Model Photography
After almost a year and a half of hard work, I have finally finished the model of the Star Trek ship Grissom this week.

This afternoon I set up a small photography studio to take photographs. The experience of past knowledge trying to photograph my models let me revisit a few things and should result in better photos.

First, a little background. I build models with internal lighting. I consider it about half of the hobby in being able to photograph the model as they have been doing with motion control photography for about three decades now. While my camera doesn't move on a sophisticated rig, the principles of compositing still hold true. The idea is to take several photos under different lighting conditions and combine them together. That way, the internal lights can look brilliant even if they are much weaker than whatever external lighting is used for the overall composition. It's complicated, but worth it. I've gotten fairly good results using basic techniques in the past.

The most obvious new addition to my equipment is my Canon Rebel XT digital SLR camera with a decent lens. In the past, I used an old SLR Praktica. It worked, but film is not very friendly for trial and error, unless you have months of time to kill. To complement the camera, a now own a sturdier tripod than before. This is important, as the exposures are up to 30 seconds in length, and multiple exposures have to line up precisely. The remote I built for the camera also helps.

Aside from the camera, the overall setup has been improved as well. Shelling out the money for a real black velvet backdrop was worth the expenditure. Initial tests show it is many times better than the felt I had been using. I made a new stand for the models themselves, on a longer-than-usual stainless steel rod nested in a solid chunk of aluminum. This will allow for the model to be held sturdily, as well as more low-angle photos. Finally, although I hate fluorescent lighting, a cheap 18" cold white light provides a true colour capture of the model without having to play with white balance after the fact. The length of the tube helps as well, as any point source of light within reasonable distance does not provide even lighting.

All of this is in the basement, on a steady concrete floor, and where all light sources are controlled. If everything goes according to plan, I should be doing some serious photography tomorrow night.