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Camera information and...

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GrahamB:
That last point is one I haven't considered before. I can see that would help greatly with checking composition, lighting, focus and camera shake. I must see if I can do that!

playmovictorian:
I am loving our Friend JL Matterer's masterclass in photography and all the tips  :love:

I personally use a NIKON Coolpix A100 camera, affordable and really easy to use.

I mostly take pictures in natural day light which can be tricky where I live by the Thames but do avoid taking pictures of miniatures and Playmobil in direct sunshine as it obliterates the colours and details.

The autofocus function was a lifesaver for me as I used an old Praktica camera back in the days which did not have one and had me swearing more that I can possibly say even if I still love it to bits  :lol:

Karim

Bolingbroke:
A very interesting thread and a lot of useful suggestions.

Lighting-wise, I think you have to ask yourself what kind of toy photography you are planning to do. I shoot rather large dioramas, and I find that natural light coming in from a window, supplemented by a small Lume Cube or Litra Torch is enough for my most basic needs.

As others have said, a tripod is a must. You can’t go wrong with a mid-price Manfrotto.

Software, I use different kinds of software depending on whether I’m editing on my macbook or ipad (I prefer the ipad these days … much more convenient). My go-to software is Lightroom, but I used Snapseed for years, and that’s free! I also use the touch/retouch app for erasing stands, wires and other things that help with some poses. It’s a very powerful app and I find it’s much better than the clone/heal feature in LR.

Lastly … the camera. I started with an Iphone SE, and looking back, it showed  ;D

Then I started using a Canon mid-price SLR that I had owned for years and never bothered to use much. I learned how to use it properly - exposure, white balance, depth of field and so on - and that really helped me up my game. I’ve outgrown the Canon now, also because I’m moving to a more professional set-up that requires high resolution pictures. As a replacement I splurged on a Leica Q2. Not the most obvious of choices for toy photography, but I’m really happy with the results and also the fact that I can use it for ‘real life’ photography.

Anyway, hope this helps!

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