Take Photographs Of Your Favorite Paper Airplane Model
Years ago, I sold real estate. One day I visited a couple out in the country that had trouble selling their home. As I walked up to talk to them, the man was outside polishing a beautiful red car that he obviously treasured. I told him that I had some experience in photography, and asked him if he would like me to photograph the car for him. I promised him that I would do it for free, and that I would even give him the negative.
I came back a few days later and kept my promise. He was so delighted with that picture that I later learned he had taken it to a specialized print shop and had a giant poster made from that negative! And the couple were so pleased that I had given them a very nice picture of something they treasured they even let me sell their house for them!
So What About Your Favorite Paper Airplane Model?
After a lot of hard work and time you finally have that model airplane in your collection, just waiting to be photographed. You know a great photograph of your favorite airplane model would look great hanging on the wall of your office printed on canvas. Perhaps your wife would even allow a photograph or two to be hung on the bedroom wall to enjoy just before you snooze off.
Whatever the reason, you want to have some really cool photographs of your aircraft model, or of the one you dream you will one day own. But how do you get those great pictures? Well, read on&
How To Photograph A Special Aircraft Model
When I took that photograph of that bright red car I used the second camera I had ever owned, a Pentax Spotmatic Single Lens Reflex camera with one 50mm lens! This camera has no program or automatic mode. I do still have the camera because it does not require any batteries to operate. It will still take great pictures without any power but mine! So why would I sell or give that one away?
But today most of us have a digital camera or two tucked away somewhere. If not, why not purchase a really easy to use digital camera that will give you all the functions you need to get those great photographs of your car. A Canon Digital Rebel would be my first choice.
So How Do You Get Great Pictures Of Your Priceless Treasure?
First of all I probably dont even have to tell you to have it all clean and shiny. Look around carefully and find a place where the background will not interfere with its beauty. Lighting is very important, so try to take your picture early in the morning or later in the day to take advantage of the soft light. If you have an overcast day, that would work as well. Try to place your model where the sunlight is coming from the side as opposed to having direct light on the model.
You will want to change the way you have positioned the model several times so that you can get front, side and lengthwise shots of your prized possession. When photographing your airplane model from an angle looking at say the left front wing tip you can create an image which will have some depth to it, adding to the interest of your photograph.
Prepare To Photograph Your Airplane Model!
Many digital cameras allow you to make some adjustments to improve the quality of your photograph. For example, most digital cameras allow you to choose white balance manually, typically you can choose sunlight, cloudy day, fluorescent or incandescent light or even automatic white balance, so be sure to select the correct setting to match the outside light. Many will also allow you to choose the ISO setting of the camera, so set it to 400 to begin with. ISO indicates your digital cameras sensitivity to light. The higher the number, the less light is needed to take a photo that is correctly exposed (not too dark or too light).
Next, choose aperture priority on your camera, and set the F stop to F 16 or F 22. Then look at the shutter information that your camera is telling you. If it says a shutter speed of 1/60 or 1/125 or greater, then you can hand hold the camera to take the picture. If it says the shutter speed is 1/30 or 1/15 of a second or less, then you will need to put your camera on a tripod to avoid blurring your picture. If you let your camera choose the F stop you will probably notice that the car is not in sharp focus from front to back when you see your picture on the computer.
Now Take Some Pictures!
Look at where the light is coming from and move to a front wing tip of the model. Frame the model so that you can see both the front and one complete side of the model in your viewfinder, focus somewhere near the cockpit of the airplane and gently squeeze the shutter while holding your breath. Then take your picture!
Modern digital cameras usually display a histogram on the LCD on the back of your camera. As you look at the histogram you will see hills and valleys that look like a sine wave. Make sure that you have adjusted your camera so that these peaks and valleys are in the center of the histogram and not over to one side or the other. If they are off to one side it means that there are no pixels, or no image, there.
To fix this problem change the exposure setting on your camera to either add or subtract exposure by increasing or decreasing the F stop settings by ? or 1/3 stop increments as needed while retaking the picture and rechecking the histogram for proper pixel placement. Keep checking the histogram to fine tune your picture. The nice thing about this kind of picture taking is that your airplane model will wait for you to take all of the pictures that you need to, within reason of course!
Lastly, congratulate yourself for a job well done! I knew that you could do it!
About The Author
Betty A. Muscott is a successful child photographer who provides valuable tips and advice for young parents on taking photos of children can enrich their lives, about photo album gift ideas for family and friends, help buying a digital camera and how to showcase your own photos on canvas and use them to decorate your home.
