Favorite backdrops, -or- places you go when your surroundings suck.

My room/house is horrid for photos because it's so messy all the time. The best place inside is really Z's room set up on our bar though the lighting there is still awful because i live in a basement. I took inspiration from other shoots and used a gold silky pillow and a spare bit of black velvet to set up a nice backdrop for my last shoot but I really need to take Z out for some shoots.

 

What a great topic for discussion! I did move it to the Photography Tips because it really is, essentially, about photographing bjds.

It's a good topic because you raise the important question of preference. I, myself, for example, don't "do" prop shoots or much outdoor stuff. I prefer a single-coloured backdrop that will then put the focus back on the doll. However, with that being said I really admire those photographers who go in the other direction. milkeye and St. James are two photographers who come imeadiately to mind when I think of bjd owners who use props to the most astonishing end! gothiclibrarian and achsfan are two photographers with a gift for using outdoor scenery to an incredible scaled advantage. I honestly don't know how they do it!

I'm just using those four names as examples - plenty of members here take absolutely amazing photographs of their dolls in dollie environments or outdoor environments. For me, black velvet is my crutch.

 

Sometimes I use the back porch for a backdrop. The brick works. Sometimes I use a tree or something...I have done some out in the woods.

 

For me I like nature backgrounds, I would like to do a city type one's, but here on Maui there is no tall buildings nothing at all, So its nature for me. I hope I can get to the beach more often to do photos.

I wouldn't mind my room if it wasn't a pain to take pictures in the light is bad. My room is painted dark blue and has a blue/black carpet.
So I go outside to take photos my parents did a great job on the garden area it has a pond and lots of diffrent plants plus nick nacks, its a nice place to go.

 

I use both to-scale indoor "sets", and my buildings' courtyard and a few favorite locations away from home... Marymoor Park, the Bear Creek Riverwalk, an old Victorian cemetery over in the city... for outdoor photography.

I tend to choose one sort of background or the other depending on the weather outside (I live in Seattle. Rain is an issue.) and rather or not the photoset is an "off-stage" session just for fun or an "on-stage" photostory. "On-stage" shoots are usually indoor, and use specific set pieces and props to indicate which part of Turtle House the action takes place in.

The bamboo backdrop and floorboards are always the same for "on-stage" set-ups. Only the props and furnishings change. ^_^

Here's an example of one of the sets using it...



I picked that pale wood because it's a non-glare, low-key, natural color that doesn't clash with anything I put in front of it... and it's neutral tone doesn't throw off my light metering.

 

I have a good size house, but not much room to do photoshoots as most corners, and areas are already being taken up by furniture or cats..LOL

so I go outside which i have nice flower beds and a fountain with a stone base that looks pretty kewl..I have lots of trees and greenery around so it looks nice...but now that falls coming I will have to figure out something for the inside...I would like to get a fog machine for some eerie/ gothic shots..sometimes I put some black background on my studio table to do some pics...

I really don't have room to do a whole diorama thing though...

 

My room is a bad place to shoot. Mostly because I am a night person and I can never get the right lighting in my room.

A great place for lighting is funny enough my bathroom. But the problem is it's a bathroom! It's hard to no get shoots with the toliet in the background or anything funny like that.

Outside is becoming a better option, now that's it getting colder. In the summer it's was a "no go" because it was so hot and sunny I worried about her resin. But my backyard is good for pool shots and some natural shots by the waterfall.

The rest of the house is normally a "no go" too because there's normally a family member in the room I want to shot in doing something horribly important like watching TV.

My friend's apartment is ok place to shot but because there's four girls living together it can be messy. The lighting is better than my house.

School is great place to get photos but you have to do between classes with people looking at you like you are a complete moron. But the lighting is great. And there's some funny pictures you can get with fellow classmates.

I want to take some photos at my local National parks. Those would really really cool looking. But I have to wait on her body to do that.

 

If I have time to take pics outside I do, though it's rare as I'm at work during the day. I think I may just have to get myself one of those light tent thingys!

 

MUAHAHAHHA
go ahead and look through my 'user posts' and you can see my awsome backdrop.

I go to the corner of my room, between my tv and bed, and stuff my lamp up under my bedpost and up ontop of my sewing kit, than pull my blanket down, set up whatever i want in the background (chairs of ramen and walls of CD cases) and cover it with my blanket, and close drawers on my blanket to keep it in place.

w/o blanket: http://xs307.xs.to/xs307/06396/IM000162.JPG
w blanket: http://xs307.xs.to/xs307/06396/IM000163.JPG

 

I take most of my photos in my room, with Arnold leaning against my wall (a lovely shade of blue). Once or twice in the hallway.

In my old house, which was much larger, there were more rooms, more space, a lovely backyard with lots of flowers, etc. But I didn't have him at the time Now I live in a much smaller house, with limited space that isn't crammed with furniture or an overall mess that I'm too embarressed to have seen. So I'm extremely limited. Plus I don't have the time or resources to make fancy backdrops. Sigh.

 

I love taking doll pictures outdoors - the apartment complex I live in is happily situated between a cemetary and a little park with a baseball field and stream and lots of woodsy little nooks, and I have a few other fairly local photo taking haunts. I really like the idea of trying some more urban backdrops for my photos, but I find that I prefer more secluded areas when I'm in the midst of being snap-happy, and even if I'm in a park mostly out of view if someone walks by I tend to hide the doll and pretend to be doing something else. As far as indoor photos, the lighting in my house, particularly in my room, is terrible, but I keep meaning to try and rearrange some clamp lights to my advantage because I have three rooms for my kids that I'd really like to photograph them in.

