Camera makes figurines look short & fat...

Muraco78 · 02-13-2011, 04:48 PM

A simple question for you experts: I've used two digital cameras to take photos of my three 8-inch figurines/statues. But the photos come out making the statues looking shorter and thicker (not the true proportions) especially the legs. I used a 5.0 pixel camera, then a 6.1 pixel camera. Should I be using a 12 or higher? I took photos from all angles, but it doesn't help. What kind of cameras do the guys use who post in Sculptor's Corner"? Their photos always make the entire sculpt look proportionate.
Thanks very much.

DarkKni9hT · 02-13-2011, 06:20 PM

Megapixels aren't your problem. They just store information, not proportion. Where are you standing in reference to your figures? If you're too close, trying to use a macro setting, you'll find it hard to get it right. Try standing further away and zooming on the subject. The altered field of view should correct any warping.

Muraco78 · 02-14-2011, 02:32 PM

I tried standing farther away last night and taking some "straight on" photos. They came out the same way. No improvement. I was probably about 4 feet away from them. My camera does not have a zoom. I borrowed my uncle's camera (which has a zoom) and still no improvement.

ComputerFly · 02-14-2011, 02:49 PM

If you are viewing these on your computer, you might try viewing on someone else's. You might have the screen resolution on your monitor set incorrectly.

Also, are you resizing or editing the pics in any way before viewing? Some programs resize pics automatically when downloading. Could be a screw up in the settings.

Maybe you could post one of the images so we can see what they look like.

Muraco78 · 02-16-2011, 05:06 PM

Hi,
Sorry for the delay. Here is one of the photos. The figurines keep coming out "short and squat" especially the legs for some reason. The photos are stretched out, too, so the arms look a lot longer than they really are.

capt_marvel · 02-17-2011, 02:42 AM

Hello there, Yes, this could be tricky. This is due to your angle your camera and position of your statue. You might think that you're taking pictures head-on, but it's actually not as the lense could be low could be high. It your camera is high, then your statue will look shorty, and too low, then your statue will look like giant.

This is what I would do, you have to play around with several angles. Try your cam high, low, and middle, see which one is best. Then try to take 360 degree of your statue (1 statue). you will see which one is the best angle. Remember, you cannot take 1 picture once and became perfect. That's why all these proffessional photographers takes 10000000000 pictures and then get the best.

Hope it's going to help. Let me know if you need more help.

Muraco78 · 02-18-2011, 10:30 PM

Thanks for your help. I will practice taking more photos with what little time I have. Did all the artists in Sculptor's Corner" take 100000000 photos of their statue before they felt some were good enough to post on the forum? I don't think they had time for that. Neither do I. All I want to do is take some decent pics of my work, not become a professional photographer. I agree, it could be tricky with the angles, and my camera is a 5.1 kind of cheap so the lens is probably not very good. Its about a year old. I checked the camera's menu to see if I had anything set on other than "normal" settings, but couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Anyhow, thanks everyone for your help and I'll continue trying.

capt_marvel · 02-19-2011, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muraco78

Thanks for your help. I will practice taking more photos with what little time I have. Did all the artists in Sculptor's Corner" take 100000000 photos of their statue before they felt some were good enough to post on the forum? I don't think they had time for that. Neither do I.

I don't have time either and I take 99999999999999999999999999999 times

Alfred Paredes · 02-21-2011, 12:17 PM

Taking pictures is tricky, but done properly, you can take really great pictures with a point and shoot camera. The angle of your photos is clearly from above looking down, and as the previous poster mentioned, it will make your figures look smaller. Not knowing what your figures actually look like, it's hard to judge what's actually off about them. You also have to remember that when you're looking at the figures, you're seeing them through your eyes - in binocular vision. So you can see depth and slightly around the forms. The camera only has one eye, so it will tend to flatten things out.
The best thing to do, is set up your camera on a tripod, about 6 feet away. Make sure the lens is level with your figure's belly button (use a a tape measure if you have too). The zoom in to your figure. This should help minimize distortions. You'll still need to get the lighting and exposure right, but first things first. Give that a try and see if it improves your pictures.
By the way, I take about 40-50 shots of my figures and whittle down the best from there.

Good Luck.