Taking Down A Set

It's always sad to take down a set.
I try and get as much use out of one set as possible.
I photograph my scenes in the garage under flourescent light. (This way I save the flash on my camera.) I tend to be pretty trigger happy when it comes to the camera, so I tend to take about 2000 pictures for each set. Usually about a third of those end up trashed because they're too blurry, odd light, or bad angles.
This picture is a view of the character Gina in Reality Forest. The bugs are pretty large. Larger than the tip of my thumb. Taking a pic of them close makes them look bigger. I find the use of the plastic bugs in the forest to be very very effective in creating a creepy, lively place.



This is from a different view of the same set. Someone is looking at her from the bushes.



I'll leave Gina in the take-down process just for comparison of Reality Forest props.
This is the entire set.



And this is a little further back. Complete with garage stuff in the background.



The fluffy, bright, green plants are lei(s). I just stuffed them into the black cloth attached to wall. (You'll see this a bit clearer later)



Christmas garland I bought on sale for fifty cents. Of course I purchased a few. I just bunch them up and stuff them along the back edges or in this case in the front to cover some branches.
The big green and red bugs of Reality Forest like this type of vegetation.



The plastic grass tiles I bought at the dollar store. I've seen many varieties going for up to $15 a tile. I prefer to stay on the cheap side as much as possible.



The small tree was from a discount store and the small plants are just broken bits off of other plants. The stones were a dollar for a bag, but they're pretty much free when you go to a beach or anywhere outdoors.



I made this mound out of a small 2x4. It was just going to be covered anyway and it worked enough to hold the branches in place.



These ferns and hedges were stuffed in the sides of the set at the back.



This plant is from a yard sale. It came with some fake disgusting flowers, but this part was salvagable.



Once again we see Gina chillin in the forest but with less props.
A centipede sits next to her in this shot.



Artificial discount holiday trees always a bargain during after Christmas sales. Who says Christmas decorations have to be for Christmas?



Stones, vines and plastic tie wraps shaped into a funky crawling vine (or hanging in this case).



Once again more shrubs, plastic branches and small stones.



Plastic leafy garland.



Sideview of set with mound.



Sideview of set with mound stuffed with some artificial plants.



Blue vine plastic flowers.



The set getting skimpy.



Even skimpier.



More shrubs and ferns.



Very, very skimpy set.



Black fabric cloth attached to wall. You can use double-sided tape or nails.



I start off by tucking plants in between the cloth and wall to hang down in front of the material.



And finally the end, or the beginning, a grey blanket covering a flat board. I've also used brown and black cloth for the ground as well.
I use the board as it gives me more depth to work with because it sticks out over the freezer allowing me to squat, kneel or even sit on a chair to photograph.



From this...



To this!!!



Keep browsing on Reality Forest for my next diorama.