Neely PTO Fundraiser

         Our school has a fabulous PTO board. They work non-stop, always thinking of how they can make it better for the kids. The kids have never gone door to door selling wrapping paper.  But they do know how to put on a great fundraising festival or carnival. It was a western themed festival and I was allowed one of the classrooms to build a set. Yep... I did the whole thing right in a school classroom. I thought it would be fun to capture a fun family night.  

So how did I do it? 

It really wasn't rocket science. I already knew 6 months before the event what I wanted. I pre-arranged 3 sections of wood fence and only needed one large bale of hay. One parent brought the large canvas for the floor, and I borrowed the blanket, bit, spurs, and lasso. All the desks and chairs were moved to one side of the classroom. The fence panels were leaning against the blue wall cabinets. I had two continuous softboxes on each side for even light and to control shadows. I left my flash on camera and dialed it down to only give enough pop in the faces. I knew the hay bale would stay put, so using my favorite tripod made it that much easier. As far as the blue cabinets? Yep they showed through on a few spots. But it was a pretty quick fix in post. Each family paid $10 for a 5x7 print. Nothing else was offered, keeping it simple. The money was donated back to the PTO. Total set cost?: $5-10 for the bale of hay. Was it fun and easy? You bet. Will it win a contest? Nope. But that wasn't the point! 

    How cute is it that two best friends wanted their picture done together!!!