Kids Photography – Bubble Photos
I love to take photos of my kids at the park – which is just as well given how much time we spend there! But sometimes my kids photography feels a bit same old, same old, and my toddler loves bubbles. So every now and then, we mix things up a little with some bubble play!
What You Need
Bubble wands are fun, but for maximum fun – and frames filled with bubbles – a bubble machine is definitely the way forward! We picked up ours at Kmart for around $10, but you can also get them relatively cheaply on Amazon.
You’ll also need plenty of bubble mix! There are tons of recipes available online, my fave is this one because it’s super simple and I always have the ingredients available on hand (although hubby does occasionally ask why we seem to go through so much dishwashing liquid!). Plus it makes consistent, reliable bubbles.
Don’t forget to store it in a bottle with a childproof cap!
My little ‘helper’ setting up the bubble machine
Finding The Perfect Spot
There are a few things to consider when choosing the perfect location for your bubble session.
To start with, of course, you need more space than your average kids photography session! Lots of space for your little one to chase all those glorious bubbles! We don’t have a back yard, but we are lucky enough to have several beautiful parks in our local area that make a lovely backdrop for photos.
You need to make sure you have enough space for your little one to run around, because those bubbles will go EVERYWHERE! I like to look for a nice, open space with a few trees or shrubs for framing. Trees also come in handy for hiding the bubble machine!
Related: Perfect Playground Photos
This little grove of trees at our local park provides lovely framing with lots of space to run!
Another fave park spot – you’d never know this was right next to a busy playground!
Setting The Scene
Bubbles are an activity that works best when there’s not too much wind, otherwise the bubbles will disperse too quickly. You’ll need a flat spot to stand the bubble machine on, ideally either behind a tree as or just out of frame so it’s hidden. It’s much easier to hide it in camera than to clone it out of every single shot in Photoshop later!
The bubble machine is a bit of a distraction so I’ve placed it where I can easily frame it out once he starts chasing the bubbles
The bubble machine is hiding behind the big tree here, I used the roots to stabilise it so excited little hands didn’t knock it over
Capturing The Magic!
Your little ones will no doubt be racing around trying to catch bubbles, so you’re going to need a fast shutter speed for this activity!
Related: Capturing Kids in Motion
Think about different angles and perspectives you can use to tell the whole story. Get up close and capture the joy on those little faces, then take a step back to capture the whole scene.
By choosing a wide aperture here and placing my focal point on my toddler, the blurred log in the foreground and long grass in the background provide layers to strengthen my composition
Look for elements in the environment around you to use for layering and framing, and consider which angles to use to frame out any background clutter.
The rocks add layering and he’s running through the frame chasing those bubbles!
I love the sense of scale here – how small my little guy and the bubbles look against the trees.
Use the environment to convey a sense of scale.
Editing To Add Magic
So what if your final shots don’t quite have enough bubbles to fill the frame the way you envisioned they’d look? Well, then it’s time to get creative in Photoshop! I have a few different bubble overlays I like to experiment with, and Etsy have some good quality but relatively inexpensive ones. All Things Precious and MixPixBox are two of my fave sellers for overlays, textures and backgrounds.
The trick when using a bubble overlay is to make it look realistic – you want to accentuate what’s already there without overdoing it. Make sure the bubbles you add are similar colour, size and opacity to the bubbles that are already there. Also make sure they’re moving in the same direction so they look natural. And don’t go overboard – most bubble overlays are a full frame of bubbles, but you can use a layer mask to choose where you want the bubbles to appear.
If you’re new to Photoshop, or the idea of using textures, backgrounds and overlays freaks you out a little bit I’m mentoring CLG’s next Creative Workshop – Discovering Photoshop. I’ll be teaching how to use these fantastic tools to add an extra level of magic to your images. Check out the workshop details at the end of this post.
Related: A Fun Portrait Project With A Toddler
Would you believe there were only two measly bubbles in this original shot?!
This shot was a bit meh straight out of camera, but the extra bubbles make it more fun. The original bubbles were drifting from the bubble machine behind the tree, so I used a layer mask to shape the bubble overlay so the added bubbles flowed in the same direction
Okay, okay, I know I said keep it low key, but these two were having almost as much fun with the bubbles as their little brother so when they asked for more bubbles when I was editing, I gave them more bubbles!
Emma Davis is a CLG Advanced Grad with a background in journalism and photography, a Kiwi ex-pat based in Sydney, and mum to six gorgeous muses who indulge her love of hunting and capturing light.
Join my new workshop and learn How to Shoot Pro-Quality Photos With Your DSLR… and it’s totally FREE to join! Register here…
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