Some people crave a live-in supernanny, I’ll take a live-in pro photographer!

In my fantasy world, my kitchen is equipped with a batphone that rings Annie Liebowitz’ cell anytime I feel an adorable moment coming on. She’ll sprint in from the pool-house (Ok, so there are a few other things that comprise my fantasy world…) and document another day of my son’s life.

Alas, as Annie probably wouldn’t accept payment in the form of wet diapers and as my bank account is already close enough to being a lovely shade of red, I am left to my own devices.

One of the tricks I referenced in a previous post is throwing a sheet over my ottoman in order to create a clean background. I got to thinking this morning that I should probably elaborate on this a bit more, because it’s not just about covering the ottoman, it’s about transforming your living room into a studio. Sound tricky? This is so much easier that you think!

Take a look at my before shot. (I know – not all of the pillows on my couch work, I’m going for some kind of collage. The idea seemed great a few months ago, and now that I’ve lost interest in the idea completely, it just looks silly.) If I were to plop by little guy down and shoot a few frames, you wouldn’t even be able to see his dimple because you’d be so distracted by the circus in the background. While some might see a disaster – I see great studio opportunity!

Step 1: Matierals – Find 1 or 2 solid matching flat sheets – they don’t need to be part of the same set, but they really should be the same color. Whites and off-whites might work together. If you don’t have two flat sheets that match, grab a flat and fitted set. The fitted sheet will go on the floor and the flat will be the backdrop.

Step 2: Backdrop – If you have an ottoman, pile it HIGH with couch cushions and pillows and throw the flat sheet over the pile, thus creating your backdrop. If you don’t have an ottoman, so the same thing on your couch. What we are looking for here is HEIGHT. My son has one of those Fisher Price Play Farms that stands about 3 feet off of the ground – this is a perfect item to put on the couch for height. Make sure the sheet on the floor and the sheet covering the couch or ottoman overlap where they meet.

Step 3: Lighting – what we want here is as much diffused lighting as possible. If you are setting up your studio in a room with windows, open up those shades. As long as the sun isn’t shining directly in the room – you’re going to get nice, even diffused lighting. When determining whether the sun is shining directly into the room, do not look directly at the Sun. (Gotcha! Just wanted to make sure someone was still paying attention.)

Step 4: More Lighting! Bring in some floor and table lamps (with shades) from other rooms. Again – you want it to look like you could perform surgery in that room. LIGHT IT UP!

Then, grab your kid(s), set them down on the floor and get a-shooting. If you followed step 4, you’re not going to need your flash at all. You’ve got a clean background, so experiment with some close ups, off center and candid-type shots. Against that nice clean background, your kids are really going to pop in those photos.