How Anna uses LEGO® bricks to capture a whole new world

Anna Bitanga is a supermom and works as a portrait photographer in Spain.

One thing you probably wouldn’t know by looking at her, is that she has a passion for LEGO® bricks. She’s one of the many working moms out there who enjoys building LEGO sets as an adult.

As a child she often played with bricks but as she got older, life’s normal distractions came into play – those memorable teenage years, high school, a full-time job. LEGO sets had become a fond memory from childhood.

Until she had a baby of her own.

There are so many reasons why people re-discover LEGO building later in life. For Anna, it was the combination of photography and having a young child.

She was looking for a convenient way to continue shooting while she had a baby, so she started taking minifigures around with her, buggy in tow – and while her son was playing on the grass or sand, she would take the opportunity to snap experimental shots of minifigures from her phone.

Minifigures are small and portable, and she saw them as the perfect prop when on-the-go. It opened her eyes to new ways to build with LEGO bricks as an adult.

The art of storytelling – through LEGO bricks!

Once she got started, it didn’t stop.

Now she has over 1000 minifigures and a whole studio dedicated to taking photos of them – and the results are stellar. Head to her Instagram page @FourBricksTall to see her work.

She brings photos to life by creating a whole new world through bricks, captured through a camera lens.

“Photographs, they have a big impact,” Anna says.

Instead of watching a lot of TV, you’ll find her with her camera, thinking about what to build next, finding the right scale or planning what backdrops to create for her minifigures. She loves creating and clearly has a knack for thinking out-of-the-box.

What’s interesting is that she never saw herself doing this.

“I’m looking at it from a photography point of view, so I’m looking at the stories as I’m building – like what am I going to shoot? For me it’s a creative process...It’s soothing.”

She takes her minifigures to the forest, the beach – even to the New York sidewalk, to achieve impactful shots.

For those who want to get started in LEGO building for the first time, Anna says to start small, and combine your interests.

“When you marry your hobbies with LEGO bricks you could produce a lot of new ways to enjoy the art of LEGO building.”

She makes it educational – and fun!

On top of her busy work schedule and being a mom, she’s an Ambassador of Brick Central, a large photography community made up of LEGO brick photographers who share their work with fans. So far, the group has over 63,000 followers on Instagram.

She posts tutorials and tips on how to shoot LEGO bricks, like how to make clouds out of polyester or what kind of lenses to use. It’s niche – and seriously cool!

“There are things you can do with LEGO bricks and photography that you can’t do with any other medium.”

“A lot of people think it’s not creative...but you’re learning new techniques and it inspires you to do new things. You can also take that new knowledge that you have...and create something yourself.”

A chance to escape, focus and connect

“For me, it’s one of those focus activities that you can get into...when you really want to just...use your fingers, be creative...click things together. Seeing something take form in front of you...is rewarding for me.”

She cherishes the fact that both she and her son share a passion for the brick, which helps to create special family moments that they can share together – but there’s one rule. He can’t touch her minifigures.

“He has his minifigures and I have my minifigures...’cause you know, he’s gonna’ scratch up my minifigures. The way kids play...they’re different to adults. We’re careful.”

She gives her son space when he’s building his LEGO sets so that he can find his own way, build at his own speed and think up his own creations.

Anna appreciates that adults build from a different perspective, which just goes to show that LEGO bricks really can be enjoyed by anyone, of any age – Anna just happens to be behind a camera while she’s at it.

Head to her Instagram page @FourBricksTall.