Photo Mobile for your baby photographer
By Adam Graham
10 September 2007
Photographers tend to be a passionate group. As I recently found out, this can lead to photographers having little future-photographers to look after. As a new parent, it feels like I'm part of a group that marketers pursue relentlessly. Even before we left the hospital with our little one, we were getting free samples and marketing offers for products to make our baby healthier and turn us into better parents. There are thousands of toys designed to turn your baby into a playful, loving, super-genius. This project is one way to get away from all of that and make something for your baby yourself. I have no idea whether this mobile will increase your baby's intellect, but it will provide some interesting visual stimuli (and is 100% lead paint free). It also gives you a chance to instill a very early appreciation for your photography. Think of it as a mini-gallery for an audience of one very small critic.
Materials
* 5x7 prints to cut up
* A hoop of some kind (I picked up a replacement part for a stove burner at the hardware store)
* Ribbon or string
* Glue
* Scissors
* Single-hole punch
1. Pick prints for your mobile. I picked bright colours and primarily abstract shots. You want something that will look interesting, even after being pared down into various shapes. I printed 5x7s in order to have lots of room to make interesting shapes (for the gear junkie, you could use vintage camera shapes). I also printed two copies of each print in order to have a similar front and back to each shape.
2. Glue the two copies of each print back to back. If you want more visual variety, glue prints of two different photos back to back.
3. After the glue has dried, cut prints into various shapes. After you have made your shapes, punch a single hole near the top of each one for hanging.
4. Tie ribbon for hanging the mobile to the hoop in four places. You could add a little glue to the back of the ribbons on the hoop to keep them from sliding together. Tie these four strands together to another single strand. Leave lots of room on the ribbon for hanging so you can adjust the height after it is in place.
5. Tie a ribbon to each shape and then hang at various lengths from the hoops. Hanging it temporarily while you work on tying the shapes makes it easier to pick the right lengths for the ribbons.
6. Hang your mobile and let your little one look and enjoy.
It will be a few years before the data comes back on whether or not this project turned our baby boy into the next Ansel Adams. I can vouch that he enjoys looking at it and that it was a really fun project to make. It is always interesting to see your photographs displayed in different ways. And when you or your little one feels like a change, it's a quick process to swap new prints and shapes in.
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