Realistic Model Photography...

In looking at my old blog for some pictures I thought I'd posted there, I realized that a couple of the topics I've written about here, were also written about there. I apologize if you are seeing them for the second time, although I'm pretty sure anyone who is reading this blog wasn't a follower of my old one, but I do still apologize.  Some of it is actually almost identical, but while this topic was covered on my old blog, the content / photos / etc is new.  One of these days I will get around to deleting that blog.  I just need to make sure I don't lose any important memories / details before I do so.  The photos are already backed up on Google, but it's the dates and information that goes with it that I need to make sure I keep.  It will be a bummer to lose all those beautiful view counts.  Some of the posts numbered in the hundreds, even if there were no comments.  Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to myself because of the low view count.  I wonder if I can remove that from my page so I won't know how many people are reading this junk.  hahaha.

On to more fun things, though.  Model Horse Photography.  Or, more specifically, Realistic Model Horse Photography.  Anybody can take a picture of a model...

That doesn't take much talent.  Just plop a horse down on something and shove a camera at it.  Click.  You have a picture.  Right?  Sure.  But it's boring, wouldn't you say?  Sure, the top photo is a little better than the bottom one because of the background.  I liked that background on top.  Especially since I didn't have to buy it.  A friend had sent me a model she knew I was wanting and wrapped him in this large, silky cloth.  I pinned that cloth to the wall above my dresser in my bedroom and let it drape behind it as I had small statues of lighthouses on top of the dresser.  Whenever I wanted to photograph a horse, I'd just use the cloth to cover the lighthouse and bam!  Instant background.  But it was still kind of boring.  So I tried take pictures of landscape outside that I could have enlarged and use that as a background, but that didn't work either.  What mostly attracted me were the photos taken outside of the model in the environment.  I like to think I'm a somewhat decent photographer, but my attempts are laughable at best...

 Don't you just love the smoker and grill in the background?  So realistic and in-scale to the model.  Just like the gigantic trees in the first photo, which should look familiar from the last blog post.  I apologize for recycling photos so quickly, but I wanted more of my own and not just tons of other peoples'.

But speaking of scale issues...

No.  Not that kind of scale issue...a looooong time ago I read an article in Just About Horses about model horse photography and one of the things mentioned was making sure the items in your photos were to scale of the model.  Not all that easy when you have limited resources with your environment...

Both are very appealing photos, but definitely out of scale.  What I enjoy looking at are the photos where the person really took the time to set things up properly and tried to make everything look as realistic as possible...

I think the last one is my favorite, but all are really nice.    It just looks so unbelievably real to me even though it's obviously a plastic horse.  This next photo is definitely a good one, but it misses the mark slightly by only having hoof marks in the sand right by the horse.  To be more realistic, there should be hoof marks leading up to where the horse is standing...

But I'm not here to criticize or critique photos, that's not what this post is about.  It's about sharing some awesome, realistic model horse photos.  Rocket is a little out of scale to the ocean, but he looks GOOD.  His colors blend nicely with the background without getting lost in it since he's almost the color of the sand.  I still need to get a Rocket.  And an Emerson, but Rocket is a little more obtainable right now since he was only a Breyerfest SR and not a Premier Club Model.

On Instagram, I follow several accounts of people who take realistic photos of their models, but only Keri Parker posts Behind the Scenes photos and I like those almost as much as the finished product because it's sometimes quite surprising the difference.  Like the Keanu doll whose pants don't fit him properly, but since you only see him from the front, you miss that detail.  Here are some of her before and after creations...

The top photo was taken while the scene was sitting on top of a fan.  And then there's one on top of an overturned bucket...

You'd never know it was a board on a bucket, would you?  The tree is a little big, but maybe it's a giant Redwood?  hahahaha.  And finally, there's this one...

A lot of little things going on to make that scene. There are so many more of hers that I could share, but I don't want you to think I'm obsessed with her or something.  Well, maybe I am a little, but I'd say more in awe.  She's very creative, but I think I've mentioned this before.  hahaha.  Sorry.  I'm not really a creepy person.  Keri, you don't need that restraining order.  Honest.  hahaha.

My Plastic Pony Project isn't coming along too well.  I still haven't unboxed or cleaned anything up.  <sigh>  I feel so...oh, I don't know what word I'm looking for.  But I really need to get on it and start putting stuff together.  I hate seeing my messy shelves and unboxed Breyers.  And I've got one coming sometime this week.  I got a Khalid off of Ebay and he's supposed to arrive "By Friday".  I hate waiting.

Would you believe I can't think of a blog-related QOTD for today?  Failure.  I think that's the word I was looking for earlier.  Not everyone has the time or inclination to take realistic photos of their models.  Okay.  Let's do this.  Of the ones I posted...which is your favorite?