3 Behind Scenes - Fav Photos 2024

Behind the Scenes 3

More behind the scene sneak peaks at how the photos were taken...

Matias in the Ruins

We hadn't had a decent snowfall all winter. Every time there was a 'storm' in the forecast, it would start in the evening after dark, and it would look gorgeous outside when we went to bed. But in the night it would turn to rain, and in the morning it would be a totally washed out mess.

So, on March 22nd another storm was forecast, and it was supposed to start in the morning for a change, and it did. Big soft flakes started falling at dawn, and actually stayed on the ground. We were expecting several centimetres before it was over, and it looked like the perfect snowfall for some doll photos. I'd wanted to take photos of Matias and his horse in the snow, so I packed them up, and off we went to the Guildwood Ruins Garden.

As we arrived, the softly falling snow turned into a blizzard, and the place was deserted. But we weren't deterred. We trudged through the snow to the first place I had in mind for some photos. That ruin had a nice, raised, stone railing on which to stand Matias and his horse, so I posed them on it, and started taking photos.

When taking photos in the snow it's always important to take more than one, because you never know when a snowflake or three will streak in front of your subject's face. Like here...

It's fine if there are streaks of snow anywhere else, as it adds to the reality of the storm, just as long as there aren't any streaks across the middle of the subject's face....

Then I wanted to take some photos over at my favourite spot between two large pillars with the Greek Theatre in the background. It meant posing Matias on his horse on the ground, along with the dragon. The spot was somewhat sheltered by some tall trees, so the snow wasn't coming down quite as hard. But it was windy, and very cold.

I knew I'd wanted to take photos in this spot, and that meant getting down on the ground, so we'd brought along a tarp for me to lay down on. The best doll photos are always taken level at the doll's eyes, so that meant laying flat on the ground. It's the only way to get a photo like this....

Then it's just a matter of zooming in for some closer shots...

...and squirming around on the tarp foo get a different angle....

I love taking photos in the snow, especially while it's actually snowing, as it gives a certain, magical, quality to the scene. Almost like a fantasy painting. I had wanted to take some photos of the ruins as well, but my fingers were in severe pain from the cold (even though I was wearing mittens) so we just left. In the end I was thrilled with the photos, and was glad we'd made the effort.

Star Wars

I was busy taking some additional photos for the May section of the Special Days book we were working on, and I asked our son if I could borrow his R2D2 Mr. Potato Head for the May cover page, as well as some of his Lego mini figures for a new Star Wars Day photo. I was originally going to have some modern kids playing with the mini figures, but then a new idea presented itself..

When I had altered the commercial wig for Emily's butterfly fairy photos, my sister called it a 'Princess Leia' wig, which got me thinking about making her and Avery tiny Star Wars costumes. Then I needed some kind of set to suggest the inside of a space ship, so used the white backs of some foam core walls for the background, and then positioned some white kitchen appliances, and clear plastic lids and containers, on the white bristol-board floor on my kitchen table....

Then I could just sit on a chair to take close up photos...

the Escape

When I told my sister I was making little Luke and Leia costumes she asked if I was going to have them swinging over a cliff. Well that got me thinking. The scene she had in mind took place inside a star destroyer, and I started looking around to see what, if anything, in my house could double as the inside of a star destroyer. My refrigerator!!
So I cleared out the top two shelves, and put in some small white appliances for 'architectural' interest. I positioned the two dolls together and tied a cord around Emily's waist, then suspended them from the handle of the cupboard above the fridge. A second thread tied to the other cupboard handle prevented them from spinning. At one point I needed that thread shortened but couldn't undo the knot, so I asked Jan if he could just hold the thread a little higher, so hr got up on a chair...

Because the dolls were actually outside the fridge, they needed the photography light on them so they wouldn't just be silhouettes against the bright fridge interior behind them.

Naked Gardening

I thought it would be fun to take a photos for Naked Gardening Day using the Avery twins, as they were the only dolls who wouldn't mind the indignity of being photographed naked. But where to create their garden? My spring garden is no place scale-wise for photos with such tiny dolls, the tulips being at least four times as high as the dolls, so I had to come up with something else. The large garden urn was empty of plants, with just the yew in the background, so it seemed perfect. I smoothed out the dirt, surrounded the edge of the urn with dried moss, put up a clothesline, and 'planted' rows of tiny orchids, goutweed, and moss.

