Basic Indoor Lighting
When photographing dolls inside, lighting is very important. There's much less light inside, so my first suggestion would be to
invest in a tripod. A tripod allows you to take sharp photos at much lower light than you can with just a hand-held camera.
Next thing, is to pay attention to where the light is coming from. So often I see photos of dolls with a window behind them,
and you pretty much can't see anything. Like this.....
invest in a tripod. A tripod allows you to take sharp photos at much lower light than you can with just a hand-held camera.
Next thing, is to pay attention to where the light is coming from. So often I see photos of dolls with a window behind them,
and you pretty much can't see anything. Like this.....
Or the idea was to take a photo with the doll looking out the window....like this....
Whenever you have a subject (the doll) in front of a bright light (the window), all you are going to get is a dark figure silhouetted against a blown out background. One way to deal with this situation is to use a flash to highlight the subject.....like this.....
Personally, I find the flash gives a very unnatural look, so I try a different approach, and
if I want my doll looking out a window, then I photograph from the side....like this.....
if I want my doll looking out a window, then I photograph from the side....like this.....
This produces a much more natural look. But how do you take a well-lit photo of the doll inside when you want to see her face? Well, it's just like taking a photo outside - you need the light on your doll's face, which means that when you are taking the photo, the light has to be coming in over your shoulder. This is my dining room 'photo studio' which works very well for me....
I have a little 'doll room' set up on the window end of the table, and I sit on my chair in the bay window to take photos. Sitting on the chair allows me to take photos at the doll's eye level, and creates the illusion that we are right in the room with the dolls. All the 'interior' shots I've shared the past many months were taken here. Only on the brightest days is the light good enough to shoot hand-held, so I almost always use a tripod. The brighter it is outside, the more evenly lit the scene will be, but it's important that the sun not be shining inside onto the scene on the table. Here's an example of the difference between a bright but indirectly lit shot, and one with sunshine.....same scene, both taken with a tripod.....
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The sunshine creates very harsh contrasts, and although it does give a certain drama, the softer, more even lighting,
is usually to be preferred. The bright indirect light gives much softer shadows, and much truer colours. As it does here.....
is usually to be preferred. The bright indirect light gives much softer shadows, and much truer colours. As it does here.....
*More detailed indoor photography will be covered in future tips
Copyright © 2015 Martha Boers
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