Photography Portfolio

I recently got a Sony α7c camera, which I have used in the past and really liked. For a while, I had been using my iPhone camera because I couldn't justify the cost of maintaining a good camera when I have such horrible photography skills, but I really do enjoy the hobby. In the distant past (eons ago, before the formations of the continents), I have tried out both Canon and Nikon brands at separate points in time as well, but found Sony mirrorless cameras fit my needs the best. When I went to the camera store to buy the camera though, my original intent was to come back with a Sony α7c II, but comparing camera capabilities and prices, I decided to return to the original Sony α7c because it surprisingly had better results in the long run and the II having excessive features I didn't really need, and obviously... being in an university student financial situation. 😆

I've been taking photos of dolls since 2009, but I've been out of the loop for a while. I don't think I've ever really been good at it, but I hope I will eventually! It's a hobby I've always truly enjoyed, even after so long... and honestly, that's a rarity! Now, onto the photos I've taken since acquiring my new camera. I'm not including any of my iPhone photos in this thread, because in my opinion, they kind of suck as you don't have the kind of control over the outcome of the photo like one would with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, but I did upload my iPhone 15 photos to my Flickr as it was the newest iPhone and had the most improved camera capabilities.

And, of course, later photos will be added in later posts! But this is my current "collection."

Dororo from Osamu Tezuka's "Dororo" (2019), hanging out in the window.

Akane Kurokawa while she was in process. Her final design is slightly different, but I still think this makes for a cool photo. Especially with the reflection.

Original character, Zenon. These hands are actually for Hyakkimaru, to give him more of a "jointed" appearance, but Zenon's borrowing them for now because, unfortunately, as of yet I can't find middle finger hands. And bad girl Zenon is famous for showing her pet birds.

I took this photo for Kyojuro's birthday, which was May 10th. Got him some strawberry shortbread (I will not go into what I thought strawberry shortcake was when I was a kid thanks to my parents mislabeling it; let's just say I found out recently that they were actually making a southern desert called "dumplings" and they look disgusting, so I was very glad to find out real strawberry shortcake is actually very good) and sweet potato smoothie. Sweet potatoes are Kyojuro's favorite food, so of course they had to be incorporated somehow, and the smoothie was tasty as well. Umai!

Our latest completed project, Tengen Uzui. Sorry guys, I enjoy UzuRen; just a warning! Muki muki!

Edited October 13 by chupakiba

I apologize for the long interval between photo updates, I have been dealing with some personal health issues. As a result, I also apologize that the following photos are iPhone and not from my camera, but my partner @rudebuster was so enthusiastic about her personal, long-awaited projects finally coming home that while I was admittedly not in the best of health, I had to take photos anyway. Please enjoy the silly stuff I do to our dolls!

I R Hyakkimaru. Yes, he's sniffing his finger and scratching his ass. If you've ever seen the baboon from Cow and Chicken, an old kids' cartoon from the 90s, you'd totally get what's going on here. No, I don't know why I decided to do this; I did it for the lulz. And because I could, because of the awesome jointed hands we got for him to further give him the look of prosthesis. Did you know Hyakkimaru from Dororo (2019) was actually designed to resemble a ball-jointed doll? I think that's actually pretty cool!! (Also gives him a slightly cuter look than his 1969 design, which made him look like Japanese He-Man, Defender of... idk, getting all his limbs back?)

Poke, poke.

I don't think Tahomaru liked the poking very much, do you? Hyakkimaru, be careful! This one can be a bit of a tig—wait, never mind, this one can be a bit of a crab. His hair is crab.

I wanted to do a badass sword-fighting pose with at least one of these katana we got for both Hyakkimaru (not pictured) and Tahomaru, and @rudebuster with an obvious crab bias chose Tahomaru. I hope I pulled off the pose well enough and he looks like he's going to kick some butt. I mean, he's totally not going to, but he can dream.