And to represent 'cabbages' I used Brussels sprouts, carefully placing them on bits of moss so they wouldn't touch the dirt.

Willie & Winston

I had wanted to take some photos of Winston and Willie having tea in the Scillas in our backyard grass, but it just wasn't working out to my satisfaction. Taking photos on the ground was getting way too difficult for me, so I moved them to the upper garden instead, somewhere with just short plants, and positioned an old tree root behind them to hide the ugly fence...

Then I could sit on a bench to take the close ups...

the Chess Tournament

it was early February, just before our youngest grandson's tenth birthday. We asked what he might like as a gift, and our daughter suggested a chess set, since he was a member of the school chess club. Well, Jan had a beautiful, vintage set from way back when he was young, and decided it would make the perfect gift for a young chess enthusiast.

I had always loved that chess set, with it's beautiful Renaissance-inspired Chess men...

I had used it once before, for a Special Days photo for 'National Chess Day' on October 9th, years ago back in 2013...

So, with the chess set moving on, it would be my final chance to use it in doll photos, so I thought holding a 'chess tournament' would be the way to feature it and give it justice one last time. So I set up Baron and Naomi's apartment...

...and some of the dolls started arriving...

Then over a period of just two days, I shot over 150 photos. I'd set up a scene and pose everyone, take some photos, then change everyone again.

I don't know much about chess, other than what direction the pieces can move, and I figured that if I just placed the chessmen haphazard on the board there would probably be people out there who would notice that the pieces in my photos weren't set up properly. So, wanting to be as accurate as possible, I googled 'checkmate set-ups', and printed out a page with different checkmate scenarios. Then for each new game I'd place the chessmen into the positions on my print-out.

My favourite photos for telling a story are always the close-ups,

..but for true realism it's always very important to have everyone in the background posed like they are engaged with what's happening in the foreground.

The very next day after having shot the entire story, it was our grandson's birthday and we presented him with the chess set, and he immediately challenged Grandpa to a game..

Taking Photos in the Woods

There's a trail through the woods down by the lake, which has become my go-to spot for taking doll photos that need to be photographed in the woods. Like the scene with Matias and the Owl. My creaky old bones don't much like getting down on the ground anymore - unless absolutely necessary - so I've gotten into the habit of taking along our old slide projector stand. Then I set my characters up on it....

....and cover the top of the stand with gravel and leaves to blend into the background...

I had wanted Matias to hold the Owl aloft, like it was coming in for a landing, but the owl was rather heavy, and as much as Matias may look like a tough, 'strong' knight, his arms aren't going to hold anything high up in the air. So I cut a piece of coat-hanger wire to support the Owl, and tied Matias' hand to it....to hold it up...

Of course, then I have to get rid of the wire using Photoshop. In every single photo.

Reading in the Woods

A week or so later, we went back again to take the photos of Agnes reading to Mika and the little dragons. This time the scene had to be set up on the ground, which meant laying down on a tarp to take the photos....

Lawrence & Monica's Trip to Niagara Falls

Painted Ladies

I had wanted to take Lawrence and Monica to Niagara Falls in winter for a couple of years, but it never happened. So I was determined that I'd finally take them this past spring. I had just recently learned about the painted houses in Grimsby Beach, and since it was on the way to Niagara Falls, we decided to stop and have a look.
The houses were crazy colourful, and I wanted to take some photos of Lawrence and Monica with them. But the only way to make them look in scale to the houses was to elevate the dolls so their eyes were roughly at the same level from the ground as an adult human's. Which meant they needed to be hand held. I always have the dolls on their stands for extra support, and so I can have more of their lower extremities in the photos, so Jan holds the dolls by grasping the stand and one of their lower legs or feet.

the Hotel Room

There's only two shows every year that are within driving distance, and it's always exciting to go and see if there's anything interesting I can use for my dolls. Some years there's nothing, but this year I hit the jackpot at the Oakville Show. I was especially thrilled to come across two pieces of MSD size furniture, and took a quick photo when I got home..

