question about taking photographs!

Tuuuurn off the flash and use lamps? Flash is generally ebil when working at a macro level.

You can also try to diffuse the flash by holding or taping a piece of white printer paper over it, but I haven't had much luck with that technique. : d

 

Natural light is by far best for dolls. You just CAN'T use flash on them unless you use a diffuser or something-it just looks awful. Every time. Any kind of indoor lighting just won't measure up to natural light. The closest I've found is the Ott Light, but it still isn't the same.

 

Exactly this. I wonder why so many people are adverse to using natural light. It's not like the doll's going to yellow from one photoshoot or something. Pleh.

Even photos taken outside in the shade work better than those taken inside.

You can even open a window and photograph close to it with the natural light, if you don't want to go outside where other people can see you.

 

get a smallish lamp and put a =100w florescent in it. take off the shade & use a reflector (lame' works fine) to direct the light.

also experiment with the different light settings, shutter speeds etc (look up "photo bracketing") since you don't have to pay for processing prints, to figure out which ones work best for you.

Often cameras come with a really useful manual. sometimes the manual is confusing or "on button, shutter button, kthx bai..."

Daylight in the shade outside or filtered through a window is often the best lighting.

Direct lighting can be awkward. though sunrise and sunset also provide fun with gold tinted lighting.

 

Try a small low cost tripod with it. I have been doing that for natural light photos with out flash for a bit now and the results rock. Even a $9.99 baby tripod will work.

I also use small desk lights when needed. They are inexpensive and can be positioned as key lighting when needed.

Bobby

 

In my case it's because I live in an apartment without any easy access to any attractive outdoor locations for photos (I'd have to drive somewhere), and because of where I live, most of the year there is very little natural light to be had. Seattle is very overcast and frequently rainy for at least six months out of the year, and during winter the sun comes up very late and goes down very early so there's almost never any sun when I have time to take photos. Taking photos in natural light is just not an option for me a lot of the time.

In the past I compensated for this with lots of desk lamps I dragged out as needed. Currently I use cheap fluorescent photography hot-lights. This works very nearly as well as natural light for me, though I have to do a bit more editing sometimes.

In my experience the trick with artificial light is, use multiple light sources, use more light than you think you need, and try to use lights that are all the same temperature (color) so it's easier to make it look natural in an image editor afterwards.

 

try putting a piece of tissue paper over the flash to diffuse it

Cheers,
Steph

 

I agree with the stuff about flash and using other sources of light. Outside is good and diffused full spectrum indoor light sources are good. Multiple sources are good. I use something called a Day Light. It is actually meant for treating Seasonal Affective Disorder, but that's another story. It has a really nice soft diffuser on the outside. It looks like daylight, but the UV is filtered out, so it theoretically shouldn't hurt your dolls as much.