Jason Michael Béland

It's always a treat when a new toy photograph by Jason pops up on our Instagram feed. Because of the variety of characters he shoots as subjects, you never know what he's going to come up with next. It's always a pleasant surprise.

Feature Friday once again and we got to catch up with our featured photographer, Jason also known on Instagram as @jasonbmichael.

You get treated with amazing images of different characters spanning different universes -- from Star Wars, TMNT, Batman, Super Mario, Star Trek, Stranger Things -- and everything in between!

And the crossovers always deliver -- Chucky versus Eleven wielding lightsabers. Or Yoda and Spock on a leisurely, philosophical stroll together. There's a lot more. You just need to keep your eyes peeled.

Enjoy our featured toy photographer and share your thoughts in the comments below.

Images courtesy of @jasonbmichael via Instagram.

Tell us about yourself and how you got into toy photography?

I'd been a toy collector for the longest time, but also a film enthusiast.

Once I decided to stop making short films and also stop recording a film podcast I had, I was looking for a new pastime. I stumbled across the work of Hot Kenobi on a Facebook post and really loved the quirky and artistic way they chose to create images with toys.

Not too long after I found the work of Johnny Wu (Sgt Bananas) and Magnus (Klaatou) which prompted me to really want to give this hobby a shot. I thought I'd just be trying it out for a few weeks, yet here I am 2 years later!

What or who inspires your photography?

Inspiration, for me, really comes from a multitude of things whether it is people, places, memories, conversations, words in an article I'm reading, a song I heard, or quite simply the toys and the expressions they have.

A recent photo of mine of Death Gas Station Tony was inspired by a memory I have of a friend who could blow smoke rings so big, he could put his foot through them. It's a fun memory of mine, and therefore I chose to recreate it using a toy I have.

Why is this image your Top 3 favourite? What is the story behind its creation?

This shot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a lightsaber dates back to June 2019, four months after I started Toy Photography.

I really love this shot because it was the first time I was able to create a crossover I found funny, but also nail the poses of the figures to match their respective personalities.

Why is this image your Top 2 favourite? What is the story behind its creation?

I normally don't have enough time to create the images I want because I have other more pressing matters to which I have to attend.

However, this shot of a lumberjack Popeye comes from having taken a complete day just to set up and photograph. I started early in the morning and ended my session roughly around supper time.

The day allowed me to move my camera around, work on moods, poses, lighting, and it felt great. The photo was taken at the end of the college semester when I just wanted to get away from everything and have time for myself. It encapsulates what I wanted to feel at that time.

Why is this image your Top 1 favourite? What is the story behind its creation?

Because of the pandemic, I hadn’t seen my parents in roughly a year, but in the summer of 2020 the cross-province travel restrictions in Canada had been somewhat lifted, and we were able to register to go see them.

My father liked the Popeye figure I have, so I brought it to show him, and I wanted to create a photo with him to show him how I create my images. He contributes to my photos regularly by building props, so my mother suggested we build a raft for Popeye. I liked the idea, and therefore a few minutes later, my father and I were outside finding dead tree branches to make the raft.

Once the raft was built, we set up outside on the patio and took the shot. My father participated in creating the effects as well and really got a kick out of it. As a result, it is my favorite photo because of the memory it comes with. Being able to see my parents after a long period, but also having them contribute to the shot itself is very special to me.

What is your favourite toy photography set-up?

I shoot with a Canon t5i and almost exclusively with a 50mm lens. I wouldn't call it my favorite because it's simply what I have that is not my phone.

As for a lighting set up, I include almost all of my behind the scenes in my posts on Instagram and TikTok, so people will notice that I enjoy lighting from the back and top of the figures. That lighting gives me a contrast I like in my shots.

I use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop for my post processing needs, but i try to keep retouching the images to a minimum for two reasons; first, I have a very rudimentary understanding of the applications; and second, I like getting as much as I can in camera because, for me, it heightens the authenticity of the photo. That's just personal preference though.

What advice can you offer our readers on toy photography?

I guess, I'd say: don't be afraid to mess up a shot.

Every single time you press the trigger and take a photo you're learning something new. It may not yield the results you want, but that simply means you know what not to do the next time you set up. Every photo shoot I've scrapped helped me to create a better setup the following time.

I used to be hard on myself when I didn't get a shot during a photo shoot, but now I call it practice. I enjoy practicing because it helps me understand my work better.

Where can we find you online?

You can find my work online through the following links -- website, Instagram, TikTok, Buy me a Coffee, Twitter, and Facebook

Big thanks to Jason for taking the time for our feature. Be sure to check out their work via the provided links.

Join us next time for another Toy Shutterbugs Feature Friday.