In light of current events home photography has become the only creative solution for many photographers, artists, and even regular people searching for inspiration in arts who are currently stuck at home. Despite this recent boost, home photography has been hugely popular on visual-based social media platforms for years already. It’s always interesting to work with what you have and get creative with the surroundings you know so well.
Surprisingly, many still life shots are stock images as used by brands and businesses. Any home photography admirer can find a wide collection of beautiful pictures of interiors and still life photos created indoors on stock photography websites and use them for many personal and creative purposes, and design projects. You can also start with your own home photography project and experiment a little bit during self-isolation with these tips and ideas.
Light
Good exposure is crucial for any well-balanced and eye-pleasing image, and light is the key to proper exposure. You should always aim to find the balance of light in your photos, and you can do this regardless of the equipment you use to shoot inside your home.
- Use natural sources of light when you can
Of course, indoors and outdoors are incomparable in terms of the amount of natural light available. But you can still find how to leverage daylight inside your home. Natural light is perfect for taking amazing photos, and it’s particularly interesting to experiment indoors during the golden hour (after sunrise and before the sunset) and the blue hour (before the sunset and after the sunrise) for a variation of lighting conditions. You might be surprised with mesmerizing results you might get.
- Don’t mix different types of light in your photos
Artificial light can do miracles to your photos if it’s used the right way. For example, small LED decoration lights create a romantic atmosphere and lo-fi vibes in your pictures, and table lamps are perfect for cozy home shots. However, it’s important not to use different sources of artificial light at the same time for your shots since it makes photos look unbalanced and unnatural.
- Use flash wisely
You should not overuse your camera’s built-in flash at night or in dark spaces since the final pictures turn out overexposed and flat most of the time, so try to find an alternative source of light for night photos. However, you may try experimenting with flash in well-lit rooms for artistic purposes and altering the shadows of your pictures.
Composition and perspective
Composition is the very core of any picture, playing an important role in the visual balance of your images. It’s important to pay close attention to composition as it can add both balance and intrigue to your photos, depending on your artistic intention.
- Aim to take straight and steady shots
When you want to take some pictures of your interiors, you should try to make your shots as straight as possible. There is a great tool for shooting with your mobile phone that will improve your composition and will let you make sure the horizontal and vertical lines of your picture are in order. You can just turn the gridlines option on in your camera app settings. These lines, based on the ‘rule of thirds’, will help you set the perfect composition by placing your subjects or objects along the intersections.
- Purchase a tripod if you can
A tripod is a great tool for many photography genres since it helps you make your pictures steady and sharp. So if you can afford one, consider purchasing a tripod to further improve your in-home shots.
- Don’t be afraid to sit or kneel to get a low shot
Most people don’t usually really know how the world looks from a low vantage point unless they have small kids. But sometimes it’s really interesting to see how everything looks from such a perspective, especially when you want to take some great shots. You can search for interesting angles by changing your position, sitting, kneeling, or even squatting.
What to shoot at home
When you are done shooting your home design and interesting details it has, it is time to find some new creative ideas you can implement in your apartment. Below is the list of relatively easy yet thrilling ideas of what you can shoot at home.
- Experiment with some still life
Still life takes a solid place among photography genres since it provides almost limitless possibilities for creativity. There are hundreds of things inside your home that can serve as a subject for great still life shots. You can experiment with different things on a visually pleasing background, and eventually you will find the best sources of light for such images.
- Explore kitchen macro
Your kitchen has so many amazing structures, objects, and textures for experimenting with macro shooting, so why don’t you try shooting some close-ups there? The best part is that most kitchens have shiny and reflective surfaces that can serve as an interesting background for your home photography projects.
- Create a DIY lightbox
If you love taking pictures of your meals, why don’t you try something that will take your food photography to the next level? A DIY-lightbox is easy to make – you need a cardboard box, white paper lists, and a small lamp. All-white background is great for shooting food and other things in close-up since it makes the objects really stand out.
- Create your own filters with things you can find at home
Sure, Instagram and different photo editing apps such as VSCO provide quite a lot of color filters to create different moods for your images. You can try inventing some DIY-filters yourself with the help of things within your reach. You can use glass bottles from vine, whiskey, or other liquids since they have different colors and hues. Or you can try shooting through colored paper, plastic, and lenses to reimagine your hues.
- Try unconventional bokeh techniques
There are many ways to experiment with your backgrounds to create an interesting bokeh effect. For example, use some scrunched foil and shine some light on it with a lamp to create a magical-looking background for still life. Or you can try experimenting with the LED decoration light bulbs to create a bokeh effect. If you place them far enough, you might catch some bokeh bubbles and shoot a close-up of an object on this background.
The afterthought
The continuous self-isolation period has sparked creativity even in those who were far from their routine and photography habits in the studios and outdoors With the tips and ideas above you can improve your photo skills and take some perfect shots indoors to both work with limitations and explore the space you’ve grown to know so well.
