Customizing 6-Inch Action Figures with Jon Black (@12parsecscustoms)
Star Wars 6-inch action figure customizer Jon Black, @12parsecscustoms on Instagram, shares his process, sources and tips for making custom figures.
Category: How To…
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.
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.
Mia the Rabbit: Shooting a Custom Plush Character
Mia Rabbit is a small quiet bunny who loves to travel and eat sweets. Danboard—the cardboard box character from Japan’s YOTSUBA&! anime—first inspired me to create my own character. I started shooting Danboard in 2009 for fun, and in that same year I went to New York to shoot backstage …
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…
Photographing Physical Sets with Digital Backdrops
I often share behind the scenes images along with images I post on social media. People seem to like the glimpse behind the curtain, so to speak, to see the lighting positions, the effects, the sets, props, etc. Several of my photos involve using physical sets—structures, plants, props, etc.—in conjunction …
How to Make Your Toys ‘Fly’
Our February MeWe challenge was “leap.” This required our community members to get their toys off the ground in any way they could. In today’s post I want to show you a few of those techniques from several toy photography viewpoints. Because when it comes to making your toys fly, …
Gaining Confidence with Shooting Toys in Public
It can be intimidating to create art in public places. It can be doubly difficult when that art is a niche thing like toy photography. This post is about how I gained confidence with shooting toys in public. If you are like me, the most intimidating aspect is a fear …
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. …
Enter the Third Dimension with Stereoscopic Toy Photography
Matthew Wyjad introduces stereoscopic photography and shows us how easy it is to produce toy photos that enter the realm of 3D images.
How to Extend DoF with Tilt
Last week, I was chatting with Shelly about an upcoming photography challenge here on Toy Photographers which piqued my interest. I won’t spoil it, but the idea sent me rifling through the drawers of photo gear I have in a closet to see if there was something I might use. …
Editing on the Go
With the right selection of apps, one can edit toy photography on a phone, without ever having to use a desktop computer.
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 …
Making Toy Photography Gifts for Holidays and Special Occasions
Your toy photography can make the perfect, unique gift. Whether it’s Christmas, Valentine’s Day, a birthday or graduation, this is your chance…
Basic Lightsaber Effects How-To
If you are a Star Wars fan, and a toy photographer, you’re likely going to run across an image that contains lightsabers. You may be wondering how such effects are made. There are many ways to create lightsaber effects, however the way I use is to simply do it in …
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.
Fitting Toy Photography into the Busy Times of Life
When life gets busy, does your toy photography get left behind? Teddi Deppner shares her top 3 tips for keeping your toy photo mojo alive!
Toying with bright ideas: layered light
In today’s post, I want to show you a technique that I use a lot for my toy photography. I call it the layered light method and was introduced to it by Justin @justineastmanmedia, a very talented digital artist and toy photographer. I’ve used it for several photos that I …