Newborn Princess Carriage Photography Prop DIY Tutorial | Knoxville Newborn Photographer
How o make our own DIY newborn carriage prop. Knoxville newborn photographer.
Newborn Prop Carriage Tutorial
I don't know about other newborn photographers, but my prop stash is ALWAYS expanding. I think it's actually a slight addiction! One of my lovely clients aptly called it a "Prop-lem". With that said, I've been eyeballing a lovely newborn carriage prop for quite some time, but the one readily available on the market wasn't quite what I was looking for.
After seeing a few pictures online of DIY carriages, me and my husband set out to create our own. Sadly, there were no online tutorials we could base ours on that I could find, so I documented our progress to write one for others. It was actually quite simple and in-expensive! It came in under $60, which makes it all the better!
We used a plant stand as our base and designed it around it. It was perfect, with gorgeous "wheels" to simplify our DIY process.
To start you'll need:
Plant Stand (I bought mine on Amazon *here* ) -$25
3 Child sized Hula Hoops ( 20-24inches. Found mine at the Dollar Tree) - $3
2 Cans white spray primer - $8
Can of white spray paint - $4
Can of gold spray paint- $4
Can of spray clear coat - $4 (Optional, but cuts down on scratches and whatnot)
Wooden topper ( banister topper from Lowes in the Lumber section) -$4
Nut to fasten wooden topper ( check to make sure it fits on the screw of the topper) $.50
Zip ties - $2
Painter's tape - $3
Tools:
Dremmel or saw that can cut through a bit of metal (optional)
Drill
Sharp scissors
Assuming you have all the tools (we did), the total cost is just $57.50. You can't beat that for a beautiful, custom newborn prop!
Zip ties and a few cans of paint aren't pictured. We were working by trial and error and ended up having to pick up more!
To start, open up your plant stand box and discard the small wire shelf and bag of screws ( or put aside for another project!). Set aside the large wire shelf (this will become the platform for your newborn) and get ready to work with the sides of your carriage.
This is where you'll need the dremmel ( we used a dremmel with cutting blade) or saw. Cut off the cross rails at the top of the circle, and the handles that stick off of the side. Be sure to leave the brackets near the bottom on! If you think you can live with these on your prop, then this step could be skipped. Personally, I wanted them gone so the prop had a cleaner look to it.
Next is the most time-consuming step; painting. Collect your plant stand sides, large wire shelf, wooden topper, and hula hoops and apply primer. I recommend two coats to cover the bright colors. Let stand until the pieces are dry to the touch. Add thick coat of white spray paint to sides, hula hoops, and the wire shelf. If needed, apply a second cot of white paint. Allow to fully dry before you move on, as not to smudge the pieces
Once your plant stand sides are dry, tape off the metal, except for the wheels using the painters tape, careful to cover anything you don't want to be gold in the final product. Apply gold paint to both sides of your carriage wheels. Also add a coat of gold paint to the wooden topper. Allow to dry about 20 minutes, and then add second coat of gold paint to wheels and topper.
Remove tape and allow to dry for 24 hours before moving on to the next step.
It's time to get the basic carriage together!! Gather your plant stand sides, wire shelf, zip ties, and scissors.
Sit stand sides upright, with wheel sides out. and place the large wire shelf on the brackets towards the bottom . Secure the shelf with four zip ties on the corners of the shelf. Be sure to to tighten them down as much as possible to make it secure. Once the shelf is firmly in place, pull the circular top portion of the shelf together, forming a pyramid out of the frame, and secure together with a zip tie. This gives the carriage base mush more stability than if you leave the plant stand sides straight up and down. Trim all of the zip tie ends using your scissors, leaving as little as possible.
Woo-hoo!!! Your basic carriage is now complete!!!
Oops! I forgot to trim my zip ties before this picture. This is what it should look like at this time.
Now it's time to bust out the hula-hoops. Using scissors, cut each hula hoop, so that it's no longer a full circle. Place one end on either side of your shelf to see how big your carriage will be when you attach the hoops to the base. Trim each hula hoop as needed (keeping them the same size). I trimmed around nine inches off of each one to make it a size I was happy with.
Once you've trimmed them to the appropriate size, you'll need to select a drill bit that will make a large enough hole for a zip tie to easily fit through. Drill a hole through each end of all three hula hoops. You'll need to make sure the drill goes through both sides of the hollow hoop.
Attach the hoops, using zip ties, the one end( short side) of your carriage. One hoop next to each wheel , and one in the middle. Attach the middle hoop straight across, to the middle of the opposite side and secure with a zip tie. Criss cross the remaining hula hoops so that you fasten them towards the opposite wheel on the other side of your carriage and fasten with zip ties.
