Toytography Magazine (Fall 2024) by ToytographyMag

SEPTEMBER 2024

HELP YOUR FIGURE TAKE FLIGHT WITH THESE DYNAMIC POSES

WE GET TIPS FROM DARAIS PRINCE FOR INSPIRING PHOTO IDEAS

TALKS ABOUT THE LOVE AND PAITENCE HE PUTS INTO THE DETAILS OF HIS TOYTOYGRAPHY

TOYTOGRAPHYMAG.COM

2 LEAPS, SWINGS & DIVES 4 FEATURED TOYTOGRAPHER 13 CREATING ELEMENTS 28 TOYFARE’S TIPS 31 POSING TIPS FROM D-AMAZING 35 ARTIST WALL 37 CONTEST WINNER 41 A Message from Brian Carr

Ti ps to hel p your fi gures catch some ai r ti me

Jesse Feyereisen

Toytography with practical effects

Adjustments for Brightness & shadows

Inspiration to push the limits of your imagination

Inspiring Toytography from our readers

Themed Contest #Water

CONT E NT S

TABLE OF NOTE FROM THE FOUNDER

A Note from the Founder

Toytography Magazine is now in it’s third year. It has been pure fun for us to create content that has helped and inspired others. It brings total joy to us when whenever we see a post message or email from our readers telling us how much they are loving the content. It’s also inspiring to us when we hear the stories of how Toytographers came into the hobby. We love listening to them share their experiences of the tips and advice they have received from other fellow Toytographers. I truly hope that we continue to be there for you during your photography journey for many more years to come and encourage you along the way.

r r a C n a i Br Founder

In this issue We have received requests to provide more tips on posing, so we leap into the area of flight posing. We also chat with D-Amazing to provide more ideas on where to find inspiration for poses. Our feature interview is with Jesse Feyereisen. He shares his story of how he started doing toy photography and how he landed to the dream job at Big Bad Toy Store. Don't forget to also check out our artist wall and this issue's themed contest winner.

Leaps, Swings &Dives BY: BRIAN cARR

One of the coolest and most fun ways to pose your figure is to have them leap in the air. Whether you’re doing a flight pose or having them dive for cover, it’s a challenging task with satisfying results. So, let’s dive right in and show you some cool ways to pose your figures, cleverly hide those flight stands, and show your figure leap into action.

Flight poses are usually simple because you only need to make minor adjustments, but it depends on what your character is doing while they’re in the air. The only time a flight pose can be a little tricky is when the figure has a cape, especially if that cape does not have a wire to help portray motion. In some cases, you can say that the character is flying so fast that the cape is simply being swept back. Figures with wired capes can be a LOT of fun. They give the figure a lot more possibilities for some great dynamic poses. With a few bends at various points, you can give the impression that your figure is floating in the air with their cape effortlessly flowing behind them.

Depending on the action that is taking place while your figure is “in the air”, there are adjustments that need to be made to the body, particularly the head, arms, torso, legs and feet. Usually, when you want to have your figure appear to be flying, you will need to have either one or both arms fully extended in the direction the figure is going. If you’re unable to extend the arms in that position, you can also have both arms by the figure’s side and position their head to look in the direction they’re heading.

If you’re posing your figure in flight for display, then it is not necessarily a big deal to conceal the support that is holding the figure up. If you’re planning to do some form of editing to your photo, then your stand is also not a factor because you can easily crop it out in post. Personally, I do zero editing. Therefore, one of the biggest challenges for me in flight posing is hiding the support stand. Things are a little easier if I’m using a smaller figure because I can simply use bendable wire that’s strong enough to hold the weight. For larger figures that require sturdier support, I will either use the cape or extend one of the legs of the figure to hide most of the stand and use the figure’s clothing or upper torso to conceal the clamp. The options are limited, but there are times when you can get pretty creative.

Speaking of creative ways to hide stands, another way to use this tactic resourcefully is using props. Which brings us to the next area of posing: leaps and dives. These kinds of poses are done for action shots like firefights and other types of dangerous scenarios. The important thing to remember in these poses are the little details on the figure during your posing. When your figure is leaping in a particular direction, you also need to pose any hanging items on the figure. If your figure is leaping to the right and you have items on the figure that are just hanging down, you’re ruining the illusion of the pose. So, remember that the figure’s accessories should also appear to be affected by the laws of physics.

And while we’re on the subject of physics, let’s discuss swinging poses. Whether you’re posing the famous web-slinger or just a character swinging into adventure, you always need to take Newton’s law into account. Newton's third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, when you’re posing your figure in any type of swinging pose, you have to convey that the character shows some form of weight in the pose. It will make your image that much more believable. These are the fundamentals to aerial posing. There are many other poses to pull off in this area, so feel free to explore and push limits. And don’t forget to have fun!

