Here are 3 easy steps you can take to get a feature on gametoyexplore.com:
1, Make something cool with your games and toys.
2, Take a few decent pictures and videos.
3, Help us find your great masterpiece.
Make something cool with your toys and games!
We won’t repeat what we think is awesome. Our team of contributors hail from all corners of the globe, each with their own unique interests — from LEGO to Transformers, RC cars, and more. Check out our website daily to see what catches our eye. If we find it fascinating, you can bet we’ll feature it with enthusiasm.
Take a few decent pictures and videos!
Our website is dedicated to showcasing the finest game and toy creations. Using a plain white background can help focus viewers’ attention on your creation. While this method is still popular, we also encourage you to try some creative backgrounds.
Taking photos of your games and toys isn’t complicated. All you need is some inexpensive cardstock, set up as a curved backdrop, and place your creation in the center. Besides a white background, feel free to experiment with different colors and materials.
Although I’ve tried complex lightbox setups, I now prefer using large sheets of paper with plenty of lighting.
Modern smartphones take incredibly good photos, almost indistinguishable from those taken with older DSLR cameras. Whether you use a Mac or a PC, there are plenty of free tools available to help with basic edits like cropping, white balance, and exposure adjustments. So, there’s really no excuse for posting dark, orange-tinted photos anymore—you don’t need an expensive DSLR camera or pricey software like Photoshop.
That said, taking the time to shoot high-resolution photos and doing a bit of post-processing makes a huge difference. Good photos with a good background—simple enough. Yet, we still see many photos that don’t meet the mark. Here are a few things to avoid:
- Bed sheets, blankets, and other fabric backgrounds: These often look wrinkled, and the texture of the fabric is frequently visible. You can get cardstock at almost any craft or art supply store.
- Top-down shots: Some builders try to avoid random stuff in the background by taking photos from a high angle. Don’t do this. Imagine you’re a toy figure yourself standing at ground level rather than a drone flying overhead.
- Outdoor shots: With rare exceptions, real-life trees, grass, and buildings make your toy creations look out of scale and take the viewer out of the immersive experience.
- Harsh sunlight: Strong sunlight can wash out your creation and create overly stark shadows. This is another reason to avoid taking photos outdoors, at least on sunny days.
- Flash photography: Whether you think your creations are works of art or priceless artifacts, they deserve better than blinding flash photography.
- On the floor against the wall: Just like taking photos in your backyard on the lawn, the human-scale floor and wall severely detract from your creation.
- On the kitchen table: We don’t need to see your trash can and cat in the background.
- Lots of text and large watermarks: It’s natural to want to indicate ownership of your photo, but try to keep it subtle.
- Bad renders: Good renders of virtual builds are nearly indistinguishable from physical toys. Bad renders look like the first attempts at CGI in the 1980s. Share your great virtual builds with the world, but don’t expect us to highlight them if you haven’t taken the time to render them well.
By following some basic setups and guidelines, taking high-quality photos of your games and toys isn’t difficult at all.
Help us find your great masterpiece
We are constantly on the lookout for exceptional creations. While we actively seek out these creations ourselves, we also rely heavily on community platforms like our Facebook group, our contact form, and Slack to discover remarkable works.
By utilizing these channels and engaging with our community, we strive to showcase the most innovative and inspiring creations in our field.
We need your help
In addition to our own news hounds, we also rely on our readers, event organizers, and even our friends and counterparts who run other news sites for tips. If you see some games and toys related that you think might be newsworthy, let us know by messaging us through our contact form or email [email protected].
We hope this helps clarify how gametoyexplore.com finds the games and toys we feature, what we expect from players in terms of presentation, and how we continue to work at improving our news coverage.
Questions? Message us through our contact form or email [email protected]!