Your topper isn't on yet, this is just for criss-cross reference.
Keep your drill handy, with a drill bit that will make a large enough hole for the screw of your wooden topper to fit through. Gather the hula hoops, find the middle, and drill a hole though all three hoops. Insert your topper's screw through all three hoops, and secure tightly with nut. Trim off zip tie ends from your hula hoops.
Your beautiful carriage is now together, and you're just about done! This is the perfect time to touch up any paint scrapes may have occurred during assembly.
The last step is optional, but I highly recommend it, as the plastic hula hoops are quite prone to scrapes. Apply a coat of clear top coat to the entire carriage.
Ta-Da!!! You're done, ad have an awesome prop to show for your hard work! You can embellish it how you'd like and use different fabrics as your cushion to change up the look.
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial, check back for more!
How to look GREAT in pictures || Knoxville Professional Photographer
4 tips to make the most of your portrait session
Everyone wants to look great for their professional portraits! I've put together a few simple tips to help you look ( and feel) tip-top for your pictures.
1. Make your clothing work for you, not against you.
If you have an area of your body that is bothersome to you, use your clothing to minimize it. For example, if you aren't a huge fan of your arms, I recommend wearing long sleeves, or even just a crop sleeve cardigan to help bring attention away from that area.
Are your legs not your thing? Wear a nice, long skirt, or pants that are a relaxed fit and stick to neutral colored bottoms with a brighter top to bring attention upwards.
Another great example, the belly! After having two children, I avoid tight shirts, and really focus on tops that flow away from my body, especially for pictures! Top a beautiful shirt, with a great scarf, and you'll bring the attention right where it belongs, your lovely face. Almost any part of your body that you don't like, can be masked perfectly in your portraits with a few simple wardrobe adjustments.
Also, be sure to really check over your wardrobe choices. Check it standing up and sitting down ( things look totally different when you sit). Be sure sure you're not choosing something that may look too tight, clingy or see-though on camera. Don't forget to check and make sure your undergarments don't peek out anywhere. No one wants to be fiddling with straps for their entire session.
When your clothes look great and hide any bits and pieces you're not happy with, you'll feel better and look phenomenal. If you need more examples, or help styling for your session, just ask, I'm happy to help!
2. Posture matters.
I am HORRIBLE about good posture and a terrible example most of the time ( although I'm trying to work on it). Good posture during your portraits really spruces up your overall images. Try to stand casually, without being rigid, but with your back straight, it really polishes those pictures!! Posture is especially important in sitting poses, be sure to keep your shoulders back. During your session with me, I'll do my best to remind you to keep that posture looking great!
Another awesome posture tip, if you have trouble with a double chin, try to keep your chip up slightly, while bringing your head forward to elongate the neck. Think of how chickens stretch their necks! Sounds silly, but it works!
3. Leave your personal space bubble at home
Personal space bubble: everyone has one! If you're taking pictures with family members, you'll need to look super tight knit in your pose (for most poses). Everyone, myself included, has a tendency to leave a little bit of space between them and the nearest person. During a portrait session, this space looks a bit awkward in the finished images. You really want to show off you're closeness and connection as a family or a couple, so prepare to be super close during your session. We're talking squished in, uncomfortably close. If you feel you're close-enough, you'll probably still need to move in closer, but I promise, it's for the sake of beautiful family pictures! Put your arms around your loved ones and pull them in!
4. Smile. REALLY Smile!
A smile is the most beautiful thing a person can wear. No really, it's true! A true smile in your portraits makes all the difference in the world. I know getting pictures done can be stressful with picking wardrobe, getting ready, making sure the littles behave ( and trying not to pull out your hair when they don't). Be a duck, let those things roll of your back and grin. I promise you'll love your portraits so much more if you do. Fake smiles may fool other people, but you'll look back and realize that you weren't truly smiling and the picture will lose a bit of it's luster. Do what you need to do, tell a joke to your husband, make a silly face at the kids. Get that smile out to shine!
My own children are a nightmare to photograph ( at least for me!). I totally know what it's like to force a smile. They can't seem to focus for five minutes on some days. There are times when keeping a smile on my face while also getting the two kiddos to look at the camera, fixing my tripod ( to take our own family portraits), using the wireless remote ( that for some reason refuses to function when my children are actually looking at the camera), and keeping everyone from running off at the last second, seems like too much to bear. I smile anyway, because I know the end result will be worth it!
