Sceneries for photoshootings.

[tonguello]

Hello everyone!

As I’ve said in another thread I’m in the middle of a photostory production. Pre-production I should say. I haven’t started to shoot yet, but I have started getting all the props and scenery that I need.
One of those sceneries is a big Manor in a huge estate, somewhere in La Pampa or Patagonia. Anyway…. I thought it was better to build some versatile scenery that I could use in other stories or shootings, so it shouldn’t be too big, maybe made of smaller parts that I could put together depending on the final scenario that I needed. What I mean is that every part should be versatile to use. Cloths are the best option for big surfaces.
So to me the best for now was a vast green prairie, next to a beach (if possible), so next to water. Sea or river would depend on the story. Palm tress or pines. Rocks or cattle…. Etc.






I decided that in this case it would be better to leave really flat, the part where the house would be standing on, so it would have a better “grip” in the diorama. This part I made it with a fake grass used for scale model and train dioramas.
So all the rest is just experiments to get the real thing started.






See monster cat trying to assault the house!!! 

[tonguello]

One of the most important things in a diorama or photo shooting scenery is the background. For outdoors, that would be the sky. This sky in the photos is just a paper to rap gifts that I found by chance at a shop, it cost 70cents and it is a nice and kind of realistic  replacement until I got my real sky (about U$s100 that I rather spend in playmos).
Another important part of a scenery is ….. perspective.
In this case I need to show that the estate is huge so I need a lot of grass behind the house. As I don’t have that space (I shoot this in my bedroom lol) I can force the perspective behind the house placing at the back that smaller trees and props. Maybe even not playmo stuff and in a smaller scale, like the trees you see.





When using playmo trees, I suggest to put the bigger trees in the front and go with the smaller ones from there to the back.
Big surfaces can be easily covered with cloths. The green hill you can see is just a t-shirt, but it is a good example of the use of this material. It also can give some sort of movement to the grounds.




Well that’s all for now. A lot more to come!
Hope it helps. Cheers.
Gaston.
PS: I don't know whay the last pic is not straight.... I can't fix it.

[playmofire]

That's an excellent looking diorama you're building up and the idea of different levels is a good one.  It's one I've tried in the past and it's worked well, especially as you can paint the different levels different colours to represent grass, earth, sand and finally water if you are, for example, creating a riverside scene.  I used to use 6mm and 13mm sheets of MDF screwed together where it wouldn't show in the photos.  This way you could unscrew them and pit them together in different combinations and repaint them different colours.

To create the impression of distance, you could put a wall between your mansion and the backdrop and then have trees behind the wall.

[tonguello]

Thanx Gordon, the wall is a good idea! I have to think if it suits my story.... but it could!
To make it in MDF would be the best choise but it would take me a lot of time, money and space.... I don't have the machines to cut it etc.... so I choose cartboard.
Yous idea of the "screwable" layers is great! 

[tonguello]

Another method I use to photograph clickies is much simpler (in some ways) and so far gave me better results, because of its more realistic basis.
It consists in the use of photographs as background. As simple as in the pics. Only secret is to find the right images and to match the light in the pics and the clickies. These next photo is one of my best and  a good example. 
The light matchs and the stainglass windows in the Gothic book, look like a reflection on the floor..... 




And it was made just like this.......



 
Cheers, Gaston.

[Bill Blackhurst]

Excellent "how to" advise Gaston ! It seems our cats are very attracted to Playmobil!

[flatcat]

Absolutely incredible results, and the book backdrop is just amazing!

 

Damo

[Wolf Knight]

Gaston this is a most valuable lesson in diorama creation!!! I am striving with ideas of how to create a few and I can say your methods are very brilliant, creative and the result is beautiful!!! Well done!!! More more more!!!

[tonguello]

Thank you Bill, Damo and Panos! I apreciatte it.
I have a couple of pics more, using the same book method. I'll try to post them later today!
Thanx! 

[playmofire]

The use of the pictures in the book is very clever, Gaston. It's possible to do the same with you own photos, too.