Portraits, Tuesday Photo Tip

Tuesday Photo Tip | Confetti Fun!

Last week was my oldest daughter’s 14th birthday. She requested a photo shoot weekend, and of course I obliged!

One of the fun shots she wanted was blowing confetti. We decided to make it a fun and colorful birthday pic, so I visited the local fabric shop and picked up one yard of fabric for the backdrop. I seriously don’t understand why people spend hundreds of dollars on backdrops, when you can spend $7 on a yard of fabric!

Next was to find confetti. I wasn’t sure what would work best, so I purchased several different types. Used in this photo is THIS paper confetti I purchased on Etsy. Awesome stuff. Second favorite that floated and sparkled beautifully was a shaker of gold confetti flakes that I purchased at Michael’s. I cannot find the link online, but if you shop for some it looks like gold flakes in an ice cream sprinkle container.

Now, for the set-up. My favorite location – the front porch. The perfect light. Click HERE to see my previous “Simple Lighting Technique’ tutorials about using a covered location for beautiful lighting.

Our first two attempts I noticed she was closing her eyes when blowing.

ISO 640 f/2.8 1/320th

Not really the shot either of us wanted. We also wanted more confetti around her head.

So I got my youngest to stand on the stepping stool and drop confetti one count before she started blowing.

“Keep your eyes open” I yelled!

We got this …

She still kind of looks likes she struggling with the eyes, but it also looks happy to me so it’s a keeper!

(You don’t get too many attempts with a teenager I tell you)

I edited the photo by softening the background with radial blur, clone stamping a few confetti spots to fill in the blanks, slight brighten and contrast increase and cropped it square (it’s for her instagram afterall)