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Welcome to a special non-first Saturday edition of TBTP! DIY Photography’s contest results have been revealed and as the judge for the LEGO category, I thought it’d be helpful to show you how I “read” or analyze photos.

Firstly though, I’d like to congratulate all the photographers who entered.

Contests— and critiques— are valuable experiences for growth. Willfully putting your work in front of people knowing that it will be measured against criteria that don’t include likes on Instagram lol takes some courage.

Before any judges even see your photos, there’s another tough critique you have to pass: your own. Giving yourself an honest assessment is key to growth.

I’ve always treated contests not just as opportunities to showcase my best photos or get feedback, but to discover other like-minds and get my work seen by people who might not otherwise.

DIYP is a well-known and reputable photography blog that caters to the larger photography community, most of whom have never even seen a toy photo before now. These finalists are now a reference to them, and that’s a big win for these photographers already.

Many of the opportunities I’ve gotten as a LEGO photographer are simply from putting my work in places where it can stand out and there might be a different set of eyes looking (i.e., not a saturated Instagram).

So, a contest is a fantastic way to make yourself visible.

Now that I’ve laid the case for why you should join contests, here’s how I judge them:

I have 4 criteria:

• clear, compelling, and creative concept

• smart decisions about camera gear and settings

• strong composition

• interesting lighting

That’s the concise but meaningless bullet point version so let me present that as questions:

• What’s the concept? How is it different from others I’ve seen before? Does it make me feel anything? Does it make me curious?

• Are the lens and focal length good choices for the concept? Is the depth of field helping or hurting? Are there any creative camera effects with aperture, shutter speed, white balance, etc. used?

• Is the arrangement of elements pleasing? Does the framing make sense? Does it hold my attention and make me want to explore? Is there harmony or is something throwing off everything?

• Does the lighting serve the concept?

• Is there anything distracting in the photo?

There are more questions but I think you get the idea. I’m essentially going through some of the pillars of photography: gear, composition, and lighting.

There’s also editing but less so as criteria because to me, the best editing is unnoticed editing. If I notice it, then it’s probably a bad thing.

Some of this is technical— of course, photography is part science— and some of this is art, so judging can be subjective. I tend to reach out to trusted and talented friends to check my evaluation and in this case, I had Foolish Bricks with me over drinks to discuss my first-round selections.

It’s important to point out here that I reviewed all photos on my desktop monitor so it was much easier to see details. I almost always look at photos this way— thumbnails on a phone are very forgiving.

Here are a select few of those shortlisted entries and how I read their photos:

rennerbricks

rennerbricks

I’ve already written about this one since it’s the winner but ICYMI, here are things that stood out to me:

• hard lighting and a warm-colored subject against cooler-colored background make the subject pop

• dynamic “movement” and posing

• foreground interest with the low boxes leading to the back with tall shelves

• simple but effective brick-building to create context

• use of an unusual subject (vehicles are hardly ever used in LEGO photography)

• fun and light-hearted humor

I loved this entry because it was a lot of small decisions favoring more difficult techniques that made a complex photo.

For example, a lot of LEGO photographers get really scared off by building anything because they think you need to be a Master Builder. But looking at the photo, none of the brick-built elements demand any special skill. It’s just a bunch of tiny models and stacked bricks. The forklift looks like it’s from the Grocery Store 60437, an age 6+ set.

Posing like this takes putty and wires, then removing them in post. Hard light means dealing with more reflections. Wider framing means more to build. And so on.

All well-executed choices to not go the easy route added up to a winning photo.

archiminibricks

archiminibricks

This photo was an extremely close second place. I went to bed with this as the winner, then did one final pass in the morning, and changed my mind… again.

But this is definitely my kind of photo. I love a LEGO photographer who isn’t afraid of shadows and darker themes. It’s risky though because it’s off-brand— we tend to think of LEGO as bright, happy, colorful, and fun.

Let’s read this photo first with the criteria in mind:

• wide framing and small scale of minifig support the concept of space exploration

• dramatic lighting with just enough atmosphere to register particles

• shadows and greebling give depth and texture

• white and blue subject are a good contrast to the red environment

The LEGO wall adds a lot of complexity to the scene but it wasn’t a complicated build. I think I recall that the photographer’s child made it. It really goes to show that it doesn’t take much building skill to make a LEGO photo look more… LEGO.

It’s an excellent photo but after that morning analysis, I realized I just had more to say about rennerbricks’ photo. There were more “choices for challenge” taken with the hard light hitting reflective tiles and surfaces as well as the dynamic posing of several elements.

Perhaps a little movement in here could have pushed this photo back over the top.

johnreiley_

johnreiley_

This photo is pretty similar in concept to the runner-up, but it still made me stop to look and dive into it because of the strong graphics in the composition.

I love that the photographer leaned hard into the shapes and symmetry here, especially as it’s so tempting to turn that minifig around and direct attention to the eyes. The way the light catches the bricks and emphasizes those lines, creating a mesmerizing pattern and depth, is so simple and beautifully done.

I can see some atmosphere and water beads in there, which add a nice subtle texture to something that might otherwise appear too clinical.

