Creative toddler photos with a colorful, engaging backdrop

Photographing families and young children can be some of the most fun sessions. It’s all about being flexible, having empathy and bringing your best sense of humor. Come with a plan and roll with it when that plan goes out the window.

My extended family expanded a year ago with little Bennett. It’s been such a joy to offer photographs to his parents. One fun opportunity was smashing cake at his first birthday party. This time I wanted to do something indoors using a backdrop. 

Keep it simple

There are some things you can do to improve your odds. Keep it simple to keep it fun. I expected Bennett to be all over the place, so I chose a large simple light source.

The idea was to light a wide area of the room evenly so when he moved the amount of light on him wouldn’t change much. I chose a Neewer 72″ White Diffusion Umbrella. The effect practically lit the whole room.

Sessions with young children are different from typical portrait sessions. You’re on their schedule. You may be the stranger in this group so expect the little one to be clingy to Momma or Grandma. It helps to have a special family member right behind you so it looks like attention is turned to the camera. A favorite toy may help. Bennett is especially fond of lemons these days.

This may seem obvious, but get down to your little subject’s level. And consider a bribe! I brought cupcakes. Once cupcakes were involved, Bennett was perfectly happy in his chair right where I metered. Naturally I asked ahead of time if the snack was OK.

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Enter the Kate Backdrop

Some extra fun was added using a Kate Backdrop with a balloon and ice cream theme. The whole backdrop showed childhood innocence and joy. This was my first time using this backdrop so there were some new details to learn.   

Consider lighting the backdrop. The farther away it is from the light source the darker it is in the photograph. I set up two Digibee 800s in Fotodiox strip boxes and configured for f/8. The main light was set to match. A lesson was learned, because much of the detail in the backdrop was lost at f/8. Once I reduced power output to f/5.6 all the detail was back while the backdrop was bright enough. 

Details I liked about the Kate Backdrop

• Easy to set up
• Colorful without being distracting
• Perfect for birthdays and cake smashing
• Easily cleaned (helloooooo cake smash!)

Some things I wrestled with

• There’s a slight pink tint when it’s lit high key. That settled down when I dropped the exposure. 
• It hangs like a drape and the print ends at the bottom. Kate offers floor mats that complement the backdrops nicely. 

Some lessons learned

• Creases form, as with any cloth backdrop. 
  • Allow for some time the night before the shoot so the creases settle down. 
  • The child is the subject, not the backdrop. The parents are going to love it so relax and be part of the joy. 
• Expose this backdrop just a touch lower than the main light.

Having a fun, exciting backdrop like this can help create a great atmosphere for your photoshoot! Backdrops from Kate Backdrop and Fox Backdrop provide some really creative options to get your set headed in the right direction.

If you’re trying to figure out other gear to use, check out this piece discussing some great lenses for portraits. Learn more at the Kate Backdrop blog.