Photo Tips for Photographing a Favorite Toy
The details of our children’s lives are so important to capture. The details help tell the story of our kids at each stage, beyond what their adorable smiling faces show. If your kids are like mine, they have a favorite toy (or maybe it’s a costume or book even). When you think of your child, you think of them playing with this toy. However, they won’t play with this toy forever. One day they will move onto another one. So capture it! Here are some photo tips for photographing a favorite toy.
Milo has been watching Toy Story (and Toy Story 2…we need 3 just to have variety in our movie choices here!) a ton lately. So playing with RC and Woody is the perfect fit for him. The car even goes on its own when you push on the back. Milo likes to see how far he can make it go across the floor. A perfect detail for me to capture!
Clear the Clutter! This is the easiest thing to do and will instantly improve your photos. Toys, bags, bright red balloons will takeaway from your image. By taking a few quick minutes to clear the clutter you will make the toy stand out so much more. Notice in the images below. Similar shot, but in the first one a doll stroller and orange dump truck distract. In the second shot, I picked up the toys (okay, I moved them behind me in a pile) and took another shot. See how much that improves my photo!
Get down on their level. If the toy is played with on the ground, get on the ground! This allows the toy to be the focus without seeming tiny. It also gives us our child’s perspective of the toy. In the shots above (ignoring the clutter on the left image!) you can see the detail in the tires and on Woody’s outfit. If I shot from up above the detail would be lost.
Try new angles. Move around the toy, or try placing the toy in the upper or lower third of your image and see what happens! In the image below I was lying on the floor and Milo was shooting the car towards me. I love how the image is tilted a bit and the lines on the floor are leading your eye right to RC Car! 
Capture their play. The magic of a toy is how your child interacts with it. Start with the tips above by clearing the clutter and getting on their level and then let them play! Milo is so fascinated by how wheels move and is always lying on the ground as he pushes any toy with wheels back and forth. In this photo I have captured the favorite toy along with the way he plays. Such a beautiful story telling image. 
By using these photo tips for photographing a favorite toy you will see immense improvement in your storytelling images! Now you just have to think about what you will capture!
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