Collecting dolls is only half the fun- photographing them is the rest! If you haven't started photographing your dolls, or if you just need some extra pointers, read on to find out some of the basics of doll photography and learn some tips and tricks to help you get inspired!
I should preface this by saying that I am not a professional photographer. I have had no legitimate education in the subject- I am completely self taught. That being said, these tips are just things that I've personally learned throughout the past 8 years through trial-and-error and my own research. I think these are big things that really made a difference in the quality of my photography so I wanted to share them with you!
What's an important thing to remember when photographing your dolls?
THE QUALITY OF YOUR CAMERA DOES NOT DEFINE YOUR ABILITIES! You do not need a fancy camera to take amazing photos, you actually don't need a real camera at all! Have a smart phone or iPod with a camera? There you go- you've got yourself the perfect cam for doll photography! Don't let people tell you that your photos won't be good enough because they're taken with an everyday camera. You're the one taking the photos, so you're the one who can make them great!
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COMPOSITION
If you've ever taken a basic art class, then you've probably heard of Da Vinci's Rule of Thirds or learned about the basics of the color wheel. If you haven't, no worries! It's all simple and easy to apply when shooting photos!
The idea of Da Vinci's Rule of Thirds is to divide your image into thirds both vertically and horizontally. The four points where the lines intersect are the ideal places for your focal point, or the most interesting part of your photo and where you wish the viewers eye to be directed. 
I almost always make my focal point a doll's face. As you can see, the top right point is on the doll's chin. Just keep your focal point in the general area of the intersection and you're good to go! Eventually you'll get so used to shooting with your focal point on one of the four points that it will become second nature and you'll end up having to crop your photos less and less.
I almost always make my focal point a doll's face. As you can see, the top right point is on the doll's chin. Just keep your focal point in the general area of the intersection and you're good to go! Eventually you'll get so used to shooting with your focal point on one of the four points that it will become second nature and you'll end up having to crop your photos less and less.Tip: What's the worst place for the focal point? The center! It's boring and inhibits the "movement" in your photo.
Something else to take into consideration when you're shooting is your foreground, middleground, and background. The foreground is the closest, the middleground is in the middle, and the background is the farthest away (usually this includes the horizon line). Although photographing dolls in the foreground is easy and looks very nice, sometimes it's good to try something new! Putting dolls in the middleground is one of my favorite things to do because it really adds depth to an image.
In this photo, the focus is on Mei, my Pullip Merl. The two dolls that are out of focus are standing in the foreground, Mei is standing in the middleground, and behind her lay the rocks that are the background. Another good way to experiment with depth is to place your doll in the middle of some flowers. Take a photo from an angle where there are flowers in front of, beside, and behind your doll all at once.
In this photo, the focus is on Mei, my Pullip Merl. The two dolls that are out of focus are standing in the foreground, Mei is standing in the middleground, and behind her lay the rocks that are the background. Another good way to experiment with depth is to place your doll in the middle of some flowers. Take a photo from an angle where there are flowers in front of, beside, and behind your doll all at once.
It's a good thing to think about the colors in your doll and around you. A good photograph has a harmonious color scheme that is pleasing to the eye. This is something that took me, personally, a pretty long time to figure out. It wasn't until I took high school Art I that I learned about color, color schemes, warm and cool colors, and color harmony. When shooting, I try to find a location that has the same basic colors as your doll or the clothes they are wearing. In this first photo, my doll has dark cool brown hair, a cream colored shirt, a dark green skirt, a light brown guitar, and skin that has a brownish hue. 
This was taken in late January when all the snow had melted and the grass was still dead. Sure, dead grass looks ugly as a subject, but as a background for a doll dressed in earthy tones, it's perfect! The browns in her hair, skin, and guitar reflect the browns in the background, and the brownish-green of her skirt brings out the green in the background. Here's another example. This doll has
honey colored hair, an orange, red, and yellow dress, and skin with a pink undertone. The bushes in the background and the leaves are all a warm orange-brown which goes with the oranges and pinks of this doll's clothes, hair, and skin. But why do the colors in these photos look so good together? Because of warm and cool colors. What are the warm and cool colors, you ask? Blue, green, and purple are the cool colors. Red (and pink), yellow, and orange are the warm colors. This is super easy to remember if you think of a fire and how it burns in reds, oranges, and yellows. The fire is warm, so those colors are warm! Everything else is cool! But what about browns, right? The browns are what tie these photos together. Brown can be either a warm or cool color, depending on the shade of brown. A brown that has blue undertones is cool, and a brown that has red undertones is warm.
This was taken in late January when all the snow had melted and the grass was still dead. Sure, dead grass looks ugly as a subject, but as a background for a doll dressed in earthy tones, it's perfect! The browns in her hair, skin, and guitar reflect the browns in the background, and the brownish-green of her skirt brings out the green in the background. Here's another example. This doll has honey colored hair, an orange, red, and yellow dress, and skin with a pink undertone. The bushes in the background and the leaves are all a warm orange-brown which goes with the oranges and pinks of this doll's clothes, hair, and skin. But why do the colors in these photos look so good together? Because of warm and cool colors. What are the warm and cool colors, you ask? Blue, green, and purple are the cool colors. Red (and pink), yellow, and orange are the warm colors. This is super easy to remember if you think of a fire and how it burns in reds, oranges, and yellows. The fire is warm, so those colors are warm! Everything else is cool! But what about browns, right? The browns are what tie these photos together. Brown can be either a warm or cool color, depending on the shade of brown. A brown that has blue undertones is cool, and a brown that has red undertones is warm.
