I always create high-quality models, but the cover image is not attractive, resulting in no attention. Does anybody know what the best way to take a photo of model is?
First rule of photography is: NEEDS MOAR LIGHT. After all photography is literally light painting.
First question: what do you have now in terms of taking photos? Pretty much anything made in last ~10 years can create decent photos, but advice may differ.
//EDIT:
I took a look at your uploads. Good stuff. Take a look at another thread: How to get more publicity? - loads of good info there posted by long-time creators!
As for photos: anything “product photography” you’ll find will be good, just make sure it’s not one of those “you have to have $5000 worth of gear” type of vids.
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I printed this:
And i started doing some more work to make my pictures seem… nicer?! I guess 
I also take pictures with the phone with a good camera (15 pro max) but can’t shoot good pictures 
, but i am not a photographer at all. We got to try different things and see how they work.
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I would highly recommend printing something like this
Along with that, you need to edit your photos. That can be in your phone directly or something like blender, all you really need to do is increase the saturation and maybe the exposure. Also, for me personally adding large text captions on the model picture has helped quite a lot.
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I have an IPhone 11 and a brand-new Apple IPad, which would be better? I know phones focus on image quality, but the IPad could have newer technology.
This is perfect! Before this I was taking all off my pictures on two, dirty, taped-together pieces of paper.
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Phone.
I use a photo cube and a ring light tripod.
Currently ÂŁ75 together. It does mean paying out money, but, the extra light from all directions gives the images a pop.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B09QQHS7N8/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QJXCB28/
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My setup consists of a soft-box light and my Pixel 6a. Works pretty well, but I’m currently in the process of switching the soft-box out for the Maker’s Supply COB strip lights. Going to print mounts to attach them to the walls and ceiling.
Photo:
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Damn, my phone (iPhone 15 Pro Max) seems to always compensate for all the extra light and make it dark?
I switched to an old dslr (emphasis on old) and stuff is coming out okay, I’m still not perfect.
Is the soft box all the difference?
I grabbed one of these and it’s just not doing as much as I hoped
Nah, those won’t do well. You actually don’t need fancy coloured lights, those just distract (unless you know damn well you need them to create specific effect). A properly difused neutral white is perfect lighting.
DSLRs are awesome, they’re made for photography. Pair a good lens and it’s unbeatable.
THe problem with iPhones and all smartphone cameras is that sensor is tiiiiiny and lens is tiny and it’s the software that does the heavy lifting. The darkening you see is caused by suboptimal conditions that the phone tries to compensate. Ringlight like one shown by Malc or the softbox like shown by Zammer are great for delivering light and would do wonders. Also getting lighttent… 3d printed photobox might not be great since white colour of filament might not be the “right white” however a light tent white will be good, even the cheap ones.
It does all the whites as well, dimmable and cool to warm
Just not strong enough I think
I tried one of the 3d printed photo boxes above, the one with the turntable, and it was just meh, not the look I was after
I keep seeing a kickstarter ad for one with a curved back, will find it later
Yeah, just look at it’s surface area and compare that to softbox - softboxes are gigantic 
and the ringlights might have same number of leds, but then the light comes from around the lens and it’s quite good look.
Overal: look for anything “product photography” and it’ll be good 
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I’m a photographer, but usually I’m very lazy with my photos here. So instead of pulling out the big camera gear, I just use my iPhone.
A few simple pointers that are fast to do and will make the images more attractive:
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Remember that most things you can do while shooting, will take roughly 1/10th the time of doing in post production. This includes removing background clutter. So make sure youre surface and background are clean from distracting objects, unless they’re context relevant for your print. Also think about surface textures. I’m a fan of wood, but that’s probably because I also do some wood work every now and then.
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Think of color schemes. Read up on color theory, such as complementary colors - dual harmony, tri harmony etc… This website is helpful for generating color schemes: Coolors - The super fast color palettes generator! - So fx. if you have printed a part in orange, blue is the complementary color for that. But of course, no rules without exception - I often run with pairings that include white or black for a cleaner look.
