The current coronavirus situation has suddenly left many people without work and consequently with too much time on their hands. Many photographers are using this extra time creatively, and Arjun Menon is one of them. This India-based photographer combines action figures, household objects and some Photoshop magic. What he ends up with are photos that look like they came straight from the big screen.
Arjun is a professional advertising and automotive photographer based out of Mumbai, India. Like most of us, he is currently in isolation with not much paid work to do, but apparently with lots of creative energy. So, he dusted off his old action figures and started building worlds in which he photographed them. He is limited to what he already has at home, and looking at the BTS shots, I find it fascinating to see what he used. There are old computers and drone batteries, but also many kitchen items like cheese graters, oven, vegetable choppers… But I think that a muffin tin is my favorite, you’ll see in in one of the BTS shots below.
Before he starts shooting, Arjun first plans out the scene and thinks of a concept. Only then he scouts for regular household objects that would add interesting textures and fit in the scene. His main goal is to make the scenes believable, so he tries his best not to make it obvious that they’re made from toys and household stuff. “I try angles and poses that do not reveal the joints or screws of the action figure, make sure the pose fits the personality character well,” Arjun tells DIYP. To light the scene, Arjun uses the combination of continuous lighting and flashes. He uses lots of practical effects, such as hair spray or steam iron for rain or haze effect I photograph. He tries to leave minimum work for the post, but he does add the final look to his scenes in Photoshop, and some of the photos are made by compositing. Nevertheless, I think they look marvelous! Take a look at more photos below, along with some BTS images and Arjun’s breakdown. Make sure to check out Arjun’s website for more of his work, and give him a follow on Instagram.
