photography trick

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I always enjoy seeing your doll photos so much!

Here's a trick that most of you may already know, but I'll pass it on anyway.

When you want to take a picture of something inside a reflective surface, like the dolls in the cases at AGP, or inside the window displays, or the historical items in the dioramas, you can avoid ending up with the reflection of your flash in the picture if you don't point your camera straight at the reflective surface (ie the window or surface of the case). In other words, try to imagine that your camera is shooting arrows instead of the light from your flash. If you point the camera straight at the window, the "arrows" will come straight back and hit you. But if you stand a little to the side and point the camera at the window at a slight angle, then the "arrows" will hit the window at an angle and bounce off and go the other way.

You can also think of it another way. You can imagine that the window you are aiming at is a big mirror. If you point a light straight at the mirror, so that it hits it at a 90 degree angle, the light will shine straight back at you. But if you point the light at the mirror at an angle, so that it hits it at a 45 degree angle, for instance, you will see that the light also bounces off at a 45 degree angle going the other way, and hits the wall instead of coming back to you. You can practice this phenomenon and which angles might work best, in your room with your mirror and a flashlight.

Have fun!
Joy

[rolloverrover]

It's easiest to just turn off the flash. Lots of indoor buildings have enough natural/unnatural light that flash isn't necessary, and most digital cameras these days are better equipped to handle low light surroundings than SLR cameras we're all used to from the past.