These kinds of photoshoots are great when we want to capture milestones in our lives and you can really personalize them to fit the birthday however the client wants them.
When you put a bit of extra effort into your photoshoots, it can really make all the difference.
Sometimes, just using a creative and unique idea in these shoots can really take them to the next level and your client will definitely be thankful for you going the extra mile for them.
If you are going to be doing a birthday photoshoot soon and you want to get a bit more creative in your approach, then you have come to the right place.
We have put together a fantastic list of birthday photoshoot ideas that you and your client will absolutely love! So read on to find out a bit more about these photoshoot ideas.
From surprise photos all the way to beach shoots, there are plenty of ways you and your client can take a birthday photoshoot to the next level!
If you are struggling to come up with some inspiration for your birthday photoshoot, then we are here to help.
Each of the ideas on this list works incredibly well for birthday photoshoots and they are perfect to incorporate into your photoshoot design, especially if you want to make the photos more unique and memorable.
Birthdays are always important for anyone who is celebrating them, and each of these birthday photoshoot ideas (see also: Spring Photoshoot Ideas)will really take your photography skills to the next level!
1. Garden Party
One of the best ideas for a unique birthday photo shoot is to take the party outside and turn it into a garden party!
This idea is going to rely heavily on the time of year and the weather, but as long as it’s dry, you can easily make a garden party happen.
You can set up a table filled with birthday treats, presents, and food and you can really incorporate the greenery of the garden into your shots.
It will give your shoot more of a natural look and it makes for a nice change away from white or other solid color backdrops.
Garden party photoshoots work for any age as well, and you can really cater to whatever age group you are taking the pictures for.
2. A Toast With Your Friends
If you’re doing a shoot for an older age group, then you can take advantage of that and do a birthday toast with the recipient’s friends.
The beauty of this idea is that you can do it at home, in a club, or at a restaurant and each location offers something a bit different.
The best way to get this sort of shot is to have everyone standing in a semi-circle and have the person who is celebrating their birthday as close to the center as possible.
This arrangement makes sure that everyone is in the shot and facing the camera and it’s the most naturally arranged shot.
You can go for a more natural approach though and just ask everyone to toast as normal. If you are really confident with your photography skills, you can get some really beautiful and authentic shots this way!
3. Pool Party
Pool parties are absolutely fantastic for birthdays, especially if the person you are doing a photoshoot for gets to celebrate their birthday in the warmer months.
You can get really creative with pool party shoots, and they are a great way to bring a birthday shoot to life in a bit of a different way.
If you have the right equipment, you can even take underwater shots, and you won’t find many people with underwater photos for their birthdays!
You can try all sorts of different poses for this type of photoshoot and you can make use of all the different items you would find in and around the pool.
You can even take a few shots of your clients grilling up some food on the BBQ or having drinks next to the pool… there really is no limit to how creative you can get with a birthday pool party photo shoot.
4. Flower Fields
Another great way you can make a birthday photoshoot even better is by taking your subjects and clients into nature.
Flower fields and meadows make for the perfect birthday location shoot and you can really get some beautiful, down-to-earth shots that also look incredibly majestic and magical!
The best time to do a flower photo shoot is during the spring and summer months because all of the flowers in their respective fields will be super colorful and blooming.
Flower field photoshoots are perfect if you want to add a pop of natural color to your shots and offer your client something a bit different and more special for their birthday.
You can really experiment with poses as well, and because the setting you will be shooting in is completely natural, you don’t have to worry about using props to make the pictures feel more full!
5. Birthday Balloons
Birthday balloons never go out of style and they are always perfect for a birthday photoshoot. You are likely to find plenty of balloons at the party already, so you don’t even need to go out and buy any extras!
Balloons work for any age group as well, so whether you are doing a shoot for a 5-year-old or a 50-year-old, everyone can have fun with balloons.
If you need to rearrange the balloons a bit, that’s totally fine, especially if you are trying to get the perfect shot.
You can even take it a step further and ask your clients to match their clothes with the colors of the balloons (just make sure the person who’s celebrating their birthday is happy with this!).
Matching colors always make pictures look even better and they will give your shots a cleaner, more uniform look.
6. Drone Shot
Drones have become more and more popular over the last few years and there is absolutely no reason why you can’t incorporate them into birthday shoots!
Drones are pretty expensive, even just to rent out, but if you do have access to one, a birthday photoshoot is a perfect time to use it.
Drones allow you to take shots from angles and heights you just wouldn’t be able to access with your regular camera, and they can offer your client a much more unique experience and selection of photos to remember their special day.
You can direct the person celebrating their birthday and all of their guests in whatever way you want and using a drone will give you the chance to really get creative in your approach.
You will be able to try ideas you wouldn’t usually be able to, so if you get the opportunity to use a drone for a birthday shoot, you definitely should!
7. Headshot
Sometimes, your clients will just want a minimalistic approach, and nothing beats a classic headshot photoshoot.
They work especially well for birthdays because they can perfectly preserve the subject on that day and they will be able to look back on the pictures with fondness.
Having at least one headshot for every year makes it even more special as well, because you get to see how much you have changed over the years, and it makes the shoot a bit more intimate and personal to the subject.
Headshots don’t have to be boring either! You can experiment with more vibrant and colorful backgrounds, you can take the shots outside, your subject can dress in fun outfits… there really is no limit to what you can do with headshots!
Just talk to your client and see what they want for their birthday and between the two of you, you will be able to create the perfect birthday headshots for them.
