Autoscale Studio

[optimaforever]

Originally Posted by dbsteve

Very nice pictures Optima, you drive mini-z ?

Steve

Thanks.
Yes, I began with a MR01 and a Z8 body yeaaaaaaars ago.

[arch2b]

fantastic photos! have you thought about doing 3d rotational compilations? a new site popped up recently offering this for GI Joes. while a formal studio collection for autoscales is a first, rotational compilations would be a great asset as well.

again, great photography.

[Bodom]

Great job!

[optimaforever]

Originally Posted by arch2b

fantastic photos! have you thought about doing 3d rotational compilations? a new site popped up recently offering this for GI Joes. while a formal studio collection for autoscales is a first, rotational compilations would be a great asset as well.

again, great photography.

Hello and thank you dear moderator ,

Actually I take pics of each model from 8 angles but the lighting is different for each angle (I move my phone in the dark, checking the pic after each exposure, so it's changing all the time) so it would be difficult to make rotoscopic images. For this I would need a static lighting setup and a rotating plate/background.

[arch2b]

you get a very similar effect once you click to enlarge the image and scroll through the images back and forth. absolutely wonderful!

[optimaforever]

Btw all angles aren't always beautiful per se, so I have to find a good-looking lighting for each shot. It takes time, typically 30-40 shots by car, but once the shooting is done, I bring the pics in Lightroom to enhance the lighting and select the best pics.
When uploading, I now try to sort the shots in a rotating order to keep a certain coherence.

[optimaforever]

A rarely seen body, the Lotus Europa Special.

[optimaforever]

I had lots of difficulties to get this one. I had lots of wreck but no pristine one. That's the lot of numerous race cars

[optimaforever]

calsonic again

[color01]

Very cool. Do you generally leave the LED near the top of the frame, pointing downwards? Really clean lighting for a single point source (and I assume no diffuser box providing secondary, indirect lighting). Please teach us.

[herman]

superb pics… truly studio like quality work! went to your site, always wanted to do something like that, incorporating some history behind the cars, i recall posting one merc c9… thanks for sharing waiting for pics on honda's hsv10

[optimaforever]

I'm doing R32 series this week because I wanted to have a look of these bodies with some wheels

[optimaforever]

Originally Posted by color01

Very cool. Do you generally leave the LED near the top of the frame, pointing downwards? Really clean lighting for a single point source (and I assume no diffuser box providing secondary, indirect lighting). Please teach us.

As I don't want a complex studio set-up, I use a technique called light painting.
Basically, very slow shutter speed, cam on tripod in a darkened room, and a bright light moving around the subject to hilight what you want to focus on. (in my case, an iphone, but it could be a lighter, a torchlight, whatever creates a strong contrast with darkness). You can test a lot of different lightings quickly.
I use shutter speed of 6-30sec, an apertures ranging from f/22 to f/32, depending on the angle and the color of the body.

[optimaforever]

Originally Posted by herman

superb pics… truly studio like quality work! went to your site, always wanted to do something like that, incorporating some history behind the cars, i recall posting one merc c9… thanks for sharing waiting for pics on honda's hsv10

Thanks for the compliments.
I have so many bodies now, and they all are hidden in closets, so I don't see them usually... What a pity isn't it? Hence the idea of taking pics of them, to be able to see them when I want, and putting them online, so I can see them from any mobile device too, and besides, if anyone else than me would be delighted to see a (kind-of) visually uniform mini-z gallery... I always have been so frustrated by the official Kyosho website... uncomplete infos, uncomplete list, errors in the descriptions, etc. etc. I'd have loved a website explaining why Kyosho choose to make a body instead of another, how they choose the colors or liveries, short stories behind the makers, etc.

[arch2b]

there are some pictures floating around on how they make them, the molds used and glosscoating the bodies. i recall there being at least 2 brief interviews of sorts that have occurred over the years. all of it should be here on the forum as well. i have copies of the pictures of the molds if you want them for a background page.