Get creative and by photographing in your fridge. You can use macro, or wide shots. You can leave things in your fridge or take them out and photograph them in a different scenario. Whichever way you choose to go, be creative, and tell your story.
Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.
Tips for photographing IN THE FRIDGE
Stuck at Home? – Ways Still Life Photography Can Keep Your Skills Sharp
Simple Methods for Creating Better Still Life Images
Creative Macro Photography – A Guide to Freelensing
Five Ways to Take Your Macro Photography to the Next Level
Reverse Lens Macro: How to use it as a Great Learning Tool
6 Still Life Photography Mistakes and How to Avoid Them
Food Photography – When to Use Natural Light (and When Not To)
The dPS Ultimate Guide to Food Photography
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.
Share in the dPS Facebook Group
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSintheFridge to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – In the Fridge appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
The Nikomat FT2 is a heavy, overly-complicated, fingernail-destroying film SLR from the 1970s. If you’re wondering why it carries the “Nikomat” name instead of “Nikon,” well, it’s because the latter was reserved for pro bodies, the former for consumer. Yet despite its “consumer” status, the FT2 is easily one of Nikon’s most difficult cameras to use, ever.
Everything from loading the film, to changing the shutter speed, to mounting a lens is needlessly complicated. Still, 35mmc.com’s Aaron Gold found reasons to love this ugly duckling.
Read: Nikomat FT2 review – because photography isn’t complicated enough
About Film Fridays: We recently launched an analog forum and in a continuing effort to promote the fun of the medium, we’ll be sharing film-related content on Fridays, including articles from our friends at 35mmc.
The post 5 Tips for Doing Photography While Social Distancing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Are you having a hard time doing photography while social distancing?
Do you need some help determining what and how to photograph during these difficult times?
90mm | f/2.8 | 1/320s | ISO 320
You’ve come to the right place.
Because as hard as it is to deal with the current situation, there are still photographic opportunities everywhere.
You just have to know how to see them!
So if you’re looking to capture some great images, even now…
…read on.
1. Go on walks and photograph the scenery
Plenty of countries are currently in full lockdown, which means that you can only leave your home for exercise.
But while you’re out walking, why not take some pictures?
Obviously, don’t approach people on the street or linger too long in one place.
But there are plenty of gorgeous parks out there where you can capture some stunning landscapes as you walk along.
An image taken on a recent walk. Canon EF 24-70mm f4L lens|70mm| f/8.0| 1/20s| ISO 200
And if you don’t live near a park, just go for a walk around your neighborhood! Take some photos of trees waving in the sunlight, of flowers starting to bloom in gardens, and more.
The opportunities are endless. The key is to be open to more unusual, spontaneous images.
By the way, I’d recommend using a telephoto lens for this, such as a 70-200mm zoom; that way, you can stay on paths and avoid approaching houses and other people.
I’d also recommend going out at sunrise or sunset, when the light is warm and golden. That way, you can capture gorgeous skies, gorgeous clouds, and just take in the beautiful world.
2. Capture gorgeous macro photos in the garden
It’s now officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere.
With spring comes flowers, and with flowers comes the potential for beautiful macro shots.
Get your closest-focusing lens, or a dedicated macro lens if you have one, and go out into your garden.
You can easily photograph flowers like these in the garden! Nikon 60mm f2.8 lens | 60mm| f/5.0| 1/200| ISO 320
Look for flowers, and try to capture some beautiful colors, textures, and even more abstract flora shots.
I recommend doing macro photography on cloudy days, because the diffused light will help bring out flower colors.
I also recommend getting down low, on a level with your subject, so you can portray the world from a more intimate perspective.
By the way, if you don’t have any flowers, that’s okay!
You can still photograph plants, trees, buds, or even weeds. The beauty of macro photography is that there are subjects everywhere.
3. Spend time creating a studio in your home
If you’re like me, you’ve always wanted to create a photography studio in your home.
But you just haven’t had the time.
Imagine what you could do with a studio (after all the social distancing is over, that is!).
You could do portrait photoshoots.
You could do pet photoshoots.
You could create all sorts of still life setups.
You could do high-speed photos of balloons popping, or of colored water, or of products, or of food…
Really, you can do tons with a proper studio.
A home studio is great for capturing photos of pets! 55mm| f/6.3| 1/160s | ISO 250
So why not set it up now, while you’re stuck at home?
