Today I worked on setting up photo props for a red dress that has beautiful black and white patch work designs down the front, on the belt, and across the front purse flap. I am so relieved to finally have this photo shoot completed. Because the dress sports such a beautiful, cultural print, I had much anxiety as to how to go about having my photos do it justice. I am not that great of a photographer, and the added dilemma of trying to come up with scenery that would actually mesh well with this dress was quite challenging, fun, and exciting all at the same time. I know that I could have easily stood it up against a simple background; but for some reason, I get visions in my head of how I need to present items that I create. The mental visions are wonderful, but sometimes it is tough trying to bring to life what I see in my head with such limited supplies. So it takes me a very long time to pull everything together.
Thankfully, once I took bits and pieces from here and there, my scenery began to come together. I knew that I wanted to create some kind of throne setting with a staff. I had seen a really beautiful setting in a Barbie magazine once and loved it. So, I set out to create my own princess throne photography props. I took a wicker chair and wrapped the bottom in black feather trim. Then I took white feather trim and weaved the top portion of the chair. I chose the top portion to be white because I knew that the black would interfere with her hair. The cultural looking floor mat was my inspiration for creating a throne setting in the first place. I loved that it was round and had all the right colors and patterns that would stand out. Once I seated the doll on her throne, something was missing. Finally, I remembered the staff. So, I took a piece of wood about 10 inches long and connected some feathers to the top of it, then I wrapped it in black ribbon and secured it with a straight pin at the back. The props for the throne photo shoot was finally completed. At last, it was lights, camera, action time!
After a few photos of the throne scene, I had the desire to create an outdoor scenery setting. A princess can only sit on her throne for so long before it's time to get out and about. Thankfully, I had purchased a floor tree from Home Goods several years back. It is made of real wood, but has artificial greenery. This served as the center stage for my outdoors scene. The only thing left to do was add several fake rocks, which are really solar powered lights, that I purchased from the dollar tree to add a bit of depth to my scenery. The only thing that I wish I had purchased a few days ago was a giraffe that I saw in Hobby Lobby. I would have posed it near the tree to make it look as though it were grazing on the leaves above.
Well, that's a little bit about the why and how of my photo backdrops for this outfit. I hope you enjoy the pictures and the doll outfit. For more information about the handmade dress, please visit www.enchantedstyles.etsy.com or click the pictures below.
