Fun Photoshoot

I had lots of fun taking pictures today. In the back of my mind I kept hearing "Believe in the power of play." I believe it.
First - my Portuguese shipping buddy bought two new Vanessas. Delivered here first, they had to be photographed with their twins.
Ignore the stand in the first picture. These dolls have such wobbly bodies and I was lazy. After all, it was play, not work. My Miami Shine is wearing one of Eugenia's 2011 convention gift set outfits. Her shoes and handbag are La Boutique POM. My Obisidian is wearing a dress made by SL Doll Fashions and her bag and shoes are also La Boutique POM. I never liked Obsidian's original outfit with the chest-baring jacket but I still love both dolls. They are beautiful.

When the Dolls in Oz Monogram exclusive doll was released, I did not buy her. Ultimately I did get the doll but it wasn't until the other day that I got the ensemble. I hated the oversized bow so I removed it and stuck it on Dreamscape's head. I'm thinking of attaching a little tulle to create a hat. I like the outfit much better now. I do not have a single doll outfit in this shocking pink color. The fabric is lush and the cape is enormous. I'm glad I waited until one came along at a good price.

Last but not least, I played with the Queen of Hearts and the most recent Theatre de la Mode doll. Both are wearing Antoinette fashions. The silver crown is a Franklin Mint item. The rest of the jewelry is from varied sources.
I have decided that they are sisters. I rarely give my dolls specific personae but these dolls have great sculpts with strong personalities. They both have wonderful high cheekbones and are fantastic to photograph. I am so happy that I got this centerpiece, not just for the doll which anyone could have purchased but also because I got the throne. It's a wonderful prop.

Seen On-line

Freddy Tan, doll repainter extraordinaire posted his repaint of Draculaura, a Monster High doll. This is fabulous. She looks so pretty now. Now my MH girls look so boring. Sigh.....

She is on eBay for sale at this time. I'm looking forward to seeing what this little gem goes for.

Freddy's photography is pretty spectacular, too.

Seen on Studio Commissary

"What a difference flash makes," said Vicki Walker, who posted these identical images of Ivy Jordan. In the first, no flash was used.  The immediate difference one sees are highlights and shadows but there is much more.
I'm guessing her camera was on Automatic. When a camera reads the available light (even when using flash), it will adjust the length of exposure and aperture opening to properly light the subject. The longer a shutter stays open or the wider the aperture, the greater the effect on sharpness of the image.  With a camera that's not on a tripod, there is more of an opportunity for a blurry photo.
I'm trying to explain this simply but I realize that many will not understand the relationship between shutter speed, aperture opening and the like. These images speak volumes.
The reason I think these photos are so important is that many collectors are afraid of using flash. There are many more reasons to be afraid of not using enough light or only using existing light.

Focus is soft, distracting spots of light and shadow on nose, chin and chest, eyes are dark.

Face is beautifully clear, eyes have enough light, highlights on hair sparkle, vinyl and dress fabric look like their actual color, overall sharpness is very good.

The only issue in this photo is the shadow cast by the flash behind the doll, but that is a topic I cover in my next FDQ article.

If you blinked, you missed it.

Quick as a wink, two new Sybarites were posted on the Superfrock.com site and were sold. Gone. I never even got to see good pictures of them. There are four dolls in this wave - two are evil and two are good. The two that disappeared this morning are DeHood and Heroette.

I just know that in a few days I will see one or both of them offered for twice the price with the lame excuse that the poor buyer just got some car repair bills, needs a new roof and can't keep the doll. I'd like to see them just come out and say that they beat out the other speculators. Just sell it and quit the lies.

Images from the site.

A friend was able to capture these images and graciously sent them to me.

New and Old

"Live together in perfect harmony."

Talc in a wig by Cheryl Wood, dressed in Picnic Magnet lounges on her new chaise.
She's got such a bored look on her face.

Remember this beauty?

Fierce Subject Kyori is now on her third body having been switched recently to a FR2 Elise body. She is wearing most of Agnes' Silver Zinger fashion. The shoes are from the new FR shoe pack. They fit the FR2 foot perfectly.

