Every month, we pick a LEGO photographer active in our community and share some of their work and a little about themselves. This month we flight to Australia to meet anns_toypix!

Hi, I’m Ann Van Breemen, a five times Grandma from Queensland, Australia.

I’ve been a photographer since I was a child, thanks to my Dad, who was also a keen photographer.
My go to genres were usually wildlife and macros with a few landscapes when the opportunity arose.

I first discovered toy photography back in 2015 while browsing the Internet. I was amazed by the photos of professionals like Mitchel Wu and loved how he could make his toys seem to come to life.
I was looking for a new creative outlet and decided to give it a try. I soon settled on LEGO minifigs as their size and different accessories really appealed to me.

Back in the early days I would take mostly outdoor shots and, as I lived next to a beach, early morning shots were my favourite, although I think I raised a few eyebrows when people saw this grey haired old lady playing with Lego toys.

As I got older and my health declined I had to adjust, so I decided to bring the outdoors inside, but at a height that wouldn’t break a joint. For that I found it easier to set up all my dioramas on an office desk. I now have a small collection of home made dioramas and scenery and a huge collection of bricks with which to build my scenes.

I use the Canon R7 mirrorless DSLR and the RF 18-150mm kit lens most of the time, as well as a collection of led video lights and coloured gels to create the mood I have in mind. I also have a facial mister to add a bit of haze and atmosphere and I always use a tripod.

I love to make what I call environmental images, such as the garage mechanic image, which can become quite complex, but I also like to make up stories without minifigures. I just love the challenge of trying to convey a feeling or emotion with just accessories and bricks. Whatever I use, each image has to tell a story and has to evoke some emotion in the viewer. I believe I still have so much more to learn about toy photography, which is why I love the online toy photography community so much. There are so many talented toy photographers out there and most are more than willing to answer any questions about techniques or equipment used

The exclusive photo

For my exclusive photo I decided to create an image I had had rolling around in my brain for ages. Prompted by something I had seen in a movie years ago I decided to build an old chapel with a Nun walking through the arched passageway with a lamp in her hand. I used a white bit light for the lamp and a warm strip light to light up the room. A small video light simulated the moonlight that was streaming through the windows and a facial mister added some atmosphere.