Toy Photography has a huge community on Instagram and the work of famous Toy Photographer Mark Hogancamp has been featured in art galleries and his inspirational story is even being adapted into a movie coming later this month starring Steve Carell.
Anyone that knows me knows that I love action figures and I like snapping photos of them even more. So I decided to do a little interview with the guy whose photography inspired me to take my toys off the shelf and tell the stories that I wanted to tell through photography.
This is Eric Ruiz.
Q: Can you please introduce yourself and tell our readers a bit about you?
A: My name is Eric Ruiz, I’m 34 years old, I was born and raised in Los Angeles CA, I’m currently living in Xalapa Mexico. I’m a US Marine Veteran. I like Martial arts and I teach Brazilian Jiu-jitsu in my dojo down here in Mexico. I’m a fan of Marvel, DC, DragonBall, Wrestling and of course video games Ps4.
Q: How did you get into toy photography and for how long have you been doing it?
A: I was really looking for another way to keep my mind busy, after been in the Marines, sometimes it’s hard to keep your inside beast under control, so I discovered that there was a marine taking pictures of his Stormtroopers and making some war scenes with them, I started following him on Instagram (@galacticwarfighters) and I got in love with his work and I said I have to start playing again, I purchased my 1st camera (Sony DSC-300) and since I have always been a fan of action figures I started taking pictures of them, at first it was just for fun but then I started getting more and more into it, so I enrolled my self into a photography degree online, I finished a few months ago and I was very pleased with the results.
Q: How did you discover the toy photography community and what are your thoughts on it?
A: I discovered the community when I started using the tag #toyphotography. A lot of Toy Photographers came and likee and commented [on] my photos, so I started following them and I think it’s one of the greatest communities out there.
Q: Do you consider toy photography as an art form?
A: No doubt, I think the work that you put behind the scenes on a photo, the pose, the practical effects, the set up to get to the final product it’s an art no doubt.
Q: Tell us about the process of how you take a picture. From finding a spot to idea conception to the setup and finally taking the picture.
A: First I get the idea of what I want to do, what’s going to be the figure or figures I’m going to use, then I decide if it’s going to be indoors or outdoors if I’m going to use practical effects or digital effects etc. If it’s going to be an outdoor shot, I make sure the spot it’s suitable for the location, I like taking most of my photos outside due to the natural lighting but I also take a bunch of shots inside, if it’s going to be inside I make sure the area it’s clear of house items, you don’t want to make a scene of Kratos fighting Thanos and there is a bottle of soda in the background, I make sure that the scenario fits or simulates the dopeness that is needed for a fight like that.
Q: What is your camera setup? Do you have multiple cameras?
A: The set up depends on the environment, I always tried to keep the ISO to the lowest to avoid the graininess in the pictures, I have 2 cameras both are Sony. I have a Sony A9 and the camera I started with [a] Sony DSC-300.
Q: Are all your photos planned beforehand or do you have spur of the moment pictures?
A: I will say is a little bit of both, sometimes I try to recreate scenes from movies and sometimes they just flash into my head and sometimes from those pictures comes the next idea and so on and so forth.
Q: Tell us more about the practical effects that you add in some of your pictures.
A: They are my favourite, the practical effects that I have been using are fireworks, and my best friend the compressed air, it also depends on the photo that I will be taking but the compressed air works for mostly every photo. I use it to create a bit of atmosphere. I also use flour to recreate snow, water and dirt also work really good for practical effects.
Q: What is your favourite figure in your collection?
A: I would have to say Kratos from Neca
Q: What is your advise to collectors who may want to dabble in toy photography?
A: The main thing is to have fun doing it. Doesn’t matter what your goal in Toy Photography is. Try to learn as much as possible about photography, maybe you can’t get into a photography school but, there are a bunch of tutorials that you can use on YouTube, don’t get discouraged if other Toy Photographers have a better camera of better figures, each of us have different styles and different goals and lots people have the money to invest in gear, figures etc. But that’s is not the most important of all, you can have the best camera ever, but still, your photo can suck, so it’s better to study and learn about photography and then if there is a chance, you get a good camera. But no matter what just have fun!
You can follow Eric on Instagram @erbigtoys as well as finding him on Facebook via the link below. Because where else will you see Thanos pushing Deadpool in a trolly?
https://web.facebook.com/ErbigToyPhoto/?
All images provided and owned by Eric Ruiz.
