I thought it might be nice to give you guys a little 'how to' for photographing your models with a plain background. Ironically, these photos aren't the best, but they're good enough to show you how I photograph my models.
First off here are the things you'll be needing:
- Your model (obviously)
- A sheet of white paper. For this I'm using an A4 sheet, but for larger models you can use larger sizes
- A sheet of stiff card
- A box (optional)
- Your camera
- Additional lighting, if necessary (something these photos sadly lack...)
Start by propping up your card so it stands virtually upright. If you have a flat surface that joins directly with a wall then you can just prop the card up against the wall, but if there is a gap between the surface and the wall, such as in the photo above, it's best to use a box to prop up the card instead. If there's any text/pictures/patterns on the wall or the box, the card will hide them.
Now prop the paper up against the card so it's sitting at a soft 90% angle against the card and the flat surface. Don't crease the paper or force it into the angle: you want the background to look seamless. You'll probably find that the paper doesn't want to sit up against the card on it's own, so quickly place your model down onto the paper to hold it in place. Make sure you photograph your models in a well lit area, preferably with as much natural light as possible.
Now you can photograph your model against the white paper background. The closer you get to your model the fewer edges of the paper you'll see in the final photo, but don't be afraid to digitally crop your photo down afterwards.
It's also very helpful to have a photo manipulation program on your computer to slightly adjust the photo digitally after taking it. Cropping, rotating if the photo is at an awkward angle, and lightening the image so that the colours are closer to the real model are all perfectly acceptable edits you can do digitally to really bring your photos to life. Just be aware that if you're entering a photo show there are rules as to just how much you can edit your photos after taking them. Each show will have their own rules; make sure you familiarise yourself with them before entering.
If your model is too wide for your paper, or you want to photograph multiple models at once and your paper is too narrow, try flipping your paper horizontally and then placing your models down.
I hope that has helped out a little with your photographs. A4 size paper is only really big enough for Stablemates and some small Schleichs; anything bigger is normally too big, and would need the next size up for the background. But this method is great for photographing Schleich foals, Stablemates and anything smaller.
