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Basic Techniques To Get Great Shots Every Time

No matter how great your camera might be, it is how you apply your skills that makes the difference between an OK shot and a great shot. Here you can talk technical, talk creative, share your techniques, lighting, and digital editing. This is where we can all help each other to take better photos.
If you post a photo here and are looking for a critique, you should be prepared for honest criticism even if it hurts. It will only help to make us better photographers.

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technoguy
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Post by technoguy »

Stacy...

One does not have to own a doll to NOT be "into" doll photography. I do not intend to spend a lot of time and money dressing my doll up for photographs after I get it so that is what I meant.

For the average doll owner who is, however, going to start to get "into" doll photography, I think that he should start out with as simple equipment as possible to see if he enjoys it or not. If not, then he will not have spent a lot of extra cash on special cameras, lights, etc.

The idea of the powder is to try to minimize the amount of flash reflected back the camera my diffusing it as much as posssible as it comes off of the doll's skin. Ideally, one would want to first try to clean any oil off of the skin and then powder it.


technoguy

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Post by stacy718 »

Again, powders reflect flash light. That is a simple fact and the reason make-up artists do not use white powders with strobe lights.

I have worked with Playboy Magazine make up artists and professionals in that field who have all agreed that white powders (which is what color corn starch is) reflect flash light.


I have years of experience with this.

Don't agree? That's on you.

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femdoll
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Post by femdoll »

@Technoguy: direct flash will almost always get you reflections on the skin, with real people, with dolls...
You just shouldn't flash directly on the skin, try to avoid it, or do your 'light measurement' on the skin (set your camera on 'spot' measure). In theory the flash/camera shouldn't overshoot it then (can make the picture darker though).

Since a doll isn't moving, you could just use house hold lamps, put your camera on a tripod (or table, as long if you get the doll in tha shot), and let the camera do it's work. It will automatically raise the shuttertime (shutter will stay open longer), you can hear that as 'click...........clack' instead of 'clickclack'.. (ok, if you use compact digital camera's you hear something else hehe).
Be sure not to move the camera! Best way to avoid movement during 'pushing the button' is to use the 'self release' which every camera has (the one where you can put yourself on the picture, where the camera uses a timer before 'clicking').
If you don't want that 'yellowishy' look you almost immediately get when shooting indoors and with 'bulb' lights, you should read something about 'whitebalance'. This basically means you 'tell' the camera what should be white. A white wall with light bulb looks yellow, and you can 'tell' the camera that that yellow wall is in 'real life' white.
Setting the whitebalance btw, will determine the 'warmness' of a picture. Wanna 'kill' those bleeched colorless flash pics? Put the whitebalance on 'cloudy' or 'shade'... pics will get 'warmer' (more yellow).
Btw, another way of getting more 'color' into a picture when using flash is setting the shutterspeed on longer time, say 1/10th of a second. This is THE secret behind all party pics... See those colorfull partypics, where a flash is definitely used? Longer shutterspeeds with flash.
In a sense you can use this also with you doll photography... try to 'dim' the flash (with the tips given here .... most camera's will you 'reduce' the hardest flash output btw), and take longer shutterspeeds. The flash will 'fill in' so the face for example will be nicely lit, while the longer shutterspeed will make the picture warmer....

Another advantage, mostly forgotten by using a flash is, you get a 'twinkle' in the eye, so it looks more 'alive'. Don't using a flash, and just using 'normal' lightning can result in dark liveless eyes.... This twinkling is 1 of the reason why I also use flash at daylight, and almost always use flash when doing weddings, even if people stand outside! 1 thing I usually do is reduce the maximum 'flash power', so it will never be 'overkill' .. but I use a heavy flash where you can set almost everything including tilting the head...

But lightning is 1. Like Stacy already said, it's also the posing and the 'environment' which determines a great picture.... Just seeing a doll laying on the bed, looking up and just.... laying in a 'unhuman' position.... will not result in a 'great picture' (that's 1 of the things where Stacy's pics rule, the dolls look 'natural', real...)

But... for some 'good effects' your really need some bigger 'hardware'. You can do a lot with a cheaper compact camera, but.... certain effects like 'isolating subject with blurry background' you'll never get with compacts! Yeah perhaps with those megazooms, but it's nowhere near using a DSLR with more lightsensitive lenses (aperture F4.0 or even F2.8 )....

