It’s now officially summer (at least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere), and like Brett and Shelly before me, I’ve been inspired by the change of the season. However, the sunshine has taken me somewhere I wasn’t expecting it to…
Back into my studio.
That’s right. While the rain clouds that cover most of the Pacific Northwest have subsided and the world is in full bloom, I’ve actually opted to stay indoors to take my first summer photos, thanks to a new find on Amazon: fake grass!
Grass is a tricky thing to work with for toy photographers (especially LEGO photographers) due to the fact that it doesn’t quite look to scale when placed next to our four-centimeter plastic subjects. Inspired by Brett’s moss garden, I turned to the internet for ideas and found SUN-E Life-like Fairy Artificial Grass. They come in handy 6-inch by 6-inch squares and look remarkably like the real thing!
I’m amazed at how real the grass looks next to my minifigures and LEGO pieces. The tiny artificial blades even shed a little bit, making the aftermath of my shoot feel very much like I actually left the comfort of my studio.
Robin is excited for summer in Gotham. Batman prefers clouds that are black, or sometimes very very dark grey
Of course, I’m well aware that as realistic as it is, an indoor studio mimicking the great outdoors can’t actually replace the real thing. Shooting in nature has some wonderful advantages that I don’t want to miss out on, especially now that I’ve caught the summer bug. I look forward to the adventures ahead of me over the next few months!
Plus, it’s nice to know that when summer eventually does end, I’ll be able to hold onto a piece of it. Or at the very least, four 6-inch by 6-inch square pieces of it.
Summer adventures await!
Have you ever tried recreating the great outdoors from the comfort of your studio? What did you use to mimic nature? Let me know in the comments!
–James
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I often shoot indoors for the reasons you mentioned. The real grass is too big. I have some great stones and eroded dirt patches in my back yard that make great canyons and deserts for my minifigs but shots that include environments like parks just don’t go well outdoors. Luckily for me my hubby has a model railway with some great trees and grasssy bits left over in a box so I’ve been raiding that. I’ve also bought miniature bits and bobs off e-bay. As they say, where there’s a will there’s a way. And an online store that sells it!!
This is a fantastic idea James! Thank you for posting this link! I usually tend to make my scenes entirely out of LEGO (I like the challenge of creating environments from LEGO pieces) but there are times when I would love to have a little patch of fake grass for my minifigs. I’ll definitely check this out. Thanks for sharing!
Lynn
Thanks for sharing James!
I use it too and it changed the way i thought my indoor pictures.
Definitely a “must have” for toy photographers!
wow!! is an amazing grass James. It’s fantastic for indoor photos. Thanks for the tip 🙂
Wow! This grass looks ace. Off to eBay I go….
Ahhh that grass is BRILLIANT! I’ve needed a replacement for an old circular… patch – I think it was meant to cover a plant pot around a plant? – that I have dragged about for years. I’ve been wanting to create a new “base” and this is perfect.
There are times, due to health reasons, that I cannot get out and shoot as much as I’d like, and if I were to get down to ground level… er, I’d be there a long time. So alternate options are priceless for me, for making “inside” look like “outside”. Scrapbook papers can make awesome backgrounds, especially if just slightly out of focus. And “kinetic sand” is way easier than chasing Lego Shark-suit guy down the beach!
Welcome to the indoors. Not only do I like the control I have when shooting indoors, I also like the escape from the suffocating Florida humidity. But I should push myself to shoot outside more, on occasion…
I’m a connoisseur of fake grass, but you seem to have found the most realistic I’ve seen yet. I’m adding it on my ‘definitely need to buy’ list.
Had to pop back and say that grass is every bit as awesome as hoped! Thanks again for the tip!!
What a great tip!
I create outdoor photo’s in my basement, but mostly use ‘real’ outdoor material (like Brett). Yet this looks very good. I’ll be trying this.
Thx