help a noob Photos In Public

Hi!

I'm planning to take my girl out for her first day out soon, and want to get good photos! 

While I'm looking for all general advice about taking her out for photos, I was also specifically wondering if I should be trying to cram her stand into my bag? Or do I not need my stand to take good photos while we're out? 

 

I wouldn't say you need a stand, but it depends on the types of photos you're trying to take. If you're having them lean or sit on something, obviously don't need it. If your doll is going to be standing in the spot and it's not too windy, you should be okay being able to balance them. But if you want a more dynamic pose, you'll definitely want a stand.

Just as an example, I've copied a few photos of my MDD girl Penelope from my photo thread, to show a few types of poses you can do without a stand. Though, I will warn, she did fall over a few times, since it was windy! (close call with staining her face, too! But she cleaned up. Shes okay!) Just make sure to be extra careful when posing them without a stand!

Spoiler

Leaning on the fence:

I was holding her hand here for this close up:

Free-standing (this is where she fell! I was a bit too ambitious with her pose):

Free standing again:

3 hours ago, froggubi said:

While I'm looking for all general advice about taking her out for photos, I was also specifically wondering if I should be trying to cram her stand into my bag? Or do I not need my stand to take good photos while we're out? 

It all depends on where you're planning to go and what stand you have.

In general: Taking outdoor photos will throw at you lots of distractions and things to think about. If you can eliminate one of them by knowing your doll won't fall over easily, then I'd say, yes bring a stand.

On the other hand, some stands work better outdoors than others. If you have a stand with a flat base, those will not work well on uneven ground and often are annoying to edit out in the final pictures. Something like a Rapidstand or an Aso-bo work a lot better outdoors, even though they're a little less stable. 

If you know that your destination has ample opportunities for your doll to sit on or lean against (and it's not terribly windy), you should be fine without a stand too.

If you're just going to DollPoint, to my knowledge they don't allow any non-Volks branded stands anyway.

 

Regardless, for outdoor doll activities, I highly recommend always bringing a doll comb and a small brush or blower to dust them off (and a dream fitter adjuster if your doll is using one of those).

Edited 13 hours ago by Tierparkzone

8 hours ago, Celluery said:

Just as an example, I've copied a few photos of my MDD girl Penelope from my photo thread, to show a few types of poses you can do without a stand.

Thank you, this was super helpful! 

My family postponed our trip out... AGAIN. But I'm still looking forward to trying to get some nice photos of her out on the town whenever we actually manage to make it out!

I wanna take more photos of her now but... Not really much interesting I think I can do in the house. 

 

5 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

If you're just going to DollPoint, to my knowledge they don't allow any non-Volks branded stands anyway.

I was planning to stop by whenever we actually make it out, so that's good to know! Mine is a modified saddle stand I got on Mercari. It's not the sturdiest honestly, but I think it looks nice for her display and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg. 

 

5 hours ago, Tierparkzone said:

doll comb and a small brush or blower to dust them off (and a dream fitter adjuster if your doll is using one of those).

I was planning to bring her lil toothbrush hairbrush! And... She's a Dream Choice doll, so she definitely has the dream fitter, but I don't have an adjuster yet :c 

At this point my family has cancelled on me several weeks in a row, so I may just give up and order things online. I'm not sure yet, I'm just very frustrated rn 

2 hours ago, froggubi said:

I wanna take more photos of her now but... Not really much interesting I think I can do in the house.

Many of us would still be happy to see her just hanging out around the house. Not every photoshoot has to be perfectly staged—we really just want to see other peoples’ dolls and how they style them.

I don’t really like to take my dolls out because they might get scratched or stained, or something might get lost in the hustle and bustle, so I don’t fault anyone for not having “interesting” outdoor photos.

That said, I think it’s a good idea to bring a stand because they love to faceplant. One of @XOHimitsuOX’s girls nosedived while we were out once and her limited “good job” hands got scratched up 😱

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

Many of us would still be happy to see her just hanging out around the house.

AW, this actually made me so happy??

I'll have to dress her up for photos soon then! You're right, I should still be having fun with her even if I can't do anything fancy!!

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

I don’t really like to take my dolls out because they might get scratched or stained, or something might get lost in the hustle and bustle

Yeahhh... I definitely worry about that a lot... But I also love the idea of getting interesting photos! It's so difficult to balance those LOL

1 hour ago, ragnamuffin said:

That said, I think it’s a good idea to bring a stand because they love to faceplant. One of @XOHimitsuOX’s girls nosedived while we were out once and her limited “good job” hands got scratched up 😱

OH GOSH WHAT A NIGHTMARE! I'll definitely see if I can fit my stand in my bag whenever I go out then, my goodness!!

2 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

Many of us would still be happy to see her just hanging out around the house. Not every photoshoot has to be perfectly staged—we really just want to see other peoples’ dolls and how they style them.

This 👆 100%. I love seeing and taking a good desk photo hahah 

If you’re not ready to go outdoors there’s also a lot of fun ways to take indoor photos that don’t need a setup. My favorite are what I call ‘elf on the shelf’ style doll photos where the dolls are interacting with human-sized objects. Holding pencils, electronics, kitchen knives (lol), or just generally getting up to something mischievous. They’re such fun pictures to take and to look at, and they cost basically nothing to set up. 

44 minutes ago, froggubi said:

2 hours ago, ragnamuffin said:

 

AW, this actually made me so happy??

I'll have to dress her up for photos soon then! You're right, I should still be having fun with her even if I can't do anything fancy!!

There's lots of opportunities inside the house! Especially if you aren't afraid to be one of the 'props': 

 

You can also try to see your house/home from their perspective, and give a shot at taking pictures from a low angle. 

I normally don't use a stand, unless I'm with my local doll folks and we're having them on display.

But, there are some times that having a stand is a good thing:

I'm one of those that don't really care if the stand is in the picture or not. (also, I'm too lazy to figure out editing tools) 

If you just need to get more comfortable with posing your Kiddo(s), starting off in the house is a great idea! 

 

Mostly, Have FUN!! (It's what they want, too!)

 

 

Rick

 

5 minutes ago, sunlightandtea said:

or just generally getting up to something mischievous. They’re such fun pictures to take and to look at, and they cost basically nothing to set up. 

Oh that's all so cute!! Definitely have to try this! 

2 minutes ago, battrastard said:

Especially if you aren't afraid to be one of the 'props'

Aww!! The climbing photo is so cute! 

2 minutes ago, battrastard said:

Mostly, Have FUN!! (It's what they want, too!)

And gosh you're so right! I've really been stressing for no reason, I should just be having fun with my girl! 🥺🥺🥺

Edited 2 hours ago by froggubi

One more, for good measure: 

The story behind this one:

Taken back in the beginning of 2012, I'd only had Tana for just over three months. That morning, as I took my laundry out of the dryer,

(I've always loved the warmth of freshly dried clothes, especially in winter!) I plopped them on my bed, getting ready to fold them.

I had a brainstorm moment, and imagined Tana in the middle of it all, peeking out. 

 

Sometimes, the ideas will just come to you. 

 

Rick.