Twelve Weeks to Better Photos: Week Six, Shooting Indoors

Whoa, I can't believe it's already week six! We're already halfway through the course!

This week the focus is on taking photos indoors. The course has already covered how to make the most of flash when you need it, and now it's time to learn how to make the most of natural light when shooting indoors. You can see the full PDF lesson here.

Shooting indoors usually means that there's a shortage of light, which brings us back to the exposure triangle. When there isn't enough light, something's gotta give, whether it's ISO, shutter speed, or depth of field.

Shooting indoors doesn't mean you have to completely give up on having gorgeous natural light for photos though. Shooting near windows and open doors are great ways to let in the light without heading outside. As a bonus, you can even get catchlights! (catchlights are those great "sparkles" in people's eyes that make them look so vivid.)

One important thing to remember when shooting with this type of light is it to meter on your subject. I can hear you now: wtf does that mean?! Basically, it means having your camera settings (ISO, aperture, and shutter speed) based on the object/person you're shooting, and not the giant light source behind/beside them. I think everyone has taken those photos where the window is really bright, but everything in the room is dark, and those photos are always a real bummer. If you have a DSLR (or any point and shoot that lets you change the focus) and aren't shooting in full manual mode (like aperture or shutter priority), an easy way to keep this from happening is to make sure your focus is in the right place. Your camera will automatically meter your settings based on that spot. For the photos I took below, I shot in aperture priority mode and I set the focus on the darkest part of the dog (usually the eye farthest away from the window).


The Assignment

The assignment this week was to take photos of a subject near a window to utilize natural light. Of course I had to turn to some of my favorite photography subjects ;-)









What I Learned
I need to clean that window really really badly!


Still following along and doing the courses too? Let's see what you've got!



I'm leaving the linky party open for the duration of the entire 12 weeks so you can link up as you do the lessons on your own.


Coming Up Next Week: Shooting Outdoors and Taking Macro Shots! How to work when there's too much light and how to shoot small things close up!