Creating a Mermaid Fairytale Photoshoot in a Backyard Kiddie Pool

One thing I think stops a lot of people from creating is the idea that everything needs to be perfect first.

Perfect weather.
Perfect location.
Perfect equipment.
Perfect budget.

And honestly… if we waited for all of those things to line up in Canada, we would create absolutely nothing for like 8 months of the year.

So we stopped waiting.

This shoot happened in Kate’s backyard in St. Catharines during what was technically supposed to be spring… except Canadian spring basically still feels like winter half the time.

I think it was around 7 degrees outside.

Everybody kept acting like we were insane for attempting this shoot, but honestly? It ended up being one of the easiest and most fun creative shoots we’ve done.

How We Actually Created This Shoot

This entire setup was honestly super DIY.

I bought some pieces online, handmade other parts myself, found moss, bought a kiddie pool, and then we basically built a tiny fantasy world in a backyard.

Kate was the perfect water fairy / mermaid for this concept.

Her fiancé, Brad filled the pool with warm water for her so she would not freeze, and we put a green blanket underneath the pool to create more depth and darkness in the water. Then we added moss, leaves, pearls, shells, and little details to make everything feel more magical and immersive.

And honestly… that’s really it.

No massive production team.
No expensive studio.
No giant budget.

Just creativity, friends helping each other, and making things work with what we had.

Why I Love Shoots Like This

I think people sometimes overcomplicate creativity so much that they end up never starting.

But some of my favorite shoots I’ve ever done happened because we simply decided to try an idea instead of overthinking it for six months.

This entire shoot probably lasted maybe 10 minutes in the water before we wrapped Kate in towels and warmed her up again.

She literally took a warm bath afterward and was completely fine.

Meanwhile everyone beforehand was acting like we were filming Titanic in the Arctic Ocean.

Sometimes people project anxiety onto creative ideas so much that they make everything feel impossible before you even begin.

But honestly, this shoot reminded me again that creativity does not need to be complicated to be beautiful.

Creating Fantasy Worlds With What You Have

These images were shot on my Sony Alpha 6600 with my Tamron 28-75mm lens, with help from our friend Tori and Brad, a kiddie pool, moss, shells, blankets, and random DIY styling pieces.

And somehow together, it turned into this dreamy little fantasy world.

That’s my favorite thing about photography.

You can create entire universes out of almost nothing if you’re willing to experiment a little.

And honestly… we’re already planning an upgraded version of this shoot now.

And I already know it’s going to be even crazier.