Doll Photography with Beast'sbelle #4: Editing

We've arrived at the last of the photography posts:  editing.  I feel kind of unqualified to share this with you because most of what I do is experimentation, trial and error (like everything else I've discussed already). :}  Still, perhaps some of you will be able to use this post as a starting point and make your own discoveries in the world of photo editing as a result. :)

My favorite online editing site is ribbet.com.  I used to use picnik.com until it was discontinued last year.  I played around with a few other sites but wasn't fully satisfied with any of them.  Then a reader recommended Ribbet.  I was thrilled to find many of the familiar, user-friendly tools from Picnik on Ribbet.  An added plus to this site is that right now, Ribbet premium is free.  Ribbet premium gives you more editing options and allows you to store your latest 100 uploads on the site.  I've found this to be extremely helpful whenever I work on a collage for one of my blog headers.  I have plenty of photos to pick and choose from. :)

Ribbet has some excellent editing tools, including cropping and resizing options, color adjustment, and text.  There are some wonderful templates for collages as well.  I've found these to be extremely useful for making fun and unique blog headers, such as these ones:

All of these collages had effects and text added afterwards, but this at least gives you an idea of some of the different layouts you can use.  I always enjoy coming up with fun and unique headers. :)

The only thing I would change about Ribbet is that there is not an option to save your edited pictures directly to Picasa Web albums, which was an option on Picnik.  I store most of my pictures on Picasa since Blogger automatically stores pictures there.  It's easiest to have all of my pictures in one place.  I'm also involved in several doll forums which require an image URL for any image you want to add to their site.  On Picnik, I could edit or resize my photo, save it directly to Picasa, and add it to the forums.  Now, I have to save my edited picture to the computer, move it to Picasa, and add it to the forums.  It's only one extra step, but it's enough of a hassle that I don't add nearly as many pictures to forums as I used to.  They do at least have an option to save pictures directly to Flickr, so I suppose I could stop complaining and just start saving my edited pictures on my Flickr account. ;)

Enough of all that, though.  Let's get down to the actual editing.

I'm sure you'll all be shocked to find out that I usually use a process of trial and error when editing my photos.  (Note...that sentence is meant to be read in my sarcastic voice.) ;)  Sigh...you guys are probably sick and tired of hearing the "trial and error" phrase after this series of posts...sorry! :}  Most of the successfully edited photos I've ended up with have been either the result of a happy accident or the one awesome picture after countless disappointments. :}

I find that I tend to gravitate towards the same editing tools each time.  I especially love the "soften", "vignette", "boost", and "sepia" effects and use them often.  Ribbet has just recently added some fun new effects that I tried out this time, just for something new. :)

I thought the best way to do this post would be to show you some samples of pictures before and after they were edited and explain what effects I used.  As always, if you have questions that aren't addressed in the post, feel free to comment below. :)

As I already mentioned in my first photography post, I recently did a photo shoot of Belle, Robby, and Emilie for Belle's Bulletins.  I had a great time trying to make their pics look like something from a professional studio.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I love the sweet look of this photo.  It didn't need much.

Adding a simple vignette and using the "soften" effect gave it just the right touch.

Side note here:  Getting the soften effect to work just right can be a bit of a challenge.  The goal is to make the photo look slightly warm and dreamy, but not blurry.  Play around with it a bit until you get the look you want.

For Robby and Belle's kissing pose, I decided I wanted a fun, vintage look.

Ribbet recently added an effect called "True Vintage".  I would highly recommend trying this effect.  There are a variety of options to make your picture look old-fashioned and unique.  You can also adjust the lighting and the visibility of the "old photo" effect.  This one was the first choice.  I decided to add some text to the bottom corner...

...but in the end, I decided that I liked the photo best without any text.

Here's another cute photo of Robby and Belle together.

I'm a huge fan of black and white or sepia toned pictures, so I decided to go for a classic black and white look here.  I also added a vignette and slightly softened the picture.

