Creation of a Christmas card

Last year was the first year I ever made my own DD themed Christmas cards and luckily, people seemed to enjoy them. So I decided to do it again this year but be a bit more festive.

 

The process last year was simple.... get all the girls together on a table, pose them with some Santa hats and then take the pic with me in the background. Easy right? Lemme tell you, it wasn't. Getting all the girls facing the camera correctly as well as setting the camera up on a tripod and the timer set properly while making sure I was in place at the right time all took me way longer than expected. But this is what I wound up with:

 

DSC_3563 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

Not too shabby I think.

 

Now for this year, I had WAY more girls to deal with and in order to be more "Christmassy", I decided to do this photo in front of the tree. This gave me some issues tho.... trying to get ALL the girls into the shot was harder due to the limited space on the table. I took this photo after rearranging them twice.

 

DSC_9105 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

But there was too much empty space around the bottom of the table and the top of the tree. So I zoomed in a little to give me this shot:

 

DSC_9106 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

Had I zoomed in anymore, I would have cut out parts of girls so I had to stay at this level of zoom. So with my spacing looking as good as I could get it, I still needed something.....

 

Oh yeah, Santa hats!

 

DSC_9107 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

So with all that set up, I just needed a spot for me to be in the picture. First I tried this position:

 

DSC_9109 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

While I thought this was funny looking, it wasn't right. I moved to the right but it still didn't work for me. Finally, I went to the back of the photo and got this shot:

 

DSC_9110 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

Ahh, MUCH better! The girls all look good and since they're the focus, it was best for me to be in the background anyway. So I kept this shot to be the one I'd use for my Christmas cards. Hopefully people will enjoy this one too.

 

And now for a closeup of the girls.

 

DSC_9113 by balldylox, on Flickr

 

Unfortunately, Katerina hadn't arrived yet so she wasn't in this photo. But she'll be in plenty of the upcoming Christmas pics from me.

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing my process for making my cards this year!

 

 

 

 

Billy

That is so awesome! I am not sure why but there is something intensely heartwarming about a big family all gathered in one place. Christmas just adds that much more to the magic. Spectacular photos! This year and last. Plus last year's photo makes a great comparison to show how easy it is to get more and more family members.

 

I hope you and your girls have a spectacular Christmas!

I think it's a nice photo of all of your dolls and a neat tradition~ n_n

That is an awesome photo. Cute and funny and very festive.

I love looking at the pics as if they are "then & now", and it's amazing how many girls you have

 

It's also nice to see how you go about trying to arrange them all so that they will all fit into the pic without any of them being cut out

Beautiful family photos. I am moved

That is so awesome! I am not sure why but there is something intensely heartwarming about a big family all gathered in one place. Christmas just adds that much more to the magic. Spectacular photos! This year and last. Plus last year's photo makes a great comparison to show how easy it is to get more and more family members.

 

I hope you and your girls have a spectacular Christmas!

 

 

Thank you! I also love seeing photos of large groups of DD's, it's really cool to me. And you're right, last year I had 11 girls, this year I've added 7 more to the mix. It's way too easy to have the family grow when I have so many enablers working to hit 20.

 

 

I think it's a nice photo of all of your dolls and a neat tradition~ n_n

 

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

That is an awesome photo. Cute and funny and very festive.

 

 

Thanks so much!

 

 

I love looking at the pics as if they are "then & now", and it's amazing how many girls you have. It's also nice to see how you go about trying to arrange them all so that they will all fit into the pic without any of them being cut out

 

 

Thank you sir! I surely never thought I'd have such a large family last year, much less 7 more by this year. It's not easy fitting them all in but it would be mean if I cut anyone out of a family photo...

 

 

Beautiful family photos. I am moved

 

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

 

 

Billy

Very nice and funny shot, just like last year.

It is great to see how you did it. Hope you had a lot of fun!

