Now that we've come to the end of the story, it's time to share the rest of my Behind the Scene secrets from all the various photo shoots where I actually remembered to take photos....
Evening Banquet
One of the most important aspects of doll photography is the lighting. This scene for Chapter 3 after Kassia was human again, living in a castle full of cats, was taken way back in October of 2020. It was supposed to be evening, and to get that kind of lighting, I need to take the photos in the morning, with the dining room table rotated and pushed away from the window. The set curtains need to be drawn to hide my French doors.
My dining room faces west, so there's less light coming in in the mornings. Then with the candles, the lighting on set is perfect for a scene that's supposed to be taking place in the evening...
Horseback in Autumn
I wanted to show the passing of time throughout the story, so took photos in all four seasons. There's a short dead-end road up in the country north of here where I liked going to take doll photos.
I'll set up the dolls, then get down on the ground to take their photos, and if any adjustments needed to be made, I'd have to ask Jan to do them for me.
It's important to take the photos at the doll's eye level in order for forced perspective to work...
Unfortunately this spot is no longer usable. They are building a brand new city up there from scratch, and the entire area has been built up with hundreds of new houses. Progress, I guess?
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