Get your favorite Pops! camera ready and capture them in action with these fun and easy ideas for photographing your collection. The Funko Photography Team has your photo shoot covered with plenty of pro tips. Let's learn from them how to manipulate lighting and create sets and props to make a collection shine.

Manipulating Light

If natural light isn't exactly streaming through your windows when you want to take a picture, no worries! You can still create the right amount of light for a great shot. The Photography Team suggests the following tried-and true-methods:

• Use house lamps and a sheet of white paper or poster board to help reflect light onto the scene. Shower curtains, wax paper, and tissue paper are great alternatives as well.
• Add color to the light with plastic wrap. Just fill it in with markers you might have on hand, or you can use colored cellophane, colored clipboards, or the glass of a picture frame, which can also be colored in with markers. A word of caution, though: The cellophane and plastic wrap can melt in the light's heat, so it's a good idea to watch these materials carefully.
• Place your photo shoot scene near the window. The methods above can help you make the most of any natural light that comes through.

“I love scouring my home or our stash on site for things that can be used in a shot—and figuring out how to add anything into the photograph that resembles a feeling or a scene that a fan might instantly recognize.” ~Kayla Mogensen, Associate Art Director, Funko.

“My favorite part of setting up a shoot is the brainstorm. It's always fun to look around and rethink how something can translate to Pop! scale.” ~Chelsea Bradley, Photographer, Funko.

At-Home Props for Sets

Maybe you want to place your Pops! in a winter scene for your photo shoot, but summer is in full bloom where you live. Or perhaps you want them to pose on beaches or on mountain tops, and you don't live anywhere near those places. You can still give your Pops! the star treatment with a fabulous photo shoot—without ever having to leave the house. All these scenes, and many more, come alive with just a few things you might have on hand. The Photography Team suggests the following ideas:

• Use tea leaves, coffee grounds, and cocoa powder to create dirt for scenes.

• Create sandy scenes with sandpaper—without all the mess of actual sand.
• Carve sets from floral foam, which is an inexpensive way to create new spaces for your Pops! to strike a pose. Floral foam makes a fantastic base for modeling clay that can be molded around it. The foam helps you cut down on the amount of clay you use while also making a grander scene that can have additional details painted on it.
• Use beet juice to mimic fake blood, if you're a horror fan staging a scary scene for your collectibles.

Add Texture and Dimension for Extra Pop!

Bring that scene to life! Below are other details and textures that can really help sell your scene:

• Make sure your environment is created to scale. Tip: Use scissors to cut grass outside to the proper height for a figure. Alligator clips, toothpicks, chopsticks, and putty can also be helpful to have on hand to hold objects in place. For instance, putty can hold objects at an angle or help eliminate the use of a stand if it gets in the way of a shot or scene. Alligator clips can hold colored paper against a cardboard background in place.

“I personally use mini binder clips a lot to hold up almost all my small paper backdrops, and they're always in my camera bag.” ~Chelsea Bradley, Photographer, Funko.

• Use an aerosol can, such as keyboard cleaner, to add movement to sand, dirt, or water.
• Create texture and dimensions with the following items:
  • Sandpaper
  • Baking sheet
  • Cardboard
  • Stock images on a computer screen or iPad
  • Black screen on a phone or iPad for use as black plexiglass to create a reflection
  • Bath towels, blankets, textured mats, clothing
  • Tile
  • Picture frame glass or mirror for reflections

“My favorite part of setting up a set or shoot is bringing it to life.” ~Kayla Mogensen, Associate Art Director, Funko

#FunkoPhotoADayChallenge

Now, it's your turn: Use the tips in this Funko Pop! photography post to bring your collection to life. Be sure to tag @OriginalFunko on Instagram and Twitter and include #FunkoPhotoADayChallenge so we can see all your amazing pictures. We can't wait to see what you come up with!