During these troubled times of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent quarantine measures most countries have imposed, photographers are faced with a new challenge: to shoot at home. But is there anything interesting or even worth shooting when you are locked at home? Here is a list of ideas to help you boost your inspiration and find that your home environment has a huge photographic potential. It is just a matter of widening your perspective and having an open mind.
Portraits of your siblings:
Unless they are not willing to cooperate with you, your own siblings can make great subjects to photograph during these days. You can photograph them while doing their most loved hobbies or just in ordinary day-to-day activities, as a way of documentary photography.Tell your own quarantine story through photographing your space:
Think about how you can tell others about your life when you are at home. What do you like to read, what is the view from your window, what music do you listen to, what does your desk look like after one day of work at home. All of these things can be a motive for an interesting photograph.Face to your garden or the sky:
If you are lucky enough to have a garden, even a small one, you can turn to it to capture all the activity going on, photographing plants, insects, fruits, stones and any other interesting element present. In case you do not have a garden, aim for the sky and look for odd patterns and shapes in the clouds.Shoot the starry nights:
While not every night is clear and starry, try to spot at least one that will make a great night for shooting the sky, moon and stars. These photographs are always ideal for backgrounds and for many different kinds of projects, plus you can also experiment with exposure times to create interesting effects.Use your pet as a model:
Even though animals are very difficult to direct, you can try to photograph your pet in different ways, while having a treat, exercising, playing around, going for a walk or just taking a nap.Turn your desk into a mini studio:
Especially if you have no photography studio at home, you can easily turn your own desk into a mini studio, by adding backdrops and using some few lights, including your own camera flash. This really works well for photographing objects like bottles, figures, books or any other household element you may think of that may be photogenic.Tell your life through your objects:
Think of all the objects in your room that have a deep emotional meaning to you and photograph them in a way they convey your own life story. Something as simple as your favorite toy from childhood can tell so much about the things you loved as a kid and the sensibility of your adulthood.Cooperate with models over webcam:
Try thinking really outside the box and book a webcam session with a model. You can definitely achieve some great results if you both cooperate with poses, locations and light. This does require a decent resolution webcam to get some quality images but it can be a great experience. Make sure you study the model's home to identify places with best light sources and arrange a prior meeting to pick up wardrobe, props and discuss other creative ideas.You can be your best model:
If you have never felt motivated to do self-portraits then this may be a great opportunity to explore at it. Think of what you want to say with each pose and the background you choose to work with. Think of props and wardrobe too, as they can be extremely effective in the mood and message of the overall image. Try to keep things as natural as possible and not to stage them much, as this will eventually be visible in the work you do, unless of course that's your main goal. Once again, this is an opportunity to photograph yourself in your own home environment, surrounded by the people and things that compose a great deal of your life.
No quarantine period will ever be easy to anyone, not to mention a photographer whose main love is to be outside capturing all the world has to offer. But with every hardship comes an opportunity, and therefore, the photographer must be able to adapt to the new situation and embrace it creatively, telling his or her own story through the faces, objects and views that compose this new perspective. After all, you can quarantine people but not their creativity.
