Themed Photoshoot : A Hundred Acre Wood Birthday (part 1)
: from The Photo Lab :
Themed or conceptual photoshoots are a great and valuable exercise for creativity. Imagining something, visualizing it in your head and then translating it into something everyone can see and enjoy is not only a lot of fun, it can also be a lot of work and it is a great way to challenge yourself creatively. This is not just applicable to photography, but to every creative field.
If you are familiar at all with our yearly Halloween themed photoshoots, you’ll know themed or conceptual shoots are a dear favorite of mine; so when our friend, past client and fellow photographer/writer Jaymi Heimbuch approached us about collaborating on a birthday-themed photoshoot for her pup Niner (a dear BFF of our little Willow), we were thrilled and game for the challenge. Jaymi wrote about Niner’s birthday on her blog, please make sure to check it out HERE.
Jaymi had dreamed up a birthday party scenario among canine best friends in a Hundred Acre Wood setting, with warm light, oak trees, hand-made decorations, presents and of course, cake! When she voiced her ideas and shared her inspiration board with me, I took her to a place that I thought would fit her vision. We scouted a location together, and Jaymi went about gathering the materials and props we would need to make our Hundred Acre Wood birthday scene come to life. I love crafty and organized folks, and Jaymi delivered there and then some. She made all of the props and baked the “pupcakes” our dogs got to enjoy during the party.
Themed shoots, I mentioned in conversation with Jaymi, have a way of molding themselves into what they are meant to be at the time. They might be different from what you originally envisioned, or they might be dead on what you imagined. Whatever they turn out to be though, they are quite a fun experience (ideally) and a great source of learning. If there was one true thing about our birthday shoot, it was that we all had a blast. The humans had fun putting everything together and trying to keep the dogs from tearing it apart (too soon) and then enjoyed watching the dogs have their little party, pupcakes and all. Instead of the one birthday image we set out to get, we got a storybook filled with little moments, behind the scenes and center stage, wrapped in golden light, surrounded by oak trees, woodpeckers and three very happy dogs. It was an afternoon to remember.
We hope you enjoy the results! And make sure you check out Part 2 of this post, where I’ll share my top 10 tips for developing your own themed photshoot idea, start to finish.
*Please note, all the photographs were taken by Jaymi, Bill and myself. If you’d like information on using or licensing any of the images, please feel free to contact us or Jaymi directly.
Happy Birthday Niner!
“Does this look straight?”
Birthday Boy Niner with buddies Willow and Corbin
“Let’s get this party started!”
Jaymi’s Pupcake recipe prooved to be a big hit with the dogs.
“Hey Corb… would it be rude to sneak a taste while they are still singing Happy Birthday?”
“Time for presents!” This series of shots were a lot of fun, and challening to get.
“I hope you like it! I picked it out myself.”
Corbin suddenly realizes that all parties eventually come to an end… He was not happy about that.
In the end, everyone had a great time, with no crumbs left behind, our Buddy Niner had a great 4th birthday in the company of friends. Us humans were very lucky to be there to witness it all and make sure nobody overendulged in cake.
Want to read about how we made this happen? Check out Part 2 of this post 🙂
