When we spoke in 2018, you were working with companies such as Mattel and Warner Bros. How has your career evolved since that time?
So much has happened since 2018, both in the world and in my career.
Heading into my ninth year of toy photography, I continue to work with amazing toy companies and entertainment studios. I’ve also had the opportunity to do quite a bit of magazine work, including 16 cover images and a number of articles and features. One exciting feature that comes to mind is a full-page in Costco Connection Magazine, the fourth-highest distributed magazine in the US. Why was it exciting? Because my wife and I, like many others we know, love to shop at Costco!
I’ve also been exhibiting my work more over the past several years. This includes group shows and my first solo exhibition at Toy Fair New York in 2020, which was made possible by the amazing vision and support of my friend Marian Bossard, who was EVP of Global Market Events at The Toy Association at the time. Around that same time in 2020, I was featured in a documentary series on Disney+ called “Marvel’s 616.” Looking back, it’s clear that those two milestones helped change the trajectory of my career.
How has toy photography changed over the past few years?
The toy photography community has experienced significant growth in both size and quality. Every time I go on Instagram my jaw drops at the talent on display from around the world. One reason for this growth is the community itself, particularly the willingness of more experienced toy photographers to help and inspire those just starting out. Many of us share behind-the-scenes glimpses of how we create our images. We also participate in podcasts and YouTube videos on toy photography, which can be both inspirational and educational for those starting out. This has greatly accelerated the learning curve for new photographers.
In terms of my own work, it continues to advance in step with my evolving vision and the confidence I have in that vision. I’ve photographed many images since we last spoke in 2018, but what is most gratifying to me is that the more I’ve leaned into the style of toy photography that resonates with me, the more clients have sought me out because of that style.
Toy photography as an art has gained attention and respect. What do you think is driving that evolution?
First, I think it’s important to understand that, like many things, toy photography doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The attention and respect you mention are a result of years of collaborations with toy companies, entertainment studios, magazine publishers, bloggers, and others. That support and collaboration have been critical to getting toy photography to where it is today.
For me personally, I’ve always tried to shine a light on toy photography outside of the orbit of the toy industry and community. I have done this by participating in documentaries, being featured in mainstream magazines, being interviewed in the news, and exhibiting my work in galleries and museums.
Science Museum Oklahoma is showcasing your work in an exhibit titled Out of the Toy Box. Tell us about the exhibit.
In 2022 my friend and toy industry colleague Azhelle Wade, AKA The Toy Coach, invited me to participate in a group exhibition at Science Museum Oklahoma titled Designing For Play. What I did in that group exhibition caught the eye of Alyson Atchison, Director, Galleries and Collections at the museum, and was the genesis for what would become Out Of The Toy Box. Alyson and I were both on the same page from the beginning about what the exhibition would look like, so the next two years were spent bringing that vision to life.
Out Of The Toy Box includes 55 prints, including 12 behind-the-scenes setups I installed on the gallery floor so that viewers can see how I set up some of those shots. The prints were selected from images spanning all nine years that I’ve been photographing toys, including my very first toy photo taken in August 2015. The exhibition also includes a separate room with three different themed environments, complete with toys courtesy of my friends at Schleich USA, so that guests can experience photographing toys themselves.
Out Of The Toy Box is a celebration of toys, creativity, and play — for anyone who loves and places value on these things, this show is for you! The exhibition runs through August 2025.
What do you love about toy photography?
I’ve always considered myself a restless creative. I worked at The Walt Disney Company for six years before growing tired of working with the same amazing properties and characters. That was a pattern throughout my entire career until my nephew introduced me to toy photography in 2015.
My creativity finally met its match in toy photography, where the only real limit is one’s imagination. I love telling stories through toy photography and showing well-known — often iconic characters — in unexpected ways.
Nostalgia is also a major influence in my work, whether it’s driven by my own childhood memories or the memories of when my daughter was growing up. I think nostalgia is one reason toy photography appeals to so many adults: it brings them back to their own childhoods and reminds them of the shows, movies, books, and toys they used to love.
We all grew up playing with toys, it’s something we all have in common, rekindling that love for toys in myself and in those who enjoy my work has been incredible.
Explore Mitchel’s work and learn more about his exhibit at Science Museum Oklahoma.