Iron Man Takes A Whiz
I love Iron Man — he’s my favorite Marvel character. I have made lots of Iron Man photos but the way I keep myself sane, is I challenge myself (ALWAYS) to try to be a storyteller first — and a photographer second. Then I look for a new story to tell.
The problem is — I’m a five-year-old stuck in an old man’s body.
So what story did I decide to tell? Even Iron Man needs to pee! Yes it’s juvenile. But so am I! If this offends you, I apologize. But I intend to continue being a juvenile so get used to it.
Here I put together a 3D printed, 1/12 scale urinal, and two Iron Man Hall of Armor charging stations against a photograph of a brick wall and set on a fake cement floor. (These 1/12 scale model charging stations even light up but since Iron Man isn’t inside I decided not to turn on the lights.)
Believe it or not, I’ve been thinking about this image for months. It took that long to assemble all the parts for the set (and the story.) But as I got closer to doing the shoot, I realized something was missing. It just lacked one more finishing touch. Then it struck me. I need Iron Man to have some “reading material” while he’s in the bathroom so — enter — my 1/12 scale Playboy Magazine!!! Yes — I continue to prove I am juvenile as we get deeper into the story.
Amazingly, I just thought I’d check ETSY to see if anyone made a 1/12 scale Playboy Magazine and sure enough — someone does! (They apparently recognize the size of the juvenile-minded market!)
The little magazine looks really good — it even has interior pages. But for those of you who are tender-hearted, rest assured…there is no nudity inside my little fake 1/12 magazine so you can rest easy. The world’s not going to end up in Satan’s hands because of my Iron Man photo!
The whole set up is in one of my favorite studio accessories for macro, toy, product and still life photos — the B&H Impact Photo Pro LED Booth 400. (https://bhpho.to/3NTpLxQ)
I am using the Sentinel Fighting Armor series Iron Man. I photographed the figure with my Fujifilm X Series US #x100v. I mounted it on a Platypod Platyball. As you can see from the BTS shot below, the Platyball is so strong and so stable that I didn’t even need to mount it to a Platypod. Now mind you, I have plenty of Platypods laying around — I just wanted to see if it would work and it did. (DISCLAIMER — don’t try this at home — my lawyer made me put that part in.)
I am using a Lume Cube 2.0 Mini LED light overhead on a swing arm. I am using the Lume Cube Panel Pro mounted on a Platypod Max and a Platypod Elbow. I am also using a Raya Bi-Color Round LED Panel lite (Also from B&H — https://bhpho.to/3bDdUXm.) I am bouncing it off the silver reflector and then (in addition to the diffusion sock I have on the Raya) I am using an “OLD GUYS KNOW STUFF.COM” trick where I throw a towel over part of the light to knock it down even more.
I also added the window lighting effect in BorisFX 2022.5 and I finished the whole image with a pass through Topaz Photo AI.
ISO 160
f/11
1.7 Second Exp.
I hope you like the photo. I hope it brings a smile to someone’s face. Photography — especially toy photography — is supposed to be fun.
Remember, toys are joy.
P.S. The next time you handle your camera — think like a story teller — make images with that mindset and your photography will improve immediately — even if the story is a silly one like Iron Man taking a whiz :)
For a list of my toy photo gear and props go to:
bit.ly/toyphotogear
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vero.co/scottbourne
