DYI to a 1st Birthday Photo Shoot

I am the type of mom that likes to do crafty stuff.  For my sons 1st birthday party I wanted to make sure that everyone knew that he was the birthday boy.  I, of course, looked around on the internet for fun pictures.  I found one I thought was fun and put my spin on it.  This is what I did for my son's 1st birthday invite.

1. I used two old sheets.  You need old sheets to do this because it gets messy.
2. I positioned it so that  both sheets acted as one big backdrop.  I had some of it on the floor and some or most of it behind him.  I needed to have it held up by something so we used a couple of ladders.  Two utility clamps fastened it onto the ladder creating a vertical backdrop.
3. I blew up some balloons for abeyance and lucky for me my husband has helium tank, but you can get helium balloons at your local party store.  I found blue balloons with the #1 and  happy birthday on them.  Balloons can be purchased at the local party supply store too.  I have seen them at  Wal-Mart or Target, just check by the birthday cards. Arrange the balloons at different levels around the backdrop. This formed the backdrop for my son picture.
4. I added a spotlight to for more light in the room. It was not a professional spotlight, but an automotive spotlight that my husband had in the garage.  When taking digital picture you want make sure you have enough light in the room. Adding to much light will cause dark shadows, so play around with the lighting.
5. I also bought a hat for him, it was a little something that I was going to have him wear for his party, but thought he looked cute in it.
6. The most important thing, besides the birthday boy, was the cake.  It was a one tier cake I bought at the local grocery store.  You can make one, but for all of the effort necessary to have it look great, it's just easier to buy one.  I know it is a little cheaper to make it but time is money too.

Those are all of the things you will need to do the photo shoot.  Now, for the pictures.  We stripped him down to his diaper because, frankly, it was cuter. Also, I did not have to get more cake into his hair when I needed to take off his shirt. Something to remember at the birthday party.  It's cute to see them full of cake, but it just more mess later for me to clean up.

When he was down to the diaper, I plopped him onto the sheet and tried to get him to stay there until I brought the cake out.  He sat still because he had no idea what was going on.  When I put the cake in front of him there was no hesitation.  He dug right in.

Start taking pictures and don't stop.  I took so many pictures and I had a blast doing it.

By the time I was done taking pictures he was full of cake and needed to take a bath after. However, it was worth it.  Make sure that the bigger part of the sheet is covering the floor, because you DO NOT want cake frosting in the carpet. Unless your getting new carpet, which I wasn't.

Well that is how did my own DYI photo shoot.  I hope that this encourages you to do your own 1st birthday party invites.  It was fun for me an my husband and hopefully, it will be fun for you too.

I have an extra invitation set aside for my son when he gets engages, just to show his fiancé.  Oh, what fun I will have showing off this picture and remembering the memories made that day.

About the Author
Michelle Obrochta, is wife and mother.  She managers and operations and online balloon supply store and work with her husbands balloon entertainment business.