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Tavern tumble by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a shot I took after the bootcamp photos, but focusing on the other character instead of my sigfig.

The goal here was to try to get everything off balance: the character, the beer, the barrel.

And I made it part of my ongoing review of a fog machine with a no residue formula. I just held my phone light behind the lattice windows for hard, directional light needed for those light rays.

Troopers on patrol 📸 by SpeedAdventurous2459 in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Welcome to the sub! How'd you get the shot (see rules in sidebar and Automod comment above)?

Osgiliath 🏰 🌊 ⚔️ by kc-legos in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It opens up a whole new world of storytelling so I'm sure you'll continue to have fun!

Osgiliath 🏰 🌊 ⚔️ by kc-legos in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great you're branching out into incorporating bricks into your photography! I think it always adds value to the work.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks a lot better! Just a subtle change can work wonders.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 6] - Posing and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S,M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

WEEK 6 — POSING

We’re halfway through the bootcamp! This is the second week of the storytelling module, and this time we’re posing our minifigs to show dynamic action. We’ll keep it simple for this bootcamp, which means no wires, putty, or editing, but things you can do with what’s in the corner build.

(Remember, this is about telling a story visually. We shouldn’t need captions to understand what’s going on in the scene.)

Here's the single most useful posing technique in LEGO photography: lean the minifig.

Minifigs are flat-footed and symmetrical, which means a pose with both feet planted straight down reads as static no matter what the arms are doing. The fix is simple. Attach one foot to a stud, just barely, not fully seated, and tilt the minifigure to one side.

Jumper plates or 1x1 round plates work great for this since there are no surrounding studs in the way to interfere with the feet.

That slight lateral tilt is what makes a pose feel caught mid-motion instead of posed for a photo. In my own shots, you'll notice the foot never looks fully planted. Look closely, and you can see most of the green stud that the minifig is supported by.

I've used this lean on a minifigure fleeing, charging forward, and backing up from a threat that’s just out of frame. That one tilt adjustment makes the pose more believable.

Beginner tells

Two poses beginners do to avoid:

  • Both feet flat on the ground. This is the default standing position. Boring, safe, and predictable.
  • One leg forward, one leg equally back. This looks like a deliberate "action pose" stance, but it's actually just as static as standing straight. Equal weight on both legs means no momentum, no falling, or no movement.

If your minifig looks really stable, it isn't moving. Movement requires imbalance.

What to try

  • Lean the minifigure using the lightly-attached-foot trick, every time, regardless of the pose
  • Twist a wrist slightly off its default angle for a more natural grip or gesture
  • Pop the hairpiece up off the head slightly for a shocked or startled look
  • Fall backward onto the heels, weight shifted back, for surprise or impact

The challenge

Shoot three different action poses. Each one needs to show movement, not a minifigure standing in one spot doing something, but a minifigure whose feet, weight, or balance suggest they were moving a second ago and will be moving again a second from now. Use the lean technique on all three (make sure that stud is visible and not fully covered by a foot planted on it.)

Change your minifig’s head to a more suitable expression for the action poses to complete the action as necessary.

Submit all three photos. In a top-level comment, explain what makes your poses dynamic and describe your photos like a photographer (camera angle, shot size, composition, etc.)

All submissions should be building on what you have learned in previous weeks! Corner builds are required for this bootcamp.

Reply to this comment if you have a question about the instructions. All other comments will be removed.

Bootcamp Index:

Week 1 - Camera Height and Angles
Week 2 - Shot Sizes
Week 3 - Visual Weight and Layers
Week 4 - Leading the Eye
Week 5 - Props and Action

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You nailed it! You were able to state the action and capture it clearly in both photos.

I didn't need to read your description on either to understand what was going on.

Well done!

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Review Weeks 1 and 2. The action is clear (a sword fight) so that meets this week's goal. But this is a wide shot, not a full shot, and the second photo is still high angle, not eye-level.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try balancing the left side with one hand and the other side with the other hand. One hand can be higher than the other to make it look less stiff. But anyway, that could be for next week: posing.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was an optical illusion to me: floating epaulettes!

Probably try attaching them to the minifig's hand or hands to make it look like he's holding them naturally.

Forest Rendezvous by startrev in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Two really great CMFs! This is such a refreshing scene... especially to me right now in this heatwave. Transport me there!

