Hello fellow Toy Photographer!

Thank you for agreeing to be featured on The Toy Photographers Blog. I couldn’t be more thrilled! We love our fellow toy photographers and enjoy featuring ones we think are doing amazing work . We also make it a priority to feature people connected to our community. So, welcome!

In addition to being featured on our blog, your images will be featured on our various social media channels and the weekly newsletter. Hopefully this additional exposure will help others find your awesome work!

I want to acknowledge the work it will take to completing these questions and gather your images. Thank you! Everyone in our community appreciates your effort the time it takes to be a part of this long running series.

Please look over the list of questions below and choose a few of your favorites to answer; aim for half of the questions. I will choose your best answers to include in the post. We love it when our features are fun, honest and just a little bit silly. So feel free to get as creative with your writing as you are with your images!

We’re a photography blog, so in addition to your written answers please send over photos that we can add to your post. The photos you choose should relate to what you write, reflect your photographic journey and of course be photos that you’re proud of.

If you have the ability to resize your images, please submit images in the following sizes: the header (a strong horizontal) should be 1200px x 628px and in-post content should not exceed 2000px on the longest side.

If you have any questions about this process please reach out to the team member who originally solicited you, email us at mail@toyphotographers.com or contact me directly at sjcorbett@icloud.com. You can also reach out via social media, although our response won’t be as timely.

Thank you again for agreeing to participate! We can’t wait to feature you and your work!

Shelly

Basic Info:

Name
Main social media handle (Facebook, Instagram, Flickr, etc.)
MeWe profile (if you have one)
Website

Questions:

  1. What part of the world do you live in?
  2. How long have you been a toy photographer?
  3. Job, or other interests besides toy photography?
  4. Where do you get your best photography ideas?
  5. Tell us about your process in creating images from original thought to final photo image.
  6. Describe your favorite equipment: Smartphone, camera, favorite lens, lighting, software etc.
  7. Tell us about your favorite photography environment (indoor or outdoor) and why.
  8. What are your three ‘desert island’ toys? or What toys do you continue to gravitate towards and why?
  9. Who/What are your greatest influences? This could be other toy photographers or artists outside of the community

Tell us a little about your creative self. Below you will find a few questions to get you thinking.

  1. What was your aha moment that inspired you to continue in the hobby?
  2. Where do you get your best photography ideas?
  3. Tell us about your process in creating images from original thought to final photo image.
  4. What are the essential tools in your toy photography kit? Do you use any tools that would surprise us?
  5. How do you want to connect with your audience? Are you most interested in a story, a specific character or an emotional reaction and why?
  6. Do you have a unique style? If so, how did you develop or find it?
  7. Toy photography requires a diverse skill set. What is one skill / technique you’ve mastered that gives your photography its unique style?
  8. Your work is fantastic but everyone has to start somewhere! If you could go back in time what piece of information about toy photography would you share with your younger self?
  9. What’s the coolest thing that has happened to you because of your toy photography journey?
  10. What tips would you like to share with someone just beginning their toy photography journey?
  11. How has being a toy photographer changed your life? What benefits do you see that you think others should know about?
  12. Do you have any plans or goals for your toy photography that you would like to share?
  13. Any final thoughts?

Tips for a better article:

  • Please review past contributions to see how you might be able to create a unique perspective on this long running series.
  • Write from the first person. This post is about YOU! When you talk to your audience as if they are their with you, you take away from the immediacy and uniqueness of your experience.
  • I know you want to keep this low key and folksy, but please keep your text tight by removing unnecessary phrasing that may take away from your ideas. Our readers are busy, just like you. And honestly you have 3-5 minutes to make the case about why they should care about you and your story.
  • When you send in images they need to connect to and reflect your journey.
  • Please don’t submit images larger than 1200px on the longest side (saved for web). If you do, it creates additional work for our all voluntary staff and will delay the publication of your post. If you don’t know how to do this, let us know with your submission.
  • At this time, please work with the person who originally reached out to you for instructions on how to submit images. A shared Google Drive folder is always a solid option.