Doll Photography and Blogging: Equipment
Here is the next installment of this presentation. Hope you guys find some useful info here. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the questions in the comment section of this blog post. Don’t forget to select HD and full screen in bottom right hand corner of video to get best quality.
–Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: La Vie en Rose
The first doll released from the Jason Wu 10th Anniversary collection was the La Vie en Bleu Elyse. The option to purchase her was given to each 2016 Integrity Toys Convention attendee.
So in keeping with the theme I started, since she came to us originally in an evening look, I thought to put her in a daywear look. I looked no further than a new uber chic suit I received from Etsy designer and seller HoangAnhKhoi.
And what blog post called “La Vie en Rose” could not include a link to this…
The Elyse Chronicles: Daywear to Nightwear
The Bergdorf Goodman Elsye in the navy pants and yellow and navy sweater is clearly a daywear look. To me it is VERY Sonya Rykiel and while I loved the turban on the real life fashion, I don’t feel it translated well to 1/6 scale.
Perhaps the turban will be put to good use elsewhere in my collection…that remains to be seen but…I needed to transform this Elyse from daywear to eveningwear.
Talk about DRAMA!
Model: Bergdorf Goodman Elyse Navy Pant
Gown: And Another Thing Kyori gift set by Integrity Toys
Jewelry and Shoes: Malefique Elyse
Love the short slicked back hairstyle and the facial screening on this one.
-Rebecca
Doll Photography and Blogging: An Introduction
Today is the first part of a series of segments on Doll Photography and Blogging. I am rebroadcasting the presentation I did for the 2016 NBDCC and I hope you find some useful information in this series.
If you want to see the video in High Def remember to select HD and full screen (arrows) in the bottom right of the video.
Feel free to post questions in this blog post about anything I have gone over. I will try to answer as best as I can. If there are many questions, I will just do another audio segment and answer all the questions before the next segment on the blog.
-Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: Dior Inspiration
I shared on my Instagram story a little peek into this photo shoot. Many of my ideas for photos come from images I have seen and have been inspired by. When I started thinking about doing a photo series on the 10th Anniversary Jason Wu dolls, my thought was to put them into fashions that were very different than the ones they originally came in. The model for this next set of images is the first Net a Porter Jason Wu doll. And no…I did not take the image below. Wow is it blown out! Come on Net a Porter…you can do better than this 
Have your eyeballs recovered from the retinal searage above?…LOL!
Since this lady came in a ball gown…my thought was to bring it down and put her in some day wear…but Dior daywear so…I guess it’s an elevated daywear look.
Model: 10th Anniversary Jason Wu doll by Net a Porter
Dress: Barbie® Elegant Rose Cocktail Dress Doll
Shoes: 10th Anniversary Jason Wu doll by Net a Porter
Hat: Integrity Toys Love the One Kyori and modified by me
Poodle: Randall Craig
And….what a face!!
Who says you can’t put a redhead in red?!! Not me.
-Rebecca
Doll Photography 101
Hello all! So for the last couple of National Barbie Doll Collector Conventions I have been asked to do presentations on Doll Photography and blogging. If anyone is interested in hearing these presentations and learning what I talked about, I will be attempting to rebroadcast them in parts every Friday over the next couple of months.
Starting Friday 2/23/18
Here is the teaser video I released before the presentation. Just click to play
And the introduction to the series video. Just click to play.
-Rebecca
The Elyse Chronicles: Here Comes the Bride
So I have decided to do a series of photos using these 10th Anniversary Jason Wu Elyse’s. My first choice of photos for this series was a bride and it’s using one of my favorite dolls from the 10th anniversary series and a favorite OOAK gown I had commissioned during 2017. I hope you all enjoy!
I love following wedding photographers on Instagram. While I have never photographed a wedding professionally ( oh the pressure!) I have photographed some candid images for family and friends from their weddings. I love to see some of the images that professional wedding photographers capture. I am always in awe.
The gown was a special commission done by the talented Natalia Kunafina. She has an ebay shop 2010Chizhik
The brides flowers are from Etsy seller Beadspage.
Playing around with lighting on this shoot was fun. You will notice a different color cast to this shot as I was using mostly natural light as opposed to augmented or artificial lighting. I’m not sure which one I like better…both have their positive and negatives.
Also tried out some really cool little LED lights I found at IKEA! Really cool effect and sooooo inexpensive!! You can find them here.
In case you are wondering…the paper is there to shield the light from the dress and just shine on her face LOL! I have some master paper folding skills I never knew I had.
What can I say about this doll that this picture doesn’t….absolutely nothing. She really is this beautiful.
