How to photograph minis for a brief
A good photo saves a painter an hour of questions and gets you sharper bids. You need a phone, a window and five minutes.
Set up
- Light: Shoot near a window in daylight. Avoid yellow room lights, which change how colors read.
- Background: Plain white or grey paper. A sheet of printer paper works.
- Steady phone: Prop it on a stack of books. Blur hides detail.
- Focus: Tap the model on screen so the face is sharp.
Shots to take
- The whole batch. Lay every model out in rows. This lets a painter count them and see the mix of types.
- Front, back and side of one model. Three photos of a typical infantry model show the sculpt and any mold lines.
- Close-ups of hard spots. Fine faces, open cloaks, tight gaps between limbs. Painters price these separately.
- A scale reference. Put a coin next to one model. It tells the painter the scale at a glance.
- Damage or flaws. Photograph broken bases, bent weapons and missing parts. Say who repairs them.
Show the state of the models
Tell the painter if the minis are on the sprue, built, primed, stripped or already painted. Stripping old paint is extra work, and painters price it into the bid.
Reference photos for the scheme
If you want a scheme matched, photograph a finished model in daylight from three sides. Add a photo of the paint pots you used, with the labels facing the camera. A written paint list is even better.
If you want a new look, send two or three pictures of painted models you admire. Write one line about what you like in each.
Keep files usable
Upload the original photos, not screenshots. Name them clearly, such as "infantry-front" and "batch-all." Ten clear photos beat forty vague ones.
Ready to send yours? Post your minis on The Spool List and attach the photos to your brief.