Tips on Indoor Photography

One of the most important features you need to consider when talking about photography is light. Once you have your subject you need to think about light and then about all the other parameters, especially when it comes to indoor photography.

In the following article you will find some the best tips on indoor photography that you can start using today.

There is not much you can use when you are shooting indoors or au contraire, there is too much. If you consider starting your own business as a professional photographer you must explore everything and see what you are actually good at. Although you may think that an expert photographer is good at taking any types of pictures, you might be surprised on how an awesome portrait photographer can be considered average when it comes to landscape photography.

The secret behind every successful story is finding what you are good at and just go with it.

So enough with the small talk, here are some things you need to take into consideration when shooting something or someone, indoors.

1. Every photograph tells a story

Some of the best photographs that have ever been taken were spontaneous. You don’t need to think all things through before taking the best photograph, if you are not conducting a professional photo shoot. For example, if someone approaches you and asks you for an indoor portrait photography photo shoot, the first thing you need to do is to try finding out something about the person.

You have to be in harmony with the subject of your photograph and understand what he/she expects from you and your photography skills if you want to reach perfection. If you are not necessarily taking a picture of someone, but of a something, you have only one point of view: yours, so be careful on what you are trying to say with your photograph.

2. Light, Light and again, Light

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The biggest struggle you will face when trying to shoot a portrait photograph indoors is with light. If you are shooting during day time, you must certainly find a window and place your subject close to it, so that you can make the most out of the natural light you have. To control all the shadows and curves you should also consider investing in a reflector. By placing a reflector on the side of your subject, opposite to the side with natural light, you can obtain stunning effects. Things will get even trickier when you are shooting without any or very low natural light. One way to try solving this problem by using Lightscoop, a great little mirror which redirects the light from your pop-up flash so that you can obtain warmer images, without making your skin look like you just won the casting for the next Twilight movie.

3. Know your camera as good as you know yourself

Many people do not even bother to understand their cameras before or after purchasing it. You would be amazed on how many options and features you have. Before starting to shoot any kind of photographs, take some time and understand your camera and what it is able to do.

4. Background

When shooting indoors, background is also important. To make the best out of an indoor photography, try choosing white backgrounds, so that the light can be reflected and you can achieve a great result. If you do not have an entirely white background, try emphasizing the subject on whatever background you choose but be careful on the contrast. You do not want a chaotic background, especially not when it comes to indoor photography, because then you will lose your subject.  Another idea is taking black and white pictures so that the people do not get distracted by the background or pieces of clothing and stay focused on the subject.

5. Aperture

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It is important to use a wide aperture especially for indoor photography because you want to make the most out of the light you have. A wide aperture not only gives you a better photograph on low light level but it also creates a shallow depth of field with will help you subject pop out of any cluttered background.

6. ISO

There are a lot of mixed reviews when it comes to ISO and shutter speed. Some photographers say that in low light levels you can use a higher ISO, mainly between 800 and 1600 if you want to achieve a fast shutter speed and take advantage of the light you do have. However, higher ISO means a lot more noise in the photograph so other photographers say that you should not use an ISO level higher than 800 especially when shooting indoors. If you have reached ISO 800 and you are still not fully satisfied with your picture, you should probably try either going to ISO 1600 or play with artificial sources of light such as your flash or a reflector.

7. Spot

Find the perfect indoor photography spot in your house. It can be the kitchen, especially if you have a lot of natural light coming in and white walls or cabinets, it can be your living room if it has more light or more white than your kitchen or even your bathroom, it does not matter as long as you have the key element: light. Try taking pictures all around your house and see which spot is the best for indoor shooting.

8. Understand what and why you are shooting

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Even if you are shooting at home, in the supermarket, in your car or any other indoor location, if you want people to understand the story you are trying to tell with your photographs you must first understand it yourself. If you understand exactly what you or your subjects want from your photograph, it will be that much easier to shoot a photograph which speaks for itself.

These were 8 great tips on how to make the best out of a photograph, even if you shoot it indoors.

What other indoor photography tips do you have or use?