Here’s what you need:
First, some sort of backdrop. A black tablecloth will work just fine for many purposes, but you can also use a large, white slab of cardboard, a proper photography backdrop (these can be purchased online), or even an interesting wall.
Next, you’ll want at least one light source. You can use natural light, in which case you should simply position your studio near a window (ideally with the window light coming from slightly in front of your setup, so you have light falling on your subject from the front and side).
You can also use artificial light, which is what I’d recommend; this gives you more options and limits you less in terms of shooting on poorly-lit days and at night.
If you do go with artificial light, you’re going to want several speedlights at the very least. I recommend two for beginners, though three is also a good number, and one is adequate if you’d like to keep costs down. These speedlights will need to be held up with light stands, so you’ll want a couple of those.
You’ll also need light modifiers. Options here include umbrellas, softboxes, diffusers, snoots, and more. Though I’d recommend going with a couple of basic umbrellas because these are great for softening the light and easy for beginners to get the hang of.
Last, if you’re doing any sort of product or still life photography, you’re going to want a table. A simple wooden option works well, and it doesn’t have to look new. A bit of texture can make your product shots and still lifes even more interesting!
And speaking of still life photography:
4. Level up your still life photography skills
If you’ve ever considered pursuing still life photography, now is a great time.
You can do still lifes with a studio setup, as discussed above.
Or you can do still lifes without much of anything, except a few subjects, some window light, a table, and a wall.
The latter method is practically free, and it can result in stunning shots. So it’s a great way to get started with still life work over the next few months.
For basic still life subjects, fruit is a great choice (I’m partial to pears and apples, but you can use basically anything).
Flowers, including cut flowers you can grab when checking out at the grocery store, are an excellent option, as well.
In fact, you can do all sorts of cool photography with flowers or fruit. While it’s possible to do classic still lifes, you can also do more abstract shots, like this:
This type of black background, illuminated flower setup is something you can work on when doing still life photography. Canon EF 100mm f2.8L Macro | 100mm | f/2.8 | 1/100s | ISO 200
Given the current situation, I don’t recommend taking trips to the store just to buy still life subjects.
But if you’re already at the store, there’s not much harm in grabbing a couple of extra apples or a bouquet of flowers.
And, by the way:
You can also do still life photography using objects you find in your home.
Objects such as bowls, plates, silverware, vases, jugs, antiques, and much more.
So don’t feel like you have to go out into the world to get subjects. Some of the best subjects are right in the house with you!
5. Get to know your camera while stuck inside
Cameras are complicated.
Which means that there are probably things you don’t know about them, but should be familiar with if you want to capture the best possible photos.
So, whenever you get the chance, I recommend you turn on your camera and explore.
Start with all the external buttons. Do you know what they can all do?
Then dig into the menu items. Scan over every single option.
While getting to know my camera, I snap a lot of random pictures to test out functions. This is one of my most recent ones! Canon EOS R | Canon 24-70 f4 lens | 70mm| f/4.0 | 1/160s | ISO 3200
And as soon as you hit something you’re not sure about, or you’re not completely familiar with…
…look it up.
(You can use your camera manual, or you can just do a quick Google search.)
If it’s an especially useful feature, then make a note. And ensure that, the next time you get a chance to do some photography, you try it out.
Make sense?
And by the way, every camera is different. So if you have multiple cameras, I recommend you follow this tip for each and every one of them.
That way, when things are better, you’ll feel much more at home with your camera.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these tips will help you continue to improve your photography while social distancing.
Because while things are tough, it really is possible to keep up your photography!
So good luck, and stay safe! And, as always, share your photos with us in the comments section!
The post 5 Tips for Doing Photography While Social Distancing appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Its hard to imagine a time without photography. With access to small but powerful cameras that will fit in your pocket a normal occurrence in the world today, not being able to capture a moment seems like such an alien concept. There are over 95 million photos and videos shared on Instagram every single day but not too long ago Continue Reading
The post When Was Photography Invented? appeared first on Photodoto.
Live your passion. That’s what you’d like to do, right? Spend your days doing what you enjoy? Unfortunately, you gotta eat and do adulting things like paying bills. For that, you need money and your passion might not be good enough. Or is it? There are many ways to turn your passion for photography into an income stream. None of Continue Reading
The post How to Make Money With Photography and How Much Can You Expect appeared first on Photodoto.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
Since many of us are still limited to where we can go, this week’s photography challenge topic is the ICM (intentional camera movement)!