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THE DOLLS
Now to the fun part- your dolls! As the subject of your photo, it's important they look their best because everything from posing to props matters in your photo shoot.
The easiest thing to do that can greatly improve your doll photography is experiment with dynamic poses and gestures. Portrait shots are beautiful, but sometimes it's good to step out of your comfort zone and try something new! I found that I ended up liking my own photos a lot more when I started trying new poses and gestures with my dolls. Here is a photo of my Pullip Ally, Marie. 
As you can see, she is sitting on a ledge looking into the camera. Cute, right? But that's it. It's just cute. There's nothing wrong with cute, but there's also nothing dynamic about it, either. If you want to catch someone's attention, you can't always have your dolls sitting down staring blankly into the camera! Now look at the next image- It's the same doll (all that's been changed are her eyes and her outfit), but look at how different it looks! Yes, the editing is different, but when speaking in terms of the doll and her pose, it looks so much better! She's standing up here (I had to prop her against a wall) and she's got her arms up and hands together. She's looking off to the right and is 
leaning back a bit. It's different and it's mysterious! It makes you wonder what she's looking at behind the camera. Simple changes in the way you pose your doll can make a huge difference in the way your doll looks, too. When you give your doll a more natural pose you give them (and the photo) so much more life!
As you can see, she is sitting on a ledge looking into the camera. Cute, right? But that's it. It's just cute. There's nothing wrong with cute, but there's also nothing dynamic about it, either. If you want to catch someone's attention, you can't always have your dolls sitting down staring blankly into the camera! Now look at the next image- It's the same doll (all that's been changed are her eyes and her outfit), but look at how different it looks! Yes, the editing is different, but when speaking in terms of the doll and her pose, it looks so much better! She's standing up here (I had to prop her against a wall) and she's got her arms up and hands together. She's looking off to the right and is leaning back a bit. It's different and it's mysterious! It makes you wonder what she's looking at behind the camera. Simple changes in the way you pose your doll can make a huge difference in the way your doll looks, too. When you give your doll a more natural pose you give them (and the photo) so much more life!
Tip: Having trouble getting your doll to stand in the grass or dirt? Grab a fork! Stick the prongs in the ground & lean your doll against the handle so their legs or clothes are covering it!
We all know that doll props are cute and fun, but using them can make or break your photos. A few years ago, I started to experiment with props, so I can confidently say that I have used them both well and not so well. Something I used to do was overuse props. It's easy to get carried away!
I've found that one prop is usually enough to add some cute detail without it becoming a distraction or adding unnecessary clutter. The first image shows an overuse of props. These tiny instruments are absolutely adorable, but they're just sitting there and aren't adding anything to the photo. Another mistake this photo shows is the lack of interaction between the doll and the prop(s). She isn't even holding one! Seems like kind of a waste of space, right?
I've found that one prop is usually enough to add some cute detail without it becoming a distraction or adding unnecessary clutter. The first image shows an overuse of props. These tiny instruments are absolutely adorable, but they're just sitting there and aren't adding anything to the photo. Another mistake this photo shows is the lack of interaction between the doll and the prop(s). She isn't even holding one! Seems like kind of a waste of space, right?
Here's another mistake in using props. Anything strange about this photo? Maybe the fact that there is just a random deer? Maybe this one is my personal preference, but I think that when a prop is unrelated or irrelevant it just seems obviously out of place. In this image, for instance, the doll is not outside so why in the world is she petting a deer?
H
ere are two good uses of props. The first is one prop- a small red plate. The doll is interacting with the plate and it matches the red and white color scheme! The second shows a photo with more than one prop- a shopping cart, headphones, and a backpack with a skateboard.
ere are two good uses of props. The first is one prop- a small red plate. The doll is interacting with the plate and it matches the red and white color scheme! The second shows a photo with more than one prop- a shopping cart, headphones, and a backpack with a skateboard.
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EDITING
Unless you're a wizard, you're probably going to end up needing to edit your photos. The editing process could range from simple touch ups and color or lighting corrections to full out photo manipulation. It really all depends on the look you're aiming for.
First and foremost, you're going to need to decide where and how to edit your photos. Photoshop is always an option, but it's expensive and it can seem pretty intimidating to anyone who hasn't worked with it or similar programs before. If you want to get a feel of how Photoshop works, I recommend downloading Gimp. It's similar to Photoshop, free, and easy to use, so it's great for beginners who aren't sure what they want in an editor yet or don't want to pay the price of Photoshop.
There are, of course, so many more options for editing, and a lot of them are available online for free. Pixlr is a great site with easy to use tools, and it's completely free! Picmonkey is my personal favorite online editor. It's simple and speedy- great for those quick touch-ups. You can use Picmonkey for free or pay a monthly fee for their premium account and gain access to more filters, fonts, and powerful editing tools (I have had a premium account for years and I can definitely confirm that it is worth it).
As far as editing goes, it's really up to you. Since this is for beginners, I won't get into too much detail about what you can do (because the possibilities are endless!), but some standard things you'll want to learn more about are making basic color and lighting corrections, sharpening or softening your image, cropping, and resizing. Every editor has a different way of doing each of these. YouTube has great tutorials for these types of things- just go searching!
Tip: Less is definitely more when it comes to touching up.
Most editors have an "auto adjust" or "auto fix" option which will automatically correct anything in your image that's off. Sometimes, auto fix can be your best friend, other times, it can be your worst enemy. It's a good place to start, but it's always good to learn more about manual editing on whatever program or website you're using.
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Now that you've learned some of the basics of doll photography, grab your cam, your doll, and your creativity and run out into the world and take all the pictures! Good luck and good vibes!
