Using real pictures for backdrops
- Thread starter hotwinger
- Start date
Railphotog
Railroad Photographer
I've seen it done, the biggest problem in matching adjacent photos is the color/tone of the sky. If you minimise the sky in the photos, or just cut it off and mount the photos on a uniform blue background it should do.
A friend of mine did a pair of HO scale modules with a representation of a local shortline yard. He arranged through a friend to take photos of the scenery behind the yard in a bucket truck, and had enlargements made for his backdrop. The resulting scene was really neat because the scenery was readily identifiable.
A friend of mine did a pair of HO scale modules with a representation of a local shortline yard. He arranged through a friend to take photos of the scenery behind the yard in a bucket truck, and had enlargements made for his backdrop. The resulting scene was really neat because the scenery was readily identifiable.
kenw
5th Generation Texian
print them at perfectposters.com. Upsizing isn't needed or recommended, I've printed 6.3MPixel images up to 40" with no issues whatsoever. Visit their site and upload a pic and they will tell you how big it will go.
and they are a lot cheaper, a 24x36 runs $under $30 (iirc)
and they are a lot cheaper, a 24x36 runs $under $30 (iirc)
Great! thanks for the responces everyone.
I knew this could be done.
Railphotog That's exactly what I want to do with mine. Since it is a prototpye and people with recognize the forground. I want the background to fit in just as much. With it being around the river it has to match.
kenw I'll check them out. I have tons of pictures I can send them.
Thanks.
I knew this could be done.
Railphotog That's exactly what I want to do with mine. Since it is a prototpye and people with recognize the forground. I want the background to fit in just as much. With it being around the river it has to match.
kenw I'll check them out. I have tons of pictures I can send them.
Thanks.
I did something along the line of what Railphotog suggests. I took some shots of local autumn mountain scenery and had them turned into photoposters, a process that used to be widely available through any camera store (is it still?). The ~20"x30" enlargements were quite reasonably priced at around $25 I think. I cut away the sky and pasted them on to sky blue painted Masonite, to which I had added my own clouds. See the illustraion below showing a segment of this background.
NYW&B
NYW&B
grande man
Bonafied Grande Nut
This is a very interesting thread. It would be easy to photoshop a "consistent" sky in for several images. Alignment of the clouds at the edges would need some careful consideration.
For the do it yourself types, panoramas stitched together and printed on roll paper could be a workable idea for those with access to a suitable printer. Epson Enhanced Matte Paper is available in a variety of roll sizes... Hummm. That paper is reasonably priced, the ink could get pricey.
For the do it yourself types, panoramas stitched together and printed on roll paper could be a workable idea for those with access to a suitable printer. Epson Enhanced Matte Paper is available in a variety of roll sizes... Hummm. That paper is reasonably priced, the ink could get pricey.
Eric, I have thought about a background done that way, but the price and amount of ink would be cost prohibitive. You would probably come out better letting one of the online or local shops do it for you. I have experimented with individual buildings and trimmed the sky off. That works well, reasonable cost, and you can add or subtract features to the building with Paint Shop or other software. I use foamboard for the backing if it is a "near" background and glue to the (sky) if a more distant background.
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grande man
Bonafied Grande Nut
Hey Rex.
The ink costs might not be a s bad as they seem on the surface. Many pro level ink jet printers that are capable of printing wide enough for backdrop use also hold a lot of ink. For instance, the Epson 3800 Pro I have sitting beside me has 9 ink cartridges in it that cost $55 each. Each holds 80ml of ink. By contrast, many of the smaller Epson printers have 7ml cartridges that cost $15 each! Some of the printers larger than the 3800 (it prints up to 17 inches wide) have cartridges that each hold 150ml of ink. In summary, the larger the printer, the lower the ink costs for a given print. Aside from the costs, the trick, of course, is having acess to a printer large enough to handle the job. If you had to factor in the cost of the printer (the "little" 3800 was $1400), the costs would get prohibitive quickly for most modelers.
You are certainly correct, a printed backdrop would be expensive, even if it were done on a large machine. It could have some great benefits to the prototypically minded modeler though. Imagine modeling a scene and using a pro level photographic quality backdrop that was shot at the actual location being modeled. That has some high potential cool factor.
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That would definitely be a neat thing to do. Capture the background of a favorite area and then model the foreground...how about a photo background of a place that has been demolished and you model the foreground as it was following a historical type photo. That would be another facet to the hobby...a restoration of sorts. Wow, endless potential.... It could have some great benefits to the prototypically minded modeler though. Imagine modeling a scene and using a pro level photographic quality backdrop that was shot at the actual location being modeled. That has some high potential cool factor.
