My favorite professional photographers are Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino and Edward Steichen. They each have a distinctive and unique style and when you see one of their photographs, you know immediately who shot it. Their point of view through the camera lens is quite different from anyone else's.
In the doll world, we are blessed with many talented and creative doll photographers. It's a great deal of fun to see how each photographer's work changes over time as they learn new camera techniques, Photoshop tricks and all the other things that go with being a fashion doll photographer. These are my current Favorite Five!
Ready?
She is a card carrying member of Screen Actor's Guild and an Emmy winning film director. Her experience is truly reflected in her photographs, too. Her images aren't just static pictures of dolls. Sharon's pictures tell a story. She's very artistic in her use of light to set a mood and her sense of humor is always evident. Often imitated, but never duplicated, she has raised the bar on doll photography since she emerged a couple of years ago.
Sharon is very generous as an artist, sharing tips and tricks about her techniques with other shutterbugs. But, even when you know how she did it, it's still difficult to make photos that look like hers. Sharon is one of a kind and much loved by her huge fan base of doll collectors and fellow photographers.
UPDATE: "Congratulations!" on Sharon's recent appointment by Jones Publishing as Executive Editor of Haute Doll Magazine. I'll look forward to seeing the next edition!
(flickr handle: *disenchanted*deb)
Deb lives in Ohio, so I envy her the four seasons! (Here in Florida, we have a wet season and a dry season.) She often shoots her girls outdoors, and it's fun to see the changes in the weather through her doll photography.
It comes as no surprise that Deb is a talented seamstress, too! When I have admired her doll's fashions and inquired where they came from, her humble response, "I made it" just blew me away! We share a love of Poppy Parker and have become Facebook friends where I discovered she, too, collects the Fashion Royalty girls. We must be kindred spirits because we have a mutual admiration for Vanessa and Victoire Rouge. I've used several of Deb's photos for the banner photo on my Poppy Parker Fan Page on Facebook and I am extremely grateful that she is so generous in sharing her photos.
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3. Barbara of Adelaide, Australia (flickr handle: poppybelle)
I cannot remember when I became aware of poppybelle. I think it was her Poppy Parker pictures that first drew me in. Browsing her flickr photos, I discovered that she does remarkable portraits of Poppy Parker and the Fashion Royalty Girls (I think Agnes is her favorite!).
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I am particularly fond of how she redresses and restyles her girls, making them look so different from their original incarnations. The way she uses light and how she poses the dolls make her pictures clearly recognizable.
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I am most appreciative of poppybelle's generosity in permitting the sharing of her photos. I am somewhat envious of her Poppy collection, too! She has many of the early dolls!
4. Lisa/Alex's dolls via flickr
This photographer gets around! Her travels take her to visit people and places which are reflected in her flickr photos. She photographs indoors and out, and I'm guessing she lives somewhere in the northeast, as her winter photos include snowy scenes!
I like Lisa/Alex's casual outdoor style a lot. She places her dolls in such a way that it appears to be perfectly normal for a doll to be there. Some people might find that a little strange, but I like it. It's why she's on my list.
She does really nice portraits of her girls, too. Her pictures clearly show her love of fashion dolls and that's REALLY what it's all about, in my humble opinion. Many thanks for allowing the sharing of photos!
5. Michaela Unbehau via flickr
My opening photo comes from the lens of this up and coming fashion doll photographer. She was recently profiled in the Winter 2013 issue of Fashion Doll Quarterly.
Unfortunately, Michaela does not allow sharing of her photos. No. Pinterest. No Tumblr. No Facebook or Twitter sharing. Which is a big bummer for me. She creates these amazing images of fashion dolls and we all want to see them, but she doesn't make it easy. I apologize if it sounds like I'm coming down on her. I just don't understand why people participate in photo sharing web sites and then don't want to let anyone share their pictures. I just don't get that.
So, now you're wondering where I got these photos posted here, right? Yep. Figured as much!
I found them on Pinterest. There are only a few. Like I said, she doesn't permit sharing. But, I did find a few and that's all we needed for this purpose.
That said, you can click on the link and go to Michaela's flickr site where you can see her amazing photos. Enjoy!
A final thought: I encourage doll photographers to watermark their photos before they upload them to the internet. When they are watermarked, we know who they belong to and can give the proper credit. As a long time doll collector, the internet has provided a wonderful environment for us to share our hobby, most often through photographs. If you're a photographer, claim your work so we can "LIKE" it! Isn't that what it's all about?
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