I haven't photographed anything this large, but I have had similar issues with the background and lighting when taking photos of some of my MOCs in the past.

Lighting

If you can diffuse the light with something like a thin sheet or thin paper, that will help soften the shadows. I've also had some success with photographing outdoors on a cloudy day. I always find a longer exposure at a low iso is preferred if your lighting is not bright enough.

Backdrop

It's hard to get a perfectly clean and wrinkle free backdrop. Most of the time I Photoshop my backdrops to look as clean as possible. In some cases I've even completely cropped the background out using Photoshop. For example, my Bastion was photographed outside against some pieces of printer paper I taped together. The background was just an loose approximation of a completely white background, so I Photoshopped it out completely: LEGO Nanaimo Bastion

In general, I would say photo editing with Photoshop or something similar (maybe GIMP) is a must if you want to really make your photos clean and have balanced lighting/colour. I've also found shooting in RAW allows for the most flexibility in editing, especially in regards to adjusting colour balance.

I've renamed the Category "Shows and Conventions" to simply "Events". We didn't really have a good place for events that weren't shows or conventions, so it made sense to just make that category more general.

Happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! Thanks Scott and Krista!

Always good to take a moment to think about what you're thankful for. Lots of things to be thankful for this year, one of which is all the new friendships I've formed with members of our new LUG. You're all awesome, and I'm really happy to be part of our small group that continues to grow.

I recommend any Rebrick contest.

Rebrick currently has one contest on. It's a bit complex because you have to create an original model that is a rebuild of any Creator Expert Modular, Fairgrounds and Holiday set, and then create a stop-motion animation of it being built.

Lego Ideas is also running a contest to design an "Ideas" logo. The grand prize is pretty nice:

I'm starting this topic here for posting about changes or updates I have made to the forums, as well as a place people can ask about missing features or post about weird behaviour people might be experiencing.

New Feature: New Topic Email Alerts

I have added the ability to receive emails when new topics are posted to the forums. This is accomplished by clicking the new "Subscribe" button within the category you wish to receive email updates for. This will cause emails to be sent for new topics posted within that particular category. You should not receive emails for replies to those topics unless you watch or reply to those topics specifically.

I recommend everyone subscribe to the "Meetings" category at the very least. That way you can keep up on gatherings we are having without having to check the forums constantly.

Please reply here if this isn't working correctly for you, or if you have any questions about this.

Thanks Derek!

I've uploaded them to the forums here, for convenience. I'm sorry the uploads weren't working for you.

And if you win, you also get one of these "trophy" minifigs:

Look at those sweet shades.

Brickset has a contest on right now: Star Wars microscale building competition.

Pretty awesome contest, as it's basically just anything microscale star wars. Which I know is an interest for at least a couple of you. The prize is one of 4 Escape the Space Slug sets.

Another Rebrick contest:

https://www.lego.com/en-us/rebrick/contest-page/contests/Mountain-Police

Capture the chase between mountain police and crooks
The Great Mountain Chase
LEGO City crooks are fleeing to the mountains, and we invite you to capture the great chase between them and the LEGO City mountain police! Show off your photography and building skills in a classic tale between cops and robbers.

I guess I'll never get those Series 2 bandmates now...

I haven't photographed anything this large, but I have had similar issues with the background and lighting when taking photos of some of my MOCs in the past.

Lighting

If you can diffuse the light with something like a thin sheet or thin paper, that will help soften the shadows. I've also had some success with photographing outdoors on a cloudy day. I always find a longer exposure at a low iso is preferred if your lighting is not bright enough.

Backdrop

It's hard to get a perfectly clean and wrinkle free backdrop. Most of the time I Photoshop my backdrops to look as clean as possible. In some cases I've even completely cropped the background out using Photoshop. For example, my Bastion was photographed outside against some pieces of printer paper I taped together. The background was just an loose approximation of a completely white background, so I Photoshopped it out completely: LEGO Nanaimo Bastion

In general, I would say photo editing with Photoshop or something similar (maybe GIMP) is a must if you want to really make your photos clean and have balanced lighting/colour. I've also found shooting in RAW allows for the most flexibility in editing, especially in regards to adjusting colour balance.

So i guess i can't put off getting the ninjago city and docks any longer then... dang.

Another Rebrick contest:

https://www.lego.com/en-us/rebrick/contest-page/contests/Mountain-Police

Capture the chase between mountain police and crooks
The Great Mountain Chase
LEGO City crooks are fleeing to the mountains, and we invite you to capture the great chase between them and the LEGO City mountain police! Show off your photography and building skills in a classic tale between cops and robbers.

Brickset has a contest on right now: Star Wars microscale building competition.

Pretty awesome contest, as it's basically just anything microscale star wars. Which I know is an interest for at least a couple of you. The prize is one of 4 Escape the Space Slug sets.

A new contest was just posted by New Elementary, How might Mark Stafford kill teal again?.

And if you win, you also get one of these "trophy" minifigs:

Look at those sweet shades.

I recommend any Rebrick contest.

Rebrick currently has one contest on. It's a bit complex because you have to create an original model that is a rebuild of any Creator Expert Modular, Fairgrounds and Holiday set, and then create a stop-motion animation of it being built.

Lego Ideas is also running a contest to design an "Ideas" logo. The grand prize is pretty nice:

Thanks Derek!

I've uploaded them to the forums here, for convenience. I'm sorry the uploads weren't working for you.

I've renamed the Category "Shows and Conventions" to simply "Events". We didn't really have a good place for events that weren't shows or conventions, so it made sense to just make that category more general.