Hey there  ♥ Welcome to my basic tutorial about the 10 most important tips for jointed doll photography that I can give you. They are really important for me as I try to follow all of them when I take my camera ^_^ I hope you find them useful! 🙂

 

Keep in mind that it is not necessary to follow all these tips to get a good picture. Actually, sometimes you’ll need to break some rules to achieve the idea you had in mind before taking the photo, but hey, it’s not bad to know them: it’s good to know why you’re breaking the rules.

 

 

1. The glance

I think we agree when I say that not aligned eyes can spoil a perfect picture. The eyes are the first thing you look at, so don’t forget paying enough attention to them.

Align the eyes, forward, upward or sideways: spend the time you need for that.

 

Dollfie Dream Yuuko

Yuuko’s looking directly at the camera

Dollfie Dream Melocotón

and in this case, Melocotón is looking to a distant point from the camera

 

When taking pictures, try to:

  • Focus the eyes, unless your intention is to give importance to another aspect.
    I give special importance to this and it’s the first thing I check in my camera after taking a picture.

ojo dollfie dream

 

  • Make the doll look directly at your lens, or at some distant point from the camera. If the doll is looking between those two areas, it may give the impression that she’s looking to infinity, or she’s not alive.

fotografía de muñecas

  • The eyes are correctly exposed: if that area looks dark, you can always use the Dodge tool in Photoshop (editing subtly), or vice versa, if there is too much light, you can always darken the area with the Burn tool.

photoshop fotografía muñecas

 

 

2. The hair

 

dollfie dream

I always try to show some part of the eyebrow

 

Dollfie Dream

Hair in motion + dynamic pose = win

 

Having a comb is essential when photographing dolls. In my pictures, there’re often loose hair all around (and it’s more noticeable in backlit portraits), and keeping every hair at bay is almost an impossible mission. Some people use hair sprays, but in my opinion it’s easy to get the wig flattened if misuse of this product is made.

Another important thing are the eyebrows: even if the wig has a fringe, I always try to show the eyebrows because this is what enhances the expression in the doll’s look.

 

3. The pose

For me this is a very important point. It seems not, but the pose of the doll brings dynamism and life to your photo. Try experimenting with this: let the camera aside and take only the doll, if possible dressed simply. Then try to pose her in new ways, know the limits of your doll body and use her strengths. While testing you’ll find an interesting pose to photograph.

If you get stuck, I recommend finding inspiration in other photographers’ work, for example in fashion photography. If you try to imitate the models, you’re going to get more interesting and natural positions, after all, you are trying to imitate a human pose.

Dollfie Dream pose

I was inspired by a Pin up pose when I took this photo

 

4. The shot angle

Mini Dollfie Dream kawaii

In photography, the angle is the tilt and position in which you place the camera regarding the subject. That is, if you stand below the subject’s eyes, we could say that you took the photo from a low angle.

There are several well known types of angles, as the chopped or bird’s eye view (from above), the low angle shot (from below), aerial (completely above the subject), or centered at eye level, among others.

When photographing dolls, try to choose the best angle depending on what you want to show. Usually, I don’t use high angles with my dolls, because it makes them look like simple dolls. To make them look alive, I put myself to their eye level or even, sometimes, below it.

doll photography

My life as a doll photographer

 

5. The story

 

Mini Dollfie Dream Ldoll Festival

I took this picture for the Ldoll Festival, and its theme was “caught red-handed”

One of the best features of dolls is that they are jointed, and that allows you to create thousands of scenes. Photography, in most cases, is used as a means to convey emotions by telling a story. The pictures which achieve that purpose, in my opinion, are the best that can be found in this hobby.

One tip for this is to write a story about the dolls you want to shoot: the deeper you get into their personalities, their tastes, their hobbies and their way of acting, the easier it will be to give life to it in a picture.

 

 

6. The background

Here are my tips for the backgrounds, both for indoor and outdoor shoots:

  • Indoor: If you take pictures inside your house, try to find an area where the background is irrelevant, where the furniture goes unnoticed or at least it doesn’t downplay the subject. To support this feature, I recommend shooting with a wide aperture, if possible at f/3.5 or below, as this will make the depth of field is minimal, only the doll will be focused and the background will be diffuse and won’t disturb.

Another option is to build your own “studio” at home, using cloth or papers of your choice as a background, or build a scale diorama. Take in mind that the most important thing is to make the doll look properly proportioned regarding the background, in an environment where it clearly looks small, so this is why taking pictures at home is always harder.

Dollfie Dream fotografía tutorial

 

Azone fotografía

 

  • Outdoor: the options are endless here. In addition, outdoor photos are always very grateful to the eye. A park, a walk on the beach, a path in the forest, a mountainous area …
    Again, we’ll try to avoid elements out of our doll’s scale in our framing, such as benches, litter bins, people walking… unless, of course, your intention is to show just that. Oh, and do not forget to carry your doll stand when you go outdoors!

7. The clothes

Mini Dollfie Dream

This point is a bit less relevant and more subjective than others, but still needs a bit of attention. Whatever clothes you use, try to put it on the doll the best way possible, and if it is large, adjust it: use small clothespins or clips in the back of your doll until it fits perfectly. Keep in mind that this is a photo so basically you’re going to show just what you want to show.

If your doll is a Dollfie Dream, perhaps you’re already familiar with that flesh-colored tights used to prevent staining their skin with the clothes’ pigments. I advise you to use it as much as possible, but in the pictures it’s really ugly to see the sleeves and neck part, so you can either hide it under the upper clothes, or not use it during a photo shoot: there’s no problem in using dark clothes for a little time.

Oh, and do not be afraid to experiment by combining pieces: take a skirt from a set, a T-shirt from another… maybe you discover a much better outfit than the previous ones 😛

 

 

 

8. The camera lens

 

Dollfie Dream objetivo

My favorite camera lens: the 50mm f1.4 ♡

This is important if you have a camera with interchangeable lens. It’s essential to know your camera thoroughly, but it’s equally necessary to know your lenses. Using one lens or another depends on the photo shoot you’re going to do.

Low-medium range cameras typically come with at least one lens, and it’s usually a 18-55mm. It’s pretty versatile and widely used for portraits. Personally, I use this one a lot when I go outdoors because it’s all-purpose.

Dollfie Dream Coco Mariposas

Picture taken with the standard lens 18-55mm

 

If we want to shoot outdoors, it’s a good option to use a wide angle, since it offers a spectacular view of the location, and we could easily frame the entire doll. I do not recommend using it in portraits, especially in doll’s portraits, because this lens distorts the image and it’s hard to correct it later on the computer (it looks artificial and unnatural).

Dollfie Dream steampunk

Picture taken with the wide angle lens 10-22mm

 

 

azone bokeh

Picture taken with the prime lens 50mm

If we want to create more gimmicky photographs, such as creating bokeh or blurred backgrounds, I recommend a ultra-bright lens or prime lens, in my case I use a 50mm f/1.4. With this lens, portraits look very interesting because using a wide aperture reduces the focused area and then everything looks blurred in the background.

Besides, if there is a back light, it’s very easy to get the bokeh effect.

 

Dollfie Dream bokeh

Picture taken with the prime lens 50mm

 

 

There are many more types of lenses, such as the zoom or telephoto lens, which also come in initiation packs often. They usually are 75-300mm, and have a very powerful zoom. They can be used to take pictures over long distances, and therefore I do not recommend them for a doll photoshoot, because you’ll need to place the doll far away from the camera.