A beautiful picture! I liked the way you explained all you went thru to get the pic, it does take some time to get things just right.

Here's to you and all your girls for a very merry and cheerful Christmas and New Year!

Very nice and funny shot, just like last year.

It is great to see how you did it. Hope you had a lot of fun!

 

 

Thank you! I did have fun doing it even tho it took some time to do it.

 

 

A beautiful picture! I liked the way you explained all you went thru to get the pic, it does take some time to get things just right.

Here's to you and all your girls for a very merry and cheerful Christmas and New Year!

 

 

Thank you sir! I figured people may not know what went into those shots so why not share? Thanks for the holiday wishes too, we all hope you and your girls enjoy the holidays as well!

 

 

 

Billy

It's fascinating to see how everything comes about! I like seeing what goes into other people's photos. :3 I like the end result, too! Nice photo of you and your girls~

ok, next year you'll need a friend to hold the camera while you lay on the floor with all the girls crowding you! Thats the only way everyone will fit in the photo =P

Great christmas photos!! ^___^

I bet the posing did take forever, I have a hard time making my one girl look into the camera, I can't imagine all yours XD !

Also love Manami's posing hehehe~

Your cards are a riot, we love them here! I think you made the right choice when it came to placing Billy though... I hear he's not as easy to pose as the DD bodies are.

 

He must be an older model XD

 

... and I see two of my shirts! HAHA!

 

I can't wait to see your newest girl... although your signature has just gotten lazy XD

Although when you reach 1,000 you can probably stop counting XD

We need to know how many girls live there!

hehe XD elf!!

 

I love all your girls merry christmas

It's fascinating to see how everything comes about! I like seeing what goes into other people's photos. :3 I like the end result, too! Nice photo of you and your girls~

 

 

Thank you! I thought people may enjoy seeing my process, I'm glad you did!

 

 

ok, next year you'll need a friend to hold the camera while you lay on the floor with all the girls crowding you! Thats the only way everyone will fit in the photo =P

 

 

Ha ha ha! I had actually thought about something similar before but didn't do it. But maybe next year we can pull that off.

 

 

Great christmas photos!! ^___^

I bet the posing did take forever, I have a hard time making my one girl look into the camera, I can't imagine all yours XD !

Also love Manami's posing hehehe~

 

 

Thank you very much! Getting all the girls on the table and posed only took about an hour so it wasn't THAT bad. But setting up the lights, the tripod and getting the camera settings and timer right, that was a pain because it was all trial and error. And thanks about Manami, she's my little clown and enjoys showing off whenever she can.

 

 

Your cards are a riot, we love them here! I think you made the right choice when it came to placing Billy though... I hear he's not as easy to pose as the DD bodies are. He must be an older model XD

 

Thank you so much! I'm happy you guys enjoy my cards. And you are so right about posing that Billy doll... his joints are old and creaky and he gets fidgety when you make him stand still for more than 5 seconds. I guess he needs to be taken apart and cleaned and tightened up....

 

... and I see two of my shirts! HAHA!

 

Oh you know I *love* those shirts! Yukino looks super cute in that one but since it's kinda tight on her, she looks sexy too! And of course Manami wears them often because they're tight... she's such a showoff.

 

I can't wait to see your newest girl... although your signature has just gotten lazy XD

Although when you reach 1,000 you can probably stop counting XD

We need to know how many girls live there!

 

You mean Hitomi or Katerina? I've done intros for both of them.... PAY ATTENTION! LOL

And my sig isn't being lazy, it's just that I have to change it so often, why try and keep up? Plus I figured it was funny...

 

But I have 18 girls now. I *guess* I can put that info in my sig for you diehards.

 

 

hehe XD elf!!

 

I love all your girls merry christmas

 

 

Thank you very much!

 

 

 

 

Billy

 

 

You mean Hitomi or Katerina? I've done intros for both of them.... PAY ATTENTION!