And just because natural light can say it so much better than augmented light can…here she is…in all her ethereal beauty. Thank you Jason for your gifts and for sharing them with collectors.
And if any of you are wondering what the soundtrack was for this shoot…go to Spotify and listen to “Recomposed by Max Richter: Vivaldi, The Four Seasons”
-Rebecca
The Elyse Portrait – Behind the Scenes
Since the announcement of these 10th Anniversary dolls by Jason Wu over a year ago, I thought it would be so cool to do an Annie Leibovitz style group shot of all the dolls. During the past year of releases and all the stress and uncertainty that can come with trying to purchase a super limited edition size collectable, I doubted this idea would ever come to fruition. I was ok with that. I can’t tell you how many great photo ideas I have had that have not and will not ever come to pass.
Through the help of friends and fellow collectors, I was able to procure each of the 6 special limited edition dolls from this past year. With that accomplished, my mission was now set…time to do a group shot with all of these lovely ladies. I did research on Ms Leibovitz’s lighting style and composition. I have been a fan of her work for many, many years and was so very honored to take one of her master classes this past year. It was time to put that knowledge to work.
Figuring out composition can be the most difficult job of a shoot. I’m not going to lie…this part took a couple hours and some outside consult from my good friend Rogier of Dutch Fashion Doll World.
The above composition was my first attempt. After consult (Thanks Rogier!!) and more thinking, I finally settled on this set up
The next step was to get the right lighting. Annie Leibovitz’s group shots always have everyone in the group lit so well. I found out…she composites them….meaning…she shoots smaller groups then stitches them together in Photoshop. I considered doing that here and I almost did…but found that I had a small enough group that I felt I could light it adequately. I used a mixture of natural sunlight and 1-2 soft box lights. I shot with a Canon 5D Mark III and a Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro Prime lens.
And the final result after post processing.
Hope you enjoyed the behind the scenes loot at how this image came together.
—Rebecca
The Elyse Portrait
For those of you who follow me on Instagram or Flickr, you have already seen the group shot. I just couldn’t wait to share the photo.
Through the help of friends and fellow collectors, I was able to obtain all of 6 special limited edition Jason Wu 10th Anniversary Elyse dolls produced this past year. I thought it would be really fun to do a group shot of all the girls together and here is the result of that shoot. Hope you all enjoy.
Models: Jason Wu 10th Anniversary Dolls ( obtained through WClub,Net a Porter, Bergdorf Goodman and Nordstrom)
Clothing: Jason Wu
Art Direction: Rogier Corbeau – Dutch Fashion Doll World
Styling and Photography: Rebecca Berry – Inside The Fashion Doll Studio
I am doing a “Behind the Scenes” blog post on how I did this group photo tomorrow morning so if you are interested in that kind of stuff…keep an eye out 
. Feel free to comment or ask questions.
—Rebecca
Happy Holidays to Everyone!
Wishing you all a happy and blessed holiday season!
Model: OOAK Poppy Parker by Matt Sutton
Gown: custom gown by Natalia Kunafina on Ebay 2010chizhik and on Flickr
_-Rebecca
Poetic Beauty Enters the Studio
Things have been crazy busy at ITFDS since July. Since the National Barbie Doll Collectors Convention, I have been in production mode for the Integrity Toys convention and that left very little time for anything else…taking photos or blogging. I need to work out a better schedule…. obviously!
In the craziness that was August through July, there were some very high points for my collection. One such moment was when I won the opportunity to purchase the Poetic Beauty Lilith and Eden gift set.
They are inspired, I believe, by the 2016 Pre fall Louis Vuitton collection..feel free to check out the photos in my original post about these dolls. Eden/Lilith is one of my all time favorite face molds and the fact that this gift set was offered in this lottery made me both excited and filled with anxiety. This was a lottery I REALLY wanted to win. I consider myself very lucky to have succeeded in this and was able to purchase.
I adore the facial screening on these dolls and the clothing was edgy, current and perfect for these young sister characters. The real highlight, however, in this set were the accessories.
It wasn’t the fact that you got 2 Louis Vuitton inspired purses but THE SHOES and those tasseled earrings. The execution and attention to detail on these accessories also deserves special comment. Really well done people…exceptional.
And…since the name of this gift set was Poetic Beauty…I had to pull out some Lord Byron….had to do it.
This set is one of IT’s best in my humble opinion. I adore every aspect of it so I will let Lord Byron finish this post with,
“And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes; “
-Rebecca
Alta Moda for All Collectors!
