It wasn’t very long before photographers started combining the two and making a whole new style for toy photography.
Recently, this full unique style of photography has boomed, and photographers are embracing it dearly. This is a fun and exciting way of delivering creative storytelling through photographs.
Besides, this could be a perfect opportunity for novice photographers to learn about product photography. So today, we’re bringing out the details on how to photograph toys and how you can get started with your gear.
15 Creative Toy Photography Ways
Toys can represent imagination, innocence, and aspirations, along with childhood fantasies. We can use our camera to capture the same feeling as the toys creatively.
As a result, whenever someone takes a look at our toy photographs, they know exactly how to feel about it.
The real challenge of toy photography lies in making them feel more humane instead of photographing a random plastic piece.
So, here are 15 creative toy photography ideas that you can use in your images.
1. One Story for Each Toy
Every toy has its own set of stories to share. It can be from an action-packed movie, a superhero, a robot, an F1 racer, etc.
Use these stories to your advantage; try to line up a storyline while photographing each of them. In addition, you can thematically enhance the overall look of your toys by using props or guides to lead your viewers.
A great example of that would be toys from Disney movies. As most movie props have a diverse set of stories behind them, try to tell them through your image.
It can be the lighting, or the background, or anything in between.
2. Use Lighting to your Advantage
As lighting can evoke various emotions to the subject while used correctly, you can experiment and change the lighting for dramatic effect.
External flashes are a great way to begin experimenting with the light setup. Don’t forget to get a softbox or a light defuser with your flash to get the best quality image.
You can try putting the light on various places or angles to light the subject in different ways. You can make a toy look intimidating or strong or happy just by changing the light setup for a bit.
For example, getting up and close to a superhero figure with some lighting coming from one side can make them look strong.
3. Make Them Look Realistic
The primary struggle a toy photographer has to go through is making a toy look alive.
Toys are, in the end, nothing but a piece of plastic or metal, and it can get hard to make them feel like a real thing.
One thing that can help you achieve this effect is composing and posing your toys as if they’re actual human beings. Portrait photography tricks will come in handy in these situations.
For the best outcome, try to photograph your toys under regular sunlight. Natural lights have this quality of making your toys look much natural and humane.
4. Make an Interesting Composition
If you a bunch of toys lying around, you can mix and match them with various props to build up an interesting composition.
Different toy photography props and setting up the stage with natural lighting and exciting backdrops are the way to go.
You can try positioning your subjects at an interesting angle or composition, see what story you can make out of them.
Again, an exciting background will come in handy for enhancing the look and feel of the toys.
A good example might be lego toys, which can be set up with each other for telling a good story.
5. Shoot Outdoors
Don’t be afraid to take your toys out in the wild; natural lighting does wonders to an image. It’s ideal to avoid direct sunlight, as it can make the photos look flat and uninteresting.
The best choice is to shoot in the morning or afternoon, or you can opt for shooting on a cloudy day.
Another great tip is to add an element of adventure to your image. For example, you can pose and place your toys in different areas to make them blend with nature. Or you can also try to make them stand out from your background.
6. Get the Kids Involved
Do you know what looks best with the toys? The ones they were made for; the children. If you’re looking for new kinds of inspiration for your image, get your kids involved with the toys.
They can make for an exciting subject compared to the toys they are playing with. You can opt for various angles and positions to make the image stand out.
You can also teach your kids how to photograph toys and make them stand out. Toy photography is an excellent way for introducing a kid to the world of photography. They will thank you once they grow up.
7. Introduce Humor
Suppose you’re in the struggle to be creative with your toys, a great way to spice things up by introducing humor to your work
. Think about something that can make you laugh; you’ll find different inspirations for your photographs. It might be a random irony for the toys, or a slapstick comedy, or some kind of an unlikely love affair.
If you can imagine some humor that goes well with the toys you have, you’re golden. You can also use various props with the toys and different styles of toys to make the whole thing come together.
8. Abandoned/ Sad Toys
Another excellent way to photograph various toys is to find abandoned ones. You necessarily don’t have to create your own story every time you use a toy.
Stories can just as well be discovered into the toys themselves. Try and look for abandoned toys in your neighborhood that have been forgotten to the passage of time. Find something like an abandoned bicycle or a broken toy car, or even an old doll.
Depending on your neighborhood, there can be a ton of these lying around. Try to find some that tell a story with the background. It will be an excellent practice for photographing in the street.
9. Utilize Bokeh Effect
Everyone loves a tasteful-looking bokeh that makes your image looks so beautiful. Transitioning from a sharp-looking subject like a toy to gently getting into a shallow depth of field might look very tasteful.
You can achieve this effect to get some sort of light source behind your toys. They can produce bokeh when you focus close with a macro lens.
You can use various lens adaptors to give bokeh a distinct shape like a triangle or pentagon, which will look even better. Don’t forget to light your subject with a good light source evenly.
10. Try Different Angles
While you might be tempted to use one plane, your eye level for composing all your shots, sometimes it’s better to think outside the box.
There is no right or wrong approach to how you can photograph something when it comes to photography. It all depends on how you want your image to look.
Shooting from odd angles might just give you the edge you’re looking for. Instead, try going high or low for a different composition.
Maybe focus on the shadow the subject creates while going with a high angle. On the other note, shooting for the low side might give you the angle you’re looking for.
This will allow your creativity and skills to create something awesome.
11. Post-processing Tools
Softwares like Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom can bring your dull and flat image back to life. You can manipulate its color and lighting and add different elements to the photos for dramatic effects.
Effects like film grain or various filters might be worth checking out. Hence, you can check out our photoshop services.
You can try focusing on the center of the subject by using a vignette. Some black and white processing can also bring out details in your image that you might not be aware of in the color form.
