Could this be a real wartime photograph?

[matrixone]

I need some feedback on this new pic I made today. What else can I do to this image to make it more ''real'' looking?
Also, since I am out of work right now and I thinking of ways to earn some money, do you think anybody on e-bay would buy such images (they would be sold as fakes)? I have heard of people buying all kinds of crap, why not these type of model photographs too?


Matrixone

[deathjester]

To make the photo more realistic, perhaps cut down on the glare from your light source, and make the photo more grainy.  Great idea to sell these - I thought of something similar - I would try your pics from the 'Raiders of the Reich' thread - they are brilliant!  When you post them on eBay, I would put some sort of propriatorial mark across the example picture, to prevent anyone just lifting the image and printing it off, and invest in a small laminating machine, to make your finished product both professional, and hard wearing.

Hope that helps!

[frank2056]

The frame, etc. look good, but the image is too blue - it should be a warmer tone of gray... unless you're trying to emulate a wartime color photo - you could desaturate the color original until you get a blueish cast.
Also, it's hard to tell from the picture, but the depth of field (or lack thereof) is usually a dead giveaway. Your pictures have excellent depth of field, but there a free program called CombineZP that'll let you combine many images taken at different focus points into one image with a deep depth of field.

As for ebay business suggestions - it may be painful, but you may want to sell your built-ups. They're of outstanding quality, and built ups of much lower quality often fetch a pretty impressive price.

[matrixone]

Thanks for the feedback guys!

Yes the sample photograph I posted is way too blue looking, my home printer has a bad color cartridge and has no yellow ink in it. That is very easy to fix. If I were to make some images and attempt to sell them they would have a slight sepia tint to it.
One thing that always catches my eye when looking at the old wartime photographs that are for sale on e-bay is the poor quality of many of the photographs, when I age my pics I try to mimic some of those defects I see, my sample photograph is an example of this...its a very poor photograph of the subject but its intended to be that way. My new set of Fw 190A-10 pics has quite a mix of good pics and some with flaws in them, I will be posting these pics soon.

After seeing some poor looking built-up models sell for high prices I just wondered if there was also a market for my idea of selling fake wartime images. I may never really do this but its a fun idea to ponder. I have built models for money before but did not like it at all, it takes ALL the fun out of the hobby!

Again, thanks for the feedback.

Matrixone

[GTX]

they would be sold as fakes

I would emphasise this - else someone will complain that you conned them into buying what them though were real photos.  That said, great idea - I could certainly make use of some in some fictional stories.

Regards,

Greg

[matrixone]

Greg,
Thats a very good point, someone could complain about the photographs and claim they were conned by me and demand their money back. Maybe fake photographs of WWII German aircraft would be risky...UFO fakes might be a way to go, or better yet UFO's combined with WWII German aircraft! lol

Matrixone

[frank2056]

It would be funny if one of your fake UFO + NAZI secret weapon pictures ended up in a "serious" UFO book or TV special as "proof".

My comment about selling built-ups wasn't to build and sell on commission; I agree - nothing will take the fun out of the hobby like having to build on a schedule, for someone else. I was suggesting either selling some of your existing built-ups.

[matrixone]

frank,
I hope I never have to start selling off my collection of built up models but it is something to consider if things get really bad. Years ago when I was going through my divorce I was really short on money and sold off part of my fleet of RC aircraft which included a large scale Fw 190D-9 with full scratchbuilt cockpit detail. Ouch.

Matrixone

[ChernayaAkula]

<...> What else can I do to this image to make it more ''real'' looking? <...>

Not much, I think. Your staged shots are very close to perfection.  
Maybe adjust acuity/sharpness (don't know which is the correct term in this regard). Old pics tend to blur the details somewhat. That's what gave away some of the first pics of your Fw 190A-10 as staged shots. They were just too sharp.
One thing I noticed about old colour photographs is that they seem to swallow some colour. Hard to put into words what I mean, but it seems that especially the red tones are missing. Maybe the cover pic on the book in your pic above is a good example. The colours are somewhat cold.
Another thing that can be a give-away is an "even", perfect pic. These old pics sometimes seem to age/discolour/blur in some areas of the pic more so than in others. Got no idea how one could "adjust" that on a computer, though.

[matrixone]

Thanks for the feedback Moritz,
I notice many of the things you mentioned about about the old photographs, yes the color photographs of the WWII era can shift their colors a bit and that is why researchers always warn us modelers to not try and match our paint colors to any one photograph of a subject because of the possible color shift.
Its a challange to match all the imperfections seen in the WWII era photographs but its fun trying to do it and is a part of the hobby to me that I have come to enjoy as much as building the models that are seen in the pics. I will never build a perfect model nor produce a perfect image, the fun of the hobby(s) is to keep trying and do the best you can do!
When I post pics of my finished models to display them here I like to have a balance of clear pics where the model can be seen and other pics that have been given the aged treatment.

Matrixone

[jcf]

Use a grain filter.

I have some original wartime negatives of photos taken by my grandfather and his buddies at Camp Borden,
and one thing that leaps out at you when you scan them is the grain. One of the images is attached.

[matrixone]

Thanks joncarrfarrelly,
I will be adding a little more grain to my aged pics. I also noticed many of the older photographs that are for sale on e-bay are grainy too.


Matrixone

[noxioux]

Matrix, I don't think you'd get in trouble as long as you weren't trying to pawn those pics off as original.  A small (very small) tagline might be all that's necessary.

Looking good though.  One thing to note about using filters, etc. . . is to be careful not to make it look too mechanical.  Sometimes 'weathering' the photo by hand can help add to the realism.  I often use a wacom tablet/stylus in retouching photos, and just adding that 'hand-drawn' element can really help at times.

With a little work, you could create some color profiles to use in Photoshop that will help you match your screen to your printer's output.  It's a little tedious, but very do-able.

[matrixone]

Thanks for your input and ideas noxioux.

BTW, One of the new models I am working on is a brand new Ta 183 and when I get pics of it I will go all out when I age some some of them.
Plus I will soon return to work on my new photobase, between the new Ta 183 and new photobase the pics of them together might be convincing enough to fool a JMN or two.

Matrixone