How to make a doll look alive...

justintime · Post by **justintime** » Sun Apr 10, 2022 8:21 am

With photography, Yes eyes are key. The ability to really move the eyes ( and have them stay in position) is key. As Nesico stated, hands. Take your time, step back and look at the fingers. Try your best to pose each finger. Now with articulated hands and fingers it's a lot easier than in the past.
Twist the torso right or left and tilt the head. This will make all the difference. Never spin your dolls head without moving the shoulders and torso.
One big thing..always step back and look at your pose. Take a few photos and view the things that you think will improve the natural look of the dolls pose.

Something else that helps is. Look for photos of poses you like from the internet with models. Save those images to your computer, or to your cell. Use these as a starting point to begin a photo shoot. It really helps to have a reference.

Accessories also can add to realism.

Aussie70 · Post by **Aussie70** » Sun Jun 26, 2022 7:44 pm

Wow, what a difference, truly beautiful. Thanks so much!

Wraeyth · Post by **Wraeyth** » Wed Oct 26, 2022 12:57 pm

Really good info! Looking forward to getting a doll to help practice my skills

soonpk · Post by **soonpk** » Wed Oct 26, 2022 2:21 pm

Thanks for all the great info. I find that getting enough light to make the iris within the eye visible makes a huge difference in realism. Crooked fingers or slightly crossed eyes can really ruin the shot.

Dolly_Llama · Post by **Dolly_Llama** » Tue Nov 08, 2022 3:51 pm

Depending on your camera’s functionality, if you can use a long exposure, you can get away with less powerful lighting when using a constant light source. With that in mind, don’t despair if you don’t have good window light—fake it by either bouncing your lights off a blank white ceiling or wall, or use several lights behind a suspended white flat bed sheet to create a large soft light source. Basic shop lights work quite well when used in either scenario. Softer light is generally more pleasing than hard light, which is why portrait photographers like window light.

Another fun thing to experiment with is simple light painting. Again, you need the ability to take long exposures, and in this case your environment needs to be pitch black, but you can create some really beautiful images with nothing more than a flashlight. You literally just start the long exposure and “paint” your subject or regions of interest with the flashlight beam, being careful not to point the light at the lens. Using light painting, you can get super creative with colored lights as well and it’s not a problem if you step in front of the camera lens as you move around the doll, provided you wear dark/black clothing and don’t accidentally illuminate yourself.

Of course, with any long exposure, the camera needs to be motionless for the duration of the exposure to avoid motion blur. Use a tripod or rest the camera on a stable surface.