Spark of Life

[Slayers]

What is the secret to making these girls look alive? Is it all make up and proper posing ? Or is there some other secret to give them that spark of life?

[Broven]

That's a great question, and a difficult one to answer. Or it is to me, anyway.

Realistic posing is certainly important. Dolls can't move in every way that a human can. But they can pose in ways that a human can't (or wouldn't).

For me though, the thing is that if you want her to appear lifelike, you need to start by thinking of her as alive. Whatever pose I might choose, I pretty much always think about why she's posing that way. What is she doing? Is she happy or sad? Energetic or tired? Excited or annoyed? Sometimes even thinking about what she was doing right before the shot. Or what she'll do immediately after I push the button. Even if she's just standing next to the wall... she's doing that for some reason. Just like an actual human would have a reason for standing there.

There doesn't need to be an elaborate backstory to every pose. But thinking about it from her point of view puts your own mind in a good place to start finding the realism. If that makes sense.

One thing I do (not that I'm any sort of expert, mind you), is to save a folder of images of actual women doing all sort of things. Every once in a while I look through there, looking for things to emulate. I might really like how their hands are in one shot, or her legs, or the tilt of her head. Things like that.

On a technical level, there are probably a lot of things you can do to help the final image along too. I'm certainly not a technical shooter, so the only two things I can think of here are:
Avoid overly harsh lighting that brings out the doll-ness of her. This probably isn't a rule, as I'm sure there are cases where harsh lighting is just the thing. lol
And two, if her eyes are open, try to get the catch-light in her eye. You know - that little highlight in her eyes. The eyes can really look dead if you don't.

Hope that helps.
I'm really looking forward to hearing what some of the better photographers here have to say.

And welcome to TDF!

[Just1more]

That's a great question, and a difficult one to answer. Or it is to me, anyway.

Realistic posing is certainly important. Dolls can't move in every way that a human can. But they can pose in ways that a human can't (or wouldn't).

For me though, the thing is that if you want her to appear lifelike, you need to start by thinking of her as alive. Whatever pose I might choose, I pretty much always think about why she's posing that way. What is she doing? Is she happy or sad? Energetic or tired? Excited or annoyed? Sometimes even thinking about what she was doing right before the shot. Or what she'll do immediately after I push the button. Even if she's just standing next to the wall... she's doing that for some reason. Just like an actual human would have a reason for standing there.

There doesn't need to be an elaborate backstory to every pose. But thinking about it from her point of view puts your own mind in a good place to start finding the realism. If that makes sense.

One thing I do (not that I'm any sort of expert, mind you), is to save a folder of images of actual women doing all sort of things. Every once in a while I look through there, looking for things to emulate. I might really like how their hands are in one shot, or her legs, or the tilt of her head. Things like that.

On a technical level, there are probably a lot of things you can do to help the final image along too. I'm certainly not a technical shooter, so the only two things I can think of here are:
Avoid overly harsh lighting that brings out the doll-ness of her. This probably isn't a rule, as I'm sure there are cases where harsh lighting is just the thing. lol
And two, if her eyes are open, try to get the catch-light in her eye. You know - that little highlight in her eyes. The eyes can really look dead if you don't.

Hope that helps.
I'm really looking forward to hearing what some of the better photographers here have to say.

And welcome to TDF!

What Broven said!
I have been here less than a year, and have picked up SOOOOOO many tips and tricks.
Lighting, posing, hair, make-up, back ground... The list is endless!
I believe it just comes down to practice, practice, practice.
And massive research!
Looking at others shots.
You tube vids on hair and make-up.
The one thing that has stood out as the biggest problem in photos here, and my own, are the fingers!
Tricky little devils!!!
I can honestly say though, I don't believe you could be in a better forum, with better people to learn from.
Some of these guys are absolute Masters!
They don't take photographs... They make art-work!
Welcome to the forum!
And I hope you have as much fun as I have!

[Kira-sama]

I'm not a photographer, but I think it's mostly in the way the doll dresses, what they are doing while wearing that outfit, the objects near them, and their body position (in some cases the most important thing is the head/eye position). An example of this would be reading a book in bed with headphones on while sitting in a legs-near-chest position while the book is being held by the doll against their legs.

[Dees luver]

you need to start by thinking of her as alive.

THIS! Well said Broven!

The one thing that has stood out as the biggest problem in photos here, and my own, are the fingers!

And this is important to a perfect shot imo

[Slayers]

if her eyes are open, try to get the catch-light in her eye. You know - that little highlight in her eyes. The eyes can really look dead if you don't.

When comparing photos of dolls to that of living girls one of the major differences I noticed was the eyes looking "dead". When a picture of a living eyeball is taken the eye reflects and refracts light the doll eye doesnt it seems to me that they are not shiny enough. A living eye always shines because its wet. What I was wondering if one could coat the doll eye with something like high gloss water poly to reproduce that shine or spark? Anyone ever tried this ?

[ZannyDanger]

The little spark in the corner of doll eyes can be easily achieved by positioning your light source accordingly when taking pictures so i wouldn't think it would be needed to apply any liquid.
Well i'll agree, this is definitely one of those little things that make a world of difference in making your doll come to life, and you definitely learn to "keep an eye" out for it with experience.

[Broven]

The thing about a shark, it's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.

[Tsall]

The thing about a shark, it's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.

Did you quote the movie "Jaws" from 1975? I had to verify it, yes, it is from that movie. Unbelievable, a quote from a 45 year old movie about sharks fits into a doll discussion.

[haremlover]

It's about posing. . . . fingers are important, and eyes. The iris of the eye should be a little more under the upper eyelid than between them. Fingers give the game away and one has to be very particular about them.

The tip about having a collection of photos of real people doing things is an important one. Luckily my father was quite a porn merchant so much material for inspiration such as viewtopic.php?f=224&t=124031. Clothes? What are clothes? Our ladies don't need clothes . . .

https://coverdoll.com/drupal/node/2978 is about lighting.

viewtopic.php?f=143&t=53784 is all about a doll who wants to be human, natural.

Taking your doll to a place where many people are posing like dolls enables you to study how to get a doll to pose like people. viewtopic.php?p=1222118#p1222118

https://youtu.be/tANvUqnY8wE?t=65 shows how.

There's also the https://coverdoll.com/drupal/node/2757 series.

Best wishes

Harem

[ranger42]

Something I was told a few years ago: remember that everything has weight, and will naturally fall to a resting position unless there is a reason for it not to. A dead giveaway can be hands or feet floating in mid air for no reason.

[Broven]

Very good point, Ranger.

Sometimes it helps to do the pose yourself and think about where your hands/arms/etc want to go naturally.

[I like blondes]

This was taken with one light & my cell phone in my bedroom while laying on my bed lol. It's all about lighting & composition. Move your lights around until you get the perfect shot & find the right angles to take it. You don't need a nice light setup or camera to take a good photo. Learn the basics & go from there. Lots of tutorials on YouTube. Also be sure to practice, practice, & practice.

[Dollfriend]

I think its all in how you position the Eyes, this alone can make a $7000 Doll look totally like a Doll or make a $700 Doll look alive.

[Star88]

Very good point, Ranger.

Sometimes it helps to do the pose yourself and think about where your hands/arms/etc want to go naturally.

I though I was the only one who did that...fortunately theres no picture of me pre-performing Kalei's sexy poses... those would be images you would NOT want to see