Came across an interesting discussion in the flickr dollfie dream group where some peeps were talking about how they pose/photograph their dollfies and where they get their inspiration from. Some suggested imitating/copying other person’s works and others said to visualize the doll as if he/she was a real person. I’ve also heard of some people in the twitter doll cluster (JP) who uses women fashion magazines as a reference. Borderline-san, who takes awesome pictures was one of them but don’t quite recall the name of the magazine he mentioned back in May. Can’t really say which is the best solution but from my experience, a DD photographer who wants to start taking interesting pics should use as much as they can to get an inspiration. Fashion magazines shows you the angles and compositions professional photographers use in their photos, watching other dollfie dreamer’s photos gives you the idea how they pose their dolls and visualizing dolls as if they’d lived will increase your improvisation skills.
Things I do to get inspiration aren’t much different from the stuff I mentioned above but one recommendation I should mention is browsing illustration sites such as Pixiv. It’s completely free, updated daily and stores plethora of pics each with different pose/compositions. My iPhone stores thousands of illustrations I saved over the years so I can quickly refer to it when I’m out of ideas.
Another thing I do is to give the doll personalities. I don’t recommend this though because while this makes it easier for you to imagine how dolls will act in front of you, it limits the possible poses they can make.
I mean, if Aura was herself in this photoshoot she would never play with sweets like this 
or look at me like this
or hold a donut between her mouth and crouch like this
or make a seductive pose like this ….
or this……
or this….^^;
Another thing I do is to make use of the surrounding environment to the fullest. For example, since Sora/Homura down here is/or was originally an archer and can summon weapons from her shield It makes sense (sorta) that Sora/Homura uses my archery set lying around to perform her version of “Tiro-finale” ;3
What do you do to get your inspirations? (‐ω‐)
She is as greedy as me !!
That she is^^;
Nice photos, especially love the poses and angles for Aura, very inspirational actually.
The donut in mouth crouching pose is kind of ecchi though…. but I like that alluring and sensual atmosphere in those shots!
I find inspiration from seeing other DD owners’ photographs and unique styles, both in the style/character of their DD as well as their photography style. But indeed, photography of real people, nice art like on Pixiv can also be inspiring source for poses, angles,…
Try and learn as much as I can from watching others’ DD photography and incorporate it into my own style.
One thing personally always try to do when it involves photography + DD’s and which I feel is important (to me) is to enjoy it and always have fun doing it. ^^
Gotta thank Aura for the so-not-her poses^^ I think being forced to take photos inside my house these couple of months played some part since it required me get creative with the limited space and same background. When I used to take photos outside, I tend to let the background do most of the work around the picture^^;
The expressions on those artworks (which most artists put most of their work on) of people or characters aren’t that helpful but their poses are indeed something worth looking. In my case it also gave me an inspiration on what sort of clothing I should buy for my daughters
And yes, enjoying photography is essential in continuing this hobby but do remember that challenging yourself to do something you don’t want to do once in a while is also equally important ;3
I feel sort of embarassed because I’m the one who posted that discussion. Hahaha ^^;;
Great pictures as always!
Thanks!!
Ah, so it was you who posted that discussion^^; Didn’t notice because you were using a different user name, but thanks anyways for posting that ;3 I too was wondering where people got their inspirations from.
I just checked your blog earlier today and didn’t see anything and low and behold I see this XD! That is one huge bow and arrow o.0 Sora/Homura is gonna kill with that XD! I usually get my inspiration from anime and manga poses. Sometimes in game as well. Omg Haku! Are you excited for the Puella Madoka PSP game?!
