How to Get Started in Toy Photography

The minute I snapped a photo of the two minifigures in the hallway at the college where I met my husband, I was hooked. It was addicting. I started carrying the minifigures around with me everywhere. Whenever I saw something cool, I would take the toys out and snap a photo with my phone. They weren’t good photographs. Honestly, some of them are really bad. The angles were all wrong, I didn’t take a lot of time to compose them, and sometimes the wrong thing is in focus. It didn’t matter that I only had two figures, and it didn’t matter what gear I had. What mattered was the experience—and more importantly, my husband loved the gift.

After the project was over, I kept going. I recreated a scene from Dirty Dancing. I used a piece of tape to help hold one of the figures in the air. Looking back, the photo isn’t great either, but at the time to me it was one of the best photographs I’d ever taken. I was excited that I figured out a way to make it look like one of the figures was flying.

Over the next three years, I took toy photos sporadically. Some photos are better than others.

However, my investment in the hobby had increased. Once you discover toy photography, it seems there is no going back. I wanted to be a better toy photographer, so naturally I googled ‘toy photography.’ I started following toy photographers on Instagram, and reading articles on toyphotographers. com, listening to their podcast and following @brickcentral on Instagram because they both featured the best of the best. I was learning how to be a toy photographer. I was obsessed. I copied their ideas, I copied my favorite scenes in movies, and TV. I copied everything.

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Portrait of a Shy Bot.

A Photographer’s Story: Arvin Coloma

Article and Photography by Arvin Coloma Instagram: @nirvana Website: www.toyshutterbugs.com

I’ll start with a bit of background. I’m a graphic designer and photographer originally from the Philippines and now based in Melbourne, Australia, where I’ve been for the past two decades with my wife and kids. My favorite photographic genres are portraiture, street, and toy photography. Yes, I believe toy photography should be its own genre. I began ‘toying’ with toy photography around 2012 when working from home. A few times while putting toys away, I found myself doing impromptu photo shoots—with toys! Since then, I’m never without a couple of LEGO Stormtrooper Minifigures in my pocket, ready for a scene. Toys are the best subjects, because unlike live models (humans and furry types), they do as they’re told, they’re always on time, and they never complain! Kidding aside, it keeps my creative juices flowing and is a good exercise to improve photography skills and techniques. Evoking emotions and storytelling in small plastic objects are a great motivation. I run the Toy Shutterbugs blog where I regularly feature fellow toy photographers sharing their insights, views, and tutorials on toy photography. All toys are welcome!

The incredible toy photography community is another major reason I enjoy this hobby. Connected by a common interest, it’s a very supportive and creative bunch of people from across the globe. I’ve certainly made friends at an international level.

Ideas, Ideas, Ideas

“The best ideas come when you rid your mind of all thoughts.” — Haresh Sippy I treat ideas as presents—both out-of-the-blue and externally prompted ones. Out-of-the-blue ideas are those that spontaneously pop into your mind. These ideas may come about when I’ve just woken up, or in the middle of mundane tasks, or running house errands. If I can’t shoot immediately, I make a mental note or jot it down for future reference. It’s like being able to pluck ideas out of the ether. Externally prompted ideas are those brought about by recent or present experiences. From newly watched movies, or recently heard music/lyrics, or sunlight coming through a window—these are elements that can fuel inspiration and inspire new ideas. Some ideas are prompted by photo contest themes. The contest brief and how I translate it into photos is a great way to practice creative visualization. During the lockdowns when I was only able to shoot at home, BrickCentral hosted a photo contest with the theme “shot at home.” I was able to create a few well-received images, and even won the competition.

My creative process varies depending on how the idea for the images came about. It’s the street photographer in me that aims to build an image based on available light at a location. As street photos are situational—reliant on light and how it affects the immediate location—it requires quick thinking and familiarity with the camera. The scene is already set up for the photographer and may or may not include additional elements like people (or in this case, minifigures). An example is when there’s sunlight coming through the windows and lighting certain areas of the house. I grab a minifigure (or action figure), adapt to the scene, and shoot. I love the immediacy of creating an image knowing that the light will soon fade or change direction. It helps me think quickly and use the camera properly to achieve my vision.

Since these images are captured as seen through the lens, there’s very little post-processing involved. Depending on how well the elements within the frame work together, the final image may be taken “straight out of camera” and then shared to the community.

Hope. Raft Ahoy!

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A Photographer’s Story: Sarah Bastien’s Photo Album

Article and Photography by Sarah Bastien Instagram: @sarouxbastoux Facebook: Saroux Bastoux Lego

As a kid, I loved taking pictures. I took my grandmother’s old camera to photograph objects, landscapes, and also my family. I never really stopped taking pictures throughout my life. It was in 2014 that I started LEGO photography after attending an exhibition near my home. It was my first, and I immediately fell back into childhood. From there, the passion returned, and I started collecting some coins and some figures with my husband because he too had caught the toy virus. This was the subject of my very first photo—a photo of my husband and I that I took for fun. He liked it a lot and so I continued.

What I like about LEGO photography is telling a story. Make the toys interact with our daily life. It’s as if our world is a big dollhouse and the minifigures live in it. But I also like to leave with a bag on my back to go and photograph them outside. Photography is a passion that requires a minimum of equipment to create. I have a Nikon DSLR with three lenses. I most often use the Nikkor 35mm because it is the most complete for what I do. I often start from a minifig or an everyday object to find an idea. I ask myself questions: “How to stage such a figure? How would figures interact with this object if it came to life in my world?“ For the most part, ideas come to me as a result of a situation I have already experienced.

My daughter has often played a role in my inspirations. I hope you enjoy a descriptive tour of the stories behind these photos. For example, it is thanks to my daughter that I imagined this photo. When she was 1.5 years old, during a meal, she started playing with her peas. I couldn’t stop her—she was laughing so much. I caught myself trying to protect myself from this “attack”—so much so that I put myself in the place of a minifig running for cover. So I got the Pea Pod Costume Girl figure because I thought it was the perfect nod to recreate this “epic battle.”