1: Find the Best Light in your House.
So many of our photos happen inside our house, especially when our babies are young, and especially if we live in freezing cold Edmonton! So walk around your house at different times of the day and write down which rooms have the best light at which times. You may be surprised! This will give you a huge advantage when you know “oh it’s 10 o clock and the light is amazing in my son’s room right now, let’s play up there…”
Sometimes life happens, and we need to capture those moments when we aren’t in the ideal room with the ideal light. I get it. If that is the case, open the curtains/blinds and let as much light in as possible.
2: Clear the Clutter and Lower your Aperture.
I have two toddlers, clutter is my life. But you can tell when I’ve been shooting inside because then my house is usually somewhat tidy. I joke that I wish my house was as clean as it looks in photos. Big toy bins are my saving grace, grab all the ‘stuff’ and dump it in the bin and close the lid, out of sight out of frame. Heck, you don’t even need to go that far, just throw it out of the frame, behind you in a pile if need be. You want to showcase your subject, not the hairbrush on the floor. Why have something in your photo that is going to draw your viewer’s eye away from the focus on your subject? Lowering your aperture is another great way to bring the focus to your subject and off of your house in the background, just turn that clutter into beautiful bokeh.
3: Critic Your Own Work:
You certainly do not need to be a professional to critic your own work. Look at a photo you recently took and analyze it. Are you using any rules of composition? if so which ones and why? what is the mood of the photo? Is it properly exposed? Do you like the use of light? What don’t you like about it? Is there something distracting?
By looking at your work and determining what you like and don’t like, you slowly start to figure out your style. As parents, we often will like an image because our child looks adorable in it. Some photographers say that is using “Mommy goggles”. That is perfectly fine. You should love the images of your kiddos even if they aren’t technically perfect. But if you want to get better as a photographer this is great practice, I do this all the time!
Thanks for following along! if you want to learn more about photographing your life don’t forget about my workshop happening in October. We’ll cover composition, light, camera modes, printing and more! http://yewphotography.com/life-pictures-workshop/
Thanks for being here..
xo
Emily
