There are a number of reasons why it’s a good idea to take pictures of your reborn dolls. For instance, collectors who want to start a catalog or journal diary of their reborn dolls can place photos next to the information about the corresponding doll. This will allow you to see all of your reborn dolls by flipping through a journal instead of pulling out your entire collection. Alternatively, you can email friends and family members pictures of your reborn dolls if they are interested in the hobby as well. Sellers and doll artists can benefit from taking pictures of their reborns as well. Doll buyers NEED to see what the doll looks like before purchasing it, and that’s where photos come into play. Here we’ll take a look at some tips on how to take the best pictures of your reborn dolls.
If you’re a reborn doll artist, pictures can literally make or break your business. You have to remember that most transactions involving reborn dolls are done online; therefore, there’s no way for buyers to see the dolls in person, so they rely on photos to provide a clear representation of what the doll looks like. You can spend dozens of hours meticulously crafting one of the most realistic-looking reborn dolls in the world, but unless you have the right photos to show clients and customers, then it’s all for nothing. A collection of high-quality photos, however, will show off every little detail in your reborn and naturally show the client why they should purchase it.
Choosing The Right Camera
As you can expect, your camera will play a huge role in the quality of your reborn doll pictures. If you’re still using some basic low-resolution camera from the 90s, it’s probably time to throw it out and upgrade to a newer model. The money it costs for a new camera will pay for better quality pictures in the long run, and that will result in more money offered for your reborn dolls. Besides, I’m sure you’ll end up using your new camera to take pictures of dozens of other things as well.
Contrary to what some people believe, purchasing a new camera doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. Sure, you can spend well over $1,000 on a brand new digital SLR with interchangeable lenses, WiFi and all of this extra technology that you probably won’t use, but a more economical alternative to go with a point-and-click camera. They may not offer as many options as digital SLRs, but there are some really great point-and-click digital cameras that take amazing pictures in high resolution. Best of all, they only cost a fraction of the price, which ends up saving you hundreds of dollars.
When shopping for a new camera to use on your reborn dolls, here are some things to consider:
- The picture quality of a camera is defined by its resolution (megapixels). The more megapixels a camera is able to shoot in, the better pictures it will take. Any camera with at least a 14 megapixel resolution should take amazing pictures with crystal-clear details. However, you need to be aware that higher resolution pictures will take up more space on your memory card.
- Unless you plan on taking pictures of reborn dolls sitting on top of a faraway mountain, you probably don’t need a super-zoom camera. The zoom function is nice to have for safaris and outdoor adventures, but it simply isn’t necessary when you’re taking close-up photos of reborn dolls.
- Many consumers overlook the shutter lag rating on digital cameras. If you don’t know what this is, let me explain – basically, shutter lag is the time it takes for your camera to take a picture after you hit the button. In the past, this was a pretty big problem with cameras having shutter lag lasting for multiple seconds. Now, though, most of the high-quality digital cameras on the market should have shutter lag lasting only a second or less.
- You might be surprised to hear that even basic point-and-click digital cameras have video function built into them. If you want to take videos of your dolls or your reborn doll nurseries, look for a camera with this function built into it.
- The size of the LCD view screen is also something that shouldn’t go unnoticed. If your eyesight is as bad as mine, it’s a good idea to get a camera with a large and prominent LCD view screen, as this will make it easier for you to preview pictures. You can then immediately delete the ones that didn’t turn out right.
- Having a digital camera with WiFi built in is a nice luxury that takes a few steps out of the whole reborn doll photo-taking process. Instead of transferring your reborn doll photos via a USB cable or memory card, you can send them directly to your computer, saving you both time and energy.
How To Create The Perfect Reborn Doll Photo Scene
Taking a quality picture of your reborn dolls takes a little more effort than simply pointing a camera and clicking. Remember, people are going to see everything on and around your reborn doll in the picture, so you’ll want to spend some time creating an attractive scene. The extra work it takes will result in a better picture that naturally compliments the look of your reborn doll.
First and foremost, decide on a background for your reborn doll photograph. Some owners may simply use their nursery or a day bed as a background, but I recommend setting up an actual photo backdrop. You can find these for sale at most photography stores, retail or online, for as little as $50 bucks for a basic white model. Once you’ve acquired one, set it up and place your reborn doll in front of it. Also, it’s a good idea to accessorize your reborn with something like a teddy bear, baby bottle, pacifier or something similar. This will add a decorative element to the picture that works to bring everything together.
Here are some tips to remember when taking pictures of your reborn dolls:
- Use a backdrop to create a more professional-looking background with minimal distractions.
- Set up additional lighting facing your reborn dolls to brighten up the pictures (poor lighting should be avoided at all costs).
- Take multiple pictures from all different angles before moving on to the next reborn doll.
- Don’t be afraid to experiment with different positions for your reborn dolls. After all, you aren’t going to know if something works until you try it.
Finalizing Your Photos
After you’ve taken plenty of reborn doll photos, you’ll then want to add some finishing touches to them. The thought of using a photo editing program may scare away some, but it’s actually pretty easy. Most experienced graphic designers will agree that Adobe Photoshop is the best all-around editing program. However, the truth is that it contains a steep learning curve (extremely difficult to learn) and hundreds of features that most people will probably never use. Instead, I recommend downloading a copy of Paint.Net. It offers a clean, user-friendly interface where you remove blurs, red eye, add borders, change colors, sharpen your images, and oh yeah did I mention it was free?
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