Picture of the Day by Liane Laughlin

My posting has slowed a bit (life gets in the way of dolls) but I'm still browsing the doll boards and this photo wowed me.
The doll is Emilia's Inamorata Cherub. She is wearing a wig by Cheryl and a gown by Deva Doll.

Here is the link to Liane's Flickr photostream where you can see more of her beautiful photographs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/llaughlin/

Altered Color - Digital Magic

One of the themes this week on Prego is Black and White. I have an enormous archive of my digital doll photography, yet somehow, I remember individual photos even when they are several years old.
I like black and white images but even more than that, I like a shot of color in a b&w image. Here are several which appeared in a past FDQ piece a few years ago.
I do all my photo editing using Photoshop.

Click on each image to see the various color details.

Antoinette

Aphrodisiac

Attention

Goldmine

Illusion Nadja

Puki Puki

A Gown for Madra by Hazel McMahon

Every so often, I see a doll item that knocks my socks off.  Michelle in MI posted this picture of Madra wearing a gown created by Hazel McMahon. Not only is Michelle's photography top notch, the gown is mind blowing.

Add caption

See the original post on The Studio Commissary.

Ana's Photostream

I was strolling through my good friend Ana's (aka anatchim) Flickr Photostream today and I found many images worth sharing. I recommend going there for yourself and taking some time to see how much attention to detail Ana showers on her dolls. She has many of them rerooted and restyled. It's delightful to go through her collection. Link to her collection is at the end of this post.

Here is a wonderful photography trick she uses to support her dolls during photoshoots.

A little trick to hold the girls...

A little trick I use to hold my girls against the backdrop while I'm photographing... I use this modified FR stand telescope stick, with a "Bostik" ball in the tip for adherence...

(it still can be a little tricky to use, but I just don't want to use wires to have to erase them afterwards in photoshop... I am too lazy for that LOL)

I may try her technique occasionally instead of using armature wire. The more tricks one has at hand, the better.

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Here is a photograph of all three versions of Vanessa side by side. It's excellent and really shows the differences. Which Vanessa is your favorite?

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Now, if you've gone and looked at her photos and think she has a major photography studio, you will be surprised to learn that the opposite is true. She is using professional lighting but look at that little space!
Ana says:

"... our apartment is SO tiny tiny, that I had to put together a small space in the garage, for my dolly photography...
I love to see everyone's behind the scene photos, so I thought I'd share this one too!

The beautiful vintage dresser was renovated by hubby, and it holds the doll furniture, background papers, floors, etc.."

Ana's Flickr Photostream

A New Favorite Website - Not About Dolls

I love Photojojo! Today's post on How to Make Photo Lollipops just pushed me over the edge to blog about it.

Haven't you always wanted to eat your photographs? I've wanted to do a lot of things with mine; eating them wasn't on the list.  This tutorial might have just changed my mind.
Think of the possibilities: table gifts at conventions, stocking stuffers, business cards...X-rated suckers. Oh, I have endless ideas.

Link to this tutorial

They carry a multitude of products that I'd love to have. One is called Photo-opoly. If all you ever think about it dolls, you can personalize it with images of your gals and guys easily. You might even force yourself to use pictures of your family or pets.

Click here to check out the rest of the fun products you can use with your cameras.

Gorgeous Doll Photography by Ernesto Padro-Campos

I don't know if I'm going to get back to the Picture of the Week Award as I used to do but today's picture of the moment is this fabulous shot of Gene Marshall wearing red as described by Ernesto here:

Miss Marshall is making everyone see red and on purpose. Her buddy Liz Cole designed a turban and gown of sparkly vintage knit in luscious red (and spicy) pepper. The Pepto Bismol pink gloves are from Oona's Bellwether ensemble. Jewelry from "Striking Gold" and sunglasses from Madra's "Cat Walk" ensemble. The boa is Carol Barrie's by TDC. The attitude is her own.

Ernesto Padro-Campos Photography

If you would like to see the original post, go to the Studio Commissary Doll Board.

Your input on doll photography is requested.

I have begun to plan a series of articles and would like to address the needs of collectors who photograph their dolls. It would be wonderful if you could take a little time to answer any or all of the following questions and send them to me via email. If you want you can answer them here as well. If you have anything else to add, feel free!
Thanks in advance.

-What areas of your doll photography would you like to improve?
-What aspects of your camera don’t you understand?
-What are your biggest challenges with doll photography?
-Do any of your photographic results displease you?
-Do you have questions about doll photography?

Image Source

Wonderful Sybarite Photography

Two stunning photographs (among others) were posted on the Facebook's Superdoll Fans page recently. The use of light and shadow is key in each image.

Brandon Wood used Doku as his model.The dark area around the doll focuses the viewer on the doll's face and the net shadow is very mysterious. One eye peers out into the darkness. Is she hiding?

