Does too much hype kills the hype?
Every time a new CMF series is released, my IG feed is flooded with pictures of the new Minifigures. While some people manage to buy them in stores before the official release date, I’m usually in the category of people who have to wait a few weeks to get them. Indeed, Finnish toy stores (and supermarkets) can be slow getting newly released LEGO sets.
I’m rarely in a hurry when it comes to getting something new, so it’s fine with me. But with the CMF, I noticed that by the time I can buy them, I’ve seen so many pictures that I don’t have any inspiration left to take pictures.
Getting from LEGO a couple of CMF to review for the blog has one advantage: I can play with the new minifigs before Instagram is invaded with pictures of them. It’s how I fell in love with Aria. Without the great opportunity to play earlier with her, I would probably have had very little interest in photographing her. She’s still today one of my favorite Minifigures, always accompanying me outside and still going out in front of my camera regularly.
Sometimes, I can experience the same feeling of tiredness with “regular” sets. Lately, it was the LEGO Movie 2 Space Squad. It’s undoubtedly an amazing set. As soon as I saw the first official images, I couldn’t wait to buy it. But by the time I got my own copy in late December, I was already fed up with seeing pictures of the pink spaceman everywhere. So I gave up the idea of using the spaceman for any photo.
Pop Culture Overdose
But besides the more occasional hype coming with the release of new toys, I’m experiencing more and more that feeling on a whole new level. I’m getting tired of pop culture.
In many ways, I’ve never felt a strong connection with some licenses. Like DC and Marvel Super Heroes for example. So it’s not new that I care so little about the vast majority of photos featuring them. But I’m getting tired of some beloved licenses too… Among them, Star Wars.
Star Wars Overdose
Contrarily to Super Heroes, I’ve been a fan of Star Wars ever since my father brought back home VHS of the original trilogy, more than 20 years ago. But I’m getting fed up with it.
One reason might be the overdose of Star Wars since Disney bought the franchise. I don’t have any major complaint about the new movies. (I’m actually waiting for the last episode of the new trilogy before coming up with a clear opinion about it.) But I can’t deny the impact of the hype and merchandising around it. It’s too much.
But Disney or Lucasfilm aren’t the only ones feeding the overdose. The toy photography community is also feeding it.
There is not a day going on without seeing pictures of stormtroopers or droids. After years of following hundreds of toy photographers, it feels like there’s nothing new. Sometimes I wish we would see more of them in unusual situations than the usual troopers on a recon mission or in a fight. I understand and share the nostalgia for the Original Trilogy… while at the same time I’m just tired of it.
But Star Wars has been an important part of my photographic universe. I’ve taken a few series of pictures based on Star Wars characters. Most notably Master Yoda and Admiral Ackbar. Although they are among the toys I always carry around, I rarely use them anymore. Did I run out of ideas? Or is it a consequence of too much Star Wars?
Because of that, lately, I’ve been more inspired by people photographing toys I would have never expected to be attracted to, rather than photographs of characters dear to me. Like LEGO Friends, Sylvanian Families, or My Little Pony.
A remedy?
Every year since I started taking pictures of toys, I post a photo to celebrate “May the 4th”. But this year I’m wondering… Do I still want to take one? Do I have any idea interesting enough to make me want to post it on social media?
Is there a remedy?
Or maybe there isn’t and the solution lies in looking for characters and themes that are not so much hyped in the toy photography communit?
Sharing the Adventures in The North of my Plastic Friends.
Your post is full of very interesting points, and as a fan of the pop culture you are talking about, I have to take some time with ideas I had planned to photograph. If I understood well, you’re not totaly fed up with pop culture based pictures, as long as there is a little originality in? Maybe a serie I’m preparing could get one or two likes from you. ;) About the massive wave of pictures each time a new CMF serie is released, I agree with you: I buy as soon as possible some minifigs, but the time I… Read more »
It’s hard to say whether I’m really fed up with pop culture or not. I’m definitely tired of the hype that often comes around it though. I’ve always been more interested in toy photos that try to take some distance from existing universes. For example to parody them, or mix different universes together. A bit like some silly fan fiction. But recently even that kind of photos hasn’t inspired me much. And when it comes to Star Wars specifically, I really struggle being excited about it, even though I didn’t hate any of the 4 last movies. I never took/posted… Read more »
It’ s a bit strange, as we have a very close discussion on BrickCentral forum. :) To get likes or not, with the choices you made when preparing your pictures. Instagram is a good source if you want to study people: the one that lives through the number of likes and followers, the one who copycat every popular photographer, the crazy poster with his 854 pictures per day, and so on and so forth. Every one is now a photographer with Instagram, and using easy likes catchers (stormtroopers, new CMF…) is a key to success a lot of people use.… Read more »
I can understand why people want to take stormtroopers or latest CMF photos. Now to say who does it for likes and who does it for the fun is hard to say. And I guess I don’t really care either. I wish though there could be some magic way to tell the IG algorithm that I want to see something more original :D
So I’m not the only one? :O Good to know!
