lights on and off

One simple change I’ve used over the years to get more even light in the photos I take of the inside of my house is to turn off all the lamps.

In real life, I like the lamps on, but in photos, it makes the light seem weird.

lights on

I am by no means a great photographer. I take all the pictures for this blog and took all the photos in my book–all with a Nikon (currently the D7000) with the flash off, on an automatic setting. They aren’t perfect, but they’ve been good enough for the blog, book and have even been used in shelter magazines–it truly doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful.

It’s been a goal of mine for years to learn how to truly use this lovely camera–but I just haven’t taken the time.

And I don’t use Photoshop–not because I don’t think it’s worth the investment–I’m positive it is, I just haven’t wanted to deal with the learning curve that goes with it. It’s been on my goal list for a few years and I haven’t gotten around to it.

lights off

I still struggle with taking photos in this house, it has big windows but it also has a wrap around covered porch and this room is on the north side of the house so natural lighting is a huge challenge. So I wait for the sun, turn off my lamps, and use the free photo editing program that came with my computer to lighten it up just a bit.

lights on

lights on

lights off

lights off

tweaking

a little bit of editing in iPhoto

Why did I take photos while I was in the middle of mopping the floor? I have no idea, but you can see the difference between lights on, lights off, and just a little bit of photo editing.

better

Whether you are using your phone or a camera, if you are taking photos of the inside of your house take a second to turn off the unnatural lights and get in a position where you get the most natural light possible. Also, maybe don’t take photos while you are in the middle of mopping your floor.