Tieren Posted June 24, 2012 Friday night I did Yuki's hair for the first time and put her in a new outfit thinking that I would try to do an outdoor photo shoot sometime in the next week. I must have had it on my mind all night because I woke up wide awake at 6am Saturday morning after only sleeping for 4 hours. (I was aiming for 9am) I made it to my photo spot around 8am and I ended up getting about an hour of overcast skies before I had to start looking for specific shady areas. I had way more fun than I expected and the 3 hours I had available pretty much flew by. I was a bit worried about walking around with a doll, and I did get some looks from morning joggers but no one said anything to me. These photos were taken along the Ottawa river, at a place which is about a 5 min. bike ride from where I live. In transit I carried Yuki in my backpack. I took her legs off, put her wig in a zip-lock, and wrapped the rest of her in bubble wrap. I took an extra set of camera batteries and water spray for her hair, both of which were extremely useful. The only thing I wished I had during the shoot was a blanket or cloth that Yuki could sit on. I took about 100 photos, kept 40 of them, and here are the highlights. Click for larger versions. This was my first photo spot. I had to move around a bit when the sun came out. I love how Yuki's skin came out in this one. It was nice that I didn't have to do as much photo colour fixing with the outdoor shots as I usually do with the indoor ones. The early photos I just cropped a bit. The later photos that I shot in the shade I modified the colour balance slightly because they all came out slightly green. I don't have a doll stand and it was a bit windy so almost all of my photos have Yuki leaning against something. I did have a couple bad falls but she didn't get too dirty. I did my best to make the posing look natural, as if she actually would lean against these things. Here you can see the back of her hairstyle. It's my first attempt at arranging anyone's hair and I think it turned out super-cute. Here's the camera setup I used: a cheap tripod that my Dad gave me before I moved out and a Nikon 4 MP point & shoot. I also used my playbook a bit to get an idea of how various lighting set ups would turn out. My Nikon shoots slightly better photos than the playbook so I didn't keep any of them. Yuki showing off some flowers she found. I didn't want to use a hair clip on the front of her head so in between positions I spent a lot of time re-wetting her bangs so they would kind of go where I wanted them. Mostly I just wanted them out of her eyes. I was doing a timed shot when this dog suddenly appeared. I was a bit panicky for a moment there (look how close he is!) but he just continued on by. I didn't even notice until afterwards that he/she was in the photo. It's not uncommon for joggers to let their pets off their leashes in some parts of the city. Here Yuki and I are sitting in a bit of shade since the sun has come out and I'm deciding on where I want to go next. I had to move my bike and all of my equipment so it took a bit of planning. I wanted to do an overhead photo with Yuki's dress laid out around her, but the skirt she's wearing underneath is not part of the original outfit, and was not circular enough for that type of shot. Yuki showing me some more flowers she found. This is the only shot I got with her not leaning against anything. I gave up on it when she fell backward a minute later. Another shady spot that also provided something convenient to help prop Yuki up. I forced the flash to go off in this photo, but it was hard to tell how well it worked at the time on my camera's tiny screen. I played around a bit with her arms and her hair. Back to the river for a picnic table. Yuki waving at me. I was considering having Yuki watching the train, but I only had so much time before I knew it would come by. Yuki's all ready to go to the next photo spot! Holden' up the sign. The shady side was perfectly positioned. I think the reflections in the sign are neat, and didn't even notice them until I got home. A final shot of Yuki and I. I hope you enjoyed my photos! Personally I am amazed at how well some of them turned out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
otakusan Posted June 24, 2012 Good job, beautiful weather for outdoor shot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scripple Posted June 24, 2012 Nice job on the hair and the photos. They turned out well. Check out my new DollFun website. Share your own doll photos with free image hosting. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mitsuki Posted June 24, 2012 Those are such beautiful shots! You have such a sweet and adorable model! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RaveOfNightmares Posted June 24, 2012 Looks like you two had a fun few hours there. It also looks like you have much better luck with camera flashes than I do... I always have to apply roughly -2EV flash compensation in camera, then edit afterwards to keep the picture from being whited out. That picture with the dog is too awesome. 21 DD girls: Mio, Marina, Yui, Yoko, Nia, Lily, Arisu, Akina, Momo, Arisa, Yukina, Ayaka, Niimi, Eri, Millefeuille, Ekisu, Chitose, Miyabi, KOS-MOS v.4, Hatsune Miku and God Eater Alisa. 2B in a hopeful future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