:-)
Living next door to Disney World in Florida, I’m inundated with the Disney characters and soon to be Star Wars, not to forget Marvel since Disney owns all 3 of them. I’m actually a HUGE Disney fan so I love the characters. I do try to put them in unusual positions. I take the Star Wars characters around Magic Kingdom, I take Marvel characters to Epcot. And I take the classic Disney characters everywhere :) It is difficult to find inspiration when there’s a million photos already but I try to find my own scenes. Sometimes, it’s good to take… Read more »
I’m also a huge Disney fan. Last year, after our toy meetup in Paris we went to Disney land with a few people who wanted to go, and it was among the best moments of the weekend. Even if I left my big camera at the hotel, it was fun taking photos of Woody or Elsa to post them as IG stories. I’m also pretty excited by the release of Frozen 2 since I saw the trailer… And I can’t wait to see what sets LEGO will release. But whether I’ll take photos related to the movie will depend on… Read more »
I TOTALLY understand you.
When a new CMF series came out i start to hate every one of them. Then i slowly recover and my goal is just to have them to mix them up for future pictures. I never search inspiration in new figures but i know i can use them for my concepts.
I usually don’t hate them… At least from the AFOL point of view. I’m pretty excited at the idea of getting my hands on the TLM2 minifigs, but I’m in no rush and I have no intention to use them for any photos. I occasionally feel inspired by new figures, but it’s usually the ones that aren’t photographed a lot.
Thanks for this post; it’s reconciled some thoughts I’ve been having. I’ve stopped wanting all the CMF figures in each series, just focusing on the one or two. Like you, I’ve seen many of my ideas already done to death before I get mine (the giraffe in the latest series and Toys-R-us is an example) Yes there is a proliferation of all manner of toys – I’ve also got caught up in other collectible toys too – and again, I’ve pulled back (if only to save the bank account!). I’ve also found that by using non-current toys (or very cult… Read more »
Thanks for the nice words! I still want, and usually get, most of the CMF. It’s more the toy collector in me that wants them than the photographer though. I also buy often other toys, and like LEGO, it can be very impulsive buying which isn’t good for my bank account. I tend to stick to LEGO for photos I post, as a choice to create some consistency. It’s a choice I made with SiPgoes52 and will probably continue following. But I often take photos of other toys. I just don’t post those as regular IG posts. (I have a… Read more »
I am able to understand your overload and overwhelm by hype and pop culture. It can actually be tiring. I, in turn, when shopping for example, choose minifigures chaotically, guided only by immediate needs and ideas. That’s why I don’t have most of the superheroes. I have Spiderman for less than a month, it was available in a cheap polybag attached to the magazine and it would be a sin not to take this opportunity. I also have a few Batmans and minifigs from TLM2, but I never take pictures by force, so they will not appear on my feed… Read more »
I have to admit that I tend to buy LEGO compulsively, and most of my collection has never been photographed. And I wasn’t even feeling bad about it… At least until recently. I started organizing my minifigs. Part of this process was figuring out which Minifigs I don’t need and could sell if I opened a Bricklink store. It appears that there aren’t many minifigs I’m willing to sell. I have a lot of Star Wars figures. I own most characters from the Original Trilogy, and multiple variations of the main characters. The worst is probably R2-D2 which I have… Read more »
I also have some sets/minifigures I never photographed yet and don’t know if they even will be photographed. I post most of my pictures but I have no intent to increase my likes/follows or care about it. And I don’t actually care about it. If I did, I wouldn’t post my low key shots; I see they’re not popular and strangely they are mostly my best and favourite shots.
Hi all, such a great post. I couldn’t agreed more with your thoughts.. I‘m also always a little bit late with getting new stuff, but it’s not my fault, it’s just release dates.. and I‘m also bored with floods of the same figs. Have a nice weekend
Thanks! It’s good to realize those aren’t just mine but shared by others too :-)
Awesome little post, Maëlick. I have been stuck in Big Inc for a while, and just waking up to SiP this fine Saturday morning and catching up with some of the fun we have going on here. I recognize (like many others) your feelings. I see three distinct topics that I connect with. The first is the race to be first. And we for sure as one of the prominent communities in LEGO Toy Photography play in this area as well. When we get an early box to creative review the latest and greatest new minifig series we add to… Read more »
Lots of what you say partially foresee my next blog post. I really burned out from IG at the end of 2017, and it’s still a struggle today for me. SiPgoes52 (and now 53) at least forced me posting once a week. Without it I might have completely given up. However, I do keep comments and messages notifications. I often ignore them though and usually wait a couple of hours if not a day before responding to comments to avoid the distraction.
Very interesting reading! I agree with you about the overdose of pop culture on my instagram feed, but for me it’s a more general pop culture overdose.
Yes Stars War is great but there are Stars War merchandising absolutely everywhere. Same for super heroes movies, Disney movies, etc.
And once you saw one of them, it’s almost like you have seen them all.
So, I’m happy to shoot my Japaneses skeletons ^^
Note to self: if I am to meet Eatmybones, remind to take a t-shirt NOT from the Star Wars pile.
Hahaha I can speak to you even if you wear a Star Wars t-shirt :p
Not sure I get what you exactly mean by “once you saw one of them, it’s almost like you have seen them all”. Do you mean the merchandising or the movies?