Ho Ho Ho… Merry Christmas Everyone… It’s time to put up a tree, decorate the house and bring up the Christmas spirit to full force! I being a toy collector and photographer, I decided to up my Christmas mood by doing a special Christmas theme photoshoot. The last few years (Avengers Christmas Duties for 2020, Tony Stark’s Christmas Eve Party with Pepper Potts for 2018) I did using my 6inch Marvel Legends action and this year to I wanted to use them for its poseability. But this time I brought in a brand new concept!
Let me be frank.. I did my research online and Google image search and Pinterest play a big part! This time again due to Covid 19 restriction I will have to do it indoors and the initial plan is to use my photoshop skills but later reserved that for my other(for xDiecast.com) photoshoot. So I am using a real diorama wall that I made last year.
Christmas is a day that is celebrated with lot of spirit so to put up with that level spirit I brought in lot of props of which that massive gift box. For this photoshoot that gift box is the focus so I made it big enough to stand out. Because my diorama is garage like, I brought in 1:12 scale Vespa as Santa’s ride.
As there are not much Santa Claus articulated figure I used my Marvel Legends figure with my home made Santa suite. This suite was made for last year photoshoot but they work perfectly for this theme. The suite is a two piece suite, the cap and bag are extra made with same material to match with the suite. Only accessory is the black belt with metal buckle, which attaches via velcro is to add some more details.
The action figure that is to wear this suite is the kit bashed Marvel Legends Fat Thor Build a Figure (BAF) without his robe with Old Thor’s Head from Odin Wave BAF. I picked this figure as it is flexible to add or remove body parts being a BAF. Initially I felt the Original Thor’s head will work but later switched back to Old Thor’s head as it has white beard and mustach out of the box.
The setup is in place and I used my trusty old Nikon D3100 with 40mm Micro lens! For lighting, I used my room’s ceiling light and it worked perfectly as the scene is set like a broad daylight. The original idea is have the scooter in normal parked position but later I changed to knocked out state as it added some more fun element to the scene. Fortunately the figure stood straight(even with tack it to foot) with the gift on his hand.
Now comes post processing part… I first cropped the photo adjusted color and straighten the image all in Nikon’s raw editor “Capture NX-D”. Now I wanted to add some foggy effect so switched to Photoshop and in no time this effect is achieved!
Though this pic not meant to serve as Christmas greeting, I usually love to have my photos in landscape format! But this time around I realised that 1:1 ratio feels nice so I went for it! Overall I had fun and this is the first time ever I spend more time planning than execution. So I had lot of time to enjoy(online of course) Christmas with friends and family. Till my next photoshoot for New Year… Merry Christmas, Have a Safe One.