20 Things you Can Do as a Photographer While in Isolation
This pandemic got your trigger finger lacking the light of day? Ever since the Covid-19 virus was declared a global pandemic, photographers around the world have had to cancel their shoots and put their projects on hold for the foreseeable future. To continue the ongoing hunt to find the silver lining in all of this, here are 20 ideas for you to try out on your own to keep those creative juices flowing.
1. Create a Website or Portfolio of your Work
If you’re serious about taking your photography past the double-tapping gates of Instagram and Facebook, then having a website or some form of portfolio of your work should be one of the first things you do. In this day and age, it doesn’t take any genius knowledge of coding to create your own website and link up a domain. There are hundreds of simple templates online that can make your selection of work instantly that much better and create an ideal base for you to perfect and personalize over time.
If you’re like me, and have zero knowledge of website coding, then here are some online website/portfolio builders that are photography-friendly you might want to check out -
Wix
Squarespace
Wordpress
Weebly
Smugmug
Zenfolio
2. Practice Flying your Drone
I’ll try not to step on any toes here, but out of everyone I know that has a drone, it kinda seems like most of them spend all of their flight time trying to make sure it doesn’t crash or fall dead out of the sky, and with good reason, the things aren’t cheap. While in isolation, if you do have access to a safe and empty area where you can legally and responsibly practice flying, then why don’t you? The more confident you are with a camera in the sky the more you’ll be able to focus on getting the shot when this pandemic is over.
3. Try Out Macro Photography
Focus on the little things. For those that haven’t heard of macro photography, it’s all about shooting at very close distances to your subject. Try your hand with the flowers in your garden, or the tiny details in your watch. If you want to kill the most amount of time, try setting up a water droplet station. I speak from experience when I say trying to photograph water drops will drive you insane because you’ll always think you can do better than your previous shot. If you don’t want to buy a specialty macro lens, there are inexpensive extension tubes that can be purchased and used with your existing lenses.
4. Start a Product Photography Portfolio
Good old product photography. The beauty of this type of photography is that you can use literally anything as your subject. Your phone, a can of beer, a shoe, you name it. With creativity and a keen eye for detail and light, shooting product photos can keep you occupied and generate some exciting results, allowing you to see everyday items in a new way.
5. Backup All your Photos
While this is probably something you should be doing anyways, I’ll admit that backing up your entire collection of photos takes a long time - which is why you should go ahead and do it now. Consider adopting the popular “3-2-1” backup structure. This consists of creating 3 backup copies of all your work, including on 2 types of hardware storage, and 1 off-site storage (like the cloud). At the very least, you can create an organized file structure in your existing setup for all your photos so you never have to go looking for individual proofs, raw or processed files again.
Some available cloud storage plans suited for photography you might want to check out -
Google Drive/Photos
pCloud
Backblaze
Crashplan
Adobe Creative Cloud
Photoshelter
6. Practice Different Editing Techniques
One of the great gifts that digital photography has given us is the ability to alter and adjust images in any way, at any time, so long we have the original file. Today’s editing software is pretty capable at doing some powerful things. Try your hand at creating an appealing black and white edit, or perhaps go for a vintage look with some of your favourite portraits. If you’re feeling courageous, start a photoshop composite project and go big.
7. Take an Online Photography Course
There are seemingly infinite online courses on the internet at your disposal and no matter how great we think we are behind the camera, there will always be new things we can learn. Right now, you can find heavy discounts and even free courses to take due to the pandemic. It’s hard to make better use of your extra time then to better yourself and your knowledge with photography.
8. Self Portrait Setups
I understand that there is a reason why we spend our time behind the camera and not in front of it. What I’m getting at is that practicing taking self portraits in a studio scenario is a great way to practice different lighting setups and poses for when we are able to shoot with clients again.
9. Write a Blog
Hahaha, guess what I’m doing right now? But really, why not write a blog? Us photographers are nothing more than storytellers. A camera may be our chosen instrument to share those stories, but that doesn’t mean that has to stop because we can’t get out and take photos anymore. The great thing about a blog is that it can be about literally anything. Talk about your favourite photo gear, your favourite places, or share the story behind your favourite photograph you’ve taken. At the very least, you can write a review on your favourite lens.
10. Clean your Gear
Alright, I don’t mean clean your gear to get rid of any possible virus contamination, or maybe I am, I don’t know. What I mean is that even though there are some great at-home types of photography you can be trying out, chances are you’re not getting out and shooting as much as you used to. Cleaning and maintaining your gear is very important to keep both your images looking clean and the equipment lasting longer. If you haven’t learned how to clean your sensor, now is the perfect time. Wipe all those lens elements, all your filters, tighten all the tiny screws, organize your camera bag and clean all those battery terminals.
