Testing out my Lumix FS25

So as you all know, I have a new camera. I decided to give it a go today and daaaaaammmmn I love it.  The main reason I bought it is because I’m tired of my Polaroid failing so horribly as I mentioned in my Shutterbug post. Another reason is that I want to post pics of my figure collection (no matter how small it is).

Before I can get started with taking pictures of my figures, I had to first build a light diffuser. Why a light diffuser and what is it?

A diffuser is a filter which you shine the light through to soften the highlights and shadows so that it blends with everything in between a little more smoothly.

People who aren’t into photography might say that that explanation means nothing to them. Being a visual type of person that I am, I didn’t get it as well. So pictures should explain it better.

The frame:

I ran out of USPS boxes so I used a small Tigerdirect box. The biggest problem I had with it was that I refused to stay upright. To fix this problem I added braces to the corner to help the box keep it’s shape.

Once that was done I added in the most essential part, the diffuser, or in this case gift wrapping tissue paper.

Though it’s not seen from the above picture, the tissue has some creases on it since I was too lazy to iron it out. Surprisingly, creases and fold marks do not affect the overall lighting effect of the diffuser. Also, if you build one with gift wrapping tissue paper, be careful not to use too much force or you might rip it like I did.

Now for the good stuff. Before I show you the results of the diffuser, here’s a pic I took in macro mode without a diffuser or a proper background. Click on the images to get a larger view.

It’s a bit blurry because I wasn’t using a tripod and yes you can see dust on the top of her head ^_^;

Today’s volunteers are Haruka and Deathscythe Hell. I did not alter any of the pictures with photoshop but I will do that once I start working on regular figure posts.

This is Haruka with just my lamp shining on her on the side. Take note of the shadows on her arms. Notice how dark they are?

This time I’ve added in a diffuser. Look at the shadows on her arms, notice how much lighter it is? I think we can do better.

Finally I’ve added in a reflector (over on the right). Isn’t that much better?

The reflector can be as simple as a white poster board to a sheet of aluminum foil. Avoid using a second light source as that will cause the subject to look flat.

And now for Deathscythe Hell. I built this back in my sophomore year of high school so the paint job is a bit so-so.

It’s quite dusty since I had just removed it from storage. I had to bring the reflector really close to get the green to show up properly.

When I took it out of storage, there was a rubberband melting on his scythe. Some of the paint came off as I removed it. The panel lines on its legs was done with a mechanical pencil (LOL!)

I think this turned out pretty well, I look forward to taking pics of my other figures (when I’m not busy with Guild Wars XD)

Categories: Blogging, Figures, Gadgetry