I really loved the artsy feel of this photo, but since I can't leave well enough alone...

...I decided to add a vignette.  (Did I mention how much I like using "vignette"?) ;)

Here's another picture that had a very wedding-y feel. (I know "wedding-y" isn't really a word, but admit it...you know exactly what I mean.) ;)  

To make it even more dreamy, I used the sepia effect but adjusted the fade so that there was still a hint of color.  Then I added the "matte" effect (located just under vignette).  It's basically a white vignette. :} 

For this picture, I wanted to try something different.  I noticed that there were some new effects named after places around the world.

As soon as I tried "Morocco" and adjusted the "Moroccan Sun" to the 70s, I knew I'd found just the right tone for the picture. :)

Here's another photo similar to something you might see in a wedding photo shoot.

Once again, we have a case of black and white with slight softening and a vignette.  Like I said, I tend to go back to the same effects again and again. :}

I really loved this profile shot of the two of them.

For the edited picture, I decided to go for the "True Vintage" effect again.  This time, though, I wanted to try a different vintage look.  This one is the fifth option over on the bottom row.  I added the word "Love" in the "All Used Up" font.  I thought the rather faded look of the letters added to the vintage look.  Oh, and...um...I added a vignette.  Are you surprised? ;)

Here's a sweet family photo I took of the three dolls.

When I edited this picture, I decided I wanted to focus a little more on the faces.  I cropped it so that just the three faces were showing, and then I added the black and white effect and...ahem...a vignette.  Hey, you've gotta admit, the vignette just gives these pics a nice finishing touch! :)

And here's the last of the pictures I'll share from this photo shoot.

I decided to go for another sepia toned picture this time around and topped it off with a vignette.  I think I could have gone with a more subtle vignette effect on this one, though.  It's almost a little too much.

My other recent photo shoot was the one I did for the Doll Wardrobe's most recent photo contest.  If you haven't made it over to see all of the great entries, you can see them HERE.  Click HERE if you want more info on the contest.  This is the last week of voting (the deadline was extended for one week), so we should find out the four finalists soon.  I always love taking part in these contests because they challenge me to come up with new, creative ideas for my photography. :)

Here's one of the entries I submitted.  Jenna looks lovely in this photo, but I felt the lighting needed a little help and that the whole thing could use a little "oomph".  

I started out by using the "boost" effect.  I had to fiddle with it a bit...at first the colors were WAY too brilliant.  I think it was somewhere in the 20s when I was content with the look.  To add a bit more, I gave it a very slight "soften" effect and added a small "vignette" (I think I adjusted the size to about 4) to give the edges of the photo more definition.  I feel that these additions make it stand out a bit more than the original.  I love the beautiful look of the light and the brilliance of the color. :)

I didn't end up using this photo for the contest, but I still love the way it turned out.

I decided that I wanted to have a black and white photo with just a splash of color.  One of my readers mentioned that this picture reminded her of the well-known Kim Anderson photos.  While Kim Anderson's photography wasn't necessarily in my head at the time I did this, that was definitely the type of look I was going for.  To accomplish this, I used the "Focal B&W" effect.  I adjusted the focal size so that it just surrounded the rose and nothing else.  I then adjusted the fade so that there were still hints of color in the rest of the picture.  The fade was around 24% when I reached the desired look.  Then, surprise, surprise...I added a vignette and softened the photo. ;)

This picture and the next one were also not used for the contest.  It was still fun playing around with them, though. :)

I think I used the boost, soften, and vignette for this one.

For this picture, I decided to mute the colors instead...

...so I used the "sepia" effect...with soften and vignette.  Wow, I'm in quite a rut, aren't I? ;)

I was super pleased with the way this sweet Snow White-esque picture of Tess turned out.

I was even more thrilled with it when I added "boost", "soften", and a very very slight "vignette".  See how the color just pops compared to the original?  

