By: Koretha 

With all the festivals and events being postponed and canceled left and right you might have outfits with nowhere to wear them to. Maybe you’re just dying to do some funky makeup and your soul is bored in the house and in the house bored. All this extra time calls for an at home photoshoot! You can transform any area to be your photo studio. No props? No problem. Boring background? Easy fix. Down below are some tips and tricks to a fun at home photoshoot!

Step 1 Theme/ Planning
Thinking of a theme helps you plan out what to do and how to go about it creatively. Maybe think of an outfit then pair up with matching accessories and makeup then background or post-picture edits. If you need some inspo check out instagram or rave hashtags.

Sometimes when I feel like an outfit and makeup isn’t enough I like to add in a prop just to make it more interesting or less posey.

Step 2 Lighting

Find a good light source. If you don’t have a ring light try to find a window in your place where you can use the natural lighting. Remember to face the light when taking photos so your face won’t have weird shadows on it. If you just started talking pictures and don’t know your angles, try taking pictures slowly while rotating your face, lowering or raising your chin, and tilting your head until you find an angel that feels and looks right to you.  Other ways that might also help might be to move the light around (if possible), parting your hair differently, or changing facial expressions.


Step 3 Subject

Figure out what you want to take a picture of. Full outfit? Cropped? Selfie? This will decide how much to prepare for background and outfit wise. Coming up with makeup and outfits looks can be hard. Check out youtube and instagram for some inspo and tutorials if needed. Fun fact if you take a selfie try using the back camera rather than the front one for it is usually better quality and doesn’t warp your facial features!

My favorite photo preference is waist up this usually means I don’t have to worry about matching my bottoms or shoes as much because they usually aren’t in the photos lol!

Step 4 Background/ Location

Tapestries and blankets are an easy way to hide anything you don’t want in the photo or to make it more interesting. If you don’t have either you can find a blank wall and edit a fun background after. Backyards are great if you have one or find the brightest spot in your place.
                                 

The best time to take photos outside are during golden hours typically right after sunrise or right before the sunsets. Fun edits are also an easy way to hide anything you forgot to move and makes the photo look less clustered.

Step 5 Photo Taking
Take multiple photos at a time. If you’re using an iphone or a smartphone that has the ability to take bursts of photos I recommend doing that or the “live” feature iphones have. Both these give you extra options to find the perfect photo among the many you take. It’s never a bad idea to have more when it comes to photos.


Step 6 Outfit Change/ Swap
Outfit change. Take advantage of having everything set up to take different pictures with different outfits. Options are always great to have just in case one of them doesn’t work out the way you wanted to. Sometimes I find that I end up liking my second option better than my first!

Step 7 Have Fun!
Have fun and be creative! There are countless ideas and lots of given time with what’s going on in the world right now. Best to use the free time we have to channel our energy into making some creative content at home.