Colour looks washed out by the flash.

[countzero99uk]

Taking photos with my camera is starting to iritate me now. The colours are looking nothing like they do in real life.

I took some photos of the figures ive nearly finsihed and they ended up looking like this





So i know that its the flash bouncing of them, but it the flash seems to be tied to the focus. Turn of the flash and you get this.





Any tips to taking better photos would be great.

Thanks in advance

[peppie]

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[peppie]

Without the flash, your lens stays open longer because there is less light. Because off this you get bad pics (very hard to keep your camera staedy fro longer time)
Few things you can try: place your builds under a lamp when taking a picture, or put something like a piece of paper or a white plastic cup in front off your flash. This takes away the "hardness" of the flash, but still gives you the light you need.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Maybe also
Camera on a little tripod
Take some pics outside in natural light

[DBMiller]

You just need a diffuser to cut down the blast of light directly at the subject.

[countzero99uk]

I have a small tripod, ill give it a try tomorrow. Thanks for the advice.

[TonyCnyc]

If using a camera with built in flash, recommend using available light. Either turn on/use additional lights indoors, or use natural light near open window or outside. Keep the light behind you, in front of your miniatures. Use a tripod if needed to prevent blur.
If your camera has an external flash, bounce the light off the ceiling or a white wall or board off to one side.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Keep the light behind you is a key point there for sure

[CJSomerset]

The flash isn't tied to the focus, it's tied to the exposure. When you turn off the flash you get a long exposure. The pics are blurred because you are holding the camera and it is moving slightly during the exposure. Putting the camera on the tripod will cure most of the problem. Does your camera have any adjustable settings? If you have MANUAL mode I can tell you how use the flash as a fill light. Which will give you the best exposure with out any shadows.

[kprice52001]

Try adjusting you ISO. If your pics are looking too washed out its because your letting to much light in and your blowing out your white balance. Set your f stop to something faster like F4 or faster ( if your lens will allow you) this will help with the blur if you can't get a tripod. Also your target is between you and your light source. This will make it almost impossible to get a good shot. Try and rearrange your shot so that the sun is at your back this alone should solve your problems. I hope that I could help.

[Galaxy]

You just need a diffuser to cut down the blast of light directly at the subject.

This.

This situation is why having a separate flash is an advantage - you can move it around. On-camera flashes are fine - you just have less control over them. My flash has a head that I can swivel around and aim all over the place. Aiming your flash up at the ceiling might fix your issue.

But since you're likely using an on-camera flash, try diffusing the light by covering it with something. You could use a frosted, transparent material like a bit of cut up milk jug. White paper might even work.

If you want to get hard-core, you could build a small cup that redirects your light UP and find a way to temporarily attach it to your camera. This would cause the light to bounce off of the walls and ceiling and you'd get indirect light on the subject.

[Paul]

Holy old thread revival batman

[flundstrom2]

These things are basically mandatory:

No flash!!!
Clean, colorless background, including on the surface on which the model is positioned - white, gray or black. (I use some sheets of standard printer-paper)
Take the photo next to a window (but no direct sunlight.
Use manual whitebalance on the camera, or experiment with the different presets sunlight, shadow, overcast, until you're satisfied with the colors
Adjust the exposure time as needed, depending on the background ; for white background use +1 to +2, or up to quadruple that of the cameras suggestion, until the background looks white rather than light gray. For black background, use -1 to -2, or 50% to 25% of the cameras suggestion, until the background is black instead of gray. NB: Make sure the aperture doesn't change, so use manual mode. Gray background need no change.
Tripod. Or put the camera on some books, a pillow or whatever, until you're satisfied.

[flundstrom2]

So it looks like I need more exposure / higher shutter speed and a tripod.

About the tripod is that true for more expensive cameras? Is it impossible to get good pictures at night no flash without bringing a tripod with you?

It is basically impossible to get good pictures using a flash. You'll need a small photo-tent and a few desk lamps and a tripod, or three (!) pro-flashes on stands, or a very-very-very $$$x camera to take good pictures at night.

[Twokidsnosleep]

I still had hair and abs when this thread first started
Don’t get suckered by the weird old posters...they are trying to infiltrate the site