As much as I love the beautiful sunshine and the warm summer months, it isn’t always possible to photograph outside in the sunshine. There are lots of wonderful parts of our lives that happen indoors! Today’s post has 3 tips for getting better shots when you need to photograph indoors!
Use Window Light.
Windows are your best friend when photographing indoors. I use north and south facing windows the most (photographers swear by north-facing windows), but any window can be used depending on the time of day. For instance, an east-facing window will be flooded with direct sunlight early in the morning. Direct sunlight isn’t ideal for photographing with. However, that same window in the afternoon will have a much softer type of light. The opposite would be true of a west-facing window. The light your windows receive will also vary with the seasons. Look for great pockets of light in your house and use it to capture some great photos.
(Camera Settings. Lens: 50mm f/1.4 Aperture: f/2.8 Shutter Speed: 1/80 ISO: 800)
Increase your ISO.
I used to be afraid to increase my ISO, but am not anymore. All the pictures in this post were taken at ISO 400 to 2000 depending on how much light was available. Some do have some grain. Is it distracting? No! Would most people even notice? No! Test out your camera and see how it handles higher ISOs. This is one area where newer cameras are much better than older ones!
(Camera Settings. Lens: 50mm f/1.4 Aperture: f/2.0 Shutter Speed: 1/100 ISO: 400)
Your Lens.
If possible, invest in a fixed focal length lens (a non-zoom lens) that allows you to open your aperture very wide and let in lots of light. Generally, the lenses that came on your camera are difficult to use indoors. If you know that you like photographing indoors a lot, then definitely invest in this type of lens. Just so you know, these lenses aren’t super expensive. A 50mm f/1.8 lens can be purchased for less than $220. (Nikon version
(Camera Settings. Lens: 50mm f/1.8 Aperture: f/2.5 Shutter Speed: 1/125 ISO: 2000)
I understand that there are times when these tips may fail you and the only way to get the shot is to use your pop-up flash. Don’t be afraid to do that either–getting the shot is the ultimate goal. But I certainly hope these tips help you to get better photos INDOORS!
Great tips! Being in the rainy Pacific Northwest, I have to incorporate all these tips most of the time!
I don’t live in the rainy NW but I use them all the time in the dark and dreary winter months ;)!!
Fantastic tips. Thanks. Perfect day to test them out as it is rainy and cloudy here on the east coast…
I’ll hope for sun for you tomorrow!
Awesome tips Gayle!
I just purchased a new Camera (Canon Rebel T3) and really need these kinds of tips.
I want to improve on the quality of the photos that I post on my blog and that is one of the main reasons I invested in a DSLR camera.
I don’t know much about how to use it though…so these tips are very helpful!
Thanks!
Lisa H.
So glad to help!! Enjoy the new camera!
I’ll second the the usefulness of this articular tip in the NW. I feel like I’m always on the hunt for that elusive natural light…!
Good windows and doors are the key! I look for it everywhere now!
These are great tips…since I have newborn twins..I spend a lot of time indoors..and I love taking photos! My best tip……take a million photos and hopefully I’ll get a good one…..LOL!
Great tips. I’m indoors 90% of the time and am learning to use natural light better.