Taking Mini Pics - Backgrounds

I've been doing more experiments to improve the pics I take of my minis and I was surprised by the effect that different backgrounds can have on the overall look of the picture. Of course I knew backgrounds mattered, but once I had a nice background I kind of thought I was done.

Instead what I've discovered is that the color of a background makes a big difference on how the models turn out in the pictures. Here's some examples:

I wouldn't say this is the best picture (or any of these for that matter), but in terms of color balance it looks pretty good. This is what these guys look like in real life, more or less. This background is a good match for them.

This background, on the other hand, seems to sap all the color away and makes the models appear much darker. I haven't changed any camera settings, only the backgrounds.

Again, same camera, different background. The blue tone makes the red and orange colors pop, overall giving the models a color tint that isn't really accurate, and IMO doesn't look particularly good.

Hard to beat good old black and white, right? It's probably a safe bet for most models as the lack of colors in the background are less likely to affect our perception of the model colors themselves. This is Tablewar's Macromat (http://www.tablewar.com/the-macromats/), a most excellent product, btw.

So black, white, or some combo thereof is probably the safest bet? Well, maybe, but not always. Here are some recent pics I took of a Blood Ravens marine.

On the left we have a white background, which is generally a safe bet for any model, but on the right we have a black background with some brown to tan tones in it (Macromat again). Personally I think they both look good, but I much prefer the Macromat. I'm not a color theorist, so I couldn't tell you why.

Conclusion is that once you have a nice setup for taking pictures of your models you might want to play around with your backgrounds. In addition to Macromat I picked up my other backgrounds at a fine quality paper store, and the white is just plain old posterboard. Good luck with your pictures!