Wednesday 18 July 2012

To Publish or Not - part two

Since my first post on the subject of publishing a book on building wargame terrain (see this post) I have received a great deal of both encouragement and advice for which I am very grateful. Thank you.

I am either working-on or have finished six scratch built terrain pieces, details of which to follow, but I have a question. I tend to take loads of images of both the construction and the finished project set against a neutral back drop (see first photo). However as work continues I have also taken 'staged' photos, (see second image).

My question is; "In a book on terrain construction is it preferable to have a 'staged' image to better illustrate the finished piece? Or are images of the finished piece against a neutral backdrop OK?"

I am asking now so I can build up a portfolio of images prior to publication. Publication that will more-than-likely be an e-book or e-publication.

Photo One; The Stone Barn (details of which can be found here)


Photo Two; A 'Staged Photo'


It is also my intention to have a variety of gaming scenery, from simple terrain pieces to highly detailed structures, all with numerous work-in-progress shots.

I will post details once I have more information.

Tony
at

9 comments:

  1. Mr Saturday18 July 2012 at 02:01

    I think both have merit. Perhaps the neutral background images when discussing that particular terrain piece, and the staged photos interspersed throughout the book, maybe at the end of a chapter or section.

    Great piece in the post incidentally!

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  2. Karitas18 July 2012 at 02:08

    I'd say there's a place for both in the volume.. for WIP and "How to" shots i'd go with the neutral b/g.. infact i'd go more neutral than you have, possibly even removing the bg toally with photoshop..

    for the finished shot, absolutely in context is the way to go.. just make sure you have the rights to use the models you have there in your own book or you might get slapped with a suit. :)

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  3. Steve h18 July 2012 at 03:03

    i'd go with staged, shows the piece off a lot better.

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  4. davetaylor18 July 2012 at 04:07

    Both certainly have merit, and if both are appearing In the book I'd suggest that they show different angles of the finished piece. In my opinion, it is always nice to see what's going in around the other side of the building.

    Cheers
    Dave

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  5. MarkG18 July 2012 at 06:44

    Both have a place but a staged shot to show off the finished piece looks far better.

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  6. Varangian18 July 2012 at 07:58

    Neutral backgrounds are great for education purposes. I definitely like seeing staged shots as well. It's much like a miniatures manufacturer showing painted examples, the viewer gets an idea of what is possible. Plus, in this case, it really brings a sense of scale that otherwise is often lacking.

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  7. Pablo El Marques18 July 2012 at 09:41

    I like both: in photo one, you can see the terrain big and clean, and number two looks wonderful but smaller.

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  8. Lasgunpacker18 July 2012 at 14:03

    Both are useful. The neutral background is useful for showing the actual peice, and the staged shot shows how it fits with miniatures.

    Possibly have the various peices you build in the book together at the end in a staged shot to show how they work together in a pleasing way?

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  9. airhead21 July 2012 at 14:41

    I would go with both, simple neutral grey/blue vignette backgrounds for the how to pictures, and the staged pictures at the end of each chapter/section.

    All the best

    Airhead

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