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Use at least 50mm focal length on a 35mm equivalent. On a phone, that’s usually the 2x zoom option. Do not use the 1x zoom option, as this is equivalent to 24mm on fullframe, which makes it a wide angle. The effect of wide angle is that objects that vary in depth, will have greater size difference, as the vanishing point decreases (comes nearer) and lines begin to “tumble”. The effect of tele focal lengths are the opposite: Objects that vary in depth will become more alike in size despite the depth difference, as the vanishing point will be moved further away.
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Good light is not enough: Great light is preferred. I have a few ring lights that I use when speed cubing, so they’re always up and ready - and for me, they’re fine for taking images of my 3D printed items. I also like to use sunlight if it’s diffused, but hard light sources must never be direct, because they will cast very harsh shadows in turn. You can use reflectors or diffusers as you like; an easy and cheap option is to just take a piece of white paper and reflect the light off of that. I have several dedicated soft boxes as well - and I never use them for minor stuff like this.
Going into light theory for product photography is too heavy for this post, but if you want, read up on 3-point light setup and especially what a rim light does. To enhance the definition of any object, a well placed rim light does wonders. The key light must be diffused while a fill light (which can be substituted by a reflector screen) helps soften the shadows even more.
- Layout. After the photo is taken, brush it up in whatever software you prefer. Don’t do manipulations as such; but enhancing the contrasts, local contrasts, color balance etc. will make the photos pop much more.
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My 2 cents, because I am no professional creator
Leaving out the picture, because you already got great suggestions, I would change font and limit the colors to max 1-2
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Okay. As you can see I really have problems with photos.
I wonder if I can design/print a tripod… I can’t hold a phone still.
More light?:
I can’t hold a phone either, I have tremors and a can’t stand for long and require assistance.
There are many printable stands available here.
https://makerworld.com/en/search/models?keyword=Phone+tripod
When creating your staging â– â– â– â– , think about what needs to be in focus. I am NOT a professional at this, but, I choose a simple style I repeat.
- I place the main item on one side in the front.
- If the model is bigger I place it in the centre
- I place it so I leave enough space to caption the work
- I use specific and different fonts for everything I do, use Dafont.com, fontsquirrel.com or other service that provides many fonts with licences you can use.
- Never use comic sans
- I limit the colours I introduce, usually just one, sometimes two, I often match the colour the model is printed in.
- Staging can be helpful, I bought some same astroturf panels for ÂŁ0.99 each, I have 6 different colours, some times I place the print on an upside plastic down cutting board as it has a nice texture to grip surfaces which can look good in photos
- Because I use a light box and ring light, the shadows are not harsh
- When I design something in a series, like my hero’s, Willies or Fidget Spinners & Gyros, I keep those style consistent so people know they are related.
Some examples.
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“Fix it in Post”
This is what I always do!
This is the thumbnail for my latest design:
But this is how the picture was taken:
I use photoshop to correct the “levels”, it has an eyedropper tool and you just point to what should be white and it fixes it for you. But there are free online alternatives that do the same like:
Just upload your photo there. Go to Image → Adjustment → Levels
Select the white box on the bottom of the window (1) and click on your picture to select what should be white (2) and it auto-corrects for your white balance and exposure:
Yes, it would have been better if you had more light to start with, but even this photo is workable as you can see.
I have no specific location, lights or background for my photo’s. Just something white (table, paper, car, something) with enough light (LED, sun, kitchen, at work, etc.) and:
“Fix it in Post”
Hope this helps!
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I try to avoid using the font Comic Sans (it’s a good font but it has bad reputation in the graphic design circle because it was so misused for decades, since it was included in Microsoft Words ^^`).
I also try to use less colours for the text. You could have many variant of greyscale text but if you use colors, I’d say 2 maximum.
Also try to leave some white/empty space around things. Less is more. Let the image breathe.
You can also work on the composition of your image, where you place the elements (subject, text,…) the 1/3 rule is easy to implement and do wonders.
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