20 Incredible Indoor Photography Tips And Tricks To Improve Your Skills

Even if you’re good with a camera and class yourself as a skilled photographer, it’s never new late to learn a few new photography tricks as you’ll never know when you might need them! We’ve put together a list of the 20 best indoor photography tips and tricks that will help you improve your skills and ensure you always have a useful trick up your sleeve.

#1 Use A Drinks Glass As A Last Minute Tripod

If you’re using your smartphone as your camera and you don’t have anywhere stable to place it in order to get a perfectly angled shot, try placing it in a dry empty drinks glass and use the timer feature. This is especially useful in low light conditions or for group portraits.

#2 Create Your Own Lightbox

Using the simple tricks found here you can create your own cheap lightbox made from just a cardboard box and white fabric.

#3 Use White Paper, Cardboard Or Polystyrene To Bounce Light

If one side of your shot is looking dark and shadowy, you can use a large white object to reflect light back onto your subject and achieve an even result.

#4 Take Great Photos With An Angle Poise Lamp

If you don’t have access to expensive lights or flashes for indoor photography, then consider using an angle poise lamp which will allow you to easily control the direction of light hitting your subject. Find more tips for using an angle poise lamp here.

#5 Use Manual Mode To Take Better Indoor Pictures

If you always use your camera in automatic mode but find that your indoor photos come out too dark or not as you had imagined, try using manual mode to adjust the settings exactly how you want them. This may take some experimenting but this site has a few useful tips.

#6 Use An External Flash

Instead of using the pop up flash on your camera which can be harsh and produce unwanted shadows, try experimenting with an external flash instead which you can have much more control over. Take a look at some easy ways to use an external flash here.

#7 Diffuse Your Flash With White Card

If you must use your on camera flash, try diffusing it with white card to get soft lighting and shadows that are flattering for all scenes and subjects. Find out how to attach the card here.

#8 Prepare The Room  

If you take photos in a messy room and expect them to come out perfectly then you are overestimating the capabilities of your camera. By tidying the room, taking down pictures or shelves and removing large items and clutter you will have a much cleaner backdrop for your shot. See how to prepare the room like in the photo above here.

#9 Take Portraits Of Others In Their Homes

If you’re taking portraits of friends or acquaintances then shooting in their own home can be a great trick to get them to relax and look natural. You can also have them using props such as a book to add interest to the photo.

#10 Crouch Down When Photographing Interiors 

Crouching down and lowering your tripod when taking interiors is a great photography trick that will help to create straighter lines and make the ceilings look higher.

#11 Take Photos Next To A Window 

If you’re taking photos at home, especially of children, setting up an area next to a natural source of light will provide you will all the light you need to create great sharp photos. See the full set up here.

#12 Get The Best Photos Of Children By Sneaking Up On Them

Hiding round a corner with a camera or not making it obvious that you’re taking a photo is the best photography trick to get the most natural photos of kids playing and enjoying themselves!

#13 Use Household Items To Improve Your Food Photography 

From non stick cooking spray to a household mirror, there are some incredibly easy items to use to improve your food photos. Find out about all the items here.

#14 Remove Your Lens To Shoot In Macro

If you’d love to shoot in macro but can’t afford the expensive and fancy lenses, then use this photography tip- all you need to do is remove your normal lens and hover it a short distance from your camera, moving towards and away from the camera in order to focus.

#15 Use Fabric To Create An Easy Backdrop

Use patterned fabric attached to a stand to create a cheap and easy backdrop for your photos. Find out how here.

#16 Place Your Subject At 45 Degree Angle To A Window 

Placing the subject at 45 degrees to the light source will help to create more interesting varied light than placing them straight on.

#17 Open A Window Or Door for More Light

This great site recommends opening up a window or door and to let more light into the room and angling the subject slightly towards the light for a more flattering photo.

#18 Make A List Of Five Everyday Things Worth Documenting

If you want to improve your indoor photography then making a list of things worth documenting and sticking to it will force you to experiment and practice, allowing you to improve your skills

#19 Create Your Own Macro Photography Studio With Desklamps 

Use this simple indoor photography trick to create a table top macro studio using desk lamps and document wallets.

#20 Use A Lamp As A Makeshift Tripod 

If you’re forgotten the tripod for your compact or DSLR camera then you don’t need to worry, you can use a lamp instead when indoors. Find out how here. Shooting indoors doesn’t mean that your photos have to be boring- experiment with new lenses such as a fisheye to improve your skills and make your photos more dynamic.