Photo Studio, Part 3

Stacy back again with our final installment on setting up your own photo studio at home to get great indoor portraits.

We’ve talked about easy backdrops here, and lighting here.  Today we’ll talk about taking photos from various angles and using props.

I found while doing my photo shoot, that varying the height of my camera gave me very different looks.  I took some at the same level as my kids...

I took some from below them...

 And some from well above them (standing on a step stool)...

I’m not suggesting that one is better than the other, in fact I really like many of these shots from all the different angles I tried. So if you want some variety in your photos, try mixing up your angles! Get down on the floor, stand on furniture...just be sure it isn't a swivel chair you're standing on!

Now on to props. My kiddos are getting too old to hold little dolls or big dump trucks in their photos, but for the younger set, those kinds of props are fun and may help to keep your child’s attention, or at least their patience, lol!

The props I used were a large plant and an ottoman draped with a knitted throw. 

I liked the ones with the ottoman.  It gave me some different options for poses and the kids had a good time with it.  We even got a little silly and added a shot with our "sponsor" - Jello!

The plant wasn’t quite as easy to work with because of its height. But I do like some of the shots of my daughter in front of the plant.

My son totally freaked out when I had him stand 5 feet in front of the plant to take his picture.  

He didn’t think it would work at all.  I think it turned out okay, but it’s not my favorite.  And isn’t that the beautiful thing about digital photos…you can take as many as you want without feeling guilty!  I took 67 photos in about 45 minutes.  So far I've only used about 9!

The other thing I found that was helpful was to let the kids get silly every now and then.  They loved it and were pretty willing to get back to some more serious shots after being a bit goofy.  Here are some of the "outtakes" (image is linked for credits):

I think next time I do an indoor photo shoot with my kids, I want to spend more time scouting out some good props. What do you think?  Do you vary your camera angles? What have you used for props that worked in your photos?

Oh, before I let you go, I want to remind you of the ScrapMatters Queen of Scrap Challenge! Sounds like a lot of fun! Click on the image below to get all the details.