Tips for taking pictures of white toys?

[Cliffjumper]

As some of you might know, I take pictures of toys for my site largely against white backgrounds... The only problem with this (and yes, it has taken four years or whatever before I really realised) is that white figures tend to blend into this a bit (e.g. here). I've experimented recently with some grey felt to provide a neutral background (e.g. here), but that tends to make the white glow (especially on larger figures, or those with particularly glossy finishes).

Any hints or tips? I'd prefer to keep as neutral a background as possible, and realise my photography is very poor full stop, but if anyone's got any suggestions so the pictures at least show the rough shape of the damn toy, I'll be happy to hear them

[Pissin' Poonani]

Hmmmmm. I'd be tempted to try something in a medium blue (if that makes any sense). It's a good contrast to white without being distracting, and is more subtle than green (which could be too garish) or red (too violent on the peepers)-I'll stop randomly assigning attributes to colours, and hope that my suggestion works for you good sir.

Actually, a glance at the purple background to this page makes me think that that could be the colour to go with-in particular, the lighter shade towards the bottom.

[Sades]

Also, if you save your photos as PNG you won't lose any of the detail you do with JPG.

[Cliffjumper]

Hmmmmm. I'd be tempted to try something in a medium blue (if that makes any sense). It's a good contrast to white without being distracting, and is more subtle than green (which could be too garish) or red (too violent on the peepers)-I'll stop randomly assigning attributes to colours, and hope that my suggestion works for you good sir.

Actually, a glance at the purple background to this page makes me think that that could be the colour to go with-in particular, the lighter shade towards the bottom.

Yeh, I've experimented with different colours, but the problem is white or near-white seem to be the only ones that eliminate the glare coming off white plastic (painted diecast doesn't seem to be as much as a problem).

Also, if you save your photos as PNG you won't lose any of the detail you do with JPG.

My pictures don't really have any detail in the first place

[electro girl]

I know a few people who are photography students or have at least briefly studied it and I remember you can shoot whit against white if you use a cloth background that you can scrunch up or ruffle.

[Sades]

Google gives the same thing and I'm guessing that that's what the hope was with the grey felt.

My pictures don't really have any detail in the first place

Might help with the glowy thing, though. Clean up the edges a bit.

TBH the grey looks fine, imo.

[!PUCK]

Based on your first link (white on white) I would highly suggest being very conscious of how your lights are set. Mostly depending on how many lights you use, and if you are using flash.

If you're not using a flash, I would try getting the background further back, to get less light on the top/back of the item, and add some small white boards/cards near the front to reflect some light on the front bottom. Not to totally even out the lighting, but I thought It could be a little more even.

For simplicity sake, I'd stick with the gray background and play with the lighting from there to see if you can decrease the glow.

[Cliffjumper]

Yeh, I'm leaning towards the grey, I'm just waiting to get hold of more of the fabric as I only have a square metre at the moment (didn't want to fork out until I'd seen whether it was any good, and don't have any T-shirts of that colour).



That's basically my 'setup' - I'm pretty restricted in terms of space. There would normally be another desk lamp where the orange thing is; they're both just standard desk lamps with 100W clear lightbulbs in (which usually gives me about 5-10 mins. shooting time before the other one, which has a plastic neck, starts to melt). It can be quite harsh, but moving the lamps back by much or using less powerful bulbs seems to make the results very dark - the brighter stuff can usually be salvaged on Photoshop, the darker stuff not so much. I'd buy more specialised equipment, but TBH my basic stills don't justify the outlay.

The problem is the cardboard box, while about 16" deep and tall, has to have fairly thick 'egdes' or the tracing paper collapses, and moving figures further from the bkacground means the edges tend to cast shadows. I'll try proping the bottom flap up, though, so it's a bit more of a ramp reflecting light back more evenly.

Many thanks!

[inflatable dalek]

Christ, that's not a Charmed picture is it?

[Cliffjumper]

Where?

[inflatable dalek]

Where?

Beneath the Matrix poster and above Angelina Jolie, just to the right of the woman seeming called [squints] Straxus?!?! I've got to be misreading that...

[Paul053]

Oh, I miss the same LOTR poster, my wife doesn't want me to put it on......

Anyway, I found the green background works pretty well too to my surprise. I didn't use the box like you do but the wall in my basement. It is painted kind of like the green tea green and doesn't look that green in the pictures.

[Cliffjumper]

Beneath the Matrix poster and above Angelina Jolie, just to the right of the woman seeming called [squints] Straxus?!?! I've got to be misreading that...

No idea.

[Shrapnel Clone]

...

[Sades]

Dalek- that's a poster of Trish Stratus. I think I spy Lita as well.

I'm assuming those aren't his... unless he has a thing for Winnie the Pooh characters.

[Cliffjumper]

Yeh, it's Sar's old bedroom, and redecorating it isn't a priority. I'm more than a bit worried that people are looking at the picture enough to identify tiny old faded postcards, TBH, it's a bit weird and I find it a bit intrusive having people picking apart what she liked ten years ago. Lesson learnt

[inflatable dalek]

Yeh, it's Sar's old bedroom, and redecorating it isn't a priority. I'm more than a bit worried that people are looking at the picture enough to identify tiny old faded postcards, TBH, it's a bit weird and I find it a bit intrusive having people picking apart what she liked ten years ago. Lesson learnt

Ah, sorry for freaking you. I'm not sure if being absolutely clear I thought I was mocking your tastes makes it any less intrusive (hopefully though there is a difference between piss taking a mate and having a good nose round his misses old bedroom)... Though in mitigation I didn't have a proper in-depth look until responding to the where question, that seems to be the only Charmed cast photo ever taken and accompanies any mention of the show in magazines so it's fairly recognisable at a distance even to someone who can't stand the show.

[Sades]

Honest? Considering how "detail-oriented" people around here tend to be, I'd have been more surprised if people hadn't mentioned anything.

On that photography bit- you could probably pick up a decent-for-the-purpose grey t-shirt at a secondhand clothing shop? A lighter grey might work out well, if I'm thinking it through right it might even solve the glowy problem.

[inflatable dalek]

Honest? Considering how "detail-oriented" people around here tend to be, I'd have been more surprised if people hadn't mentioned anything.

Nopt everyone round here is anal about details in a stalkerish way.


I like the ear muffs on your avatar btw.

[Sades]

Yeh, if I got majorly creeped out by you bastards commenting on stuff I posted I'd have stopped posting here long ago.

I tend more towards being built like a freight truck than I do a willowy wisp of a thing anyway, I could probably take you all on and come out the better for it.