Moreover, you can manipulate different parts of the toys for a whole different look, like adding highlights and shadows or putting them in diverse backgrounds.
12. Selling your Toys Online
If you plan to sell your toys online, a great photograph might give you an edge over another seller. Try to make the toy look as appealing as possible with the use of light and shadows.
Use a white background for this type of product photography. Don’t forget to take photos from multiple angles.
After dealing with the photos, use post-processing tools to liven up the image more. Use clipping masks to cut the toy from the background and give it a professional look. You can also use a shadow behind the toy for a better look.
13. Focus Stacking your Photos
Even using a lower aperture might give some depth of field effects on different toys. To completely solve this issue, you might want to use focus stacking.
Focus stacking means photographing the image from other focal points and then stacking all of them for a sharp photo.
You have to use a tripod for this feature to work, as your camera needs to be completed in the same plane. Then try shooting the photo with manual focus and try focusing on different parts of the toy.
After you’re done photographing all the details, grab 8-10 pictures and put them on photoshop. Then stack the image together for a fantastic-looking sharp image.
14. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment
The best tip we can give you is to have fun. Try various angles, various light settings, different apertures. Go to other places, experiment with multiple backdrops.
Once you’re familiar with the rules of photography, try to break them in your way. The most important thing for you to have fun, don’t be afraid to experiment. Experience is your best teacher; you’ll get better over time with the experiments.
15. Search Online for Inspiration
If you’re finding it hard to get inspiration, there are millions of other photographs on the internet readily available. Regularly take a look at what other people are doing with their toys for inspiration.
If you’re a novice, try replicating what other people have done, you’ll quickly get your ideas. Keep trying new stuff, take inspiration from other people, and don’t forget to have fun.
Realistic and Creative Toy Photography Guide
For creative photography it is essential to have the right tools and equipment. The lenses are the most essential aspect for any realistic photography.
Now, here is the guide for your first toy photo shooting. I have explained why and how you should use them.
The Optimal Camera Settings for Toy Photo Shooting
Before you embark on the exciting new world of toy photography, you have to learn about some of the basics for your image to stand out.
Here are some of the essential tips for the toy photography equipment you’re using that’ll help you photograph toys better:
Use a Macro Lens
For getting the best result, a macro lens would be the optimal choice. Don’t choose a wide-angle lens for photographing toys, as it distorts the subject. Telephoto lenses can also work, something like a 200mm lens.
But they won’t produce as sharp an image as you want them to be.
We suggest you go for a 55mm to 80mm lens for the best result for realistic toy photography. Keep in mind the minimum focal distance while purchasing the lens. The smaller it’ll be, the closer you can go without losing focus.
Use Manual Focus
As toys are tiny in size, the camera’s autofocus function doesn’t work well with them. When using traditional autofocus technology, the camera tends to get confused about where to focus.
Moreover, it can constantly lose focus during the shot, which is quite a hassle.
So, for your peace of mind, decide what focus distance the camera should be using yourself. It might get a little tricky at; first, you’ll get blurry photos.
But with some trial and error, you’ll be able to produce sharp and lively images in no time.
Most of the camera software these days offers some kind of focus overlay on the screen to ensure if the subject has been on focus or not. Use that to your advantage.
A Narrow Aperture for Details
Because the toys are small, you need to get close to them to take good photos. But if you’re using a wide depth of field, that could be a problem.
As cameras tend to have a focal area and cross that focal circle, the image gets shallow and softer while losing focus. This effect is known as shallow depth of field or DOF, making focusing on the whole toy a little tricky.
For combatting this, using a narrower aperture like f/5.6 for f/7 will keep the whole image sharp. But it will also make the image darker with the same shutter speed, so you need to use a slower shutter speed.
Lower ISO
As a novice photographer, you may be tempted to increase the ISO to get a brighter image with a faster shutter speed.
Unfortunately, a higher ISO will make your photo look grainy.
And you’ll lose a lot of details.
For optimal cases, ISO 100 and a tripod is an absolute recommendation for taking the sharpest image.
Proper Gear
You might be tempted to start photographing right away with your favorite toys and a camera.
But using some simple gears will make your life a whole lot simpler, and you’ll produce a very high-quality image.
Here are some of the kits that you need while starting.
Tripod
Tripod is the first and foremost gear that you should get your hands on as quickly as you can. A tripod will push your image quality from blurry and grainy to super sharp and professional-looking.
It lets you keep your camera at a specific angle and height, so you get to work on lining the shot and composition.
It also enables you to take multiple images from the exact location, which will come in handy later.
Another great thing that tripods do is let you use a slower shutter speed with a low ISO.
Lighting
If you can get some proper lighting gears on your hand, it will make your shots a night and day difference.
Try to get a good quality light setup with a softbox that’ll soften up the shadows and give a more eye-pleasing result.
You can use a large sheet of paper as a reflector, which will make the subject stand out from the background.
Table
The best option to photograph a toy is at eye level; it’ll give you the most eye-pleasing result with multiple angles to work on. Get a good quality table and raised platform to put your toys on.
Make sure they’re at the same height with the camera mounted at the tripod.
Backdrops
To make your toy photography look professional, you might opt for a backdrop. For toy photography backdrops, you can use a plain white sheet of paper.
Put the toys in front of the backdrop, and you can produce some good-looking images. If used in conjunction with the perfect light setup, backdrops work very well to make the toy stand out.
Final Words
Toy photography is an excellent way for a beginner photographer to get into the world of photography. Moreover, toy photographs these days are appreciated by professionals and novices alike.
If you’re someone who’s just starting in photography, this might be the breakthrough you’re looking for.
Whether you’re a pro or beginner, if you keep in mind our tips for how to photograph toys, you’ll surely excel. Best of luck to you, and don’t forget to have fun!
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