So You Want a Beskar Mando? Try This Custom Black Series Project
Learn to turn your Star Wars the Black Series Mandalorian action figure into a custom beskar armor version with articulated cape.
Category: How To…
Tips & Tricks: Building Backgrounds from Your Recycle Bin
Toy photography doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Learn how to build effective backgrounds using items from your recycling bin.
Diorama: A Tutorial, Part 4 of 4
Properly scaled backgrounds are hard to find. This tutorial series walks through building a simple diorama for 6″ action figures.
Diorama: A Tutorial, Part 3 of 4
Properly scaled backgrounds are hard to find. This tutorial series walks through building a simple diorama that is properly scaled for 6″ action figures.
Tips & Tricks: Indiana Jones Sunset Silhouette Effect
Alan offers a simple tutorial for creating a sunset silhouette with your toy photography. All it requires is a light source and some household items.
Diorama: A Tutorial, Part 2 of 4
Properly scaled backgrounds are hard to find. This series walks through building a simple diorama that is properly scalled for 6″ action figures.
Diorama: A Tutorial, Part 1 of 4
Dave offers simple tips for making a brick wall diorama for your toy photography. Part 1 of this four-part series covers carving the foam wall.
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.
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. …