I focused the camera then as I pressed the shutter button, moved the camera following the direction of the grass blades. f/16, ISO 100, 1/15th sec.
This is a fun exercise you can try inside your home or out in your yard (if you are lucky enough to have one). If you live in an apartment in the city, you may want to try capturing the night city lights with ICM instead.
You’ll want to use a relatively slow shutter speed – something slower than around 1/15th of a sec. Then you will want to physically move the camera in the direction you want as soon as you hit the shutter button.
Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.
Tips for photographing the ICM
How to Take Creative Landscape Shots using Intentional Camera Movement
Creative Reasons to use Intentional Camera Movement
Intentional Camera Movement and the Landscape
Intentional Blur- How to Create it and Why it’s Awesome
How Mark Rothko’s Paintings Can Inspire Your Photography
5 Great Ways to Create Abstract Wave Photography
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.
Share in the dPS Facebook Group
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSICM to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
Whether you’re stuck indoors due to the global pandemic, or other reasons, there are plenty of ways to keep busy and to keep your photographic senses sharp. We’ve already covered some general photographic ideas for isolation as well as ways working photographers can keep busy. But what about old school analog shooters?
What follows are nine ways film photography lovers can stay occupied and have fun, all from the comfort and safety of your own home. Activities range from building your own cameras, to making your own strange film stocks, to learning to develop and print at home. Let’s dive in!
Build a pinhole camera
Building a pinhole camera is a classic Photo 101 exercise, but one that truly conveys the beauty and simplicity of “painting with light.” The Internet is filled with tutorials about making pinhole cameras from everyday materials. The most basic generally employ an aluminum can as one’s light-proof container, a piece of photo paper as the light-sensitive material and a small hole in the can as the aperture and lens. A simple piece of gaffer’s tape can function as the shutter, controlling when exposures begin and end.
For a more refined pinhole experience, many brands offer build-your-own kits ranging in their sophistication and complexity. Also a brand called Lensless offers a very cool line of wooden pinholes with different focal lengths, image size formats and made of different wood types. We’re also big fans of the Solarcan (above), a single-use pinhole meant to capture multi-day exposures of the sun’s path in you guessed it, a large can.
Learn to develop B&W film at home
Whether you’re new to developing B&W film or you have some experience, home developing is a fun, easy and reasonably inexpensive hobby. It’s also the kind of activity that’ll likely help you better appreciate the magic of photography and the nuances of chemistry.
We’ve put together a complete guide with everything you need to known to get started, including which supplies and chemicals to buy, how to clean up, how to digitize your negatives and other best practices. Read it below:
Developing film at home: everything you need to know to get started
Set up a home darkroom and make some prints
While we’re on the subject of developing B&W at home, why not make some B&W prints with your freshly-dried negatives while you’re at it? Home printing is almost certainly easier and cheaper than you might think.
Our pals over at the analog blog 35mmc.com have put together a handy guide to home printing on a shoestring budget. They even address concerns like: printing in a small space (such as an apartment) and how to best source equipment on the used market. You’ll also find some very handy tips for improvising darkroom gear with ordinary household items.
Read: How to build a darkroom for cheap
Digitize old negatives / experiment with sandwiching negatives
Whether you’re a former film shooter sitting on a box of aging negatives, or a modern analog maverick with current work in need of digitizing, scanning film can be a very rewarding, though often time-consuming activity. It can also be approached in many different ways. One of the most popular methods involves digitizing using a flatbed scanner and film holders. Epson’s V600 series is one you’ll hear mentioned often by film shooters because it is both affordable and fairly easy to use.
For quicker results, you can try photographing negatives with a macro lens on a digital camera with a diffused light source behind the negative; there are quite a few solutions out there for how to best mount/flatten one’s negatives when using this method. We personally think Nikon’s ES-2 film adapter works fairly well, and we’re also fans of the Pixl-later.
Another way to breathe some fresh creative life into old (or new) negatives is to experiment with sandwiching them together when digitizing. This can lead to some fun and funky results.
Turn your house/apartment into a camera
Photo: Brendan Barry
Sure, can-sized pinhole cameras are fun, but why not turn an entire room in your house or apartment into a giant pinhole? Photographer Brendan Barry is no stranger to turning odd things into picture-making machines and in the tutorial below, he’ll show you how to create a larger than life camera and capture the results, all without leaving the confines of your home.
