DINO-FIGUREs PHOTOGRAPHY ( Image Heavy Thread )

[Shonisaurus]

By the way @acro-man  Do you already have the indominus of Nanmu Studio? I ask you because I pre-ordered it to a Chinese store but that product is not yet commercialized.

(p.s.  your post is off-topic  .. but....  Nanmu Indominus is already available in China only. They wrote that foreigns customers would have received their orders later than chinese ones.. )

Forgive with all my heart @RobinGoodfellow  and the rest of the DTF members. It is true, this message did not come to mind. It will not happen again I will try to take note of my mistakes. So sorry.

Getting to the point the photography tutorial that you are giving Robin is great. You learn a lot and I always follow this thread because it is extremely interesting.

[RobinGoodfellow]

Photoshop' post-production can be boring.
But it can really help improving weak pictures.

Sometime I see some pictures on my Flickr albums that could be upgraded with some post-production' treatment.

Here some recent re-tooled pictures from my past Flickr albums:


Original:


Re-Tooled:


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Original:


Re-Tooled:


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Original:


Re-Tooled:


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Original:


Re-Tooled:


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Original:


Re-Tooled:


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Original:


Re-Tooled:


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On my personal opinion, the purpose of a picture is to be viewed with pleasure by people.

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Full Res Pics & Info:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130140542@N03/albums/72157681955573873

[acro-man]

pretty good.
They all have depth now

[Faelrin]

Nice edits you've done there.

[RobinGoodfellow]

I recently bought PNSO Microraptor on Aliexpress.
For sure a difficult figure to portrait properly on a photographic image.
That's because of the iridescence on its plumage.




The best way to show iridescence is controlling light reflections with a circular polarizing filter on lens:




https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polarizing_filter_(photography)


That's a regular shot without filter:




With a polarizing filter you can control light reflections the best way: just rotate the filter clockwise/ anticlockwise to reduce/maximize effects.
The result:




Even on a full frontal image:




Full Res Pics here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130140542@N03/albums/72157655387495041/with/50519919882/

[Lanthanotus]

I have to say PNSO did no bad job in shooting and editing the product photos, but your`s are even better. Guess I`ll get the figure and cut away those stupid teeth, in the snouth it`s okay, no iridisecnt color to restore there and otherwise it`s a stunner

[Halichoeres]

That's an interesting prismatic effect on the overturned cup, too

Thanks for this primer!

[RobinGoodfellow]

I have to say PNSO did no bad job in shooting and editing the product photos, but your`s are even better.

..Thank you very much; I'm just trying to give justice to models we love.. 

[ceratopsian]

You definitely succeeded in that aim here. 

[Shonisaurus]

As always, your entire collection is fabulous. On the other hand, although it belongs to previous posts, Robin did not know that artistically photographing the PNSO microraptor (latest version) is a difficult task. Perhaps my amazement is due to the fact that I do not have a camera.

That means this year's PNSO microraptor iridescent painting is a true work of art.

[RobinGoodfellow]

Recently I took a picture for my Collection Thread based on a "composited underwater" effect.
It was about Recur Dunkleosteus.
I used a lot of tips I previously explained here.
Maybe it could be interesting for someone on DTF.

The original shoot wasn't a single picture but an HDR (High Dinamic Range) "collage".

Here the result:




I also did a separate shoot of the background, without figures:




I used the "set extension" technique to have a full background, without creases and with a "de-focus" effect:




Next step was about "masking" figures from background (mostly done with Photoshop' Magic Wand tool):






The very first composited result was "crude", with sharp edges and it sounded as a "fake"..




So I added smooth edges to the mask:




The result was way better:





Then I added a little bit of "dramatic" shadows to the composition:





The final result:





Here the full effects chain used in the composition with different layers (..really sorry but I only have italian version of Photoshop..)





Full Res Pics here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130140542@N03/albums/72157655387495041/with/50557624138/

[RobinGoodfellow]

Unfortunately there are only few people posting their collection shots on DTF.
It's a pity.
For sure the DTF way to upload pictures isn't so easy and it's a little bit complex on mobile devices, I know..
It takes time.

But, on my opinion, it's not all about time.
For me it's about passion.
Passion for collection models, passion for photography, passion about showing a collection the best possible way to other collectors.
Yes, it takes time to do that.
In my opinion it doesn't make any sense to have a collection I'm the only one watching..

So, although like everyone here I have a job that takes a long time and when I'm at home I don't really want to pick up my camera and computer again, my passion for collecting (and showing figures the best way) rules.

