Product lifestyle photography for Tonka Toys: emergency vehicles on the street, and a T. rex

George Khoury, Brand Manager at Tonka Toys, briefed me on new product photography for the brand. This was the street and laneway shoot: five Tonka Mighty Motorized vehicles photographed on a footpath, a quiet street and a weedy laneway, plus a set of boxed packshots against a bright red wall. Then a toy T. rex crashed the party. It was friendly, so it stayed in the pictures.

This kind of work is product photography and product lifestyle photography in one job. Some photos show each product on its own. Others put the toys in situ, or somewhere unexpected, so the picture tells a small story. Brands use both kinds for advertising, websites, social media, promotional flyers, retailer catalogues and public relations material.

There was more than one Tonka shoot. The other one took the yellow construction vehicles to a park, and you can see it in product photography for Tonka Toys in the park. This post is the street one, with the emergency vehicles.

The brief: stand-alone products and play scenarios

The brief had two parts:

The products were five vehicles from the Mighty Motorized range: a police cruiser, two fire engines (one with a white ladder, one with a black ladder), a tow truck and a garbage truck.

Boxed packshots on a red wall

For the stand-alone images, I photographed each vehicle in its box against a bright red textured wall. Every box was shot the same way, so the five photos sit together as a set. The red sets off the yellow packaging, and the Tonka logo and product names are easy to read. This is the kind of photo a retailer catalogue or an online store listing needs.

Product lifestyle photography on the street

For the play scenarios, I took the trucks outside. The garbage truck went on a footpath in front of real wheelie bins, lifting a toy bin. The police car sat in the middle of a quiet street with its roof lights and headlights switched on. The two fire engines parked side by side on a concrete floor with yellow lines.

I shot from the toys' own height. At that level a kerb looks like a road and long grass looks like a field, so the trucks read as full-size vehicles in their own world. I also shot from above and from the side, to show details like the police car's roof lights and the number on its roof.

The T. rex that crashed the shoot

The dinosaur turned a set of product photos into a story. The T. rex roars at a fire engine on a laneway kerb. It grabs the tow truck's hook while the fire engines and police car close in. It stands in the middle of the street, facing down the police car. And in the laneway, all five trucks line up in a row, ready to go to the rescue.

Story photos like these give a brand something to post that doesn't look like an ad. The trucks are still sharp, the Tonka logo is still readable, and the product is still the hero of every frame.

“I briefed Paul on a photo shoot for Tonka toys…brief being to create a collection of images that were not ‘corporate’ for our social media channels. With Paul’s marketing background crossed with his photography eye – there was not a dud photo! Paul came up with some ‘story’ concepts, did the shoot and presented some amazing photos. Highly recommended!”
George Khoury, Brand Manager, Tonka Toys (Direct review)

A shot list for toy and product brands

If you sell a physical product, this is the list I'd start with. A catalogue wants clean, consistent packshots. Social media wants the story.

Product photography in Sydney

Business photography starts at $495 for up to an hour, with up to 10 edited photos and a commercial licence included. See business photography in Sydney for what's included.