Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Photography. Show all posts

2/13/2017

Christian Dior's "New Look" Interpreted by Tom Logan from California

On February 12, 1947 Christian Dior had his first show.

The ultimate destination for a late-afternoon drink, the bar of the Hôtel Plaza Athénée inspires Christian Dior to design what would become his first show’s statement suit. Among the ninety looks in this audacious collection, the Bar has been the most adulated and reproduced in the fashion press since 1947. In a duo of sober colors, its architectural silhouette sets itself out as the New Look emblem, perfectly combining all the features of the new Corolle and En Huit lines. The construction of its ivory silk shantung jacket, with its snug collar and rounded peplums, is entrusted to Pierre Cardin, then premier of the atelier tailleur. He cuts with an almost mathematical rigor, with a multitude of darts and cutouts. Because what Christian Dior is seeking is to “slim down the body without losing the waist.” 

But during the first fittings on the model Tania, the peplums lie flat on her narrow hips. Some padding is necessary... The young tailor then has the brilliant idea of going to the local pharmacy to buy surgical cotton wool that he folds like an accordion to create the desired volume. And it works! The black pleated wool skirt requires almost twelve meters of fabric, not counting the tulle petticoats. And to give the design even more refinement Christian Dior revives a forgotten tradition by giving it a lining of three meters of percale and taffeta. After a hundred and fifty hours of work, the Bar is born. 

Having become a House reference, this legendary suit lends itself to endless reinterpretation. In all the other Christian Dior collections, one comes across the subtle curves of its silhouette, which affirms itself as the identifier of the Dior allure. The couturier’s successors have endlessly reinterpreted it, right up to Maria Grazia Chiuri, who revisits it seventy years later with a transparent skirt and a message t-shirt in her ready-to-wear spring-summer 2017 show. 

Bar Suit reproduction by Chris Stoeckel. 
Hat by Don Philipott. 

Enjoy! 

Tom in CA





2/08/2016

Black Lipstick Gene, Wigs and Props

I was fooling around with Black Lipstick Gene yesterday. She got tired of the 1940's look and I had a modern wig just waiting for a bald head.

It's a Monique Gold wig (http://store.monique.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=monique&Category_Code=WIG-MGC&Product_Code=&Search=&Sort_By=disp_order&Per_Page=-1.)
The wig is called Jade #415 and it's priced at $19.  Gene wears size 4-5. It comes in 7 colors and 5 sizes. 

I do not recommend them for someone who is used to hard cap wigs from Ilaria, Chewin, Patta and the like. You will find that these wigs have a lesser quality fiber and construction. They are not well-styled right out of the box. Their benefits are the lower price of $12-$27 each depending on size and style and they do have a stretch band inside so the fit is more flexible. They come in a very wide variety of colors and styles.

Be prepared to do some styling, perhaps with a hair product and pointy snips in order to get the look you want. I was not pleased with my results as I feel the top of the wig is too pouffy. I would have had to do some thinning.

If you're good at it - this is definitely a great way to go for quantity and choice.

Her glasses are by Horsman for Urban Vita.


 The wonderful drafting table is a Tonner Tyler furniture item. The clip on lamp works. The drawer opens as does the top of the table which is held in an angled slant by a rod you pull up inside. The stool comes with the set.  Recently a nearly new set sold on eBay for $50.99. The seller also included the Design Essentials set which is adorable. Tonner furniture is perfectly scaled for our 16" dolls. It never looks too small.


The sweater Gene is wearing is a handmade product from Retros. The buttonholes are real working ones. I love this item. I purchased the jeans from Marlbe last year. It was a very small edition from Marcelo Jacobs.


The platform sneakers she is wearing are from Ficon. Sadly, I broke one of the zippers. These are fitted inside to support a fashion foot with a built-in wedge. I'd buy a replacement pair in a minute if I could find them.

Another item in this photo that I've used zillions of times is the CED folding screen. There are two in these photos. They are wood with three panels that depict scenes in Italy. The screens are two-sided making them incredibly useful and easy to customize if desired.  Folding screens are an essential tool for a quick photo set-up. They're also easy to make from foam core board.


Kingdom Doll Star and Turn on Your Lights

The third in a series of three Kingdom Doll "Angel" dolls, Star, arrived last week and I am very happy with her.

She is super photogenic. Here's a shot taken with my iPhone.


She is wearing her own lingerie and wig. Her necklace had opened which escaped my eye during the picture taking.

Her beautiful silver shoes zip up the back. I have a vague memory of being told these are her 'signature' shoes. They are the same style that Liberty came with and the pink suit from the Liberty event also used this style.



 I never leave my gals dressed in lingerie and Star's first redress was into this beautiful, slinky dress from one of Sandra's conventions. It's a favorite of mine and looks great on many of my girls.
The wonderful, curly wig is a Cheryl Wood creation. You may recognize Tonner's Snow Leopard from his Golden Compass line.