I took soooo many pictures of Maggie with the Narnia theme.  I still wasn't 100% happy with the finished product.  It wasn't quite as awesome as the picture I'd had in my mind. ;)  Still, it's not the worst I've ever done, and at least I got to do a Narnia themed picture. :)

This is rather embarrassing, but I can't remember which effect I used to change the color on this one.  I don't think it was "boost", but it might have been.  I was looking for a slightly vintage, slightly dreamy look with this one.  And of course, no Beast'sbelle picture is complete without a vignette. ;)  

This was one of the other versions in the running, but I didn't end up using it because I decided I wanted Maggie and her book to be in focus rather than the lion figurine.  I adjusted the color using...one of the color adjusting effects that I can't exactly remember. ;)  I also used the "matte" effect again, but this time I adjusted the color so that the matte was green instead of white.

And last but not least is another picture of my sweet little Tess.

I went for another Kim Anderson type effect with this one.  This time around, though, I didn't fade the color at all.  I kept the rest of the picture plain black and white.

I know that wasn't the most extensive or informative post on editing photos, but hopefully, just like the other posts, it gave you some ideas and inspired you to discover your own favorite editing tools.  There's so much more to ribbet.com than I mentioned here.  I've barely scratched the surface myself.  (Perhaps if I would get off my vignette kick, I might discover some of the other joys of the site.) ;)  

So here's your challenge:  go do some editing!  Don't be afraid to try things that might not work.  Just like everything else we've discussed in this series, you never know what you might discover through your experimentation. :)

I hope you've all enjoyed this series of posts.   It's been fun sharing a few "tricks of the trade", such as they are.  I've enjoyed the feedback I've gotten from so many of you, and I'm thrilled that these posts have been helpful to some of you.  

Have a great week, everyone!  Be back soon. :)

Doll Photography with Beast'sbelle #3: Emotion

Wow, guys...I'm up to 225 followers and close to 400,000 pageviews!!  I never dreamed this little blog would come so far.  Thank you to all of you who follow my blog, read my posts, and leave such wonderful comments.  I couldn't have done this without you. :)

To show my appreciation, I have a little mini giveaway planned for when I officially reach the 400,000 pageviews mark.  Stay tuned for more details! :)

Now, on to our next photography post. :)  We've covered posing, lighting, and background already.  Today, it's all about emotion.

What makes a photo stand out in a photo story?  Quality and beauty are both helpful, but for me, it comes down to pictures that capture the emotion of the story.  When the dolls in the picture look like they're actually feeling the way the author describes, I'm hooked.

As any of you who have done doll photo stories know, however, this can be a difficult thing to accomplish.  Dolls, unlike humans, cannot change their facial expressions.  So how on earth do we capture emotions other than happiness when we're working with a perpetually cheerful, smiling doll?

Here are a few tips I've figured out along the way. ;)

Body Language:

This is by far the tool I use the most when trying to express a certain emotion on camera.  The way a doll is posed can suggest all sorts of emotions or feelings.  Here are just a few examples:

In this photo, Maggie and Tess are in conversation.  Maggie, bold and opinionated as usual, stands tall and has full eye contact.  Tess, who is shy and doesn't like to contradict, stands slightly hunched over and is not quite meeting Maggie's eyes.

Here, Tess is comforting Hailey.  To show Hailey's sadness, I placed her in a slumped over sitting position. Many times when we're trying not to cry, we look down and avoid eye contact.  I wanted to express Tess's concern for her sister, so I decided to make her lean over her sister.  She is looking into Hailey's face because all of her attention is focused on her.  Little details like having her right hand almost touching Hailey's shoe and her left arm around her sister add to the feel of the picture.

Raised arms are very useful for expressing a variety of emotions.  When Maggie has her arms raised, it's usually when she's in ranting mode. ;)

Raised arms can also be used to express excitement, over new dolls...

...or amazing food. ;)

In this picture I wanted to show Tess's happiness with her new doll.  Having her hold the doll close and lean against her gave the impression I wanted.

