Take Pictures of Your Toys: It’s Good for You!

By Destro Designs – Viper Den Studios

Just the other day, my brother, Evan the Architect, posted a photo of his dope Crimson Hound and some awesome figures. I gave him a shout in the Twitter streets about it being good, and he responded by saying I had inspired him to give it a try. I smiled so damn hard.

A few others have said the same, and I thought maybe I could use this mouthpiece to tell more people…

It’s time to start taking pictures of your toys.

I found G.I. Joe Classified in December 2024 and had like 24 figures by February. I kept a torrid pace. I am a crazy person.

But somewhere in February, I had this idea that seemingly came from no motherfucking where.

Truly.

I’ve always appreciated photographers and photography in general. I used to do tool reviews and progress videos of my projects as a contractor. I got away from all that during a monster project that allotted zero time for the GoPro.

Whole other story.

But in February 2025, I was looking at my Classified Alley Viper and Shockwave, one in each hand, and, like a bolt of freaking lightning, I decided I wanted to build an alley diorama and have a showdown with these two Centurions of the City, the Two Mastodons of the Metropolis, the Two Dominators of Downtown, and watch them gunfight from behind shields to decide who ruled the concrete streets.

Naturally, I needed multiple more Alley Vipers to make this shot work, and then that led to getting Shockwave some backup.

But as you’ll notice, this article isn’t about lenses, cameras, or anything like that. It’s about the love of the game.

Most recently, I’ve gotten so busy that toy photography has taken a back seat to podcasting, writing, and the never-ending remodel of my home. But considering how busy I am, I still take those pictures because it’s totally fucking awesome.

I feel like it opened up a creative part of my brain that was not only cool, but good for the health of my noodle. It was problem-solving, but easier. It was angles and depth of perception, but in a fun-ass way. It was telling a story without words.

Hell yeah.

I was as hooked on the planning, dio building, and shooting of the figures as I was on collecting the figures themselves.

Straight up.

It was at this time that my workshop for my business became an overwhelming, crazy space because diorama buildings coincided with all of my tools and materials.

Whole other story.

I feel like I’m seeing into someone’s brain when I look at their toy photography. Their attitude and personality shine through in the story being conveyed, as well as in the creativity of the figures they’ve chosen and the backgrounds they’ve built.

For my money, my favorites are Matt Mylar, the Action Shot God; Complete Carnage Photography; YoJoe Collectibles; the gentleman behind the ToyPixxx account on Twitter; and, last but certainly not least, Matt Cohen from Shooting the Galaxy. All of them are elite, upper-echelon photographers and storytellers.

If you’re into it already or just starting out, you need to follow these five for inspiration and an understanding of what great photography looks like.

Also, every single one of them is an amazing dude. Totally and completely top-shelf brothers.

There’s only one elite dio maker, and that’s Stevie Zee.

I’m a close second. 😉

But he does amazing work and has been a huge inspiration.

But here’s where I went into the weeds.

I built a jungle diorama that was eight feet long, five feet deep, and about six feet tall. It had a running river and a riverbed. It was massive and an absolute nightmare to get out of my basement, but to this day, it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever built.

As with most things in life, the joy is in the journey.

While I love editing videos, posting them on the internet, and discussing what people think about them, a huge portion of the fun is building the dio, setting it up, choosing the weapons, choosing the figures, seeing what works best, moving the figures around, changing the angle or the width of the shot, dialing something in because a figure looks so amazing up close…

…only to realize you’ve zoomed three people completely out of the frame.

It’s all so much fun.

And what I always tell people is this:

If you’re unsure about being a good photographer or not, I’ll remind you that I just listed the only five people who are actual professional-level photographers.

The rest of us are amateurs trying to get better.

And we also have one of the greatest communities around—one that accepts everybody who’s just starting out, encourages them, and genuinely wants to see them improve.

So if you’re reading this and have never taken a toy picture before, I give you my word…

It will be good for you.

You’ll enjoy it.

And you’ll have found a new hobby.

Just take two figures.

Set them up on a table.

Take a single shot.

Immediately, your mind will start going:

“Okay… I’ve got to lower the camera a little, raise this arm, move this guy over a little more…”

Then you’ll take a second shot.

Then a third.

Before you know it, an hour has gone by. You’ve added props, moved some lighting around, changed a pose six different times…

…and you’ll be hooked without even realizing it.

Us old fucks need to do what we can to stay sharp, have fun, and not blow out our knees, so I assure you this toy photography thing is totally worth a shot.

You can find me if you have questions about photography, building dioramas, lighting figures, or literally anything else over at @DestroDesigns.

Want to see my finished photography work?

Go to @ViperDenStudios on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads.

Start your journey today.

Just put two figures on a table and pull out that phone.

Before you know it, you’ll have a hobby that makes you smile like a child.

And that’s why we’re all here anyway.