As always, our experienced PF Friends are providing and sharing excellent advice here
I must say that photographying Playmobil figures & scènes is something that one should never be taken for granted as a change of lighting in natural daylight can make of break a picture...
I have taken thousands of Playmobil photos over the years and achieving a beautiful picture is always a little miracle in itself
My current project of Return to Regent St is standing in a dedicated room facing a bay window exposed to the morning sun which means that I simply cannot take any pictures whatsoever on a sunny morning as my 3 meters x 1 meters preparation board as I call it would be "obliterated" by the sunlight and white washed accordingly. A lot of the materials I use to complement my Victorian scènes are better off the direct sunlight so it becomes a dark room every morning until 1pm.
I never take one or just a few pictures at the time but a serie of pictures ranging from 35/40 to 100+ and only realize when editing them on my PC which ones are standing out compared to others.
I use a Praktica DCZ 6 VR digital camera which I bought on EBay back in 2004 for less than 50 GBP when all my Friends were telling about there new digital cameras which costed a couple of hundred pounds and more, and I have stick to the same camera since then which makes great pictures both in real life on my travels and in the photography of miniature scènes including Playmobil scènes.
I would definitely say that from my own experience, the camera is not what really matters in taking a good Playmo picture but the lighting of the scene and your own perception as you must be willing to express something through the picture you are about to take. Setting up the scene and looking which angle will look the best remembering that the Playmo figures must be positioned according in such a way that your picture will "speak for itself".
When working with natural day light, always prefer a light gently filtered through a light colour sheer on the window remembering that the colour of your sheer will impact on your scene, ie an orange sheer will cast a slightly organge glow to your scene.
Most of the pictures of my work on the Summer Party on Regent St project were taken with a lighting from table lamps mostly equipped with a cream shade which brings a gentle lighting on the Playmobil figures. I have also used over the years tinted electric light bulbs in shades of pink or peach which will bring a nice rosy glow to the faces of your Playmo figures.
Something to also remember is that certain reflective surfaces will create an unwelcomed reflection on certain pictures especially when working over a large white surface. On the opposite, a dark, let's say black surface will absorb the light of your scene leaving it quite dark if you do not add little colour touches here and there.
For indoor scènes, the lighter the colours the better the picture will be and I have learned that using a reflective flooring in my victorian kitchen really helps bringing the scènes to life !
Taking about the indoor scènes, using miniature lights can create a wonderful and cosy atmosphere for as long as one does not choose multiple lights items such as chandelliers ( of more than 3 miniature light bulbs ) which will create an unwelcomed glare in your pictures...
As for the attitude of your Playmo figures, try and position them with a gesture as natural as a Playmo body structure allows it as if they were about to say or show something.
I will talk about the lighting of an outdoor scenery soon in my Making Of topic and will do my very best at sharing tips with you
But as I said before, every beautiful photo is a littel miracle in itself and no later than a few weeks ago, we were having a foggy day here with the sun hidden behind it when I decided to shoot a serie of pictures which all turned out with a beautiful and gentle glow as if I had used a filter and I so wish I shot more pictures on that day
Karim
