If you’re a fan of everyday life photography or lifestyle blogging, photographing your hobby is a great way to capture a mundane yet beautiful moment of life. You shoot yourself in happiness here and can even use those photographs to educate others about your hobby.
Here are some tips for photographing your hobby throughout the day!
1. Keep the Gear Minimal
Minimal gear allows you to capture your hobbies without worrying too much about the equipment. You can focus on your unwinding time and capture it seamlessly. Contrary to popular belief, minimal gear does not mean your equipment will be of low quality. It just means convenience! You can find all the stuff at emodels store.
We recommend settling on a camera. Find your fit in our guides on the Best Cameras by Canon and Nikon.
Once you settle on a camera, discover your favorite lenses. Use that often but experiment with new ones to expand your portfolio in terms of creative abilities.
You will also need a flexible tripod for consistency and high-quality images. Set timers and capture yourself practicing your hobbies!
Also, if you own a smartphone with a high-end camera, do not feel hesitant to use it.
2. Hold Your Camera Close
Try keeping your camera charged and with you at all times. Since you’re photographing your hobby, you may want to unwind spontaneously and need your equipment to capture it. Furthermore, while you’re doing your hobby, you might need to capture different moments from the start till the end. So, it is always a good idea to carry your minimal gear around. We also recommend having extra batteries if possible.
3. Have a High ISO
Hobbies can be both indoors and outdoors. While the outdoors have great natural lighting, indoors may be a low light situation. If you’re using a new camera in the latter, ensure you have set your ISO to a high level. We recommend taking it to a 3200 to 6400. A higher ISO helps your camera absorb the dim light, creating an illusion of a brighter picture. Please note that a high ISO can make your photo grainy or digitally noisy. However, is not a grainy picture better than a blurry one?
Furthermore, you can reduce the sharpness of the image in post-processing to counter it.
4. Decide on Moments to Photograph
Although you can – and will – take multiple pictures of yourself doing your hobby, think out the moments you want to capture beforehand. You do not need to have a solid plan. Just have a blueprint or a mindmap in your head about the process and the times you would want to photograph your hobby. If you take inspiration from other photographers, know that everyone’s lists here are different. So, do not feel compelled to follow anyone. Let your photography regime be on your own rules!
5. Shoot in Stories
For photographing your hobby, there are many times when one image just won’t cut it. It is because it does not convey the entire concept. So, a great way to capture the whole thing is to do it in stories. Take several images of one scene or activity. Think about your pictures of the event in photo spreads. Figure out the shots you require to narrate your story to the world out there. What elements are essential? What’s incomplete?
You can do this naturally by moving around your subject and changing your shooting angles. Set your tripod and incorporate detailed shots. You may also take a video and then take snapshots. However, a better approach is to time your pictures while you are practicing your hobby.
Use a photo essay for a solid framework to shoot that helps make sure you capture all, and you aren’t taking ten photos of the same thing and from the same angle.
6. Try Out Different Angles
Getting stuck in a rut when photographing your hobby is nothing uncommon. It means that you keep taking shots from the same viewpoint about the eye level and the subject. It can create a monotonous series and may make the viewers feel bored. Thus, it’s essential to capture different angles. They make a significant difference in the outlook. So, try your best not to remain static or in one position while taking pictures. Move around your subject and analyze angles!
You may inadvertently find the best angle to capture your moment. Take a picture from a parallel position, then from one side, then behind, and then the other side. One can also get up to set the tripod such that it gets a bird-view angle. However, make sure you consider your hobby kind and then decide the angle.
Please note that many of these pictures will end up in the delete pile. But you’ll also have plenty to document your hobby and communicate your story to people out there. Think of it as a process to get the best ones out!
7. Capture Details
Detail shots are photographs that tell a story by focusing on a small portion of the entire scene. Let your hobby be the starlight here. For instance, if you enjoy making crafts in your free time, capture the start and results. You would also like pictures where you are working on it.
You do not require a macro lens to shoot the tiny details of the scene. Remember, it is the little things that count. Be sure to capture them while photographing your hobby!
8. Learn Editing and Lighting Concepts
You will need some editing skills to post-process your images if you want to put them out. You do not require hardcore photography editing skills here. Thus, take a generic editing class to learn the basics. Also, learn about lighting concepts in photography if you are at a beginner level.
Generally, there are two ways to lighten up your shots: artificial and natural. Artificial ones include LEDs, whereas natural light refers to sunlight in nature.
The Takeaway
Photographing your hobby is one great way to document your happy moments in life and educate others about them. With our tips for photographing your hobby, feel ready to hope for this new venture in life. It may be your first step towards an everyday life photography niche!
You can also pursue photography as a hobby itself or even a career. Here are some lucrative photography careers to consider. Do check our guide on the pros and cons of being a professional photographer too!