Not that I am a great photographer or anything, but I have been inventorying my “vast” accumulation of RTR, BB and flea market impulse purchases to post onto the Yard Office software>In addition to data and notes about each item, I also wanted to include a photo of each.
I came up with a quick and easy neutral backdrop for taking pictures:
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For HO, cut 2 pieces of 3/16" thick foam core board (Elmers at Walmart or similar) into 18" x 4" panels. (this may vary larger or smaller for other scales, obviously- that goes for camera distance, etc. as well)
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Use a piece of blue painting masking tape to leave a 3/16" gluing area along one edge of one of the pieces and glue both pieces at 90 degrees. I used contact cement, but white glue will also work.
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Push straight pins into the underside where the two pieces meet, from underneath the base up into the vertical piece every 2 inches or so- also at each end. (I do this with my students’ architectural models to aid in glue-ups and also to preserve intersection strength).
Voila! - as my daughter, the French language student, would say.
The white backround is excellent for photos. Set it on a table and use a tripod with your camera to take photos from about 3 to 4 feet away (this might vary as you focus on different sized objects).
Use MS Picture Manager to rotate,if needed, slightly (usually 1 degree up or down), then crop the image just past the coupler hose on each end of the car/loco, crop down to about 1/8" above the highest point on the car/loco and just below the bottom of the wheel arcs. (this eliminates the base of the backdrop showing in the final image). The resulting final image will be a clean, sharp one. (that’s why I use a tripod!!!)
The size of this backdrop handles A+B diesel