If you're like me and would love to still take a variety of images of your kids and you don't want to spend any extra money on backdrops, then keep reading. I hope that I can help offer up a few tips that inspire you to look everywhere for new ideas.
Aside from being a photographer, I'm also a mom. My husband has blessed me with the opportunity to stay home with our daughter while she's still young. And these moments are fleeting! I always have my camera within reach (even if it's my phone's camera) and looking for backdrops in my home that we already have on hand has become a necessity. Here are a few examples of images I've taken of my children using items I had laying around.
If you have blankets around your home that are special to you in some way, use them! Choose fabrics that have texture to them. Or use a patchwork quilt that has lots of color to add interest. Here's a tip: when using a patchwork quilt, have your subject wear a solid color shirt so the patterns or colors aren't distracting.
In the image above I used my yoga mat! This actually happened by total accident. My daughter was playing with it and I just happened to notice that her shirt matched with the color of the mat. Because my camera is always within reach, I snatched it up, rolled her on her back and started dancing around and making faces. It turned out to be the perfect backdrop for this photo! Not only does it offer a nice pop of color, but the mat has added texture.
This is a holiday photo that I did of my daughter, inspired by my door wreath. Yep! That's a wreath that I purchased at Lowe's two years ago! I took the wreath off of my front door, grabbed a furry rug that we had and I set her in in the wreath in front of a blank wall. The lights you see as the background were added digitally in Photoshop. I didn't even have to have a set of lights laying around! You can find the digital lights at Modern Baby Photography's store.
This last image was taken using the same rug I used in the holiday photo, above. And I did actually use a seamless paper backdrop for this. However, something like this can EASILY be recreated using other items in your home. Think of using a solid wall you have at home. Do you have a solid colored sheet you can tape to a wall? Use that! (Make sure you iron it first though. Editing out wrinkles are a PAIN!)
Take a few minutes to look around your home and take note of what you've already got. Be inspired to try new things! Once you get bitten by the creativity bug, you might find that it's tough to see things the way you used to. :)
