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How To Create A Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot For Your Baby

How To Create A Valentine’s Day Photo Shoot For Your Baby

 

A Valentine’s Day photo shoot is a must for any parent! Candied hearts, love notes, roses, and more coupled with your baby’s natural cuteness make for the perfect photo shoot idea.

Thankfully, a DIY baby photoshoot does not need to break the bank.

You can use simple and cheap Valentine’s Day décor to create a memorable photo to cherish forever.

I’ll show you exactly what I did to create a professional-looking Valentine’s Day photo shoot at home with a few budget-friendly décor options and (of course) my baby boy!

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you click on them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

DIY Valentine’s Day Photo shoot 

First things first… To do a photo shoot you will need your baby! Duh!

Since your baby is already adorably cute all you need is to start gathering Valentine’s Day props.

The only decision you need to make about your baby is what he or she will be wearing. 

For my own son’s photoshoot, I was at a loss of what to have him wear. I could not find any cute outfits! So instead, I decided to just go with a diaper.

Thankfully, I had multiple different colors of Alva Baby cloth diapers and one of the colors happened to be bright red. That’s what I choose for his photoshoot!

I have seen some baby photos on Pinterest that show a baby with no diaper.

Although they are adorable, I didn’t feel comfortable having others see my baby’s bare butt on social media. So red cloth diaper it was!

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6 Valentine’s Day Photo shoot Must-Have Supplies

Some of the necessary supplies you will need for any at-home photoshoot are…

  1. Space
  2. Backdrop
  3. Props
  4. Camera
  5. Lighting
  6. Photo editor

Space

Space is essential for a photoshoot. Especially when it comes to working with children!

By now you’ve figured out that babies like to move A LOT!

You need a cleared space in your home with decent natural lighting to set up the photo shoot area.

This can be as simple as a wall across from a window.

It doesn’t have to be difficult, as long as you’ve cleared the space of furniture and toys.

Once you’ve found the perfect area in your home, you need to set up a backdrop. 

This is my baby boy! The backdrop of a white bedsheet worked great for this photo shoot!

Backdrop

A photoshoot backdrop will help you transform any area of space in your home!

The best part about a backdrop is that it can be extended from the floor to the wall.

Backdrops come in a variety of colors and can be found on Amazon.

However, for my DIY Valentine’s Day photo shoot I used a white queen size bedsheet.  

But I did buy it brand new compared to using a white bedsheet I already had.

This is a cheaper option than buying a professional backdrop with the stand.

After purchasing the new white bedsheet I did not wash it but ironed and starched it to get rid of any lines from being folded for so long.

I highly recommend you iron the backdrop sheet because you will see the bedsheet lines in your photos if you don’t!

Since I did not purchase a backdrop stand, I hung the bedsheet on the way with wide painter’s tape.

It does work well, but you may need to use more tape depending on how wiggly your baby is!

For the backdrop, I choose to hang it lower to the floor then have it draped along the floor.

I then use the bedsheet on the floor as a base for placing all photo props and (of course, the star of the show) my baby!

 

Props

Props are any items added to a photoshoot to make it memorable.  

Since this is a Valentine’s Day photoshoot, think of anything associated with the holiday. Here are some props to consider:

-Roses (real without thorns or fake ones)

Garland

-Heart-shaped candy

-A box of chocolates

Red lace curtains

-Cupid

-Bow and arrow 

Heart-shaped felt banners

Heart-shaped lights

Valentine’s Day pillows

-Stuffed bears

Valentine curtain lights

This list can go on and on! All you need to remember for props is to get creative.

You can have as many or as little as you want in the photo with your baby.

I choose to keep it simple with props: a single red fake rose!  

I kept the photo shoot simple with a single fake rose, a red cloth diaper and lipstick kisses.

Camera

Of course, for any photoshoot, you need a camera! You can either use your phone camera or buy a camera.  

As long as you have a flash you’re good to go!

For this Valentine’s Day photo shoot, I used my phone to take the pictures.

Although I have a Nikon camera, sometimes it’s just faster to bring your phone out and snap a pic.

Lighting

Good lighting is essential for photoshoots. I’ve found you need a combination of natural light and artificial light.  

Wherever your photoshoot space is in the house, make sure that all your blinds are open and you’re taking the pictures during the day.

For the artificial light, I use a LED ring lighting kit.

This ring light is fully adjustable in height and adapts to hold a phone or camera for photos.

Photo Editor

While you may have all the necessary photoshoot supplies like props, lighting, and a backdrop you still need a photo editor.  

A photo editor program allows you to resize, crop, adjust the lighting and erase any imperfections you see in the photo including red eyes or blotchy skin on your baby.  

Some amazing photo editor programs are available as apps include:

-PicMonkey

-Adobe

-Canva

I have a paid subscription to Canva and believe it’s worth every penny! But there are plenty of free photo editing apps out there.

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Final Thoughts

A successful DIY Valentine’s Day photo shoot is all about creativity, props, and lots of patience.

Getting a wiggly baby to hold still during a photo shoot is not easy!

I’ve found the best way to keep your baby in the photoshoot space is to include props your baby can play with!

The second (and best) piece of advice I can give you is to take MANY photos!

Don’t try for the one perfect photo. Take dozens of baby photos then go through each by hand and keep only the best for editing!

 

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