White Cat Behind Scene - Fav Photos 2022

Making of Happily Ever After?

A collection of Behind the Scene shots from the White Cat Sequel

Kassia and Adrian's castle

The set for the main room in their castle was used many times. I always photograph each new, empty set, and print it out to file for future reference for when I need to set up the exact same scene again. This set was very wide, so required one extra leaf in the dining room table. The table was then pushed into the bay window to take advantage of the natural light...

One of many scenes that takes place in the main room....

The window at the end of the set allowed for some beautiful lighting, especially in late afternoon....

the Tavern

I wanted a warm, cozy tavern set, so built it narrow and deep on the dining room table....

Another view with some of my cats having a good time....just for fun....

Then with 'mood' lighting and the main characters seated at the table...

I always try to use 'extras' whenever I need to fill out a space. The Tavern had my old Wizard in the back corner enjoying dinner and conversation with Baron. I even ended up using one of the photos in Baron's back-story last year....

Travelling with the Horses

I had started taking the photos for this story two years ago, back in the early Spring of 2020. We had gone up to one of my favourite locations in the country just north of us, where there were still some patches of snow.

I was seated on a tarp on the ground, so I had to ask my assistant to move the horses around for me...

Kyle and Adrian driving the horses....taken seated on the ground, at the doll's eye level....

Returning Home

We went to the Ruins Garden several times to take photos for the story. First in the Greek Theatre in March 2020. I had brought along my styrofoam pillars to add some architectural detail.

A week later Jan ended up in the hospital for a month, then lost his licence for the entire summer, so there were no more on location photo shoots during the next six months.

I decided that I wanted some additional photos of the Prince's return home, so we went again six months later after Jan got his licence back. I just made sure it was the same kind of lighting. The only difference was the trees in the background. In the top photo, taken in early spring, there were no leaves on the trees yet, whereas when we went again in late September everything was green.

I chose the railing at the base of this instalment to represent part of Kassia and Adrian's castle....

The photo, taken while seated on the ground....

Then some more photos in the Greek Theatre.

the Wizard's Study

I spent two days arranging walls and furniture before I was happy with the layout. Then I started adding all the props. I also secured a rod across the top to suspend things from.

Then I created lots of scrolls, and put together the 'solar system' mobile. It's from a Special Days photo taken ten years ago. Yes, I save EVERYTHING!

The Wizard also needed a lab to create his special potions, so I spent considerable time creating a tiny science lab. It looked especially nice in the window with the sun shining through....

Even though the space is very crowded and messy, there's a table in the back corner, kept clear for eating at. After all, he can't have food stains getting on his precious books and manuscripts...

The room was almost ready...

I still needed to make the bed for his cats, which would be under the table by the window...

The cat's place...

Making A Room Seem Bigger

I've already shared how I put together the set for the Wizard's study from Chapter 2 of the White Cat sequel....

But never shared how I managed to fit all those scenes into such a small, crowded space. It was all thanks to that 'magic' table....

...and how it had to move from side to side depending on the space that I needed.

The set was only so wide, and the table took up most of the width, so whenever I had something going on one one side or the other, I'd move the entire thing over, carpet and all, as well as the solar system mobile. Like when Willie was introducing Rags to the other cats....

...and when the Prince arrived with his children....

....or when Willie and the Wizard were creating the potion in the lab. Everything needed to be moved over to give more space.

Then when something was going on on the other side, everything had to move over towards the window, like here, when the two of them were taking a break at the table in the back corner...

However moving the table wasn't going to help get me more camera angles when Willie and the Wizard were working on their potion. I could only photograph them from the side...

I wanted another angle, and considered shooting from outside the window, so moved the table with the set further away from the dining room window. But then the reflections of my garden outside totally obscured any view in through the Wizard's window. I just couldn't get it to work..

So I removed the window entirely...

Then I could get some much better views from a totally different angle...

...as well as some nice close ups of Willie working...

I guess that's part of the challenge of photography, always having to come up with creative ways to solve a problem in order to get the photos I want.

the Painting

In Chapter 2 of the White Cat story, Adrian wanted to do a painting,

and Kassia posed for him...

Whenever there's anyone doing art in my photos I insist on it being the real thing, and not just a picture or print-out. So I got out my paints and set to work...

It wasn't too difficult since Adrian had only planned on painting the bouquet of flowers. Plus it's always more interesting if the painting isn't finished, so it doesn't have to be perfect...

Although Kassia wasn't too happy he hadn't painted her...

Cat Food

There would be several banquets and parties throughout the story, and I wanted something that cats would enjoy. I had the tray of mouse hors d'oevres that were made thirty years ago and belonged to the Cat Cook, and I had a sculpted rabbit my sister made decades ago for a figure we never made. I painted the rabbit so it would look like a 'dead' version of my bunny figurine, and made all the bits of fruit and veggies to complete the platter. I also made a cheese tray, crawling with mice. And for dessert some petits fours topped with tiny chocolate mice.

Death of the Evil Fairy

I wanted to show the passing of the Evil Fairy whose dying curse had turned everyone's worlds upside down. I had been determined to only use my regular MSD dolls for the story, and not any of the Fashion sized dolls, but I'd run out of regular MSD ladies at that point, so just went with Miho anyways, since she looked the part. Then I needed to set up some kind of fantasy scene where the fairy would be lying in state. I needed something for her to lay on, and ended up using my SJ Jude's box, with a layer of foam inside to raise the lid and create some 'architectural detail'.

I figured there should be an attendant, so Leona in her Dark Fairy costume stepped in to become a 'fairy undertaker' of sorts....

Everything in the backyard was covered with chestnut flowers that were falling at the time, so I swept some up to sprinkle over the scene. And for 'mourners' I used one of my old little gnomes, and two goblins my daughter had made decades ago. Then when taking the photos I had to make sure never to show Miho's eyes, since she obviously couldn't close them.

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 needed to be drawn to hide the French doors visible through the window..

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, 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'd 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?

In the Scillas

Every spring I like to take several sets of dolls to the field on the town-line which turns blue with millions of blue scillas. I'll position the dolls, get down on the ground, and then direct Jan to make any adjustments...

Then it's all about cropping in close, and avoiding having that little house in the background...

Then with the dolls in another spot along the side of the road...

Taking good doll photos is all about camera angles and cropping in to get the scene I want...

Christmas

Decorating the castle interior for Christmas...

With no dolls in it, it could almost pass for a real room...

Then with the set pushed into the bay window for some natural light coming in through the set window...

the Ice Falls

We took a day trip up north specially to take some photos at an ice falls near Parry Sound. The ice formations are everywhere up north on all the highway rock-cuts, but this one particular spot is on a very quiet driveway to a summer camp that's closed in winter.

I had packed two separate sets of dolls, each with their own horses...

First I took the photos of Baron and Rex...

...and then the ones with Kassia and Adrian...

I had planned on taking some more photos of them in Terrance Barrens on our way home, but we hit an icy spot on the road, slid into a ditch, and spent the next couple of hours waiting for a tow truck to pull us out. By then it was dark, so no more photos.

Visiting the Wizard

This was the classic case of having to move the big table in front all the way towards the set window so I could fit everyone in at the table in the background, and have them all appear in the photos. Note the dowels across the top of the set. Those were movable so the things dangling from them, like the solar system and lights, could be moved over whenever needed.

It would have been impossible to get all four characters in the same shot if the table hadn't been moved to the side.

More Photos in the Snow

This past winter I discovered a nice trail very close to home, which has a huge block of concrete in front to keep vehicles out.

But it's perfect for posing dolls on top of for photos. Then with the dolls elevated, I don't have to get down in the snow...

the Queen Travelling

I wanted to illustrate parts of Kassia's back story, which started with her mother's love of travelling. I figured as Queen she would need a sizeable escort, but I only had one JID guy to be her knight, so that meant using some FIDs as well. I try to avoid using the two kinds together, since they are different aesthetics, but I didn't have any choice.