I am trying to brush up on my hiragana and katakana (errr trying…) so I can play the game. Also can’t wait for Black Rock Shooter Game! *_* すごい！Hope to hear from you soon! ^ 0 ^ さよなら！
Hehe, it’s been like this for quite a while now but sorry for the lack of updates^^;
And yes, if I made this post in the usual story-style Sora would’ve shot me to death with that arrow for taking such ecchi pics of Aura X3
Hmm….animes and mangas. Interesting. Might have to start trying that the next I read a manga or watch a anime with nice compositions^^
Really excited about the Puella Magi and BRS game. The puella magi for it’s extra scenarios, secret ending and BRS for it’s hard core action gaming. I need to make up my mind whether to buy a PSP or a 3DS with lowered price^^;
ばははーい
Eh?! You don’t have a PSP yet?! Kinda out of the loop a bit aren’t cha? ^_^ Man I would love a 3DS as well. Even though I have the original DS and DS lite they just don’t compare to the 3DS tehe. Definitely on my to buy list eventually. At least the price went down where I live; it’s now $170 ^_^ which I think is pretty neat. I wish you luck!
Well….I used to have it functional until I smashed it onto the floor XD Some games out there are really erm…aggravating^^;
Would love to have one as well but will definitely be careful in choosing what game I’ll play in PSP or 3DS. Thanks!
Very interesting set of photos you have this time, Aura sure looks sweet with the sweets you got her, and Sora… (being my favorite Mio on the internet), just looks so good no matter what you do. Even with an over sized bow set. (I’m using the same tripod too by the way).
As for inspiration, I get most of mine from the doll’s personalities, and because I used to take wedding photos, I reuse some of the posing from wedding photography magazines and other photographer’s wedding blogs.
Thanks =D Normally it would’ve been Sora playing with those sweets and Aura handling that big shiny weapon but I though a temporary change in position couldn’t hurt^^; I seldom use the tripod for the camera and use it as my third arm but it is pretty nice. Comes in reasonable prices too~
Weddings I imagine are also a fine source of inspirations
People being taken are usually happy and their pose are very natural (not made up like in fashion magazines). Might have to check into those one of these days (´・ω・｀)
I also took a lot of inspiration from other DD shooters like yours (lots of great photos). Although mine is a Azone PN, which have limited posing but helps me a lot when I am trying to compose a shoot outdoor around. Manga’s title page also inspire me to try out different angles also
Aura shoots @_@ nose bleed…..
Photos I take aren’t the best source of reference around but thanks for the compliment!(｀・ω・´)
Aura just might let us see more of her nosebleed poses XD
hmm….Manga’s title page, meaning the cover or something like that?
ハクさんアーチェリーやってたんですか！？
凄い・・・
そういえば妹も中学まではやっていました。
しかしアウラちゃんってかなりエロい体してるなぁ。
一人にしちゃったら誰か悪い男に襲われちゃうかも・・・・・・俺とかｗ
高校から大学の１，２年までは部活やサークルでやっていましたよー
最近は専ら弟が自分の意志を受け継いでアチェ部員として射っているみたいですが＾＾；
エロコック平常運転ｗｗ
いやぁ、自分もちょっと理性が危なかったです（ぇ
No matter what I do, I won’t be as awesome as you. Teach me o’master.
*sigh*
I think I shall take your advice and go to pixiv.
By the way, can you tell me what camera you are using again? I might be planning to change my camera as I have to admit that Nikon’s image colour processing is the worst among all cameras orz
By the way. Nice archery set. Must had cost a bomb. My friend is used to be in the archery club in high school and his archery set goes up to RM6000 (Ringgit Malaysia). Good gracious. Your bow looks as awesome as his one.
Don’t be like that mang ;3
Pivix is definitely a good place to look for ideas and inspirations. If you go through the daily ranking everyday (at least to the 200th) you’ll be fine as rain.
The camera I’m using is called Panasonic DMC-GF1. Didn’t know anything about camera back then so I just listened to what Danny recommended^^;
And you are right about this archery set here. The initial set costed over 100,000 yen and the set of carbon arrows costed half that amount. My hobby tends to sucks up my wallet dry XP
It’s not that I want to be like that =P That my friend, is a fact.
Hmm… Daily ranking…
For you camera, I see. I think I stick to Sony for the best image colour processing haha.
Also yeah, The carbon arrows cost a lot! If you are accurate enough, you can be the next robin hood, splitting your previous arrow into half! Feels bad mang
Sadly it does happen once in a while….the arrows I mean D:
Break one and there goes 5000 yen haha…
Yeah. I know how that feels. Rofl.
By the way. This is probably the first time I see Aura being so moeeeeee…..
