By: Karra, Islay Corners Photography
You can find light in the oddest of places...You know the adage and I'm paraphrasing here, “sometimes you have to open the door to let a little light in?” Well that is exactly what I did here. I opened my front door.
My front porch/front hallway has great diffused light most of the day. Unfortunately for me, however, it is a tad tight on space. My shooting position was from the basement stairs.
My oldest assistant (my 6 year old who is on summer break) helped me in holding my DIY reflector, a piece of foam core from the dollar store. I also used two more pieces of the same foam core to make the backdrop...cropping can hide a multitude of sins...like my front hall runner, oops!
The foam core can do double duty as both a reflector and a blocker of light, depending on the situation. I've also seen photographers use any white reflective surface (a pillow, a white tshirt etc.) to get just a little more light on their subject.
Photographs are all about light - highlights, midtones and shadows. You can use the reflector or blocker to control how much or how little light accesses your item.
Sometimes we don't get to pick our ideal working conditions and if you can get good light, go with it, thus why I’m positioned myself as best as possible on my basement stairs. That said, as precarious as it was, safety comes first. Don’t put yourself in harms way just to get product shots. Please be careful wherever you find to shoot!
Walk around your home, find a spot that you can use to shoot in. Create a backdrop that suits your style and desired look. Believe me, while I love the great outdoors, trying to find a cool place to shoot in July or a warm spot in January is always the preferred option!
With a little tweaking in post production, you can remove color casts, shadows etc. and tada!
Find your happy shooting place and practice!
Until next time!
Karra from Islay Corners Photography www.islaycorners.etsy.com
More great advice! I'm going to have to try the reflector for getting indoor shots. I would love to be able to photo indoors sometimes, instead of outside. Thanks for the wonderful ideas.
ReplyDeletethanks for all the tips and tricks, they really are helpful!
ReplyDeleteYou are so kind to share your techniques.
ReplyDeleteThank you for all the invaluable advice and tips you have so willingly shared with all of us.
I use a hallway in front of a door also! Thanks for the tips!
ReplyDeleteI found double-size foam core sheets, and they work great for my bigger things. With the small sheets, I had to really get creative to get the product in the shot without shooting past the foamcore. Love the stuff! You can also tape a piece of poster board to the top of the upright foamcore to eliminate the seam, thus eliminated post processing time in photoshop :)
ReplyDeleteI am always looking for advice for my photography and you made this all look so easy! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteGreat tips! Thanks for sharing your expertise!
ReplyDeleteWow! I did not know you could use that as a reflector!! Thanks Karra!!
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