VISIT “BRIAN CARR PHOTOS” ON YOUTUBE YOUTUBE.COM/@TOYTOGRAPHY LEARN PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS FIGURE UNBOXINGS W/ PHOTO SESSIONS

Y Y B B D D E E R R O O S S N N O O SSPP

WWW.JAZZINCDIORAMAS.COM

www.onesixthkit.com

Jesse Feyereisen

Toytography Magazine: So, I checked out your website, and I have to say, I was fascinated with your toy photos. However, I was also fascinated by the other photography you do. The images on your site are just fantastic. Jesse Feyereisen: Oh, thank you so much. TM: Based on your photos, which came first? Was it the toy collecting or the toy photography? Or do you even toy collect? JF: Gosh… I think the toy photography came first. I’ve been into photography on and off for the past 10 or 20 years, but I had never tried toy photography. So, I experimented with general photography, just anything I could put my camera on. I started doing a little bit of it for work. I worked at a couple of small businesses doing headshots. I worked in the AV industry, so we were building home theaters and things, so I did a little bit of architecturaltype photography. Wildlife, landscape, and astral photography… Then, one year, my wife bought me a Hot Toys Darth Vader, just as an awesome Christmas gift. I was super fortunate for that. One time, I put him in front of the camera as kind of a “product photo”, and I started taking pictures of him, and I was like, “Wow, this guy is really cool. This is really nice.” You know? I shared it online, and it didn’t really do a whole lot, because it wasn’t really my normal thing.

But then, I started looking online at toy photography and all the people that are doing it, and I was like, “Wow! This is a really cool thing.” This must have been 2017/2018, I think. So, that just ignited my creativity, because I grew up loving movies and I wanted to do special effects and stuff, but life happens, and I didn’t go down that road. But I thought, this is a way to combine my two passions, all that visual effect stuff, all the movies that I love, the toys, and photography. Well, then you get one figure, you get another, you get another… The next thing you know, you’re taking a day off work and putting shelves up to store all the toys. Next thing you know, it gets out of hand, and there we are. I’ve just been having a blast. TM: Haha! Yeah…

JF: I don’t remember when I started… It may have been around covid, where I finally sat down and said, “Ok. I’m going to do one photo a week. One photo project.” That will be enough discipline for me to keep doing it, but not too much that it stresses me out and becomes overwhelming. And I’ve stuck to that. I’ve only missed one or two weeks for the past 5 years or 3 years, or however long I’ve been doing this. It’s just growing and growing. I’ve gotten to meet so many people, like yourself, and it’s just so much fun. I’m just having a blast doing it. TM: So, gosh… I kind of did the same challenge for myself, where I was actually working to get one photo a day. I was trying to crank it out. But maybe that was the thing. I was doing too much, and I started to back off of it, because that turns into a full time job. JF: Yeah, that’s a lot. TM: But man, to be doing this now, where it’s 5 years later and you’re still cranking out one a week, that’s total dedication.

JF: Yeah, thank you. It’s been a practice in self-discipline for sure. Honestly, some weeks I’ll shoot more. Like, one weekend I’ll crank out a couple of shots, and then the next week I won’t shoot any. But I’ll have, I guess, a “bucket” of unpublished shots that I can pull from, which I did last week. I was busy last weekend, so I didn’t get to shoot anything. So, I pulled one, a Tie Fighter shot that I shot about a year ago, so I had a back up ready to go, just to keep the drip going, I guess you could say. TM: Yeah. It’s funny how you mentioned that you have to get another. I just had someone yesterday, they were busy paying me a visit, and they saw the toys that I have, and they don’t collect. They were like, “Hey man, so… How much do these things cost?” So, I told them how much, and they’re Hot Toys figures. And he said, “You know, because I’m thinking about getting one.” I said, “Dude, wait. I’m going to let you know, toy collecting… they’re like potato chips. You can’t have just one.” You get one, and you’re like, “Oh man, well I don’t want him to be alone.” JF: Exactly! “Well, I bought Leonardo, so I might as well get Raphael. Then, I might as well get Donatello and Michelangelo. I’ve got Vader, might as well get Luke.” It just keeps going and going and going. TM: Right! Haha! So, does your collection consist of different variations? Is it mostly 1/6 scale, or how does your collection vary? JF: It’s all over the board. I have a handful of Hot Toys that you can kind of see behind me. I’ve got a lot of Black series 6” figures. Then, I have NECA figures that are kind of in between.

They’re a little bit bigger, like 7”. I’ve got a lot of spacecraft and things too, that I’ve been collecting. You know, Star Wars Lego ships. I have a lot of the Lego Bandai model kits, only a few that I’ve put together. A lot of them are in boxes still. I have vintage collection ships. Yeah, my collection is really all over the board. I don’t collect for collecting’s sake. I don’t plan to sell it and make money. I look at something and I ask, is it nostalgic to me, and can I get a good photograph out of it? That’s really what it comes down to, for me. I’ve got a lot of spacecraft and things too, that I’ve been collecting. You know, Star Wars Lego ships. I have a lot of the Lego Bandai model kits, only a few that I’ve put together. A lot of them are in boxes still. I have vintage collection ships. Yeah, my collection is really all over the board. I don’t collect for collecting’s sake. I don’t plan to sell it and make money. I look at something and I ask, is it nostalgic to me, and can I get a good photograph out of it? That’s really what it comes down to, for me. I grew up in the 80s, so I collect a lot of Star Wars, Predator, Alien, Terminator… that kind of stuff. TM: So, when it comes to the different types of photography that you’ve done, do you still do the other types of photography? JF: Not nearly as much as I used to, no. Toy photography really took over. I don’t do astral photography much anymore. It takes place as night, and I’m getting older. I’m not up for those long nights, swatting mosquitos and looking up at the stars and stuff.

