Light Study Challenge | by Laura Froese
Do you often feel uninspired to pick up your camera inside? Do you look out the window and long for pretty golden light or lush green backdrops? Do you feel like your home is too dark, boring, or even ugly to shoot in? If so, I have a challenge for you - a light study challenge. Choose one of the three methods below and experiment with overlooked spaces.
Choose One Window
Choose one window - any window, and note what the light looks like at different times of the day. Do you have a window that maybe gets a strong beam of light at certain times of the day, or year, but is otherwise fairly unimpressive? What time of day is that magic moment? We have some tall, narrow windows that open up directly into the side of our neighbour’s house and a large group of trees. The light from them isn’t very useful for much and we often turn the lights on in those rooms to use them functionally. However, in the very early spring and very late fall, the sun is low enough in the sky that it actually shines through those trees at sunset and creates an amazing shadow texture on the walls. I rarely use these windows for the rest of the year, but even my young children know to yell in excitement when the “pretty light” comes back every 6 months. Do you have a spot like that in your home you could experiment with?
Choose One Spot With Good Light
Choose one spot in your home with good light. This is probably a spot that you feel like you overuse again and again, which makes you start to get bored of it. What can you do to change it up? Can you shoot from above with a birds-eye-view perspective of your scene? Can you slide a piece of furniture into that spot for some stylized portraits? Can you throw down a blanket, or pin up a sheet to change your “background” - almost “studio style” - to give you new looks with the same reliable light. What can you do to push yourself creatively if you do have a really awesome shooting spot but feel you overuse it?
Rethink “Indoor Shooting”
Rethink your definition of “indoor shooting.” What if you considered your garage to be indoors? What if you took the camera with you to the grocery store? What if you brought it into the car with you? I’m not saying you have to bring your camera with you everywhere, but why don’t you set a date with it and agree to bring it with you somewhere new? You might just find some inspiration where you didn’t expect it.
If any of these concepts piqued your interest, or you would like to learn more about finding inspiration, as well as low-light shooting in general, feel free to head on over to our education shop and check out some of the courses we have to offer, including my brand new course, Find Inspiration Indoors: The Art of Low Light Photography!