Integrity Toys just announced another goodie for collectors! As I have explained in previous blog posts, for the past couple of Integrity Toys conventions the advanced design competition winner gets to have their design produced by IT. It’s a really nice perk and what an incentive for the incredibly talented pool of IT collectors. This past year the advanced design competition was won by Salvador Lopez Arriaga.
Here are some images I took of his design entry at the convention:
Congratulations Salvador!! You made Karolin look stunning and many collectors are looking forward to adding your amazing work to their collection. Here is the finished Integrity Toys production doll.
Alta Moda
Karolin Stone™ Dressed Doll
The NU. FACE™ Collection
2016 Design Competition Winner
Edition Size: TBD
Estimated Delivery: Spring 2018
W Club Only Retail Price: $135.00 US + Shipping and Handling
General Public Retail Price: $145.00 US + Shipping and Handling
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Karolin Stone™
Body: NF 3.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: Japan
Hair Color: Platinum Champagne Mix
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
You have to give Integrity Toys an A+ for staying true to the original design. They faithfully reproduced it down to the doll Mr. Arriaga used! Feel free to follow Salvador on his Instagram account as he continues to share his design projects. I have followed him for over a year now and he never fails to inspire and amaze.
OK…so what do you need to know to order this doll? 1) If you are WClub member, use the link in the email that was sent to you by noon ET September 19, 2017 . 2) If you are not a WClub member, I am assuming this lovely will be available in their shop at The Integrity Toys website after September 19th. At the time of this posting, they have not given specific information other than it will be available to the general public. That could mean IT direct or through their dealers. I will post more information when I have it.
-Rebecca
Coquettish in the Sunshine
The first release from Integrity Toy’s 2017 Fashion Royalty La Femme collection has entered The Fashion Doll Studio! I really didn’t think I was going to be able to do any shots in the natural sunshine today as we have smoky haze( welcome to the Pacific Northwest and all of it’s summer forest fires) but it has turned the light this really cool pinkish red so I thought “ why not!” Keep in mind that these shots are done through a pinkish red filter which gives Jordan’s skin a rosier hue than normal.
Coquette
Jordan Duval™ Dressed Doll
La Femme
The 2017 Fashion Royalty® Collection
Edition Size: 725
Estimated Delivery: September 2017
Retail Price: $145.00 US
Head Sculpt: Jordan
Body: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled
Skin Tone: A-Tone
Hair Color: Sand Blond
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-applied
Quickswitch: No
Love this mocha skin tone and the honey blond tresses on this lady. One of the softest Jordan’s I have seen in a while. The clothing is on trend and the quality is good. the fabric is nice and supple as well as the pants. The bustier has a nice leather feel and fits well. The real stars of this show are the accessories though.
Gorgeous from head to toe! That purse though….oh…my…word!!! I am loving the details of this first release from the Fashion Royalty 2017 collection. Can’t wait for future releases!!
-Rebecca
Reign of the Redheads
I have a special affinity for redheads. I have always been drawn to the vibrant hair color and often, this hair hue is what I gravitate to when I want a model for a dramatic shot. Red hair and freckles run in my family of origin and while I was not lucky enough to get the red hair ( the freckles…I did get) I was thrilled that my son was born with strawberry blond hair. So…in honor of those redheads, I did this shoot. The exquisite gowns are a recent acquisition from the talented Rimdoll on Etsy.
Models: (from left to right) 2016 Japan Barbie Convention doll, Black and White Tweed Suit Silkstone Barbie and 2016 Paris Fashion Doll Festival Barbie
Gowns: Rimdoll on Etsy
Still not a fan of the articulated bodies on these silkstone Barbies. It is very limited articulation and it irks me that you cant bend the hand at wrist joint to put it fully on the dolls hip.
Love this elegant Black and White Tweed Suit Silkstone’s facial screening though.
Gorgeous blending of hair colors on this Japan convention exclusive
This vibrant red hair color is my absolute favorite…especially when it’s paired with a green eye. Yummy!
And these gowns were so perfect in these fabulous pastel shades. Adore.
-Rebecca
Timeless Show Eden
I decided to pair up a favorite new outfit and a “holy grail” Eden. I don’t pull this doll out as often as I should.
Model: Style Mantra Eden by Integrity Toys
Dress, socks, shoes. purse and hat: Timeless Show by Lovetones
Set: Cargo Culinary Containers and Miniature Wood Pallet Drink Coasters
-Rebecca
Riviera Drama Revealed!!
