Creating a Baby Silhouette for Your Frame Wall

There’s been a placeholder silhouette on our frame wall for a while — a simple cutout of a little girl that’s been in Clara’s spot since before she was born. It was finally time to replace that generic silhouette with a likeness of Clara, so we photographed her profile, edited the image into a silhouette, printed it, and swapped it into the frame. Below is how we did it, with both a low-tech paper method and a faster Photoshop approach.

We take Clara’s weekly photo as part of our routine (see how we do that here), and while we were at it we grabbed a profile shot for the silhouette. The main goal was a clean, well-lit side view, so we took her onesie off to avoid bunching at the neck, placed her in front of the curtain in the sunroom to get a nice backlight, and encouraged her to look to the side by making faces and getting her attention. Shooting in natural light helped create the initial silhouette effect.

After a handful of frames we ended up with one that worked especially well for making a silhouette — the outline was clear, and the profile captured the little details we wanted to preserve.

If you don’t have Photoshop or prefer a hands-on method, here’s a simple low-tech way that anyone can do in about ten minutes:

1. Print the profile photo at the size you want the silhouette to be — slight blurring from enlargement won’t matter.
2. Carefully cut out the baby’s head so you’re left with a clean profile silhouette (it might feel odd, but it works).
3. Use that cut-out as a template to trace the shape onto black construction paper, then cut the silhouette from the black paper.

We chose the Photoshop route because it’s quick and allowed easy adjustments. I cropped the photo, desaturated it to black and white, and adjusted Brightness & Contrast (Image → Adjustments) until the profile was mostly dark. From there I used the paintbrush tool to fill lighter areas with solid black, added a few eyelashes and hair wisps for a classic silhouette look, and extended the shoulders slightly so the printed silhouette would be easier to trim and mount.

Once the silhouette looked crisp on screen, we printed it at the size we wanted — about 3.5″ x 5″ for our 5 x 7″ frame. Sherry took over the cutting with small hair-cutting scissors to get clean curves and fine details. Those little scissors worked perfectly for the delicate edges around the face and hair.

We removed the old placeholder silhouette and used a simple, colorful craft-paper background we’d been using in the frame. Swapping in Clara’s silhouette immediately made the wall feel more personal. The placeholder had been a charming stand-in, but seeing Clara’s actual profile in the frame made the difference obvious — especially in the hair department, where our expectations had been a little off. No worries — she’ll grow into her hair.

When trimming the bottom of the shoulders we left a small curve to create a traditional silhouette shape. Before printing I had added extra black at the base so Sherry could trim the shaped edge freehand and achieve that classic look without worrying about perfectly clean lines on the digital edit.

And with that, Clara’s round little head has a rightful place on our frame wall. We’re already looking forward to updating the silhouette as she grows — especially once her hair fills in a bit more. Have you tried a silhouette DIY for a child, pet, or family member? Cutting out a profile can feel strange at first, but it creates a timeless, personal piece that’s surprisingly simple to make.

Psst — want to know where we got something in our house or what paint color we used? Click the shop button on our site to explore items featured in our home.