DIY Home Photography Tricks

At the start of the pandemic, photographers had a hard time being able to go out to shoot photos due to places being closed, lockdowns and stay at home orders being in place, limiting the amount of people that are able to be in groups of no more then 10, and being restricted and having to follow safety protocols. Personally it became harder to be creative with my photos, but thanks to apps like TikTok and Pinterest, I found new ways to enhance the creativity. Here are some ways to do your own DIY photoshoot at home.

Newspaper backdrop
Before throwing away that old newspaper that is sitting around, why not make it a type of backdrop. If you would like to have a black and white background and you be the pop of color, or are going for a vintage look, this would Just get some blue painters tape and find a corner or wall in your house and tape it together and make sure that the blue tape is not showing. After you are done with your shoot, please make sure that you recycle the paper.

Sheet backdrop
This is the easiest way to get a backdrop for a photoshoot because it is a common household item. Backdrops are good for shooting headshots, full body shots, pets and baby shots depending on how tall your sheet is or how tall you make it. It is also an easy way to get a background for shooting products. With sheets laying around in the house, it is an easy and cheap way to make a setup. If there is no curtain rod or anything you can hang the sheet from, get some blue painters tape and tape it to the wall of the room. 

Car Window Shield
Photography reflectors range from $10 to $114, depending on the size of the reflector. Ordering reflectors from companies like B&H, Best Buy, or  Amazon Prime is just not worth it if it is something that you need in the moment. A car reflector can help brighten your photo depending on which way the sun is facing. Reflectors are good for lighting one side of the subject to get an equal amount of lighting on the subject. It becomes the most convenient item that you would have.

Colander
Using the colander on the person’s face can create different lighting patterns depending on the colander that is purchased. The holes in the colander give the light room to shine through so that the model can have a different type of affects like circles, lines and other creative patterns.

Toilet paper roll lighting trick
Since everyone has bought so much toilet paper, obtaining the toilet paper roll should be easy. Using the flashlight feature on the phone and taping the toilet paper roll to the phone creates a handy spotlight. To make it more creative, cut out a logo in the middle of a circle that is the size of the toilet paper roll to make a logo light. 

Mirror
The mirror trick is one that can be taken outside to take reflective photos. It is better if there is a full length mirror, like the cheap ones that Walmart sells. Lean it up against a wall or lay it down on the floor, and let creativity take over. An easy way to shoot the photo would be through a cell phone. 

Picture frame
Picture frames are also an easy way to get creative. Just use the frame as another type of border to capture an interesting perspective. Creators also use photoshop to edit the body out and just leave the frame and the subject’s head or what is in the frame.

Glass from picture frame
The glass from a picture frame can work into a photo in many ways. For example, get a spray bottle and spray one side of the glass and have the subject on that same side and the photographer take the photo on the dry side of the glass. Doing this creates a rain affect. Another trick that you are able to do it have the subject splash water from one side and the photographer take a picture from the other side to get a splash affect and will protect your camera.