Considerations like which room to use, what kind of lens to employ and how to create a positive print are all covered at length. We just hope you’ve got some extra cardboard lying around to cover your windows!
Build a 35mm film camera
So we’ve covered making pinhole cameras both from household items as well as turning your house itself into a camera. Both these methods look to capture an image on light sensitive paper. But what if you want to build a camera that can capture images on film instead?
Given the complexities of any working film camera, there aren’t many useful tutorials out there for how to build one from scratch. But worry not. For a hands-on experience that’ll teach you the basic mechanical functions of how a film camera works, look no further than Lomography’s Konstruktor Camera. This affordable kit will take a few hours to put together and the final product is a fully-functional 35mm camera that’s actually pretty fun to shoot. There’s even a flash-compatible model.
For more on the Konstruktor, including samples, check out this review on Popphoto.com from several years back.
Hunt for a new analog companion
Gear acquisition syndrome is real and we in no way are trying to encourage those with enough cameras to add to their collection. However, if you are genuinely in the market for a new analog friend, we’ve put together two guides listing 20 of our absolute favorite film cameras.
These two lists include both medium format and 35mm cameras. It’s also worth noting we’ve tried our best to only recommend cameras that have a reputation for reliability and that are fairly priced on the secondhand market. So get ready to hunt through Ebay, here are the 20 best film cameras worth buying right now…
Analog gems part 1: 10 excellent, affordable film cameras
Analog gems part 2: 10 additional film cameras worth buying right now
Track down some unusual film or make your own
It may seem somewhat counterintuitive, but in many respects, we’re living in a golden age of film experimentation. For starters, the second-hand market is awash with tons of expired film to shoot with, often for very cheap. And brands like Lomography offer an impressive catalog of strange film stocks (we personally enjoy the Lomochrom Purple). There are also plenty of smaller, boutique brands making fun and whacky films.
For those of you already with a freezer full of film, try soaking a few rolls in everyday household liquids. For instance, the image above was from a roll soaked in pickle juice. Just be sure to give said roll a thorough soaking in fresh water and dry it before running it through your camera (and keep those processes light-tight). It’s also a good idea to give your film handler a heads-up about how you’ve treated the film, or better yet, develop the rolls yourself.
Give your well-used gear some TLC
It’s important to keep your analog cameras in tip-top working order. And while there are many repairs we would never suggest you try, like anything involving wiring or disassembly, there are plenty of smaller repairs and bits of maintenance you can do to increase the life span of your cameras.
One of the simplest repairs involves replacing the light seals and bits of foam inside the film door. You can pick up a generic pack of light seals / foam off places like Ebay for very little money. Another simple repair involves using rubbing alcohol to de-corrode electronic contacts and/or remove stuck-on grime from the camera body. And for those who are a bit more confident, cleaning or replacing a film SLR’s focus screen can go a long way towards improving usability.
The wrap
And there you have it, nine fun ways analog shooters can continue to keep busy in these strange times. Think of these activities as forms of self care, because for many of us, photography and photography-adjacent projects help us tap into a sense of calm and peace. Sure, shooting film won’t end the global pandemic. But at least nurturing your love of analog can help distract you while you remain safely at home.
Got any more fun film photography ideas for isolation? Drop them in the comments below and we’ll consider adding them to this list.
The post How to Use Intentional Camera Movement in Your Photography to Great Effect appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.
The presentation of motion in a static image is the subject of this article – a seeming contradiction in terms. This is not the case, and today you’ll discover how to use intentional camera movement to create dynamic images. You’ll learn the techniques you can use during the day and those which you can use at night. So read on and find out how you can make your photos dynamic!
What is intentional camera movement?
This image used a day time zoom burst, and a strong ND filter.
The majority of the time, you’ll be taught to keep your camera still, to avoid blur in your photo. However, what if you moved the camera during an exposure, and you did it on purpose? This is what intentional camera movement is.
Now for this effect to work, you’ll need to use slow shutter speeds. You won’t see any worthwhile results from shutter speeds over 1/100th.
It’s possible to practice this handheld with shutter speeds between 1/50th and half a second. Anything slower than that will require a tripod for the best results.
How to use intentional camera movement during the day
There is more than one way you can apply intentional camera movement to your work. The most well known is probably panning. The following are the main ways you can move your camera, and produce interesting results.
Panning is a technique that tracks movement.
1. Panning
Panning is a technique used to show the motion of a moving object. The aim is to move your camera at the same pace as a moving object and to expose the image for around a third of a second to produce blur in the background.
There are several ways you can refine this technique to produce even better results.
The shutter speed used will also be dependent on the speed of the object you are panning. This is a nice technique to try as there is a clear main subject, which is not always the case with intentional camera movement.
2. Zooming
A night time zoom burst, with light painting across the scene.
Using zoom during the day can also give interesting results. You’ll learn how you can add even more to this technique at night by reading below. The effect is produced by changing the focal distance of your lens, so primes lenses won’t work here.
The following are the steps you’ll need to take to create a daytime zoom burst.
Exposure – You’ll need to find a location that allows you to expose at 1/10th second or longer. If you choose to use a longer exposure, you’ll need a tripod.
Lens – You’ll need a lens that allows you to manually change the focal distance during the course of the exposure.
Filter – Those daytime long exposures will likely require an ND filter to achieve them.
Zoom in – The effect will broadly be the same whether you zoom in or zoom out, but for daytime zoom, it’s better to zoom in.
Focus – Focus your camera at the focal distance you intend to finish the zoom burst at. This may require pre-focusing the camera, and setting the camera to manual focus for the exposure itself.
Location – A location with something overhead like a tree canopy will work best to show the zoom effect. A clear sky won’t show any zoom at all.
3. Intentional camera movement
This type of photo is often very abstract in nature. The goal is to move the camera in such a way it produces appealing blur patterns in your image. You’ll need a longer exposure to produce this.
Circular motion is a type of intentional camera movement.
The best movements are often defined shapes. If you move your camera in a straight line, a circular motion, or perhaps a heart shape, you should get a nice result.
It’s possible to carry out photos like this handheld if the exposure is short, and you keep to a simple movement. An exposure of around half a second would work for this.
4. Using a tripod
It also possible to use intentional camera movement from a tripod, though you’ll be limited to the movements your tripod head will allow. That means you can produce all the shapes mentioned above, you’ll just be pivoting from a fixed position.
The advantage of using a tripod is that the camera will be that much steadier. The next advantage is that if you wish to combine intentional camera movement with a stationary phase to an exposure, this is possible with a tripod.
Techniques you can use at night
Lights from an event like Christmas are great opportunities for kinetic light paintings.
It’s that much easier to practice intentionally camera movement at night. That’s for two reason. The first is it’s easier to carry out long exposure, as the light level will be lower. The second is light sources you’ll see out night will light paint across your scene. In fact by night intentional camera movement might more accurately be described as kinetic light painting. The techniques listed above can be adapted to night photography. Panning is almost the same, so this won’t be discussed any further.
1. Kinetic light painting zoom
Kinetic light painting involves changing the focal distance of a zoom lens, during a long exposure photo. The exposure lengths at night mean you’ll now need to use a tripod to get good photos using this technique.
A key difference with daytime zooming is that it’s preferable to zoom out when practicing this. The reason for this is you want the light paint to zoom outwards across your scene. If you zoom in, the chances are you’ll have light painting across your main subject in the center of your scene. To find out more about this technique, you can read this article.
This photo shows the result of camera rotation, and kinetic light painting.
2. Kinetic light painting rotation
Another type of kinetic light painting is camera rotation. Once again, you’ll need a tripod for this, and you’ll move your camera body while it’s attached to the tripod. It’s a technique that works best where there are tall structures. These can be tall buildings, statues or perhaps Christmas trees.
To make this technique work, you’ll need these structures to have lights on them. To find out more about camera rotation read this article.
Create dynamic images intentionally!
Now it’s your turn to get out and create some images. If you can’t get out and about, try some of these in your yard or home. It’s a great way of adding narrative to an image, or perhaps to create a completely abstract image.
Have you tried any of the ideas mentioned in this article? If you have what were your experiences?
As always, if you have images that display intentional camera movement, please share them in the comments.
The post How to Use Intentional Camera Movement in Your Photography to Great Effect appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Bond.
According to Sony Alpha Rumors, Sony has filed a patent for an interchangeable E-mount lens that will allow users to adjust focus after the shot has been recorded. The lens appears to contain a number of lenses arranged next to each other to record multiple individual images on the camera’s sensor that can be combined later presumably to control focus and depth-of-field.
The site doesn’t tell us where the patent information was seen so we can’t read it for ourselves, but some diagrams are provided that we are told are part of the application.
The Light L16 light field camera from Light Labs Inc
Sony investigating light field technology is nothing new, as in the past it has filed patents for a light field sensor and has a partnership to supply sensors to Light Labs Inc, the manufacturer of the Light L16 camera that was announced in 2015. The draw of the technology is obvious as it can allow multiple focal lengths to be used for full-resolution zooming and/or focus and depth-of-field selection after the event.
We have seen a few attempts at harnessing the idea in commercial camera products in the past, including the Lytro Illum, Nokia’s 9 PureView and to some extent a number of other multi-lens and multi-sensor smartphones. It is hard to tell from the available information exactly what these lenses will used for in this patented idea, and whether they will be to collect distance information or be used to expand the range of tones that can be recorded in a single shot – or both.
Either way, such a lens will need a camera with an extremely powerful processor or the ability to simply record the images for processing in software later – as with Sony’s Pixel Shift Multi Shooting mode that requires images are processed in the company’s Imaging Edge desktop application.
As we have all noticed in the past though, exciting patent applications don’t always result in a product that comes to market. If genuine however this does at least demonstrate Sony is still pursuing ideas in this area.
The post 10 Photography Projects You Can Work on From Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Matt Murray.
If you’ve suddenly found yourself at home for an extended period, your first reaction could be to feel restricted in terms of what you can achieve. Fear not, there are lots of photography projects you can work on from home. In this guide, I’ve detailed ten projects I plan on working on in the coming weeks.
1. Make a photography zine
With time on your hands, there’s no better time to start thinking about creating a photography zine. I’ve just made my first zine with images I took while on holiday on the Isle of Wight last year.
There was quite a steep learning curve for me in putting it all together. Some of the skills I learned include: how to select images for a book, page layout using Adobe InDesign, and the difference in how images look printed in the CMYK color space instead of how they’re viewed on the screen in the RGB color space. The next step is to market and sell my zine.
The whole process has been very rewarding. Look out for a future Digital Photography School article coming soon about this topic.
Checking the final layout of my first photo book ‘Every Summer’
2. Organize your Lightroom catalogs
If your Lightroom is anything like my Lightroom, of all the photography projects you can work on from home, this one could take the most time. Over the next few weeks, I’ve decided to start organizing it once and for all.
With well over 200,000 photos, this is a daunting task. Like all big projects, I’ve decided to break it down into manageable chunks. Starting with my 2019 photos, I’m aiming to sort, keyword and organize two months of photos per day.
My process includes adding keywords, adding ratings to photos I like, creating collections for shoots or locations, and flagging photos for deletion. It also includes exporting photos for a variety of uses: family photos, photo projects, stock photography, and for my portfolio and website.
The most rewarding part for me is flagging photos for deletion – this is a fantastic way to free up much-needed space on my hard drive. It’s so easy to forget that you have taken multiple photos – in both JPG and RAW format – of the same subject. I take great delight in flagging the ones I don’t need and deleting them forever.
If your Lightroom is anything like my Lightroom, it could benefit from some organization.
3. Catalog your equipment
If you’re anything like me, you probably have camera equipment in boxes, on shelves, everywhere! Getting it all down on the floor and sorting through it item by item can be a very useful activity. You may well find cameras, lenses, filters, or other items you forgot you had.
As I sort through my equipment, I like to catalog it all in a spreadsheet, making notes about each item. Noting if there’s an issue with its working or cosmetic condition, where I got the item from, and how much I paid for it. This is also a really good way to work out if there’s anything you don’t use anymore and could sell to fund other gear.
4. Research a photographer
When I was on holiday last year on the Isle of Wight in England, quite by accident, I discovered an amazing place called Dimbola. This was the home of the 19th-century photographic pioneer, Julia Margaret Cameron.
There’s a wonderful photography museum inside the house, along with descriptions of how she took the images and many prints of her work. Looking around the house, I wondered how many other amazing photographers I had never heard of?
For this project, research a photographer from the past. It could be from 20 years ago or 120 years ago. You could research a photographer from the genre that you like the most, or someone in a completely different genre. Who knows what inspiration might strike?
