Snap, Share, and Photoplay

When most of us think about photography, we picture it as a way of capturing moments—a birthday party, a graduation, a holiday trip. But what if photography wasn’t only about remembering playful moments? What if we approached photography as a form of play?

Families today have easy access to cameras through smartphones, and this opens up exciting opportunities for children, parents, and grandparents to treat the camera as a toy and photography as a game. This idea—coined in research as 'photoplay'—has a fascinating history, a strong grounding in play research, and tremendous potential as an intergenerational activity.

The Roots of Photoplay
The concept of “photoplay” stretches back more than a century. In 1916, psychologist Hugo Münsterberg published The Photoplay, one of the first books in film theory, describing film and photography as imaginative experiences that engage the mind much like play.

Decades later, author Dare Wright demonstrated photoplay in her 1957 classic The Lonely Doll, using her own dolls and stuffed animals to stage expressive photographic stories filled with drama, humor, and tenderness.

Researcher Jóhanna Einarsdottir (2005) found that giving preschool children cameras empowered them to playfully and creatively express themselves by photographing the people, toys, and places that mattered to them.

Susan Edwards (2012) described how digital technologies such as cameras and smartphones are increasingly woven into children’s play as tools for creativity. Later, Jackie Marsh (2014) continued to explore how children used popular culture and media tools, including photography, in playful ways at home and school.

Building on this, media scholar Stine Liv Johansen (2018) introduced the concept of “everyday media play,” showing how children use media as an integral part of play—to perform, experiment, and connect with others.

In my work on toy culture, I explore how toys play a role in what I call modern-day photoplay—using digital cameras, smartphones, and even toy cameras to capture moments of play. I see cameras as toys, digital platforms as playgrounds, and photos as the playful results of these interactions. Photoplay encourages a shared, intergenerational experience that connects family traditions with today’s digital culture.

Benefits of Photoplay
The experts at Genius of Play talk about the key benefits of play: Social, Emotional, Cognitive, Creative, Communication, and Physical. As illustrated in the study I conducted with J. Tuomas Harviainen (2019) with adult toy players, everyone can join the creative process in joint photoplay. Photoplay creates a playing field where grandparents, parents, and children of different ages can come together with their diverse skills and experiences.

Photoplay including toys is:

• Social: Families can collaborate to set up toy scenes or take turns behind the camera.


• Emotional: Children gain confidence and joy when their creative photoplay is captured and shared.


• Cognitive: Planning a ‘toy drama’ involves perspective-taking and problem-solving.


• Creative: Toys become actors in stories staged in built settings—displays, room boxes, and dioramas.


• Communication: Sharing the products of photoplay sparks storytelling and rich conversations across ages.


• Physical: Running to get into a shot, arranging the toys in outdoor settings, or catching action shots, adds movement and energy to the activity.

Toys as Perfect Props for Photoplay
Toys take center stage in photoplay. Thanks to their portability, poseability, and photogeneity, they invite imagination and help photos come alive:

• Portability means toys are easy to carry on family trips, to parks, or between households.


• Poseability resulting from the toys’ articulation makes dolls, action figures, plush toys, and figurines interesting characters for photographic portrayal.


• Photogeneity ensures that toys appear to “come alive” through their expressive faces and appearances.
  
  

Examples:

• Action figures and dolls can be posed into dramatic scenes as part of adventures.


• Construction toys, miniature furniture, and toy vehicles allow players to design entire “movie sets” for toy actors.


• Plush toys make excellent characters for humorous or heartfelt images.


• Toys outdoors can be photographed in natural surroundings, and adding natural elements—sand, stones, water, grass, or snow gives an interesting contrast to the toys.

Dare Wright’s The Lonely Doll shows us how dolls and stuffed animals can carry entire stories through photographs. Today, countless families and even professional toy photographers build on that tradition, including toy tourism (or “toyrism”), where toys travel to new settings near and far, and help families see familiar places in fresh ways.

Practical Family Activities with Photoplay
These activities are simple ways to introduce the family to photoplay, as they require no special equipment, and can be done indoors or outdoors, making them perfect for family members of all ages.

1. Photoplay Scavenger Hunt
   Make a list of moods, roles, or scenarios— “a sleepy toy,” “a superhero,” “a toy on an adventure”—and have family members pose toys to fit it.


2. Comic Strip Challenge
   Take three or four photos of toys in sequence, then arrange them as a comic strip with captions.


3. Generational Swap
   Grandparents set up the scene, and children take the photo. Then switch roles. Each generation gets to teach the other something new.


4. Recreate Old Scenes
   Inspired by Dare Wright, restage an old family toy photo—or create a new story with a beloved toy from a parent's or grandparent’s childhood.


5. Action Photo Play
   Try capturing toys in motion: cars zooming down a ramp, plush animals “jumping,” or building blocks tumbling mid-air.

Across studies of childhood media, digital play, and toy culture, one idea shines through: photography doesn’t just capture play—it is play.

So next time you pick up your camera or smartphone, make it a family adventure. Gather some toys, stage a scene, and see what stories come to life. Through photoplay, you’ll not only create great pictures but also spark joyful, intergenerational moments of connection.

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