That's just my two cents..

An example: PNSO wonderful new figures. 

I needed to show ALL new models into one single shoot.
And I knew that group shots are complex.

A simple shoot into my domestic light box isn't the right way:


Even with a soft light, there are too many dark areas and too many overexposed sections (due to different painting application on each figure).

HDR tecnique is a " must " for that kind of photographs ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-dynamic-range_imaging )


At first glance it might look the same but HDR picture is a 16/32 bit image you can widely manipulate in post-production with Photoshop because of its wider dynamic range of tones.
The original colors are washed-out by HDR but you can fix them in post-production easily.

The first step after HDR compositing it's about separate background from figures.
It requires an high-contrast black/white mask:  ( https://vdmx.vidvox.net/tutorials/masking-techniques-for-layer-composition )



This is the most time-consuming part: it takes 1 or 2 hours for the best result.

With a well-done mask, the 90% of the job is done.
Now you can easily isolate the background with the "magic wand tool" in Photoshop:


Background has a separate layer in Photoshop and it's easy to fix it (de-focus, exposure compensation, replaced bad areas etc.. )

And you can grab figures for a separated layer with a simple "reverse" selection:



Now original colors can be restored:



The final result:



Time from shoot to final ? About 3 hours for a single image..

Is it worth ?
I do not know.
I leave it to you to judge.

[ceratopsian]

I for one am glad that you enjoy putting so much time and effort into a single shot.  It's beyond my technical capabilities: I have never mastered even using layers in Photoshop.  But like you, I feel passionately that I must share my collection with others.  If I'm the only one who is able to see my models, it seems a much more barren hobby.

[Kapitaenosavrvs]

Thank you very much for these Tutorials. They are well done and to answer your Question: Yes, i would say it is worth it. If it brings you Joy while doing it, it is always worth it. Also, your Pictures look beautiful and professional in the End.

[Bokisaurus]

I always enjoyed your thread and photo tips. I always found it fascinating reading about your techniques, it helped me a lot. Photography is one of my passion even if I never got any training, so it's great to follow and see the works of someone who is.
You are right, one of the joy of being a member here is to be able to share our collections!
I had no idea it took that much time to photograph your collection! But it's worth it, I think many of us really enjoy and look forward to your collection post! Cheers 

[acro-man]

PASSION is needed! Well said.
However, collecting dinosaurs is one of those things that can hardly and consistently get you "high" all the time.
I find my passion for dinosaurs fading away recently which troubles me.
Really love see people sharing dinosaurs collection photos, love diorama photos more.
I myself am too lazy to do so.

Keep up your good work!

[RobinGoodfellow]

I always enjoyed your thread and photo tips. I always found it fascinating reading about your techniques, it helped me a lot. Photography is one of my passion even if I never got any training, so it's great to follow and see the works of someone who is.
You are right, one of the joy of being a member here is to be able to share our collections!
I had no idea it took that much time to photograph your collection! But it's worth it, I think many of us really enjoy and look forward to your collection post! Cheers 

As usual your words are extremely kind. Thank you very much.
And also thanks to @ceratopsian  and @Kapitaenosavrvs  : your comments are highly  appreciated 

[RobinGoodfellow]

PASSION is needed! Well said.
However, collecting dinosaurs is one of those things that can hardly and consistently get you "high" all the time.
I find my passion for dinosaurs fading away recently which troubles me.
Really love see people sharing dinosaurs collection photos, love diorama photos more.
I myself am too lazy to do so.

Keep up your good work!

Hello and welcome back on DTF
We're missing your words here.
Regards and stay safe 

[postsaurischian]

 I'm also enjoying this thread although I have no idea what you're doing here .
I just don't have the time to learn about Photoshop, but maybe it's good that different people are using different techniques.

Please keep up the passion! I surely wouldn't be a member here without picture threads like yours.
When it comes to me I'm not worried. My passion for zoology hasn't changed throughout the last 50 years and it probably won't 'til the day I die.

Really love see people sharing dinosaurs collection photos, love diorama photos more.
I myself am too lazy to do so.

Untrue! I've seen wonderful photos made by you .

[RobinGoodfellow]

I'm also enjoying this thread although I have no idea what you're doing here .
I just don't have the time to learn about Photoshop, but maybe it's good that different people are using different techniques.

There is only one thing I know for sure: the human eye is way superior than every camera (even high-end ones).
Every trick I tried to explain here has an unique purpose: show our beloved paleo-models as close as possible to the way we see them on naked eyes (knowing from the very beginning that it's impossible).