Thanks for the encouragement!
Would a black backdrop be best for this model, or a gradient?
A black backdrop can be a bit extreme for many minis, and if you use automatic settings on the camera the miniature will likely be overexposed. Another good thing is to have white paper under the miniature so that the lightsource is reflected on the ground and up on the miniature, that will even the lighting out. So a gradient backdrop will combine a more neutral background with white under the miniature. You could try some different colours, a dark grey blue would perhaps work. Be usre to print out with highest settings available on the printer.
For smaller miniatures I use a very simple setup:
Notice the white bouncers to the sides that even out the lighting more, the light is an ordinary desktop lamp with a white (840) fluorecent 11W bulb. I usualle take images in broad daylight as well to make the lighting softer.
which will with my camera (old sony Cybershot P100), macro mode on, and manual settings (Aperature F=5.6, Shutterspeed= 1/125s, ISO=100 white balance= Fluorecent lightin) result in something like this (size reduced):
and after some quick editing this (I could play some more with the colours though):
and cropped:
It looks neat and the colourscheme is eyecatching! You could however improve your photography, don't use flash and light your mini evenly. A backdrop is a good idea as well. I use a gradient backdrop printed out.
