Dynamic Miniature Photography

Some of my followers might have noticed a difference in the last few articles; I've started to add in scenery and other elements in an effort to spice things up and get a more dynamic look.

The change was inspired partially by Forgeworld books that often feature set ups designed to look like battlefield photography, but also by the narrative contained in evey game. After all, things just look so much more exciting on the battlefield than the display cabinet!

I thought I'd share the type of setup I was using to get these pictures, and also a few thoughts in general about the process. One of the fun things about these shots is that they are a bit of an excuse to throw good practice in the bin; put lights where you want and use funny angels. Even a little blur can help; especially in creating a difference between the foreground and background. I've been really happy with the results, and it can certainly make for some striking pictures, without much effort really.

Traditionally, when taking pictures, I use quite a high angle to capture the bases and other details, but for these shots, going in low at eye level or even looking almost directly upwards can give some surprisingly cool results - they also take the bases out of shot which helps add to the realism.

It can be fun to do opposing sides too; which adds a bit of drama and helps forge a little narrative. It doesn't take a lot of scenery either, and for all of the Anvil shots I used only 2 GW ruins and a small crater that I built some years ago out of a spare bit of hard-board and some polly-filler!

A little sepia tone effect can go a long way!

Ultimately, you can have a lot of fun trying to make your stuff look "real", and I'm planning to make pictures like these a regular feature; after all we all have some great collections and it's a cool way to showcase them.

I'd love to see more dynamic shots from other blogs too, so consider this a personal challenge to you and your camera!