6 Photography Tutorials You Can Try Without Leaving Your Home

You’ve probably never considered your kitchen as a location for photography or as a place you can find tools that will actually help you better your photography skills but after reading this article, you’ll soon realise it is. Things like pots and pans, colanders and even a trivet can be pressed into service as subjects.

Here’s a list of items found in your kitchen that can help you better your photography or can make interesting subjects for your indoor shots. 

1. Aluminium Foil

Aluminium foil isn’t very expensive and it can help you create interesting backgrounds as well as bounce extra light into your shots. Add creases and lines to the foil to create textured backgrounds or get a little creative and make your own reflector by sticking silver foil to something that’ll give it a bit more rigidity such as a piece of card. You could make a variety of sizes so you have reflectors that are suitable for a variety of subjects including portraits and Autumn macro work. 

2. Metal Colander

You can bounce light from your flashgun into this kitchen utensil that’ll widen the light, making it less harsh than direct flash alone. The humble colander can also be used as a photographic subject, cropping in close to focus on its shape. For the shot above, the camera was switched to incandescent white balance to create the blue cast and the lens was pulled back to include the sink which makes an interesting background. Foil was used to fill in shadows. 

3. Cutlery 

Spoons and forks can be used in still life images as well as in arty kitchen-themed images on their own. 

Before you start, you need to make sure your cutlery is clean and pick your backgrounds carefully. When it comes to placement, experimentation is key as there are various ways to arrange your props for a successful shot. For more tips, have a read of these articles:

• Tips On Photographing A Simple Still Life Shot
• Tips On Shooting Utensils And Cutlery In The Kitchen
   

4. Backgrounds

Worktops, wooden chopping boards and even the kitchen sink can be used as backgrounds for your shots. In fact, objects can be simply arranged on the worktop in various compositions, with the camera and lens simply aimed downwards.

5. Greaseproof Paper

Used by bakers normally, greaseproof paper can be used to diffuse light either from windows or flashguns. 

6. Food Photography 

Raid the fridge and you’ll soon have plenty of items worth photographing. For tips on how you can improve your food photography shots, have a read of this: 10 Top Tips For Taking Better Photos Of Food.