Valentine's Day Photo Card - Carried Away by Balloons

This Valentine's Day card is a very simple idea that works because of the illusion of flight. This photo is great for kids but can easily be used for teenagers and adults as well. A careful camera angle choice and good timing results in the illusion that your subject is floating away into the sky, carried off by balloons.

Gather Your Supplies

For this project you'll need a very limited number of items.

• Camera
• Program to add text to a photo (there are many free options we'll point out in that step)
• Red Balloons (at least 5 but more is always better) - heart balloons are also a nice option
• Your child
• A printer to print your photos or your favorite photo lab

Take the Photo

The fist step is to of course take the photo that is the basis of the card.

• Pick a Background/Location
  A sloping hillside is best for this shot if you want to include some ground in the photo. Look for the sides of parks and walking tracks where your child can stand safely at the top of the slop and you can safely kneel at the bottom of the slope. Watch the background carefully so you find a location without powerlines in the shot. Your goal is an unmarred sky under the child's feet and behind them. If you don't care about showing any grass in the photo (and you have a trampoline), letting your child jump on a trampoline will often let you get the angle you need to get just sky behind the child. If you use the trampoline your timing will need to be very precise as your child will be moving faster than just hopping off the ground. Also, remember to watch the angle of the sun, you don't want your child's face to be completely shadowed.
• Pick an Outfit
  Because your child will have one hand over her head, a long shirt is a good idea for this photo. Tucking in the shirt will help with the illusion of being pulled upwards as well. A cap or hood also helps prevent upwards flinging hair.
• Explain the Pose
  Show your child the example photos with this article to help them understand what you want them to do. For the photo your subject will need to stand with one arm up (the arm holding the balloons) and keep the other hand down. Feet should be relatively close together as well and not flailing around during the jump.
• Check Your Camera Settings
  Action is the name of the game for this shot. You'll want a high shutter speed (at least 1/500) to freeze the motion. Also, remember to make sure your focus is ready before the jump.
• Take the Shot
  Position your subject at the top of the hill and you will kneel at the bottom of the hill so that when the subject jumps you will see as much sky as possible between the feet and the ground. When the subject jumps ask them to hop so that the feet and legs stay straight rather than flailing about. Chances are they'll move their legs but the closer to straight the better. Also, you must take the photo just before the top of the jump. This maximizes the height of the jump in the photo and captures the motion while hair and clothing is not billowing upwards during the landing. This produces the illusion of hanging in midair from the balloons.

Add the Words

You have several options for adding words, hearts, or other decorations to your photo. If you have Photoshop Elements or Photoshop CS you can download many free heart brush sets (like this one from About.com Graphic Software) from sites across the web, or use the built in shape brushes. Many other photo editing programs also include basic shapes such as hearts. Almost all of these programs work in the same basic way:

• Select the text tool
• Select the font
• Select the color
• Select the size
• Type the text

If you do not have a photo editing program that allows you to add text to a photo there are some free options. Online sites like Picnik and Shutterfly offer the ability to add text to a photo OR add a Valentine's Day frame around your photo. If you cannot add text then a frame is a great option for this project.

Some wording possibilities for the card:

• You lighten my heart
• To my most uplifting Valentine
• Carried away this Valentine's Day
• Your love is lifting me higher (remember that song?)
• Carried away by love
• You lighten my life
• Love conquers even gravity

Print the Photos

For this project, 4x6 or 5x7 prints work best. I used a 4x6 print.

You can print the photos yourself or send them to your favorite photo lab. Many local 1 hour printers offer coupons on a regular basis for a handful of free prints around the holidays. You may be able to get your photos cards printed free or at a very low rate this way. Even if you don't find a coupon, 4x6 prints are generally under 25 cents each.

If you print the cards yourself, be sure to use photo paper or at least a nice heavy cardstock.

Enjoy!