DIY Instagrammable Wall Doll Photography Prop

Hey, dollings! 

Welcome back to my little blog!

Today, I'd like to share with you how I made this really awesome tool in my small craft business - the Instagrammable Wall!

my trusty doll photography background prop

This streetwall background is super easy to make, using only simple crafting materials that you can find in your household, or your nearby art and hardware supplies shop. You can even have your kids join you with this project, especially in the fun gluing and painting parts.

When the pandemic first came upon us in 2020, we were advised to stay indoors as much as possible to stay safe. And if you're like me who does doll photography for my business regularly, and more importantly, relies so much on natural light during these shoots, we had to think extra-creative, right?  

I've always done street shots because perhaps my doll fashions were more street fashion. And so with such limitations now to go out and take photos at picturesque parks and gardens, I saw an opportunity to build that backdrop wall I had been wanting to make for so long! 

I had to create some kind of a prop that will still give my doll fashion photoshoots the feel of the outdoors. So I thought a street wall is perfect, plus it's relatively flat, so it won't be too bulky to store away.  

I also built a sidewalk stand with a gorge so my wall can insert into it

If you want to try out this project for your doll photography, check out the details below.In my quest to have doll photography props that are easy to store, I came up with this thin wall that I can just hide behind cabinets when not in use. I am so happy to have it ready when I need to. 

How to make this Instagrammable Wall Prop

Materials  

plywood, 1/4-inch thick (about 6mm), about 30inchx48inch or 76.2cmx122cm

old packaging boxes

wood glue

white gesso or white acrylic paint

colored acrylic paints of your choice

For the sidewalk "stand":

1-inch thick plywood, about 30inchx12inch or 76.2cmx31cm

(2) molding woods, I used quarter-round type because it was what I could find at home at the time

small carpenter nails

4-5 sheets of 120-grit (medium) sandpaper

Tools

Woodcutting tools

claw hammer

pencil

ruler

paper scissors

paintbrush

paper clamps

Steps

1. Collect used packaging boxes, mark the size you want these "bricks" to have. I have mine in 3x2 sq-cm or 1-1/4x3/4-sq-in rectangular shapes. 

I'm sorry to have my measurements mixed up.
In the Philippines, we are using both Metric and Imperial measuring systems. Crazy, I know.

2. Cut the pieces.

3. Using a ruler, I lined the plywood so my "bricks" go on a straight line. I added a small space between each row.

4. Also cut a big chunk of packaging box rectangle and place it on the bottom of the bricks. In this photo, I started at the middle (halfway, second story) of the wall and I can't remember now why I did that. Maybe because I need a temporary space to put all those things on? 

5. Start gluing the "brick" pieces. I actually had my glue added with little water so it spreads easily. You can skip the water part, but I never had problems with the bricks flaking even with eventual repetitive use.

You'll need a lot of bricks for the measurement I chose, so just enjoy cutting ;)

Hundreds of bricks later...

I can't remember if I ever used this square-angle ruler here, but I assure you, you can get by without it. Now we're ready to let this thing dry.

6. Once dry, we can then apply white gesso or any primer you can find in preparation for your wall painting design.

7. Up next, once the primer layer had dried, you can now start painting on your wall. Make it as Instagrammable as possible, dolling ;)

Tamica is here to help with test shots

Please bear with me if I had not taken photos of how I made the "sidewalk stand" steps.

How to make the sidewalk

But basically, you just nail two molding wood strips at the back part to make a gorge.

The gorge must be measured such that the total thickness of your wall and the packaging box at the bottom fits in there snugly that it can stand more or less.

Actually, I wasn't able to make my wall stand on its own as my molding wood strips are only an inch tall. Perhaps if they were a little thicker, they can hold the wall up. Nevertheless, it didn't matter because I can always just lean my wall to a sturdy bigger wall or something. What is important is that the wall is looking like it's somewhat one with the sidewalk. I don't like to see gaps between them that is why I built this sidewalk this way.

By the way, I also dry-brushed silver acrylic paint to some parts of the sidewalk so that it looks uneven and "worn" if that makes sense.

So here you go, my trusty Instagrammable Wall - perfect for my last-minute photoshoots.

Yes, last-minute! That's the keyword right there because I am primarily a doll clothes designer, not a photographer. I won't have as much time and patience for photoshoot setups. Easy-to-reach photography props are my jam ;)

My side note here: My only issue with using these old packaging box materials as bricks is that they have hollow insides. And thus when cutting into small pieces, their hollow parts show at the sides. These features really don't show much in my photos, but any nit-picky crafter like me might want to use something more solid-looking.  

This process, by the way, was actually inspired by how I made my brick wall diorama years ago. And the old brick wall I made used illustration boards, which are thinner but solid (no hollow sides)! Check out the link if you haven't seen than version yet.

I am really happy to finally build this wall because I've been meaning to make one for years now. I love my 3D dioramas but gosh, storing and setting them up can be a pain. So I decided to have my props as modular as possible so that they are space-friendly as well.

Loving the late afternoon sun beaming on Hans and the wall here...

Also, if you have a super simple background setup like this, you can easily bring it anywhere there is lighting, with less fuss.

In the photo above with Hans, I placed my wall where the setting sun provides dappled shadows on my photo. Cool, eh?

Took my Aki and the wall outside the house for some mid-day sun, too...

Olivia here waiting for a taxi or something...

And here, if you may excuse the shirtless dude, I used my desk lamp to act as a street post light on a night shot.

So there you go, dolling.

I hope this post has inspired you to create your own DIY Instagrammable Wall for your doll photography sessions in the future.

Perhaps you can try it with foam boards, too!

Let me know in the comments section how you made yours, okay?

 I would love to hear what types of backdrop you use for your shoots.

Okay, I think that's all for now. 

Thanks so much for dropping by and chat with you soon!

xoxo,

shasha