Pony Photography! Any Tips or Tricks?

[centaurette]

Hi everyone! Admins, feel free to move this if it's in the wrong place, I'm not quite sure where to put it! I've seen some beautiful toy photography on here and on instagram, and I myself really enjoy taking pictures of my toys! I'm wondering if anyone has any tips or tricks for good lighting, etc, for those of us who only have access to smart phones (or any other non-professional grade medium of picture-taking)?

Here are some of my personal pictures, but sometimes I find it hard to get good lighting! I don't have a backyard, per-se (only a balcony, as I live in a condo complex), so natural lighting is kind of out of the question, and I think it can be difficult to get lots of things in one shot without it looking really busy, or "too much". I guess what I'm asking is, does anyone have any apps, display/setting ideas, or anything else that they've found effective in photographing their toys! I'd love to see some of your photography! Here is some of mine!

(I'm sure I don't have to say this, but please don't repost these anywhere unless you link back/credit my account, @heartpips on instagram! <3 If anyone on here follows me, I'll follow back for sure because I'm always looking for new toy accounts to follow!!)

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[katrine2309]

Hi!
Those pics are really cute! This topic might have been better in the off topic section perhaps- as it is not really about ponies But we’ll let the mods decide that, and I can answer your question

I love photography too! It is my number one hobby, and I have lots of photos in my Flickr account (link in sig). However, I do find ponies a little difficult to photograph- so my best work is definitely more in the “doll department” of my Flickr

The best way to photograph in my opinion is by using natural lighting. But you don’t need to be outside to get natural lighting. You do however need daylight and a window. It is really all about how you position your set-up compared to catch the natural light.

This is a photo of one of my set-ups when I lived in a tiny 6m2 room:
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My window, and only source of natural light here, is to the left in the picture.

Some other pictures taken in the same room:
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You can also play with light and dark(super fun!) In the picture below my only source of daylight is through a door to the left in the picture. This room is a hallway and is usually quite dark.

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In my experience, it isn’t all about fancy equipment- but how you use the light you have. You can also set up a daylight lamp or a lamp with cold light to create your own studio. But I usually think that true daylight creates more “alive” photos. Studios (even homemade!) are usually really good at collection pictures or sales photos, but in my opinion not so much fun when it comes to photography as an art form.

These pony pics are from my very homemade studio, but again- with natural daylight as only source of light.

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With patience and a lot of playing around with light, it is possible to get decent photos inside as well- only by using natural light.

There is of course apps etc to filter up your photos as well, but usually when I photo edit I only work with light/dark and color adjustments

EDIT: You also asked about messy pictures! In my experience it is super difficult to take pictures with a lot of things happening. I do take interaction pictures, but rarely with more than 2-3 toys at once. If they also have accessories - it is even more difficult. However, when I do get into those photoshoots I always work ALOT on positioning. Positioning the toys (all of them), the accessories, the camera, myself, the photo background, the surroundings. It takes a lot of time. I did a phot shoot of my whole collection a couple of years ago and I think I spent way more than 30 minutes on taking that photo. Maybe closer to an hour before I was happy. Of course, I did try out several things I wasn’t quite happy with before landing on a final set up A tip/trick here would be, the more figures in the picture - the cleaner the background. If you want 5 ponies in the picture - make sure your backdrop is fairly monocolor and limit the accessories. If there is no reason for it to be in the picture- take it away;)

[zombienixon]

Well, with a phone especially, light is going to be your friend here. Personally, I use desk lamps to light the subject. The articulation is extremely helpful to place the lighting just right. You don't have to get new ones, you can just look around thrift shops until you find a few. I also use CFL bulbs instead of LED ones since they give out just a little bit more illumination.

You can use something like a piece of posterboard for a background, or better yet, you can make a lightbox out of a cardboard box and some cheap fabric and use the posterboard in that.

One of the things I've found is that G4 packaging sometimes has some art on the inside of the package that works well as a background, so I've been trying to use that in more photos instead of a plain white background. I've seen a few people use a colored background that matches or complements the subject, and that works nicely as well.

I'd try to avoid using flash when taking pictures with a phone, and also make sure HDR is on if your phone's camera has it. That can help out, too, sometimes. As far as apps go, I have no idea.

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This is my setup when taking pictures of toys and for selling stuff online. The lightbox is something I made for under $10 with materials you can get from Walmart.

Here's a few pictures I've done.

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[Matcha]

I personally try to take my pictures in a place with as little direct sunlight/indoor light as possible, to give my photos a softer look and to not cast any harsh shadows. It's usually a little dim so I edit them in my phone til they look nice (: I use big craft foam sheet for my backgrounds, it's really convenient because it doesn't wrinkle like cloth or fold like paper and  you can roll it up when you're done. Ps. What do you use for those cute stickers? They're adorable!
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[katrine2309]

Zombienixon and matcha are pointing at some really good tips here. The importance of direct light and how it can impact your photos with harsh shadows is absolutely very true. What kind of natural daylight you have, and how much of it depends on where you live. I am from Norway, we don’t get 365 days of sharp sunlight- but I definitely need to think about the seasons when I take pictures. The best place indoors, using natural daylight is always those windows that is not taking in direct sunlight. Direct sunlight will create shadows, and is a very difficult light to work with (not impossible though ).

If you live in an always sunny place with lots of sunlight coming directly in your windows it might be easier to work with a lightbox, such as zombienixon shows. But you can create your own harsh shadows using a lightbox. To avoid that you need to use the same strength of light in all lightbulbs and use several sets of lamps (zombienixon uses three which are a perfect number!) ensuring that the light will come from all directions and eliminate any shadows.

[ColdRuru]

Photography it's: gain you goal intention.
And to have it done right you need: the right lightning, the right forcus and the right angle and framing.
It's all about educate yourself on what you want.

For what I see on your pictures, the main problem is the focus and then blurr effect on the heads.
Don't be affraid to do a lot of pictures trying different things and only choose one at the end.

When I do pony pictures, I want them to be "realist" so I do not push de colors too much and I work with the natural lightning I got from the windows. Somethimes it's really dark and I need to cheat with artificial light, but it can work to create some other weathers.

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Somethimes, I need to add a little photoshop effect, to push the idea.
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More pictures to be seen in my blog (link in my sign).
Hope it helps!

[banditpony]

I think your pictures have a fuzzy, dreamy feel.

But really when you think about it, most professional photos are taken in a studio with controlled light. There's plenty of guides on how to set up light inside.

If you have harsh light creating a shadows -- use a diffuser. If you have a bad shadow behind your object, use an additional light on the background.