By B. Murphy
When you try to go about taking photos of your model railroads, you will soon notice that lighting is an essential part of photography, which is indeed an art that can be refined. Making lighting that appears to be realistic so that you model train comes to life as if it were real is no easy task, however it can be done. Consider the following ways to use lighting techniques to get great photos of your model railroad.
Placing your entire model railroad out in the sunlight would be the perfect way to get great photos. This is rarely possible for most people who build model trains, though, so you will have to design a lighting system that makes your railroad appear to be outdoors.
To begin with you need to think about whether you want your train to be photographed in direct sunlight, at nighttime, on an overcast day, or even during some weather event like a thunderstorm.
In order to make the model railroad appear to be outside under the sun you should use one lighting source. This could be a halogen spotlight. Try to place the spotlight as far away from the model as you can and then bounce other lights of the ceiling to make a diffused effect.
Work hard to not make too many shadows. If your diffused fill lights are too bright, they will make your scenic objects cast more than one shadow and that will not appear to be natural. If you use lots of different types of lights it will change the way that colors appear in your pictures to a point that not even photo editing software can fix.
Your pictures will also be greatly affected by where you place your lights. Just like the natural progression of the sun through the sky, the place where your lights are place will affect what time of day it appears to be and will change the way things in the background appear. Make it morning or afternoon by placing the light at a low angle from the model railroad. Placing your lighting source directly overhead will mimic the feel of high noon.
Advances in the technology of digital photography have made taking professional photos increasingly easier. Your model railroad photos will be truly great, though, if you can duplicate the look of the outdoors inside your home.
When you try to go about taking photos of your model railroads, you will soon notice that lighting is an essential part of photography, which is indeed an art that can be refined. Making lighting that appears to be realistic so that you model train comes to life as if it were real is no easy task, however it can be done. Consider the following ways to use lighting techniques to get great photos of your model railroad.
Placing your entire model railroad out in the sunlight would be the perfect way to get great photos. This is rarely possible for most people who build model trains, though, so you will have to design a lighting system that makes your railroad appear to be outdoors.
To begin with you need to think about whether you want your train to be photographed in direct sunlight, at nighttime, on an overcast day, or even during some weather event like a thunderstorm.
In order to make the model railroad appear to be outside under the sun you should use one lighting source. This could be a halogen spotlight. Try to place the spotlight as far away from the model as you can and then bounce other lights of the ceiling to make a diffused effect.
Work hard to not make too many shadows. If your diffused fill lights are too bright, they will make your scenic objects cast more than one shadow and that will not appear to be natural. If you use lots of different types of lights it will change the way that colors appear in your pictures to a point that not even photo editing software can fix.
Your pictures will also be greatly affected by where you place your lights. Just like the natural progression of the sun through the sky, the place where your lights are place will affect what time of day it appears to be and will change the way things in the background appear. Make it morning or afternoon by placing the light at a low angle from the model railroad. Placing your lighting source directly overhead will mimic the feel of high noon.
Advances in the technology of digital photography have made taking professional photos increasingly easier. Your model railroad photos will be truly great, though, if you can duplicate the look of the outdoors inside your home.
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