I hope you enjoyed these photos, despite the less-than-desirable quality of the camera used. And I hope they made you laugh a little (especially the first one)! Please have a wonderful day, everyone deserves to have happiness in their lives, even if it's in the form of weird dolls sniffing fingers and scratching asses. If you think that's lulzy. If not, I hope you find it anyway, even if it's not here! 🙂

Edited June 23 by condogenate

Couple more new photos! Back to my camera, because for the most part, I'm feeling more like myself. @rudebuster and I went out to Akihabara yesterday (after, for like... forever) totally avoiding the zoo that is Radio Kaikan on a Saturday, btw, and on a whim, we decided to stop by that porno store down the street. Obviously, we didn't pick up any weird things like toys or anything, but we did pick up some knick-knacks on the first floor that are usually meant for tourists. (Hey, they were funny!)

Even though Gyomei Himejima's got the World Record for the largest... uh, anatomical organ, Kyojuro decided (grudingly) to present his best friend with a trophy that proclaimed him as the world's largest peepee. Of course, Tengen took it literally and shows off the trophy proudly. [Censored for obvious reasons.]

We found this little kitty shirt in a store behind Cospa, and Kyojuro (in our own headcanon) is particularly fond of cats. So we had to get it for him, and he's just a little cutie with it on. ❤️

DON'T WORRY, MOAR IS COMING. 😈

Edited June 23 by condogenate

Only one photo today, because in the other one, Tengen was making a rather rude gesture. And I don't mean Zenon's favorite pet birds, I mean something a little more... well, suggestive. I'd say he was walking down the street and saw a gaggle of three giggling girls named Suma, Makio, and Hinatsuru. Though everyone else knows he wants to add one more "wife" to his harem, so we'd have Suma Uzui, Makio Uzui, Hinatsuru Uzui, and of course, Kyojuro Uzui-sama.

Instead, we get a photo of him actually doing his job as an art teacher (Kimetsu Gakuen!) and doing some painting. Nobody wants to know what he was probably painting, though. A bunch of portraits of Kyojuro? Or... something else?

Don't know how likely it'll be to get some photos in for the next few days (I try to get something in as often as I can, except when there's uh... extenuating circumstances, because I really do love photography—not good at it, but w/e, I like it anyway). Thanks sk00l. But I hope to see you guys soon!! 😄 Even if you don't really like my crap, haha.

Edited June 23 by condogenate

Finally, after forever (she was completed right before my health took a turn; hence the delay in getting a photo of her), a photo of Akane Kurokawa's completed form!

I hope you enjoy her! I know I have an obvious bias towards a certain Flame Hashira, but Akane is my bby too. ❤️

I also took two other photos, but they're only available on my Flickr. (I don't use Instagram because Zuckerbot is an an*s.) The doll in question is wearing an outfit that's a bit... uh, questionable. Though one of them I'm really proud of, and I wish I could show it, but that outfit...

Edited June 23 by condogenate

The doctor has finally had her time in the limelight! (Bonus: I actually took this photo outside, despite it be 30°C outside—I nearly died.) I may consider taking more photos outside, but... um... not in this temperature. Nah.

Funnily enough, we were actually taking some other photos (but those are personal, because they feature my ugly melty mug in them 😜), and @rudebuster just happened to plop Shinobu down on the porch like this. Then she looked at it and was like, "... You know what, that actually looks like a cool pose." So I was like cool, I'll take a photo, and here's the final result! 😄

Edited June 23 by condogenate

No photos today, unfortunately. Health issues, and the tenth circle of Hell (school), have been making that hard. But I kind of wanted to make an announcement. I added some pretty awesome piercings to Akaza's face-up, but I can't capture that kind of detail of his face with a prime lens. I really, really wish I had a macro lens, but I recently scoured the prices of some macro lenses, and even some of the cheaper off-brand ones compatible with my camera are a bit out of my price range right now. I want to cry. 😭 I really want to show off Akaza's face (and perhaps facial features of other dolls as well, like Tengen's eye makeup or Zenon's piercings [although they're not my work]), but without the moolah, I'm out of luck.

Damn you, school and medical facilities, stop stealing my monies. 💪

Well, I had a very bad day yesterday, so I decided to just go ahead and treat myself to that macro lens I've been wanting. I've been wanting it for a while; it was about a month ago that I was scouring prices, at least. But @rudebuster said, go ahead and treat yourself because we have enough for now and you had a shitty day, so she looked up prices again and found a second-hand one for a fairly good price. So yay, I finally got that macro lens I've been wanting for quite a while!

