Birthday Party Photos That Capture the Story: Part I

The Details

Planning a party takes a ton of work, so why not take birthday party photos that capture the story? There are so many things I want to share that I decided to break down the lesson into 3 parts. This week, we will focus on capturing the details. 

For Sawyer’s first birthday party, I wanted to do a girlie, Strawberry party. My best friend Lyndsey of Circle River Creations helped me put my strawberry visions into a reality! We used reds and pinks with hints of green, and kept the menu simple with just cupcakes, a strawberry shortcake bar, and strawberry lemonade to drink!

The best tip I have learned about taking party photos that capture the story, is to start taking the detail shots before the guests arrive. Once the kids arrive, all sense of order and calm is removed and it’s time to focus on the birthday girl or boy!

When capturing the details of a party, start with a wide shot to show the entire table set up. It gives you an idea of what everything looked like before the guests started digging into the food!

If you have other tables set up, such as a gift table, capture those. Even if there aren’t any gifts on it yet, the set up and decor are a perfect memory to capture.
After I have captured the wide shots for the party, I start really capturing the close up detail shots. Here’s where starting before guests arrive really come into play. You can take your time and capture things from various angles. Like here’s a shot of Sawyer’s cupcake with a candle.And by changing my viewpoint I’m able to capture these adorable cupcake toppers from Harriet’s House of Cakes. 

We also had a strawberry shortcake bar, another important detail to include. For this shot, I set myself up almost level with the table, and got in close to focus just on this particular detail.

Don’t forget the favors when capturing your details! Lyndsey and I made these adorable bracelets for favors. I had even designed cute little tags to go with each bag. Again, try various angles to see which way you like best.
If you finish capturing the details before everyone arrives, take time to capture the birthday girl (or boy)! Once the party starts they may be too busy to stop for a few photos. By capturing them before the party, you are getting them without the numerous distractions or when they are already too tired from partying! 

These are fun tips that can be applied to any party you may throw – a baby shower, Christmas party, or a Halloween party are all great opportunities to capture the details to tell the story!

Next week we will go over how to capture fun, meaningful present opening photos!

*Neyssa*