Dont be too hard on yourself. Got my 1st camera when I was 21. Had a few more over the years. Didnt learn how to use em properly till i got my girls. Understanding light was what improved my pics.
And super expensive kit isnt essential, just makes it a bit easier. Plus i like buying stuff for me once in a while instead of my girls lol
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Thank you for the encouragement, I recognize the truth of your words in theory - but then I look at my pictures and it goes out the window
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Learnt most of what i know from either youtube vids or the guys on here.
1 thing thats always worries me is when people say they cant take pro pics so they dont post any. Yea we love good photography but i still love to see phone snaps of the girls at home. Its all about the girls…and some boys…the camera side of things just seems to be huge thing as well
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Every attempt is an opportunity to learn! Keep at it.!
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I echo what has just been said. I posted pics of my girls from my phone. They weren’t good photos but they were snapshots that meant something to me. With the encouragement of Adam, Algaeholics and others, i bought a camera and try to take better images. Don’t be discouraged.
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First doll first picture. June 2020. 
We had no idea how much photography would be part of this hobby.
Two years later
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Merry merry merry merry Christmas!
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Great post Leatherman! My early work is way less polished than what I can do now.
I also agree with @AdamandEmma and @algaeholics comments. Start with the cell phone camera and watch some YouTube videos about portrait lighting. Lighting is key. You will be making great photos in no time. The more hours you put into it, the more polished your results will be. Use the light from a window and buy an inexpensive light reflector. None of the photographers that we admire on these forums were good in there first year of trying. You have to put in the hours.
This picture is from 2018. I posted it on TDF and got positive feedback. Because doll people are here for the dolls.
This picture I took yesterday. The one below that is my setup. So I can contribute to this theme.
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So, I built the most simple stand this week for display and photography.
60" by 1" steel pipe, 2 steel floor flanges, 24" x 24" 3/4" plywood, some nuts and bolts and felt pads to stick to the bottom to protect floors. This is specifically for my dolls with back hook option installed.
Eye hook on top flange.
Got a cheap area rug off TEMU and cut a hole in the center for pole. Getting different rugs for different looks.
Will add additional turnbuckle to adjust height when needed.
This was the perfect height for my 157c in platform heels.
The goal with a stand like this is to set the height so most of the weight is still supported through her feet. This just keeps her steady and takes enough weight to make standing in heels easier.
More …
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Easy Photoshop remove.
Only complaint is how expensive materials are these day. About $100 from Home Depot, that’s crazy.
Cheers,
Out_Of_Sync
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My first pic of Allie on the 12th September 2016. A momentous occasion.
Taken with a VERY old digital camera, even back then.
Don’t let your equipment hold you back! (That’s what she said…)
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Thats brilliant. Well done
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Wow, great job 
I really need to get to building a stand too, opens so many more possibilities for shots.
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So true 
Imo lighting is the single biggest factor to capturing a nice photo, it is incredible how much of a difference lighting makes. 
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Not a bad shot, certainly much better than even my 1000th shot lol 
Now look where ya’ll are at! Pure talent!
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This babe is so frickin hot MN! 
Does she have a thread? She needs one…alright…maybe we need her to have one lol
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Awesome build OOS!
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Just wrapped up a shoot and kept this cool thread in mind while shooting, so I could share some behind the scenes from one of mine too.
I was trying to recreate a photo I saw of a woman at a gym leaning on a weight bar with her reflection in the mirror behind, giving us a view front and back of her. I used a curtain rod as the weight bar and leaned her on it. I didn’t have a big enough mirror either to get the desired shot I wanted, so I just took shots from front and back of Hana and merged them to give the illusion of a mirror (its a little off I know, but I think it turned out pretty good nonetheless)
Here is another one. I wanted a shot to guide the story I was trying to tell, and needed Hana to put her workout bag into a locker at the gym. I really wanted it to break the typical shots of just her from behind or at the side putting the bag in, to give the story more variation.
So I wanted the shot from inside the locker as she was looking inside it. I used a cardboard box, open on each end as the locker, and set it up halfway through a doorway (dark room on the inside end and light on the side she was looking in).
After a little cleanup in photoshop of the inside of the «locker» I think it turned out pretty believable 
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I’m less than useless with photshop or any similar post production effects so most of my shots are carefully planned “in-camera” so I really appreciate you sharing you “locker” as a strong example of what can be achieved with creative physical efforts.
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Great job PT. Very convincing shots. 
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