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Cool and Collected

Collecting pop culture toys, comics, and collectibles collections

July 11, 2011 By Brian 12 Comments

DIY photo backdrop for better toy photography

Well, I got a little crafty again this weekend, and did some hot glue gun slinging to make a new backdrop for action figure photographs. The fun thing about making a backdrop like this is that you don’t need to be precise, and you can use pretty much anything you have laying around.

The first thing I had to do was to make the base. I wanted it to be pretty sturdy, so I attached two 3/4″ plywood boards with some angle brackets, and then glued on some random bits and bobs from the junk pile. The largest part of this backdrop is the casing from my old VCR, may God rest its soul, and there’s also a section of my old carpet cleaner’s hose, and the humidifier that no longer humidified. Throw in a couple of plastic toy parts and voila:

custom DIY photo backdrop for action figure photography

After attaching everything with a hot glue gun, I spray painted everything with flat black, grey, and rust colored paint — nothing fancy, just a random coverage.  The transformation always amazes me when you see how a mish mash of items look once they are all painted the same color. You would be hard-pressed to recognize that VCR casing if I didn’t tell you what it was. The trick in creating a backdrop like this is to not get too busy or complicated. This is a backdrop, so it shouldn’t be more detailed than the toys you’re going to photograph on it. Also, the muted colors make your action figures really shine in the pictures.

One of my goals for this backdrop was that I wanted to make something that could be used in a variety of ways and arrangements. Here is one way I can put this backdrop to use:

DIY tips for taking better photos of your toys and action figures

…or I could flip it over…

DIY tips for taking better photos of your toys and action figures

…or I could even stand it on its side!

DIY tips for taking better photos of your toys and action figures

Of course the fun part is when you start taking the pictures and crop in close on the action figure like this…

Detailed close-up photo of a 1988 TMNT action figure Shredder

…and this…

Detailed close-up photo of a Transformer Optimus Prime action figure

…of course, you can also get a little creative with Photoshop…

tmnt donatello 1988 Playmates action figure

This simple backdrop will give items much more visual interest than a plain white or black cloth, and hopefully these photos will help me to sell a figure or two when I finally get around to putting them up on eBay.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. kngfu says

    July 11, 2011 at 11:40 am

    Very cool ..make it into Axis Chemicals with some decals and a big paint can filled with acid.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      July 11, 2011 at 11:44 am

      Great idea! I’ll consider that for the Batman pics. 😉

      Reply
  2. Russell says

    July 11, 2011 at 11:48 am

    Hahah this is great! One thing I’ve always wanted to do with my Transformers, GI Joe, He-Man and Star Wars collections is to create an enormous diorama the way a train modeler would for a train set.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      July 11, 2011 at 12:16 pm

      I’ve had that idea in my head ever since seeing the Halo diorama: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnCs46FEtqA

      Reply
  3. IAreGeek says

    July 11, 2011 at 12:08 pm

    You should start a site called Cool & Crafty. Love these posts. This thing is Robot Chicken worthy!

    Reply
    • Brian says

      July 11, 2011 at 12:16 pm

      Cool & Crafty… I like it! Look out Martha Stewart!

      Reply
  4. Paxton Holley says

    July 11, 2011 at 2:46 pm

    Brian, these backdrops are awesome. Great work. I really like these DIY articles.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      July 11, 2011 at 7:00 pm

      Thanks, Paxton. these are probably the most fun articles I do, so it’s nice to hear that they are appreciated.

      Reply
  5. jboypacman says

    July 11, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Wow that is a amazing looking background.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      July 12, 2011 at 6:37 pm

      Thanks, John!

      Reply
  6. Kris says

    July 12, 2011 at 5:35 pm

    Awesome idea. Also makes your shots more unique, in case someone tries to use them elsewhere.

    Reply
    • Brian says

      July 12, 2011 at 6:34 pm

      Hmmm. I never thought of that angle, but that’s a good point. That makes for one hard to remove watermark! 😉

      Reply

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