Back in February, one of the WClub membership dolls was revealed in sketch form. Yesterday, her promo shots were revealed and it had many WClub members clapping their hands with joy. You can read about the how this doll came to be here. It’s an interesting way to decide on a club doll. This doll was only available to WClub 2017 members as an optional upgrade with their membership purchase.
Riviera Drama
Agnes Von Weiss™ Dressed Doll
The Fashion Royalty® Collection
2017 W Club Upgrade Doll
Approximate Ship Date: Summer 2017
Edition Size: TBA (Determined by the total amount of orders received)
Doll Tech Specs:
Head Sculpt: Agnes Von Weiss
Hair Color: Raven (Black)
Eyelashes: Yes, Hand-Applied
Body Type: FR 6.0
Foot Sculpt: High-heeled / Traditional
Quick Switch Feature: No
Skin Tone: Cream
And here she is!
I am feeling an Elie Saab vibe here…the picture below is from his 2017 Resort collection. The fact that he used wedge shoes also with this look makes me think this was one of the inspirations for this look.
So…how do I feel about this reveal? I love the facial screening! Green eyes on a pale skinned raven Agnes…yummm! Also kind of happy they went with the nude lip. It feels very on trend for right now. This also makes her infinitely more re-dressable. I am thrilled that the jumpsuit isn’t black. I think jewel tones definitely fit with the “Riviera” theme. I adore the jewelry! What concerns me is the fabric shown. I don’t know if it flows like the original design does. It looks kind of stiff to me but then…that could just be the image and how the model is posed. Also…what is with this purse? Did they want to go for Christmas colors? I don’t think I would have chosen red. I may be in a minority here but I like the wedge shoes. It’s more casual and we don’t have shoes like this so if I want to dress this outfit up, I can certainly find a pair of black strappy sandals in my IT box. Also, I am hoping the hair isn’t too “crunchy” as in…stiff. It looks like it might be though. It does help with those annoying flyaways that I end up editing out in PS later anyway 
-Rebecca
Mademoiselle Papillon Rouge
Giselle has been restyled as Miss Red Butterfly for today’s blog post. I have been inspired by some beautiful images coming from Dior’s Spring Couture collection and the new captain at it’s helm Maria Grazia Chiuri (formerly of Valentino). She had unicorn’s lining the walk into the collection venue! Ok, Ok, they were not real unicorns but still….very whimsical. She had a park like setting and I supposed that has helped influence the backdrop for this shoot as well.
Model: Integrity Toys AKA Gigi Giselle
Dress: Rimdoll
Hat: Integrity Toys “Love The One” Kyori Sato ( I embellished with flower and butterfly)
Gloved hands: Integrity Toys “Royal Treatment” Véronique giftset
Earrings: Integrity Toys “Admiration” Monogram
Purse: Bogue’s Vogues
-Rebecca
A Spring Fling
Reluctant to tear down the set from the previous shoot, I decided to give Miss Tullabelle a chance to model. I just had to show off this amazing head of delicious golden curls. I also received this exquisite Matisse creation by Brenda Visaya and had to use it. It’s funny because I took the photos of Tullabelle posing up against the white arbor I had created. When I looked at the images in post processing…she just seemed too refined. I wasn’t completely happy with them which was a complete shock for me because that is the look I normally go for when editing photos. I woke up the next morning and did a few more shots showing a more flirtatious Tullabelle and in the end…these are the shots I am most happy with. Go figure 
Model: Integrity Toys “You Better Werk” Tullabelle
Dress and gloves: Brenda Visaya – Matisse on Etsy
Hat: Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World
Shoes: Integrity Toys “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” Eden
-Rebecca
A Bridal Still Life
I am continually inspired by miniature couture. In particular, I adore any and all images that come out of Le Petit Théâtre from Dior.
I love how they use real size items with miniatures. I had a free day in the studio…almost unheard of these days…so I thought I would try my hand at something like this. I decided to use my most recent bridal shoot as inspiration. For those of you following my instagram story…you got to see a little taste of the shoot. But…as most things go in the studio, you saw the prelim shots and not the final part of what I actually used in the processed images.
I have to give a shout out to my dear friend Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World who did some additional art direction on this shoot. Your vision is always valued and appreciated my friend.
And…a chance to bring out the pearls! 
It’s always a treat to use my Laduree boxes.
But let’s face it…this entire shoot was all about this fabulous dress from Rimdoll on Etsy. 
For those of you interested in the set up for this shoot, it was all done in natural light with one reflector. Be prepared people when using natural light to be waiting half the day for optimal lighting. Since I always love to see behind the scenes from others, I will share a behind the scenes shot here of the set up. Yes…I have a flash in the picture below but I didn’t end up using it.
