Valentine book (pt. 4): 3D pop-up

Need: a cutout to pop up in 3-D in front of a crowd of people.
Final mechanism used: twisting mechanism.

1st attempt: photo glued flat on top of a floating plane.
Why it doesn't work: I want my image to have more dimension other than simply being glued on top of a raised plane. I've cut out the photo of my boyfriend so I want him to appear standing upright. 

 

2nd attempt: unfolding mechanism that twists as the page opens. 
Why it works: this mechanism is the most impressive to me. I still don't fully understand its workings, but I do know that the complicated folds allow it to perfectly fold up when closed and out when opened. It is such a smooth action! I played around with the length of the center strip of paper to perfect the angle of my image. 

I experimented with the length of the center strip of paper. I found that the longer it was, the tighter the angle of the fold and the more upright the image would stand.