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My mother-in-law has a collection of antique dolls which live in the guest bedroom my husband and I stay in when we're visiting h...
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© Sarah Allegra
My mother-in-law has a collection of antique dolls which live in the guest bedroom my husband and I stay in when we're visiting her. Some people find old dolls creepy; I don't necessarily, though I can understand why they feel that way. One doll in particular has been nicknamed Angry Baby, the one I'm holding in this self portrait. I think his face was intended to be a nursing expression, although I can't say for sure. Whatever his makers were thinking, they gave his a rather twisted, contorted and, indeed, very angry look to his face. I decided to do a fun little self portrait with him a while ago, which I'm just getting around to editing now, imagining what would happen if he suddenly came to life. What sort of rage would he bring upon the living?
I plan on writing a blog post about this sometime soon (January 2020 had exactly seven migraine-free days for me, so everything is moving extra slowly right now) but I would like to share some good news: I have a new Silken Windhound. Not to replace Calantha; no one could ever do that and it would be cruel to ask that of any dog. But to be herself with me. Be my friend. My different dog, who I will love in a slightly different way and for slightly different reasons, not more or less.
Geoff and I named this beautiful girl Lissar after the heroine in Robin McKinley's Deerskin, one of my two favorite books ever. She's four years old (five in April) and will have lived with us for a month today. She's a quiet, shy, very introverted, but extremely sweet and loving girl and I do love her incredibly already! There's no salve for a broken heart like the love of a dog. I'm very glad to have her in my life. <3
*Personal Instagram: http:--instagram.com-artosthebear*Professional Instagram:https:--www.instagram.com-sarahallegraartistry-
*Blog: http:--sarahallegra.wordpress.com
*Twitter: http:--twitter.com-sarahallegra
*Facebook: http:--www.facebook.com-artosthebear
*Red Bubble shop - a wide variety of items, including affordable prints: http:--www.redbubble.com-people-sarahallegra*Etsy Shop - Limited-edition, fine art prints: https:--www.etsy.com-shop-SarahAllegraArtistry-
*Sarah Allegra Artistry: http:--www.sarahallegra.com
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My mother-in-law has a collection of antique dolls which live in the guest bedroom my husband and I stay in when we're visiting her. Some people find old dolls creepy; I don't necessarily, though I can understand why they feel that way. One doll in particular has been nicknamed Angry Baby, the one I'm holding in this self portrait. I think his face was intended to be a nursing expression, although I can't say for sure. Whatever his makers were thinking, they gave his a rather twisted, contorted and, indeed, very angry look to his face. I decided to do a fun little self portrait with him a while ago, which I'm just getting around to editing now, imagining what would happen if he suddenly came to life. What sort of rage would he bring upon the living?
I plan on writing a blog post about this sometime soon (January 2020 had exactly seven migraine-free days for me, so everything is moving extra slowly right now) but I would like to share some good news: I have a new Silken Windhound. Not to replace Calantha; no one could ever do that and it would be cruel to ask that of any dog. But to be herself with me. Be my friend. My different dog, who I will love in a slightly different way and for slightly different reasons, not more or less.
Geoff and I named this beautiful girl Lissar after the heroine in Robin McKinley's Deerskin, one of my two favorite books ever. She's four years old (five in April) and will have lived with us for a month today. She's a quiet, shy, very introverted, but extremely sweet and loving girl and I do love her incredibly already! There's no salve for a broken heart like the love of a dog. I'm very glad to have her in my life. <3
*Personal Instagram: http:--instagram.com-artosthebear*Professional Instagram:https:--www.instagram.com-sarahallegraartistry-
*Blog: http:--sarahallegra.wordpress.com
*Twitter: http:--twitter.com-sarahallegra
*Facebook: http:--www.facebook.com-artosthebear
*Red Bubble shop - a wide variety of items, including affordable prints: http:--www.redbubble.com-people-sarahallegra*Etsy Shop - Limited-edition, fine art prints: https:--www.etsy.com-shop-SarahAllegraArtistry-
*Sarah Allegra Artistry: http:--www.sarahallegra.com
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Behind The Lens
Location
I shot this image in my mother-in-law's guest bedroom. She has a collection of antique dolls which also live in there, which makes it ever so slightly unsettling a room to stay in!Time
This was around 6-7pm, after the early winter sun had set. I knew I wanted a darkly lit room to enhance the creep factor of the doll.Lighting
The only light source is the small lamp you see off to the right. I added more shadows in post as it actually did slightly too good a job of lighting the room!Equipment
I used my Nikon D810, a 50mm prime lens, a tripod and my husband pressed the shutter release for me as I'd accidentally left my remote shutter release at home.Inspiration
This doll has been nicknamed Angry Baby for years because, well, its face looks very enraged! One night I imagined it coming to life and how horrifying that would be, trying to fend off an animated, angry doll!Editing
I added some extra shadows and a vignette to enhance the dark feeling, toned the colors toward a much cooler side and removed distracting items from the background. I also swapped out my legs from one shot because I liked how they looked best in that frame, but I liked my face better in another. :)In my camera bag
My Nikon D810, also a D500 body, a 35mm prime lens, 50mm prim lens, 35-70mm lens and a 70-300mm zoom lens. I also have a flash, a flash bouncer, usually my remote shutter release, extra batteries and memory cards, cords to connect the camera bodies to my laptop, a mini reflector that folds up small, and then a variety of small translucent objects to shoot through for interesting results, like bits of gels, iridescent Christmas ornaments and other such items.Feedback
Try to really engage with how you would actually react in this situation, or direct your model to. Trying to capture an authentic emotion is extremely helpful in making your image believable!