10 Best Indoor Photography Tricks That Will Help You Take Great Photos At Home
Here are the 10 best creative photography tricks that you can try indoors from the comfort of your own home!
Do you love exploring new places and capturing their beauty for the world to see? Then these unprecedented times may have made you restless and dismayed. Although the world is slowly returning back to its original pace, it is safer to stay in for some more time.
We understand that as a photographer the indoors are not as friendly as the outdoors. Getting distressed about how this is hampering your photo skills is only natural.
But, hey! Inspiration is everywhere. What if we told you could work on your photography in the safety and comfort of your own home? That’s right! You have everything you need to click fantastic photos, right there in your house. There are plenty of exciting and creative photography tricks that you can try without having to step out. Here is our list of the best 10 creative photography challenges to try indoors.
1. Water Splash Photography
A creative photography trick that will let you take stunning photographs. Let’s start off with water drop art. You can take a bowl, tray or any dish filled with water. Get a water dropper or a suspended water container to release droplets of water onto the dish below.
Keep in mind that every prop that you use in this shoot matters significantly. Right from the colour of the dish to the viscosity of the liquid, explore different options and see which produces the best result for you. In fact, more viscous liquids like milk and ink work even better to give some spectacular photos. You can try mixing the water with different food colours and dyes to give your photos a vibrant pop of colour. Here are some technical, creative photography tips and tricks to help you pull this off with ease.
- Keep the ISO low.
- Use a fast shutter speed and large aperture.
- Take the pictures up close and use a deep depth of field so that the entire frame remains in focus.
- Try to dim natural light as much as you can and use soft, artificial lights.
Take this to the next level by dropping objects into the water and clicking the splashes they cause. Click pictures at different positions and angles until you get the perfect shot with the right lighting effect. Take Water Drop Photography Challenge on GoSocial and share it with your community.
2. Camera Toss
As dubious as it sounds, this is a very creative photography trick. This will also help you understand the basics of kinetic photography. Here are some ways that you can utilise this creative photography trick to click some surreal and cool photos to flaunt.
- Try this in a dark room that has only one light source.
- Set the shutter speed of your camera to one second. This is roughly the amount of time your camera will be suspended in the air. When the timer is up, toss it, and of course the most obviously crucial part, catch it!
- When you are trying this the first few times, use an inexpensive camera and make sure you practice with great caution, until you are thoroughly familiar with throwing and catching your camera. Once you are better at this, you can try to add more light sources and even flip your camera as you let go of it.
- Just to be extra safe, stand over a soft landing spot like a bed or couch to cushion the fall in case you drop it.
3. Make your own Lightbox
A lightbox is a great photography tool. It plays a huge role in professional and product photography. Attributing to its indispensable role in many different photography fields, it is also quite expensive. However, you can just make your own lightbox right at home with a few creative photography tips and tricks. All you need is a cardboard box, thick white paper or cloth, and a table lamp.
- Choose a bigger box to widen the range of objects you can click once you’re done.
- Cut off the top flaps of the box and stand it on one end. Mark and cut windows in either side of the box and line them with your thick sheets of white paper.
- Use tape to hold the paper or fabric in place, covering the windows of your box.
- Now place a lamp on one or both sides to shed light on any object that you put inside your lightbox.
4. Fine art food photography
This is one of the most creative photography tricks you can try with your brand new lightbox. All you need is a knife and some fruits or vegetables. Say you choose an onion. Cut it into very thin slices. Position your camera directly above the slice and click away. Now, if you would rather go for a dark, subtle tone for your food photography, you can skip the lightbox and just use any background you like. Switch it up with the props and tools of your choice, to get the best out of this shoot. Here are some tips to remember when you try food photography.
- Side lighting or side backlighting is the best choice. Front lighting might cause unappealing shadows.
- Use reflectors to bounce light on your subject and diffusers to soften it.
- When trying a dark artistic style, use black foam core to create shadows where you like.
5. Details in the kitchen
Your kitchen can be the perfect playground for you to experiment with macro photography. After all, almost all food items are naturally photogenic. Here are the best of creative photography tricks, when it comes to macro photography.
- Use a shallow depth of field. This will help you focus on the objects you’re clicking much better.
- Increase your ISO so that you can shoot with a fast shutter speed and minimise the camera shake as much as you can.
- Control the outcome better by using manual focus instead of autofocus.
Take the Details In The Kitchen Challenge to refine your skills. Doing this activity shows you that the most ordinary objects like cutlery, ingredients and utensils can give you extraordinary images. Be it shiny, reflective surfaces or subtle, wooden boards, every corner of your kitchen has the potential to teach you some fabulous and creative photography tricks.