We live by a small National Guard base in the town we moved to, so there’s a lot of helicopters flying by. I’ll occasionally run out with my camera and try to get shots, but nothing too spectacular. A little bit of nature, while I’m walking around, but I don’t venture out into the other genres much anymore. Toy photography really took over. JF: Just the endless creative possibilities. There’s really anything you can think of. I guess I’m fortunate where I naturally had a very creative mind growing up. I used to draw a lot and things. Watching all the movies and playing with toys, as a kid does. That all just stuck with me. I watch movies, and I get ideas. I listen to the soundtrack. If I’m doing a terminator photo, there’s a good chance that Terminator 2 is either on the TV in the room, or I’m listening to the soundtrack or something. I’m kind of enveloping myself in the world. I just love that storytelling creative process. It’s relatively affordable, you can do it just about anywhere you like. There doesn’t always have to be a whole lot of prep. You can just grab a figure and your camera and head out to the backyard, and you’re up and running, you know? Or if you want to go to the other end, you can get super complex. You can get a crazy dio setup, and lots of lighting, and lots of photoshop and visual effects and things like that. It’s endlessly creative, and I think that’s the best way I can put it. TM: That’s one of the things I like about it as well. It can be as simple or complex as you want it to be. It’s such a wide spectrum.

JF: Yeah, it’s such a great hobby. For me, personally, I find myself… Gosh, how do I say this? If I don’t shoot something for a week or two, I can tell I get antsy. My wife can tell, too. “You haven’t done a photo in a while. Maybe you should go get creative and do something.” And I’ll be like, “Yeah, yeah, you’re right.” TM: Haha! It’s like, “You’re in a mood. Go play with your toys.”

JF: Yeah, exactly! It’s almost Zen like, or meditative. It’s a really great peace of mind. Me in control of this scene and I can just take my time with it, play music, watch a movie, or have it on in the background, and just really get in the zone. It’s almost meditative in some sort of fashion. TM: I can agree with that. When I am in the middle of my setup, I kind of do the same thing. Whatever character I’m posing, I’ll put music on, and just engross myself mentally in that environment, and it helps me visualize, “Ok, what would they be doing?” So, can you elaborate on that a little more? What kinds of things do you look for, as far as inspiration? JF: So, like we’ve been talking, music is actually a big one. My main genres of music are hard rock and orchestral type stuff. So, if I’m not listening to Metallica or Tool, I’m probably listening to some soundtrack from a movie, video game, or TV show. That stuff… I hear the music and I’ll it’s like a musical cue. I’ll all of a sudden spring an idea. I could be outside in the backyard mowing the lawn or something, and I’ll hear the music cue and all of a sudden imagine a star destroyer up in the clouds that I see right there. What would that look like with the sun behind it, halfway in the clouds? How would that work? Could I shoot that? I’ll pick a model up this afternoon, put it up in the sunlight, and kind of photoshop it a little bit… The imagination keeps rolling. Oh! Another great thing is, when you do have an idea, a tip I give a lot of people, if you have an idea, write it down. Write it down, take a picture of it, sketch it out even. That helps so much, because over time,

you’ll have this archive of inspiration to go back to. So, if I have a week where I’m like, “Ok, I have to put out a shot next week. What am I going to do?” It’s nothing fancy. I have sketchbook and the notes app on my phone. It’s just written ideas, screenshots. I took a picture of a scene I was watching in a movie, “Oh, the lighting looks cool.” I took a picture of it real quick, just to get inspired by it. So, you have this long running list of inspiration you can draw from. TM: Yeah, I see you take a lot of images around your home. Do you also do it while driving? Where you’ll see locations and have that mindset as well? JF: Absolutely. Yep. There are several parks near us. A state park about 15 minutes away. So, if my wife and I go for a walk or something, I always keep an eye. “That brush over there looks scaled to the figures. Oh, there’s a little trench in the mud over there. That would be a cool spot over there.” Always keep an eye out for things. TM: Yes, very true. So, for as long as you have been doing this now, what can you say has been your most challenging photo? JF: Oh, good question. Ok, the first thing that comes to mind, I can’t really talk about yet, because I haven’t pulled it off and I’ve been planning it for like a year, I hate to say. The sense of scale used to be a big challenge for me. When I take a shot of something, I try to not necessarily think about it as toy photography. Like, if I have that Darth Vader or a Boba Fett in front of the camera, I’m thinking about it like a portrait. So, I try to make the photo look as realistic as possible or make them look like a screen rep. So, it was a challenge for a while to make things look to scale and not like a toy. Some of the starship shots I’ve taken, with the Enterprise or Star Destroyers, I finally cracked the secret watching some old ILM footage, listening to them talk about shooting models. Widening my depth of field was kind of an Aha! moment. We all love this beautiful, creamy bokeh in the background, which is super great, but on the flip side, it makes things look smaller than they really are.

