Dress-Ups and the Photo Booth 2018

(Quirky Quincy)

Changing The Photo Booth From Year-to-Year

Each year my grandchildren tell me that they love to dress-up for photos. Each year I prepare something different and thrift different clothes and props.

The first year it was rather bland as I look back. I was still learning what I wanted to do and how to catch and keep their collective attention. Last year the colors and textures were slightly brighter and filled with more patterns. This year the colors, styles and backdrops jumped out and caught everyone’s attention.

The Queen of Personal Flair – Lydia

(fresh from her dancing role in a community production of Guys and Dolls)

Commercial backdrops are very expensive. I knew I would not be buying them. In fact, I didn’t see many that caught my eye anyway. So I chewed and chewed on the problem.

These backdrops are shower curtains from Amazon.

I bought ten. You will see them throughout this post. They are vibrant, light-weight and washable. Ten curtains/backgrounds can hang on each curtain ring. There are twelve holes in the curtains and rings come in packages of twelve. You simply search through the hanging curtains and flip the rest over the top when you find what you want. Outer Space, like the Mushroom Garden, shown first, were favorites. I have used the same PVC pipe frame which Grandpa built three gatherings ago. This year he cut it about 8 inches shorter so that the curtains touched the ground and the rug came right up to the bottom of the curtains.

Each child was able to select a background for each outfit they chose. They were constantly changing them. The smaller children had more trouble staying in the middle  than the older children. I didn’t want to photograph edges so I was often saying “stand in the middle of the rug”. I used a very deep rug I had bought already at Ross which helped to soften the bottom of the curtains and cut out all concrete.

This strange backdrop was also a favorite. Sometimes the kids were silly and sometimes they were serious. Everything they wore and with which they accessorized was thrifted from Deseret Industries or Savers over several months. I asked my grandchildren to set aside the things they want to take home.

This wonderful dress went back to Texas in a suitcase.

(perfect dress for Clara, fresh from her triumph

as the musical lead in Guys and Dolls)

 

The Pirate Ship backdrop was VERY popular with the boys but surprisingly popular with the girls. The kids found many ways to express themselves in front of it.

Who said dress-up fun was just for girls?

I loved seeing how the kids expressed themselves in their choices of clothes and accessories. Clara loved contrasts.

 

Did I mention their were Dinosaurs? Yes. And, they were SCARY !

This backdrop was the second favorite of the boys, after the Pirate Ship. Any photographer worth her pay would have noticed the tag and rubber band on the thrifted Incredible Hulk Hands but I was, by this time, just hanging on by my index finger which was fixed to the camera button !

 

Henry’s heart was in everything he did.

It helped that the kids had dressed as pirates the day before

and were already into the  “the pirate look”.

 I would not want to mess with him on the high seas !

Owen had Star Wars on his mind when he chose his background and his costume. The kids used pieces of clothing in ways I would never have imagined to get the looks they wanted. This PicMonkey overlay darkens the edges and gives the photograph the look he was hoping for.

There is something very sinister about this character.

Holden is such a kick.

He always comes up with something funny. Seems that these animal shirts are popular. I didn’t know. How would I know? He took it home which suits me fine. He said his friend had a buffalo so he and his friend could both be animals. Okay.

My grandchildren can grow up all they want to. I am sad about it but as long as I have  wonderful, funky, whimsical photographs like these to remember them it won’t be so bad.

I know they will laugh out loud when they are grown and look back at the

Dress-Up Photo Booth at the Annual Family Gathering 2018.

-Grandma-

(see more photo booth fun in More Dress-Ups and Photo Booth Fun 2018)