Gearing Up For Action Figure Photography

6 min readJun 18, 2022

NOTE: This is a living document. Please bookmark it so you can find it for future reference. I have decades of experience as a professional photographer which I have employed to select the gear and accessories needed to make cool photos of action figures.

Before I get to the list, I want to advise people not to stress over gear. I have all this stuff. Do I absolutely NEED all this stuff? Nope. But I just happen to have lots of choices so in some cases I will prefer one tripod or light over the other. It’s not that one is better or worse than the other, it’s that one is better or worse for a particular situation.

You can get by with nothing more than an iPhone and some elbow grease and that will do the job. All these tools just make it fun and easier, but they are not required. In some cases I have multiple of the same things — such as tripods and heads. That’s because I am often running multiple cameras or using them to mount lights. You don’t really need more than one. But then, you don’t really NEED any toy action figures — so now you are getting the idea of how this works.

One last thing to ponder when considering the photography gear you want to acquire for making pictures of action figures — or for any type of photography for that matter — gear is good — but vision is better. Think about it.

Always happy to help if you have questions…
figphotos@outlook.com

Everything on this list is something that I own and use. Nobody paid me to recommend these products and I am not an ambassador for any of these products.

CAMERAS

Fuji X100V —

iPhone 13 Pro —

LENSES

Hoya 49mm HMC Close-Up Filter Set II (+1, +2, and +4)

CAMERA ACCESSORIES

Think Tank Photo Mirrorless Mover 20 Camera Bag —

SmallRig Mobile Video Cage for iPhone 13 Pro —

Sony RMT-P1BT Wireless Remote Commander —

ProGrade Digital 128GB UHS-II SDXC Memory Cards —

iPhone Apps

Filmic Pro —

Filmic Pro Remote —

Filmic Pro Double Take —

Filmic Pro Firstlight —

Reeflex Pro Camera App —

STABILITY/TRIPOD HEADS

Fotopro X-GO Tripod Kit with FPH-42Q Ball Head (Black) —

Manfrotto 500 Professional Fluid Video Head with Flat Base —

Oben CFT-6394 Skysill 4-Section Carbon Fiber Tripod —

Platypod Extreme — (Full disclosure — I have worked with Platypod in the past and they sponsor one of my podcasts but have no involvement in this site.)

Platypod Disc —

Platypod Mini Super Claim —

Platypod Ultra Plate Camera Support —

Platypod Max Camera Support —

Platypod Extreme —

Platypod Platyball Ergo Ball Head —

Platypod Stackable Gooseneck —

Platypod Elbow —

Vanguard BBH-200 Ballhead —

Samson MBA28 Microphone Boom Arm —

Robus SPCS-001 Smartphone Tripod Adapter & Stand —

Robus RTH-1030 Triple Action Ball Head —