Awesome Photographer Brings Action Figures To Life Using Practical Effects

A common public misconception about toys in general is that they’re just for kids. A closer look at some action figures in the market, however, will reveal otherwise. These items can be pretty expensive!

These days, there are a lot of toylines specifically targeting adult collectors. The figures are created with greater quality than standard kiddie toys as they have greater details in terms of sculpt and paint, plus they usually have more accessories.

Jared Middleton is a proud “fanboy” who continues to collect such figures. But instead of just putting them on a cabinet, he creates fun cinematic scenes with his toys and takes photos of them to post on social media. And he’s getting a lot of attention online because of his awesome shots!

#1. Storntroopers on a lake

#2. Cue The Mandalorian soundtrack!

#3. Darth Vader vs Stormtroopers

#4. Wonder Woman during the No Man’s Land battle scene.

#5. Mandalorian (Din Djarin) and Baby Yoda (Grogu) welcoming the year with a bang. Like literally!

Over at Instagram, for example, Middleton now has more than 68,000 followers.

In an interview, he shared:

“I am a massive collector turned photographer. I had been collecting action figures for years and eventually started taking photos of them outside for Instagram. Eventually the art of taking photos became more important to me than the collecting!”

#6. Han Solo and Chewbacca thrashing some troopers.

#7. “It’s a trap!” Admiral Ackbar fighting the Stormtroopers

#8. Din Djarin and Grogu

#9. Grogu using his Jedi powers

#10. They look pretty badass together….

#11. Boba Fett doing what he does best!

#12. Long live the Empire.

#13. Din Djarin rocking his sweet beskar armor. Grogu looks impressed!

#14. Another Stormtrooper pic

#15. Luke Skywalker vs the Wampa

As far as his favorite toys go, he said his collection “has gotten very large and very diverse” over the years but he specifically digs “series like Star Wars Black Series, SHFiguarts, Mafex, Amazing Yamaguchi Revoltech, Hot Toys, and many more.”

#16. The Armored Batsuit as featured in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has to be one of the best superhero suits in movie history.

#17. At times, we get reminded of the risks Middleton willingly takes just to come up with great photos.

#18. Amazing shot of the badass Darth Maul.

#19. The Silver Surfer

#20. Hulk vs Coke

#21. Go, go Power Ranger!

#22. A couple of Stormtroopers and a Dewback rider

#23. Qui-Gon Jinn. Love how Middleton used his phone for lighting the action figure!

#24. Pikachu just looks adorable in that floating pram.

#25. More battles in Hoth.

Numerous fans have praised him for his great composition and creative use of practical effects.

“Each photo can be completely different in process,” said Middleton. “But I will usually start with an idea, then I’ll pose my figures inside, then bring them along with my equipment outside, sometimes just on the pavement. Then I’ll shoot and take several photos with different effects and lighting. After shooting, I’ll go inside and bring up the photos in Adobe Photoshop on my laptop. I’ll combine/layer photos together to create one epic final product!”

#26. Green Ranger cutting the Dew.

#27. Pas Vizsla, the heavy infantry Mandalorian

#28. Poor C-3PO!

#29. Sub-Zero of Mortal Kombat. Finish him!

#30. Cyborg of Justice League. This shot is definitely lit!

If you want to see more of Jared Middleton’s works, you can check him out on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. You may likewise visit his official Sirdork website for more.