Unfortunately, we are all practically unable to travel nowadays, but there are a few things all photographers can do if they love taking pictures, just like I do. Now, we have countless opportunities to learn something new, while working on important things, since we didn’t have that much time in hectic everyday life. For a while, this can be as fun as traveling! I have a home office for the fourth week, and these tips, I am going to tell you, have helped me a lot. Listen up!
Quarantine Tips for Photographers – contents:
- Best time to shoot night sky
- Shoot wildlife right out the window!
- Participate in photo competitions
- Update your site and social networks
- Learn new editing techniques!
Best time to shoot night sky
Believe it or not, there has never been a better chance to shoot the night sky in recent years than it is now. Why? Because of the coronavirus outbreak. Cities produce less light pollution than usual – there are fewer cars, office buildings are off, etc. So if you have nature near your home, be sure to visit it in the evening, and take pictures of stars, star trails or milky way. You won’t probably have a better opportunity. Just choose a time when the sky is clear and take your tripod with you. Don’t have experience with night sky photography? Never mind, check out my complete guide Astrophotography for Beginners! Thanks to these times, I’ve also discovered a great love for astrophotography… ?
Shoot wildlife right out the window!
It sounds funny, but if you live in places with a little nature around, it’s possible! For example, I take pictures of squirrels jumping around on trees every morning around 7 am. They are so beautiful and cute. Well, since I don’t need to leave for the work in the morning (I have a home office – one of the advantages of working in IT, haha ?), I had the time to notice the wildlife around, which I hadn’t seen before. Squirrels, birds, all kinds of animals. In one larger park, located near my home, I met a deer family. I have noticed that they are always around 6 pm in the same place in the forest, so I can wait there and take a picture. If you have a zoom lens, try getting up early in the morning and see what’s happening in your garden or park nearby ?
Participate in photo competitions
I don’t know if you’ve noticed that, but there are now plenty of opportunities for photo contests. Yeah, I usually don’t participate in competitions either. Little time and laziness. But now it’s different! Now we have no excuses, so why not try? Not a chance? You’d be surprised, how many times do ordinary people succeed in competitions. Sometimes it is enough to capture an extraordinary moment by mistake. It’s time to show your photos to the world!
You do not need to own GoPro to participate in the competition. Just post photos under the #HomePro and #GoPro hashtags on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook or TikTok. Photos or videos, you can post almost anything. You can post photos until April 30th and win the latest GoPro 8! ?
SIGMA #sigmashotathome challenge
Similar rules. Give the company a follow and tag it in the post. Post photos under #sigmashotathome and #shotwithsigma hashtags on Instagram or Facebook. Photos or videos, it doesn’t matter again. You can post photos until June 26 and win $ 500 or $ 1,000! The main winner will even win a lens worth over $ 2,000! Winners are announced every week and month! ?
Update your site and social networks
Didn’t you manage to write an article on your blog, and you’ve been thinking about it a lot? Or do you want to edit your amazing holiday videos and upload them on Youtube? Whatever it is, now is the right time. When you want to take some time off from your family, complete the things you were putting off forever. Sure, watch Netflix tonight, but there’s a lot you can do during the day. I have dozens of videos from Lofoten Islands when I was in Norway last summer. Let me repeat – last summer! I haven’t found enough time to edit them. Until now. If social networks play an important role for you, update your bio and links. Create new story selections. Post pictures you haven’t shown the world yet.
Learn new editing techniques!
Sure, Lightroom and similar applications are very powerful photo editing tools, but Photoshop is better! You have complete control over the photo and its specific parts! I know, I too had strong objections for this application. It seemed confusing and unintuitive. But once you understand the basic principles of working with layers, you won’t want to use anything else! Take your photos to a whole new level! Learn how to easily work with HDR images or how luminosity masks work. Learn how to use the color wheel and how to apply color harmony rules. There’s just a lot! As you well know, you will find great tutorial videos on Youtube today. Make good shots great!
