At Home Photoshoot Tips: Utilizing Small Spaces & Bad Lighting
Sunlit houses and apartments are ideal for anything content related. Sadly, this is not always the case, especially if you are living on a budget in NYC (trust me, I get it). The beauty of creativity is that your ideas can light up any room. Let’s talk about different tools, tips, and tricks to keep those ideas L I T !
VITAL TOOLS FOR DARK SPACES:
Ring Light
A backdrop ( recommended )
Your Model /Subject
“You don’t take a photograph, you make it”
One Brick City Day in NYC
A friend of mine and I decided to test our creativity in her home for an at home photoshoot. The apartment didn’t have natural lighting, so we had to improvise.
=] Below you will find my top tips for shooting in a small apartment with minimal lighting and equipment. =]
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Cut Off All Overhead Lights
Doing so will allow you to have more control when setting up your ring light or any other lighting you may have.
Position Your Ring Light Accordingly
Focus your main source of light on your model or subject. Does this provide the look that you are going for? If not, change the lights position and distance. Move the light closer for a stronger light source, and move it farther back to soften the image. Place it directly to the side of your model so you can get a dramatic effect with only half her face lit. Do you like shadows or are you going for even lighting? If needed, you can use a lamp as a fill light. Fill lights help to eliminate shadows on your models face.
Trial & error your life away and do not be afraid to challenge your creative eye. You’ll thank yourself later!
Invest In A Backdrop
I used a white seamless backdrop I purchased from Savage Universal. They have a huge variety of colors and lengths to choose from. You can find the one I used in the photo above here. It was $39.99. With shipping and tax I believe it came out to around $60.
Move the model closer to the backdrop to create shadows, or move the model further away from the backdrop (or wall) to eliminate shadows.
You can also purchase some pretty cheap, cool looking backdrops from amazon. Do not ever feel pressured to buy the most expensive equipment. Especially if you are aiming for a more relaxed & creative shoot.
Use What You Have
I live in a small NYC apartment so I understand when there is limited space, terrible lighting, and aesthetics are just not it. But instead of trying to create that studio look, use what is already there and develop a theme around that.
If you have a bunch of clothes thrown around, wear some old retro headphones, lay in that pile of clothes, and call it 90’s theme! If your kitchen has out of date appliances and looks a little rusted, throw on a 80’s dress and apply a vintage edit over it.
In the image above I used a wall mirror to switch up the angles. Reflections are so fun to mess around with. Utilize your mirrors!
Stop thinking about your limitations and start thinking about your possibilities.
Take a minute and analyze your home. What story does it tell?
Now bring it to life.