malcolmpops

[malcolmpops]

What I Learned about Toy Photography on my European Vacation, Part 1

I recently travelled to Europe for summer vacation. Knowing I’d be moving around quite a bit, I decided to take only a few Pikachu pops for some traveling Pikachu photos. I learned a lot about taking photos on the go. Here are some fun photos from Berlin, Germany and a little bit that I learned along the way.

1) Using Scale (and Patience!) at Brandenburg Gate

I got a lot of practice manipulating scale - getting my 4 inch Pikachu pop and a monumental arch in the same frame is no easy feet. Positioning my phone farther away from the figure than I normally would when shooting indoors and zooming in increases the size of the background and makes them blend better. Here, I’m sitting about 4 feet away from the pop and zoomed in at about 2.5x. Incidentally, I use the Camera+ app, which has a zoom slider I find easier than the iPhone’s native camera.

The other thing was being patient! This is a crowded area and it took a few minutes if shooting to get one with a clear view of the gate. I actually cheated a bit - I combined two photos to get one composite with the fewest people visible!

2) Leading Lines at Gendarmanmarkt

I found that shooting a toy against a big building or monument can sometimes lead to a lack of depth, with just the toy in the foreground and then the building in the distant blurry background, which flattens it out. Here I used the lines between the stone pavers as a leading line which gives the shot more 3 dimensionality that I like a lot.

3) Catching the Light in the Nikolaiveldt

I found the times I was sightseeing were usually during the midday, when there’s harsh overhead sun. I can always edit around that a bit, but when possible I tried to find ways to grab some more interesting light. Here in Berlin’s most historic neighborhood, I shot upwards when the sun was coming through a tree and metal fountain structure. I really love how the sky looks with the streaked light coming through.

[malcolmpops]

I love working with paper cutouts in my toy photos, and in this series I wanted to push that comics style a little further and play around with panel transitions. All the photo elements are analog, not digital - the elemental components, background, and speech boxes are printed on card stock and the ground pieces were hand drawn on construction paper. All of that was cutout and suspended on wire. In editing, I removed the wire and then positioned the photos into comics panels using a collage app.

These are some of the most fun shots I’ve taken - I’d liked to do more with other Pokémon in the future!

#pokemon collectibles #funko photography #funkocollection #pokemoncollector #toy photography #toy photoshoot #toyphotogallery #pokemon #funko

[malcolmpops]

Some of my silhouette photography inspired by The Who’s that Pokémon segments in the anime. I hope to shoot all the Pokémon Funkos this way eventually…

#pokemon collectibles #pokemoncollector #pokemon #funko photography #funkocollection #funko #silhouttephotography #silhouette #toy photography #toyphotogallery #toy photoshoot

[malcolmpops]

Hello tumblr! I’m Malcolm and I’ve migrated over here from IG to have an escape from all the algorithm nonsense. I’m an amateur toy photographer, collecting and shooting Funkos - mainly the Pokémon, Disney, and Games lines.

In this shot I incorporated one of my favorite techniques, using cutouts. I printed Ash and Pikachu and the tree on card stock and propped them up at different distances from the background to create depth. It’s pretty simple to create (just a lot of patience with scissors), and I love the anime/comics style this creates and the way it enhances the cartoony style of the pop toy.

This is one of my favorite shots I’ve taken and, like Dragonite here, I’m saying hi! I hope to connect with other toy photographers and collectors.

#pokemon #dragonite #toy photography #funko pop #funko #pikachu #pokemoncollector #pokemon collectibles #funkopops #funkocollection #funkocommunity #toy photoshoot #toyphotogallery #photoblog #photoart #funko photography #funkophotoaday #funkofamily #funkofunatic