 

 

I was looking for them in New Arrivals

I had meant Katerina... I though salica's post about her was hilarious.

I'm shocked she didn't show up in Maid Brigade gear.

oh... my god.. this is adorable!

 

=3= send an old meet friend a card to michigan? *grabby*

 

 

You mean Hitomi or Katerina? I've done intros for both of them.... PAY ATTENTION!

 

 

I was looking for them in New Arrivals

I had meant Katerina... I though salica's post about her was hilarious.

I'm shocked she didn't show up in Maid Brigade gear.

 

She will be in a maid outfit eventually , don't worry

Good explanations for the Christmas card making process ! I love your Christmas cards

But you will have to buy a bigger table for next year

 

I don't take family pictures too often because it is so complicated to pose all the girls and trying to make them all look at the camera just make me crazy

 

So I know how it must have been difficult for you ....

That is why I only take one girl every year for MY Christmas cards

Good explanations for the Christmas card making process ! I love your Christmas cards

But you will have to buy a bigger table for next year

 

I don't take family pictures too often because it is so complicated to pose all the girls and trying to make them all look at the camera just make me crazy

 

So I know how it must have been difficult for you ....

That is why I only take one girl every year for MY Christmas cards

 

Your card is awesome too

... but Billy isn't going to need a bigger table, he's going to need a stage XD

... assuming his house guests keep coming in at the same rate, hehehehehe

Billy, your Christmas cards are always the highlight of the yearly mail arrivals

 

They always make me smile.

I was looking for them in New Arrivals

I had meant Katerina... I though salica's post about her was hilarious.

I'm shocked she didn't show up in Maid Brigade gear.

 

 

Heh, I guess that makes sense. And I agree that Kat's thread by Salica was pretty funny. I was thinking I'd have her be a syrprise but Salica wanted to give her a proper send off so we agreed on that post. It worked out really well. And don't worry, I already have something prepared for Katerina for a maid setp. Rei couldn't let her professional show up here without having a proper uniform!

 

 

oh... my god.. this is adorable! =3= send an old meet friend a card to michigan? *grabby*

 

 

Hey hey! Thank you very much! PM me your address and I'll be glad to mail you a card.

 

 

Good explanations for the Christmas card making process ! I love your Christmas cards

But you will have to buy a bigger table for next year

 

I don't take family pictures too often because it is so complicated to pose all the girls and trying to make them all look at the camera just make me crazy

 

So I know how it must have been difficult for you ....

That is why I only take one girl every year for MY Christmas cards

 

 

Thank you very much! And yes, you know how much fun it is to do pics like this. But it's only once a year so I *had* to do it. And I loved your card! It was perfectly adorable!

 

 

... but Billy isn't going to need a bigger table, he's going to need a stage XD

... assuming his house guests keep coming in at the same rate, hehehehehe

 

 

Ha ha ha! A stage huh? I had been thinking of adding shelves in my guest bedroom for the girls at one time but they would take up a LOT of wall space. So I don't think I'll be doing that. And I hope my houseguests as you call them don't keep arriving at the same rate. If they do, I'll have problems with space.... as in I won't be able to pay my house payment and will be on the street!

 

 

Billy, your Christmas cards are always the highlight of the yearly mail arrivals

They always make me smile.

 

 

Oh wow, I'm totally flattered you think so highly of my cards!

 

 

I'm very happy you enjoy my cards. And I thank you for such a wonderful compliment.

 

 

 

 

 

Billy

Billy that is so lovely. I also enjoy seeing big family group shots. Big kudos to you becuase I know the time and effort put into one of these photos. Merry Christmas to you and your family and thank you for making mine a little bit brighter!!!

Billy that is so lovely. I also enjoy seeing big family group shots. Big kudos to you becuase I know the time and effort put into one of these photos. Merry Christmas to you and your family and thank you for making mine a little bit brighter!!!

 

 

Thank you very much! I'm guessing you got your card?

 

 

 

Billy