Akaza's piercings look good, I think (I'm no expert), so I got him out of that creepy nurse outfit and put into something punk that's equally as creepy. I mean, this is Akaza, after all. One of these days, I gotta put him in his wheat shirt (honestly, I have no idea how I found that; I think it was at at a doll convention once and I was like, "gotta get this for the wheat man"). It's also probably the most normal of the clothes he has. 🤷‍♀️

Anyway!

This wasn't done with the macro lens, but it was part of the photoshoot. Nice sense of style, Akaza.

MACRO PHOTO!! You can really see Akaza's eyebrow piercings here too, which is pretty cool.

I gotta take more of these! But there's only so much I can take a day, so bear with me. But now I have a really strong urge to put him in his wheat shirt now. 😋

Edited June 23 by condogenate

Bonus: (Macro) photo of Akaza in his wheat shirt. 😆

Edited June 23 by condogenate

On 6/19/2024 at 5:03 AM, condogenate said:

I really, really wish I had a macro lens, but I recently scoured the prices of some macro lenses, and even some of the cheaper off-brand ones compatible with my camera are a bit out of my price range right now.

I guess I'm a bit late with this, but as an alternative to getting a separate macro lens, you could look into macro rings (sometimes called extension tubes) instead. While some of these can still be a bit pricey (definitely get the ones that pass through the electrical contacts), they should be a lot more affordable then a new lens.

12 minutes ago, Tierparkzone said:

I guess I'm a bit late with this, but as an alternative to getting a separate macro lens, you could look into macro rings (sometimes called extension tubes) instead. While some of these can still be a bit pricey (definitely get the ones that pass through the electrical contacts), they should be a lot more affordable then a new lens.

I've never heard of them! Probably could have helped with my student budget, if I could have been able to pick out a suitable one. 😄

11 hours ago, condogenate said:

Bonus: (Macro) photo of Akaza in his wheat shirt. 😆

Oh, he is gorgeous, one of my favs in KnY, you shelled him perfectly, love the lashes.

Which head sculpt is that?

7 hours ago, MoiBakaDesu said:

Oh, he is gorgeous, one of my favs in KnY, you shelled him perfectly, love the lashes.

Which head sculpt is that?

While he did do the unforgivable, he became one of my favorites too! He's just too funny and likable, despite his backstory being depressing. I like characters like that.

The lashes were actually @rudebuster's idea, we were thinking about how to make them look accurate and discussed several methods, like just pain adding more color, but then she said lashes would add the fullness without adding too much! It was a great idea! And he's a DCH26. 🙂

Tanabata season is coming up, so I dressed two of the dolls I have in yukata that was very befitting of both their character and the season! The first one, I found several I-Dolls ago and thought it was perfect, and the second actually came with a set of clothing I bought for the doll. I think it was either an official outfit, or based on an outfit the seamstress thought would fit the character.

First up, Kyojuro! His is the one from I-Doll; naturally, since the yukata had flames all over it and he's the Flame Hashira, I thought it was a perfect fit. I just hope it doesn't make him look too much like Guy Fieri or something. 🤭

Now Shinobu! Her seamstress included this outfit with her Demon Slayer uniform and another official outfit, which makes me wonder. But I'm not entirely sure myself if this particular outfit is official or something the seamstress included as a bonus or not.

Here's another angle. In retrospect, I wish I had showed off the actual yukata more; these photos really only show the outer haori.

I need to find different places to photograph. It's just so hard when you live in such a tiny apartment. 😭 When we move to a bigger one, I swear. This was just the quickest apartment we could get that would take three cats—we had a very limited time to search, our real estate company sucked (lied about some of the features), and not in the best location. So, definitely moving. 😆

Sorry for another long absence from the forums; there's been a lot going on. Like university, and other things. I did go to I-Doll on the 7th, and I wore a cute black cat yukata for Tanabata, but there are (hopefully) no photos because I'm like looking at a pig wearing makeup. It was fun, but not flattering. Not in anything. The yukata was very cute though, I love the design so much (being a proud parent[?] of three black cats myself).

Anyway, I have come back with a couple photos! @rudebuster and I have been working on a couple more dolls to complete our collection, but university and things being shipped around the world are making things a little slow. We have gotten a large package yesterday though, and some things from Dolk, and I know photos haven't been posted in a while; so have a couple!

