photo lighting problem

Seems no matter the light source or angle, when I try to take photos of my equipment the trucks are always too dark to see. If I edit to lighten, the color of everything lightens and changes so as not to be correct (prototypical). I have tried photos in a booth, in sunlight and with multiple light sources, but still no luck. Help, please.

 

PMBabe, Here is sort of a generic equipment photo of a boxcar I kitbashed.



This photo had natural light coming through a partially covered window. It was also enhanced with a light glow from my desk lamp about 9 feet away. The camera was on a tripod, and I used a timer. The camera was on Auto. You see what I got.

You didn't mention your camera, but I will mention that cameras in general do not like dark shadows. You have to end up fiddling with settings on your camera. I let my friend Auto do that for me. Sometimes outside you must use your flash to lighten up the dark areas. I never use flash indoors for my model photography. You might also try to get as close to your subject as you can and try your Macro focus. Hope this helps. Jim

 

Thanks. Nikon D-500 with 36X zoom and lots of settings. I've tried many and done almost exactly what you show, but still with the same problem you have here, the trucks are dark. Pro photos on Ebay show all detail. Trying to reach this objective.

 

How are you setting up your camera?

You should be able to get good pics with the D-500 providing you have good lighting, check out my pictures in the HO section, Pen Y Bryn.

 

Photos as they come out of the camera are seldom so perfect they can't use some tweaking. One of the most common tweaks is lightening up the shadows, and with your Nikon D5000 you should have lots of details hiding in there, just waiting for somebody to use a good photo editor to bring them out.

I take a load of photos of my model trains, and the UP in the late 1940's through the mid-1950's had a lot of cars and engines that were black...or parts of them that were black, and photos that correctly expose the backgrounds on my layout have darks that are so dark the details are hidden when I look at them before Photoshopping them.

I have several programs that allow me to fiddle with JPEG files so that the lights and darks can be fiddled with simultaneously, as well as mask a section of the photo, such as just the trucks on a train, or just the boiler on a steam engine, and either lighten or darken it. I can also fiddle with the color saturation and contrast at the same time in Photoshop.

Here's an example of the same shot before and after fiddling with Photoshop with a big JPEG file:

Photo 1: Straight out of the camera:


Photo 2: Photoshopped Using Image/Shadows/Highlights... pulldown:


In Photoshop, used the pulldown menu under "Image", click on "Adjustments", which will give you another pulldown menu...then click on "Shadows/Highlights..." which allows you to individually adjust both shadows and highlights to differing degrees, and fiddle with "color correction" (meaning saturation), and "midtone contrast".

Photoshop Essentials 11 also gives you a way to mess with shadows/midtones/highlights at the same time, but it's under "Enhance", then click "Adjust Lighting", then click "Shadows/Highlights" and then adjust both shadows and/or highlights as well as midtone contrast.

I also periodically use a program called ACDSee (I have the pro version) which also allows fidding, but I'm not going to get into it here.

Although you have to pay for "Photoshop Essentials 11" or later (if there is a later version) it's about 90/95% of the pro versions and I don't like the latest "Cloud" iteration of Photoshop, which you use online and essentially rent.

Word of caution: It's easy to over-do the messing with shadows and highlights, and the result is a contrast-less zombie photo that, although all the details are there, makes the color in the shadows weird and pops out all the details in the shadows...which turn gray.

Another way to pop your shadows a bit is to place a 8.5" X 11" white card or stiff sheet of paper close to your subject, out of the view of your lens, which will lighten up the shadows quite significantly. However, for really being able to control details in both shadows and highlights, a good photo editing program is essential.

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore