How To Do Powder Photography - Pet Edition!
abigWe all love taking cute photos of our pets, but have you ever thought of taking your photography skills a step further and conducting a colour powder photoshoot? Our pets love to play, so experimenting with the dynamic properties of colour powder can produce some amazing action photography. On a typical photoshoot, colour powder is usually added to the back of the animal’s fur as they sit still, before releasing to create a big colour blast effect! Sounds simple, right? Wrong! They always say to never work with animals, but we’re here to give you the best head start so your photoshoot can go as smoothly as possible!
Before the shoot:
1. Location, location, location!
Firstly, decide on the location of your colour powder photoshoot. If you choose an outdoor location, it will be much easier to clean up, however you have less control over the background and lighting of your shots. Staying indoors or in a studio will be a whole lot messier, but will give you a lot more control over the background and lighting, producing better quality photos - remember, indoor venues must be well ventilated. A black background with backlighting will definitely produce the best results, just take a look at Jess Bell’s incredible work!
2. Bring along an extra pair of hands... or two!
If you think this is a one man job, think again! There are so many elements to a pet colour powder photoshoot, the more help the better! Your photoshoot team must consist of one photographer, at least one colour powder applier and at least one ball thrower/treat giver - preferably more!
3. It’s all fun and games!
Remember to pack something to play catch with, like a frisbee or tennis ball. The coolest action shots are typically captured when the animal is jumping in mid air! They’re also at their happiest when playing with their favourite toys, and photos of happy dogs are definitely what we want to capture in our pet photoshoot.
4. Leap of faith!
Set up obstacles for your pet to jump over. You don’t need to set up a whole agility course, just set up one obstacle right in front of the camera to capture those big leaps and cool shapes!
5. Works a treat!
This one is pretty important - bring lots of treats! You can’t expect your pet to be the perfect model if they’re not being rewarded! Keeping your pet stimulated with incentives is the best way to ensure your photoshoot will run as smoothly as possible.
During the shoot:
6. Speed it up!
Animals move pretty fast, so you’re going to need to use a camera with a fast shutter speed and burst mode. Only taking one photo per leap gives you a slim chance of capturing the perfect action shot, and will quickly tire your pet out, no matter how many treats you have on hand. If you’re using a smartphone, there are plenty of apps you can download that will give you all the tools of a high quality digital camera.
7. Get low!
It’s common photography 101 to know that shots at your subject’s eye level will have the most impact, especially when shooting portrait photography. If you hadn’t noticed, most pets are a lot smaller than us, so be prepared to get yourself low, hold your toys low and deliver your treats low.
After the shoot:
8. Add the finishing touches!
Some colours like yellow and green may not show up too well in outdoor photoshoots, and darker shades of purple and blue may disappear into a dark background. It would be a miracle if the end results of your photoshoot turned out exactly how you envisioned, but in the likely case there’s a little something missing from your photos, you can always fall back on an editing tool. Edit your shots to make your colour powder pop and remove any background distractions. Photoshop would be our first choice but you can also use a number of free editing apps on your smartphone that do a fantastic job.
9. Clean as a whistle!
You’ve finished your photoshoot, the studio is a mess and your pet currently resembles a peacock. But whatever you do, don’t bathe your pet straight away! This will strip the oils from their fur which makes it more adhesive and will run the risk of staining their coat. Before any water is introduced, remove loose powder with brushes, hair dryers and towels. Only once you’ve thoroughly removed all loose powder should you bathe your pets, before promptly feeding them the rest of the treat supply!
10. Sharing is caring!
You’re telling us you’ve captured some fabulous shots of your adorable pets and you haven’t posted them online for us to enjoy?! We love seeing your colourful creations so tag us in any of your photos for a chance to be featured on our social media!
If you’d like to conduct your own pet colour powder photoshoot, why not mix and match our super vibrant colour powder in 7 different colours for maximum rainbow results?
David Ross Education Trust sees the school year off with a blast… of colour!
With the 2020/2021 academic year bringing so much disruption and so many challenges, the David Ross Education Trust decided their pupils needed to release some of that pent up lockdown energy… in the form of a colour powder party! At Ministry of Colours, we believe the only way to truly celebrate such a crazy year is to throw an equally crazy end of year party!
The David Ross Education Trust - or DRET, as they’re more commonly referred to - is a diverse network of 34 academies spanning across Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and more recently, London. Committed to providing their 12,000 students with a world class education and unrivalled opportunities, DRET are well on their way to becoming one of the highest performing multi-academy trusts in the UK.
At one lucky school, pupils and teachers were provided with heaps of our fantastic holi powder in seven bold colours, and handed the brilliant power of showering their classmates in as much colour as possible - no rules allowed! Pupils were covered head to toe in a rainbow of colours, adorning their snazzy colour party sunglasses for that extra cool factor.
Across other schools in the trust, more exciting colour events are scheduled for September as an engaging way of welcoming pupils back to school after the summer holidays. These events will act as a great team building activity to help ease back-to-school anxiety, as well as something to look forward to after a nice and relaxing break.
If you’d like to throw a party as colourtastic as this, don’t hesitate to get in touch for the best quality supplies!
How To Preserve Your Colour Run T-Shirt
You’ve completed your colour run, had the best day ever and now you want a keepsake to remember how much fun you had?
Why not keep your colour blasted t-shirt as a souvenir? You could display it in a frame as your very own personal trophy or even add it to your wardrobe as a trendy, fashionable one-off design! Either way, it’s super easy to preserve your colourful tee - here’s how!
Step 1: No shaking!
We know how exciting it is finishing a colour fun run, but in order to keep as much of that bright colour powder on your top as possible, it’s best to keep the crazy dance moves for later! Avoid brushing and dusting off your t-shirt too, you want to keep the colour on your shirt, not your hands!
Step 2: Spray your shirt down with white vinegar
Make sure your tee is on a flat surface for this step. Even though dripping colours may be a cool look, the likelihood is they’ll muddle together to create a not so cool brown mess! Spray down every inch of your t-shirt in white vinegar until it’s properly soaked.
Step 3: Give your t-shirt an iron
Allow the white vinegar to partly dry before this step, and place an old sheet between your colour t-shirt and the iron to prevent any fabric burns. The heat and pressure from the iron helps to really sink that wonderful colour powder into the fibres of your tee.
Step 4: Pop your top in the dryer
Finish your masterpiece by throwing your vinegar soaked, crisply ironed tee into a hot dryer for 10 minutes. If you don’t have access to a tumble dryer, blast your shirt with a hairdryer until it’s dry. This allows the t-shirt to further absorb those colours, and keep them locked in!
You now have your very own unique keepsake to remember just how fun your colour run was! Remember to wash at 30℃ to prevent significant colour loss, although with every wash, your lovely colours will unfortunately start to dim. That’s the trouble with our completely washable colour powder - it’s both a blessing and a curse!
If you decide to try out this fun tip, tag us in your photos! We love seeing our social feed full of colour! Don't forget to follow us :)
Ministry of Colours in the News
In the two months since the launch of the new Ministry of Colours website and colour powder products we've been had some great interest from the regional and national press.
We've had a lovely article written for us by the Huddersfield Examiner. You can read the full article online on their website
How Much Colour Powder Do I Need?
What is Holi Festival? – The Top 10 questions on Google answered by our experts
- What is Holi Festival? Holi is a Hindu spring festival originally celebrated across India and Nepal. As Hinduism has spread across the globe, so has the Holi Festival. Also called the Festival of Colours, events are normally held around the start of March each year to celebrate the coming of spring.
- When is the Holi Festival in 2018? Holi Festival takes place around March 2nd 2018. Colourful events will take place globally around this time. The 2019 date is March 21.
- Why is colour powder used as part of the Holi Festival of Colours? The clue is in the name. Thought originally to be part of banishing away the winter blues and celebrating the start of spring, the throwing of colour powder has become synonymous with Holi festivities.
- What is Holi colour powder made from? Originally pigment made from natural plant-based dyes like turmeric was mixed with corn starch to create the dried colour powder. Now a global phenomenon, the demand for colour powder means that modern manufacturing processes have been introduced to meet stringent safety standards and vast quantities required. We alone sold 60 tonnes of colour powder in 2016.
- How do I make my own Holi powder? There’s no secret recipe, it’s just corn starch and coloured dye. However, recent times have brought about strict control over the production and use of Holi colour powder, especially for events held in the UK. Ministry of Colours hold EN71 certification for our colour powders.
- What do I need to run a Holi event? The rule of thumb is anything colourful will work. You don't need a huge, organised event to celebrate Holi - gather your friends and family together and play Holi at home with our colour powder. Remember we are blowing away the winter cobwebs here, so the brighter the better. Alongside the obvious colour powder, you could perhaps look at introducing some modern touches with neon sunglasses, leis and colour hand cannons?
- What colours can I get the colour powder in? Traditionally the colours of powder were restricted to what could be produced with natural dyes. With the introduction of modern manufacturing processes the range of available colours has grown to include pretty much every colour of the rainbow.
- How do I clean colour powder off my clothes? The straight forward answer is you can’t 100% guarantee clean clothes after attending a Holi colour powder event. Perhaps wear clothes that you don’t mind a stain or two on? Many people wear white t-shirts to colour powder events, and use their clothes as a blank canvas upon which they can paint with the colour powder.
- Can you get colour powder off the floor? If you are running an event, it’s best to make sure you have a clean-up plan in place. The powder will leave a temporary stain on surfaces, but it does disappear in time. Mother nature is the best cleaner, with a good rain shower cleaning pretty much everything away. Perhaps you could consider covering the floor with a plastic sheet where you think intensive colour throwing will take place? We have also heard of event organisers hiring leaf blowers to collect together the bulk of the post event powder.
- Can I use the Holi colour powder inside? Remember you will need to clean up the mess, perhaps it’s best your colour powder is thrown outside? There are also doubts over the safety of some coloured powder brands when brought into contact with live electricity.
Party Safely! - Tips to make sure your colour event goes without a hitch
Here at the Ministry of Colours we are keen for everyone to have a fun time at their colour event, that’s what we are all about. However, we are also mindful of the importance of safety when running an event which might include hundreds of people. So, bearing that in mind, here is some advice based on our 10+ years in the field.
- Our first tip would be always to buy your colour powders from a reputable source and use it in a well ventilated area – usually outdoors. Our colour powder is very safe as it is non-toxic and made from natural ingredients. It’s very unlikely to irritate and is not harmful to the environment.
- Eye protection. Most people won’t be adversely affected by our powder but anything can occasionally cause eye irritation, so have some brightly coloured sunglasses or a visor on offer to add to the fun and give added protection. These are incredibly popular accessories, the kids especially love them.
- Protect clothing; offer participants a plain white t-shirt. Not only will this save their clothes but everyone will have a brightly coloured reminder of your event. Be prepared with plenty of these in different sizes. And remember to tell everyone that our colours will wash out!
- Provide access to plenty of water, or drinking and for rinsing. Most people will at least want to wash their hands after the event.
- After the event when it’s time to clean up then we recommend you sweep up first, this will remove most of the residue. Then simply wash away with water. Or wait for Mother Nature to do it for you...
Party safely!