We did get Zenon some new hands, with "nail polish" from I-Doll (and her feet are now from the same vendor, also with "nail polish," but you can't see them in the photo because she's wearing shoes); and the outfit is from Dolk yesterday. I thought it fit her personality very well, though admittedly, she's very into novelty t-shirts. Which, believe me, now that we have a Cricut Joy, we will be doing. 😙

The other photo I have to offer today is another close-up of Akaza's face, but this time there's a purpose for it other than "lol i got a macro lens i'mma take a close-up of wheat's face." The package I mentioned earlier contained a very special pair of eyes, which requires the close-up to view.

Tengen finally got his proper eyes too, but I haven't had the chance to take photos of him yet. Maybe sometime soon. 😉

Zenon has a nice style! I was always tempted to buy some hands with long, painted/decorated nails, but I always ended up buying an outfit or something else, instead.  Perhaps I should try to make my own someday? idk. 

On 7/13/2024 at 11:26 AM, Sord said:

Zenon has a nice style! I was always tempted to buy some hands with long, painted/decorated nails, but I always ended up buying an outfit or something else, instead.  Perhaps I should try to make my own someday? idk. 

Thank you!! 🥰 I've heard some people put hot glue on their fingernails and paint the hot glue to make them long and pointy, but I'm not a professional nor have I ever done that before, so don't take it from me! Haha. That's just what I heard!

Sorry, but Zenon actually got a little bit of a makeover today, haha. New eyes and hair! I've been wanting hair like this for her for a while, but I didn't know where to find it. Finally did today. 😙 And we already had the eyes, but when I was rummaging through the eye box, I was like "... whoah, these are bluer and more space-y than the ones she's got—change." So, behold! The new Zenon! With a shirt we got her today as well.

Zenon's a bit of a weird one. She's got a young, baby-ish look to her, but the the things she says and does—oh boy, I better not repeat them here. If I were in K-12, I'd be sent to the principal's office.

She's not one to take crap from anyone. In fact, in the story @rudebuster and I kinda have, she's pretty much next in line to becoming Satan. (Which is an easy task, because the current one is a pussy and only won because he freaked out about the previous Satan [Sadao Maou]'s remark about his younger brother, and accidentally sliced off his horn while flailing his prosthetic arms with hidden swords around. [You see, weapons don't exist in Hell, mana does; but Hyakkimaru, the current Satan, was banished to Hell by his father after gaining his prothetic limbs with hidden swords, and therefore bringing weapons into a place that doesn't have any. It gave him a little bit of an upper hand, though his Nine Trials were still... well, hell, and nobody wants to deal with the third trial and Gluttony—also known as Douma—and receiving what is a three-headed Bentley. Cerberus was, of course, a giant Hellhound at first; but once Hyakkimaru won and ownership was transferred to him, he became a three-headed shih tzu that is basically based on the terror dog @rudebuster and I had for a few years before we moved. Anyway.] He already revealed to Zenon that to defeat and take over as ruler of Hell, you have to remove part of the horn, so he's doomed.)

Edited July 14 by condogenate

Man, I wanted to get more photos in today, but I was runnin' around trying to find some little doll supplies at local dollar stores and stuff. So, unfortunately, I didn't get much done in the way of photos today. @rudebuster did, however, get Akane's long hair done, so there may be photos of that coming up! And I have to photograph Tengen and Kyojuro to update their doll profiles with photos of their current eyes. Haha.

However, while I was in the dollar store the second time, I came across something that reminded me of a hilarious fanart @rudebuster and I saw a long time ago, and I had to buy it. The results were so... lulzy. 😂 Of course, the Dororo fandom is so small I'm sure most people won't even bat an eye, but I'll give each person who gets the joke a replica of Tengen's trophy! Wait, never mind, you probably wouldn't want that (unless you were male).

Behold! I have created... THIS THING!

Unedited version under the following cut, just in case you want to see it. 😉

Spoiler

I put it under the cut because it would ruin the beauty of the edited version. 😜

I hope you enjoy it!

Edited July 14 by condogenate

I've got a couple more photos today! Sorry for all the photos having the same background lately, it's been a bit hard to move from my spot. Sorry. 😅

First off, I told you @rudebuster did Akane's long hair! I think she did a very good job styling it from the original wig. (I did the bun in the back for this photo, though.)