About 'studio lightning', search for DIY studio lightning... you'll find a uge amount of ideas of how to make it yourself! Most use all kind of lightsources, and reflecting 'things'.... some use simple big white sheet of paper as 'background' and some insulationmaterial as reflecting panels.
And... again, dolls aren't moving, aren't complaining about the time, about the heat (studio lights get 'hot'), about you being a non-professional.....
and since you can see instance 'result' with digital camera's... practise! Just do it! Try it!
It doesn't mather HOW you do it, and WHAT equipment you use, as long as you get the shot! (allthough heavy expensive equipment gives you so much more possibilities hehe...... )
and look how others do it, see the lightning, see the shadows, where did the light come from... and... in some cases try to see the camera settings. Most pictures still have the settings from the camera 'in them', which is called EXIF. EXIF showed me that Stacy used a new camera... (Canon 5D wasn't it? :wink: Great, if not THE best camera around hehe).

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midiman
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Post by midiman »

technoguy wrote:I think if the photographer dust the exposed skin of the doll with a powder such as corn starch, then this problem can be largely remedied if not eliminated.
The naked human body is a highly reflective surface. So much easier with clothes :)

In the movie business, lighting is everything. It can set the mood or kill it.

We often use skin tone talc in when shooting highly reflective surfaces such as bald heads, etc. Soft boxes are nice, but if all you have is a basic camera and you want to make your pictures as good as you can, flesh tone talc can certainly help cut the glare. Another trick I learned was to diffuse your flash using a thin layer of tissue. Quick and dirty when nothing else is available.

Everyone isn't fortunate enough to have a Sekonic light meter, soft box and high end digital camera, so concentrate on getting as good a frame as possible and take several pictures changing your angle slightly after each. Then you can throw out 90% and keep the ones that turned out best with the least amount of glare. No matter how bad you are, if you take enough photos, there will be at least one in there that will make you look like a pro :)
Midiman...
My Doll photos... here in my Doll Album

Gabrielle BT ---- Libby Ruby13 ---- My Teddy Babes --- Bianca from Lars & the RG --- jessica Wicked RD ------ Aredhel PIB ------ Amaya 4woods - Kira Anatomical

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stacy718
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Post by stacy718 »

I don't use a light meter.

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midiman
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Post by midiman »

stacy718 wrote:I don't use a light meter.
Too bad...I was hoping I could sell you mine :) Bought it at film school and have used it twice since for setting up lighting on a chroma screen. No one told me I didn't need it for video and digital photo work :lol:

BTW....your work is the best I've seen in this field, just in case I forgot to mention it along the way...

Oh one other question...how close to shooting human bodies are silicone dolls?
Midiman...
My Doll photos... here in my Doll Album

Gabrielle BT ---- Libby Ruby13 ---- My Teddy Babes --- Bianca from Lars & the RG --- jessica Wicked RD ------ Aredhel PIB ------ Amaya 4woods - Kira Anatomical

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Post by stacy718 »

midiman wrote:How close to shooting human bodies are silicone dolls?

Very close. Obviously each face is individual- even with dolls, but the lighting set ups and ratios are about the same. The biggest issue is the way skin reflects light as opposed to dolls- but I have a little trick that I use with the dolls. It is my secret ingredient, and I will never tell a soul.
:wink:

By the way, thanks for the compliment.

I have an incident light meter I use with film, when I do shoot film (which is almost never).

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midiman
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Post by midiman »

stacy718 wrote:
midiman wrote:How close to shooting human bodies are silicone dolls?
Very close. The biggest issue is the way skin reflects light as opposed to dolls- but I have a little trick I will never tell l.
:wink:

I have an incident light meter I use with film, when I do shoot film (which is almost never).
Thanks for the info. I have a few trade secrets too...I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours....actually just kidding... Magicians and photographers never give away their secrets...even under pain of death :)

BTW... almost never cost me over $400 :lol:

Cheers,
midiman
Midiman...
My Doll photos... here in my Doll Album

Gabrielle BT ---- Libby Ruby13 ---- My Teddy Babes --- Bianca from Lars & the RG --- jessica Wicked RD ------ Aredhel PIB ------ Amaya 4woods - Kira Anatomical

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Elle
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Post by Elle »

stacy718 wrote:A low ISO such as 100 will be the least sensitive to light. A higher ISO such as 800 will be more sensitive to light. The more sensitive to light the lighter the photo becomes.
<..>
When shooting in low light situations, shooting at a higher ISO like 800 is best.
Thanks a lot Stacy, i was asking about ISO because i've looked at several EXIF of your pics and have seen that you use a 500 Iso's setting sometimes. Sunday, i did a photoshoot with a setting of 800 (in a room with just a torchiere lightening the white roof) and the result is, as you say, lighter and too much yellow, so ready for the trash in my case :wink:

Femdoll, thanks for your post full of good advises too :D


Jihan & Elle (overexposed dolly)
__________________ ALL DOLLS ARE WELCOME... SUBMIT YOUR DOLL TO THE MATRIX __________________ My Website
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Post by Perry »

Here's my take on how any beginner can do things RIGHT NOW to improve their doll photography considerably.

