Toying around

Mark Phillips raided his kids’ toy box in search of suitable subjects during lockdown to shoot and edit a series of cinematic scenes

- Mark Phillips

MISSION: Arrange and photograph toys to create realistic scenes and convey playful narratives

PHOTOGRAPHER: Mark Phillips

LOCATION: Leicester, United Kingdom

KIT USED: Nikon D3500, Nikon D750, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro, Benro tripod

INSTAGRAM: @frame_the_toys

I started photography two years ago. My main objective was to take better pictures of the kids, but when I held my Nikon D3500 for the first time, I knew it was the start of a beautiful relationship. I soon realized that I would be using it for much more than capturing a few family snaps. However, just as I started to get to grips with my passion, lockdown hit…

I wanted to continue learning photography skills, so I looked around the home for subjects to photograph. That’s when I first dived into the kids’ toy box, and I haven’t looked back since!

Toy stories

The beauty of toy photography is kit choice doesn’t really matter – it can be achieved on any device that can take a photograph. That said, I do think DSLR and mirrorless cameras are the best choices because they give you the flexibility of using different lenses and shooting in Raw (which captures more data for editing later on).

The first image [1] was photographed in a wood and used as part of a tutorial I made with my daughter to show how simple it is to capture cinematic photos of toys. I wanted to convey plenty of action and brought along my trusty wire and snips to help out.