How to Contribute to the TFW2005 Toy Gallery
So, you take some pretty good pics yourself and you’d like to share? Sure! The new TFW2005 toy gallery is designed to be a group effort, without anyone needing to join the staff here full time, without needing to align yourself with the site permanently, none of that. Just send in a set, we’ll put it up, credit you, link to your other spots on the internet, and the fandom will be better off for it.
Every person who submits a gallery will get their own profile page here in the gallery system. On that page, it will include a brief intro about yourself (if you want), and a set of links out to any of your personal project or profile pages (Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram, etc).
On top of that, all that info will show on every single gallery you submit. So if you send in a kick ass Soundwave gallery, all your bio info and links will show right there at the top.
Example: Tony_Bacala’s Reflector @ TFW2005 Profile Page | A gallery by Tony_Bacala showing his info up top.
If you are interested, check out our guidelines below and then shoot us an email (at the end of this page).
Reflector @ TFW2005 Gallery Guidelines
Our goal here is to have detailed, clean photo sets. They don’t have to be professional or semi-professional quality. But they must be thorough, and clean. They don’t need to be on pure white, or pure black. They don’t need to be heavily edited. But they do need to have care and thought put into several things.
Overall staging area – The background should be even in nature. Swooped paper, single color, is preferred. If you are using a “floor/wall” type set up, it must be done purposefully, like using a diorama. If you do use a diorama, it must be clean, high quality, and lit well. We prefer if you stay away from a “posterboard box” type setups. All staging areas should be free of dust, debris, hair, clutter as best as possible.
Even Lighting – as we said before, you don’t have to go pure white or black. Whatever color you choose should be evenly lit. Shadows should be coming off the figure, fade smoothly. The background should not have dips, rips, bends – and not have strong shadows on them. Whenever possible, the background itself should be shadow free, except around the figure’s feet/base.
Focus & Depth of Field – the goal should be to keep most of the figure in focus, non blurry, at all times. The only exception should be for artistic shots after your base shots. The focus should also be on the most important part of the image, which most of the time is the head/chest or closest to the camera part of the figure. If you are purposefully manipulating focus point, that is fine, but no misfires or leaving it on auto and rolling with it type stuff.
Not Too Processed – this is subjective, but, the goal is for your pics not to look “fake” on immediate glance. We all touch up our photos, and putting some gloss on them isn’t bad. But don’t blow out the whites, or nuke the blacks, or crush the colors, just to do it. Make sure that the viewer will have a general feeling of what the figure is like in person when they look at your shots. Natural with a little spit-shine is always the best bet.
How many pics? – There is no easy answer to this, but, goal is to get a basic set done, and then add on to that as you see fit. A basic set would include:
In package shots, all angles (if possible)
Standing straight up, no weapons or add-on parts (guns etc).
While still in that pose, a spin to show all angles.
Several “action shots” of the figure alone. Different poses and angles, showing it’s range of movement and accessories in action.
Torso-up shots and bust shots – close ups of the main part of the figure, showing it a little closer in.
Close ups of key areas – as close as you can get for all the key parts and notable paint / sculpting points.
Group shots – together with same-line mates, generational comparison (g1 vs titans return, etc), or any other combo that makes sense.
Then, the same as above in the ALT mode(s) if it transforms.
As a real life example: The minimum should be AROUND what Tony_Bacala does for most shoots. As can be seen here: Titans Return Soundwave by Tony_Bacala (82 Pics).
The maximum should be AROUND what Sol Fury does, which can be seen here: Generations Ultra Magnus by Sol Fury (222 Pics)
Shoot for somewhere between there, or close to Tony_B’s set, and it should be good to go. Tony_B’s tend to be minimal, Sol Fury likes to dive in and go nuts. Vintage figures and those without transformations or articulation will acceptably have less shots.
How do I get the pics to TFW2005?
We ask that you zip the entire set into one zip file, and upload it to a cloud storage service like Dropbox.com. Share the link with us by emailing it to reflector at TFW2005.com (type that out properly when sending). Please include your name and the toy’s name in the zip file’s name. AKA – tony_bacala_titans_soundwave.zip
If you are not sure if your pics are up to par for inclusion in the gallery, ask us first. Upload a couple to Facebook or Flickr, wherever you like, and send us a link to them. We’ll look them over and give you an answer.
What format should the pics I submit be in?
Final pictures should be resized to JPG format, 70% quality. 2048 max length on the longest size.
How do I get you info for my Reflector @ TFW2005 profile page?
Once we decide to include a set from you, we’ll ask for your profile and desired links. We will create the profile page and enter it all in for you. In the future, if you’d like it updated, just shoot us an email and we will update it.
What figures are available to shoot?
Full time staff at TFW2005 call first dibs on all new releases. Assume we are going to do it. However, we can’t and don’t do everything that comes out. Sometimes we do it, but later than everyone else. Sometimes we skip things. That’s just the way it is. Many times, your photos may be better than ours, and earlier. Doesn’t matter, we still call dibs. :). Shooting is part of how we enjoy the hobby and working on the site, so we’d like to reserve the right to choose the ones we shoot, even if they are later and not as good as yours. Not personal, we just want to have fun too.
That all being said, if you would like to contribute semi-regularly for new releases, just stay in contact with us. Let us know you’re interested in figure or line XYZ. We’ll let you know in advance if we are planning on doing it. Many times, we can work you in the rotation.
As for older stuff – anything that is not in the system is fair game. If you have shot, or want to shoot a figure we don’t have an entry for, go for it. Let us know and send it in.
For older stuff that already has an entry, but the pics are old, incomplete, or suck compared to what you can do – ask us via email. We will be happy to swap out the older set for your newer better set, or merge them.
Please note
We are going to be a little picky with what we accept. We have a lot of sets in here that aren’t up to par with today’s standards already. Those will be replaced or removed over time even though we did them. We’d like this area not to be a hoarding of everything, but a spotlight on the best stuff. So only higher end pics, sets that come from photographers who care about the process, can control their equipment and environment, will be accepted. Please don’t take that personally, we aren’t trying to be stuck up. We’re all still learning, and there is always someone better. This area is designed to highlight the best of the best. If your set doesn’t get accepted round one, feel free to share it on the 2005 Boards, get feedback, try some new things, and resubmit down the road.
That’s about it! Shoot us an email at reflector at TFW2005.com with questions or sets. See you on the boards!