 

Living in an apartment in a city, I have no unmodified setting inside or outside that would make a nice background, in my opinion. What I often do is clear my drawing/drafting desk and pin up a peice of fabric (can even be a blanket or big shirt), using the wall and desk surface as a photoshoot area. You can do this amost anywhere with just some tape or pins and some fabric, also setting up some lights around it.

However, the city can also be nice if you're looking for a bit of a gungy, hard background.

I might suggest that you take your doll to a park or maybe a freind's yard to take photos? It can be hard to find a nice natural backdrop...

 

There isn't really any good place around here to take outdoor photos, and my allergies usually forbid it anyway. ^_^;

My photo setup consists of a small old printer stand with one of those science fair boards set up on it and various pieces of fabric draped over it. There's some fake fur in case I need a shot with 'carpet' to it. I'll sit the doll(s) in a chair or just on the fur, set up the camera on the little tripod I have and fiddle with the placement of the lamp I use for lighting. I'm finding I like doing more controlled, minimal shots - Just the doll and maybe a piece of furniture and nothing else except the backdrop. Though that may be partially a reaction to my camera, which is a basic crappy point-and-shoot model - Leaning towards having a very controlled environment since I can't really control much of anything with the camera to try to make other things work the way I want them to.

 

It's hard to find anywhere to take photos cos I live in my university so can't just step outside with dolls ( I am hiding them )

so I guess it'll just be draped fabric all round >_<

 

i live in a big creepy old house. sadly its not good for much. except one corner. one amazing corner. ive never seen one set up quite like it before and its amazing for pictures, so its in most of mine...

seen here



und here (yes its my livejournal pictures shhh)

 

Where I go depends on the dolls and my mood. My apartment doesn't have very good llghting (it's in a basement), so I kind of have to go outside in the yard or elsewhere. If I want a more cityish looking backdrop, there's a local university that's nice to take pics at, and if you go on weekends or a holiday, there aren't many other people around. I have some nice spots in my yard and there's a local park with a shallow river that runs through it. The only draw back with the park, is that on nice days, it tends to be crowded with kids which can be stressfull if you're trying to keep a lot of dolls away from rowdy children.

I like to take pics of my 60cm dolls in more city like places, since they're all city boys.

 

Likes:
pfff, i use so much stuff to take photos...last shoot i used white bedsheets..
wanna redo that sometime now i know she can stand on bedsheets

I love to take pictures in my bathroom because the light is stunning there..and at winter time it's really dark here all day round T_T
I also have a hobby room that used to have this lovable white lamp..but it broke T_T_T_T_T

Random spots:
corners...in my dresser...in the sink(that made some interesting suicidal photos).. i use every random spot that looks good when I'm in he mood for some photo shooting around ;3

outside:
Taylors brown red wig loves outside... i haven't managed to really use this yet because its been to windy lately... but i took her outside for a meet and her wig was like.. luscious wavy wave by wind o_0

Hate:

I absolutely hate yellow lamps! Oke sometimes with the right backgrounds they can be nice... but most of the time i hate them..

And i hate flashes.. and with my super flash cam (lolomfglol) I'm sometimes caught off guard and it suddenly flashes when i change some settings..
-blinded by ugly picture-

 

My favorite backdrops are the cherry blossoms here in D.C. Though you have to dodge tourists, they make a gorgeous backdrop in the spring. And if you head away from the Jefferson Memorial (and the hoards) toward Haines Point, there are a bunch of trees in there that aren't crowded where you can get a gorgeous pink backdrop with the dolls.
Pam in DC/Va.

 

Most of the time when I take photos I take them at school. My school has alot of plants and garden beds so its really pretty. Also my school has a barn for FFA so it has animals and other things and we have corn fields too.

 

Hi, I think I've never posted so much at the forum, and I think I've neeeeeever posted at the gallery because I found really diffucult to find good backgrounds for taking my bjd photos.

I need advice. What do you usually use as background?

 

Sometimes I use a black curtain or sheet (non fitted type) as a back drop for indoor photos. You don't really have to be a perfectionist about the background. Woods, brick walls, gardens.... what ever you have. As long as there isn't a big mess in the background or anything really distracting it should be fine

 

I go in my back yard if it's nice, or I use my old pair of Illig pants from HotTopic as a backdrop.

 

I prefer taking photos inside of the house or next to a window to get sunlight-- there are too many kids in my 'hood that would not be able to resist grabbing a shiny doll. Too dangerous!

I used to have this really small but bright lamp that had a soft, warm glow and made my pictures have really dramatic but pleasing values. I would just carry it, some fabric, and a few homemade reflectors everywhere. Now that it's dead for good, I've been trying to find a replacement. Recently I pulled out an extremely hot (ouch!) desk lamp that blinds me, but if placed three to five feet away...



So now I carry that dang desk lamp around. Oof. I still prefer the old one, though. I typically search for a dark background, or an extremely colorful one.

 

My room has absolutely horrid lighting, I never take doll photos in it. Natural light always give the best photos in my experience. I have a big back yard with lots of greenery and flowers, and brick siding with ivy on it so its perfect for outdoor photoshoots. I've never taken my dolls into the city for a photoshoot, but I'd love to sometime.

 

I live in an apartment complex,
so there are some.. interesting places.

My favorite place is at the bottom of this one random tree
thats techincally on the land to the complex's next to our's,
but it's really close from my side door.
There are roots sticking up from it and the ground is lopsided,
which gives me several different areas to picture in.
The tree is also just think enough to take up a whole photo!

There are also two sets of wooden steps that work when I have no where else.
Also a looong wooden fence that has overgrown plants.
Sadly you never know when there will be dog poo around /:

I like taking pictures outside the most.
Inside the lighting is all wonky.​

 

.

 

I love going outside ! I live in Alaska so I have plenty of opportunities for scenery. When I don't want to travel I go on my balcony or in the forest behind my house