Not sure I'm going to say anything new here, the above comments are outstanding.

So here goes:

1. Use a tripod for every shot. No excuses.
2. In conjunction with the tripod, use the camera's self timer.

The above two steps will all but eliminate camera shake. And if you have a pulse, you have camera shake.

3. Know where your camera is focusing. You might think it's focusing on her face, but it could be focusing on something else, making the rest of her blurry. Check your manual and know how and where your camera focuses.
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4. Force the camera's ISO setting to it's lowest value. Usually thats 100. This reduces "noise" which, in film-speak is "graininess". Your manual will tell you how to do this.

5. Set your white balance correctly. Don't know what that is? Find out. Google it.
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6. Gather a few lights together....old lamps, clip on's from the hardware store, whatever. Cameras need a lot of light. Then start experimenting with lighting. Google it.
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7. Remove anything from the scene that distracts. (God, I wish I could follow this advice better.....)

8. Pay some attention to the richness of colors within the scene. Makes a huge difference.

General thoughts:

-for any photoshoot take a few shots, then load them in your computer and see what you have...then make adjustments. Do this for each new pose or setup so you can learn what your camera is "seeing" vs. what you think it is seeing.

-allow plenty of time for a shoot. It's gonna take a lot longer than you thought, and you're probably gonna start getting hot and sweaty before long.

-daylight is almost always best for dolls. However, we all don't have the luxury of dragging our dolls out in the open. Just keep it in mind.

-getting the dolls eyes right on the camera is usually best. And if you can move her eyes....make sure one eye isn't looking at you while the other is scanning the heavens for Venus.
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-"see" the pose/scene you want before you touch the shutter release. And, in the same vein, walk around the doll looking for unusual angles to shoot her from. You never know till you look around. Get on the floor and look up. Get tall over her. Go to the far end of the room. Turn your whole body sideways and look at her like that.
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-there's more to your doll than her vulva. Yeah, we all know that the pussy shots get the big hits here.....but be an artist. Capture her personality and her beauty.
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-be patient. Work the shit out of your camera...whatever it is you own. It will force you to build your skills.

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od
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Post by od »

I would like to thank each of those who suggested tips for photgraphy for sharing their knowledge and experience.... Very much appreciated...
In certain trying circumstances, urgent circumstances, desperate circumstances, profanity furnishes a relief denied even to prayer   ~Mark Twain~ <a href="http://www.dollalbum.com/dollgallery/index.php?cat=10592">http://www.dollalbum.com/do

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midiman
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Post by midiman »

Wow, Perry,

What a great post! Brings to mind a few things.

1) No matter how poor the technical quality, the content of the photo is the most critical. (If you don't think so just look at what they show on the news)

No matter how good your technical quality is, if you don't know how to frame a shot, or be a little creative, you will never have that perfect photo that stands out from the rest.

You will notice on Perry's photos, interesting subject angles and light. I would expect Stacy spends 90% of her time 'setting up her shots...posing the doll, makeup, backdrop, etc.

2) Using standard lamps for lighting as Perry did in the legs shot can add an extra warmth. Incandescent light tends to be orange (warmer) on film and video and daylight/moonlight gives a cooler blue. Often a feature on your camera - called White Balance - will sense the light and adjust the color to 'normal' which could loose the 'mood' of the shot. So if you want to experiment with lights and moods, turn off 'auto white balance'

3) Tripods ARE good....especially with video...some of the new Reality show shooting styles - the ones that give you vertigo - have been the best contributor to my having more time to spend on this forum :)

BTW, for those who shoot video, it is essentially the same as still, when it comes time to framing the shot. Balance and creativity go a long way.

Here is an excellent book for those that want to improve their video and photography, but do not want to have a dictionary of photographic terms by there side when they read it. This guy says it better than I ever could:

The Bare Bones Camera Course for Film and Video
by Tom Schroeppel Only $8.95 ISBN 0-9603718-1-8


I was so impressed with this book that I gave one to all my immediate family members two Christmases ago...mainly as a gift to me so I wouldn't have to sit through Fred Flintstone style home movies and slide shows :)
Midiman...
My Doll photos... here in my Doll Album

Gabrielle BT ---- Libby Ruby13 ---- My Teddy Babes --- Bianca from Lars & the RG --- jessica Wicked RD ------ Aredhel PIB ------ Amaya 4woods - Kira Anatomical

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Post by Euchre »

The only thing I have to say about all this is some of us don't have a $500.00+ camera with all the bells and whistles. I have an older digital point and click-ish camera, how old you may ask?(think Smart-Media).

