A taste of the shoot. More photos are in the full gallery further down the page. Click any photo to see it large.
Toy trucks belong in the dirt. So when George Khoury, Brand Manager at Tonka Toys, briefed me on product photography for the yellow Steel Classics construction range, I took the trucks to a park. I photographed each one in its box first. Then they came out of the box to push real dirt, scoop it up and carry real rocks.
This is product photography and product lifestyle photography in one shoot. The box shots show exactly what a customer buys. The lifestyle shots show the product being used, in a setting that makes the photo worth a second look.
The brief: Tonka product photos without a corporate feel
Tonka wanted new photos for its social media that didn't look corporate. No fake backgrounds and no Photoshopped mock-ups. The photos would sit alongside content that customers who love the brand were already sharing, so they had to feel real.
Research first, then story concepts
Before the shoot I looked at Tonka's competitors and at the photos Tonka was already using. I also thought about where and how the new photos could be used. From there I came up with some story concepts, so each photo had a job to do and wasn't just a toy on the ground.
In this shoot the trucks work as a crew. The bulldozer pushes dirt, the front loader scoops it, the dump trucks carry it away and tip their loads. In the widest photo the whole range works a dirt mound with tower cranes and new apartment blocks behind, so the toys sit inside a real building scene.
What I photographed for Tonka
- Standard box shots of each product, on a gravel path with greenery behind.
- Individual product shots of each truck out of the box.
- Group shots of the range together.
- Products on location in a scene, working the dirt and carrying rocks.
Pairing a box shot with the same truck in action gives a retailer or a social post both halves of the story: what's in the box, and what it's like to play with.
How product lifestyle photography makes toys look full size
Most of these photos are taken from the trucks' own height, down in the dirt. At that level a mound of soil looks like a hillside and a rock looks like a boulder. Shallow focus keeps the hero truck sharp and lets the others fall softly behind it.
The Tonka logo is on every truck, and close-ups like the front loader's dusty cab keep it sharp and readable. Some shots face into a low sun, which gives the dirt and the yellow paint a warm glow.
Tonka had a hard time choosing from the collection and took most of it for their marketing. This is what George said about the shoot.
“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)
There was more than one Tonka shoot. For the emergency vehicles on the street, see product photography for Tonka Toys on the street.
A shot list for product and product lifestyle photography
If you sell a physical product, this is where I'd start. Product photos like these get used for advertising, websites, social media, promotional flyers, retailer catalogues and public relations, so it pays to cover each need in one session.
- A box or pack shot of every product, all shot the same way so the range looks like a set.
- Each product on its own, out of the packaging, from more than one angle.
- A group shot of the whole range.
- The product in use, in a real place that suits it.
- The product somewhere unexpected, to stop people scrolling.
- Close-ups of the logo and the details that make your product yours.
Real settings beat mock-ups. People can tell when a background has been dropped in, and a real one gives you light, texture and a story for free.
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.
Shoot details
Client
Tonka Toys
Industry
Toys
Where
A park
Photographed
Six Steel Classics construction trucks, boxed and on location
Shot types
Box shots, single product shots, group shots and products in a scene
Used for
Advertising, websites, social media, promotional flyers, retailer catalogues and PR
The full gallery
More photos from the Tonka Toys park shoot. Click any photo to see it large.
Need photos of your products?
I can photograph your products in their packaging and out in real places that suit them, anywhere in Sydney. Business photography starts at $495 for up to an hour.
