Outdoor Photography - Fun and Tips

By Ginger -
 
Cleo is so photogenic. She looks good anywhere, but I liked this tree as a background texture that is detailed but not distracting.

Cleo is a fancy girl and not fully comfortable in the outdoors.

But my Lammily doll, Margot, loves nature! Margot is not as posable as the Monster High ghouls, but some height shows her adventurous personality.

 

Best friends Birdie and Hester watch the sun set over the lake. They enjoy their new Liv bodies and dancing freedom. (Check out my post on re-bodying dolls.) Sometimes you don't notice a mistake until looking at the photos later, like Hester's unnaturally bent foot. 

 

Duchess is going to model some lighting problems while she dances in the flowers.
Purple everywhere
This set of photos was taken in the middle of the day, not the ideal time. Photographers prefer morning or evening, when the light is dispersed and golden. Noon photos risk getting raccoon eyes, or in the case of Duchess, a shadow beard. One solution is to take photos in the shade, but this can create too much contrast if your background is in the sunlight. Also, using the flash outdoors can even out unwanted shadows.
Five o'clock shadow
Nneka is going for a stroll. She is visually centered between greenery, soil, and human-made structures. I like seeing her red outfit contrast with the different colors.


Some doll photographers may want to create a deceiving sense of scale. I don't mind that my dolls are doll sized and explore the world that way. However, a dynamic angle makes the difference between realism and kid's toys. Below left, Blair and Birdie interact with the flowers. The same scene on the right is uninteresting because the angle is too high. I shoot from their eye level or below, generally.


If you want to confuse the viewer's sense of scale, a low angle and some distance from the background will help. Cleo is queen of the road. 

see ya!

Skelita is enjoying the flowers today too. She has a high contrast between her white bones and black hair. I didn't mind the shadows so much with her because they added drama. She picked some red flowers for more contrast. They also match her lipstick.




Robecca couldn't find an outdoor pose she liked, so we somehow ended up with the pipes, vents, and gritty linoleum. This room had two windows and lots of even, natural light, so it mimicked outdoor photography.



What other tips help you out? Do you like indoor or outdoor photography better?

Comments

  1. KristianJune 2, 2018 at 7:45 AM

    1) I really, really think you should have a second, doll-based Instagram.

    2) Your Monster High dolls are quite pretty. I know you said you most stick to the versions of these dolls with skin tone-ish colors, but love that you have the skeleton doll too. She is so pretty!

    3) You make the Lamilly doll look very natural and fun, like she'd be fun for a kid to play with too.

    ReplyDelete

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