How do you guys take proper photos of your buckets?

[SharkForge]

Hey guys, How do you take pictures of your Fett helmets? These things are so notorious for getting warped due to poor photography (like mine). I often am guilty of taking pictures close up and the result is just a warped image of what the helmet really looks like. I see it all the time with Fett's helmet. I just finished painting up this 7CS kit and taking pictures, I could just never get the right "angle". On the left I took them close up, on the right I took it further away and cropped the photo. The one on the right is much truer to the actual shape and proportions of the helmet.

What tips do you have for properly taking pictures of your helmets? Do I stand far away from the subject and then zoom in before taking the picture? Any simple advice would really help. My pictures do not do anything justice, ever. haha.

 

[Fett 4 Real]

take the pic from like 10 ft away and crop.

 

[SharkForge]

take the pic from like 10 ft away and crop.

You always take great pictures of your amazing work. Do you do any zoom or is it just a standard photo from 10 ft a way and crop it to size in something like photoshop?

 

[RamSkirata]

If at all available, a proper Camera will help. The more modern a phone is, the better the results with one are gonna be, but its simply a matter of physics. No matter how good a phone camera system ist, there is just only so much light that can be caught with such a tiny lense and sensor.

If you are limited to a phone, you already done the right thing and stood a little further away, but you went too far. See how the picture on the right is really compressed? It almost looks like a paper cutout of your helmet. You always get that effect when photographing somethign vrom "far" away, no matter how good or expansive the camera. Even the human eye falls victim to that effect, part of the reason why with increasing distance it becomes much much harder to estimate distances. But with a phone and the aforementioned tiny lense and sensor, its already visible at a couple of meters distance. Try about the middle road... maybe 2m? Id try that.

A good photographying distance is usually what a good viewing distance would be if you werent thinking about taking a picture at all. But remember: go to a good viewing distance and then one step further back because your camera / phone needs to be in the place your head was when you determind its a good distance

 

[Fett 4 Real]

You always take great pictures of your amazing work. Do you do any zoom or is it just a standard photo from 10 ft a way and crop it to size in something like photoshop?

I may be exagerating at 10' but yeh, step back like Ram explained.... and do not zoom. I think Art actually explained this somewhere.... I cant remember where

 

[SharkForge]

Thank you so much! That was an incredibly good explanation! Next nice day out, I'll try and get better pictures with that advice in mind. I don't have access to a nice camera but my wife and I were talking about getting one so my S10+ will have to do. Thanks again!

 

[Builder]

If you have access to a regular 35mm camera a 50 or 55 mm lens is considered "normal" for most
pictures. But for undistorted portraits or your helmet pictures you should shoot with a 85mm or 110mm lens to have little or no distortion.
It is a constant give and take with a phone camera as they are designed to be no-brainers for everyone. For them your best chance is to stand back a bit and crop after the shot.

 

[jedisushi]

Builder is right. Focal length is the issue here. Most cell phone cameras are wide angle by default (and lose resolution when zoomed in because they are just cropping digitally in camera), which easily distorts something like a helmet. You need at least a 50mm focal length to get a relatively undisorted view. But even at 50mm you would need to photograph from a distance and then crop in.

Longer lenses designed for portraiture—85mm and up—will give you the best outcome because a helmet photo is actually a portrait in the end.