-Rebecca
A Spring Bride
I have been inspired by some of the free flowing fashions I have seen in the past week from Coachella so I decided to dress my new Giselle in a fashion I received this past week from Rimdoll. I have also been wanting too use these adorable paper roses hued in yellow and pink. I needed the right outfit to showcase them and this glorious gown from Rimdoll was just the thing. It is all that and a bag of chips people! Spring floral romantic with a little bit of edginess in there too.
Mode: NuFace Aka Gigi Giselle
Gown: Rimdoll on Etsy
floral crown and bouquet: Made by me of flowers found on Ebay
Earrings: Mattel
Garden Bench: Found it at Michael’s about 3 years ago.
I absolutely LOVE the facial screening on this Giselle. Very soft and romantic.
-Rebecca
A Little Glamour
Or a lot of glamour depending on your definition. I received a treasure trove of new outfits from the talented designer Hoang Anh Khoi on Etsy. I showcased one of them in a recent blog post with NuFace Totally Betty Ayumi. Today, a favorite FR2 Elise is wearing the fashion. The day before yesterday, I gave a sneak peak of my mood board for this shoot.
I also shared a couple of images along the way in this shoot on my Instagram story. If you are interested in seeing some of the process as I shoot these, feel free to sign up for my Instagram feed. The link for this is to the right on the sidebar of this page.
Model: FR2 Midnight Star Elise by Integrity Toys
Dress: Hoang Anh Khoi on Etsy
Fur: Dimitha on Ebay
Shoes: FR2
Hat: Bogue’s Vogues on Etsy
Gloves: Mattel
Purse: Lovetones Bonjour Baby Lena
Set: Clock was purchased from little gift shop on Rue du Rivoli in Paris. Bombe chest was a repaint by friend and artist Carolyn Grentz.
-Rebecca
The Millennial Chanel
Many fashion collections are targeting the rich pocket of the Millennial generation right now. I was interested in styling one of the most recent NuFace girls to embody that plus stay true to the original theme of IT and Jessy Ayala’s Reckless collection…the movie “Clueless”. It all started with this fabulous jacket from the Etsy shop ElenPriv. It continued with the amazing necklace from Etsy shop IsabelleParisJewels. The rest just came into place after that.
Model, earrings, hat and gloved hands: NuFace AKA Gigi Giselle
Top: NuFace She Owns Everything Erin
Skirt: NuFace Up All Night Lilith
Shoes, bag: NuFace Touble Eden
Stockings: NuFace Total Betty Ayumi
Necklace: IsabelleParisJewels on Etsy
-Rebecca
A Class Act
After a week of driving 20 hours down to Anaheim California and then doing the drive back…in a 26 foot truck full of luggage and orchestra instruments…I am ready for some play time. Lesson learned in the past week? Don’t ever underestimate Mother Nature in the mountains. You may think it’s too late to snow…but you would be wrong. I know we were. 
Before I left on the big journey, I had an opportunity to photograph something yummy and I am anxious to share. Given that IT is giving us 1950’s glamour in a few short months, I anticipated just a bit with this one. Hope you enjoy!
Model: OOAK Rim Doll repaint and restyle of Lovetones Hello Honey
Suit: Bellissima Couture
Faux Fur Stole: Lovetones Timeless Show Roxy Fashion Set
Shoes: Integrity Toys
Hat: Rogier Corbeau of Dutch Fashion Doll World
Jewelry: Mattel
Screen: Custom Dollhouse on Etsy
Planter: Local plant store and boxwood topiary is from Joss & Main.
The gorgeous ornate wall in the background was photoshopped in so..sorry but it doesn’t exist outside of Photoshop at this time.
-Rebecca
A Romantic Era Concludes
All good things must come to an end. Or…in my case…all sunny days in the garden eventually give way to rain. I managed to get three separate photo shoots completed before the rain started so I am happy with that. For the last installment of this romantic garden series I paired a favorite embroidered sheath from Bellissima Couture and a yummier than yummy coat from Lovetones. The hat is a story. It originally came from Bogue’s Vogues and I have to admit…I got creative with the Russian netting on this one. Hope you all enjoy.
Model: Lovtones Romantic Era Roxy
Dress: Bellissima Couture
Coat : Lovetones Timeless Show Roxy
Hat: Bogues vogues
Shoes: Lovetones Romantic Era Roxy
Purse: Integrity Toys AKA Gigi Giselle
Accessories: the box, macaron and bag were all done by me. The boxwood trees in planters were from Pier One. The bench was found on Ebay.
-Rebecca
Inside the Fashion Doll Studio 