As the holidays approach, you may be starting to think about this year’s holiday card. Now you can take pro-quality pet pictures to use for special pet photo holiday cards with this DIY holiday backdrop! Creating your own holiday backdrop is an inexpensive and convenient option. You can choose colored fabrics that match your holiday décor and holiday picture outfits, and it will make your holiday posts on social media picture perfect. Your friends will think you and your pets went somewhere for professional holiday pet photos with this stylish backdrop!
What you need:
- Three 10-foot lengths of ½-inch schedule 40 PVC pipe
- Two ½-inch schedule 40 PVC 90-degree elbows
- Four ½-inch schedule 40 PVC tees
- Six ½-inch schedule 40 PVC caps
- Handsaw
- Fabric
Build the Frame:
The measurements provided accommodate three dogs in the frame. If you have one pet or smaller pets, you do not need to make your frame this large, but you can still follow these instructions to build your frame.
- Cut one of the pipes down to 8 feet to create the top pole, and then cut that pole in half.
- Use the other pipes to cut three 4-foot lengths. These will become the two side poles and one middle pole.
- Cut two 1 1/2-foot lengths, and then cut them in half. You should have four small pieces that will form the two feet for the side poles. Cut a 1-foot long piece for the center foot pole, and then cut it in half.
- Assemble your pieces together using the PVC elbow pieces to connect the top poles and the side poles together. Use a PVC tee piece to connect the top poles together and the middle pole down the center. Use the other three tees to connect the middle and side poles to the feet.
Attach the Fabric
We chose five different fabrics to use—three thicker fabrics along with red and gold tulles. We made sure to purchase enough fabric so it could be cut into 16-20 4-inch-wide pieces that are 4 1/2 feet long. We tied the fabric to the top pole of the frame, alternating the colors, so the pieces would hang down to create the backdrop. We doubled the tulle pieces together because tulle is a sheer fabric.
You can also use a large piece of fabric that’s 8 1/2 feet long and 4 1/2 feet tall to cover the entire frame and use duct tape to attach it. There are plenty of possibilities for wintertime scenes and holiday colors depending on which fabric you choose and how you arrange it on the frame.
Take the Holiday Pet Photos
Place your pets in front of the backdrop and use any extra holiday props you’d like to include. Make sure choose a location with plenty of natural light so you get the best results. Check out our interview with dog photographer Christian Vieler for more pet photo tips.
Don’t forget to send out your pet photo holiday cards in time for your friends and family to enjoy!
Looking for more pet photo tips? Check out this advice from a viral dog photographer.
Alicia Boemi lives in Chicago with her husband and three dogs, Izzy, Hudson and Mylah. She has over 10 years of experience in animal welfare and the pet industry. In 2015, she founded DIY Dog Mom, a blog that focuses on holistic wellness and DIY projects to create a natural home that benefits dogs and humans.
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