6. Rooftop photography
[Rooftop photography](<6. Rooftop photography
Rooftop photography can be quite relaxing or exhilarating, based on your innovative ideas. This is a place for you to come up with your own creative photography tricks. You can take a picture of your favorite beverage being framed by the beautiful sky. Or, you can click some gorgeous photos of the sun, moon, stars, or clouds. Kick it up a notch with the following tips.
Drop some objects on the floor or throw them up in the air and click photos of these flying objects by adjusting your position accordingly.
Use a high shutter speed like 1/1200 or 1/1600.
Use a wide aperture like f/1.8 to capture the finer details of your objects in the best way.
This is one of the coolest and most creative photo tricks to try on your terrace.>) can be quite relaxing or exhilarating, based on your innovative ideas. This is a place for you to come up with your own creative photography tricks. You can take a picture of your favorite beverage being framed by the beautiful sky. Or, you can click some gorgeous photos of the sun, moon, stars, or clouds. Kick it up a notch with the following tips.
- Drop some objects on the floor or throw them up in the air and click photos of these flying objects by adjusting your position accordingly.
- Use a high shutter speed like 1/1200 or 1/1600.
- Use a wide aperture like f/1.8 to capture the finer details of your objects in the best way.
This is one of the coolest and most creative photo tricks to try on your terrace.
7. Window Silhouette Photography
This is one of the most aesthetically pleasing and creative photography tricks to try. A window silhouette is classy and timeless. And the best part is , you can click one with minimal expertise and technical knowledge. Here are some tips to shoot a brilliant silhouette image that will be cherished for life.
- Choose a broad window that has a lot of natural bright light streaming in, and ask your subject to strike any pose.
- If you are shooting on your smartphone, set exposure manually by focusing on the brighter parts of the image.
If you are running out of ideas in terms of placement or looking for something that can help you take impactful silhouette photos, you can find it in the Window Silhouette Photography challenge room.
8. Matchstick photography
This is one of the most creative photography tricks to try. All you need is a matchbox and a camera. Now, before you start lighting any fires, make sure you find a safe, hazard-free corner of your house to try this. In a dark or dimly lit area, light the matchstick and start clicking. You can try this with candles as well, to make it more interesting. Create meaningful patterns and pictures with any number of matches or candles. You can focus and blur to get the desired effect.
- Use your camera's manual mode to set the aperture to f/5.6, ISO to 800 and a shutter speed of 1/4000.
- To focus, enter Live View and zoom in on the matchstick. Then, switch to Manual Focus mode to ensure it doesn't move.
Matchstick photography is a wonderful activity that will ignite the creative artist in you and will help you take some lovely pictures.
9. Smoke photography
This is one of the simplest ideas on this list, but is still one of the most creative photo tricks you can do. Light up incense sticks and keep them in a pot, container or in front of an object you wish to highlight.
- Make sure that the background is really dark to create a contrast and distinguish the smoke trails.
- Use a low ISO, high shutter speed and small aperture.
- Depending on how thick you want your smoke trails to be, use one or more incense sticks
- Use manual focus mode and focus on the area 4 to 5 cm above the stick’s tip.
- Ventilate your room every 10 minutes or so. Not only is smoke bad for your health, it also gives you hazy photos.
You can now try to capture these wisps of smoke in the most imaginative way you can. You can also take inspiration from the work of other photographers in the Smoke Photography Challenge Room on GoSocial.
10. Oil and water
This is one of the most common and creative photography tricks to try. Oil and water may not mix, but they sure make for some fabulous photos. To try this, take a transparent dish( a glass or bowl) filled with water. Now drop some oil(cooking oil or hair oil) into the dish. Place this dish on top of a phone displaying any bright image, or some coloured paper or cloth. You can add a light source at any angle, and snap away.
- Use a combination of natural light and flash.
- A few drops of liquid detergent can accentuate the edges of your oil droplets and give them a 3-D effect.
- Use the widest aperture and change the other settings according to your preferences.
There you go. The top 10 most popular and creative photography tips and tricks that will help you take your photography skills to a whole new level. You can post your photos on social media platforms like Instagram, GoSocial and Facebook. On GoSocial, you can find exclusive photography challenges that let you explore all of these ideas and many more. You can even check out the work of others who are trying these cool and creative photography tricks. Trying these photography ideas with your original touch can help you find your signature style and grow as a photographer.