Although it's not exactly an emotion, body language can also depict sleepiness.  I especially loved placing Janie face down, as if she'd completely worn herself out and flopped down on the bed. ;)

Here, Belle is not interested in going on a walk with Robby, as suggested by her hand and the way she is turned away from him.  Robby has one hand stretched out, as if he just asked her but was cut short.

In this photo, I wanted to express Robby's longing for Belle's affection.  Meanwhile, Belle is feeling a bit shy, so she is looking away with her chin dipped down and her hands in her lap.

Here, Belle has just had an argument with Robby and is feeling frustrated by her actions.  I put her hand on her forehead, as many humans do when exasperated by something.  The sideways camera angle, which was basically used so my hand wouldn't show in the picture, ended up adding a cool artsy look to the photo. 

Facial Expression:

I know this may not make sense when I specifically said that dolls do not change their expressions.  Let me explain myself. ;)  Sometimes, the expression painted on a doll's face lends itself to a certain personality and helps with photo stories.  

For example, as soon as I got Ben, I knew he had a very serious personality.  He always comes across as quite stately in his photos, especially when he's gazing across the room.  I always sort of picture him as a doll version of Mr. Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice". ;)

I also knew he would be the perfect physician for the group.  He always looks intelligent and serious when bent over the latest patient.  Plus, he can bend his legs completely back, which comes in handy for those bedside photos. ;)

There's something very earnest in Robby's expression, so I always portray him as very straightforward and sincere.  There's also a bit of a wistful quality there, which worked well for all of those "pining after Belle" posts. ;)

Even sweet Tess's face helped to determine her personality.  With those big, brown eyes and that closed-mouth smile, I knew she was going to be quiet and shy.

Author's Interpretation:

Sometimes, a picture I take inspires a story.  I look at the way the picture turns out and add my own spin to it.  I couldn't find many examples of this, but I do have the picture below:

This picture was used in one of Belle's posts when she was just beginning to realize her feelings for Robby, but hadn't really admitted it to herself.  In this picture, they'd just fallen off of a lion statue and were laughing and catching their breath.  Then it turned into one of those moments that suddenly becomes intense and uncomfortable.  Robby's heart is in his eyes, and Belle is caught off guard, wondering why her plastic heart is beating so fast. ;)

Now, you may or may not have gotten that by looking at the picture.  But if I put it in the context of a story, you might find yourself going, "Oh, yeah!  That is what it looks like." ;)

Hiding the Face:

One of the hardest emotions to capture with dolls is sadness.  How can you make a doll look sad when they are very plainly smiling?  I've found that what works the best is to hide their face from the camera.  This can give the impression of sadness even though your doll is still grinning from ear to ear. ;)

This picture and the next were both taken from the Belle's Bulletins post when Robby was seriously injured.  To make Belle look like she was crying, I turned her face from the camera and put one hand up next to her eye, as if she was wiping away her tears.  Unfortunately, to get this pose I had to hold her arm in place, and I forgot to edit my hand out of the picture. :}

I also love how this picture turned out.  Rapunzel is comforting Belle as she cries.  You see just enough of Belle's face to diminish her happy features, and since only Rapunzel's eyes are showing, it gives the idea that she is staring off into the distance, just as stunned by the incident as her friend is.

This also works with 18" dolls.  In this picture, Charlie is comforting Hailey.  Since I couldn't show Charlie's face without making her look cheerful, I photographed her facing away from the camera.  Hailey's somber expression has just enough of a melancholy feel to it to give the impression of sadness.

This is not an exhaustive post on the subject by any means, but hopefully it's given all of you a few ideas for your own photo stories. :)  I'd love to hear your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions on this subject.  Just leave them in the comments. :)

My last photography post will be on editing, so check back for that either later this week or early next week. :)  (Click HERE to get to the next photography post.)

UPDATE:  Eep!!  Just officially hit 400,000 pageviews!  Thanks so much everyone!!