How to capture your own in-home shots!

Face it. We are all going a little stir crazy being stuck at home (unless you are one of those amazing essential employees in which case, thank you!!)

And while we might think that we will never forget all of these moments or even that nothing special is happening, you'd be wrong. Just like the country song says- "You're gonna miss this!" All of those little moments will soon fade. Life will get back to it's regularly scheduled chaos soon and you will quickly wish you'd taken two minutes to document this historic time. Something to pull out in a year or even in 10 years and show your kids and even their own children what happened when the world hit pause in 2020.

Today I'm going to share a couple of my own tips and tricks on how I capture real lifestyle moments in our house.

The number one tip is Always Be Ready! I have a camera on my desk that always has a card in it ready to shoot so that I'm not fumbling around looking for the right lens or a CF card and missing the moment. It's always got my go to lens on it- the 85mm and just waits for the moment. This should be especially easy if you're shooting with your cellphone. I mean come on- tell me it isn't attached to your hand like mine is.

#2- Light will always be your best friend. When I see the morning light streaming through the windows like in the picture above I start thinking of what I can capture to make the most of it. Generally placing your subject at a 45-90 degree angle from the light source is best for those darker moody shots. Avoid bright, direct light coming straight into the camera unless you are wanting the intense sun flare images like this:

In order to get that flare, the sun is peaking just into the edge of my lens from the window in my office to the far left.

#3- Sometimes messy is best. It's real life. Nobody's house is clean 24/7. Everyone is living in pj's and yoga pants. Showering daily, haha- that's a joke! Show the messy. Be real. The more authentic you are in your images the more you'll love them when you look back. Oh, and if your kids are doing something that causes a massive mess- CAPTURE IT BEFORE YOU CLEAN THEM UP! Um, hello blackmail photos for one day when they become parents!

#4- Posed is not bad! See pretty light but your kids are playing in a dark room? Nobody said you can't move the tote of baby dolls into the pretty light. If moving them to better light in no way changes the photo feeling of what is happening then I say go for it! Better light is always best if possible!

#5- Edit them to achieve the look you want. Filters work, but there are a few really great apps that are free that you can download and with just a few clicks you can take your every day images into something just a little more perfect. Think I'm kidding? I used the free Adobe Photoshop app to edit this image from the before to the after:

Before:

After:

So that's it! Just a few simple tweaks and it went from a dark, boring image to something just a little more epic.

Okay, now I need your input. Do you want me to keep sharing tips and tricks on photography? If so, what do you want to know- cellphone tips, editing, camera tricks? At this point I have a whole lot of time and seeing as how I don't do free time well, tell me how I can help you! You can either click Comments on this post or even click Contact Us and message me your requests. Oh, and since I thought it might be fun to see how you take these tips and use them, if you use any of these tricks I want to see what you've captured! Text me an image you shot using the tips and I'll share them on my social media. Want me to help you edit a cellphone image that you love but just can't get the most out of? Email or text it to me! Or DM me- whatever is easiest. I want you to walk away from this experience with some actual images that you love and can look back on and smile. This time shouldn't be all sadness and loss. Show the happy times too!

Have a wonderful long weekend, friends.

Cheers!

Nowelle