Take a look at our Lessons From the Masters Series.
Sadness (1864) by Julia Margaret Cameron. Can you believe this photo was taken over 150 years ago?
5. Create a memories book
When I was growing up, we had a cupboard under the bookshelf that held all of our photo albums. At any time I could dig them out and have a look (and a laugh) at all the family memories they contained.
These days, most of our family photos are on hard drives and devices. One of my goals is to create a series of memories books for my family. When I show my children photos from a few years ago, they always get a kick out of it. Why not use your time at home to create a book for someone in your family as a gift?
One of the advantages of sorting through your Lightroom catalog is that you’ll already have a folder of images ready to go for your memories book.
6. Read a photography book
If photography is your passion, you’ll no doubt have a bookshelf full of photography-related titles. I have dozens of photography books, yet there’s only a few that I’ve actually read cover to cover. Others I’ve put on the shelf telling myself that one day I would get around to reading them. Guess what? That ‘one day’ is here!
I now have a list of books that I will work through in the next month. Some I’ve read before, most I’ve only flicked through. For books that teach a technique, I like to make notes as I find that helps me remember the information more effectively.
Some of the photography books I plan on reading over the next few weeks.
7. Work on your lighting techniques
Now is the perfect time to working on your lighting techniques. As far as photography projects you can work on from home, learning more about light could have the biggest impact on you as a photographer.
Even with a single flash, there are dozens of different ways to light an image.
Once you add a light stand, an umbrella or a softbox, your options grow. Find a book or search dPS for lighting techniques, or watch some YouTube tutorials. Play around with how light affects your images. Often it’s trial and error, seeing what works and what doesn’t.
The set up for the photo below was quite simple. I laid my camera on a black sheet. Then I attached my Godox flash to a stand, pointing away from the subject into a silver umbrella. I then took a series of photos with Fujifilm X-T3 – a remote on the hotshoe triggered the flash.
There wasn’t much to do in post-production. I darkened the blacks a little and removed a small scratch from the top of my camera. You could apply this or other lighting techniques to people, food, objects, anything.
Try out your product photography skills by photographing your cameras.
8. Video chat with other photographers
In one of the many photography-themed Facebook Groups I’m in, someone organized a video conference a few days ago. About twenty of us dialled in from all over the world for a chat. Having the opportunity to talk to other people in different countries was amazing.
Lots of different topics were covered, including photography projects you can work on from home. Knowing that there are other people out there in the same boat can be quite comforting. Why not organize a video chat with a friend, or a group of people with the same interest? Many video conferencing tools are free, or have a free option.
9. Social media spring clean
It may not be spring everywhere in the world, but there’s no better time to spring clean your socials. Start by looking through your profile, is the description still accurate? Is your website listed? Is your profile photo up-to-date? Then take a look through your photos. Are there any that you’d like to hide or delete because they no longer fit with your profile or brand?
Next, look through the images you exported as part of your Lightroom Catalog clean-up. Think about the best order to post them in. Will you follow a theme based on location? Or simply post them in an order that looks good for the Instagram grid?
Finally, look at who you’re following on social media. Look for new accounts or hashtags to be inspired by, and also consider unfollowing accounts that you’re no longer interested in.
There’s no better time to Spring Clean your socials
10. Research a photographic technique
Photography is incredibly broad and diverse. There are so many different techniques to learn and master. As photographers many of us will only scratch the surface of what’s possible.
On Digital Photography School, there are articles on almost every kind of photography technique you can think of. Some of my favourites include how to shoot traffic trails, tips for shooting pet portraits, and taking better sunset photos.
You can also check out some of my recent articles for dPS including 17 Tips for Shooting Better Urban Portraits and Top Tips for Photographing the Best a City has to Offer in 48-hours.
Traffic trails in Taipei. I took this just before I had to leave for the airport to catch my flight.
Conclusion
Not being able to go out for an extended period of time can be daunting, but there are so many photography projects you can work on from home. From making zines to promote your work, creating photo books as gifts for family members, and of course, cleaning up your Lightroom catalog.
There’s also lots of inspiration you can take, from the thousands of articles here on dPS, or by researching a photographer or photographic technique.
What projects are you working on at home? Tell us in the comments below.
The post 10 Photography Projects You Can Work on From Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Matt Murray.
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