5 beginner tipps for doll photography
More joy with photography
Hello everyone! Today I have 5 simple doll photography tipps! To all who don’t know this blog: it is about Dollfie Dream and so I want to concentrate on doll photography in particular. Of course you can use these advices also in the general photography.
Or with other dolls besides Dollfie Dream, like BJD Smartdoll, Azones and more!
1. Camera
Starting off with the doll photography tipps: Important for you to know is not to blame your camera, if some pictures won’t work out. And don’t worry, you won’t need an expensive camera or equipment! Also “cheap” ones can take great pictures! Also the tipps below will help you a bit more with your photos.
And remember in this “social media based time” there are also some great “smartphone-photographer” out there. Who can take great pictures with their phones too!
It is important however that you get to know your camera. Play with the settings and take many pictures. Thats one great way to get a better unterstanding for your camera and make the most out of it. So please don’t worry if you don’t posses a high-end camera! :)
2. Doll & details
So as you already know your doll is a very important part of your pictures (well at least most of the time!) So you should make sure is everythings is on it’s place and according to your imagination of the motive! Also details should be considered, like is the hair of your doll sitting right. Or maybe you want her to have tousled hair in this picture? You determine in your pictures what will be shown or not.
And these details will also affect the picture, mood and your work! Just take the joints of your doll for instance. Do you want to hide them? How about some cute bracelets or long sleeves? Or do you want to show them, after all they are a part of your doll. Thinking about this details in the first place might safe you some time later when you want to edit your pictures.
Depending on how your decisions the picture will have a specific look or vibe to it! However it is important that you like it!
3. Light
You also won’t need expensive lighting or studio lights. To get a better understanding at it, it’s often better to start off with natural light. To be honest I prefer natural light before my lamps. Try buiding your scene at a big window or a brighter place. If you still need more light you can get creative!
How about using a lamp from your desk or a flashlight? Experiment with the distance and angle of your light to your doll until you are satisfied with the result. It might help using your camera while you align your lights. Just check through your camera finder how the picture looks. As you might notice some reflections which bother you.
What I do sometimes to brighten up my dolls face (especially at close range): using some semi glossy paper to reflect the sunlight or other light sources. You might have seen these big round refectors in silver or gold. Thats just what we improvise with the paper (without the color touch of course as it is white). Just try to find the right angle to reflect some natural light on your doll. And without getting into the picture. :)
Of course your pictures don’t need to be light flooded. Maybe you want a more dark atmosphere, just experiment! If needed you can change the ISO value of your camera or editing your pictures to get the look you want. But be careful: In short – don’t overdo it, as a high ISO will affect your picture and cause noise in it.
4. Tripod & remote-control release
If there is something I use for my picture almost everytime, it’s my tripods! No matter for my camera or dolls, I’m very thankful for these little helpers. You will minimize your blurry pictures and frustration aswell! Because sometimes the picture looks ok in the preview of your camera, but might not look sharp enough or blurry in the end on your computer.
A stand for your doll comes in very handy when you are photographing alone and you don’t need to balance her out all the time! You can worry less about a little windblow while arranging your camera aswell. Also dynamic poses like running and jumping are much easier to capture with the help of a stand. You can hide your stand or retouch it away later on.
A remote-control releaser will help you to take picture without standing by your camera. Why? Sometimes you just want to be by your doll. Not only as a precaution, also for instance tossin up her hair or skirt to achive a lively picture. Most remote-controls don’t cost so much, I did not pay more than 10€ for mine. Just make sure it is compatible with your camera! Oh and besides that wireless is of course even more useful. My first remote was not wireless and I just recently “upgraded” that and it is just so much better in my opinion.
5. Time & patience
A good advice for beginners: Take your time. If you do not want to take a quick snapshot you should plan in some more time for your pictures. So that you can use it to learn while taking pictures.
As you might already know: “practise makes perfect”. Even though this quote might sound corny, there is much more behind it! Just as in many other hobbys it is the same in photography: practise a lot. Don’t hurry or set yourself under pressure, it is better to be relaxed and have some more time. Otherwise you might forget something or being disappointed that some of the pictures did not turn out as expected.
Be patient with yourself, especially when something did not work out as planned. You can be sure, even though I am for several years in the hobby, I still have to learn a lot too and learning from my mistakes! Just experiment and be creative! Don’t get discouraged and have fun taking pictures and enjoy to spend some time with your doll! :)
Thanks for coming by! I hope I was able to help you a bit with these first 5 doll photography tipps. Even though they were rather general and on the surface. I plan to create some more tutorials in this direction in the future aswell!
So have fun trying out one or another advice!
You want to know more about storytelling and adding the right mood to your picture?
Here is a new blog entry with many more information!