milkytea Posted June 24, 2012 These are lovely photos~ I really like the way you styled her hair. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taidai Posted June 24, 2012 LOL I'm pretty sure I saw you taking those pics when I was biking by. Good to know there's some other DD fanatics in my area. Great shots btw, definitely was an awesome day to take pics Be sure to check out my misadventures in the Dollfie Dream world: I have NO idea what I'm doing and my Flickr Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ara Posted June 24, 2012 Ha, I first thought that was Germany because of the red train in the background. And phew on the dog photo, I know how it can be when suddenly a dog appears. Lovely photos and girl! I know how much courage it needs to take out your dolls and take pictures of them, I usually go the "it's for...eh...university" route but I bet for a guy it's even harder. Love the last picture with you and your girl, really cute Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MissLadyBossy Posted June 24, 2012 I really like seeing outdoor shoots. She looks really cute. Home: Alter (Anya), Sakuya (Layla), Extra (Sasha), Aoko (Nadia), Beatrice (Sophia), Alice (Elyse), Mariko (Madeline), Sailor Moon (Serena), Mercury (Ami), Mars (Rei), Jupiter (Lita), Venus (Mina), Transcendence Gray (Lexa) and Tea (Sloane) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
baldylox Posted June 24, 2012 Excellent! Doing outdoor shoots is one of my favorite things to do with my girls. They just lend themselves so well to it and from the looks of these pics, so does yours. That was a nice area you went to, I liked the bridge in the background. I would have liked to have seen more of the grafitti tho, that stuff always intrigues me. The dog picture was funny but I also would have been scared of him grabbing Yuki and hauling her off! I'm glad the dog ignored her. And that last photo is great! Seeing owners with their girls is always so cool. Great stuff and congrats on your first outing! I hope you and Yuki do many more in the future! Billy I gave up counting the girls I own, they keep multiplying and won't stop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kymaera Posted June 24, 2012 Nice pictures. Seeing great shots like these make me miss greenery a bit. Not much of it around here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anonymous_object Posted June 25, 2012 Nice first outdoor shoot . It's nice to find quiet, secluded areas like that for photographing. I don't like to be interrupted myself. Though that dog coming into the shot like that is pretty hilarious. Kind of like Dogzilla in DD proportions xD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgivisionary Posted June 25, 2012 Your Yuki looks great out there. She did seem a bit worried with the big dog, though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sakky Posted June 25, 2012 Lovely to see your photos~ it makes me want to go outside and shoot too! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sofiel Posted June 25, 2012 I love the photo of her waving at you and the one of her on the bike! So cute~ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tieren Posted June 26, 2012 Yuki and I are thankful for everyone's nice comments! Those are such beautiful shots! You have such a sweet and adorable model! I agree, she is super-adorable. Looks like you two had a fun few hours there. It also looks like you have much better luck with camera flashes than I do... I always have to apply roughly -2EV flash compensation in camera, then edit afterwards to keep the picture from being whited out. From shooting with a flash indoors and a bit of past photography experience I didn't know what to expect. I knew that I would be able to use the flash to lighten the dark areas in the foreground of my pictures but I didn't know if it would white things out, which is very difficult to correct afterward, or simply make the shadow positionings in the picture look weird. I ended up only trying it a few times and only kept the one photo. I was also using the 'auto' mode on my camera most of the time, which automatically adjusts exposure and focus settings on the fly. The effect of the sun was much much worse than my camera flash though. These are lovely photos~ I really like the way you styled her hair. Thanks! It took me a while to get it right, but after having her hair like this for a while I love her even more than before! LOL I'm pretty sure I saw you taking those pics when I was biking by. Good to