As an anecdote, a hobby fellow told me once that this was one of her favorite lens to photograph her dolls (the telephoto lens) and I was surprised because I always related those lens to nature or sports. So you know, experiment with what you have because you might take advantage of something that others do not, and behold, your talent 🙂

 

 

9. The wind (and other external factors)

 

Dollfie Dream coco

Take advantage of a windy and cloudy day to take an interesting photo

 

Sometimes we want to control so many things in a photo that we forget that there are things that can not be controlled. One is the wind, the one that has thrown our dolls to the ground so many times. Another one could be the cloudy days, when everything looks flat. Buuuut, here are my tips to know how to tame these phenomena and if possible, use them for good:

  • Wind: the wind can be exhausting. Use a stand with a pretty heavy base to stabilize your doll. On these occasions it looks great to put thin gauzy fabric clothing on your doll, as they move with the wind. Also, you could use a wig with little or no hairspray: it will wave if there’s enough wind.
  • Cloudy days: Is there a meetup but it’s cloudy? No excuses to stop taking pictures. The shadows those days are soft and blur everything. No hard shadows or stark contrasts, use this to your advantage. Of course, if your pictures turn out dull, you can always increase the colors intensity and saturation a bit, in moderation, of course.

 

10. Joints

There’s a rule which says “do not crop off at the joints”, talking about picture composition. Well, I think we have to pay extra attention to this rule if we photograph dolls, as it’s an inflection point where two pieces join, and if we only see the end of one of them it’s quite odd.

But apart from this, there’s a very personal and subjective choice that is to show or not show the joints of our dolls. For some, especially people from the PVC figure’s world, prefer to hide the joints under clothing or using camera angles in which they go unnoticed. Others, however, see beauty in them: after all is what makes them articulated: every body has their own joints and are seen as small engineering works. And if not, check out those popular BJD tights, with which we could have BJD joints in our legs.

And you, what do you prefer?

Dollfie Dream fotografía tutorial

Dollfie Dream fotografía tutorial

Latest comments
  • These tips are amazing! Thank you for taking the time to put them together.

  • Thank you very much for the tips!
    I’m a beginner and I wish to make pictures of my figurines and my future dolls.

  • I’m really into doll photography now….. But I have no idea where to buy these kinda dolls 😭😭😭

  • Wow just got hold of your site via goggling for doll photography tricks. Will surely try to follow the tips given.

    One week back brought “Nikon D5300 24.2MP Digital SLR Camera (Black) with AF-P 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6g”

    Will it be okay for doll photography?? any suggestions..

    I am into Monster high dolls & Integrity Toys.

  • Great tips! I love that you mentioned the joints. I try to hide them as much as possible.

    Dolls look a lot better if those joints don’t need to be in the photo. I just bookmarked your site.

  • Heya i’m for the first time here. I came across this board and I
    find It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope
    to give something back and aid others like you aided me.

  • Thank you so muuuuch for this tutorial! I discovered your work a few days ago and i’m absolutely in love with it!
    I’m a big fan of Nebula now. ♥_♥
    I hope to take better pictures and improve little by little. Thank you again! ♥♥♥♥

  • I really enjoyed reading your advice. I mostly photograph architecture and sometimes do portraits, and some subtle differences between how you approach portrait of a person and one of a doll caught my attention. Next to that it is a really great tutorial full of easy and useful tips even for those who want to try their skills with photographing people.
    Many thanks 🙂 Keep up the great work!
    ps. Your pictures are amazing!

  • I love your photos and notice that you don’t seem to have any support for your doll. How do you do that? Do these dolls just stand so well that you don’t need it? Are you using special support like wire? My doll would never stand on their own so well and there for don’t have the wonderful natural look you seem to get. I have used photoshop to edit out some support but find that very hard when using a doll stand.

  • Thank you very much for the tips! I am planning to start doll photography, but I can not choose the right camera. Can you please tell me what camera do you use? I love how your photos look so bright and clear.

  • Hi! I’m looking for a bit of advice. I have a really cute anime BJD (not sure which kind but 1/4 size) and I love her and she’s adorable, but her expression is a little flat. It’s not really expressive, which is something I think my photos are missing. I’d like to purchase a new head with new make up for her, but this is where I need help. If I bought a head from a different seller than I got her from, would it match? Are there any good doll make up artists who you’d recommend? It’s all so confusing to me… ❤
    Your photos are all so amazing and sometimes I wonder if I’ll ever be this good. 😊
    You have really inspired me, and your tips are so useful! I feel like I’ve said this before somewhere, but you and your dolls are amazing! I hope they’re all doing well! ❤