Star Wars characters now inside Kinder Surprise

Whether it’s a good thing or not, most star wars fans are breeding – and that means their kids are nagging them for Kinder Surprise chocolate and toys when they get to the check-out at the supermarket.  Perhaps now the parents will grab one for themselves because Star Wars characters are waiting to be cracked open inside those Kinder Surprise eggs.

Arriving in Australian stores this month, Clone Trooper, R2-D2, C-3PO, Darth Vader and more are all waiting to be popped open from inside those little yellow pods you’ll be all too familiar with if you’ve got kids.

So – keep an eye out, and maybe grab one for yourself if you’re a fan.

Interestingly, to celebrate the Aussie launch, British photographer Andrew Whyte has taken a few snaps of these tiny little toys in Australian settings – using only his iPhone.

The pictures demonstrate just what you can do with even the most basic cameras and a few simple techniques.

1. Tell a story – look for humorous scenes that make it easy to convey what’s going on. Children make great storytellers so get them involved whenever you can
2. Get close to your subject – the key to creating successful forced perspective images is scale. Using your smartphone lets you to shoot from just a few inches away, meaning that everything in the background looks smaller
3. Adapt your toy – position its head, arms and legs to look like it’s part of the scene, whether that’s one hand up cheering a cycle race or positioning the toy to face into a sunset
4. Work with what you’ve got – most smartphones perform better in good lighting conditions. Sunny days allow you to create striking silhouettes with your toys, but you’ll need to watch out for your own shadow appearing in the shot. Wet conditions also provide challenges but offer a great opportunity to play with reflections. And if it’s windy, double-sided sticky tape is the perfect way to keep your toy grounded!
5. Play with props – bring in other toys to enhance the scene or adapt
6. Know your app – the built-in camera will usually be fine but some apps give you extra control, like being able to control the focus and brightness (exposure) separately
7. Tap to focus – hold your device really still and tap on the screen to identify where you want the focus to be. The more accurate you are, the sharper your photo will look, and you’ll add depth to your image too
8. Get the look – use other apps or add filters to tune the look and feel of your photo. A vintage look can work well for beach scenes whereas city life often looks best very high contrast. SnapSeed is a powerful, versatile app that’s simple to use
9. Charge your battery – sounds simple, but spending time taking photos with your smartphone can consume lots of battery. Go out with a full charge to ensure you never run out of battery in the middle of setting up the perfect shot
10. Remember to have fun – if it feels frustrating, you’re doing it wrong. Follow these basic steps and in a matter of minutes you can create and share fun images that make people smile