know there's some other DD fanatics in my area. Yuki is sad that you didn't stop to say hi. Ha, I first thought that was Germany because of the red train in the background.And phew on the dog photo, I know how it can be when suddenly a dog appears. Lovely photos and girl! I know how much courage it needs to take out your dolls and take pictures of them, I usually go the "it's for...eh...university" route but I bet for a guy it's even harder. Love the last picture with you and your girl, really cute As far as trains we are so behind Europe. In my city we just have the one train route. It takes 15 minutes to travel from one end to the other, there are 5 stations, and there are two trains that overlap in the middle. The picture at the end was really a last minute decision. I wasn't originally intending on doing a shot with her. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tieren Posted June 26, 2012 Excellent! Doing outdoor shoots is one of my favorite things to do with my girls. They just lend themselves so well to it and from the looks of these pics, so does yours. That was a nice area you went to, I liked the bridge in the background. I would have liked to have seen more of the grafitti tho, that stuff always intrigues me. The dog picture was funny but I also would have been scared of him grabbing Yuki and hauling her off! I'm glad the dog ignored her. And that last photo is great! Seeing owners with their girls is always so cool. Great stuff and congrats on your first outing! I hope you and Yuki do many more in the future! Here's a photo of some of the grafitti that I shot that I didn't include in my post: I agree about the outdoors shooting. I've had to work pretty hard to get my DD's skin to look right with my indoor shots, and I barely had to do anything special with the outdoor shots. When I mentioned to my landlady that the dog came so close she made the same comment. I haven't shot any photos with my landlady's 5+ cats yet but I'm sure they'd love to play with her wig! Nice pictures. Seeing great shots like these make me miss greenery a bit. Not much of it around here. One of the things that's nice about this city is that there is green everywhere. It has some downsides in that rules that protect green areas have had a significant effect on the development of the city. There's an area around the main city that's protected so it's resulted in a bunch of satellite communities that people have to commute from. The university campus where I shot the photos has a lot of green areas because it's not directly downtown and there are not many roads between buildings; mostly they run around the campus. In the summer they spend a lot of money maintaining the grass, planting flowers, and keeping walking paths clear. Your Yuki looks great out there. She did seem a bit worried with the big dog, though. I'd say she was more worried about my sudden panicked expression. "Yuki, stay calm and don't move. There's a dog 5x your size behind you that may or may not carry you away." I love the photo of her waving at you and the one of her on the bike! So cute~ I've tried waving photos in the past and didn't like how they looked, but I was happy with it this time. I also like how good my camera focus was on the close-up waving picture. I was briefly tempted to let her ride on the back of my bike but I didn't have anything to tie her on and there's no way her wig would have stayed on. I ended up holding her on my handlebars while walking my bike or taking her wig off and having her ride in my backpack. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SisterKyoya Posted June 27, 2012 Congrats on your outing with your girl! It's rewarding to see how happy it makes them to be able to see the outside world. The look on the dog's face is really funny. ~Sister Kyoya Forum Blog: Badger Pocket Tales (Family story from the beginning) | { Old Family story reboot: Start Here! } Follow me on Twitter, Flickr & Instagram Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Innocentsake Posted June 27, 2012 You did an excellent job with this photo shoot! Really love the location you picked out And oh goodness I would've been afraid of that dog just picking her up and running off too! Thankfully it was a well behaved dog hehe~ It did make for a pretty awesome shot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DefectiveAngel Posted June 28, 2012 Wonderful pictures! I love how you styled Yuki's hair and that dress she has on, she is such a cutie! These are some really great outdoor pics. You picked a great spot to take Yuki and it looks like she had lots of fun getting to explore. That is so crazy with the pic that had the dog. I would have been freaking out for such a large dog to randomly appear behind one of my girls. I'm glad you got to take Yuki out to get these pics. I hope you get to take her to many more lovely outdoor places like this one in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites