davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2024

CatDragonStorm wrote:A week long conversation? Who knew off brand Gérard butlers had so much to say?

Haha!
Technically anything should balance… It’s all physics… Easier said than done though!

CatDragonStorm wrote:A week long conversation? Who knew off brand Gérard butlers had so much to say?

Alliecat wrote:
Technically anything should balance… It’s all physics… Easier said than done though!

Hence the "hidden sticks" technique.

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16 January - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Head sculpt: YMToys YMT 029C
Body: TBLeague S35A
Clothing: TBLeague S44 and Bratz Boyz

This looks like she's put on some grand music in the background and is enthusiastically conducting an imaginary orchestra  

Alliecat wrote:This looks like she's put on some grand music in the background and is enthusiastically conducting an imaginary orchestra  

She's carrying a surfboard on her head, but the board is kind of lost in the overhead shadows.

17 January - A Doll A Day 2024:

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I got another one of those little plastic jars with the plastic net on them.

can't have too many of those!

Oh I see the surf board now you've said. I thought she was dancing too. What's in the bottles to make them blue? Looks like resin?

Before I noticed the surfboard (I actually thought it was just a board, which makes sense with all the work davidd makes his dolls do), I thought she was in a dim room and someone had shone a bright light at her.

FrigSAKES.
I have got to stop trying to do forums on a tiny phone screen in poor light.
Two fails on one photo in two forums leads me to wonder if I can not see at all!?!

Alliecat wrote:
Two fails on one photo in two forums leads me to wonder if I can not see at all!?!

Nah, it's a lousy photo. I "see" what's there because I "know" what's there, but that doesn't mean what's there is apparent to anyone else looking at the picture.

One member of an action figure forum also thought the trim on the door in the background was a prop stick, and one member of another forum thought the figure had its arms raised in jubilant celebration.

Total photo fail.

I'm trying not to get too discouraged. We all post less than stellar pics from time to time, right?

What gets me is, I thought it was a pretty good picture, but in reality, it's poorly executed.

I actually think if it was a tad bit lighter it would be fine.

Lame attempt, but you see what I mean?

TrueFan wrote:Lame attempt, but you see what I mean?

Yes, that's the sort of thing that needed to be done, but then the highlights on the white clothing are overexposed. I don't have the skillz to "dodge and burn" specific areas of images -- like, to tone down the highlights while bringing up the shadows. The problem is with my overall lighting - I didn't do it right. The highlights were too "hot" and the shadows are too dark.

So that's two major fails in one photo - the "not-really-a-prop-stick" and the "invisible surfboard." Three fails, if you count the surfboard that doesn't really look like a surfboard.



Thanx for experimenting with the exposure. It helps to give me an idea of what I would have needed to do differently.

I mean I think it depends how you are approaching your own photography. If the aim is to learn more about lighting, editing etc. Then you've still achieved that because you've learnt something new (and so have I by reading this.) If your aim is to photography your dolls in well done poses and backdrops. You have still achieved that because she is excellently posed and your back drop is beautifully detailed. Of course the whole thing might be solved if the surf board itself was painted a lighter colour so the dark wood didn't get lost in the background but I think maybe some of the charm of it is the rusticness of the dark wood. But you said on my own posts that the photos felt like fun so I've stopped stressing about the quality of my own photographs and decided to focus on just that- fun with Dolls. I think your photography is far better than you give yourself credit for. You always make the dolls look alive and real and even real photos are sometimes too dark.

CatDragonStorm wrote:I think your photography is far better than you give yourself credit for. You always make the dolls look alive and real and even real photos are sometimes too dark.

Agreed.

CatDragonStorm wrote: If the aim is to learn more about lighting, editing etc. Then you've still achieved that because you've learnt something new...

... the whole thing might be solved if the surf board itself was painted a lighter colour so the dark wood didn't get lost in the background ....

Yes, I did learn some things after posting this photo. Several people on different forums, both doll and action figure forums, thought the diagonal trim on the door in the background was a "prop stick" supporting the figure. The door is actually nearly 12-inches behind the figure, but the viewers are correct, the way that trim piece catches the light makes it appear, in a 2-dimensional photo, to be extending from the background toward the figure. That is a failure on my part to look carefully at the lighting and notice the edge of that trim piece catching just a slight highlight along the edge, giving it a "backlit" appearance. That was odd, but I should have noticed it.

You are correct about the board being too dark. In fact, the cardboard surfboard was originally intended to be "temporary" until I could get some craft wood -- balsa or basswood -- to make a wooden board with a nicer finish. Or maybe just buy an appropriately sized miniature board at a touristy gift shop. But I haven't yet picked up any craft wood, and the boards I've seen at gift shops are too heavy and cost more than I want to pay.

Another thing I learned... or was reminded of... is that I need to try to look at the images objectively. I was looking at the picture knowing what it was supposed to be, rather than looking at it from the perspective of just looking at what it looks like, if that makes sense.

So yeah, this was interesting both from a photographic technique perspective and also from a psychological perspective.

Oh, and, thank you all for the comments and observations. I appreciate suggestions, observations, and commentary, all of it. I'm not looking for glowing praise. I'm happier when I'm learning something new or being challenged to think differently about what I'm doing. So...

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18 January - A Doll A Day 2024:

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Bratz Selfie-Snaps Yasmin checks the progress of one of her mangrove seedlings.

This seedling began showing a fresh green shoot the last week of October 2023. As of mid-January 2024, or about three months later, the shoot has a few leaves and has grown to a height of about 5 inches or 13 centimeters.

davidd wrote:
Nah, it's a lousy photo..

Nah, it's not. But everybody already said that anyway.

Talk about not noticing things in your shots; I once had to photoshop an entire backpack out of several shots; I think it was for one of Sunsette's movies, because I left it sitting on the beach in the way.

The mangrove shoot is cool!

Alliecat wrote:Talk about not noticing things in your shots; I once had to photoshop an entire backpack out of several shots; I think it was for one of Sunsette's movies, because I left it sitting on the beach in the way.

I used to run in to that issue frequently when I was doing a lot more Pinky Street pictures! So frustrating to leave a pack or satchel, or worse, a soda cup or water bottle, in the background of a pic!

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19 January - A Doll A Day 2024:

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MGAE Bratz Selfie-Snaps Yasmin
Integrity Toys Beach Babe Poppy Parker

I absolutely love photos of different types of dolls interacting. Like they're unwinding after a long day of photoshoots!

davidd wrote:20 January - A Doll A Day 2024:
Photostory I need to finish so I can reclaim my kitchen table

I hear this.....

But what a fun and interesting kitchen table it is to have!
"Lonely Hats Club" is funny.

24 January - A Doll A Day 2024:


Well... what d'you think? Shall we go for... how many days are left in the year? 344 more days of The Same Doll Holding Random Things?

Or maybe just ten more days, until the end of the month.

I'm struggling to summon any enthusiasm for ADAD2024.

Well, you could do portraits, or shoot them out in the yard, or take them on outings with you around town; I mean, I assume you have to go places now and then, even if it's just to the grocery store. Maybe you would benefit from a break doing all the elaborate setups and just, like, stick them somewhere for a snapshot?

And repeating myself from Dolly Market, what a nifty little sextant!