Taking a Shot: How I Created Deadpool’s Bullet
A behind-the-scenes story of a plastic egg, spray paint, an inner voice, a Hot Toys Deadpool figure and how it all came together in a dramatic toy photo.
Category: Behind the Scenes
LEGO Death Star II Battle (GWP) Set 40407 Review
Alan reviews and shoots the LEGO Death Star II Battle (GWP) set 40407, was available free with $75 Shop.LEGO.com purchases for Star Wars Day 2020.
Shooting Into the Sun
Putting the sun directly in the background of your shot can make a dramatic image. Follow this tutorial to learn how to do it with your toy photography.
Making My Own Character: The Plague Doctor
Have an idea for a shot but can’t find an action figure to create it? Try taking an existing figure and adding your own accessories, like my plague doctor.
Troopers in the Mist: Creating Atmosphere
Atmosphere can be a fantastic element to your toy photography. We explore three options for doing so with Matt Frederick.
Using Pet Store Aquarium Accessories for Toy Photography
During a visit to the pet store for some goldfish essentials I discovered an entirely new realm of toy photography potential. No, it didn’t involve incorporating animals into my photos, but it did require ‘borrowing’ some accessories from the aforementioned goldfish. Aquatic ornamentation My plan was to quickly run in …
Building My Own Background: Learn to Make a Diorama
One of the largest issues with toy photography, especially for those of us who shoot primarily in a studio, is finding suitable backgrounds. I recently tried to build my own background using foam and some craft paints. This is the result. I got this idea from a channel I stumbled …
The Floor Is Lava: Creating a Diorama for Multiple Scales
Remember that game played as kids? “THE FLOOR IS LAVA!!!” Furniture became the high ground where play and fantasy ruled the day. One of the reasons I (and I’ll assume many other toy photographers) do this kind of work is just that – play and fantasy. For me its entirely detached from my career as a professional creative (although it does make use of related skills). Toy photography is a chance to create just for fun. And its a rabbit hole…
Selecting the Right One
Toy photographer Tobias Schiel shares his process for selecting the best photo from a number of alternative versions. Which one best suits the vision?
Lightshow – Four Lighting Sources, Part 2
In Part 1, we looked at an overview of Four Lighting Sources applied to the same subject. We also looked at a simple application of common modifiers. Compare & contrast Have a closer look at the nature of light and shadow qualities for these examples above. Open a much larger …
Lightshow – Four Lighting Sources, Part 1
In this series, we’ll look at four lighting sources that I’ve gathered for my own use. I’ll touch on some available modifiers and show a few examples. As a professional creative I’ve produced product photography for years: Tabletop, mannequin and on-body photos; all lit with large softboxes and studio strobes. …
Can Tim Picture That: Learning the Basics
I have dabbled in toy photography over the years and, in some instances, I’ve been reasonably happy with how things turned out. At other times I feel like my photo just looks like a toy placed in front of something. I’ve discussed this topic with Alan Rappaport on several occasions. …
The Blackest Black Backgrounds
The background I want for an image depends entirely on what story I want to tell. Sometimes I want an elaborate, realistic image. Other times I want something simple. Sometimes I want pure black. Pure black has all sorts of benefits. I like it because black sets a certain mode …
Inner Vision
Sometimes my inner vision is stronger than my real vision. Where one may see a pleasant beach scene, I see an Imperial invasion.
The Gentle Art of Weathering LEGO Minifigures
Before I write this, I need to kick proceedings off with a disclaimer of sorts. By no means do I claim to be an authority figure with an extensive knowledge about the finer details of weathering toys. I most certainly did not invent it. Nor am I an innovator in …
BTS: Rorshach in the Rain
With the right tools complicated shots become easier. Take a peak behind the scenes taken with a Platypod, Lume Cube, and bee smoker.
Some Meet-Up Winners and Found Art Found
The dust is still settling on the 2019 Melbourne Toy Photographers Meet-Up. Today we celebrate some amazing photographs captured on the day and announce the winners of the three contests. Meetup BTS photo winners We asked attendees to share their ‘behind the scenes’ photographs on the day using the #meltoyphotomeetup2019_bts …
BTS: Model Making an AT-AT
For my entire toy photography career any non-LEGO shot I took used pre-made models. Aside from some props, what came in the box gets put directly in front of the camera. I was inspired to try something new, and I ended up with this image: This post is a behind-the-scenes …
How to Light your Dragon… The Lume Cube 2.0 Is Here!
I’ve been using Lume Cubes for many years. I loved the small square that punches out a massive amount of light. It was convenient, lightweight and was a major part of my wedding videography setup. Now, years on and with a new avenue of photography (toys), I’m finding myself using …
Toying with Bright Ideas: A Light Diffuser on a Budget
As I have mentioned before in previous posts, lighting in photography is king; without it, we don’t have photos.