Pirates

August is International Pirate Month, and I had wanted to take some photos for it, and use my Captain Hook figure. Pirates obviously can't be photographed in my backyard. They need to be photographed at the beach, and they'd need to be posed on the ground. I don't do well getting down, or up off the ground anymore, so I find it works best to set up the scene I want at home first so I know exactly how I want to position everyone down at the beach....

I also have to take into consideration the background and lighting at the beach. When taking doll photos in the sun, it needs to be low in the sky in order to minimize harsh shadows on their faces. The middle of the day is the worst time to be taking doll photos in the sun. I also needed to consider the background at the beach. The shoreline to the west is more natural, and to the east there's a big nuclear power plant. Well, I definitely did't want the nuclear plant in the background, so I needed to take the photos first thing in the morning when the sun was low in the sky to the east, with the more natural beach to the west in the background.  

​So I put everyone in a box, and put them in bags along with all the props I'd need, and we went to the beach...

Then I set up my scene, and got down on the tarp to take the photos. So, even though it had started out as a clear sunny morning, the clouds soon moved in to help create the perfect lighting...