CREATIVE INDOOR PROJECTS

11 fun photo assignments you can enjoy in the warmth and comfort of your own home - take a still-life masterclass with James Abbott...

- James Abbott

Still-life photography at home is a simple and, indeed, wide subject that can feed your photographic desires at any time of the year, come rain or shine. Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter how great the weather is outside, it’s not always possible to spare a few hours to get out shooting, which is where shooting indoors comes into play.

One of the most enticing aspects of still life photography is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you like, so we’re going to show you 10 projects you can try yourself; each with items that most people will have lying around the house, including using a desk lamp as a light source.

Our first project uses a desk lamp and paper reflectors to achieve studio-quality lighting to capture the shape and texture of a yellow gerbera against a sheet of A4 yellow card. The colour wheel suggests that blue would be the perfect complementary background colour, but matching the flower to the background creates an arguably more refined result.

PROJECT 1

FABULOUS FLORA

Master lighting and sharpness to capture fantastic shots of flora in the comfort of your own home

SET UP YOUR SHOT

1 Position the flower in front of the A4 card and angle your desk lamp to illuminate the front/top of the flower. Use sheets of white paper to reflect light into the shadow areas to brighten them.

CAMERA AND COMPOSITION

2 Attach your camera to a tripod and compose the shot. Use a kit or macro lens and shoot at ISO 100 with an aperture of between f/2.8 and f/11, depending on the desired depth of field.