Behind the scenes: inspired by Barbie Style
If you follow the articles in my photo collection , you know that lately I have no desire to take pictures of dolls. I had a few ideas here and there, but I wasn't inspired to let go of this spark or anything I did and start painting dolls. But about a week ago, that changed.
I recently saw a picture on @barbiestyle that caught my attention. It was a pretty simple picture, but I thought I could recreate it or use it as inspiration for a photo shoot. I haven't been very inspired lately, so I decided to give it a try a few days ago. You can see the photo below. If the postcode doesn't work, you can always follow this link to Barbie's Instagram page .
This isn't the best Barbie Style photo and I'm not my favorite, but for some reason it gave me this idea. Maybe I noticed that the composition of the photo is quite simple. Plus, you can now understand why I wanted to recreate this illustration in my last post. Note that I'm not trying to recreate the same copy 100%, but I use it as a base for photos with a similar feel or vibe.
Before I begin, I would like to mention one very important thing. Photography is not easy, nor is it easy for me. Because I like it, I think I'll get 20 more pictures for each photo I post, which is not enough. Not only for this project, but also for any other photo project. It takes a lot of time, sometimes several days, to complete a project. I say this because I do not want anyone to be discouraged if he tries to recreate it and it does not work at first. It takes time and sometimes you need to find the best one for you. I'm not talking from an expert point of view, I'm sharing more of my experience and the prospects of my project.
So let's start with the lesson itself. If you look at the picture, you will see that there are shadows shining from the window. So to achieve this, we need to create something with a similar shade. To do this, I use a very small cookie cutter. Cut and use one of the sides to plan your design. I have some repression, but it is not very clear.
I started to design a 90ยบ angle and from there I started to design my own. I left 1 cm (0.39 inch) edge gaps on the left and right sides. I drew lines between 1.5 cm (0.59 inches) from the top.
That's what we have. There are extra seats, but it's not a big deal. I cut the lines I marked with a pencil.
Start cutting all other seams with a knife or scissors. If you use scissors, you will have to glue the cuts to the sides, otherwise they will fall off. After cutting the first part with scissors, I continued to work with a stationery knife.
That's what we have. Don't worry if it looks rough, it won't be visible on camera.
Now it's time to build a diorama, and it's pretty easy. I pasted some white cardboard on the back for the walls. So I covered the BMR 1959 box with a white cloth stored for the bedding set. Finally, I added a dye plant and miniature pots. I use two clothes / pins to catch the net.
At first I used a table lamp, but I could not get a certain tone from the photos I took earlier. So I came to the conclusion that the light of the table lamp is very wide, so I need something more difficult. So I thought I could use the flashlight or the flashlight function of my old phone in my case.
It took me a while to find the most suitable glow for me. I tried everything: natural light and flashlight, ring lighting of different intensities, home lighting ... I don't remember which combination I used here, but I don't remember. I was not very happy with the result and the pose did not seem natural to me .
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Finally, I found a flashlight in my ring at a higher temperature than usual, a mixture of natural light and very dim light. These photos were taken between 15:00 and 18:00 in the afternoon when the sun did not hit the window. It also took me a while to master the poses, and it was one of the first photos I was very happy with.
I also took a picture with Leah and I liked her more than Chloe.
I noticed that my pictures didn't have as much contrast and shades as Barbie Style , but I honestly didn't like the harder lines. I think I'm used to taking bright photos that don't like dark ones as much as light ones.
These are photos taken on Friday night. I reviewed it a few days later and tried to get ideas and backups if it was still not good. I also drew a new network, this time trying to mimic the window.
I left a gap of 1 cm between the rectangles to create window panels. I also took a risk and decided to paint the leaves on the top and bottom edges. Cutting will be fun.
Here is the end result. When I finished cutting, I realized that I had to paint the leaves. Also, the cuts I made are very mixed, but we will try anyway.
It was difficult to see the leaves in the camera, so I had to rotate the net until it was visible. I like this picture very much, but the picture looks crooked because I focused more on the doll's face than on the background.
Of all the pictures I took on the second day, this one of Victoria's was the one I liked the most. I was able to put the leaves on top of the photo and I liked the overall composition.
I don't know in the end, I got what I wanted from the beginning, but I still like some of the pictures I got. I think the way to learn puppet photography is to practice puppet photography. It's still far from perfect, but after trying something different than what I usually do, I tested myself and learned something new. I am very pleased with the result, but there is still room for improvement. This project is not the ultimate goal, but part of a photographic journey.
I should also mention that I have a new computer screen and I am still used to colors. It's a little hard to set up with, but using a laptop was so frustrating that I really had to use it. Hoping to guess soon, but so far there are some photos that are a bit "faded".
I have a lot of projects planned for this summer, including the wall I started a few months ago and will probably try to finish next time. I also want to do exterior finishing for my street scenes, but I still need materials for that. I would like to summarize the photos from the beginning of July and the results of the first half of the year: the work done and plans for the future.
So what do you think about this project? Leave your thoughts in the comments section and we'll see you in my next post.
terrible ship
