How to create instagram worthy content at home

I am very much an at home content creator. I don’t plan shoots and outfits etc. for outside shooting, even before covid happened I wasn’t one of those content creators. I have always loved creating my content at home in the warm although saying that I would love to be able to feel comfortable taking out my tripod or shoot with a friend, maybe I’ve just got to bite the bullet and do it. I mean I have been a blogger for a few years now.. I think it’s hard to get my head around at the moment with everything going on.

I really struggled in the first lockdown in March and didn’t create as much content as I would have liked but it’s always important to put your mental health first. This time round it’s different as I’m still working so I have got a bit of normality but I do normally tend to shoot on my days off wether that’s just once a week or twice, It just depends what I feel like and how much content I have planned for the future.

After shooting content at home for a good while now I’ve picked up a few tips myself which I use every time I shoot. It may feel a little daunting if you are used to shooting outside to make the move to inside but hopefully using the tips I share below you’ll be able to get those insta worthy photo’s.

The backdrop.

When scrolling through instagram you may see others with gorgeous walls and backdrops and beautiful Parisian furniture. Unfortunately I don’t live in my own apartment in Paris (wishful thinking) so I just have to utilise the space I do have while living at home. I used to ALWAYS shoot in my room without exploring the rest of my house but recently I’ve been taking photo’s in the living room and the landing or top of the stairs as we have a window which brings in beautiful light in the mid morning.

I tend to always go for a plain and natural background which is just my aesthetic that I go for but you can totally mix it up with hanging a backdrop wether that be a white sheet on the floor or even your washing line for a bigger backdrop which is what I did in the summer. I will literally take my duvet downstairs for a different backdrop if needed. Utilise the flooring in your house if you have wooden floor boards, they always make an amazing backdrops for product photography. Use different materials even your own clothes for different textures! My backdrops really do vary now depending on where the good light is which brings me onto my next point..

The lighting.

The main thing with photography is the light. I have struggled with this in the past and my editing has suffered but I’ve had time to really experiment with lighting and it makes such a difference. Although with the sun setting at 4pm (well it may as well be 3pm with how dark it gets) you have to take advantage of the good days. For example today, I’ve had a day off work and I knew the weather was going to be good so I took most of the morning to shoot and the lighting was just perfect.

I relay heavily on natural light as I don’t like the harshness of a soft box light for example. I tend to shoot mid morning as that’s when the sun comes perfectly through my window and also around 4ish when the sun starts to set, you can’t beat that light. You really only need small spots of light to get that perfect shot.

Finding the Inspiration.

Home shooting is hard without finding some inspiration but this is where Pinterest and instagram comes in. I had a bit of a mental block for instagram in around july/august and decided on a more simplistic and neutral toned feed and Pinterest really helped narrow down exactly what sort of content I wanted to create. I have a folder on instagram labelled ‘inspo’ and one very similar on Pinterest.

Saving posts on Instagram really is where it’s at right now. You’re getting inspiration for your own content as well as helping your fellow content creators out with their own engagement. A few months back I was scrolling through Pinterest every day but fast forward to now and I get 98% of my inspiration from fellow bloggers/content creators.

Editing.

Every content creator has their own way of editing and tweaking their photo’s. Myself, I always try and edit with the same preset or one similar every time as I like my feed to look cohesive. I actually wrote a post about my favourite editing apps not too long ago which may help if your stuck in a rut with your own editing right now.

Based on the content you’re creating, you’ll probably have some sort of schedule which is what I like to do. I take my photo’s on certain days and then I like to try and edit them the same day wether it be right after I take them or on that evening then I have time to plan my feed out for that week. I know some people love editing their photo’s but sometimes it can get really frustrating when you just can’t get the edit you are after. I get it. When I feel like that I always take some time away from it, wether that be a walk or just a coffee break then come back to it with a fresh outlook. It always works.

Have you been home shooting and how are you finding it?

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