





When I first saw BB-8 roll onto the stage at Star Wars Celebration, I couldn’t get over how adorable he was! I felt very lucky when Sphero asked me to take some photos of their remote-control BB-8 toy, and made it my mission to capture it in cute, everyday moments (he’s a little droid in a big world). BB-8 wanted to see it all and I wanted to document his journey.

With small characters, I find it important to get on their level and capture their perspective. For this shot, I wanted to give BB-8 the feeling of being lost in an unexplored world, and had to lay flat on the ground with my camera buried in the greenery. Sometimes, taking that perfect shot means getting a little dirty.

With BB-8’s unique shape, I wanted to see if I could find anything that looked familiar. I’m always thinking of photo ideas even when I’m out running errands. Inspiration can come from anywhere and I think this photo helps support that statement. I found this orange at my local grocer that looked oddly familiar. A little imposter you could say.

Something I always try to do with my toy subjects is capture them either in the rain or in a puddle. Unfortunately, it didn’t rain during my time with BB-8, so I grabbed a hose and formed puddles in my driveway. In this photograph, I wanted to capture BB-8 looking into his reflection. Simple and serene.

Back into the garden. As BB-8 rolls through the uncharted lush, he notices someone watching him. I wanted to capture him in a moment where he would exclaim, “Hey, you there!”

You can’t have enough photos of BB-8 with a cat. I caught my feline sitting in his usual spot in the house and an idea popped into my head. Remember that one scene in the trailer where BB-8 peeks around the corner? I wanted to capture it from the other side. I was very fortunate for my cat to actually be looking at BB-8 during the shot.

The golden field. I passed by this field while walking around for some ideas and imagined BB-8 enjoying the summer air and rolling through the grass. He looks very happy-go-lucky.

With BB-8 so small and cute, I wanted him to encounter something big. I brought in my father and had BB-8 look up at him. The effect was good to say the least.

I set up this night shot to make it look like I caught BB-8 up late. I loved the darkness around him and the bright screen illuminating him. He looks like a little night owl.

Aren’t they just cute? My cat can look grumpy at times and BB-8 thought he needed a hug.

During my prep, I was researching photos of BB-8 when it struck me. What if he snuck up on me while I was looking at photos of him? He had this look that says, “Whatcha looking at?”

Being in such a big world, BB-8 finds a challenge even when approaching stairs. He wonders, “Why did it have to be stairs?”

These two photos above are from when I first got BB-8. After being in a box for days, he just couldn’t wait to explore the world around him. The second shot is another moment of him breaking the fourth wall. After zipping around, he caught the camera once again.

In the shadows, BB-8 is caught being lost in the moment. I was inspired by shutters in my house that cast this interesting pattern on the ground. This shot captures a different side of BB-8. You can say it’s his serious side.

I hope you enjoyed the photos of BB-8. I had a blast photographing him and can’t wait to see the real thing on the big screen.

Arielle Nadel is a photographer based in Atlanta. You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter.