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yeah,

 ArbitorIan wrote:
They're usually a bit wonky, but passed through Photoshop to pull the corners of the table into the corners of the frame.

I usually don't do the stretch anymore as I've gotten reasonably better at getting the camera flat/parallel to the table...
These days I normally just rotate till top and bottom are straight and crop to 3:2.
If I'm losing a bit at the edges i try to make it a bit that's not doing much...

Panic...

Sound advice here, and yes picture reports > video reports.

 ArbitorIan wrote:

 Reecius wrote:
@Arbitorian

Those overhead shots, and skull counters are brilliant! Really cool, man.

What do you do to get those really nice shots? Do you have a frame over the table? Any info would be greatly appreciated!

I want to start doing regular written reports for Frontline and I think that format you've got is really nice.

Thanks, Reece! There's not much technique to it, though. Panic stands on a tall stool and takes a photo from above. Lots of light on the table means that the exposure can be quite short, reducing the chance of shake. We use a Ricoh compact camera with a reasonably wide lens. They're usually a bit wonky, but passed through Photoshop to pull the corners of the table into the corners of the frame.

The other photos, in the grid layouts, are done with a handy bit of software I can't remember the name of - best to PM Panic.

Panic wrote a tutorial on the cropping bit - http://www.dakkadakka.com/wiki/en/How_to_Make_BattleReport_Map_Photos

The skulls are from Litko - http://www.litko.net/products/Skull-Tokens-%28Casualty-Markers%2C-Set-of-10%29.html#.UKQTsYVQhzc

Awesome, thanks so much! That is really cool.

I don't have photoshop, but I do have Gimp which is pretty similar. Hopefully we can achieve a similar effect.

Thanks!


Automatically Appended Next Post:
@Panic

Thanks! You guys have done a really killer job with those, they look fantastic.

@Lt. Coldfire

I agree. Written are nicer, IMO, particularly when done well.

We do a ton of Video reports as ours focus on trying out new tactics and lists which necessitates lots of games, so we need a format that allows us to get through them quickly. Video reports are much faster to produce.

I would like to start dong both though, as they both are good in different ways. They serve different functions. Written reports are more in depth while video reports can offer more information (due to higher volume) in an easily digested format that is quicker to produce.

 ArbitorIan wrote:
"Painted Armies Doing a Sensible Glorious Concise Interesting Battle - Reported For Your Pleasure" is now online!

Surely we will get snowed under by comments, since this is surely the perfect name for a batrep?

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/488935.page

Sorry, doesn't say "Plenty of pics included." Will not read.
Jk, i'm looking at it in anouther tab right now. Very attractive shots!