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February 10, 2015 By Brian 7 Comments

“Explosive” trick for action figure photography

I’ve been playing with my toys lately, and found this amazingly simple trick to really add some bang to your action figure photography. You only need three things that you probably already have laying around the house: 1. cotton, 2. yellow spray paint, and 3. flashlight.

tap-light-cotton-explosion

Spray paint the cotton — don’t worry about total coverage — less is more in this case. Place the cotton over the light source  (I used a round tap light), turn off the room lights, and you’ll start to see where this is going…

cotton-explosion-effect-for-photography

Place your action figure in front of the illuminated cotton and take some pictures! It really is a simple trick that can result in some really fun photos. You might want to use another flashlight to light up the figure a bit, but with a little trial and error, you can take your photos from this…

neca-robocop-action-figure-1

…to this…

neca-robocop-action-figure-2

You can also try moving the cotton in front of the figure to emulate fire in the foreground…

bioshock-iron-patriot-figure-neca

This cheap trick is super easy, and definitely worth trying.

neca-predator-dutch-action-figure

I’m outta here!

Tune in next time for more tips on how to get some explosive results with your photos.

 

Filed Under: Art and Photography Tagged With: Action Figures, DIY, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. The Toy Box says

    February 10, 2015 at 3:01 pm

    That’s actually really awesome. What color yellow is that?

    Reply
    • Brian says

      February 10, 2015 at 3:47 pm

      It’s nothing special, just a stock bright yellow. You could even use a yellow marker or highlighter if you don’t have any spray paint.

      Reply
  2. John gaither says

    February 10, 2015 at 4:50 pm

    Pretty clever and cool!

    Reply
  3. Buzz Chuck says

    February 10, 2015 at 8:02 pm

    Wow, that works insanely well.

    Reply
  4. BubbaShelby says

    February 10, 2015 at 8:27 pm

    VERY cool trick! I’d have sworn the Arnold pic has a photoshopped background had you not revealed your secret!

    Reply
  5. Retromash says

    February 11, 2015 at 4:59 am

    Fantastic tip!

    Reply
  6. Wolf says

    April 3, 2015 at 9:28 pm

    Love it! Some of my Transformers may get an…explosive…boost after seeing this.

    Reply

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