Small world photography with miniature figures is hardly a new idea. If you search on google or Pinterest, you will find loads of images. Miniature photography is a genre where you shoot these tiny people (using HO or OO scale) against real-life props instead of a constructed diorama, as they would be on model railways.

I ordered some sets from Frontline Hobbies in Sydney, then some more from Metro Hobbies in Melbourne. Both gave good service with fast shipping, and prices were comparable on both.

When they arrived, I thought, ‘gosh, they are small as they are only around 1.5cm tall. But then the wheels started turning, and I was wandering the house looking for things to put them with. I raided the fridge for kiwi fruit – seriously, we don’t eat it, but it’s always in photographs. It’s one of the main things I keep for props.

Most of the shots were taken with my macro – but I also used the 12-100. You don’t have to have a macro. I also focus stacked some of them when I wanted multiple characters in focus.

Getting Started

My starting point was choosing my characters – I was looking to buy those I knew I could reuse in different scenarios while I built up a stock of the figures. The construction crew and the farmers would suit scenes with fruit and vegetables. The Mountain climbers I could get climbing different objects. And I could see the bathers in various ‘pools’. I desperately wanted the crime scene crew – but it seems obsolete.

You can buy the little figures on eBay for a few dollars – but knowing I would be taking closeups of them, I wanted decent quality – so I went with Noch brand in HO scale. HO and OO are almost the same sizes. The OO scale is the UK size, and the HO scale is used in the rest of the world. The two best quality brands are Noch and Preiser.

These images were shot on a white background beside a window with filtered light. I shot them using my Olympus OMD M1 MII and either the 60mm macro or the 12-100 zooming right in.

A set of the figures for your small world will set you back between $18 – $25 depending on how many there are or what accessories come with them. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the blue jelly tasted like – I took my shots, and the jelly went in the bin. I did eat the KitKat, though.

These little figures are definitely fun to work with and something I can do during lockdown… we still have just over five weeks to go. Another set of little figures is on the way 🙂