This time I’ve disregarded her personality and made her do things I normally can’t imagine XD If this was the normal Aura, I’d be dead by now…
I should think out of the box. Time to give Mashiro a new personality/disregard her personality!
Yeah! Yandere Mashiro was nice too but would like to see another side of her ;3
I will try… starting now,
Wish my luck!
Good luck^^b
Oh, My, God… ヽ( ´ー｀) ･∵ *Hanajiiiiiii~*
Delicious pictures of the extremely voluptuous Aura! *pachi*pachi* Yaaaaay!
pixiv is one of the best things to ever happen on the internet I honestly think, I can directly connect with my favorite artists and see their new works! I’m following too many people and running out of HDD space from the daily updates ._.;
I see you have a bow, avid Archer I see :3 Been practicing long? Is it called Kyudo or do they separate modern from traditional? It is some serious stuff, I’ll admit I am not very good at it the last few times I’ve tried ^^; …I think I’ll stick to Kendo.
Been keeping well? Hope work hasn’t been too hard on you, I’ve had to go and get a 2nd job to pay for the new things I’m planning on getting the girls, paying for figures and Vanguard (´･ω･`;) I’m a slave for money.
Thanks～(´∀`)
And sure indeed Pixiv is one place you can’t miss out on. Without it, I wouldn’t know which booth to go to at Comiket or where to present my artwork
Not exactly following a whole lot of 絵師 so I’m basically following the daily ranking^^;
The bow you’re looking at comes from a sport called “Archery” and is much more high tech than the stuff used in a Japanese traditional “Kyudo”. It7s serious stuff all right when you comes to think of the amount it’ll cost you. Wish I’d know about that sooner XD
oww….seems life has been harder on you as well＞＜ Although I’m just a part timer (for now at least. Will be promoted to full time eventually) I work just as much as a full timer their so I haven’t been able to get a long break for quite a while now. Post office is closed by the time I get off from work…….so yeah, that explains the delay on your package
I will try taking a long break in the coming week tho ;3
Haha no worries, just whenever your are free ^^ Do also provide me with your mailing address as well when you send me the DM so I may send Sora & Aura my gifts.
Interesting post there. The most I have ever tried to do posing is for action figures like figma, and I have usually taken the inspirations from other online reviews or perhaps some tutorials from the figma blog. For some reasons posing for dolls seem different… Maybe it’s more for how they are to pose elegantly or realistically rather than action poses? Maybe I’m still thinking like an outsider so it will still take time for me to understand or try to word what I want to say in my mind.
Thinking out of the box and bring the dolls out of the personality is an interesting one (as you have said the Aura that you have shown us normally wouldn’t do such poses in the first place!). I have heard of looking up fashion and idol magazines for posing before, but using pixiv for reference is something new for me. Well it’s free resource for reference as you have said! Hm as a casual point-and-shooter for me it looks like that this is something that it will take quite a bit of effort and time to look further into this and understand it
Since Mio doesn’t have a smiling face like all others have I can’t have her acting really excited or cheerful^^; Still, it’s nice to have them do something unusual once in a while X3
Ah…the figma blog. I remember reading one of the articles that told us to make the “S” shape when posing a figma to give it a more human look
Don’t think there’s that big of a difference between DDs and figmas as I still find those advice helpful when posing them^^ I think what’s bothering you is the scale or something like that. You’ll get used to it~
Yea the emphasis of “S” shapes and keeping the curves is repeated in figma blog. I wish there are more tutorials like that out there.
You really do think that there are not too much difference between a DD and figma? Maybe it’s just like what you’ve said I may have been intimidated by the size, as well as the delicateness such as the hair, the joints, potential stains, or how there is a huge price tag on it that makes me hesistant of bringing one to shine. I’m still far from confident in doing pictures and putting them out at the moment. But maybe that day will come eventually. Fingers crossed that nothing disasterous happens.
Well, if you consider the wigs, clothes and glass/acrylic eyes (and the attention it draws^^;) DD photography are far more convoluted than figmas but the basics aren’t much different. You pose them, choose an angle/composition and just shoot it.
Just remember that practice makes better