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Making a portrait with a beach ball

Explore how a colorful round prop can share the frame with a face, hands and a playful gesture.

Yenra Photography · Published October 17, 2026

A beach ball offers a colorful round shape and several easy ways to arrange the hands. Beside the body or nearer the face, it can become part of a portrait that a willing partner enjoys making with you. Begin with a comfortable hold and review one small variation together.

These Colossalcon 2015 examples compare two Rikka Takanashi portraits recorded on June 5 with an Ahri portrait recorded on June 7. They form a new editorial comparison of visible arrangements. Each photograph keeps its original frame, title, archive tags and capture date.

Begin with the ball beside the body

The ball sits beside the body, while the raised hand makes a small gesture near the face. Its large pink, white and blue panels create a broad shape separate from the expression. The original frame includes both the prop and the person with room to compare their contributions.

Notice where the hand meets the ball and how the round outline sits beside the body. A prop can give one hand a place to rest while the other adds a gesture. Your partner may prefer a different arrangement, and that preference is a useful starting point.

Invite them to hold a light round prop in a comfortable position. Make one photograph and look at it together. Ask what they enjoy about the expression, hand position or space around the ball before choosing a variation.

Try bringing the ball nearer the face

The second portrait brings the ball upward beside the face, supported by both hands. Its bright panels occupy the upper part of the image, and the face remains visible alongside it. Moving the prop changes the relationship among three familiar elements: hands, expression and round shape.

Compare this view with the first. The body position and gesture also differ, so the pair offers several things to notice together. You might enjoy the separate gesture in one and the closer connection between face and ball in the other.

Try a position nearer the face only as high as feels easy for your partner. A small change is enough to explore. Review the complete photographs and choose an arrangement that leaves the expression as visible as you both want.

Compare a lower two-handed hold

The Ahri portrait uses a lower two-handed hold with a patterned pink ball. Part of the ball extends beyond the original image edge. Small bubbles near the face and shoulders introduce another scale of round shape around the much larger prop.

Look at the space between the hands and face, then compare it with the preceding image. The different hold gives the ball a different place within the portrait. The bubbles are an additional visible detail you can enjoy without needing to recreate them.

A dry, comfortable location is enough for your own exercise. Try an easy hold, review it together and keep one variation you like. Leave yourself a brief question about what you would enjoy changing next time.

Look back with curiosity.

• How do the ball, hands and face share the frame?
• Which comfortable position would you like to try?
• What does each variation make easier to see?

Keep exploring

Exploring props in a portrait · Exploring hand gestures in a portrait · Noticing circles in a photograph

Browse the complete Colossalcon 2015 gallery. Follow a photograph into its original neighbors and see what else catches your attention. A small detail, an enjoyable gesture or a different ending can become the beginning of another experiment.