Usually my Instagram page is full of photos of friends, travel, or delicious restaurant food. Unfortunately, quarantine transitioned my life and my socials to being home-based. We all have plenty of skill when it comes to the traditional selfies, photos of our filled coffee mugs, and mirror outfit shots. It can seem hard to branch out into new content ideas when you are constantly staying at home. Lucky for you, I have compiled a list of 5 photoshoot ideas you can do at home. Keep your creativity flowing and try something new - your Instagram account will thank me.
Before we begin, open your camera (whatever camera you want to use: a polaroid, iPhone, or DSLR) and make sure you know how to use the self-timer feature. I usually have someone take my photos for me, but when in quarantine you've got to be resourceful. You might also want to purchase a cell phone tripod to make things easier.
1. Collage Wall
This is fairly simple and can be a fun project to do by yourself or whoever you are quarantined with. Go around your house and search for old newspapers, books, or magazines, and pull out all the pages that have an aesthetic you enjoy. Once you have enough pages set aside, start taping them to the wall until you have covered enough area for a backdrop. Put on an outfit you have been dying to wear outside and pose. You can repeat this process with a variety of backgrounds, even hanging up various blankets or sheets to mix up the vibe of the photos.
2. Move the Mirror
By now we are all pros at the classic mirror leaning against the corner photo, almost to the point that it is overdone. Your mirror is a great prop, you've just got to be a bit adventurous. Move the mirror around, drag it outside, lay it on the ground, maybe move it to a new room or corner. Angles are your friend, so once you find a good temporary home for the mirror to rest, play around with the angle of your camera and body.
3. Capturing Movement
For this idea, find some material like flowers, fabric scraps, or pieces of paper that you can throw into the air. Plan out your pose before you start playing with self timer. When you are ready, hold the pile of items in your hand, hit the camera button on your phone, and run to your pose. This takes a bit to get the timing right on when to throw the items in the air, but I found that it works to throw the items at 2 seconds before it takes the photo. The self-time feature on your phone or camera is a great tool, but they make Bluetooth remotes if you want another option. This way you can pose and time out the clicks exactly when you want.
4. Try a New Room
Look through your Instagram or other socials and see where you usually take photos. For me, it is in the bathroom or my bedroom. So, change your outfit and change your settings. Try the living room, the hallway, sit on the stairs, maybe even the back deck if your house has one. The location that I tried was my car, who knew you could have a self-timer photoshoot in your driveway? You can even move chairs from your house to different locations to play with props. This is a great way to use what you have in new ways while creating numerous photoshoot ideas that you can do at home.
5. Use your technology
I just discovered that if you have an iPhone, you can go into the camera settings in the settings app and set the video to 4k quality. This way, if you shoot any video you can screenshot the clip and use those as photos. You can also call your friends and have a Facetime photoshoot. Your friend can screenshot the video as you try creative poses. Another thing I tried out was to use the old school photo booth that comes as an app on Mac computers.
Make the most of your quarantine Instagram feed. Angles, poses, and different locations are your friend. Create some variety with these 5 photoshoot ideas you can do at home. Once you have your photos, happy editing!
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