Where do I get a manequin bust to use for lighting experiments?

folivier wrote in post #2444914
What about a halloween mask? You know the full head kind, you could pack it with a towel or ball or something.

I tried masks and other things to simulate the human head and the contours and dimension but nothing really works as I would like.

Ater much searching and looking at mannequins all over the web I decided on one from ebay. It's the exact same model as one mentioned earlier in this thread that was selling for about $10 more.

The seller has an ebay store and the mannequin head sells for $24.95 (wig not included). They do have wigs that also sell for $24.95 and if you search around the webyou can find all kinds of different wigs competetively priced and many looks like bird's nests. I didn't want the ultra cheap stuff because well....it's ultra cheap.

So I sprang for the head and wig. The distributor is about as far from me as BH is and it will ship UPS today, and I should have it tomorrow.

Here's the item and just in case the item number changes the ebay store is displayfasion.

Here are pics of the mannequin:
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Cool! The company I bought from was fast. I ordered the mannequin yesterday and got it today. So here she is. Just a test shot.

If you look at the eyes it looks like there are 2 catchlights. That is not the case. The larger catchlight on camera left is from the flash. The secondary small catchlight is actually painted into the eye of the mannequin so when they are on display they all have that bright spot in their eyes.

This is great though. I made a mount for the top of a lightstand and as you can see just from the test shot, this will let me work with shadows and ratios and a lot of the lighting and portrait (head shots) techniques I want to learn.
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And another with a some quick lighting and a background light.
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Hey, that's great, Robert. Thanks for the info. I bookmarked the store website so that I can order from them directly. It's a couple of dollars more expensive but it saves me the hassle of going through eBay. But they want to charge me $18.00 for shipping. Is that how much you ended up paying for shipping for both the bust and the wig?

PacAce wrote in post #2452875
Hey, that's great, Robert. Thanks for the info. I bookmarked the store website so that I can order from them directly. It's a couple of dollars more expensive but it saves me the hassle of going through eBay. But they want to charge me $18.00 for shipping. Is that how much you ended up paying for shipping for both the bust and the wig?

I'm glad I spent a little extra. The real cheap ones just did not inspire me. I paid $12.95 shipping and that's UPS from Jamaica, Queens to Huntington Station, Long Island. I guess based on that $18 makes sense. It's not the cheapest shipping but when I compared to other sites and even the same items on other sites it was more just for the items on those sites and they all seem to charge those kinds of shipping costs. Keep in mind that this is NOT a styrofoam mannequin. It's molded plastic so although it's not really heavy, it's not feather light as it would be for styrofoam. Honestly Leo, sometimes I can't be bothered with endless price shopping to save a few dollars, so I just decided I liked what I saw, the seller contacted me with the Buy It Now price, liked the mannequin and the wig, and just went for it.
Since this afternoon when I set it up I've been working on lighting and really learning a lot. The shadows and highlights are just like working with a person, I can work on composition and also visualize how my small studio will work as far as setups, field of view, and so much more. I'm very happy with my purchase.... and she doesn't complain when I need her to sit for a couple of hours at a time.

Dumpster diving!!!

Where in Jamaica Queens was that??? Reason I ask is I live in Northern Queens.

lostdoggy wrote in post #2452945
Where in Jamaica Queens was that??? Reason I ask is I live in Northern Queens.

The business and warehouse name and address are:

ROX STUDIO LLC
105-25 180th Street
Jamaica, NY 11433
718-526-4688

The style of mannequin I got is called the Helen F1 and the wig is the Dark Brown.

TMR Design wrote in post #2452284
And another with a some quick lighting and a background light.
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She seems worthy of posting in the Glamour & Nude forums !!!

If the catch light is just painted on, you should be able to polish it out with Flitz and still maintain the eye surface.

Pinto wrote in post #2454810
If the catch light is just painted on, you should be able to polish it out with Flitz and still maintain the eye surface.

I should have been more clear about that. The catchlight that's part of the eye is underneath the surface of the eye. All the eye coloring, the iris and pupil, and the catchlight are behind a covering or or shell. I don't dare mess with the construction. I'll probably give her a black eye and be accused of being an abusive photographer...lolol

After taking a very close look at the eyes I can see I was wrong and the eyes are just painted or manufactured with a white spot painted and glazed over.

If I were brave enough I could try to match the pupil color and some of the iris and paint it but I'm not that brave.

Just try it on one and if you screw it up you can get her an eye patch. Will make an interesting look.

TMR Design wrote in post #2452957
The business and warehouse name and address are:

ROX STUDIO LLC
105-25 180th Street
Jamaica, NY 11433
718-526-4688

The style of mannequin I got is called the Helen F1 and the wig is the Dark Brown.

Thanx I'll check it out next time I'm near there!!!