CAMS Gets Expert Tips on Photographing Models

Photographing models is all about lighting and perspective, Kevin Epling, a long-time scale model and toy photographer and videographer at Michigan State University, told CAMS at its September meeting.

Epling (smallscalepics.smugmug.com and https://www.youtube.com/@1964K/featured) brought several of his sets and camera setups to show how differences in both placement and color of lighting can affect a shot. He also showed how to use simple materials and “doodads” to build backgrounds and sets.

The key in starting out is to use the equipment you already have, he said. He has a variety of cameras, but said he takes many of his pictures with his cell phone. Many of the lights he uses are not specifically for photography and one of the most versatile, he said, is an RBG LED light that allows him to control lighting color.

With one of his setups, a dollar store folding crate, he showed how light placement can affect a shot. The initial lighting of the two figures had the back one only in shadow, but a shift in the light brought out the teeth in the open mouth of the xenomorph figure in the back. He also used the set to demonstrate a couple of mist machines to create a foggy atmosphere or, for aircraft, the illusion of flying through clouds.

He said soft lighting from above brings out the body lines in vehicles, especially those with gloss finishes.

Epling said he prefers to do as much as he can with the actual image setup and lighting, saving Photoshop for some color correction and removing stands where needed. He recounted hours spent making a rig to hold a branch to hold a Kermit the Frog figure and moving that rig around a pond to get the right shot. He does, though, use computer monitors to project backdrops for some shots rather than build a scene.

While he recommended trying to keep the figures in scale, he showed pictures that made mixed scales work by moving the larger figures to the back and making them the focus.

He also demonstrated how he builds his sets with foam boards, paper and various found objects. Devices in a Star Wars set were made from such things as pill bottles and a hair roller. He also makes them modular so he can move walls and features around for different effects.