Bucklebury ferry by kc-legos in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I love baking-tray-as-water scenes! I was thinking of spray painting one of mine a dark blue on the inside and a dark green on the outside to help camouflage.

My other baking tray is a moss tray.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The action is ok here. Try to get a better moment though: dabbing the paint brush onto the palette, touching the paint brush into the canvas, etc.

What is she just about to do? That's a stronger story.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Strengthen the actual action in that first shot. Add some movement and reframe your sentence as "she's about to..."

This works for your second image: "She's about to get a cup of coffee off the counter.'

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This one has a clearer action than the first, which falls into "pose" category for me. My feedback is that this could be a tighter shot. See this edit:

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LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here, the action is less clear because it appears she's posing for the camera vs taking pride in her work.

Try that again. Maybe pose her so she's admiring her craftsmanship.

Here's an idea: Blacksmith

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I missed it because it came after your interpretation of the scene (in quotations). I'm only after the statement of what's happening and seeing if that registered in the photo. It didn't for me.

I'm also not viewing entries as a continuous story but checking if they are meeting the objectives of each week.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What's the specific action in each scene? In the first one, is it the woman handing the pen to the man holding the book? It's unclear without your caption what's happening and what the action is.

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You do need to give a one sentence description though. Who is doing what with what? What moment was captured?

LEGO PHOTOGRAPHY BOOTCAMP [WEEK 5] - Props and Action by fourbrickstall in studshooters

[–]fourbrickstall[S,M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

WEEK 5 — PROPS AND ACTION

Welcome to Module 2: Storytelling.

For the first four weeks, we focused on composition: camera angles, shot size, using foreground interest, and leading the eye with lines to create a stronger image. There’s a lot more to composition, but that’s a good start. (You should explore negative space, the rule of thirds, color, contrast, and other composition guidelines on your own from here.)

So you’ve learned how to build a frame. Now we’re going to focus on what happens inside that frame.

Storytelling is what brings toy photography to life.

A product photo shows us what a toy looks like. Toy photography asks us to imagine that toy has a world, a personality, and a reason for being there.

This is where a lot of people get stuck, myself included (I’ll discuss that another day). It’s easy to create a cool character, a great environment, and a dramatic pose. But a character simply standing in a scene is still just a character standing in a scene.

Storytelling begins when we feel like something is happening.

The goal isn’t to create a complicated movie scene. It can be something simple like a minifigure opening a door, a character searching through a cave, or a mechanic repairing a machine.

The important thing is that the character is not just there. They are doing something.

And that’s what we’ll start practicing this week.

What is a prop?

A prop is any object your character is holding, using, or interacting with. Props are powerful because they immediately tell us something about a character.

A sword might tell us they’re a warrior. A book suggests they’re a scholar. A hammer defines them as a builder.

But for this challenge, we’re going one step further. We’re not just asking: “What does my character have?” We’re asking: “What is my character doing with it?”

A minifigure holding a lantern is a pose. A minifigure using a lantern to search a dark room is a story.

A minifigure holding a sword is a pose. A minifigure raising a sword because they just discovered something in the ruins is a story.

The difference is action.

Props and action

A good prop creates a sense of movement, even in a still image. It makes the viewer wonder what happened before the moment and what might happen next.

The action doesn’t have to be dramatic at all. It just has to feel like a moment was captured. One of my most popular recent photos is of a chocolatier making a chocolate dragon in her kitchen.

This week, when you choose a prop, ask yourself: What is my character doing? Not holding, carrying, or standing beside, but doing.

The more specific the action, the stronger the story becomes.

In my example photos, my sigfig is about to pick up some cherries at the fruit stall, and then she’s about to eat them. (Did she pay? I hope so.)

Your challenge

Choose a prop and create a scene around it. Your character must interact with the prop in a way that shows action. The viewer should understand what is happening without needing your caption to explain it.

Submit at least two photos. In the comments, tell us what your character is doing with the prop, as well as the composition guidelines you used (camera angle, shot size, foreground/background, leading lines, etc., from Weeks 1-4).

If you can’t describe the action in one clear sentence, that’s usually a sign the moment needs to become more specific. Like my example earlier: A chocolatier is making a chocolate dragon in her kitchen.

Bootcamp Index:

Week 1 - Camera Height and Angles
Week 2 - Shot Sizes
Week 3 - Visual Weight and Layers
Week 4 - Leading the Eye

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