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Are you sick of my obsession with Pinterest yet? This time I used it for inspiration for a new backdrop. Here was my dilemma, last year I did a ton of mini sessions in the fall for my clients. The weather is just a tad unpredictable here in the Pacific Northwest. Actually, it is quite predictable. When you need to have it dry it will rain. How is that for consistent?
Back to my problem…I had a great undercover location last year but I like to change things up a bit. Not only because I don’t want to give my loyal clients the same sorts of pictures as they got last year, but because I need a change to stay inspired. So, I needed to find a new undercover location. Necessity is the mother of invention. I liked the idea of having clients come here where they can step inside to warm up and fill out paperwork or even use the restroom! So I knew I wanted to try to come up with something here at home. The best location I have is my front porch but the view in pictures is of my neighbor’s house. They have a lovely house but it does not make a lovely backdrop!
Then I started seeing all these neat barn doors on Pinterest and I realized what I needed to do. I needed to make my OWN barn doors. Yes, I’ve got big ideas. But the best thing is that I have fabulous in-laws who have big tools and big know-how to back up my big ideas! (Amazingly they are never surprised by these crazy ideas either.) So the girls and I headed off to their house to get some help designing and cutting.
I ended up with four panels that are hinged together like bi-fold doors. The thinking behind that is that I will be putting them up and taking them down by myself and I needed to be careful about the weight. I also made a fifth panel that I attached to the side of the house so I can take pictures of kids sitting in the corner. (See the shot of Ellie below.) The hardest part of this whole process was figuring out how to hang the panels. I really like my clients so I really didn’t want so squish any at their photo session. I ended up using a few turnbuckles (that is just so fun to say) and some hooks and eyes to attach it to my porch.
Pinterest, in addition to inspiring me to make the doors in the first place, also showed me some ways to put a finish on the doors. I tested out a few options but decided on a two step process. First I rubbed on a solution of half water half dark brown paint. After that dried I dry brushed on some teal paint. I had a slight freak out moment when it looked like the teal was coming out too bright, but once I reminded myself that paint dries darker I was fine. And I LOVE the way they turned out!
I added some black hardware and I was all set. I’ve dragged a variety of sit upons in front of it. My favorites are my ugly gold chair:
My little bright blue chair. You can see it right behind Kate…
A wonderful red bench that can hold family groups…
And I’m not above putting folks on the floor…
So don’t be surprised when this backdrop starts popping up all over my blog. And you can stop looking for horses and cows. It’s just my neighbors behind those doors!