DIY New Year’s Kids Photos
If you’re feeling bored & stuck at home, it’s time for some DIY New Year’s kids photo ideas!
What you’ll need to create studio New Year’s portraits in your home:
- 3-4 strands of holiday lights ( I used light weight twinkle lights) - linked below
- Scotch tape
- Optional: Confetti - linked below
- Natural light (make sure your light is coming in from the side and not behind or in front of your subject to achieve the glowing lights)
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Step 1: Find a spot and clear the area!
I used my daughter’s bedroom. I threw a throw over her colorful comforter and took the artwork off of her wall. Try to find a spot that has a window bringing in natural light to make sure your photos don’t end up dark & grainy!
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Step 2: LIGHTS!
I added twinkle lights to her wall and strung them up with scotch tape in a loose zig-zag pattern. This allows some of the lights to hang close to the wall and some to be farther off of it, giving you different layers of lights. You can find twinkle lights like these at your local Target & Walmart, or order some off Amazon! Here are a few links to good ones:
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Step 3: CAMERA!
I used my cell phone on portrait mode, but also my Canon EOS R6 to capture these images. to show you great high-quality examples. Portrait mode on your phone will allow your subject to be in focus in the foreground, while giving the bokeh (the soft, blurry circles) effect of the lights in the background, as if it were taken with a professional digital camera!
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Step 4: ACTION!
I started with my daughter sitting on the bed and wrapped a strand of lights around her. I gave her some actions…. look at the lights, what color are they? Can you count how many are on your leg? We then moved to tummy poses. I put the strand in front of her and told her to make it into a glowing ball of light. I told her to look at the glow and showed her it illuminated her face. I told her to smell it and asked if it smelled like popcorn (random, but made her giggle). Next, we brought in confetti. We counted down…3…2…1 and she tossed it into the air. We did it a few times with her sitting and then I had her stand up and throw the confetti towards me so not only did it make her look at me and the confetti but it also made the confetti rain down in front of my lens. Lastly, I had her jump up and down on the bed and threw the confetti towards her! I told her to try and catch it. Check out the last couple of images - I think it looks like she is throwing it, and not catching it.
Find some fun confetti like this on Amazon!
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And that’s it! I hope you enjoyed my little DIY tutorial on how to take some fun, safe and festive photos at home! I would love to see what you come up with. Post your photos on Instagram using the hashtag #RheaAshlynnPhotography, or DM them to me - I would love to see your version of this cute pandemic photoshoot!
