When you start with Toy Photography the first thing you’ll be excited about is the toys you’re going to produce into your composition without context of story it’s just your action figures, diecast cars, or your designer art toy doing nothing.
Either they look like walking or posing to ‘look cool’ because they’re a way to share them as the way you share your pride and joy in the form of your collection. When you accomplished that and started sharing a glass full of displays what’s next?
There are so many ways to express and show your passion for the hobby. It is either you share the extravagant set up glass display with your impressive grails or showing off your talented skills in putting either a Gundam or gunpla model kit or even changing the wheels and adding realistic details of your diecast cars.
But at the end of the day if you’re in a Toy Photography community and start sharing them they’re not ‘Creative Photography.’ There are places that will appreciate them including your ‘humble brags’ or what you just recently acquired on a clearance sale, but they do not fall into the category what a Toy Photography community is trying to do. A white or any colored background showing your toys beating up each other or expressing its humorous expression broken into several images does not fall into what is defined as ONE IMAGE NARRATIVE or ONE SHOT STORY.
There are other places you can share them and sometimes there is a ‘special feature’ on those type of multiple image narrative. But it depends on how creative they are than just set into a simple background. Indoor diorama works but to put together a single image that truly tells a story has to have an appropriate setting and executed properly than just a Hodge Podge of toys standing in the photo just to look good.
In this stage of how popular Toy Photography have become you have to ask yourself that question again“, what’s next?” Are you still going to do the same thing all over again? Do the same ‘humble brag’ or not afraid and try to experiment and really tell a story?
Everyone has their own preference in sharing their pride and joy about toy collecting, but here in this community we want to push the storytelling part of using all the basic elements of photography and using your toy as part of that final product. So if you tried joining the group not reading and agreeing to the community rules at the same time getting rejected that means you didn’t read and understand why most people get accepted because they adhere to what we’re trying to promote here.
For the reason here are ten of the best photos that stood out in the month of January 2020 not because they used a popular or cute toy, but because they followed the guidelines and rules to conform at the same time put up the work to challenge themselves in emphasising THE STORY and NOT THE TOY as the main reason why they have been chosen.
Sometimes the adventures you want to tell has something to do with the toy’s aesthetics like the colors that gives you that idea. With Josh Branham he’s got something going on in this image that gives a different outlook on adventure for a knight taking a dragon with that similar color that’s really trippy.
Troy Manzo is heralded as one of the most talented toy photographers to tell a story more familiar with Star Wars characters. This is a rare opportunity for Troy to share that he’s not just all about Star Wars, but a storyteller as he founded the groove in making you wonder about the dead and its remains found like a buried treasure.
There has been A LOT of Star Wars being used as part of the element of a narrative and they really standout if the composition is executed very well just like this one from Jorge Ramirez Varaz, who has so much more stories to tell in his own perspective with Kylo Ren and his First Order emerging from the jungle.
You can never ignore a good story without the action and how it makes you feel intense in a still image. It is breathtakingly done how this composition was done featuring the X-Men’s Psylocke heading towards you, which sums up what Daniel Raiza has put together in this ONE PICTURE NARRATIVE.
Hugo Arias has been an active toy photographer with his unique brand of telling a story at the same time emphasizes the diorama set up that really has come together. For this one show more of the fear Green Goblin can be more than just some second rate super villain, but the terror that Spider-Man has to deal with that is greatly executed into a final composition.
Horror Film characters usually depicted to inflict fear in their victims or leave their viewers beside being entertained, but leave a memory how they are the antagonist in modern day cinema. But what if you let them see the other side of what they are out of the genuine knowledge of being the bad guy? Justin Millen surely put that to work in this single frame giving you the reason that this character might be a victim too.
Sometimes a simple shot outdoors with the artsy style that can be a well-meaning story and taking the challenge to use a designer art toy, which is largely unknown in the mainstream only very few can appreciate what it does in the narrative. Max Jones doesn’t need all the LIKEs he just wants to tell his story and that’s where you’ll defined that narrative through your head and this is his work.
You can question John Madara if this image is real or not. At the same time look through the context in what he is trying to do. Link from Legends of Zelda is given to be one of the sought after action figures, but give it a different story through what John has come up and you’ll find appreciation and at the same time… Art.
Heather Williams Collins is just flying in the radar, but when she shoots and shares her composition she scores a direct hit with how she tugs the emotional strings in an image that are just mere toys with a diorama that defined the characters. They don’t need to look at the audience it’s just how the story that brings it together.
If you know the Ford Mustang it is an American Muscle not just that it looks impressive and sexy. But the way the modern take of this car is something that keeps everyone wishing they can drive one. For Alexander Gabriel, he captures that feature of the car riding in the snow taking no prisoners like you’re with him riding shotgun and that’s how he rolled with this image yet simple but shows an impact.
Last month there was an Eleventh Mention, which does not necessarily part of the Best Ten Picks. But rather take the idea of storytelling to something experimental that includes real life things to pets, kids, or something that mesmerizes our vision.
This is the special part of the selection, where the odd and impressive gets a special mention hence being the eleventh in that part of the category.
Charles Drioco gets that nod with the use of real life animals in this composition. There have been others who used their pets as part of the image, but this one being out of context or even telling a story makes the list.
If you didn’t make it this month due to so many good photos that were submitted don’t feel down. Rise up to the challenge and tell your story at the same time never stop to appreciate the reason why you picked a camera and use toys as your subjects.
Keep telling your own stories not just adapting the existing ones, and always learn from the best ones who have been featured before.
Be the ‘student of the process’ as everyone in the group share their insights to be better and like any community it is a brotherhood/sisterhood to help each other in becoming the best group not just about talking shop regarding toys, but telling a story at the same time stay curios to learn and at the same time always have fun until next time.
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