The two new pieces of furniture needed their own room setting...so I put one together...

Lawrence volunteered to try out the chair. I took a photo and thought it looked so wrong. Unlike a human, he didn't have the weight to press down on the seat cushion, so was sitting high and dry ON top of the cushion, as opposed to comfortably IN the chair. So I was determined to do something about it.

Thankfully the seat cushion was loose, and quite well made. I unpicked the back seam, removed the foam cushion, then sliced the foam much thinner - to less than half. Then I stitched a wide tuck into the edge of the cushion cover, inserted the thinner foam back in and stitched the opening closed. I also added some tufting to help shape the cushion even more...

Then Lawrence could finally get comfortable. His elbow could rest on the armrest, and the shaping from the cushion tufting gave the impression that he had some substantial weight as he sat IN the chair. All the work had definitely been worth the effort.

Picnic in the Park

I wanted to have the two of them enjoying a picnic lunch somewhere along the route, and chose the park opposite the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara on the Lake, and set up the scene on one of the picnic tables....

Unfortunately all the parking meters only took coins, and we only managed to scrounge together a few nickels and dimes, enough to buy us a half hour, so I had to work very fast, and poor Monica never did get a chance to sit down....

Niagara Falls

By the time we arrived at Niagara Falls, it was midday with the sun overhead in a clear blue sky. Which is about the worst lighting for doll photos. So we drove right by, and continued on a nice leisurely drive along the Niagara River to Fort Erie, and back. By the time we arrived back at the falls it was early evening and the sun was much lower in the sky. So, much better lighting.

We walked to a spot that wasn't too crowded with tourists, and I took the dolls out so Jan could hold them in position. I had to watch that I didn't cast my shadow on the dolls when I took their photos...

I thought it would be nice to take some photos of Monica sitting on top of one of the stone pillars, but I was very nervous about the risk of her tumbling into the gorge, so Jan discreetly held onto her feet while I took the photos....

I had wanted to take photos of the dolls at the brink of the falls but it was too crowded with tourists right there. so we had to find a less crowded spot nearby. Like usual, the dolls were on their stands and I needed to be careful that they didn't show in the photos.

Victorian Times

I thought of Baron going into the future to Victorian times to find a sewing machine for Naomi, I needed to put together a Victorian shop. Now, I don't have a lot of Victorian clothing, and it's all jID size, and both Baron and the shopkeeper would be wearing some, so that didn't leave much. Just one fancy Victorian gown and some children's outfits.

So the store had to become more of a 'general store', selling mostly fabrics and sewing supplies, but also some other things. I used the walls from my Victorian interior, as well as the window unit. I stood the cupboard with bolts of fabric in front of the fireplace, to hide it. Then filled the space as best as I could...

The set needed to take up the full room space, even though the far end would likely not end up in many photos. It looked especially impressive and believable late in the day with the sun shining in the window...

Then Baron needed to dress up like a Victorian gentleman. Luckily, because he has the FID Model body, he can wear some JID size clothes, so he borrowed Steve's vest and coat. I added some pockets to the vest so he could wear a pocket watch with chain. But even though the body of the coat fit well, the sleeves were way too short. I was considering making a whole new FID size black coat, but I can't see what I'm doing when working with dark fabrics. So I took the easy way out and just made two black tubes to fit onto, and lengthen, the sleeves of the coat. They'd just be temporary 'cuffs'. I did have to make Baron a new top hat though, since Steve's JID head is so much bigger, so his hat was way too big for Baron. In the end I thought he looked very impressive

Corn on the Cob Day

There was a Corn on the Cob Day in June that I wanted to take a photo for after the fact for an upcoming Summer Special Days book.
We had bought 15 cobs of corn for a family barbecue, so it seemed like the perfect time. After all when would I ever have that much corn in hand otherwise? So I husked all the corn, then took everything outside to the patio with my little Forest Dweller Mice and Raccoons....

I set up a scene with the mice and raccoons using the corn, the husks and corn silk, and took photos in the hazy, early morning sun.