8. Get The Pets Involved
If you love your pets or your clients love their pets, then the perfect way to make your client’s birthday shoot even more special is by getting the pets involved!
If the pets aren’t too bothered or distressed by the idea, you can even get them to wear a party hat just for the photos, or you can recreate a classic shot in front of the cake but have it look like it’s the pet’s birthday!
For people who really love their pets, they will be more than happy to have their pets involved as much as possible in the shoot.
You can get some really happy and authentic shots when you include the pets as well, and you will get some amazing shots that will preserve the love the owner has for their pets.
Adding pets to a birthday photoshoot is an incredibly quirky and unique approach to the shoot, and if your client has any pets and really loves them, they will definitely appreciate this idea.
9. Blowing Bubbles
Here’s another idea you can use if you want to try something a bit different for a birthday photoshoot. It’s a bit like throwing confetti, just without the strenuous cleanup!
Bubbles are always fun as well, and they are a great way to make some more playful shots and break up the more serious pictures.
You can focus these shots on just the person who’s birthday it is, or you can bring their friends into the fold and take a group picture of everyone blowing bubbles.
What’s great about this option is that you can really use it for any age group, so whether you are doing a shoot for an adult birthday party or a kid’s birthday party, everyone can have a bit of silly fun.
It will really make the whole photoshoot experience more relaxed and you can get some genuine shots of the person celebrating their birthday and their friends having a good time.
By using bubbles in the photoshoot, you will be able to get some authentic photos that your client can take away and remember the memories forever.
10. Cake Smash
Everyone loves a good cake smash! This option is usually reserved for smaller children and it’s a great way to get their authentic look of joy and surprise on camera.
However, if you want to use the cake smash for adult birthday parties, you can have a bit more fun with it!
You can keep it a surprise and get a friend of the person’s birthday to smash it in their face and you can capture their authentic reaction on camera.
If you do decide to go down this route, just make sure that you learn from authentic friends to make sure the client would actually appreciate this gimmick, because if they don’t, that wont go over very well!
You can have lots of fun with the cake smash idea, and it really works for all ages in different ways, but just make sure for older clients that it would be something they would enjoy before you agree to do it!
11. Confetti
If the idea of a cake smash is a bit too messy for you and your guests, then you can go the old-fashioned route and get some confetti involved in your shoot instead.
Confetti is used in practically all different kinds of celebrations, and birthdays are no exception.
You can get confetti in lots of different styles and colors as well, so you can make sure that if you do use it in a birthday shoot, it matches everyone’s outfits.
In order to capture confetti on camera right, you need to make sure that your camera is set to a high shutter speed… so if you are a newer photographer, this is a great tip to keep in mind and you will capture some incredible moments for your client’s birthday!
Even if you are just taking pictures for fun, you can still use this shutter tip.
Some shots might take a couple of extra tries, but if anything, this will add to the birthday shoot even more, and by the final take, everyone in the picture will be laughing at how silly and fun the moment is.
12. Get The Birthday Cake & Candles In
The best way to really capture a birthday party on camera is to have some dedicated shots of the person who is celebrating their birthday with their birthday cake.
You can really play around with this idea as well. You can do the classic “blowing out the candles” shot, but you can also have some dedicated shots with the person celebrating their birthday just holding the cake too.
You can get them to pose in fun and quirky ways, so in essence, you will be giving them a cake photoshoot!
This is just a fun way to get the cake involved in the photoshoot and absolutely nothing else says “birthday” as well as the birthday cake does.
This is an especially great idea if the birthday cake is a bit more extravagant because you will be able to show off the way it looks in some high-quality photos and your client will be able to look back on the photos with pride.
13. Numbered Balloons
Just like regular balloons, numbered balloons are also perfect for birthday parties.
As people get older, they like to be reminded of their age less, but numbered balloons can really be used for any age, and if it’s a milestone birthday you are capturing, it gives your client something memorable to look back on in years to come.
You can get numbered balloons in all shapes, sizes, and colors and they work for anyone, so you will definitely be able to find the perfect balloon for the birthday photoshoot.
Experiment with different colors and get your client to stand in creative and dynamic poses while they stand with their balloon.
You can even take the photo shoot outside if you want and play around with different outdoor backgrounds.
This is quite weather dependent, but even if shooting outside isn’t an option, you can still get creative indoors with it too.
Another thing you could do is get the person who is celebrating their birthday to stand in the central part of the photo and get their friends and family to stand in a semi-circle with them.
You will help them create some amazing memories for their special day.
Conclusion
So there you have it! Some amazing birthday photoshoot ideas (see also: Best Friend Photoshoot Ideas)that are perfect for birthday parties and celebrations of all shapes and sizes.
Each of these ideas (see also: Family Photoshoot Ideas)will take your photoshoot to the next level and make it more interesting than just a regular old photoshoot, so if you were looking for some inspiration, hopefully, these ideas have kicked your creativity into overdrive!
For your next birthday photoshoot, give these photoshoot ideas (see also: Mother’s Day Photoshoot Ideas)a try for yourself and see which ones you or your client love the most! You will love the shots when you see them!
Hey everyone, and welcome to LemonadeAndLenses.com. My name is Laura and I am the founder of this site!
For as long as I can remember, I have loved taking photographs. There is nothing I love more than looking back through old pictures, and having all of the memories come flooding back.
If you want to learn about how to take professional images, and to run your own photography business, then I can help you out, here at Lemonade And Lenses.
