Photographing Models and Miniatures

Paul Brent Adams offers an accessible, well illustrated guide to photographing your models and miniatures.

---

Want to photograph lions and elephants in Africa, Formula One cars at the Monaco Grand Prix, front-line military jets – or to step back in time and watch George Stephenson’s locomotive Rocket make its first run on the Liverpool–Manchester railway line – all without leaving the comforts of home?

The modern digital camera has made model and miniature photography a breeze – even with very simple and inexpensive cameras. You can take basic record photographs for selling online, keeping track of a collection or insurance; or you can photograph complete miniature worlds created with simple household items, toys, and model railway accessories.

An entire home studio can be set up on a kitchen table, and packed away in a cupboard. All that is required is a camera and mini tripod, a few simple accessories adapted from items you already have around the house, and some suitable props. The technical part of photography can be left to the camera, while you concentrate on the creative – and fun – side of things.

Most photography books are written by professional photographers, who love complexity, arcane technical language, and lots of expensive equipment. But this one is different – believing the best results come from simplicity.