More About Lighting

At the Beach

I like taking photos down by the lake, but it has to be either in the morning or on an overcast day. It's because I can't take photos facing east because there's a big nuclear plant at the far end of the beach, which would be totally inappropriate in the background of some 'Medieval' scene. So that means I have to shoot towards the west, but it has to be before noon or it would mean shooting into the sun, and then the dolls would just be dark silhouettes against a bright background. So, a bright overcast morning is always best, because then there's soft filtered light without any harsh shadows.

​Like in the scenes of Baron and Naomi's family holiday at the beach. I set up the scene, and then went to lay down on a tarp on the sand a few metres away, so I'd be down at the doll's eye level, and then I'd direct Jan to make any small adjustments if needed...

Then I'd zoom in to take the photos....

Iris' New Dress

I wanted to take series of photos of Iris making herself a new dress for her baby's first birthday, so set up the Victorian interior on the dining room table....

When taking photos with the dining room table pushed into the bay window, the light is brightest close to the window, and the scene will often need some extra light further in the 'room' away from the window. I'll often use a photography light, but the easiest, way to add the most natural light is to position the foil-covered board to bounce light from the window back onto the subject.

Then there's soft natural light coming from both directions without any harsh shadows. But again, the photos need to be taken before noon on a sunny day, before the sun starts to come in the window, like in these two photos, where it was already shining on the train of the dress, making it a bit over-exposed.