Enter a world of miniature vampires…(if you dare)!

I have seen lots of people play with miniature photography for the 52 frames challenge, using toys or model railway figures to create immersive scenes. It is something I have wanted to play with myself for a while. However, I didn’t want to create the same scenes that have been done before. So when I came across some miniature vampires I knew I had to get them and get creative with some dark miniature scenes!

Miniature photography

The idea of this style of photography is to take small characters and place them in the real world. I fell in love with these miniature vampires. They are sold by a company that make miniature people for model railway setups. So I was really excited to find something that appeals to my darker side!

Planning a scene for the miniature vampires

The next part of the process for me was to brainstorm. I wrote down all the things that people traditionally associate with vampires. Associations such as garlic, silver, crucifix. I then started sketching out some storyboards for some possible scenarios.

I like the idea that they would come into contact with items that would harm them. Making a dark and smoky scene.

The first one I tried was creating a mountain scene using garlic.

It took a long time to set the scene. I use a 100mm macro lens to zoom in close to the scene. This means that there is a small focal range to work with. I had to ensure my characters were in focus and that the background was still recognizable as garlic.

I view the scene through my live view on my camera. (There is a button that allows you to see what the focus range is before taking the photo). Then I carefully move the pieces of garlic around until I am happy.

Getting it right

When taking close up photos you can see every speck of dust or slight thing out of place. This means you have to be really patient when setting up the scene. I do also rely on Photoshop to help clean up the image a little more during post-production.

Also, I add my textures at this stage. I use smoke effects that I have previously photographed and then add them as overlay layers to the image. This way I can resize them to look more to scale with the characters.

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Sara Sadler

Photographer

I am a fine art photographer based in the South of England. I enjoy sharing my photographic adventures, hints and tips.

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sarasadlerphotography.co.uk