How to shoot your own lockdown images
How to shoot your own lockdown images.
UPDATE JAN 2022
I first posted my Lockdown Ballet series of images in 2020, during the first lockdown. I'm very proud to say that it was well received by the photography community and beyond. The images were published on United Art Gallery, which was set up to showcase COVID 19 related art from around the world. Visit the United Art Gallery website to see some amazing and inspiring work from artists from all over the world.
Here's the story of how they were taken:
I wanted to try and capture what it's like being in lockdown at home during this pandemic. My son is a ballet dancer and so is, of course, missing all his classes at the moment. He's been practising at home with videos from his teachers.
As I was watching him practice, I wondered whether I could do a shoot with him, dancing around the house. He's always moving. Whether it's dancing on the edge of my bedframe, on one leg, or cartwheeling across the lounge. We did a shoot together a few days ago and I thought it might be useful to share how we went about it and to help anyone that is thinking of doing their own lockdown photo shoot at home.
Here's 7 quick tips on how to shoot your own lockdown images, based on how I planned and shot these images of my son.
1. Research and planning
My son is a ballet dancer and has great natural poise but sometimes classical ballet poses need a bit of a tweak to look even better in photos. I follow some fantastic ballet photographers on Instagram - the awesome Richard Calmes and Magda Hoffman are two of my favourites and I love all the movement in their work. My son and I discussed, practiced and researched poses in advance of the session. Some things worked and others didn't. As a male dancer, he doesn't have the fabulous outfits that ballerina's wear and so we just had to work with him and his black tights. The most important thing was making sure that his 'lines' were as perfect as he could make them (taking into account his ability). No dodgy hand placements or bent legs if possible. If you want to capture a person's hobby at home, then take time to research other images in the genre. Work out what your subject can do and what they can't do. Tweak and adapt ideas to suit your subject and the environment that you have to work with.
2. Consider the setting
Doing a shoot at home is different to shooting in a studio or outside. There's a lot more general debris around a family home! I looked around my house for suitable areas to shoot (my bedroom, upstairs landing and lounge) and made sure that I cleared away any mess (the guitar, dumbbells, wet towels, paper work, abandoned socks and framed pictures). Depending on the sort of photography you like, you might like to include general household detritus. If not, then find an area that you can clear, or dress to suit your images.
3. Outfits
Outfits for this sort of shoot are super important. I didn’t want my son to wear his usual ballet outfit, as things are different in lockdown. I wanted a sense of informality but still needed to see his body shape properly. So, he wore his ballet tights, but with a t-shirt instead of a leotard. He wore his hair down too, instead of wearing a bun to add to the informal ‘at home’ feel. If you’re planning a shoot at home then outfits should be a top priority. Try and avoid writing, or logo’s on clothing as well as pictures as they can be very distracting. Consider colours, textures and style of clothing and work out what you think would suit the situation. Do you want something colourful, joyful or fun? Or perhaps something more serious, classic and formal. Planning and thinking about clothing in advance will make a big difference to the end result.
4. Find the light
I've spent a lot of time in the house lately! Haven't we all? So, I've become very aware of the light and shadows at different times of day. I knew that the sun would be shining through the lounge window, casting lovely patterns onto the carpet in the late afternoon, so I planned the shoot at that time. Look around your house, find the lovely patterns made as the sun moves during the day. Look for naturally shaded areas or bright spots, depending on what you like. You could plan a silhouette picture (shooting into the light), or use the patterns cast on the walls or floor to make interesting shadow images.
5. Kit
I used my Sony A7iii for the shoot and chose my 35mm Sigma Art lens. I needed a wide angle lens, so I could capture him within the setting and not have to stand miles away (plus there wasn't enough room to use my 85mm!). Shoot with what you have. Use a phone if you need to! Work out in advance what you can fit into the frame before the session. I did a couple of test shots a few days prior to the actual shoot, just to work out what I could fit in and where I would need to stand.
6. Settings
I can't advise on what settings you should use for your shoot, as it totally depends on what you're shooting and the available light etc. I can tell you the settings used for this shoot though. For the static images, I used a wide aperture (f2.8) and a shutter speed of around 1/250. Upstairs my ISO was a little higher (400) as it was darker. Downstairs, there was more light streaming through the windows and my priority was to capture his movement, so I used a faster shutter speed (between 1/640 -1/800). My ISO was 100 and aperture f1.8.
Dance photography isn't easy. I'm no expert at this sort of thing but photographing my son over the years, I've realised it's easier to ask him to jump from standing, rather than across the frame, to make sure that I can get the focus correct. It took quite a few takes to get the images in this set. The slightest movement in the wrong direction can ruin an image. He's more of a perfectionist than me, and so won't let me use an image unless he's happy with it.
As with most things, practice make perfect, so just keep trying and learning as you go. If your images are too light or too dark or too blurry, consider your settings, change something and try again.
7. Processing
I knew in advance that I wanted the whole set of images to be in black and white. The woodwork in my house is a pale green colour and I didn't want it to distract the eye away from him so I thought black and white would look better. With that in mind I chose a dark outfit for him, so there would be contrast between him and the background. I processed the RAW files in Lightroom and did any small tweaks and cropping in Photoshop.
