Revisiting Toy Photography

My wife and I recently binged three Star Wars movies in one day and watched a fourth the following day, the original trilogy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. We are huge fans.

Afterward, I found myself thinking about my early attempts at toy photography using some of my Star Wars action figures. So, I fired up the computer and opened the folder holding those old images.

Looking through them, I realized they weren’t bad at all. More than anything, I remembered how much fun it was trying to create images that didn’t immediately feel like toys. A little lighting here, a careful angle there, maybe a shallow depth of field, suddenly a plastic figure started to feel a bit more life-like.

Inspired by Serious Toy Photographers

I follow several serious toy photographers online, and my images are nowhere near their level. They create elaborate scenes with detailed sets, props, atmospheric lighting, and special effects. Some of the behind-the-scenes photos look like miniature Hollywood productions. Their work is both inspirational and a little intimidating. The amount of patience and creativity involved is admirable.

Revisiting these older photos made me want to unpack a few figures and experiment again. No big project in mind. Just the simple fun of trying to create a tiny, believable world with a camera.

We’ll see.

Here are the linkable Instagram handles for the toy photographers I follow (some are more active than others at this time):

IG: mitchelwuphotography Website: mitchelwutoyphotography

IG: sir.dork Website: sirdork.com

IG: sgtbananas

IG: papa_palpatine_photography

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