One of the smartest ways to become a better photographer is also one of the simplest: get out there and take more pictures. However, that’s understandably difficult when the coronavirus pandemic has you stuck inside most (if not all) of the day.
Don’t worry if you’re a budding photographer currently practicing social distancing. While you may not be able to perfect your landscape shots right now, you can still boost your photography skills by focusing on indoor subjects. Use this opportunity to specifically practice the following key indoor photography exercises:
Coronavirus Photography Tips: How to Become a Better Photographer When You’re Stuck Indoors
Practice Your Nature Close-Ups
The fact that you’re stuck inside doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t boost your nature photography skills. You’ll simply have to focus (no pun intended) on close-ups for the time being. Get some indoor plants, and try to create dramatic compositions from the comfort of your own home.
Practice Your Selfie Skills
Even if selfies don’t normally interest you, practicing this popular type of shot while you’re under lockdown can help you develop other skills that will become useful later. For instance, if you want to photograph human models in the future, practicing selfies can help you better understand how such elements as clothing, makeup, and lighting contribute to a shot’s overall effect. You’ll also learn how to experiment with angles to find unique approaches to a common subject.
Photograph Your Sinks
Hear us out: many photographers get their most stunning shots in the rain. Quite simply, drops of water on a surface can turn what is otherwise a rather generic subject into something more visually-appealing. Thus, you might splash a little bit of water around your kitchen and bathroom sinks, seeing what types of interesting compositions you can come up with.
Practice Food Photography
Like selfies, pictures of food have also become very popular in recent years thanks to the rise of Instagram. Even if the idea of shooting your meals doesn’t immediately appeal to you as a photographer, you should consider practicing your food photography skills while you’re inside.
Getting strong shots of food isn’t necessarily as easy as you might assume. You need to make sure the meal actually appears clearly enough in the composition for viewers to appreciate the plating and ingredients, while also finding a way to make your shots look unique.
Improve Your Photo Editing Skills
It’s worth noting that the exercises you practice while social distancing don’t always need to involve actually taking pictures. Using photo editing apps is another skill photographers should have. Thus, if you’re not planning on going outside for a while, you should use this opportunity to practice editing the shots you’ve already taken. This will also help you better determine which photography apps and tools are most useful given your needs and goals.
Being stuck indoors due to the coronavirus pandemic isn’t fun for anyone. If you’re learning photography, it can be particularly frustrating. You might feel you don’t have any opportunities to develop your skills. However, as these photography exercises for coronavirus social distancing prove, that doesn’t need to be the case.
