I love simple pictures but sometimes a simple addition of a prop can make a picture so much more fun. Here are some of my favorites.
1. Hats. They can completely change a photo. I have sweet crochet hats for newborns, fun hats for little girls and of course Santa hats for Christmas time. They are a simple change, albeit one that usually needs to be used towards the end of your shoot.
3. Baskets. Baskets are perfect for sleeping newborns or sitting up toddlers. They are one of my favorite props for small children. Hands down.
4. Chairs. Chairs are wonderful because they can be used for some many different things. They can help a baby who is just learning to stand, stand up for a picture or help you stagger groups in photos.
5. Old Suitcases. Suitcases are usually used for different ages of children. They can be opened with a small baby placed inside or they can be stacked for use as a chair.
6. Towels and Rubber Duckies. Who doesn’t love tub photos? They are some of my favorite photos and they can be simple or complex. Some things to consider having on hand for tub photos include different colors of towels, rubber duckies, small bottles of baby shampoo or powder.
I usually keep three colors of towels, a gender neutral white, a blue and a pink one depending on the parent’s preference.
8. Props of their own. I think this one is the most important. A picture is going to be a million times more special if the prop used has some significance. Items such as sports uniforms, Letterman jackets, special blankets will always make a picture more special.
Search for items that will make the photos unique to that particular subject. For instance, the photo below is of my little girl at about 3 months. Guitars aren’t normally among my props, but as my husband is an avid musician I decided to take some photos of her with his acoustic. He loves the images from this session because they were tailored to him.
Use things such as guitars, sports team memorabilia, anything that makes a photograph unique to the subjects will make it a treasured photograph. What kinds of things do you want remembered in your photographs?
Mirrors are my FAVE. But, yes, very difficult. I want to try this for Paul's 2-year photos: http://www1.flickr.com/photos/heleens/4957761167/.
Suitcase photo = PRICELESS!