The great thing about photography is that it can be done ANYWHERE.
You don’t need to hike for hours or go to a national park to take amazing pictures. It can be done in your backyard or even inside your house!
Now, with such limited space, you’re going to have to get creative. Since you have most likely wandered around your home thousands of times, you might think that there is nothing interesting to photograph. WRONG!
If you take a moment to look at your home from a different perspective, you can spot all sorts of objects or locations that can make for a good picture. The list down below can help point you in the right direction!
Macro Photography
Macro photography can be a great way to explore your front or backyard and notice different details each time!
Next time you’re out there, grab your camera and look for certain textures or details that seem interesting. This could be anything from a small plant, a leaf on the ground, or even a spider web.
If you just had some rain, even better! Tiny water droplets on leaves can make for some amazing pictures!
Get down low, and change up perspectives. Look at a plant and challenge yourself on how you can make that plant look extremely interesting and unique. It might turn out cool or it may not. But at least you experimented, got outside, and took some pictures!
Family Portraits
Portraits can be a fantastic way to capture different emotions and get everyone involved with photography!
You don’t need expensive equipment or an entire studio to capture amazing portraits, you can do it right from your backyard!
There are 2 factors you want to focus on, with the first one being light.
Light is going to be very important because it will be the determining element that can transform your portraits from okay to great!
One of the best times is going to be right before sunset when there is nice golden light all around. If you want to learn more about the different types of light, click here. Make sure your subject is being illuminated and is not in the shadows. Have them do different poses and see where the light looks best.
Remember, you’re the photographer. It is your responsibility to “boss” them around and tell them where they need to be and where they should look. Have fun with it!
The second factor is your aperture.
Portraits turn out best when there is a nice bokeh (a blurry background). To obtain this result, all you need to do is open up your aperture to as wide as it goes (around f/3.5 or f/2.8).
The portrait can turn out even better if you are zoomed in, as this will compress your subject nicely, making them in focus and the background out of focus. Also, make sure to check your background so you don’t have any object “photo-bombing” your main subject.
Light Painting
Light painting can be a very fun and creative photography technique to try out! You only need a camera (or phone), a steady surface, a flashlight, and a dark room!
Set your camera up to take a long exposure, turn off all of the lights, and wave a flashlight around. Experiment to create different designs and symbols! To learn more about this technique read my article on light painting here.
Scavenger Hunt
Who doesn’t love an old fashioned scavenger hunt? Except this one is a photography edition!
Anyone that has an antsy photographer in the house, surprise them with a scavenger hunt! Go around your house and look for random objects, letters, or colors. Make a list, and tell them they have a limited time to complete it.
Now, this will most likely not result in the best images, but it can be a great way to get the creative juices flowing and reconnect with your camera!
Here’s an example list:
- Your reflection
- A bug
- Something red
- A plant
- A type of food
- Something with wheels
- A clock
- First letter of your name
- Symmetry
- A book
Photograph Pets
If you have a dog, cat, fish, turtle, snake, bird, or any other kind of pet, photograph them!
Pets can be a fun photography challenge to try out. You can photograph them sleeping, running, playing, or just wagging their tail.
They can be a great subject to practice different techniques on and they almost never get bored of you. A tip for photographing dogs is to hold a treat up next to you, so you can have the dog do different tricks or poses! Snap some pics and reward your furry friend.
A-Z Photography
This is the time to get creative! Go through the alphabet and take pictures of anything and everything that starts with those 26 letters.
Look around your house and spot any objects, people, food, drinks, or animals that can check off your A-Z photography list.
“D” for Dice?
Let’s say you thought of an apple for “A.” Don’t just see an apple and snap a photo. Get creative! Put it under different light, lay on the ground, stand on a chair (safely), or throw the apple in the air. Do this for all letters of the alphabet and you will definitely have a very unique set of images.
Food Photography
Food photography can be very fun and tasty to do! Slice some fruit up and take some aesthetic pictures of it. Wait for a family member or yourself to start cooking and photograph the process.
Capture the knife cutting the broccoli or all of the food nicely laid out on a cutting board. Notice the steam rising from the pot or take pictures of a perfectly symmetrical egg or pancake.
We’ve eaten food our whole lives and sometimes fail to see the little things that go into making it. Really study the process and the textures and get creative. Play around with the focus and/or zoom, and make some tasty pictures!
Although we are all stuck at home, we can make the most of it by picking up a camera and capturing anything around the house. It might even get you to appreciate the minuscule things you walk past every day or simply give you the chance to learn something new.
Have fun, stay safe, and keep photographing!
