The testing continues!

Here's another round of tests on the Foldio Studio.

These images were shot using my old setup, which I have determined should be used for large scale things such as group shots and terrain.

They were taken using my normal three light arrangement... one from above, and one from each side.

These three lights tend to eliminate the shadows cast by the other lights, depending on the pose of the figure in question.

I bring this up now, because the following set of images will demonstrate the advantages of the new Foldio studio.  The ability to raise or lower the intensity of the lights turned out to be a much bigger advantage than I anticipated.

My previous attempts at using these mottled backdrops had a tendency to burn out the middle tones of the figures.  The faded, misty backdrops did this a little less, but I wondered if the intensity pf my lights could be causing this.

I tried to move the lights further away from the figures, but that led to more shadows being created, both on the figure and on the backdrop.  You will notice here that no such shadows occurred with the Foldio.

Since I could dim the lights, I had a better chance to avoid that burnout effect on the mid tones.  Instead of moving lights around, I could tone down the brightness of the lights, and not add those shadows.

There's a variety of reasons I wanted to use these backdrops.  First, I hoped to create more of a theme with my images, but there was another practical matter.

Sometimes the figure I am trying to photograph has a great deal of the cyan, or sky blue color.  This tends to make the figure blend into the backdrop.  Many of the figures I have painted with the blue glow run into this issue to some degree.

It would be the same as if I were photographing the RJ-1027 glow on a reddish backdrop.

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/221869391843?

A side by side of two backdrops, with the one on the left having been done with the Foldio setup.

Where the Buffalo roams

This is one of the first "regular" miniature shot with the Foldio studio.  As I mentioned yesterday, I have been doing all kinds of tests with lighting, backdrops, etc.

The positioning of the lights does make it very interesting, as it is quite different from my normal setup.  After my last few sessions, I believe that I will use the Foldio for smaller figures like this White Buffalo from the WWX Warrior Nation.

Now that I am shooting a lot more large scale items such as terrain (as well as all those group shots!), I will try to keep the original setup in place for the 'big stuff'.  I have another post coming tonight with some side by side comparisons as I tried to see what would happen with the more dappled Hangar 18 backdrops, as opposed to the misty versions.

Stay tuned!

A New Chapter Unfolds

Some of you may have seen the original post that I created about the new Foldio portable studio, and that I wanted to see how it might work under a variety of conditions.  I have taken it on the road with me a few times since then, and learned a few things about it.

I will put a link to the original post at the end of this one, so you can see the unboxing.

In the meantime, here's what it looks like with one of the Hangar 18 backdrops in it.  I did have to trim it down a bit, and make some adjustments with the placements of the magnets that hold it up.

There are two bands of  LED lights, which have dimmers on them, so you can really control the amount of light that is emitted.

This is what I got when I took some pictures with the regular light bands.  They were set at around 60-70% of power.

While I liked the result, and the camera seemed to pick up good detail, there was a distinct 'shadow' which was cast due to the light coming from only one direction.

Normally, I like to have light coming from at least three different directions.

You can see some of my other posts regarding this in the photography section of the blog.

To compensate for this shadow effect, I brought out a few of my other lights which I use to shoot battle reports.  While the above image is fine for times where all I can bring is the photo booth itself, I also wanted a secondary area where I could get regular images.

Here's a side by side of images shot with the standard setup, and then with my extra LED daylight bulbs.  The lower image looks a lot more like my standard type of lighting.

Now for some views of the Judgment heavy support with the additional lights... shadows eliminated.

In this image, I moved the light further down, creating a different lighting.

Here's the link to that original post:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2015/06/know-when-to-fold-em.html

Know when to fold 'em

This product is something brand new... a photo studio that really is portable.

It's from Foldio, appropriately enough, and I think it will be just the solution to my 'on the road' photography issue. This box holds everything, even the lights!

That was always the bugaboo with my previous "portable" suite.  The backdrop folded up, but it was heavy, and I was still left with two pretty big lamps that would get scalding hot.  This meant that I had to wait for the lights to cool down enough so that I could pack them.

Not such an issue here, as you can already see the LED light strips.

It comes with all sorts of AC adapters, so they will work in all regions of the world.

There were four backdrop colors.  I have a great deal of testing to do with these.  For instance, I am very curious to see how the black backdrop might work in this system.

Furthermore, I am quite hopeful that the Hangar 18 backdrops will work with this system.  My assumption is that the larger backdrops will be required.

As I mentioned before, it is very lightweight, and small.  It uses magnets to allow you to assemble and take it down in no time at all!

You can see the magnets pretty well in this image.

Now the box is turned right side up...

And we have the LED strips.  What's truly amazing is the concept of allowing you to control the intensity of the light!  Those round dials on each strip let you turn the light up or down as needed.

It took a few seconds to stick them onto the surface.

This is the bar that holds the backdrop in place.  It is so much better than my previous system, where the backdrop was held in place by a velcro strip that was tough to use, and didn't work with anything else besides the one or two backdrops that came with the set.

These are the four background colors.  Again, I want to see what happens with that black backdrop!

For my initial experiment, I went with the neutral grey backdrop.

Lights are plugged in, and a figure in the box!!!

Did I mention that this suite is quite large for something so portable?  That's a 40mm base, and it looks tiny.  So, this should fit those vehicles, big monsters, groups shots and even buildings!

My next post will show you all the various test results.  No matter what, it will certainly be replacing the massive, bulky setup that I must drag around with me when the show goes :on the road".

Stay tuned!!!!