Interview with Esthy, French BJD Photographer (Part 2)

In the second installment of our interview with Esthy, Esthy tells us about where she gets the amazing costumes her BJDs wear, photoshop,  and Tim Burton’s influence on her work.

BJDmagazine: You wrote ‘”when I can’t sleep, I play with Photoshop.” What place does Photoshop hold in your creative process? Do you have any recommendations for our readers?

Esthy: Photoshop has become an indispensable tool for me. I use a lot of elements that come from personal photos and free textures from other Internet users. I use these layers to give a certain dimension and volume to my photographs. Most of all, I like to give them an aged feeling or a painterly quality. They can be more or less heavy, and I often rework them. Then, I play with contrast, colors, and the lighting of the photo. I also really like tools like “finger” or duplication, which  help me perfect my images. Photoshop has changed my way of seeing photos. I keep discovering new possibilities every day. I never look at the tutorials. I feel my way around to obtain the result that flatters the doll the most. I never have a preconceived idea of  what I will do with a photo.

BJDmagazine: Do you have favorite photographs? Which ones, and why?

Esthy: There are some that exude more intensity than others for me. They show exactly what the doll is in my eyes. I have many favorites, and certain ones definitely stand out from from the rest, like the photos of Poudre, or those of Euphemia and Ophelia, my Belosses from DIM, who give off a very soft feeling. Actually, more than having favorite photos, I have some dolls inspire me more than others.

BJDmagazine: You are a self-taught photographer. What was the most difficult thing for you to master?

Esthy: With automatic cameras, it’s easy to take a really simple pretty photo. The hardest for me was to master a bridge, and after that the digital reflex, and finally to learn how to use Photoshop. Even if I learned it my way, which is certainly different from the “academic” way of doing things, I always find it much more fun to discover things myself.

BJDmagazine: As an artist, what is the goal of your photographs?

Esthy: I’ve never really thought about it. I think that, beyond the aesthetic aspect and beauty of the doll,  I want to make those who see my photographs enter a different universe. I want them to enter my world. I am happy when people are able to decipher a photo and see in it exactly what I see, but all interpretations are interesting, and they often show me facets that I would not have thought of.

BJDmagazine: Your BJDs have magnificent costumes. Do you make them yourself? Or do you have favorite sources?

Esthy: Unfortunately, I am a poor seamstress. It’s not that I didn’t try, but I think that sewing is really not for me. So I leave it to those who have talent in this domain, and there are some who really have a fairy’s touch! I have all sorts of outfits, but they are always in a vintage style. For 26 centimeter BJDs and Lati yellow, I love the Rosenlied brand, which sells little garments made by several talented seamstresses. I also like certain outfits by the Japanese companies, Volks and Musedoll. Then there are the seamstresses like Silent Dolls (Princesse Lola), La Pierlé, Arcadia, Candy House, Edhelwen and her brand “Affreusement mignon”, Shazdolls, and others for which I have a particular that do a particularly beautiful job, original and immaculate. And lastly, I antique-hunt, I have old doll clothes that I can modify for certain BJDs.

BJDmagazine: Your BJDs have wonderful wigs. Do you have any recommendations for our readers on wigs, and how to style them? Do you make the wigs yourself, or do you have preferred sources?

Esthy: I don’t make the wigs for my dolls myself, although I love to modify them at my convenience. My favorite wigs come from Leeke World; both the mohair and the synthetic fibers are of excellent quality and are often styled in very original ways. I love to sew flowers on fabric or paper, ribbons and pearls, or little jewels in my dolls’ wigs. I often recut the wigs, because I love it when my BJDs have their foreheads well exposed.

BJDmagazine: How do you develop a character for each doll? Is it clear from the start or does it go through an experimental phase?

Esthy: It’s pretty rare that I know exactly what I want to do with a new BJD before starting her makeup. I see the potential of the sculpt which makes me buy it and then the personality does not materialize until after the makeup, the wig, the eyes, and the clothing. Only at this moment, does she reveal herself to me and I give her a name. Sometimes I will run simulations based on a photo of the sculpt thanks to Photoshop, which gives me ideas on what I could like. This is never really final and most of the time I change the idea during the face-up. The choice of clothing only comes at the end, to perfect the character. Once she is complete, it is rare for me to change her style. I might replace her wig, or redo her face-up, but the overall feel must still be the same or else the BJD will change name and thus character.

BJDmagazine: The spirit of your collections is very “Tim Burton”, or very “Interview with a Vampire”. Do you see them as such? Are there other dimensions?

Esthy: I’ve been a fan of Tim Burton since I was 9 years old when I first saw “Beetlejuice”. There was something there that touched me profoundly:  aesthetics, a sense of humor, a vision of life and death that fascinated me right away. Blackberry, my Volks Suiseiseki is a sort of homage to Tim Burton, she incorporates some of the details from my favorite films. “Interview with a Vampire” or Coppola’s “Dracula” are films that brought out and sharpened my sense of aesthetics.  I like fantasy in film and literature, universes inhabited by extraordinary beings, monsters, and fairies.  I also like films in period costumes. The aesthetics and the fashion of the Victorian era, the roaring 20’s and the 50’s are what inspire me the most!

Join us Saturday, 9 am, Boston Time for the third and last installment of our interview with Esthy.

We want to give a special thank you to Alexandra Dlugy-Hegwer for her beautiful translation.

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1. Interview avec Esthy, Photographe Française de BJDs (French Version) (2/3)
2. Interview with Esthy, a French BJD Photographer (Part 1)
3. Interview avec Esthy, Photographe Française de BJDs (French Version)(1/3)
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