5 Things you can do to improve your BJD Photos

with special guest photographer Sdrcow

If you own BJDs chances are that you have taken some photos here or there.
Not everyone is a professional photographer and some might ask what kinds of things they can do to help their photos pop more. Whether you are shooting with your phone camera or a professional one, let’s take a look at 5 really easy things you can do to improve your photos.

1. Lighting
2. Composition
3. Angles
4. Poses
5. Editing

Lighting

You don’t have to invest in super fancy light structures in order to get good lighting. You can change the bulbs in most of your current light fixtures with cooler and brighter lights.

Soft White (2700K – 3000K)

Bright White/Cool White (3500K – 4100K)

Daylight (5000K – 6500K)

The higher the Degrees Kelvin determines the color temperature. When I do my YouTube videos or take pictures I tend to like the Daylight range. It gives off a clean appearance and makes things very bright.

If you have some money to spare a ring light might be a good addition to your lighting kit. They vary in price and can be anywhere from $40 to $100 on Amazon. What I really like about it is that you can change the intensity and create different moods depending on how bright you make the light. They are easy to use and you can easily mount a phone or your fancy DSLR if you have one.

Are you on a budget? Then just try switching out the bulbs on current lamps and light fixtures you have. You can get a 4 pack of daylight light bulbs from Amazon for under $10. I use these in lamps and desk lights I have in my hobby room. They are easy to turn on and move about when I want to snap a quick photo.

Sdrcow has some examples on his DeviantArt of different flash set-ups you can consider as well.

1. No flash [indoor lighting – no windows]
2. Onboard flash [the one on your camera] directly at subject. 
3. External flash reflected directly behind me at a light wall.
4. External flash reflected off to the side of me on a brown wall.

An even more budget friendly light source to use is our good old friend the sun. Taking photos with sunlight is great because not only is it free but depending on the time of day can change how your picture will look. Now here is the catch…it is sunlight and that is a BJDs mortal enemy. If you do choose to take photos in the sun and take them outside try to keep your time outdoors to a minimum. I would probably not be out with my dolls in direct sunlight for more than 30 minutes. Imagine them like tiny models and give them breaks by providing shade for them to rest under in between shots.

Whichever light source you choose to go with I can guarantee you will see a significant difference in your photo quality with better lighting.

Composition

There are so many different aspects that fall under the category of composition in photos. I think for BJD photos the good ones to keep in mind are whats in your frame and whats in your background.

If you are taking a photo of your dolly sitting on the shelf is there other things in the background like a poster or other items? Are you trying to take a photo with multiple dolls? How do you have them arranged? What kind of background do you want? Do you want a plain background or are you trying to set a scene? These are all good questions to ask yourself before you click that shutter button.

When I take dolly photos sometimes I just want the eye to be drawn just to my doll. I will normally put them against a clean background with nothing around them. I tend to stick to solid colors for their backdrops and will concentrate a light on them. There is something about creating a shadow that feels really cool to me I guess.

Or you can do the opposite and submerge your doll into a scene. Going back and imagining them to be like models try out different places. Whether is a cool place you have in your house, your backyard, or maybe you want to take photos of them in a cool public place. Taking a photo of your doll with a really cool background can make your dolly look more realistic and lifelike!

Angles

Work it! Work it! Work it!

Don’t be afraid to move around when taking photos of your dolls to create different angles. Instead of taking photos of your doll straight on try seeing what they look like from above, to the left, right, below, sides, etc. Play around with it and you might find a shot you really like.

I have literally gotten down on the floor, basically laying down, to take a shot before. I think different angles can also show off beauty in a sculpt that you typically wouldn’t get to see in a straight on forward facing photo.

Side profiles are always fun to do and lets others look at the sculpt in a different way. Another fun trick to try with angles is a slight aerial shot. Shooting from above rather than straight on can give a different perspective and depending on the pose of your doll can invoke a sense of movement. Speaking of poses let’s dive into that next.

Poses

BJD stands for ball jointed doll. These are dolls with ball joints. The ball joints are for movement. Movement means they can pose in different ways. See where we’re going?

These dolls are made to move! They don’t have to sit with arms at their sides for a photo like a school class picture. Try moving them around! Move their legs in different open positions. Have their arms out as if they are talking with gestures. Give life to your dolls in your photos by changing up the pose. Need inspiration? Look up model poses in google and try to get your doll to copy it.

Also you might want to consider in investing in a doll stand. Putting them in a doll stand can help give you a piece of mind as you change their pose that they won’t fall flat on their face.

There are many different kinds of stands but whatever you go with make sure it has a sturdy base that can support the weight of your doll. Larger dolls will need a heavier base stand.

Have fun with them and if you get stuck on how to position them, look at magazine photos or look up model poses for inspiration!

Editing

Editing can encompass many things such as cropping, adjusting saturation levels, or even adding a filter.

You definitely don’t need to go out and buy a crazy expensive editing program, just try out the different settings that your phone has to offer. If you are shooting from your camera there a couple of free apps that you can try out.

Photogrid- Allows you to edit photos and also compile multiple shots together!

Canva- Great for editing and creating YouTube thumbnails, Instagram formatted posts, and other social media stylized images.

Try different things! I really like playing with the filters and sometimes even add cute stickers to the image too!

Get your camera ready!

So, Sdrcow, “What are some final thoughts or suggestions to people looking to start taking photos of their dolls?”

I guess I would say to find inspiration that works for you. Try to learn from other types of photographers, not just doll photographers. If you find an artist doing something you like – try experimenting with it, really focus on things you’ve read about photography like lighting, angles, posing, and framing. Of course don’t just copy their work, but use it to inspire your own work. Personally, I really felt a jump in my still life and toy photography when I got into Nendoroids, (chibi-style figures). It got me out of my doll head box and taught me a lot about bringing an inanimate object to life. Switching from ‘doll’ photography to ‘toy’ photography gave me so many new photographers to gather even more knowledge and inspiration – so I stand firmly behind looking at /all/ types of photography. My last bit of words would have to be… don’t compare yourself to others. Or at least, don’t compare yourself in a negative way to others. You might not be where you want to be, but you’re on a journey. Let it be a fun photography-hobby and give yourself fair time to grow and really enjoy yourself. Don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for advice or tips from someone you follow, because I bet you they’d be happy to chat about it!

~With gusto sdrcow

Did this help inspire you and make you want to take some photos? I hope so! BJD photography can be fun for everyone. What tips do you have? Share them in the comments section down below!

Want to see more amazing BJD photos? Check out Sdrcow on DeviantArt https://www.deviantart.com/sdrcow