DIY Round newborn posing stand | Traveling Newborn Photographer | Moonrise Photography | Richmond VA Newborn Photographer

3/27/2017

So the standard newborn posing stand is square or rectangular which allows for a square, rectangular or even circular beanbag to fit within its boarders. Blankets and posing fabric is then laid over the beanbag, stretched tight to the sides and top of the backdrop stand before baby is placed on it and posed.

I've seen some round backdrop stands and figured since I've made a hula hoop before, why don't I just make a round stand for my round travel size beanbag!
So I set off to my local Home Depot!

Once there I found all the elements I needed to complete my project. The biggest thing that I had at home that not everyone does is a way to cut the PVC pipe. I used my husband's miter saw, but they do sell PVC cutters at the store.

I am totally and "eyeball it" kinda crafter FYI, but this is what I purchased:
6 x 5ft. 3/4 inch diameter PEX pipe
(bendable enough but also sturdy)
3 bags "T" shape connectors (1 bag has 5 pieces) specifically for the pipe

Total cost: Roughly $25

They also sell rolls of pipe instead of the 5 or 10ft pieces.

Next was cutting the pieces and putting the elements together. I basically just cut 4 of the 5ft PVC pipes in half (4 pieces per hoop) as well as 2x 30in and 2x 22in pieces to act as the uprights. This was my desired height for the uprights due to the amount of blankets I usually put on my beanbag before the posing fabric and baby.
The trick to connect the "hoop" is to bend the plastic first before piecing it all together. Make sure to point the "T" down or up depending on which hoop you are working with. I will say that the connectors aren't 100%, meaning sometimes with enough pressure they pop out of the PVC, but for the most part they stay in just fine. You could glue them in if you want it to be permanent. Connect your two hoops together using the upright pieces - two taller in the back and two shorter in the front.

***THIS IS A TRAVEL SIZE BEANBAG***
This means if you use a full size beanbag you will need more PVC and the upright pieces will probably be a different height as well. I would imagine instead of 4 pieces to each hoop, 5 would be more appropriate, as well as 5 uprights not 4. With 5 upright pieces I would make one piece about 5-7 inches taller than the two tallest uprights, and the shorter uprights about 10-12 inches shorter than the two taller ones. If that makes sense :-) For example: 1x 38 in., 2 x 33 in., and 2 x 22 in.

Final Product

I will also add that I use a Paul C. Buff Einstein E640 flash unit (strobe) and a 50x50 Westcott softbox.

27 Comments

Anna Banana

3/30/2017 01:43:14 pm

Pretty ingenious! Thanks for sharing your craftiness! :-)

Trish link

5/10/2017 09:06:00 pm

Finally!! I ve been looking for a Round DIY of the Poloma for a while.. I was thinking about using some Hula Hoops for top and bottom, but i coudlnt figure out how to connect them.

Ill be heading to the store tomorrow to get prodcuts!

Reka

5/18/2017 01:57:52 pm

Hi, thanks for sharing :) Could you tell me the size of your beanbag?

Tiffany

5/22/2017 09:00:06 pm

Your beanbag looks like its on the ground in the final image..i use a traveler also & this would be a great alternative for me.. I'm really looking for something (especially to raise my posing off the ground some!! Can you post a final "finished looked" in studio of how it'll look in use? It just looks like the poser is really far down from the actual backdrop stand so IDK how it would work without having to purchase another beanbag like all the other round posers advertise... Or did you do that??

Moonrise Photography link

5/24/2017 08:24:47 am

Hi Tiffany! I use just the traveler and a few blankets on top to raise it up to the level I need. I roll up swaddeling blankets and slide them underneath to prop baby in different positions. Once the posing fabric is clamped to the sides baby should sink into the center.
I have seen other photographers build a stand, or stack pallets to raise everything up, but since I travel I can only bring this stand and my poser.
I can try to find a pull back in use and update the blog for ya!

Jami Newman

6/19/2017 08:23:00 pm

Thank you for this!! My husband helped me make a stand tonight and I am trying it out tomorrow morning. I am just starting out, so purchasing a Paloma is out of the question for me financially, but I love the concept of a round stand!

Natalie

7/16/2017 12:34:16 am

Thank you! I need to do this. I made a square one a year ago but this is so much better. :)

miranda

8/25/2017 08:18:10 am

me es interesante la pagina que tienen

8/31/2017 11:15:57 am

Hola Soy de Bolivia ME ENCANTARIA APRENDER MAS DE LA FOTOGRAFIA.

mahia

9/4/2017 10:43:21 pm

What size fabric are you using?

Amber

10/25/2017 07:18:15 pm

Do you still use this on your newborn sessions? I just made one tonight and looked at your albums! Just wondering you used this on them 😍 I’m excited to try mine out!! Thank you for the tutorial!

Julia link

11/28/2017 12:31:23 am

All the pvc piping and connectors only cost you $25? It total??
I made a square one for a stool (which I feel cost me more than that and not all Home Depots fmhavr the same parts - annoying!) but now want to make a smaller round one for a travel bean bag I already have.

Moonrise Photography

11/28/2017 11:09:36 am

Hi Julia!

Yes everything cost that much. But the stuff to keep in mind is that I used a hand saw I already had to cut the pipe, and I have a travel size beanbag, so if you use a regular size round beanbag you might need to purchase more pipe. And the thicker the pipe the most expensive, but not by much!

Jenny

12/6/2017 09:56:28 am

Thank you for posting this!! I travel and have a square stand that I also made but was thinking the round one would be so much better to use for traveling and so much quicker to set up and take down.

bri link

1/11/2018 08:28:36 am

Totally curious b.c you said sometimes the the PVC may pop off of the connectors. Or maybe you said that they "could" pop out.
I wonder if there's a way to make them stay but not permanent? My fear is that they would pop off while a baby is on it and accidentally hit baby.

Completely ingenious concept! Definitely making one and will be looking for a way to put some "locks" on the connectors maybe?

1/11/2018 11:02:16 am

Hi Bri!

I personally have never had that happen, but I would guess you could glue or duct tape it somehow. The only reason it pops off is because mine is made for a traveling size beanbag. This means the hoop is smaller to the point that it puts more pressure at each junction. I just got a bigger bag so I plan to add another section to my hoops and vertical part which should keep the connectors together more.
Even if they were to come apart while shooting, the fabric should be on top and secured with a clamp so if anything I would worry about one of the sides falling down. But I don't think that would put baby in any danger.

1/12/2018 07:59:43 am

Thank you for your reply! :) I made one last night and LOVE it. I found some clamps that can go on the fittings so it will keep it tight. I have to figure out a way to raise the beanbag up a little bit but other than that.. it's amazing! I have a NB session today and I will be testing it out!

Jen Brandt link

1/15/2018 11:47:11 am

Jessica!! I was soooooo excited to find this tutorial and am currently looking at all my supplies on the floor in front of me. LOL!! Did you make the bottom hoop smaller than the top?

Am so excited to get mine done and try it out at my session tomorrow. With business booming, having something a little more portable in my little space will be amazing!! Thank you again for posting this tutorial.

Jen

1/17/2018 06:33:36 am

Hi Jen!

The hoops are the same size, its the vertical pieces that are different. Since I only had 4 vertical pieces the front two were shorter than the back two to create the angle needed for photographing.

So sorry for the delayed response! I hope you enjoy using it!!!

Sonja link

1/30/2018 08:19:58 am

Is this easy to take apart and travel with?

1/31/2018 07:11:44 am

Yes! As long as you don't do something permanent to the joint pieces like duct tape or a glue of some sort. I left mine as circles, but could easily take them apart and remake them when I get to a client's house. I would make sure to mark the pieces of the bottom hoop with a marker as A, and the top hoop B, just in case!

Amanda link

2/3/2018 01:10:22 pm

I just made one. It seems a little unsteady, do you have issues with this? would gluing it help?

Emily link

2/4/2018 10:29:35 am

I’m going crazy this is a huge pain. Why am I the only one having issues haha the joints keep popping out and even the tape used to hold them in isn’t holding. I’m using 5- 2.5’ pieces per circle and they won’t stay for anything !!! I went to Home Depot to get everything and the beginning says PeX but farther down it says PVC. They are totally different things so I used pvc for the uprights to make it stuffed and they don’t fit the joints. I’m not having a good time with this 😂😂😳😳

Emily

2/4/2018 10:39:08 am

I mean sturdier (not stuffed)

2/5/2018 03:57:44 am

Amanda - I personally don't have issues with mine. Its not metal, but the pvc should hold its shape. Again, I formed mine for my travel size newborn beanbag so anything bigger is a realm I am not familiar with. Are you having issues with the pieces popping out? If so, make sure to curl the pvc before attaching all the pieces, they wont want to on their own, you kind of have to force them into a curved position.

Emily - So sorry you are having issues! As I mentioned above, the PVC needs to be manipulated a little before putting the connectors in and making your "hoop". When you went to home depot and you got the pieces, did you make sure they were pretty bendable? You definitely don't want regular PVC. I vaguely remember the part I was in there was a roll of 100ft. pex pvc you can buy, or you can get just the 5-10ft pieces in white, red or blue.
For the uprights you have to make sure the pvc is the same diameter as the pex pvc you used for the hoop, otherwise your "T" joint connectors won't work.

****Now just FYI, the connectors I got go INSIDE the pipe, but you could purchase the ones that go on the outside of the pipe by looking in the regular pvc section for all the joint options. there are elbow joints, t joints, all kinds. If you use these you can also get pvc glue that keeps them together permanently (except for the uprights.

I hope that makes sense!!!

Please feel free to email me at moonrisephotography@hotmail.com if you have any other questions or I can send photos of what I am talking about!

Jessie

2/5/2018 05:40:07 am

Yup I did all that but when I went to Home Depot and said pex pvc he said which one they are two different things so I showed him the article and he said “wait she says both well which one is she talking about” so I did regular pvc for the uprights and pex for the circle. I had to use electrical tape to keep the joints from popping out and use 5 pieces instead of 4. And they still will barely stay in. I don’t know why I’m the only one having issues !!!!

Jessica

3/17/2018 10:26:08 am

I am also having issues. My t- connectors keep breaking off inside of the pipe. I am going to try and find a connector that fits on the outside because I definitely don't feel it's safe enough to use with a newborn as is. I used the same measurements and pre-bent the pipes so I'm not sure why mine are breaking off.

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DIY Round newborn posing stand | Traveling Newborn Photographer | Moonrise Photography | Richmond VA Newborn Photographer

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