Outdoors, but make it indoors

Outdoor doll photos are some of my favorites. They give depth and texture to the photo, and it can add some realism to your dolly pics. When I do my photo compilations, outdoor pics tend to be some of your favorites. But sometimes we can't or don't want to go outside to take photos. So, for a while I've been thinking of ways I can get an outdoors feel in the comfort of my own house. 

This idea has been on the back of my mind for about a year, and I'm finally writing a post about it. Not everybody has access to a beautiful garden with a pool where they can take doll pics whenever they want to. Many people don't feel comfortable going outside on a public space with their dolls, or they can't for whatever reason (like when we were in lockdown). Or maybe you just live in an area in which outdoor photography is limited because of the weather. I've also taken into consideration your comments on The great outdoors post, mentioning difficulties to kneel down or get to some areas for doll photos. So, with all that in mind, I started thinking of ideas to get that outdoors vibe in my doll room. 

The first idea that came to my mind is fairly simple: artificial plants. Recently, I got this vertical garden from Leroy Merlin, which is a DIY and gardening store, quite popular over here. They had several designs available, but I chose to go with boxwood (buxus sempervirens) because the leaves are smaller, and I thought it would look better against the dolls. Mine is 50x50 cm (1,64x1,64 feet), which I thought it was a good size. I would have preferred it to be wider, but the other size available was 1x1meter (3,28x3,28 feet), which I found too big to fit into my table. 

The back of the vertical garden has a grid, which allows me to tie some wool, so I can place it on my photo table. In the long run, I could also tie some artificial flowers to the grid, to add a pop of color. 

Because I use a work bench as a photo table, I can tie the background using the holes in the back, instead of having to tape it to the wall. However, if you don't have a back screen on your desk or anything like it, be careful with the tape, or you'll end up peeling your wall. 

I took a few quick portraits of my dolls, just to see how it will look. Despite not having much detail, I think it looks nice and adds some texture to the background. 

Because the doll is closer to the wall on this pic, it looks more artificial than on those that the dolls are further away, which is something to take into consideration. Also, I don't know what happened with the brightness here. 

I didn't use anything to cover my table. Many patios or decks have some sort of wooden floor, so I thought it could look realistic. However, you can always make a floor piece, or use artificial grass to cover your table. 

I wanted to try to add more details, so I brought some of the plants that I have at home, to see if they could add more dimension to the photos. This is how I set up my table: 

The plant on the right is a geranium I got from Lidl (similar to Aldi) last summer. I believe they sell this every year as a "anti-mosquito" plant, as I believe this have more citronella. On the left, we have a bonsai ficus that we also got from Lidl. It looks like a hot mess, but we'll make it work. 

At first I was concerned that the real plants would make the background look more plastic looking, but it looks quite nice. It was a bit tricky to get the right angle for the flowers to appear on the photo, but I think it looks nice. The flowers are a bit out of proportion, but I'll work it out. 

I got several shots of Victoria posing with the bonsai. Althought the final result is nice, I had to be careful if I didn't want to show the pot or the back of my desk. In fact, I did have to crop my photo to hide a few "flaws". 

I took these photos on different days, and I had to remove the vertical garden in between. So, the next day I assembled everything, I decided to stick a grey sheet of cardstock paper, both to cover the gap between the wall and the surface of the table, but also to cover the sides around the vertical garden. I went with grey, so it could look similar to a concrete wall. 

Recently we've been getting new plants left and right, and one of the latest additions is this bonsai pomegranatte tree that seems to be perfect for dolls. 

To test the pomegratte tree, I brought Asha, who has been missing from my photos for quite some time. I had to hold the doll higher, so I could get a longer shot without the pot appearing, and I'm quite happy with the result. 

Although there can still be room for improvement, so far I'm really happy with the results I'm getting. I would say that the placement of the objects and the framing of the photo are key to make the trick. 

Of course, you don't need to do things the way that I did them. If you can't  or don't want to get the vertical garden, you can use other things you might have at home:  a bamboo individual mat, a magazine cutout or anything that has an earthy tone to it. If you have a hanging plant, like an ivy, you can use it to create an outdoors illusion. 

I am planning to keep expanding on this idea in future blog posts, or at least include some "behind the scenes" info in a photo compilation. I've been thinking for quite some time to create an outdoors patio or backyard scene, that's either permanent of semi-permanent. The only issue with that it's not only that it will take me a long time to get it done, but also that currently I have no space  to store anything bulky. So, for now, this will have to do as a outdoors scene. 

Tell me what you think of this idea in the comment section. I do always pay attention to what you have to say. Will you give this a try?

I'm not sure when my next post will be up. I have a couple unfinished craft projects, so now that my photo table is empty again, I might try to finish them. Until then, I hope you're all staying safe and healthy. 

Monster Crafts.