My Kids Ran Off to Join the Circus...

...but really. Our house can feel like a circus sometimes, and I'm sure most parents can relate.

A little backstory on this photo:

I had this image in my head for quite a while before I decided to actually create it. My kids love animals, and my older daughter, who is an incredibly responsible and patient 5 year old, fit this scene perfectly. I imagined her as a lion tamer but decided on an elephant to represent her "larger than life" attitude.

Then comes my 2 year old...she's kind of wild (an understatement) and absolutely loves climbing and jumping on things. So, naturally, I made her an acrobat.

When I was imagining this scene, I kept thinking vintage, dark, and moody; almost monotone, with lots of smoke and spotlights. I began with a few images of my kids, and began putting everything together over the course of 3 weeks.

I started with an image of my 5 year old in a black and white dress that I picked up from Walmart for $5. I had her stand on a stool holding a garlic clove, and told her to imagine that she was feeding a peanut to an elephant. This was the result...

Next, I needed to figure out how to get an image of my 2 year old suspended in the air. First I tried having her father hold her hands a lifting her off the ground. She posed her legs perfectly!

But, I still needed to get her hands in the shot, so I grabbed a large branch and we tried again...

Perfect! I used both photos, and a little Photoshop magic, to create the overall image of her hanging from the trapeze.

Finally, I added a ton of stock images. For the curtains, I used a picture of a red and white wood floor. The blanket and head piece on the elephant was created from a stock texture image and a picture of feathers. The list goes on.

I pieced this image together from practically nothing without knowing how it was going to turn out, but I can admit that I am really pleased with the results. Thanks for reading!

Credit for the direct stock links can be found below:

Red and White Stripes: https://pixabay.com/en/wood-wall-stripes-red-white-569038/
Circus Stand: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-render-classic-circus-arena-empty-467545130
Circus Ring: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/3d-render-empty-classic-circus-arena-469773899
Fez: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/red-arabian-fez-1171565
Elephant Blanket/Head Piece: https://pixabay.com/en/pattern-crochet-hand-labor-thread-1613676/4
Trampoline: https://pixabay.com/en/girl-jump-trampoline-outdoor-679263/
Elephant: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/elephant-1381197
Monkey: https://pixabay.com/en/ape-monkey-animal-cute-mammal-2121918/
Trapeze: https://pixabay.com/en/acrobats-cirque-du-soleil-1934622/
Smoke Overlay: http://ashensorrow.deviantart.com/art/smoke-texture5-208604571
Balloon: http://maureenolder.deviantart.com/art/STOCK-PNG-red-balloon-196178396
Peanut: http://clipartpng.com/?1090,peanuts-png-clip-art
Feathers: http://kansheera-stock.deviantart.com/art/Feather-Stock-341713414
Circus Sign:
Top Hat: http://lisajen-stock.deviantart.com/art/Top-hat-2-94450076
Texture Overlay: http://insan-stock.deviantart.com/art/Paper-Texture-56734374