You know how the difference between seeing yourself in the mirror and seeing yourself in a photograph can be huge sometimes? Our rooms can be the same way.
Sometimes we need a fresh perspective of our rooms, whether they’ve been arranged the same way for years or we just re-decorated yesterday. And sometimes, all we need to do to get that new view of our space is to take a photograph or two of it.
It’s amazing how things jump out at you in a picture that you’ve never noticed in person. It could be little things like electrical cords that you didn’t realize were visible to something big like the sofa not complimenting the room at all.
I’m a borderline-terrible photographer not very good at photography yet. But there are three things that have started making a big difference in the photos around here:
1. Use natural light whenever possible (and don’t mix any other light with natural light–it will make everything look muddy).
2. Take photographs from hip-height (or waist-height if you’re a shorty like me).
3. Face your subject straight-on.
I always photographed our rooms at an angle–from the corner–so I could fit the whole room in one picture. And that’s another reason my photographs were always ugly. It’s just not flattering, and it really is okay to not get the whole room in one photo. So try facing the wall squarely when taking pictures.
The tips can seem strange and unnatural, but they really make a difference, try it both ways and see!
So go take some photos of your rooms and see if anything stands out to you that you never noticed in person. And come back and let us know, we’d love to hear the results!
Sarah
January 10, 2014 at 10:26 amHi Christina! These are really helpful tips. Thanks.:)
Christina
January 13, 2014 at 4:22 pmVery glad, Sarah!
Magali@TheLittleWhiteHouse
January 10, 2014 at 2:07 pmI agree with you, pictures are better taken with natural light… But in winter, I really can’t do it in my cottage that has small windows.
Christina
January 13, 2014 at 4:21 pmYes, we have a few rooms in our house that hardly get any no matter what time of the year…that’s when I use a flash bounce. But the lighting in your photos always looks very nice to me!
Inge @ Simply Fabulous Chic
January 10, 2014 at 2:40 pmWhat great tips! I am also not good at photography yet, but I also have seen that my pictures taken in natural daylight without any other light are much more clearer and better looking. Others sometimes just look too yellow. 🙂 How great of you to share these interesting tips, I’m definitely going to keep these in mind when I’m shooting the baby room for my next future blog posts… Thanks so much Christina!! I hope all is well with you and that you had wonderful holidays and that you will be having a magical, wonderful 2014!!
Hugs, Inge x
Christina
January 13, 2014 at 4:14 pmThanks, Inge! I look forward to seeing the baby’s room!
Sarah
January 10, 2014 at 10:11 pmWhat interesting, unexpected techniques to apply! I can see you used all of the above in the great living room photo (love the relaxed Roscoe on the couch; our Heidi is still too young and rambunctious for furniture yet ;-). I’ll be sure to photograph the new bathroom using some of these ideas; if we ever get it done, that is!
Christina
January 13, 2014 at 4:10 pmThat’s Roscoe’s favorite spot when we’re busy. (And he wasn’t allowed on either when he was young and crazy.) 🙂
Aww…you two are persistent, you’ll get it done! I look forward to the photos.
Leena
January 11, 2014 at 5:46 amWhat natural light? 😀
That hip hight perspective does look good, I had never payed attention to such detail. It’s like you are looking at a room from a sofa, sitting.
I too try to take photo so that everything fits in and therefore back into a corner to take the photo, but usually the less you see the better the photo looks. I’m really not a good photographer, but I’ve noticed that I’m better taking pictures of details than from the bigger scale, maybe I’m just trying to take picture of a too big area.
Thanks for the tips! And I agree, you can see your environment in a new light by looking it through a lens.
Christina
January 13, 2014 at 4:00 pmYour detailed pictures are always beautiful! You really have a good eye for those.
homestilo
March 11, 2014 at 11:27 amI am always shy about my interior photos as well- so thanks for the tips. I am with you on natural light- every time.