 The whole scene is very jungle-tropical. I really didn't plan it this way. These days most of my studio photos use very simple backdrops and props. I'm too lazy to do elaborate dioramas.  But I do have a bunch of different artificial greens and in this case, I just pinned a few to the huge bulletin board I have in back of my shooting table. There were some empty spaces and I Photoshopped that away. I also used PS to darken the background because I thought it competed too much with the foreground. I kept the focus on the doll's face to draw the viewer's eye there.

I see loads of indoor photos in which there is barely any light on the dolls' faces. So many people with beautiful dolls don't know how to light their photos. I just want to scream, "Turn on the damn lights!" You don't need professional equipment.

There is a false belief that using a flash is anathema. Seriously? Have you ever been to a professional studio? We're not aiming for Annie Leibovitz here; we just want to see your dolls!

As I stated, the top photo on this page (and the shoe shot) were made with my iPhone - using it's built in flash. In many cases, the phone's flash doesn't do what I want it to, but there's a way to make it work. Admittedly, it was daylight in room - actually it's in the bedroom. I opened the shades and the room was pretty bright but I knew I'd need some highlights and the only way to do that was with some direct light. I didn't hold the camera directly aiming at the doll, instead I angled it a little off to one side.

Here's a shot that did not work:


 The angle is all wrong. Her hair is too bright. It's a discard.

The beauty of digital photography is that you can keep going until you are satisfied. You get instant feedback. In my studio, I constantly move the lights and change their power and/or the settings on the camera until I'm happy (or until I'm so tired I can't go on.) You can take multiple shots with your phone as well. But do us all a favor, don't post all of them. Pick out the three best,  then toss two of those.  I look back at the last 15 years of my own doll photography and really should toss 80% of the images but I'm keeping them as a record of what I've had in my collection. Of course there are days when I can't take a decent picture no matter what.

EDIT, EDIT, EDIT.


There are websites, books, ezines and loads of information out there. The problem is, you may not even know you need one.

A great all around source of tips and tricks:  http://www.digital-photography-tips.net/


6/06/2015

Chaise from Tonner Convention and Kingdom Doll Eira

I knew I had to have it as soon as I saw it. Tonner's props and furniture are simply the best and always have been. They're always fully scaled and fabulous for photography.  It sold out shortly after going up for sale on Wednesday but I got my order in while I was on the treadmill at the gym. Now that's determination (aka obsession.)

Took some quick iPhone shots of Black Lipstick seated on the chaise.



Love the doll, the chaise and the outfit which is from Sandra Stillwell's "Radio Days" convention.
The jewelry is Franklin Mint.
_______________________________________________

As expected, Kingdom Doll's Eira, a very limited edition, sold out almost immediately leaving several collectors moaning and groaning. ( I could also say 'pissing and moaning' but I'll be diplomatic outside of the parentheses.)

Cheer up because the next doll up, Orbit-seen below, is a larger, though limited edition, and she is another beauty.


That's not to say she'll last long once available. The usual suspects will complain and condemn Kingdom Doll for not making enough, blah, blah.

When the new GenX Solitaire went live on Superdoll's site, she didn't last long. Of course, a few people were disappointed they missed her but I didn't see venom-tinged remarks aimed at the company. When Mansion came and went very quickly, there were no angry collectors posting on Prego about Superdoll's business practices. Superdoll doesn't even tell anyone a specific time a doll will go live! You have to keep checking the site and hope you find it ready to buy.
With Integrity Toys, you know when to contact your dealer after seeing a doll. It's called NOW. You don't get time to think about what you really want because if you hesitate, the doll will be sold out. You have people emailing every single dealer, trying to get the dolls any way they can. Ultimately, the disappointed collectors complain about the dealers, favoritism and canceled orders. 

When Mattell posts a Platinum Barbie for sale the site crashes or they cancel the sale and then hold it a few days later without broad announcements of the new date. 


1/03/2014

Picture of the Day: Ernesto Padro-Campos

It's always a joy to look at Ernesto's photography. Today he sent this charming shot of Agnes Dreary to me in an email. Isn't she just wonderfully creepy?


Pay particular attention to the lighting - how it models her face. Also, see how the lighting on her hands and her face get your eyes to travel back and forth between these two most important parts of the image. Masterful work!

12/16/2013

Photography Accessories



Are you familiar with the shop called Photojojo? I love this site. They offer the coolest and quite useful gadgets for iPhone, Adroid and DSLR users. They also have some unique alternative photography equipment. I find that they are reasonably priced as well.
Today I ordered the Olloclip 4-in-one iPhone Lens. It's a four-in-one lens system that fits over the corner of your iPhone. The fourth lens is a 15x Macro for the 5/5s.

There are so many products here that can be used to improve and enhance doll photography!

Special offer below. Click on the link and you will get $5. off on your purchase. Me, too!  Even if you don't buy anything, it's worth looking and putting yourself on their mailing list. They do not spam.

http://photojojo.com/r/8olf