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/bp your depth of field is going to vary greatly depending on the size of the aperture. The smaller the aperture the greater the depth of field. Using a wide angle lens has a greater depth of field than a telephoto. And the size of the zoom affects the depth of field. I usually use my 10-20mm and set the fstop to f22 or greater, depending on the light.

thank you sir!!.. Most of my pictures look like miniature models (which they are) but not life size... I use your advice and possibly post some pics...

Nice tutorial I am looking into some more surfaces to shoot the diecast on I use white/black paper and black glass, its reflections that I really struggle with controlling sometimes I get it into photoshop and then see my mistakes :S

brianballphotography wrote:Nice tutorial I am looking into some more surfaces to shoot the diecast on I use white/black paper and black glass, its reflections that I really struggle with controlling sometimes I get it into photoshop and then see my mistakes :S

You could make a road surface which can be used for both indoor and outdoor photography. I built my road by mixing sand with black paint and pooring it on a board (I put strips around the board to prevent the layer running off). After drying I used a DIY sander to grind the paint and sand back. A heavy duty sander would be better because the sand is quite tough, but alas I only have a small one.

I now made a new one which I am giving a different structure, but not sure if I succeed. I should be a sort of asphalt parking lot with cracks and filled holes. Main surface should be blacker than the road. The road is more greyish which makes sense because it wears more. I made it with builder sand, but by using sifted playing sand the surface would look finer. The possibilities are endless to build nice surfaces.

This is the first road I made.

Terrific work !!

- Due to my limited abilities, I was keen on trying a fine grain sand paper for roads. I had first hand experience using them but haven't taken any pictures with diecast. I am however extremely concerned that it might scratch the model even if i were slightly clumsy.

/bp wrote:@Nicadraus what lens do you use?.. I use the stock Canon 18-55mm, but I get a very low Depth of field at 40-50mm from 0.5meters .. any suggestions.

My cameras' lenses are stock. On the Lumix LX7 (f1.4 - 8) and Nikon D60 is 18-55 (f3.5 - 5.6g)

Zondaracer wrote:
This is the first road I made.

Very nice road diorama there. I really like the result of the surface.

Excelent thread! Thank you for sharing these tips.