Photos of your Photography work space

Yes please do this! I was trying to explain to Mom how to set up a space for her to take pictures and get rid of her horrible shadows. This would be great!

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Not sure if this helps since there were no lights (except the sun coming in from the windows), but here is one setup I use, under my desk:


Resulting picture:


I think one of the keys to avoiding shadows is to remember where the main light is coming from at all times. If you're using a ceiling light for example, it will cast shadows under the doll's chin and nose, depending on the sculpt. If the light is coming from the left, the right side will be shadowed, etc.. In this picture, I put her under the desk to avoid direct light and therefore avoiding big shadows.

 

Here is my setup. I use different printed backgrounds, which are hold by 5 metal rings on a wooden pole and very easy to flip. Lights are two square "umbrellas" type with 5 day light bulbs in each one and white screen cover. The room itself is very dark (ground level with one small window on the opposite wall and pretty low ceiling. This setup lets me take pictures day or night with the same result. Sorry for blurry image, I just took a quick shot with my phone


And here is the final picture


Stripes for all3 by iverai, on Flickr

I bought those lights on ebay a few years ago for about $80 a pair. Hope this helps.

 

This is a very good idea. Seeing a lighting set up is a lot easier than reading about it.

I only have one set up shot from a long time ago, but I will take some more as I have now settled down into a very lazy lighting setup that I use when I can't be bothered to get the Big Lights out, and it might be useful to some. I was trying to get the impression of moonlight in this one, so the light is very high and quite harsh, not what I would generally use. The things I almost always do are diffuse the light (this time with a diffuser disc, which you can see propped up at the top there) and use some sort of backdrop. This one was two pieces of card with a moon picture stuck into a hole and a light shone through it. I use whatever is hanging around to get the dolls to do what I need (protein powder tubs and two piles of books, in this case!). My suggestion is to have a strong idea of what it is that you want to achieve, some understanding of how light works and then just do whatever it takes to get what you want. Be a bit creative. It is amazing what you can do with what is lying around the house.

Set up



Shot.

 

I can see them just fine. Great shots, by the way. Love the moonlight effect.

 

I can see them too. MadamMauMau must have fixed the link since Ajee posted.

 

Nope. Didn't touch them. Must have been a temporary glitch. Glad it is resolved, anyway.

 

Hey so I don’t have pictures as of right now (I’ll try to remember tonight to get some pictures) but for me I like to use natural light. With the way my current dorm room is set up there is never direct sun light :/ but that sometimes works when trying to go for a soft look. But I also love my flash that I got for my Sony A77 camera

Here’s a picture of a picture I’ve taken of my girl



For those two I just used the light and I first did it with the light behind me and then the light slightly behind her but I went at an angle ish to avoid darkening her out.

Here’s me playing with my flash (with a kitten lol)

Here you see my actual extra flash



Here you can’t see the flash but I like how it bounces to lighten up the little guy


And here’s another (just for fun hopefully it’s ok for me to post!)






EDIT:

I will post pictures of me photographing my girl and just how my flash works with the closeness of my room. With the way my flash works it flashes with the flash of my camera so it adds a lot of lightening. If anything you can always use white paper in a small area and use a lamp to lighten things up or black paper (or blankets) to darken things.

 

Ok here’s a quick picture (with my photo) of the things I use!




I hope this helps some what!

 

THIS



...Was the setup to obtain THAT:



The picture is pretty much self-explanatory, but if someone needs some tips; ask me

 

i cant find my photo work place for my dolls
but figures!
i think they are the same~
at least you got the professional lights..
just dont laugh at meXXXXD

the picture is:



the truth is:

 

WOW! Shlimbo, that's a GREAT idea! I'm definitely using that idea for my next glittery sparkley background. I'm still working on my setup but once I get it done I'll get some photos of it.

 

Oh my, I really look forward to it! Please don't hesitate to post a pic of your setup+result here, I'd be so glad to see it

One thing you must not forget is: make sure you have LOTS of lights to be reflected on the background. It's key to success ^^ BTW, I'm really happy I inspired you

ans Estelle213: Wow, I never thought of using my screen as a background... I'll DEFINITELY give it a try ^^

 

I Like your Idea estelle^^. To bad my laptop is so small, but perhaps it will be enough for my littlefee.



This is my livingroom table with some Pototobackgound and a lot of props^^

 

that would be achieveable with using DSLR camera :3

i love this thread!!!

 

shlimbo - That picture is amazing. Do you need to set up the DSLR?

 

Wow this was pretty insightful. Thanks everyone!

 

I have a folding table set up in front of a bank of windows and three photographer's lamps. I generally use scrapbook paper for small-doll backdrops and fabric for the larger dolls. I also have a stool for sitting or kneeling, depending upon the desired angle.
I mostly use only one lamp though, because I like the way the shadows accentuate the features of the sculpt. And in some cases, if I'm working during daylight hours, I incorporate the light and colors from the windows into the background of the photo.
And I always keep a roll of sticky dots or some museum putty handy to help with props and posing.

Work space by bentwhisker, on Flickr

Resulting photo:

Phaedra at the fountain by bentwhisker, on Flickr

 

Holy crap, these make my makeshift photo 'workspace' look pitiful, but thats because I dont really have the room in my room to keep anything up permanantly >.< So when I want to take photos in that form, its always a 5-10 minute setup/teardown time.

 

Well, the only important thing is to lower the depth of field to its minimum or almost (The f/ number has to be as small as possible, f/1.8 to f/2.8 for example). That gives the background this effect ^^

 

I'd love to see more of these! Especially from folks working with a limited amount of space (all of you fellow apartment dwellers)~

 

and the good news for people who don't own a DSLR & want this effect, is that point and shoot cameras tend to have a very low depth of field range (if they have any range at all)

anyway, i love this thread so much. i've never actually had a permanent setup space but i really would like that to change soon, so this thread is very inspiring. i'll contribute when i can, in the meantime i would love to see more.

 

I agree with leitan! This thread really is inspiring! :O

 

Thank you all for sharing experiences! I will try to make the lighting for the dolls to become better photographers))