I admire how minimalist yet still complicated this photo is.

Let’s read this photo:

• interesting gradient effect with the light

• embrace of shadows and strong silhouette for contrast

• simple but effective brick-building for environment

• symmetry and shapes leading toward the light and adding depth

• mystery vibes with a subtle atmosphere

Even now I’m craning my neck wanting to look past the astronaut to see what they see. I always make a note when I lean closer, tilt my head, or make any kind of physical movement as if the photo said “made you look!”— then I give an extra point for that.

It’s a great photo. I think it might have been more effective though if it were cropped tighter— there’s a lot of deep shadow on the sides that I don’t think helps very much.

This is quite a dramatic crop going from a 16:9 to a 2:3. I feel more pulled into the photo and can see the texture a lot better. This makes me feel more anxious too.

However, that’s a totally subjective opinion and my interpretation, of course— perhaps the photographer wanted expanse and calm so made those choices.

benedek.lampert

benedek.lampert

It’s a pretty rare sight to see photos of LEGO models in the wild on account of what a hassle it is to haul these things to a very specific location and set up.

I shoot LEGO models outdoors only a couple of times a year for The LEGO Group, so I can appreciate how much effort is involved. (It’s more than just plopping a model in the middle of the forest, let me tell you.)

Reading this photo, I see:

• unusual and striking subject type and size (whole buildings are hardly used in LEGO photography)

• interesting interior lighting and atmospheric effects to emphasize that

• big storytelling with minifigs positioned across the frame

• wide, immersive scene in a fitting location outdoors

It’s a photo that stops the scroll, for sure. On top of that, I love medieval themes and this blacksmith model is one of my all-time favorites. Perhaps the photographer did their homework and selected this to give it an advantage— smart. Always know who the judges are, people.

Using a wide-angle lens for this shot works well because they capture the environment and get more of the model in focus.

However, the issues that this particular lens created in the photo were hard to ignore.

If I’m not mistaken, this was shot with the Laowa 15mm f/4 macro lens which allows you to get 1:1 magnification and include background details. The 15mm is a really unusual design because most macro lenses have longer focal lengths which result in photos with a very shallow depth of field and no environment (i.e., the tightly framed, isolated subject against an out-of-focus background look you see in lots of minifig portraits).

I bought this lens for LEGO photography a few years ago because on paper it looked perfect. But I ended up returning it within a couple of days because there were too many issues for this use-case: lots of wavy distortion across the frame, massive distortion at the edges, heavy vignetting, and greenish color cast.

I can see all of those characteristics in the photo above, most prominently in the distorted building and the misshapen horse. The vignetting and color cast bother me less because they can be leaned into— as the photographer did— or corrected in post.

LEGO buildings are full of lines, so distortion or even a sloppy camera angle is going to stand out. Sometimes you can fix this in editing if it’s just a barrel or pincushion problem, but the way this lens distorts is everywhere and unevenly.

It’s fine for nature photography where shapes are organic, but LEGO, not so much.

Foolish Bricks suggested that if it were a ghost story or horror scene instead, this look would serve the photo well. I agree. Maybe that’s a photo idea for the future with this glass!

So while this photo ticked a lot of boxes for me, the lens choice was a nope. Perhaps with a different wide-angle lens (no need for macro but maybe just close focusing distance), this could have been a real winner.

minifig_lifescenes

minifig_lifescenes

This wonderful photo is yet another example of really simple building techniques to create a brick-built scene. It’s notable because the entire build is the composition:

• desaturated tones as a backdrop for the colorful hero

• handrails as leading lines up to the subject

• masonry pattern in negative space for interest

• arrow on “Berlin” sign pointing to the subject

• eyeline of the mouse towards the subject

I like the choice of that masonry brick as the wall and I wonder if it was selected just to add interest to that negative space or if it’s functional.

I avoid using plain bricks ever since my friend Shannon Sproule pointed out to me how the not-so-flat surfaces of LEGO bricks produced weird and sometimes unexpected reflections when we discussed his “shadow play” series.

Shannon Sproule

So I think the photographer was trying to avoid that issue too, especially with the minifig and the lamp so close to it. Good choice.

sergi_h2opolo7 and mylostuds

sergi_h2opolo7

mylostuds

I’m not really into IP and that’s because when I see it, I then just reference the IP itself. It’s hard to determine where the photographer’s own input in the composition and lighting are, especially in scene recreations like the above from Coco and Star Wars.

But I liked these two entries enough to mention them because of the lighting. I know it’s challenging at this scale and with this plastic material. These compositions may not be theirs so I can’t give any credit for that, but they’re both lit well.

I’d really like to see more fresh takes with IP though like Vesa Lehtimäki aka avanaut has famously done in his book Star Wars: Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy.

Recreations are great as an exercise, but when the photographer has added a bit of themselves, that’s something that makes it special and commands my attention.

Actually, that goes for LEGO in general too— LEGO is a huge IP itself after all.

My advice for toy photographers in general: put yourself into your work by making all those small, challenging choices to create photos that get noticed. Don’t be generic. Look for those opportunities to make a little extra effort and you’ll be richer for it.