"Fugu Noir"

Lynn Murray shows optimal use of a backdrop with a doll. Look at the light and shadow and how it creates a sense of the doll emerging from darkness into the light. The composition draws the viewer's eye right back to the doll's face each time. Perfect. Model is Savage.

"By the cold of the morning light she returned..."

Photoshoot From Hell

 I'm turning into a lazy photographer. I'd rather take stupid iPhone photos than go into my studio and do the real thing. I'm lazy in the studio, too. I had a handbag to sell so I hung up a contrasting piece of fabric and shot some pictures. Then instead of changing the background to suit the dolls I wanted to photograph, I decided to leave it. Blech. I knew it wasn't working almost immediately but didn't do anything to change it. It's a good thing I'm not doing this for money. On the other hand, if I were getting paid, perhaps I'd be less lazy.

Here you have a lesson in how backgrounds can ruin photographs. Ugh. I don't even want to talk about how much work it was to pull these images out. The last one, of course, has had it's background completely Photoshopped.
In the second picture of Dasha I desaturated the yellow tones. Compare it to the picture that follows and you will see what I mean. Both dresses are the same color IRL.
The dresses on Dasha and Elise are by Cholo. Vanessa is the former Intoxicating Mix rerooted. She is wearing Ayumi's outfit. That is also Ayumi's FR2 body. Ayumi's (ugly) head is on the way to Italy.

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.

Toxica Plus

One of my favorite doll photographers goes by the name aquabluerose and posts regularly on Prego. I am not a collector of the beautiful Sybarite dolls but I appreciate her collection and her images. Gerri knows how to edit. I am sure she takes scores of pictures at each photo shoot and then chooses the best and only the best to post. It's so boring to open a post and see pictures of the same doll in the same outfit with a fraction of difference between each of about 10 pictures. I never look past the first two or three. But when one amazing image is posted I spend time oohing and aahing. 
Today she posted pictures of Toxica. Here is one of them:

Toxica "Sun"

After enjoying those, I drifted over to her website, infidel, to look at more.

Toxica "Blood Flower"

Play "Armadillo"

Spotted at The Studio Commissary - Ivy and Ernesto

The Studio Commissary is a wonderful doll board to which many Gene Marshall doll lovers belong. Every day there is a vintage Hollywood image posted on the header and every week there is a theme. This week's theme is "Out of the Closet...Bring out a doll long in storage or take the time to de-box a doll this week!"

I am a great fan of Ernesto Padro Campo's photography and his post today really blew me away.

"Glammed Up Ivy comes out the winner in Madra Lord's Scarlet Temptress"

I can stare at this image forever and follow the lighting as it traces the ripples of fabric of the roses and courses down her profile and back of her neck. The doll is lit perfectly. I like to guess at the settings on the camera and how effects were created. A blurred background is created when the lens aperture is open wider creating a shallow depth of field.

Wonderful!

See more of Ernesto's fantastic photography at his flickr photostream.


You can sign up to receive a daily list of postings at the Studio Commissary. It's not just for Gene fans. Lots of us collect other dolls as well.

Using Fill Flash and Mattel's Gustave Klimt Barbie Doll

I love the Klimt doll! She's very pretty, the clothing is removable, her hair is cute and her arms and wrists are articulated. Unfortunately from the waist down she has no articulation and instead they opted to give us the "pose." Also, I practically slit my wrists getting her out of her box and removing all the sharp shards of clear vinyl holding her down and stuck in her head. The best price outside of using a BC.Com coupon that I could find was at shoprockcandy.com for $34.95. Of course I had to pay New York state tax but by comparison, it was the lowest price for me after the shipping ($5.95) and tax ($3.58) was added.

This doll deserves some real studio time but I took some point & shoot pics of her outside yesterday. It was a bright, sunny day as you can see. I put her on a portion of my deck railing where there is bright shade. 

Compare these identical pictures.

Flash turned off

Flash turned on

They're identical in that I did not move the doll. All I did was turn the flash on. Using flash when your background is very bright is an important technique to pick out details. Most people use an evaluative exposure setting to determine how light or dark their photo will be. I'm not going to get into that technical discussion but no matter what your exposure setting, the use of fill flash will brighten your subject, bring out the details and make it stand out against a bright background. Do not be afraid of the flash!

Wedding Frenzy Part III

Here are more wedding themed doll photographs.

Will you be watching the Royal Wedding? I'll see you there.

Ann/FL

Charles Colber

Shasha

Stratos Bacalis

This was a winter window display inside the Tonner Store. That's a life-sized mannequin who was dressed by the Tonner staff.

Mannequin's face seen in this shot.

