eyes) only have objects at a certain range of distances in focus. Objects closer or further away are blurred. A lot of photographers prize this effect - it's called bokeh. For some reason, railway modellers usually don't like bokeh.

To reduce bokeh (get more objects in focus) by changing your camera settings, google how to increase bokeh and do the opposite.

To eliminate bokeh, find out about focus stacking. Russ mentioned this earlier in this thread.

[1-32]

Hi all.
Here is shot with lots more lighting and the f stop set at priority a lot better.
cheers.
.

[finescalerr]

Now yer talkin', Kim!

Notice the whole image "pops" more not just because of the greater depth of field but also because more light makes your colors look more vibrant. If you take a few shots with those settings they will become second nature. Once you can put together a shot like that "automatically", without giving it much thought, we can move on to other things. In the meantime you have produced a publication quality shot with consistent, even lighting and front-to-back focus.

Peter mentioned bokeh. In model or product photography that would tend be a special effect whereas, if you're photographing a person, it's standard procedure and really easy to do. Focus stacking is sort of cumbersome and necessary usually only for macro (highly magnified) photography. It is possible you'd never have to use either technique for what you generally photograph.

Russ

[1-32]

yes, I am having a bit of fun with this, thanks Russ for your very good advice. One more thing do you know the difference between sending photos as an attachment in Emails and sending them through Dropbox or similar.at the moment I am having trouble understanding Dropbox.I know a few other readers are interested also.
cheers

[WP Rayner]

yes, I am having a bit of fun with this, thanks Russ for your very good advice. One more thing do you know the difference between sending photos as an attachment in Emails and sending them through Dropbox or similar.at the moment I am having trouble understanding Dropbox.I know a few other readers are interested also.
cheers

What questions do you have Kim? I use Dropbox always for transferring files to and from clients in the studio. Dropbox is very easy to use and is faster than using email, especially if you are transferring large files which most email services can't handle.

Paul

[finescalerr]

I use Dropbox a lot but I'll let Paul answer your question about that. I'll stick to answering your photography questions here. I will say that sometimes Dropbox can be cumbersome, especially for the recipient, but you can send much large files and thus far more photos with Dropbox. -- Russ

[Hydrostat]

Try wetransfer.com - no registration required. It's up to 2 GB for free.

[1-32]

Hi Paul.
I have to reduce my photo files to 2 GB to Email, really to my naked eye this does not seem to have any effect?
I have been looking at Dropbox as I receive some files this way sometimes there is no problem in viewing them, but sending them is another matter. When I download the photos there are 2 boxes 1 with the photo another blank what is the blank one for. Also, do you have to make up a separate file with all the photo's that you want to send?
Can you give a general comment?
Funny how it has changed from a visual one on one communication to a more electronic visual form of communication.
Morning Volker.

[finescalerr]

If you want to send hi-res photos, you'll have to use Dropbox or, as Volker suggests, wetransfer.com. You should not have to lower the resolution of your photos unless it's just for casual stuff. Also, I think you meant to say your e-mail server makes you reduce attachments to 2 megabytes. If it's really gigabytes, you have a very unique and generous e-mail server!

One thing that makes sending stuff via Dropbox easier for me: Create a folder on your desktop and give it a name, like "Photos-Volker". Copy the photos you want to send into the new folder. Then click on the Dropbox icon on your taskbar (or wherever it is) to open it's little window and choose the FOLDER icon. That should open a regular computer window. Drag the new photos folder from your desktop into that new window. That puts it into Dropbox so it's ready to send and also should solve the problem of two boxes, one being blank.

From there you need to open Dropbox on the Internet and send off the new folder. Paul may know of a faster method and Volker's service might be easier yet so I'll shut up now.

Russ

[WP Rayner]

Hi Paul.
I have to reduce my photo files to 2 GB to Email, really to my naked eye this does not seem to have any effect?
I have been looking at Dropbox as I receive some files this way sometimes there is no problem in viewing them, but sending them is another matter. When I download the photos there are 2 boxes 1 with the photo another blank what is the blank one for. Also, do you have to make up a separate file with all the photo's that you want to send?
Can you give a general comment?
Funny how it has changed from a visual one on one communication to a more electronic visual form of communication.
Morning Volker.

Hi Kim:

Like Russ, I don't know of any email service that can accommodate 2 GB attachments... think you must mean 2 MB which is pushing it for some services.
Dropbox really is quite simple to use. It requires that you have an account and your recipients should have accounts as well. When I joined, I chose the free account which gave me 3GB capacity. I don't believe they are as generous anymore, 1 GB may be the limit on the free account now. I've never had to upgrade which involves paying for additional capacity as, with regular housecleaning of my Dropbox folder, I'm able to work well within the 3GB.

I'm going to assume that you are essentially new to Dropbox so am going to start at the beginning. If you already know some of this I apologize. When you join, Dropbox will create two folders within your primary account folder: one that says Public and the other that says Share with: (your account name). I don't use either of these. A desktop icon link will also be created for your primary account folder. You can create additional folders within that primary folder, which I recommend, by clicking on the small icon in the notification area on your taskbar (at least on a PC), selecting the Open Dropbox.com icon, then when the window opens, select Files in the left hand column. This will show your two stock folders and in this window you can add folders, which you can identify any way you wish. You can also add folders via the desktop link, but this is the safest way. For the studio I use the client's name for this folder then add as many sub-folders within it as necessary to cover the logical progression of the project. Next you have to assign recipient access to the folder. You will notice in the Files window, there is a Member column. In this column you can specify which recipient has access to that folder, (using their Dropbox account name) in addition to yourself of course. They will automatically be granted access to any subfolders within their folder. To send a file to the recipient, all you have to do is double click on your primary folder's desktop icon to open the window, then drag and drop the file into the folder you are sharing with the intended recipient. The speed at which it uploads is solely a factor of the speed of your internet connection. Once the file is uploaded, the recipient will receive a notification in the taskbar that you have sent them a file. They then go to that folder via their Dropbox account and download the file. That's it... easy peasy. You can add as many recipient accounts as members to the folder as you wish and conversely you can also remove members so they no longer have access to the folder. By controlling folder access you can control who of your recipients has access to what. For hobby work this probably isn't a concern, but for commercial work as in my case, a client only has access to their folder, not the folders of other clients. My commercial work is all performed under Non-disclosure Agreements and this process provides enough security. If you needed to transfer sensitive or classified information, don't use Dropbox.

You mentioned when you've downloaded in the past you receive two folders, one blank. I've never experienced this so have no insight into what that's about.

I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Cheers,
Paul