So, you kind of flip that on its head, and instead of shooting at F2.8, now I’m shooting at F22, so I’m getting a wider depth of field and it’s making the characters and the ships all look larger than life and bigger than they really are. I also started playing with focus stacking. I don’t do it super often, but I do it on occasion. That’s where you take a series of photos and you can stack them in photoshop, or other software, and you can artificially extend your depth of field. You start focusing at the front of the ship, and let’s say you take about 15 shots, and each shot is focusing a little bit further back, a little bit further back. Now, when you combine those, you have the entire range of focus. Now, that little star destroyer toy that is 12 inches, or 16 inches, it looks like it’s several hundred yards long, or a mile long, or whatever. And lighting them up in photoshop is always… I’m going back to the Star Destroyer. I hand paint those in photoshop. Sometimes, it can be quite labor intensive, but if it doesn’t light up in real life, I can light it up in photoshop. It helps build the sense of scale to see all these little, tiny lights on windows on a ship or something. TM: Yes, I was thinking about that when I saw your photo of the star destroyer. When I actually saw the toy, I was like, “That doesn’t have all those lights.” So, did you really put all those lights on? JF: Yep. That’s me in photoshop with my Wacom tablet and a pen, and I slowly just colored them in. I zoomed in really close and did them little section by section at a time. I did a super star destroyer shot once where I did all the lights on the side and that took forever.

And on the city super structure on the top, I finally wised up and made a custom brush in photoshop that kind of randomly speckles lights. Then, I can take that and I can kind of… To me, it doesn’t look as good, but I spent so much time doing that other side panel, and was like, “Ugh, I just have to get this done for my sanity.” TM: Haha! Ok, so that was your challenging one. What would you say was the most fun you had doing a particular image? JF: Oh, man. That’s a great question. I should have had my website up here, so I could just browse my own stuff.

Oh, I just recently did a Godzilla shoot that was super fun. I had never done Godzilla, and I had always wanted to get into Kaiju type stuff. I love Pacific Rim. I’m more of a casual Godzilla fan, but I’m getting more into it. But that was super fun. It was the Hiya Godzilla from King of the Monsters, I think. He stands about 7” tall, give or take. Then, I bought several 3D printed scale buildings for him off of Ebay from Eyepop Designs. That was a super fun shoot. I put out a bunch of buildings, took the shots, went into photoshop and put a little fire on the buildings, a little smoke here and there and debris. That was super fun. Yeah, that was a good one. I think the next day, I ended up taking the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and putting him in front of the same building and doing another large monster destroying the city kind of shot. Those are really fun to do. TM: Yeah, I understand, because sometimes you buy a particular thing for a particular figure, but once your imagination takes over, it’s like, “Man, I can use this same thing for this.” So, it’s really getting your money’s worth. JF: Yeah, I’m just going to say your wallet really appreciates that you can use one thing multiple times, for sure. TM: So, you felt like those were the tough questions, but I got a really tough one for you.

So, I have to say, out of all the photos that I saw you did recently, the one that I absolutely love that cracks me up the most is the Alien and Deadpool. JF: Oh! I was almost going to mention that as the fun one. TM: Man, that one was absolutely great. So, out of all the pictures you’ve taken, I know this might be a bit of a hard question, what photo do you believe is your favorite? JF: Oh, man. That is a tough one. Yeah, Deadpool and Alien is up there. Ok, so, one of my favorites, and there’s a caveat to this, I can’t remember if it was last year, but I did a shot of the Millenium Falcon flying in the clouds. It’s a shot I always wanted to do. All of my backgrounds and skies I shoot myself. If I shoot something in house, like in my studio here, and I replace the sky, I use my own sky. I keep a sky library. If I’m outside with my phone or my big camera, and I see an interesting sky, I take pictures of it to use later. But I don’t have any skies from above the clouds. I have a few now, from a flight that I took, so I have a couple. At the time, I didn’t. This was right when Adobe’s Firefly Beta was kicking off, AI generated stuff was just kicking off, which I don’t really use creatively very much.

So, in Firefly Beta, I ended up generating some clouds from above the clouds, like you were in an airplane. Then, I took a picture of Micro Galaxy Squadron Millenium Falcon in the backyard, and then comp those two together, and I really like the way that photo looked. Not only did I like the photo look, but the fact that I kind of used half AI, for me it represents, that photo was a sea change. Whether I use AI or not, it’s going to be changing the industry, it’s going to be changing so much in the world over the years. So, that will be a photo that I look back on and think, “Yeah, that was when the world changed right there.” That was that moment in time. So, that one means a lot to me. Also, I have a photo of the Mandalorian and Grogu that I took a couple years ago in my early toy photography days. Honestly, it’s not that fancy of a photo or anything, but I entered it into a contest at Photoshop World 2021, and sure enough, I ended up winning Photoshop World 2021 with that photo. That photo will always end up being one that boosted my confidence and made me realize, hey, ok. “Toy Photography”, which many people may not take seriously, we can put it up in front of other people and other photographers, we can put it in front of those crowds, and we can stand with those other photographers. It can be taken seriously. It really boosted my confidence, to be like, “Ok, this is a thing. Let’s lock into this. Let’s do this. Let’s have some fun.” TM: I’m glad that you said that, because I have a photo that won a contest last year, and I was feeling the same way.

