Display your children's art in their photo...

This blog topic is more of a mommy post than a photography post. I just wanted to share this fun idea with other parents if you happen to be home on a cloudy day. I call this a Dr. Suess/Rainy Day activity to do with your child. So here we go...
 
My middle child Mila has been obsessed with painting lately, specifically rainbows, so I decided to bring her art to life today. After I explained the idea of having her paint the sky, she was so excited to dip her brush in some watercolor. We had all the materials ready to go at our house, so I propped her near a well-lit window and let her creative process begin.

Since she insisted her rainbow colors be in the right order, I did give her some instructions while taking her photos. I probably shot around 20 different images playing with different angles. 

My oldest daughter has a collection of art supplies so they made the perfect props for the photo. I will let you know that everything that was displayed on the desk was stacked quite ugly behind me. I did that simply to avoid any distractions in the images. It was also an overcast day which made it a perfect day to create some sunshine and color with her. ​

The final step to get my image was to head to the nearest park and take her photo. I did this with my oldest daughter when she was around the same age. At that time, I had purchased a cute wooden ladder and giant paintbrush but I wanted to be more resourceful this time around. I ended up getting lucky finding this tree stump at our park that gave her some height in the shot. After a quick edit of her portrait, I took photos of her painting separately and added them into photoshop to crop and place her art in the image. I'm sure there are plenty of apps that offer this overlay technique but personally it's easier for me on my computer. It is such a simple process as well as great quality time. My children have an art room (for the time being) so this is where I plan to print and frame the image we both came up with.  Another reason why I loved this so much was because I get to see her at the age and stages of her art in all-in-one. 

Before

After

Thanks for reading,
Vanessa Castillo