The results of Octobers $1 (or equivalent) Photo Challenge are in!! The premise of this contest was to see if an expensive toy was the secret to great toy photography. We wanted to find out if everyone was limited to taking photos of toys that cost less than $1 or the equivalent, would we see the same quality and ingenuity that we have become used to. The results are in and we can say without a doubt, that cheap toys can also for creative photography.

The winner of this months contest is John Van Regemortel for his “Landing of the Jedi on Dagobah”. He purchased this micro machine for 99 cents Euro.

Second place was awarded to Joseph Cowlishaw for capture of the rare Gray Woolfeep (Ovis Canis) that he spotted in the dry desert regions of North America.

Third place was awarded to Krzysztof Łuszpiński who may not have taken a photo of a toy, his photo captures the spirit of toy photography. I love his creative spirit! Plus he wins the honor of spending the least amount of money: 1/100 Pound (100 clips in a pack for 1 GBP). Awesome job! 

I speak for all the moderators when I say how much fun this contest was. Because our subjects were cheap toys, there was no pressure to make them look good. Since we knew we couldn’t make our toys look realistic, as a group we decided to have some fun instead.

Bellow you will see some other fabulous examples from the $1 Photo Challenge taken by our moderators and our contestants. I hope you enjoy them as much as we had fun taking them.

“I am…” by Jason Nvmore

“Good morning Mr. Anderson. While you were out Mr. Bennett called. You’ve got a 10 o’clock meeting with Mrs.Chapman. And you’ve got a 12 o’clock appointment with a bucket of fish.” by Brett Wilson

Lonely me, alone on my own journey… by 莫亞克力

The Lone Wolf: A Study of Three (1 of 3) By Julie Blair

Italian Cuisine by Tomasz Lasek

Shopping at Costco, in the nude? ?  by Ryan DeRamos

“Redheat” by Jeffrey van Zeijst

Skully sets out his cookies and milk for The Great Pumpkin. He is so excited this year! …… the skeleton and table were bought at the dollar store. The pumpkin, cookies, plate and glass of milk were made by me with polymer clay. by Victoria Eschen

Spider by Wendy Verboom

Landing by Reiterlied

“Somebody There?” by Tobias Schiel

“Operation Tonga” by Tony Tulloch

“Hailing from New York and living in the sewers, these young adolescent reptile abominations hide in the shadows by day. And fight crime by night! ” by Lego Runner

“Hunters will tell you that a moose is a wily and ferocious forest creature. Nonsense. A moose is a cow drawn by a three-year-old. – Bill Bryson” – by Shelly Corbett

New Challenge

We have posted a new challenge in our G+ Community: Detail. Here are the details:

Some say the Devil is in the detail but, here at Toy Photographers, we believe the essence of an image is in detail. Often details are overlooked by a viewer’s conscious observation, but they still add to (or detract from) an image.

Many toys out there have beautiful detail that we take for granted. Even some of the smallest toys have the odd piece that is worthwhile bringing into the image. In the photo below I have concentrated on the small logo on Cruz Ramirez’s fender. This supports both the smile and eye placements on the car and is true to character.

Why not pick up a favorite toy and look for a pattern, logo/symbol, or some other detail that is true to that character and highlight it in an image. Feel free to do this up to three times during the month. The winning photo will grace the Toy Photographers banner for December, and the winner will receive a cool Ant-Man prize. – Tony Tulloch

I hope you will join in this fun challenge and show us the details on your favorite toys. Tony has posted in our Tips and Tricks section three techniques to help you master this months challenge. So why not head over the community and check out all the details.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our $1 Photo Challenge and I look forward to seeing what you create for this months challenge on Details.

Shelly