Vin Trapani

Wilco

Unfortunately I do not have a larger version of the following image. I took this picture so long ago, I was still using film!  I had just retired from shooting weddings and decided to set up my equipment and lighting as if I were shooting real people. Sadly, I have no idea what happened to the rest of the pictures. I would definitely do this picture over focusing more light on Ken's face and blocking the highlights on his white jacket.

Proper Use of Selective Focus

Every now and then I come across a photograph in which the shooter uses selective focus with a purpose that really works and isn't just being used to be cute.

Creatively MJ, aka Matty,  posted this image on Prego recently. The focus (and the composition) takes the viewer's eye directly to the bauble but leaves you aware of the fashion and the doll that is wearing it. I love this.

If your camera has the ability to do a closeup that allows the background to blur out (selective focus), ask yourself what your intent is. There is no right answer, of course, but if you are doing it just because you can, it can get tiring.

When I was doing wedding photography I often used a filter called a center spot. It had a clear center of about 1/3 of the total lens. The area around that was diffused. I used it most often for portraits of the bride in which I wanted her face sharp and the rest of the image to have a dreamy look.
I'm going off the topic here but I am really glad those days are over.

You can follow Matty on his blog at http://mynavyblue.blogspot.com/

New W Club Doll: Anja "Regal Solstice"

The new W Club doll, due to be delivered during the first quarter (Jan-Mar) of 2011 was announced to members today. She is the new character, Anja and is called Regal Solstice. 

I don't follow the story lines but they are saying that she is wearing the "grand finale gown" of the Von Weiss 2010 fashion show and it's one of Giselle's creations. 

The dress is put together with embroidered chartreuse organza over navy blue tulle. The shoes are hot pink with purple lining and black straps and the jewelry is black multi-strand, multi-shape beads.

Integrity Toys Photo

Integrity Toys Photo

Integrity Toys Photo

Integrity Toys Photo

My first reaction was "what happened?"  The Anja from the convention had a beautiful, sparkling face.  Upon careful inspection of the closeup one can see that the lighting on the doll's face makes her nose look elongated and beak-like.  Look at the shadow under her nose. The overhead light should have been moved about 20° to the left to create a beautiful shadow which would enhance the sculpt.  Lifting  her face and looking at her in a different light will show how gorgeous she really is.

I don't understand the fashion and I will be looking at the latest runway images to see if there is something current going on here. I love the colors and it does look like there is an abundance of detail in the organza overlay. The style doesn't make sense to me.

I would have liked black hair on a doll wearing these colors. Her eyes look stunning.  What does the back of her hair look like? Is her hair short? Could it be a cute little pageboy cut that can be opened up to frame her face in a more casual way?

I've read many mixed reviews so the jury is out until the real Anja shows up.

Picture of the Week Award ~ Al Gudka

I came upon this stunning photograph of the new Mini Avantguard doll Androgyny on the W Club board.

 Property of Al Gudka

Al's photography is  a favorite of mine. He's a master of composition. You will come across his posts not only on the W board but also on Doll Divas and BC.Com.

Here are the answers Al sent to my questionnaire:

-This gorgeous doll is the Mini-Clone Androgyny AvantGuards with her original wig

-No changes were made to the doll itself, but I did release the wig's ponytail

-She is wearing the Barbie by Jonathan Adler dress; corset and stockings from Aerodynamic Vanessa; shoes from last year's W Club Eugenia; jewelry from Flight Pattern Kyori

-The Hows:

• The camera I used was a 15 megapixel Canon Powershot G10
• For the backdrop I used a white foam-filled poster board; doll is leaning against it
• The only prop was a little desk fan that doubled as a large industrial fan in 1/6th scale
• For lighting I used a cluster of three 35 watt daylight florescent bulbs placed directly in front of, and slightly above the doll, at approx 6 ft away.  I hung a large sheet of tracing paper 2 feet in front of the lamps.  This diffused the light and made it look like natural light.

-My inspiration for this shot was some behind the scenes footage of model Gisele Bundchen during a photo shoot.

-The biggest suggestion I would give to budding photographers is to get acquainted with Photoshop.  It can transform a dull, lifeless photo into a brilliant, high contrast eye-catcher. It is also indispensible when it comes to white balancing your photos if your camera can't do it properly.  I see so many beautiful photos that have been unintentionally marred by green or yellow color casts. 

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Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Al. 

Tricky Eugenia with her hair down.

I broke one of my rules this morning and photographed a doll in full sun. Shame on me. The result was overly contrasty and unacceptable. That's when Photoshop comes in with it's tricky filters. When I need to rescue a picture, I fool around with the filters until the picture looks as if I meant it to be that way.

Eugenia's head is fully rooted (YAY) and comes out of the ponytail easily. I just had to trim a tiny bit from the part that was wrapped around the tail. Because her hair was factory crimped, the mark from the rubber band isn't so pronounced that it requires boil straightening. This was an easy one. I like the look much better this way.