I understand what it feels like when you put an image in a contest and you’re like, “I am the only toy photographer in this contest. Am I even going to be taken seriously?” Then, you’re looking at all the other photos that have been submitted, and you’re like, “Wow. Mine stacked up to this, to where, not only did they accept me, but I won.” So, I can totally relate to this. JF: Yeah. Congratulations, man. TM: Thank you. So, can you elaborate a little more? What was your submission process for that contest?

JF: So, I’ve been a member of KelbyOne for many years now. KelbyOne is an online photography education program. It has lots of courses, amazing instructors, it’s honestly where I got the bulk of my photography knowledge and experience over the years. They do a series of events over the year, like every 2 or 3 months, but then they have the big one, Photoshop World, usually in September, I think it is. I went to the last in person one in Vegas, which was in 2020, I think, then they started doing them virtually. At that live one, I was just kind of sitting there in the audience watching some of the shows and attending classes for a couple days, and I saw the contest. So, I was watching the award ceremony, and I was like, “Oh, man. I had no idea this was even a thing. I maybe would have entered.” Well, sure enough, the next year, my wife was kind of pushing me, “Do it. Just do it.” So, I entered a handful of photos in different categories. I ended up placing in macro photography, with a couple Black series storm trooper pictures. Then, just like you said. It was that final ceremony and they’re naming names, and my name wasn’t coming up, and I was like, “Huh.” But one of the producer ladies, this one was virtual because it was covid, but one of the producers told me to stay on the line, so I was like, “Ok.” So, I’m just sitting there and I’m like, “Huh.” And they weren’t saying my name, and I’m like, “No way. Do you think this is happening?” My wife’s sitting next to me, watching the computer. Then they said my name, and I couldn’t believe it. I still can’t believe it, to this day. I’ve got the trophy behind me. That was a Hot Toys Mandalorian figure with Grogu. They were just walking in a field. It was actually a baseball infield, so it was kind of like gravel. I had some atmosphere aerosol and sprayed it behind him, so it was a shot of them just kind of walking. Not the most drop-dead gorgeous photo, but, man, they appreciated it. I will be forever grateful for that. That really boosted me. I was like, “Ok. Us toy photographers, we can stand up out there with the other commercial photographers, with the portrait photographers, with the landscape photographers, with the whole spiel. We’re a genre unto ourselves now.” TM: Yeah. It’s funny that you mention that, because if you think about it, my winning photo had the Mandalorian in it too. JF: Nice! Nice! We rode that wave of popularity. We got in at the right time.

TM: Right! But overall, I will say that this is really good and inspiring for anyone who is thinking, “You know, I’m just taking pictures of toys.” No, believe me. It’s something that can be appreciated, because there’s some people who don’t even know toy photography exists, and when they do discover it, even though it’s not even their thing, they’re fascinated by it and it’s intriguing. When you enter something like that, and you get into a contest, you’re already feeling like it’s weird, because you’re a grown man taking pictures of toys. JF: Haha! Yep. You’re out there at the park on your knees in the grass doing your thing. TM: I mean, yes, it’s nice to find other people who have the same interests, but it’s almost like you have that AA meeting feeling in the back of your mind. It’s like, I’m only accepted by these people. But then, when you finally get accepted by someone who’s outside of that, and you get an award for those things, it’s an inspiring thing. And you just want to do more. JF: Totally. I’m so glad you brought that up, because that is one of my… I try really hard to read all the comments I get and respond to them, and if I didn’t respond to a comment, my apologies, I might have missed it somehow, for whoever’s reading. But yeah, some of my favorite comments are when I get someone saying, “Hey, this is really cool. I didn’t know this was a thing. I went and reached a couple of my kids’ toys, and my kids and I got into it.” To create those moments for people, I think is so cool. To get people inspired and get their kids involved, and all of a sudden it becomes a family thing. Kids are interested in photography, and father/son, mother/daughter, everyone’s having a good time. That is such a cool feeling.

TM: It is. It just helps bring people together. That is great. So, when it comes to your gear, cameras, tripods, lights, what kind of stuff do you use? JF: Yeah, we can talk tech. Currently, I’m shooting with a Canon EOS R. I’ll put this out there, the camera doesn’t matter, the camera brand, so anyone who’s talking Sony, Nikon, Olympus, whatever, it doesn’t matter. The only reason I shoot with a Canon is because the first camera I used was a film camera that my grandfather lent me for a photography class. So, that’s how I’m into that. I use a variety of lenses. Most often, I’m using a 100mm macro lens. Sometimes, I shoot with a 70-200, sometimes a 24-70, sometimes a 15-35. So, I shoot with a variety of lenses. I use tripods. I also use Platypods very often. I love some of their products. The Platypod extreme is a little baseplate that has little rubber feet and tooth feet. So, you can use the rubber feet indoors and the spike feet outdoors. I love that thing. If you can’t carry a tripod, grab a Platypod. They’re so handy. And they’re perfect for us doing toy photography, because it’s just a metal plate and you put your ball head of choice on it, so now you’re already 5-6” off the ground. You’re right where you need to be for toy photography, it’s absolutely perfect. For lighting… Lighting I’m all over the place. I bounce between shooting flash and shooting constant light. The reason I shoot flash is because I had a lot of that gear before I started toy photography, so I can just continue with it. Also, because I love the large soft boxes you can get with a lot of flash and strobes and stuff, because the big soft boxes give you that nice, really soft light, which I kind of gravitate towards. But I also do use LED lighting. I use a couple Lume Cubes, but not very often. I use a lot of Godox panels.

