Doll Photography Tips

Because paper is so susceptible to tearing or blowing away, paper doll photo shoots can be very challenging. Add to that the fact that most of us don't have fancy photography equipment (I can't speak for anyone else, but if I had enough money for a fancy professional camera I would buy doll things instead), and paper doll photography sounds very daunting indeed. But it doesn't have to be! I'm no photography expert, but here's some things I've learned from making weekly photo shoots.

1. Don't position your doll in front of your light source. The light will shine through and it doesn't look very professional.

2. Do take photos inside, if possible, to minimize risks of loss or damage. If you really want to take photos outside, tape your doll to the background to keep it in place. I don't know how many times I've set up a scene only for it to fall apart because of an ill-timed breeze.

Here's how I take photos for the website:

This is my studio - a cardboard box and some patterned paper (from the Klutz paper fashions book). There's a window to the right of the box (not the one behind the paper) that I keep open when I take pictures.

Here are my models posing in front of the background I chose. I like the papers with simple patterns so the background accentuates the scene but doesn't overwhelm it. 

I take pictures on a borrowed iPad. After I take the picture, I crop and edit the picture to make sure I like it. Then I email it to myself, and put it in a post on my computer. It's somewhat time-consuming, but rather easy.

I hope you found this useful, and if you have any tutorial suggestions please tell me in the comments.