11. Take a Tour Through your Archives
Out of everything on this list, this is probably the easiest one and before you started reading this blog, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’ve already done this. Going through your archives not only allows you to find all those great shots you skipped over, but will undoubtedly put you in a good mood by reliving all those great trips you went on and photographed. When going back through your archives, try going waaay back. You’ll be surprised on how many shots you’ll find that are worth processing and sharing. Years of shooting will inevitably advance your skills and your evolving eye will be able to pick up on things you may have breezed past years ago
12. Learn How to Use The Other Settings on your Camera
You’re definitely not the only one who doesn’t know every single one of your camera settings, and I know what you’re thinking, if you’ve never used those random settings, then why should you learn them? Well, you can argue that if you actually knew what they were and how they work, then you might actually use them. And let’s face it, when this pandemic is over, the chances of you taking the time to learn these settings will fall back to zero. The more you know about using your own camera, the more confidence you will have to capture that next shot perfectly when out in the field.
13. Give Filmmaking a Go
Okay, if I’m being honest, I’ll have to admit that I’ve literally never taken a single video on my camera. Never even switched it into film mode. Terrible, I know. So, don’t be like me and give your hand at filmmaking a go. With cameras nowadays coming out with such strong photography and video capabilities, there are more hybrid shooters than ever. Run around the apartment and try practicing panning and focus pulling on objects. Next, make a black and white montage of your cat jumping up on the couch. What I’m saying is learning how to properly film and adjust settings is definitely valuable knowledge to have. Having the ability to take professional looking footage whenever you’re out taking photos is a strong asset to you and your business.
14. Get Creative With Light Painting
The reason why I’ve put this on the list is because I’ve seen so many people absolutely lose it when they discover light painting for the first time, including me. If you’ve got a tripod/hard surface, a handheld light and a dark room, then you can give light painting a go right now. With the combination of a long shutter speed and your creativity behind a flashlight (or even your smartphone light) you can create stunningly lit photographs and scenes that can only be seen by a camera.
15. Try Out Other Editing Programs
Here’s one for the post-processing nerds out there. Now is a great time to take advantage of all those free trials for all the editing programs you’ve had your eyes on. Before this pandemic took effect, I decided to try out a new program which has now been promoted into my primary software for editing all my raw files. My point is, you never know what features you might stumble into with different programs and you might even end up finding something that suits your workflow better than your current setup. I’ve just started trying out Lightroom CC over Lightroom Classic. It might not be making any difference to my photos, but I’m definitely not bored.
16. Make a Pinhole Lens for your Camera
Shout out to Mr. Prensky, my High School photography teacher for showing me this way back. In the simplest terms, for those who don’t know what a pinhole camera is, it’s an object with a very small hole in one side that acts as an aperture, only in this case, you’ll be using the camera you already own. There are tons of online tutorials on how to make one, but all you’re basically doing is poking a hole in the middle of a camera body cap, or any black object that can be taped or mounted in front of your camera sensor. The science behind how this produces an image is quite simple, yet new-school digital photographers seem to be amazed in the same way like when your uncle discovered bluetooth for the first time.
17. Put Together a Slideshow of your Best Work
Take a collection of your favorite photos in one hand, and some fitting music in the other hand, and put them together. In my opinion, presenting a slideshow is one of the best ways to share your work because it exposes the viewer to a large variety of your imagery in a condensed package. Furthermore, the inclusion of music additionally supports your style as a photographer.
18. Do a Photoshoot of your Dressed Up Pet
Now is the time to take all those random shots of your dog in the house and push it to the next level. I don’t think I’m the only one who enjoys funny photos of dressed up pets. Why not create a series and put your creativity and the patience of your pet to the test?
19. Print Out Some of your Photos
There’s nothing else like having a tangible piece to hold in your hands and put on display. I’m a big believer in printing your work and getting that satisfying sense of completing the loop with a photograph. While I believe there is no bad time to print your photos, now is a perfect time to take a look at your best work and think about what might look good on the wall. If you’ve never printed large scale prints before, now is a great time to learn how to properly prep files and determine proper image detail and sharpness prior to sending it to the lab.
20. Enter Online Photography Contests
Have some images you’re proud of? There are more photography contests online now more than ever. People around the world right now are stuck inside and looking for inspiration from the community. Submitting images into contests not only gives you the chance for winning prizes and gaining exposure, but can introduce you to other online photography communities and other photographers with whom you share the field with.