6 tips to get through the pandemic

Monday 16 March 2020, 22:33 by Michelle Peeters | 5,688 views | 4 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

You can't have missed it. We all need to do our bit to deal with the coronavirus as well as possible. Avoiding unnecessary contact is an important part of this. For the time being, we'll therefore be spending more time at home. In this article, 6 tips to make staying indoors compulsory more enjoyable and useful.

Photo: Fusion Medical Animation via Unsplash
And even if you aren't required to stay at home because of the virus, but simply have time to spare, because your weekly photography club evening, sports club or painting class isn't going ahead, hopefully this article will give you some inspiration. Also for outdoor situations now that the weather is so lovely, for example in your garden.

1. Build a home photography studio

If you aren't allowed out because of the coronavirus, there may not be much to photograph. Although you now have the chance to turn your home into a photography studio and gain some experience with artificial lighting indoors.

For example, you could try creating creative stories with your macro lens, using miniatures or everyday objects.

You could also spend some time learning about food photography. It takes quite a bit of attention to make a dish look appetising in a photo. We've written an informative article about this to help you take on these challenges.

Or you could learn more about abstract photography. Play around with light and shadows, and pay close attention to lines, shapes and repetitions, the standard composition techniques.

2. Finally finish that holiday photo album

You often decide during your holiday that you'll put together a beautiful photo book of the trip. But once you're back home, you're soon up to your ears in work or busy with other things.

Choosing the photos and putting an album together soon gets pushed aside. If you have to stay at home anyway, this could be a good time to catch up.

3. Droplet photography

Droplet photography is another subject you can really get stuck into at home. Tromp Willem van Urk wrote a great article about it for Photofacts a while ago. Turn your home into a droplet studio and take photos you never thought you could make.

Little umbrella created by two colliding water droplets

4. Take an online photography course

Would you like to improve your photography skills but don't want to or can't leave the house? An online course, or a whole series of courses, at Photofacts Academy is ideal, of course.

Set your own pace and do the lessons when it suits you. You'll learn all about a wide range of subjects.

Coincidentally, there is currently a great offer, including a discount and a free book.

5. Pets

Do you always have trouble finding models? Your pet will probably be happy to model for you. Or not, in which case you have a great challenge ahead of you to sharpen your pet photography skills. We've also written some helpful articles about this to help you.

6. Clean your sensor

A dirty sensor creates annoying elements in your photos, so ideally you should keep it as clean as possible. Cleaning it yourself is rather risky, so ideally you should have it done for you. But in practice, that often doesn't happen.

If you do want to do it yourself, proceed as follows: remove the lens from your camera body. With a DSLR, you'll immediately see the mirror. There is often some dust on it too, but this is easy to remove with an air blower.

In your camera's menu, you can choose an option to clean the sensor manually. This flips up the camera mirror. You can now clean the exposed sensor with special brushes and fluids.

Cleaning your own sensor is risky. If you make a mistake, you're often not insured for it, and a scratch on the sensor cannot be repaired. If you don't really know what you're doing, definitely consider having it done by a professional. Most camera shops can do it for you.

More suggestions?

Do you have any other fun suggestions for photo projects you can do from home? Then be sure to leave a comment below!

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