Lockdown photo sessions can cover any hobby or activity. What does your child love to do? Can you work out a shoot that will show them in action? You could do a shoot showing them dancing, exercising, practising a musical instrument, painting, drawing - there's loads of options. I'd love to see your lockdown images! Share them with me on my Facebook or Instagram accounts.
If you want to learn about dance photography - then check out Dance Photography Workshops from the fabulous Nina Mace.
Follow me on Instagram to see more of my work. Check out my work with families and local businesses in my portfolios.
Family Beach Shoot
Family Beach Shoot
Back in 2006, I'd just started my photography business and I was booked by a family that lived in the same road as me in Cowbridge. I photographed them as a family with their newborn son. A few years later, they had a second son and they booked another family shoot at home. Since then I've photographed the family every few years and watched the children grow up.
We've had family shoots at home and family beach shoots over the years. This one was pretty special with a glorious sunset at the end. The boys are the same age as my children so it's always lovely to see how they've grown and hear about what they are up to. We chatted about previous shoots and the youngest said that he could remember me coming to their house when he was a toddler. Pretty impressive!
It's a real honour to have repeat clients like this. It's such a great experience to watched families grow together.
If you'd like to book a family beach shoot then have a look at my family portfolio and pricing page and drop me a line to find out more.
You can also follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see my latest work.
Gem x
South Wales Sunset Photo Shoot
Check out this gorgeous South Wales sunset photo shoot! When I started photographing families 13 years ago, it was primarily families with young children. Over the years there seems to have been a shift in that pattern and now I'm getting lots of bookings with older children. Maybe it's because my children are growing up and I know lots of people with older children. Or maybe it's because families have started to realise it's never too late to capture the magic of their kids - no matter how old they are!
This shoot was booked to capture 3 cousins together and I managed to twist Mum's arm into joining in with the shoot and getting some family photos taken at the same time. I'm pretty sure she's pleased that I did and now they have a gorgeous selection of images of ALL of them before their eldest finishes school. I feel very passionately about encouraging parents to include themselves into the family photos. It's a shared history that is not complete without every member of the family being featured.
The beach at sunset it my favourite place to be and I'm very grateful that my clients agree. We had a spectacular sunset on this shoot - scroll down to see the amazing colours. We started off with a walk around the gardens and on the cliff tops. Then went down to the beach to watch the sunset. There was some hot chocolate too - nice one Mum!
If you fancy a family shoot on location in South Wales - be it at the beach or at a favourite location of yours - drop me a line.
You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see more of my latest work. You can also check out my family portfolio and pricing information too.
Gem x
Winter beach family shoot
I love taking photos at the beach all year round. This winter beach family shoot, just after the snow fall in February, is gorgeous.
The shoot was booked as a surprise for Dad's birthday. The idea was to get some lovely pictures of the three children (plus puppy) together, to be printed on a canvas. I say 'children', even though the two eldest are officially adults because you're never too old to take part in a family shoot. Just because you're in your twenties, doesn't mean that your parents don't want to look at photos of you.
The shoot took place at my favourite local beach, Southerndown (Dunraven Bay). If you look closely in the background you can see a bit of snow left on the hillside. It was absolutely freezing but we managed a walk around the gardens and made it to the beach in time for the sunset.
It was super slippery and myself and youngest both fell over and had a nice coating of mud. I managed to hit both cameras on the floor as well as getting covered in mud in the car park before we'd even started! Not the first time I've fallen over on a shoot and I'm sure it won't be the last either!
But, it's all worth it to get a beautiful set of images.
Have a little nosey below to see what we got up to. At the end of the post, you'll see a 9 image collage - my most popular product. Putting 9 images together from a shoot is a great way to display your favourite images. Find out more about my products on my Products page.
Book your family shoot
If you'd like to book family photo shoot - have a look at my Family Portfolio and Pricing page for more information.
Get in touch if you have any questions.
Gem x
Beach shoot in Saundersfoot
If you follow my work, you'll know that I love the beach. I shoot regularly on my local beaches in the Vale of Glamorgan but there's nothing like discovering a new beach!
I recently spent the weekend in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire, staying at the St Bride's Spa Hotel with one of my oldest friends. The hotel is fantastic and set in the most beautiful surroundings with the most amazing views of the town and the beach.
We enjoyed spending time in the spa and then treated ourselves to an Aperol Spritz on the balcony of our room before heading down for dinner.
The next day was a typical January day - low grey clouds in the sky and a bit damp, but it also felt pretty serene and calm too. I had my camera with me, so we headed down to the beach for a walk and a mini photo shoot.
I've known Sheila for over 20 years, we've travelled around the world together, lived in different cities together and spent countless hours talking non-stop. I've got photos of her from when we were hanging out at university in Leeds, exploring the East Coast of Australia, travelling around South America and spending weekends in the Cotswolds. I've done a couple's shoot, maternity shoot and family shoot with her and now it's time for some shots for her. Just because.
Presenting my beautiful friend Sheila.
Gem x
Book your own photo shoot with just you, or your family. Get in touch to find out more or visit my pricing page.