 

The jewelry was handmade by a designer in Great Britain and the handbag is one of four from a very early fashion called La Petite Robe Noire. This set came with one black sheath, four handbags, four pairs of shoes and a chiffon scarf. It (probably) came with rhinestone studs, a bracelet and sunglasses. Fashion Royalty sets were amazing in the "olden" days. Nothing was missing or skimped on. Retail price in 2004 was $38.99.

 Kyori has a timeless sculpt and I certainly hope it's never changed. Like Vanessa and Veronique, there will never be a better Kyori.

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Knave of Hearts - Again

This doll looks adorable in everything I put on her. She's definitely a favorite. Her outfit is a mixture of Antoinette items. The two red dogs are hand felted items.

Playing with her every day for the past 4 days reminds me of when I started collecting. I would get one doll at a time and take time to really play and change outfits and photograph. I have so many dolls now that practically never see the light of day and I'm not talking about the ones in boxes. I'm complaining?
Ridiculous, isn't it?

I used to wonder at collectors that had dolls in boxes because I deboxed everything. Not anymore. Not because I don't want to but because I don't have anywhere to put them. I'm hoping that by the time we move and I set up a new doll room, I still like what's in the boxes. I'm thinking about selling part of what's boxed.

Seen on Prego

This is Zahira, a OOAK pale Devon. Photographed by Michael Hawaii. She takes my breath away!

Link to original post.

Another picture posted by Michael prior to the one above:

For those who are not familiar with Devon, click here.

Horsman Warehouse Sale on Now

If you need some very fine furniture  seating for your dolls, head on over to www.horsmanltd.com and check out their clearance items. I picked up this French Chaise in sage to go with my two sage French Chairs.

Retail price is usually $90. but with 40% off it drops to $54. If you purchase $250. or more you can have free shipping. Otherwise you will pay about $11.50 for UPS plus your state sales tax. Even after the shipping and sales tax the chair cost me a good deal less than I would have paid at retail.
The quality of these pieces is superb! The chaise comes with a matching pillow. The French chairs do not.

The reason I chose the sage pattern is that I didn't want solid black because it shows every tiny piece of dust and lint. The other color, blue, is not exactly my taste. This is neutral and works in many settings. Above you can see Dasha leaning on the back of one of the French chairs. Although scaled for 16" dolls, if set up properly they can work with smaller dolls as well. Dasha is 12" tall. There are items for the smaller dolls, too.

I had this in my shopping cart but thankfully changed my mind before I was done. I love pink but it's so specific.  It does come in white and black.

There's lots more seating options and, of course, you can see Urban Vita and Rini there as well.

Click here to check out the offerings.

Hypnosis New FICON Doll

 

 

Ficon Hypnosis LE 30

Dollchic exclusive from Ficon. 

Resin bjd.

Available for preorder now for mid-November delivery. Price $695. julia@dollchic.com

Knave of Hearts and FR Kyori Redressed

The registration doll, Knave of Hearts, is turning out to be one of the most beautiful dolls I've gotten recently. Here she is dressed in Gene Marshall's Candied Lavender fashion. Who wears it better?

It doesn't fit perfectly. Gene's waist is smaller and her chest is larger so the zipper does not go up past the lower back. The style suits her though.

Background image by Michael Williams. Used by Permission.

I'm not thrilled with these pictures.

I've just set up a new laptop and monitor and along with that I'm using a new version of Photoshop which is several years advanced from my last version. I will have to do the tutorials because I have no idea what I can do...or should do to improve my workflow and all those good things I used to do previously. It's very fast and way more complicated. Should be fun. Not.

Talc got a few new outfits recently and was just hanging around in her showcase wondering why I wasn't taking pictures of her. I don't have time, that's why!

Finally, my favorite hybrid OOAK Kyori was redressed in a combination of FR fashions. I'll let you figure out where they came from.  In fact, if you do guess the source of all of her clothing and accessories, I will send you a gift.