I wasn’t one of those young photographers who bought a camera and went to art school. It was the exact opposite.
As many other photographers, I was inspired to take photos by by the desire to document my children’s lives. You know that everyday life is not always in the best lighting conditions, especially when taking photos indoors.
My “photographer eye” was not developed when my family and me first moved into our house several years ago. My photographer friends joke that if I had known then what I know now, I would have never bought our home because it is where the natural light dies!
Over the past couple of years, I have spent a great deal of time researching the best indoor lighting, and ways to make indoor shooting easier.
1. Study the Indoor Lighting at Your Location
I have been observing the light in my home for the past couple of years, and I know which rooms are the brightest at different times.
Look for light that is coming from windows, skylights, doorways and other sources. Search for lighting coming from windows and other sources. These types of lighting make for beautiful indoor photos.
You can also open the blinds or doors to let more natural lighting in. This will help to illuminate your subject, if necessary. You may not need to use flash again if you follow these tips.
2. Learn how to position your subjects in indoor light
Catch lights can be created by photographing your subject facing the light. This light will not produce unwanted shadows and cover your subject’s face.
Try angling the subject towards the source of light. The shadows will begin to disappear on the sides, creating a sense of depth in the photograph.
I use window lighting often to create beautiful backlight, and fun images. These looks can be achieved by placing the subject between yourself and the light source.
Even if artificial, try to find pockets of light in the darkest places when you are shooting. These photos can be pretty awesome and memorable!
Everyone starts their photography adventure differently and at some point may upgrade their gear (for many, including me, it may even start with a a href=”https://www.lightroompresets.com/blogs/pretty-presets-blog/enhance your smartphone images with pretty presets” title=”How to Take Great Photos With Your Smartphone”>smartphone camera/a>). Each person has a different approach to photography and may at some point upgrade their equipment (for me, this may have started with a phone camera).
You can shoot indoors no matter what camera, lens or editing software you use. There are a few things you can do to make it easier to create great indoor photos.
Let me explain:
3. The Right Lens for Indoor Photography
It’s a good idea, when shooting indoors to use a fast lens that can get wider larger apertures. It will increase your chances of getting a good shot without having to sacrifice too much by using a slow speed.
A fast lens has an f-stop of 2.8 or less. Slow lenses (typically those above f/3.5), will let less light into the sensor, and that’s something you don’t want. You want as much light in the room as possible when you are shooting indoors! !
Most of my indoor photos are taken with a 24-70mm, a 50mm, or an 85mm.
I’d love to have a 35mm in my camera bag. The 50mm and the 85mm are a bit tight, depending on the amount of space I can move.
4. Increase the ISO for indoor photos
When I shoot indoors, I also embrace grain and increase ISO.
You can increase the sensitivity of your camera’s light sensor by increasing ISO. A higher ISO also leads to a greater amount of digital noise and grain in the image.
Some cameras will be better equipped to shoot at a high ISO than other. I had a Canon T3i, and the noise was quite noticeable at 800 ISO. My Canon 5D Mark III is much better at low-light than my Canon T3i.
Personaly, I don’t care if my photos have a grain, as long as I can capture the moment in its raw form.
If you’re still concerned about grain in your images, you can fix it with post processing. The sliders for noise reduction in Lightroom are my favorite tool to fix and edit noise. These sliders can be used to reduce digital noise while maintaining the details of your image.
It’s been a great challenge to master indoor lighting. The indoor shoots have really stretched my creative, and opened up new doors for me.
There is no Golden Hour in my 1200 square feet home, and there are only a handful of windows. My family is the most important thing in my life, and I am sure it is also true for yours. I enjoy being able to capture my family’s memories and the moments that they share with me.