Tips to Help You Take the Best Photos in Your Home

During those long winter months when the days are shorter and we are less likely to spend time outside due to the cold and school, finding ways to take the best photos in your home can become a challenge. There is less light and when you turn on the lights in your house, it gets worse! But life and the memories we want to capture continue, even in these low light winter months.  Today, I have a few tips to help you to continue to document your life and take the best natural light photos in your home.

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Tips to Help Your Take the Best Photos in Your Home

Pay attention to the light in your house

The best way to do this is to start a light journal. The goal is to find out where the light is: when it’s soft, when it’s harsh, when it’s strong, when it’s weak, etc. You want to know what light does in your home. That way you can make the best decision on where to take your photos.

Turn off overhead lights and open the blinds

When you mix natural light with artificial light, it generally gives you crazy, wonky colors in your images. To make it easier on yourself when you go to edit, it’s best to stick with just one light source. And during the day, it’s best to stick with natural light. So make sure you turn off light sources like table lamps, overhead lights etc.

Use window light

A nice sized window will give you wonderful light. Avoid windows with direct sunlight coming through. North or South facing windows are ideal. If your window is east facing, avoid it in the morning. If it is west-facing avoid it in the afternoon.

Place your subject near the light

Placing your subject in front of the window, while keeping your back to the window will give you nice even flat light that will give you beautiful skin tones and light that evenly covers everything. But if you want a little more depth, place your subject 45 degrees to the window. Either way, make sure you capture the catchlights in your subject’s eyes when they face the window.

Don’t be afraid to Raise your ISO

I know I know, when you first learn about shooting in manual, raising your ISO is forbidden. BUT, the key is a well exposed photo. And when you are working indoors with low light, one of the best ways to do that is to increase your ISO.

Invest in a lens with a low aperture

If you are shooting with a DSLR, invest in a lens with that has a wide aperture. Like 2.8 and below. I tend to use mainly my 50mm 1.4 lens and my 35mm 2.0 lens. Both will open up wide to let in more light.

So hopefully these tips help you to continue to capture memories and take the best photos in your home during these cold winter months. Questions? Sound off in the comments!