• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Tutorials
  • Shop
    • Cheat Sheets
  • About
  • Contact

Snap Happy Mom logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Tutorials
  • Shop
  • About
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Published: Oct 20, 2014 · 7 Comments · This post may contain affiliate links.

    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos

    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Want to take a special picture of your daughter in her favorite Elsa dress? Here's a DIY idea that is simple and looks pretty in pictures.

    This Frozen backdrop is easy to put together: you just need white fabric or curtains to cover the wall/floor and a pretty snowflake garland. These two things can totally dress up an indoor area for a magical, bright picture of your Elsa!

    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos - SnapHappyMom.com - This Frozen backdrop is easy to put together and can totally dress up an indoor area for a magical picture of your Elsa!
    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos - SnapHappyMom.com

    The Setting: White Curtains or Fabric

    Do you have white curtains in your house? They can make a great backdrop! I used ruffly curtains that were already hanging on a window at home, but you could hang a white sheet anywhere to provide a clean backdrop for similar photos.

    I  wanted a really bright, white-on-white look for my setting. To accomplish this, I decided to back-light my pictures to provide a pretty, glowing area to stand in.

    I opened the window blinds all the way and then covered them with my sheer ruffled curtain. This provided a soft, yet bright, look. I also pushed the ottoman up against the wall, directly under the window, to utilize as much of that window light as I could. I covered the ottoman with an extra curtain to give everything a cohesive look.

    It will help to turn on a light inside the room as well. Ideally, the light shouldn't be right on top of your model's head, but somewhere in front of them, near where you are standing to take pictures.

    The light from the window is going to make the picture bright, but you want some light on your child's face as well. You could use your fill flash on your camera for this, but I prefer to turn on the room lights instead.

    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos - SnapHappyMom.com

    Quick Snowflake Garland

    To dress it up a little, I made a super fast snowflake garland to hang in front of my curtains. All I did was string these pre-cut White Tissue Snowflakes on two strands, then tie them to the curtain rod to make two layers of snowflakes

    I bought these particular snowflakes for three reasons.

    First, they already had holes as part of their pattern, which made it super easy to string them on some baker's twine. No knots required, just go in one hole and out the other and it will stay put.

    Secondly, you need to use a slightly translucent snowflake in order to let the light shine through it. If your snowflakes are made of regular paper or cardstock, they'll block the light and look dark against your bright window. And trust me, black snowflakes are not pretty. Delicate tissue paper snowflakes are perfect for this look.

    Third, the are crazy cheap. Three bucks for pre-cut snowflakes? That's a no-brainer for me; it's not worth fussing over folding and cutting super thin tissue paper for that kind of money. These are easy and look great.

    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos - SnapHappyMom.com

    Information About Camera Settings

    If you try to take this photo on automatic, your camera will probably make it look rather dark.

    Basically, your camera thinks it's too bright, so it's trying to be helpful and bring everything down in brightness. But you are smarter than your camera! Just set it to be brighter than the camera wants it to be so you can see your model's sweet face.

    Here's how to adjust your settings to make it brighter!

    First, make sure you set your focus box on your model, not the window behind them.

    Then, purposely overexpose your pictures past what the camera is telling you is correct.

    DSLR: If you're in manual mode, make sure the light meter is weighted towards the "+" side. If you're in aperture-priority or program mode, use your exposure compensation to brighten them up a bit. It will probably be two clicks or thirds towards the "+" side. (Not sure what I mean? Read more about exposure compensation.)

    Compact Point and Shoot: If you don't have a DSLR and can't make exposure adjustments on your point and shoot, you can still use this DIY setup. Just make it easier for the camera to correctly light the picture by reducing the light behind the curtain. Try hanging your fabric or curtain over a blank wall instead of a bright window. It will still be cute!

    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos - SnapHappyMom.com

    Sharing is caring. Pin it for later!

    DIY Frozen Backdrop for Fancy Elsa Photos - SnapHappyMom.com

    Don't have time? Try this quick and easy 10-minute Frozen Photoshoot or Tips For Taking Halloween Costume Photos !

    Quick and Easy Frozen Photo Shoot - Here's how you can painlessly create a Frozen-inspired area in less than ten minutes to take some pictures of a little Elsa. It's quick, easy, and cheap...but it adds just the right amount of special to that photo! - from SnapHappyMom.com
    10 Tips For Taking Halloween Costume Photos - SnapHappyMom.com
    • 10 Photos To Take of Your Kids Doing Virtual School
    • Photography Cheat Sheets - Quick Tip Photo Cards for Moms!
    • Must-Have Photos on the Last Day of School
    • How To Take Pictures of that First Lost Tooth
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    Filed Under: Documenting Childhood

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Stacie says

      October 20, 2014 at 9:00 pm

      This is super cute! I love how much it looks like a snowy scene from a movie. Now I want to make an Elsa dress...

      Reply
    2. Tiffany says

      October 23, 2014 at 7:16 am

      This is so fun!!

      Reply
    3. Ben says

      October 23, 2014 at 8:00 am

      How cool is that. My niece loves Frozen and has a birthday coming up. I'll be sharing this with her mom. Thanks

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi I'm Meg! I believe you can master your camera and confidently capture beautiful moments.

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Me
    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclosure
    • Contact

    Connect With Me

    • I believe you don't have to know everything about your camera to take great pictures of your kids.

    Copyright

    • Copyright © 2024 - Snap Happy Mom, LLC. All content and photos are property of Snap Happy Mom, and are protected by copyright laws.

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I may receive a small commission if you click through affiliate links.

    Copyright © 2024 Brunch Pro on the Brunch Pro Theme