Playing with toys might be for kids, but Hungarian photographer Benedek Lampert proves you can make a career out of it as an adult. He recently produced a dynamic photo series showcasing LEGO Formula 1 (F1) cars racing around a hand-crafted track. The images feature the LEGO Minifigures nestled in their racing cars as they “burn” rubber to see who will get first place in the F1 toy race.
Lampert has masterfully created compositions utilizing macro photography to make the LEGO cars feel life-sized, all while capturing the excitement and grittiness of being on the track. At first glance, these photos look like they could be actual cars. Only when the shots are pulled back and we see Lampert’s works in progress can we fully appreciate that the racing cars are toys and the worlds are built by hand—frenetic skid marks and all.
Lampert’s collaboration with LEGO stretches many years. In 2017, he embarked on his first project with the company and has remained in contact since then. He has been anticipating the F1-themed products since last year and was eager to begin this project.
The F1 project has come full circle, too. Lampert recently had the opportunity to photograph real race cars. “The Zengő Motorsport is a legendary Hungarian team,” he explains to My Modern Met, “and after the GT (Grand Turismo) era, they will debut in the formula category this year. I saw their introduction video after I published my LEGO F1 series on TikTok.”
Lampert created a short video to try and reach the racing team, wanting to challenge himself to photograph real cars. “The Zengő motorsport team was amazing! They loved the idea and also made a response video where they said they are open for the collab and let's make some cool images! So I traveled to test days with them and tried my best to capture the team's young talent called Beni Gáspár.”
My Modern Met spoke with Lampert about his F1 LEGO series. Read on to learn more about how he shot the photos, and watch a video of the project coming together.
Toy photography is such a fun and unique niche. How did you get into it?
Photography had already been a part of my life. I started it when I was around 12 years old. Later, collecting LEGO and building dioramas completely captivated me, and naturally, at some point, the idea came to take photos of them. Well, considering that at the time I was still in elementary school and lacked the necessary skills, the results weren’t too exciting. It wasn’t until much later, about six to seven years later, that I gave it another shot when I saw on the internet that cinematic, lifelike toy photos actually existed. I don’t know exactly why, but I was really drawn to it and knew I wanted to create images like that. I had no idea how they were made, and at that time, there were no “behind-the-scenes” materials available online. So, with a DSLR camera and much more knowledge, I finally created my first LEGO photo series in 2016.
You collaborated with the LEGO store in Budapest to help make this LEGO F1 project a reality. Can you talk more about the collaboration?
Our collaboration goes back quite a long way. Just a year after I started LEGO photography, I already had a small project with LEGO Hungary. Since then, we have remained in contact, and for the past four years, we have been actively working together every year on newly released sets. Since the LEGO Store and LEGO’s parent company in Hungary are closely connected, we usually work together. We already knew last year that there would be a significant wave of F1-themed product releases, so I’ve been eagerly anticipating this since last autumn.
Something I am very proud of and consider a major recognition is that I have had the opportunity to work with the global LEGO Group twice and take part in official campaigns. My photos have been featured worldwide on the LEGO website and have also appeared multiple times on their social media platforms.
What photo is your favorite of the series and why?
That's a tough question. Maybe the motion-blur shot taken from the front wheels and the rainy one where the McLaren and Mercedes are speeding. These are the two images I've known for a long time that I wanted to create, and they probably capture the sense of speed and racing the best.
Beyond photography, you are building a world in which these cars can exist. What goes into creating these miniature environments?
I've always loved crafting and tinkering. There's a strong tradition of handmade work in my family, and I've learned a lot from my grandparents and parents—skills that I now use extensively. I enjoy set building, paying attention to small details, and watching how the entire miniature world slowly comes together. The whole process is almost meditative.
Is there part of the set you're particularly proud of?
In this F1 diorama, I'm particularly proud of the sandpaper road—it was my own idea to use it as asphalt. I'm sure I'm not the first to use sandpaper for this purpose, but when I came up with it years ago, I hadn't seen it anywhere else. The same goes for how I create motion blur—by moving the entire set while keeping the car fixed. These are my own techniques, and I’ve used them many times.
Your LEGO F1 series has a lot of dynamism to it. From a technical perspective, how are you photographing the scenes to give them a lot of life and energy?
A lot depends on composition and post-production color grading. First, I need to find an angle and framing that brings dynamism to a static scene and effectively mimics reality. Second, I put a lot of work into adjusting the colors afterward. But this doesn’t mean the image is a Photoshop or AI creation—far from it. I don’t even use presets; I adjust the colors, contrast, and other settings individually for each image.
The only element I occasionally add in post is the sky texture, simply because it's not something I can create practically yet. However, all the real visual effects—weather conditions, fire, snow, dust, explosions, and in this series, smoke, mist, and motion blur—are always captured in-camera. Even the tiny lights are mostly practical. In this particular image, you can see the rear lights of the cars—those are edited in because they are actually just stickers.
I love epic, dramatic, cinematic scenes, and that’s what I aim to create with my photos. I don’t focus on absolute color accuracy because colors themselves are part of the storytelling; they set the mood and evoke emotions. For example, I always grade winter images with a bluish tone. I know snow is white, but the blue sky often reflects off it, and blue is naturally associated with cold—it’s not called “cool tones” for nothing. A blue-tinted snowy image conveys the atmosphere and the feeling of cold much more effectively. The lighting and color grading of each image always depend on the emotion and story I want to tell through the shot.
What are you working on next? Anything exciting you can tell us about?
Fortunately, the F1 photo series has been well received, reaching over 4 million people so far. And now, I have the opportunity to photograph a real Formula 4 team! I'll finally get to try shooting a race car that isn’t just parked on my desk.
This weekend, I’m traveling to Salzburg for a test day, where I plan to capture some truly exciting shots. My goal is to recreate what I’ve been doing with LEGO—but this time, in real life. This is a childhood dream. My passion for motorsports goes back further than my love for photography or LEGO.
I also have an eBook—a short, crash course for anyone who feels inspired to try this genre. It’s a light, 30-page read filled with images and nearly 10 years’ worth of tips and tricks. While not an exhaustive guide, it provides a strong foundation, helping beginners understand what to focus on and how to approach toy photography. Educating people about this art form and teaching toy photography is a long-term, ongoing goal for me. I hope that one day, it will gain the recognition and professional accreditation that other classic photography genres already have.
Watch how the project came together in a fascinating look behind the scenes:
The LEGO F1 project led to Lampert photographing real racing cars with Zengő Motorsport.
