Camera trickery has been around since cameras were first invented. By using a technique to create a forced perspective, you can make everyday objects appear like they're part of the much larger world.
Forced perspective can be difficult to get right, but armed with just a few miniature figurines, and some food, Chris Hau makes it look simple. Inspired by an Instagram post by Erin Sullivan, Chris creates small scale scenes that look just like the real thing. With cookies as a rock face, bread acting as a mountain, and sugar as a ski slope, you can follow Hau along with your camera at home to create these mini worlds.
What I love about this video is that Hau gives you specific camera settings and gear choice that make things simple, looking at behind the scenes photos to see how it was all done. He's even upfront about how much he spends on miniature figurines, and demonstrates how to choose the right ones for each scene.
If you're trying this at home, you may want to grab a little bit of glue or some Blu Tack to attach the figurines to surfaces, as the subjects you use to create the mini world may not be adhesive enough to keep them in place for extended periods of shooting.
I've had some amusing moments posing little human and animal characters. One of my favorite constructions was a Christmas manger scene which featured a sumo wrestler at the edge of the worshipers in his stance posed with a poor little sheep while a policeman blows a whistle and people are pointing at the strange but amusing scene. Well, it was kind of Christmasy. And it seemed amusing at the time. And the people who got it as a holiday card liked it. What can I say?
Sometimes stuff should just be fun.