And second, here's Tengen and the eyes he was supposed to have!

Don't worry, that's supposed to be a strawberry-coated banana, not a phallic (p*nis) shaped lollipop. Nothing lewd here (unless you make it that way 😉).

Edited July 15 by condogenate

Here's our own faceup on a DCH31! She's supposed to be Nui no Kata from Dororo (2019), and the faceup was done by my precious waifu, @rudebuster! ❤️ I think she did a wonderful job on her.

She did faceups for a couple other dolls too, here's another one! This one's Mio, also from Dororo (2019).

 

She did two other dolls too, but one still needs some work done (hair-styling) and the other needs a proper outfit. I mean, he does have an outfit, but it doesn't quite match. It's the wrong color, but the outfit in the color he'd actually wear was impossible to find. 😄 I can't wait until they're finished!

After that, we have one more doll to be finished, but her wig also needs to be styled. We were able to buy a wig in the right color (it's a weird color), but it still needs to get here from our China proxy; then we can get her body as well, and our collection will finally be finished! Yay!!

The doll that needed a little more work is done! I took a couple photos of him, because he's probably one of the most intricate works @rudebuster has done. She also styled his hair; another task we used to relegate to more experienced hobbyists. My waifu is really getting a hang of this! ❤️

Here is Obanai Iguro, Chemistry teacher. Known by his students as "Snako-sensei."

Here's a close-up of his facial scars. @rudebuster did such a good job on them!

And finally for today, I got some eyes for Zenon! They fit her space theme perfectly (especially considering the eyes were literally called "SPACE"—admittedly, one of the reasons why I went for them, but they look neat). Her "nail polish" is also very visible in this photo too, I think.

I hope you enjoyed my birthday photos! 😄

Edited July 16 by condogenate

Nice birthday photos! Have a happy birthday!

1 hour ago, Sord said:

Nice birthday photos! Have a happy birthday!

Thank you!! My birthday was good, I got eyes for Zenon and Obanai was done! ❤️ (I may have an earlier timezone than you, so I don't know if it's still my birthday for you.)

And finally, we have the last of the dolls my bby @rudebuster did a faceup on! It took me a little while to photograph him, even though he was technically done first, because I couldn't find a fitting outfit for him. He needed his track suit, which Volks had made, but unfortunately the blue is impossible to find anywhere. Whatever. 🦈 I did mannage to find a suitable outfit for him last night though, but it was too close to bedtime to take any photos. But here is a photo I took just now!

He totally has a thing for horses, you know. 🐴

Ah, I'm back with more photos. Someone stop me, haha. 😜

I played around with my Cricut Joy today and made Zenon a personalized shirt. Then, of course, I had to take a photo of her in it. What's the point of making stuff if you're not photographing it, amirite? Well, at least that's what I think! I'm sure some people think differently.

On the other hand, @rudebuster (who finally made an introductory post here, go check it out) found a small black cat pin for dolls on Taobao. Of course, there was no question who it was going to—much like how there was no question the very similar crab pin was going to go to Mr. Your Hair Is Crab himself, Tahomaru—and that would be none other than Kyojuro. In the little "story" @rudebuster and I have, instead of his Kasugai crow (since this story takes place in 2038, and obviously not in the Taisho era), he has a black cat named Kaname. Because I'm partial to both Kyojuro and black cats, so there. (And crows are black, so that only adds to it, I guess.) But anyway, I originally had the pin on another outfit, but then I remembered—or actually, found, since I was going through some doll clothes for Zenon to wear: I have a cat shirt for dolls! So I put both the shirt and the pin on him, added a couple more things, and completed the look. Doesn't he look adorable?

He's such a cutie pie. 💕💕

Here's a photo of Zenon with a different wig, which I originally did for a photo game. Yes, she's making fun of a "Tengen Uzui euphemism."

And here's Obanai, just hanging out with Kaburamaru. I'd love to have a cute little white snake (ok, I know Kaburamaru wasn't exactly little, but whatever 🦈) and name him Kaburamaru, but I know @rudebuster would kick my ass if I ever let a snake in the apartment. You totally should have heard her when there was a snake in front of our house in NJ.

I find this photo oddly cute, even though it's not Kyojuro. I guess it's the snake thing. 🤷‍♀️