We took them all to a little trail down near the lake. Then after doing a rough posing, I got down on the ground to take photos, and had to direct Jan to make any adjustments...

I had put the two FID guys in the back thinking that with their smaller heads they'd look like they were further back. But now I think it might have worked better with them up front. Then the FID's heads would appear larger, and the JIDs smaller, evening them all out.
Something to try next time.

Walking in the Garden

Whenever I'm taking doll photos down on the ground...in 'public'....

There's always the chance someone will come walking by....

the Fairy Court

I needed to shoot a Fairy Court, but had no idea how I was going to get across the feel of an actual court room. I figured, with it being a Fairy Court, it would be outside, likely in some spectacular garden setting. But how to make that look like a courtroom? It was September and my garden's days were numbered, and I had been stressing over it for weeks, so it was then or never.

I needed an extra big space, so we moved the patio table into the middle of the lawn. Then Jan hauled out an old counter top to lay on top of the table to give me a bigger surface. Then for the 'garden' perimeter we set all the baskets of million bells around the outer edge on the tops of big garden containers standing upside down on the garden benches.

It was a bright sunny day, and the backyard was in dappled shade - which makes for bad doll photos - so after setting up the scene, I needed Jan to hold the big beach umbrella so the dolls would all be in solid shade...

With flowers on three sides and the garden curving around the background I put together a court room using all kinds of furniture and props. Then I positioned all the dolls.

I'd pose the dolls, take some photos, change their poses, then take more photos.

.. it was nice that I could take the photos from several different angles...

But it took a long time to shoot all the different scenes....

Waking Up Human

One of the last scenes in the story, and also one of the last ones to be photographed, was the morning the spell was broken and Adrian and Lucy were human again. So that meant setting up Kassia and Adrian's bedroom set once again. I had photographed all the earlier bedroom scenes for the story months ago, but forgot about this last one. Thankfully I always take a photo of every set, print it out, label and file it for future reference. That way it's easy to know how to recreate it.

When I had painted and dressed the Lucy cat figure two and a half years ago, I was thinking way ahead, and made her a mini version of an outfit that I had in MSD size - exact same fabrics, and the same plaid. That way I could have at least one other cat, other than Kassia and Adrian, appear in human form at the end.

Epilogue

I had wanted to show what happened to Rags, the cat, since he was an integral part of the beginning of the story. I figured with him having gone to live with the Wizard and his two female cats, that his male instincts would kick in, and after spending a year with them there had to have been at least one litter of kittens. If not more. But how to get a lot of kittens?

I considered sculpting them, and even pulled all kinds of photos of cute kittens in all kinds of poses. But that was going to be a LOT of work!! Then when I mentioned it to my sister, she said why not just Photoshop them in?

Well, I'm not that good at Photoshop. But then I got an idea. When I received Rags, the artist also sent along a small curled up cat figure. It was small enough to be a kitten, and was painted exactly like Rags. So I had my kitten. I would need the corner of the Wizard's study, so set it up. I didn't need the whole set, just the one small corner....

Then I posed Willie and the cats, and the ONE kitten, set up my camera on a tri-pod, then without moving the camera, I took a series of 'identical' photos, moving the kitten around...

I took six photos in all, each with the kitten in a different position. Then it was easy to just clone the kitten and a bit of it's surroundings into the first photo.
Having taken the photos this way meant all the lighting, including the shadows, on the 'kittens' would be perfect.

I impressed even myself, and then thought I'd really like a photo with different poses, so did the entire thing all over again....

Then after I cloned the kitten from each photo into the original one....I realized that I'd forgotten to put the basket in the cubby in the background. So had to shoot one more photo with the basket in it, so I could add that as well - to both this photo and the first one.

It was a lot of work faking all of Rag's kittens, but a lot easier and faster than if I'd tried to sculpt them all. Especially for just a few photos. It was a great new photo trick I may have to use again some day!