Want to look like you’re living your best jet-set life but quite frankly don’t have the funds for it?
No problem – one genius woman has found a way to make it look like you’re always on vacay. All you’ll need is a kids’ sized paddling pool and a willing accomplice.
Laura J Hyatt, a blogger and budding photographer, has written a ‘behind the scenes’ post on how to look like you’re in a tropical paradise without actually leaving your back yard.
She got the idea after scanning Pinterest for interesting photos and spotting a woman in a ball gown photographed lying in a swimming pool. She wanted to recreate the creative shot but had only one problem: no pool.
“Here in the UK people don’t have pools at home and I couldn’t see my local swimming baths allowing me to get into their pool in a dress whilst people tried to do their laps around me,” she said. But that wasn’t going to stop her.
Hyatt settled on posing for a portrait in a paddling pool surrounded by flowers. “I’m really pleased with how it came out as it was a lot of effort,” she said.
So How Do You Recreate Her Shot?
Hyatt recommends filling up a children’s paddling pool (if you don’t have one – check out our handy guide to the best ones) and scattering petals, real of fake, across the surface to recreate – plus roping in a mate to take your pics.
In terms of paddling pool size, she says somewhere around 220-270 litres is a good size. It means your legs will stick out the sides, but when it’s just your torso in shot, no problemo. She also recommends using warm water and positioning it in the shade, as bright sunshine doesn’t work well in photos.
“Oh and the flowers float away all the time, so you need someone to keep re-positioning them in between shots,” she says.
“The original idea to take the pool photo was just to try something new and creative, photo wise,” she told HuffPost UK.
“But the reason I posted the behind the scenes was to show that it’s not all glam behind the photo so I guess Instagram vs reality!”