#WFH Series: Shooting at Home
Wearing Ardene lounge set and Last Minute Luxe purse.
For the first three weeks of social distancing, I was enjoying the novelty of being at home so much that I didn’t feel any urge to get off the couch and get my creative juices running. As well, I had so much content saved up from previous shoots that I could go for weeks without shooting anything new. However, as the third week reached an end, I received some interesting collaboration offers and was finally spurred into action. Now in my fifth week of being at home, I’m happy to say that I’ve finally fallen into a pretty productive routine and am no longer excessively bingeing on Korean dramas until 5:30 am in the morning (true story, unfortunately).
With regard to home shoots, I had to make some major adjustments to my usual way of shooting. In the following sections, I’ll try to touch upon the main things that have led to somewhat successful home shoots. (However, please note that I still suck at this and have much to learn!)
Photographer
My hubby acting as a test subject for our home shoot.
This particular aspect of shooting at home is probably my biggest issue— I am so used to shooting with several of my dedicated and experienced blogger besties that I almost took their skills for granted. During this time of self isolation, I now have to fully rely upon the goodwill of my poor husband. As he hasn’t needed to shoot for me in many months, let’s say that his skills have somewhat deteriorated.
In order to keep my captive photographer happy, I have to consider a few factors:
Motivation : At best, my husband could be labelled as a reluctant “IG hubby.” Therefore, it is necessary that I clearly tell him why a shoot is important to me. It certainly helps when the collaboration is a paid one as he can understand the tangible benefits of doing a good job.
Preparation : Planning a photoshoot in advance also helps to ensure that my photographer maintains a good attitude. If I am certain about my vision for the shoot, my husband doesn’t have to deal with any wishy-washiness that would be sure to wear his patience thin.
Clear Direction : In order to clearly show him what I need, I often will use a mood board or IG inspiration to show the hubby how I need things to be shot. As well, I sometimes will use him in test shots in order to show him what I want in terms of the composition and focus (see photo).
Equipment
It’s during times like this that I regret not investing in tripods and other equipment necessary to conduct a solo shoot. As it is, I currently switch between using my Sony A6000 Mirrorless Camera and iPhone 11 Max Pro camera.
When shooting close-up details on my own, I’ve found that using my iPhone can be easier than using my actual camera. On the other hand, for large-scale scenery and outfit shots, my Sony camera is the superior choice.
Other than my camera, I am currently experimenting with other elements, such as the now very popular IG trend of using a white bedsheet as a neutral backdrop. In the limited space near my living windows, it has been a hilarious struggle figuring out how to hang the sheet (see picture).
Location
In my relatively small apartment, there are only so many spots suitable for shooting. Since I prefer natural lighting, shooting near a window is a necessity. In my place, that means either the living room or inside the bedroom. In the past, I used to shoot on our balcony; however, nowadays, the taupe colour of the building exterior would not suit my feed aesthetic.
Furthermore, my complex area has lot of concrete neutral walls to exploit once I am forced to go outside for a shoot (as well, it’s usually easy to social distance ourselves in these quiet areas).
Lighting
Luckily, the onset of spring means that we now have more sunshine and longer days to work with. If I’m doing an indoor shoot, almost any time of the day works as long as there’s decent daylight. However, for outdoor shoots, I prefer to wait until the late afternoon or early evening as lighting is too harsh during the mid-day.
Theme
Currently, most bloggers are creating “quarantine content”— by this, I mean indoor shots showcasing their favourite lounge wear, workout outfits, or the cute spring outfits that they wish they could be wearing outside.
Cute detail shots and golden hour selfies are also popular posts as they can be easily shot alone by the blogger. Other bloggers are showcasing activities that are keeping them occupied during this time: cooking, exercising, TikTok dances, etc.
If you’re a blogger, what type of content are you currently creating?
At this time, we’re being told by media that social distancing could be in effect until late summer or even longer. While it’s hard to even fathom what it would be like to live like this for so many months, it’s also crazy to realize that we’ve already been social distancing for a month. Also, as we often must remind ourselves, staying in our cozy homes is the least we could do to protect each other and help out our brave healthcare workers.
What are your thoughts on creating content during this time? Do you think it’s important to keep our creative juices flowing or do you think we should be spending our energy on different outlets?
Cheers
Debbie (aka The Stylish Wordsmith)