I just would like to learn some ways to better take indoor pictures of Sam w/out a flash using just household items (lamps, shades etc...). My camera doesn't have an ISO setting but the 2 things I'm ALWAYS fiddling with is the EV and White Balance. Most of my pics come out to dark, WAY over exposed or with that annoying yellow tint and yes I have a tripod, but never thought about using the timer (next time).

So can we get hints for those who lack a good quality camera too? :wink:
Thnx!

Euch
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Post by midiman »

euchre wrote:I have an older digital point and click-ish camera, how old you may ask?(think Smart-Media).
So can we get hints for those who lack a good quality camera too? :wink:
Again two things...lighting and tripod. If you wanted to get a moody shot like the legs in Perry's post it would be next to impossible as the auto features may try to compensate. Setting the white balance to daylite, turn off the flash if possible and using a tripod to allow for a slower shutter speed without moving the camera and causing a blur, might do it.

If not, forget the dim light shots and go for the better lit shots.

Remember what Stacy said about Soft box? Well a soft box is in it's crudest form, a light bulb in a box with a reflective back and an opaque front (like a thin white sheet). This diffuses the light and eliminates hard shadows. Outside the clouds act as soft boxes by diffusing the sunlight.
That's why shadows are less defined than in bright sunlight.

Also you can try bouncing some of your light off the ceiling and perhaps white cardboard. This will also prevent hot spots which tend to happen with open face lights directly facing your subject.

When experimenting, never change more than one variable at a time. Repositioning a light and then changing your exposure setting may cancel each other out. With digital you can check your results out after each shot. Make sure you write down your settings when you hit something you like, so you can duplicate it later.

Cheers and good luck,

midiman
Midiman...
My Doll photos... here in my Doll Album

Gabrielle BT ---- Libby Ruby13 ---- My Teddy Babes --- Bianca from Lars & the RG --- jessica Wicked RD ------ Aredhel PIB ------ Amaya 4woods - Kira Anatomical

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Post by femdoll »

@euchre: try to avoid using EV. EV is not a lightmetering thing, just boost or dims the whole 'light' on a picture. Should only be used if the lightning is really bad, but even then, the quality will not be going to be good.

I only use EV on my flash, so I can control the max output the flash gives, and sometimes on my camera to create artificial sunsets.... but even there, shutterspeed/aperture works better.

If pics still are dark or overexposed, it could be you don't have the right 'lightmetering' setting. If you're camera has more lightmetering modes (evaluative, partial, center-weight average, spot), try experimenting with those. Every 'mode' takes a different 'area' to measure the light. For portraits it's sometimes usefull to use spot metering (if it exists on your camera). What that does is, measuring the light very close to the AF point. Center-weight takes a largere area, and evaluative takes the average of 'zones' in the viewfinder.
If there is a large contrast between background / front this could result in 'wrong' measurements when using the average 'evaluative' mode.
For example taking a picture from somebody who stands for a window. With metering on 'evaluative' the face will be to dark (because the background light will dominate). Let the camera use a smaller light metering area, aim at the face, and the face will be ok, but the background will be overexposed (which isn't a bad thing most of the time). The best solutions ofcourse for this is to use a flash, still using spot or center-weight average light metering, or not take photo's with strong backlights or extreme darkness.

Your yellowishy color is mostly due to bulb light. Try TL or halogen lights instead (cold light sources). Allthough it's easy to chance that yellowish with 'colder' whitebalance (Kevin scale, lower then 4000), I rather use a more 'neutral' lighting, and make it warmer afterwoulds (whitebalance, or in Photoshop). You keep the more correct colors that way.
Long exposuretimes will also increase yellow/red in the picture, and even worse, will increase noise, more specific 'color noise'. The 5D for example has problems with red if exposure is longer, mostly in the shadow areas (noise will get 'grainy'). Almost all camera's have troubles with bright colorsources. I do a lot of bandphotography, and strong colorsources will 'overshoot' the faces of the band (getting extreme red faces, or extreme yellow. Is most extreme with red btw..). You can correct this a bit with whitebalance, but since you replace 1 color with another, the picture will become darker most of the time (and colors are not 'correct' anymore, blue jeans can become more green ... that sort....)

But in your case... buy extra light sources as TL or lamps they use in construction. If lights are to strong, bounce them through the ceiling or walls. With flash I often flash backwards. Sounds weird, but you'll get a very soft light, with hardly any 'hard' shadows. Depends ofcourse heavily of the place where you take pictures.....

Lesson in this,
* direct lightning -> hard shadows, high contrasts, you can loose detail (in the shadows)....
* bounced light (indirect through ceiling/walls -> soft/no shadows, lower contrast, more details will be visible. Embrella's / softboxes do exactly the same thing, namely, dispearse the light more.

Combination of the two can result in very good looking photo's.

For more info about studio lightning, try http://www.studiolighting.net/studio-li ... tutorials/

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