I have a couple of Godox, I think they’re M1 panels, and then I recently got some Godox tube light TL30s. I love those tube lights. They’re about a foot long or so. I love those lights. Then it’s just a combination of using bounce cards. You can get regular foam core board at your local hobby shop. Get black ones, get white ones, get gray ones, cut them up to different sizes to what you need. You can tape multiple ones together. That’s a great tip. Take two big foam core boards, tape them together with duct tape or something, and now it can kind of fold a bit so it can stand on its own, which is super handy. Yeah, that’s kind of the bulk of the main gear that I use most of the time. Oh, and a tether cable. Tethering is when you can hook your camera directly to your computer, so if you’re shooting indoors, you can see what you’re shooting on a bigger screen. That is super, super handy to kind of see the little details. Like, sometimes it just takes a slight tilt of the head or a tilt of the hand or something that can really sell an emotion or a stance, and it’s so much easier to be able to take the shot and instantly see it on a regular computer monitor, rather than the little 3” screen on the back of the camera. It’s really helpful. TM: Yes, I do the same thing. Not the tether, but I’m looking at the screen… I use a Canon SL3, and the one big thing I like about that camera is it has a touchscreen. Wherever I want the camera to focus, I can just touch the screen and it will focus on that. Also, I don’t if you have the same feature with your Canon, where it has a built in wi-fi, so you can sync up with your phone. So, it kind of gives me a little bit of a bigger screen. JF: Yeah, that’s great. Especially when you’re outdoors, it’s great to have that screen. TM: Yeah, so you can kind of get an idea of how it’s going to look, but, you know, there’s a lot of times where still, no matter what it is you look at, you take the image and put it on your computer and it’s like, “Oh, gosh. I didn’t know that was there.” JF: Yeah, totally. Hindsight. Yeah. TM: So, the other thing is, I know that there are a lot of photographers out there who have kind of been doing this for a while, and I know that, for some of them, their goal is to take photos for a company. So, now that you’re a part of Big Bad Toy Store, is there any kind of advice or message that you can give to them for those that want to get attention from certain companies? How did you get into doing it for Big Bad Toy Store?

JF: Absolutely. Funny enough, I stumbled into Big Bad Toy Store almost completely by accident. Long story short, I ended up getting a figure that was broken immediately out of the box. I reached out to the vendor, the manufacturer of the toy, but didn’t hear back from their support, and I actually bought it from Big Bad Toy Store. So, after a week of not hearing back from them, I reached out to Big Bad Toy Store, and I was like, “Hey, I got this a couple weeks ago. It’s broken. Is there anything you guys can do about it?” Then, I was like, “Also, as long as I have your attention, here’s who I am. Here’s what I do.” And fortunately for me, I happen to live 15 minutes away from their headquarters, which was a total shocker to me. So, I’m like, ”Oh, and I’m just down the road, so I’d love to talk to you guys.” So, I immediately heard back from them, we started talking and I wasn’t even looking for a job. I was doing toy photography as a complete hobby. The stars aligned and it all worked out really well. So, I feel incredibly fortunate and lucky, but they do say luck favors the prepared. Yeah, but as far as advice to give other people, if you want to do toy photography… I guess I can only speak to my experience, so don’t take this as gospel or anything. So, these two points are kind of going to be on opposite ends. On one point, I want to say have a style and stick to it, because that might be what people are looking for. They’ll be looking for the consistency in that style. On the flip side, also be very versatile, because you never know what they might throw at you. So, to be able to adapt to different changes and different products, like one thing at Big Bad Toy Store… I shot a lot of Start Wars. I shot a lot of Alien, Predator, Terminator, you know, all that kind of stuff. But now at Big Bad Toy Store, in addition to that, it’s like, “Hey, we’ve got some Strawberry Shortcake. Can you take a picture of that?” “Sure!” You know, the weirdest thing that you would never really think of.

So, to be versatile and flexible in what you might shoot, because you never know what might come at you. Another thing, most of all, just be a good person. These companies, they’re real people, they’re real teams. Be someone that people want to work with. That will increase your chances immensely. Just be a good person, not only a talented person, but a good person. Put those together, you might find some success. TM: Really, the nature of a true photographer is one that’s able to adapt. You have to be able to adjust. So, if someone says, “Hey, can you shoot Strawberry Shortcake?” “Well, I only shoot Star Wars, so you know…” “Ok, well, thanks for your time.” JF: Exactly. Yeah. You have to be versatile. I have been wanting to get into dio building. I see these amazing dios that people are making, so, so cool. So, one of my first dios was for the Strawberry Shortcake shot that I did for Big Bad Toy Store. I made a cake out of Styrofoam and sheetrock mud. So, we’re kicking it off. We’re learning, and I’m having a really good time doing it. I mean, it’s so much fun.

