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

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New Ken Bodies Comparison

By Ginger -
Image
Ken has a new bod! It took me awhile to notice. On the shelf, it's not as dramatic a difference as Barbie's new bodies were. But there is more than you'd expect. While Barbie got Curvy, Tall, and Petite (I only reviewed Curvy ), Ken Fashionistas now come in Slim, Original, and Broad. Gentlemen, time to take off your clothes.  At the moment I don't have an old Kens to compare... but does Original Ken look extra trim and built to you? I feel like this one should be called Muscle Ken. Even his biceps are huge!  Slim Ken is quite slim. It gives him sort of an adolescent look, which makes his head seem a bit large? But that is less noticeable when wearing clothes. Broad Ken doesn't look fat at all- this is simply a good example of different body types. (So, sadly, there is no Dadbod Ken. Get a  Drew Carey  doll instead.)  The next big question regards clothing sharing. This was a source of much distress for Barbie designers when they cam
Read more

Mimi Bobeck Review + Fat Dolls

By Ginger -
Image
While we are waiting on the new "curvy" Barbie, I wanted to review current available fashion dolls in a plus size category. I recently bought a Mimi Bobeck doll, a favorite collectable for those seeking fat fashion dolls. (I use the term "fat" because it is the preferred term of fat activists.  I don't call individuals fat unless I know that is their personal preferred term.) Although I don't require or expect many/any of my dolls to have realistic human proportions, I do want to have curvy, fat, and other shapes of dolls to in some way reflect that world we live in. I believe all bodies are good bodies. Mimi comes with a working bag and hand mirror; Drew gets a coffee mug and non-opening briefcase. Mimi Bobeck and Drew Carey are characters from "The Drew Carey Show," which aired in the mid 1990s. Their doll personas were made by Creation Entertainment in 1998. I never watched the show myself, but I found this nice essay about Mimi while
Read more

Monster High Dolls and Cartoons

By Ginger -
Image
When I started collecting dolls, I felt hesitant about the Monster High line. I don't love inhuman skin tones or oversized heads, and short skirts aren't my thing (although I firmly believe people should wear what they want without being slut-shamed.) Also, they are super fancy and wear lots of make-up, and I'm kind of a plain girl. But, they are well articulated, and some looked interesting. But I could buy just one... right? My Monster High gang Cleo deNile was my first Monster High doll. I was drawn to her because she doesn't look like a monster. She's the "daughter of the mummy" but looks like an Egyptian girl who is still alive. She's gorgeous. I couldn't stop looking at her and photographing her. Next, I was a bit more daring- Robecca is a robot with adorable steam-punk fashion sense. But honestly, when I got her in the mail, I was disappointed. Her face is a little too much like Cleo's to be unique, and her unique aspects seem
Read more