Do you consider taking pictures of your doll fun?

I'm not really into photography. I love looking at others doll photos, but I don't take much of them myself. I prefer the character/story aspect of the hobby the most.

 

Photography is an intimidating and mysterious artform to me! My doll photographs have been disappointing so far, as I'm a total novice and don't have a good grasp yet on photography fundamentals. I definitely have a lot to learn! YouTube has been a fun way to learn some basics, and I'm feeling motivated to improve my skills.

 

I always try my best to have a good time whenever I take photos of my dolls. Whether it’s planning poses or props, a great deal of care goes into my vision of that day. I can’t really say that I’m an amazing photographer and I don’t even have a real camera at the moment, but it’s a lot of fun to still take photos whenever I can!

 

Photography was part of my job. I used lots of SLR cameras and took heaps of pictures -- for shows, for displays, and for the extended family and friends. We retired, then a few years back we were on a long trip and I lost my camera. I found it very liberating to just be enjoying what I saw instead of trying to format and get the light right, etc. So NO I do not enjoy taking pictures of my dolls or of anything.
My sincere thanks to any one who does, cause I still enjoy looking and am glad to be an appreciative audience.

 

I am a photographer and have realized that the reason I enjoy my dolls is purely the ability to pose them for photography (and I like their fairy look). I thoroughly enjoy posing them as if they are realistic creatures/natural poses even though I don't really have a story for them. It's a way I can get creative without having to ask someone to hold this or do that. I also LOVE macro photography and because my ladies are small, they fit in with the details beautifully So I just roll with the season and time of day and edit at home like my other work lol

I love seeing photos of dolls in nature so the more the merrier!

Life in the grass by Ohmyhi, on Flickr

 

If you don't have the skills (like me), photography can be such a pain. And the desire to buy a new doll overpowers the desire to buy a normal camera.
So for me the dolls themselves bring pleasure, and the photos are not very important.

 

I don't find photography enjoyable in the slightest. I don't have the patience, the knowledge, the skill, or the desire to learn, and every time I try to force myself to practice, I'm always irritated by how awful my results are. I know you can't improve without practicing, but if I don't get anything fun out of it, I'd rather use my spare times doing things I actually find fulfilling.

That being said, I WISH I liked photography! I absolutely love all those gorgeous doll photoshoots, the skill and time and work put into them is amazing, and I'd love to be able to convey the same beauty and emotions with my own dolls. It truly is an art form, and maybe someday something will click in my brain that'll make me want to figure it all out, but for now, I leave it to the real photographers.

 

Instagram has made it less stressful to take casual photos of my dolls. Even with my crappy cell phone camera. I don't feel nearly as bad as I once did when photos with the DSLR didn't work out the way I wanted them to. I know so little in the way of taking good pictures. These days since there is always so so much going on beside the dolls, the crappy cell phone pictures are ok.

 

I easily feel tried when I take photos of doll. I guess I'm just a lazy man

 

I do have the lighting and photographing extras, canvas backdrops, umbrella diffusers, etc.
I don't even know if it makes my photography better, but it does make it more fun for me.
Sometimes setting everything up can be a pain.
Once I get going it can be a lot of work, it is relaxing work though.
I like having projects, so taking their pictures for a photo story is a nice project.

 

I find it fun! They are small enough to put up a backdrop/set on a desk so I find more flexibility with them than I would when taking similar pictures of humans. Also, they stay still so I can use my manual focus lenses at last Even if I'm not setting up an elaborate set, I enjoy snapping photo proof of getting them into different positions, they are made to be posed after all.

 

Well I would like to get nice pics of my dolls but I am not that talented and I am also a bit lazy to practice a lot so my pics are not very nice so it's not a super amazing experience or the reason I have dolls but I still like to snap a pic once in a while and share it

 

I loveee taking pictures of my dolls, but recently I shattered my iphone camera lens (iphone 14….worst lens design ever) so all my pictures have been coming out blurry or not as detailed as before. One of my favorite things about taking pictures though is posing, getting a doll ready to be photographed makes me feel very creative.

 

I love taking pictures. For a time I shot on a SLR (an analog Pentax K1000) that I eventually gifted to a friend. My setup is improv and I shoot with an old Samsung phone, which leaves a lot to be desired. I really wish I had a proper camera now, mostly because the wide angle lens on the phone makes everything look distorted.

 

@lutke (and anyone else struggling with phone pics having wide angle distortion and making doll pics weird) - zoom in at 2x for portraits. Phone lenses/camera apps are defaulted to something that works good for documenting most random things but they distort faces for both humans and dolls as they are at a slight wide angle configuration to fit more into the frame. 2x zoom is much closer to a 55mm lens and much better for faces and details, most phones have digital zoom starting only after that so there shouldn't be much loss of quality and pixelation.

 

@cobaltconduct Thanks a lot! I'll have to try this as soon as I can take more pictures.

 

The longer I wait for a complete doll outfit for one of my two girls to arrive, lol, the more I find myself wanting to pose them and take pictures and do a whole scene. I'm taking notes from so many of the posts here about camera options that work well, and how much setting detail can make something capture the emotional mood or tell the story that's in my head for the scene.

The main summary I think I've gotten from this thread so far is that it's really individual preference over how many details give us the satisfaction that we've captured a story or moment on film in a way that makes us happy. And I think that's really an awesome way to go about things! Some photos are spur of the moment moods, like "Hey, I'm in this gorgeous place with my doll, let's pose here and go with the spirit of the place" and others are meticulously planned to every last detail, with a full set, props, lighting, like a theatrical production or Regency era "tableaux" kind of thing.

I love knowing that anything goes within that range as long as we're happy with the results. And I especially love seeing other people sharing their meticulously planned sets just to give me an idea of the kind of thing I could do someday.

 

I like taking doll pictures, but I know they're very average and i've had to make my peace with that. I use my phone, which I think takes decent enough pictures for being a lower mid-price range phone. Getting a light ring has been a game changer though. It's my one piece of equiment, and for 20euros it's really made my life easier for indoor photos.

 

I'm not the best photographer in the world, honestly, I'm always learning, but I do enjoy taking photos of my doll. Most common is just taking a photo when the doll just arrives, and then maybe a photo again, once they're in an outfit I really like.

I got really lucky and managed to get a decent camera very cheap. I just wish I was better at using it. Ah, well, I continue to learn. I do have a light box, but I need to get new lights for it, and I am having difficulties finding a good one.

But yes! I enjoy photographing my dolls. It's just nice, to have the photos.

 

I love taking photos of my dolls, but I'm not into the equipment side of that part of the hobby at all. I take every photo I have with my cellphone camera and rely more on the environment and my dolls' styling to carry the photo, rather than ensuring my setup captures the best possible lighting or getting that perfect bokeh look. If I tried that I don't think I'd ever do any photography.
Finding the time to take my dolls out and photograph them is difficult enough as it is! Lugging around a nice camera and good equipment with it would just be too much for me. I seriously respect those who can do that. I could never!