TM: Yes. I remember when I had the conversation with Johnny Wu, and he was mentioning all the stuff he was doing with Super 7 and all of the dioramas… I remember asking him, “How many dioramas do you have?” and he said, “Too many.” JF: Haha! Oh, man. What does he do with all of those, I wonder? I mean, where do you store that stuff? TM: Yeah, just being able to adapt and improvise, because that’s what it is. No matter what it is they ask you to do, I’m pretty sure that there’s a lot of photos that you have where it was just like makeshift stuff. JF: Oh, totally.

Yeah, so I hadn’t watched Spiderman 2 in a long time. So, I put it up on the TV while I’m doing the shot, to get into the Spiderspace, you know? TM: Haha! Ok, so I have one more question to ask, then we can wrap up here. You’ve actually said a lot of inspiring things, but for those readers that are just starting out or those readers that are looking for direction, are there any inspirational words you want to say to them? JF: I think, first and foremost, shoot what you love, for sure. Because, if you’re not into it, in the moment, on site, in the field, whatever you want to call it, while you’re doing it, you’re not going to produce your best work.

TM: I can’t remember what it was, but I think there was one image that I saw where you had posted your behind-thescenes thing, and you had something sitting on top of some Tupperware. JF: Oh, yeah. Probably. Everything you see inside the image, everything just inches outside that frame is complete chaos. It totally is. TM: Haha! Which, by the way, when I looked at some of your behind-the-scenes photos, I remember there was one image you had posted of Spiderman. When you showed the behind the scenes, you had Spiderman playing on the background. JF: Oh, yes! Just like what we were talking about earlier. Totally. It was the Spiderman 2 20th anniversary, and I didn’t have a Tobey Maguire figure, but I had one of the newer ones that was close. I was like, “Well, I’ll use this. I can’t get one in time.” The date’s coming up, sometimes you’re under pressure. There are budgets involved and time and things, and you kind of have to make do.

If you don’t love what you’re doing already, and love the subject and things, that just helps to really get people excited about it. Also, don’t get too lost in the technical. I know there’s a lot of people who look on YouTube and are like, “What’s the best camera? What’s the best setting? What’s the best light?” A lot of those things, in some ways, don’t matter in the end. It’s really about your creativity. Posing is really important. Lighting is probably the most important. Often, when people are looking to buy a new camera for photography, I often ask them, “What does your current camera not do for you, right now?” I really feel like you’re better off spending that money on lighting than a new camera. New cameras don’t… It doesn’t improve your photography the way you think it will. TM: Yeah, it’s the user. JF: It really is. Gosh, what else? That’s a great question, too. If you don’t have a camera, shoot with your phone. Phones are so amazing these days. Your phone is technically a mirrorless camera. It really is. If you treat it like a professional camera, you can get professional results. TM: Yeah. Absolutely. That’s actually a good line. It’s really in the eye of the beholder. When you take it seriously, no matter what it is you’re working with, it will show. JF: That’s not my line. I think I got that from KelbyOne somewhere. I can’t take credit for that at all. TM: Haha! It’s still good to be repeated. Well, thanks, man. It’s been a pleasure to finally be able to chat with you. This was definitely a lot of fun here.

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Toytography with PracticalBy:Effects Dan Hickman Toy photography has become a captivating art form, allowing enthusiasts to bring their favorite action figures to life. One of the most exciting aspects of toy photography is the ability to create stunning, dynamic scenes using practical special effects. Unlike digital effects, practical effects add a tangible, authentic feel to your photos. Here's a guide to using inexpensive practical effects to enhance your toy photography.

Smoke and Fog MATERIALS NEEDED: INCENSE STICKS OR CONES MINI FOG MACHINES DRY ICE (HANDLE WITH CARE) HOW TO USE: Incense: Light an incense stick or cone and place it behind or beneath your figure. The slow, wispy smoke can simulate fog, mist, or an eerie atmosphere. CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE ADULT SUPERVISION WHEN USING ANY FLAMMABLE MATERIALS. Mini Fog Machines: These are incredible for making smoky, eerie background effects. You can find them on websites like Amazon, ranging from as little as $8 up to over $200. The more expensive machines may also come with lights to really maximize the effectiveness of the fog. Dry Ice: For a more intense fog effect, use small amounts of dry ice in water. This creates thick, rolling fog that looks incredible in photos. Ensure proper ventilation and handle dry ice with gloves. If you are under the age of 18, ONLY use this under the supervision of an adult.

Water Effects MATERIALS NEEDED: SPRAY BOTTLE PIPETTE OR STRAW SMALL AQUARIUM PUMP NATURAL WATER SOURCES SUCH AS LAKES, RIVERS, CREEKS HOW TO USE: Spray Bottle: Lightly mist your scene to create a sense of rain or moisture. This is particularly effective for outdoor shots or battle scenes. Pipette or Straw: Use these tools to create individual water droplets or small splashes. This is great for simulating sweat, tears, or water dripping off the surface. Aquarium Pump: For more dynamic water effects, use an aquarium pump to create small fountains or moving water in a diorama. If you are going to be shooting at a natural, outdoor location such as a lake, river, or stream, make sure to properly protect your equipment and try to avoid fast rushing water. You can stir up the water using a small water pump or even compressed air.

