Inanimate is the story of toys and their unique personalities. Toys can't identify themselves, but children often give them identities to bring them to life. My little sister was more than happy to teach me about each of her toys so I could capture their stories through her eyes. 

After finishing my initial research (writing down the fascinating characters created by a 4-year-old) I began drawing out some photo ideas for each of the toys based on their given interests. I already knew what kind of angles I wanted to capture them at, but I wasn't entirely sure which locations were best until I finally started taking test pictures.

After testing some shots and angles, I finally figured out the best options for bringing these toys to life. I utilized the warm indoor lighting with some natural light filtering through the windows to get a comfortable homey feeling. This really captured the vivid and colorful way children view the world around them. The compositions I chose made use of angles that made the toys look life sized. Everything looks bigger in the eyes of a child, and I really wanted to force that perspective in the photos. 

After capturing the photos, I used Adobe Lightroom to increase the warm tones. I also utilized a retro preset (with adjustments) to give each photo a comfortable, nostalgic appearance. 

Photo 1: Happy the dog's favorite thing to do is sniff flowers. 

Photo 2: Rainbow the unicorn and her baby like to cuddle and watch tv together.

Photo 3: Patty only likes wearing pajamas and laying in bed all day (very relatable).

Photo 4: Dot just likes normal baby things like bottles and being pushed in her stroller.

Photo 5: Flowers really likes Christmas decorations and working on puzzles.

Photo 6: A huge house where lots of different families live together happily.

The final story consists of 4 full-page photos and 2 two-page spreads. I also used 2 of my extra shots for the front and back covers, because I really enjoyed their compositions and wanted to utilize them.