Toy Photography Ain't For Kids

I'm an adult, married man with a successful career in construction, and I am a toy photographer. There, I said it. I refuse to let people define my "hobby" as childish or whimsical. And like me, there are literally thousands of men and women around the world whose passion lies in the art of photographing toys. Yes, I called it an art, because it is. We spend hours finding the right models, positioning and lighting them perfectly, experimenting with new angles and atmospheres; all to get the right shot that we feel proud to post on portals like Instagram.

I started an Instagram account nearly 3 months ago to feature toy photographers from around the world (@toypic_community: https://www.instagram.com/toypic_community/) which has reached nearly 4,000 followers. And that's small potatoes compared to the more established toypic photogs whose followers reach into the tens of thousands. I have featured photos from around 1,500 different toy photographers and I've only scratched the surface. If we do a conservative estimate that each of their IG pages has an average of around 2,000 followers, we're looking at over three million people globally interested in this "hobby."

It's the entire toypic community that's the real story here. We are a dynamic group of individuals who truly support each other. Just read some of the comments and you'll see just how encouraging and uplifting they are.

I'm writing this because I think it's time this art form be covered in a way that highlights the seriousness of our community and the joy it brings to people from all walks of life.

More info: Instagram