Digital Concepts Light Studio: A Must Have

I'm the proud owner of a Digital Concepts Light Studio, and I've got to say very few things have made me this excited.

If you're not new to Strictly Average, you're probably aware of my philosophy of always giving the reader (that's you) something to look at.  I've relaxed that over the last year, depending on the type of article, an editorial for instance.  With those I'll give you the wall of text 'cause either you'll read it or you won't, regardless of the pretty pictures.

That said, the vast majority of my well-over 250 posts have had pictures, most of them taken by yours truly.

I've done what I can with my handy Cybershot, but it's become obvious lately that the pictures I'm taking don't match reality.  Simply put, the ambient light and the camera's flash all distort the actual colors of the miniature, washing out the detail.  The Master Manipulator (every store needs one) has been helping me learn what I need to know on the subject... 'cause he's an OCD perfectionist.  The dude posted like 2 pictures somewhere and decided he had to learn everything he could.  I've posted hundreds and didn't know anything was wrong.

Ah well.  Here's the equipment.

As you can see, the bag folds out and three separate screens attach to form the sides and top.  These diffuse the light sources.  There is also a mat in blue and gray, a reversible backdrop for your subject.

The key light is the primary light, usually the flash from a camera or the sun itself.  Ideally, you can center a light to replace the flash, but either way you position the other lights, shown above, to provide source lighting from the sides and/or top.  The light is diffused by the screens so it isn't harsh.

I'm a long way from using this properly, but I couldn't help myself and started snapping pictures.  I beginning to understand the best way, through trial and error and the Master Manipulator (every store needs one)'s advice.  For example, he told me that you never want to hold the camera, rather you want to set up the tripod and use the timer.  I scoffed a bit at first but that actually makes a world of difference.

Like I said, I'm still experimenting, but compare these to the original pics of the same miniature I posted a month or so back.  In order, they are flash, no flash, and distance; like I said, I'm still experimenting.

You can see the harsh glare and the too-bright white - there is simply no competition here.

I urge you to shop around and find one of these kits for yourself.  I've only started using it and I'm not sure I could go back to my old methods.  The MM(esno) found a sale and didn't break the bank on the sets he purchased.  I'm pretty sure Gauthic is getting his hands on the third and last, so expect cool things from his blog.

EDIT: The comments section has some great info from both k.Blas and the MM(esno) - also, refer to k.Blas' blog via this link for even more.