{"id":80229,"date":"2018-03-25T01:25:41","date_gmt":"2018-03-25T08:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=80229"},"modified":"2018-03-25T01:25:41","modified_gmt":"2018-03-25T08:25:41","slug":"home-is-where-the-heart-is-30-tips-to-find-inspiration-to-shoot-photos-everyday-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2018\/03\/25\/home-is-where-the-heart-is-30-tips-to-find-inspiration-to-shoot-photos-everyday-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Home is Where the Heart Is: 30 Tips to Find Inspiration to Shoot Photos Everyday at Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dear friend,<\/p>\n

If you have a hard time finding time or inspiration to go out and shoot– just shoot photos at home!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Why shoot at home?<\/h2>\n
\"Simple
Simple meal at home with our moms in Lisbon, 2018<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Let’s be real: most of us don’t always have the opportunity to constantly travel, see and experience new and novel things, or break our daily routines of wake up->commute->work->go home->sleep.<\/p>\n

For me, the benefit of shooting photos at home is:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Appreciating your loved ones<\/strong>. When we take a photo of our loved ones, we remind ourselves: “Wow, I’m so grateful that I have them in my life, and they are alive.”<\/li>\n
  2. Making visual art, regardless of where we are<\/strong>: Most of us make excuses that we don’t have the opportunity or chance to make photos, but if you realize you can make photos at home, we have no more excuses. We have the great opportunity to make photos, regardless of how busy we are in our daily lives!<\/li>\n
  3. “Creative constraint” of shooting at home<\/strong>: Of course to us, because we are used to our homes, we think our homes are boring. But if you force yourself to find interesting things at home to shoot, you will actually be able to think more creatively, and find interesting colors, textures, subjects, and objects to photograph at home. Thus the photographer who is able to successfully photograph ordinary things (and make them look interesting) is a great photographer (some examples include Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Martin Parr).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    How to find inspiration to shoot at home<\/h2>\n
    \"My
    My mom filleting a fish, for home made ceviche at home.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Now the more challenging thing:<\/p>\n

    \n How do we find inspiration or motivation to shoot while at home?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    Some ideas:<\/p>\n

    1. Wear your camera around your neck at home<\/h2>\n
    \"Cindy
    Cindy photographed with dutch angle at home. Prague, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re just walking around at home, wear your camera around your neck, like your camera was a necklace.<\/p>\n

    This is my theory:<\/p>\n

    \n The more often you wear your camera around your neck, the more photos opportunities you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to see, and thus you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to shoot more.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    If you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at home, use the lightest, most compact and light camera.<\/p>\n

    For example, I use the RICOH GR II<\/a> and keep the ERIC KIM NECK STRAP<\/a> always on it.<\/p>\n

    Assignment<\/strong>: For an entire evening after work, keep your camera around your neck, and see if this motivates you to shoot more at home.<\/p>\n

    \n

    2. Pause, and stop looking at a screen for a moment<\/h2>\n
    \"Cindy
    Cindy in Alexander\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s apartment. Pentax 645Z<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    When you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re at home, every once in a while, take a break from looking at your screen (whether your tv, laptop, phone, tablet). Then stretch a little bit, walk around, and see what your loved ones, kids, partner, or roommates are up to.<\/p>\n

    Then take a photo of them.<\/p>\n

    3. Photograph stuff in the kitchen<\/h2>\n
    \"Cheese
    Cheese grater at home. Marseille. 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Go around your kitchen, and photograph whatever you find interesting. Look for different textured<\/a> things (cheese graters), shiny reflective silverware, cups, or any ordinary objects.<\/p>\n

    \n

    4. Photograph what is inside your fridge<\/h2>\n
    \"\"
    William Eggleston fridge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Or take photographs of whatever is inside your fridge.<\/p>\n

    \n

    5. Photograph your food and meals<\/h2>\n
    \"Green
    Green beans and cauliflower cooked at home in marseille with red plate. Makes the green colors pop more.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Find nice colors in your meals. Experiment with cooking with differently cooked vegetables and use different colored plates.<\/p>\n

    I love the red-green color combination<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    \"Canard
    Canard and green beans on red plate. Cooked at home in Marseille, 2017<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
    \n

    6. Photograph your personal life: photograph your memories<\/h2>\n
    \"\"
    Envelopes of film at home, ready to take out the CD’s to transfer to my laptop. Trip from Costco.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    You can use whatever camera you want, if simpler, just shoot with your phone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    Use photography at home as a chance to document your everyday life, and document your own life.<\/p>\n

    For example, whenever you see something at home, ask yourself:<\/p>\n

    \n Will looking a photograph of this bring some future joy?\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

    If so, shoot it.<\/p>\n

    For example, whenever I took a trip to Costco to get film<\/a> developed, I took a photo of it. Now looking at these older photos, it brings a lot of joy to me.<\/p>\n

    So don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t treat all your photos as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153artwork\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00e2\u20ac\u201d some of the photos you shoot at home can just be like recording your personal memories\u00e2\u20ac\u201d stuff that brings a smile to your face.<\/p>\n

    7. Visual shapes<\/h2>\n
    \"\"
    Cindy resting her eyes with a hotpack after getting a migraine at home (from too little sleep as a Ph.D. student), resting at home at our apartment in Berkeley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Look for different visual forms to shoot:<\/p>\n