1959 Barbie Cosplay

On July 15^th, I did a session with Laci. This session was inspired by the original 1959 Barbie doll.  

Note this shoot was planned before the actor’s strike and is focused on the legacy of the doll itself not the movie. I fully support both the actors and writer’s guild strike and this shoot was not done in promotion of the movie.

For this session I used:

Photography Equipment	Props/Miscellaneous
Canon 80D 18-200mm Lens Transmitter/Trigger 2 Phottix strobes 72-inch umbrella with sock 43-inch ocatbox 2 c-stands 1 Backdrop stands 1 black backdrop 4 pink plastic table cloths 3x6 silver reflector Sandbags	Kiddie pool Ball-pit balls Lawn chair Towel Pink metal side table/stool Astroturf

The set up

The set up for this shoot was relatively simple.  I started with hanging the black backdrop to block light coming in through the windows. I then taped together the four tablecloths, which I hung over the black backdrop to make the actual background for the set. Next time I’m just going to buy and use seamless.  From there I placed the Astroturf, then the pool filled with ball-pit balls, chair, towel, and table.  The inspiration for the original set up was a Barbie pool playset.  Once the props were in place, I set up the lights.  I placed the 43-inch octabox, my main light, to my right at about a 45-degree angle, and then the 72-inch umbrella, my fill light, to my left a bit less then 45-degrees. I then placed the silver reflector along the wall opposite my main light. This gave me nice even lighting across the set.  

 Camera Settings

For this session I used my Canon 80D with my 18-200mm lens. I used ISO 100 with an aperture of F8, and shutter speed of 1/160s.  My focal length ranged from 18mm to 90mm with most of the images being taken at 28mm.  

 The Photos

The inspiration for this set was the original 1959 Barbie doll, thus I tried to keep the set as clean as possible and go with props that seem like they would belong in a Barbie playset.  For the session we started with the props and then slowly removed them as the session progressed.  

My lighting changed very little throughout the course of the shoot, thus my editing was the same for all the images.  In post, I did the standard exposure and white balance. I then adjusted the color of the backdrop. Because the table cloths are extremely thin, they were not a vibrant pink against the black, so I specifically adjusted the color channels to make the backdrop a more vibrant pink. I then brought up the vibrancy slightly, did a little sharpening and increased the luminance of the image.  I pulled all the images into Photoshop to remove the seam where the tablecloths overlapped. That little exercise convinced me just to use seamless from now on, when I want a solid color background. I also removed the seams of the model’s legging/hose and some minor threads.   I finalized all images by adding a light vignette.

My favorite image from the shoot leans a little bit towards a classic pinup look then a Barbie doll pose.  This image used a simplified set, pulling it down to the backdrop and the little metal side table/stool. This really puts the emphasis on the cosplay and the pose.

This next image takes us to a doll pose. I like how Laci went all ridged and stiff really nailing the arm placement and facial expression with the side eye.  If you didn’t know the first Barbie doll did not look straight ahead at you but off to the side.   

This next image we go back to more of a pin up look.  If you ever played with a Barbie doll you know she never fit in the Barbie pool very well.  This is a more adult take on not fitting in the pool using a classic pin up pose.

Finally, you can’t do a Barbie cosplay shoot, especially the original Barbie without doing the classic doll pose.  This is how Barbie came posed in the box.  A simple doll for little girls to use to play out their own little stories and fantasies and just maybe be inspired to be something great.

This was a fun shoot to do and I’m happy with the photos.  I also love working with Laci, she understands her character, how to pose, and offers up suggestions on poses.  I like when cosplayers come with suggestions and inspiration poses, makes my life so much easier.  The lesson learned here is to just buy the roll of seamless next time, I have a storage unit it can be put there when not in use.   You can see all the images from the shoot here.

Credits:

Model: Laci (Instagram: @laci.neal)

Swimsuit:  Unique Vintage

Set Design: Heather of Munchkin Photos (Instagram: @munckin_photos_by_heather)