Fire and Sparks MATERIALS NEEDED: STEEL WOOL LIGHTER SPARKLERS HOW TO USE: Steel Wool: Carefully ignite a piece of steel wool and swing it around (while attached to a string) to create stunning, long-exposure spark effects. Make sure to do this in a safe, open area and take necessary precautions. Sparklers: For a simpler approach, sparklers can be used to add sparks and light trails to your photos. Hold them behind or near your figure and capture the moment with a fast shutter speed. CHILDREN SHOULD ALWAYS HAVE A RESPONSIBLE ADULT PRESENT TO HANDLE FLAMMABLE MATERIALS.

Explosions and Debris MATERIALS NEEDED: FLOUR OR CORNSTARCH COMPRESSED AIR CANISTER SMALL-SCALE MODEL DEBRIS (SAND, TINY ROCKS, ETC.) HOW TO USE: Flour/Cornstarch: A small puff of flour or cornstarch can mimic an explosion or dust cloud. Use a compressed air canister to blow the powder into the air for more dynamic effects. Model Debris: Scatter small debris around your scene to add realism. Use a fan or compressed air to scatter the debris mid-shot, creating a sense of motion.

Lighting Effects MATERIALS NEEDED: SMALL LED LIGHTS COLORED GELS OR CELLOPHANE REFLECTIVE SURFACES (MIRRORS, FOIL) HOW TO USE: LED Lights: Use small, portable LED lights to add focused illumination to specific parts of your scene. Colored LEDs can add dramatic lighting effects. Colored Gels/Cellophane: Place gels or cellophane over your lights to change the color of the light, enhancing the mood and atmosphere. Reflective Surfaces: Use mirrors or foil to bounce light into your scene, creating interesting reflections and highlights.

Using practical special effects in toy photography can transform your shots, adding a sense of realism and drama that digital effects often lack. These inexpensive and accessible techniques can help bring your action figures to life in new and exciting ways. Experiment with different combinations of effects to find what works best for your style and the story you want to tell through your photography. Happy shooting!

SS P I P I T T G G PPOOSSIINNOOM FFRR M

By: Brian Carr The best thing about toy photography is its ability to pull out the imagination. There are so many artists out there that bring such creativity to this hobby, it’s very easy to become inspired. But no matter how good a Toytographer may be, there are times when it’s difficult to come up with ideas for that next great photo. That’s when you have to look for other areas for inspiration. We had the privilege to chat with Darais Prince (a.k.a. DAmazing) about how to find ideas for that new photo. Darais has been collecting toys since he was 13yrs old. He and I first reminisced about the experiences we used to have as early photographers. The days when we had to drop off our film at a local store to have our film developed and hoped that our photos turned out clear. With today’s technology, it’s easy to just take photos of our toys and instantly see the results. Darais mentioned how he used to be extra careful with his setup before he took his photo. “Now it’s just snap, snap, snap...Snap, snap, snap.”, he says. And with today’s technology, there’s a lot more room to experiment with taking photos. Sometimes you may think your photo does not look right, but it could just be the angle that you’re shooting from. Try changing your perspective in the lens and you may see an angle that is perfect for what you’re aiming for. For those of you that are curious about those awesome Spider-Man photos that Darais creates, he revealed that there’s a method to his webbing madness. The style of photo he wants to create is dependent upon the type of webbing he will use. He uses thin webbing for Mark Bagley style image, and thicker webbing for McFarlane style. He mentioned other art styles such as Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos.

For those of you that are curious about those awesome Spider-Man photos that Darais creates, he revealed that there’s a method to his webbing madness. The style of photo he wants to create is dependent upon the type of webbing he will use. He uses thin webbing for Mark Bagley style image, and thicker webbing for McFarlane style. He mentioned other art styles such as Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos. Darais takes no credit for his webbing. His custom web photos would not be possible without the talents of (IG) “Bendy_Webz”, “JP_collectors”, and “Slideeffects”. “I don’t know how they make it, but I know I need to buy more”, he added. He also mentioned he purchases his flight stands from 796 Studios.

Speaking of giving credit, we talked about the artists and Toytographers that bring inspiration to the table. Guys like (IG) Jason B Michael, Sgt. Bananas, Eyeofuatu, Dtour_Customs couldn’t go without mention. Darais spoke of how important it is to have friends like them and other Toytographers that you can pull ideas from and share with each other. Another good source that Darais looked to for inspiration is lore. “I will would buy a book of any kind if it had a single image in it that I can use.” he said. “Take references from anything you can find that will give you inspiration.” The last bit of advice that Darais offered is to “Look past the surface level of the figure.” Create “What if” scenarios. Mix things up and let your imagination soar. Seeing Optimus Prime fight Ultraman may not be the “norm”, but it definitely would be cool to see. You can come up with all types of scenarios while still remaining within the confines of the character.

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Name: Saravanan Kumar Country: Malaysia Instagram: Instagram: saravanan.kumaran.84 What type of camera do you use: Nikon D5100 Tell us a little bit about your photo. This image was inspired from a 2005 action movie titled: Stealth. I have always thought it was cool seeing an aircraft flying over the ocean at super low altitude creating an air-pressure waves similar to the water waves caused by a ship's bow. With a little help from a pressurized air duster, a stand and some patience, it has resulted into a favorite image till date.

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