Take good photos at home, to enrich your Instagram gallery, for your blog, to call/rent an apartment or to enhance interiors.

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How to take pictures at home and/or how to portray interiors?
As all m Instagram followers know, I like interior and home life visual storytelling (over than travel storytelling) but, like many of you, I don’t have a solid base and technical knowledge of the photographic field.
Based on my experience, here are some tips for you, whether you need or want to take pictures at home, whether with human subjects or not.

(a special thanks to Flavia Costadoni, photographer and blogger, who helped me in this writing this. Follow her if you are planning a trip to Rome and want to find great spots to portray with your smartphone).

1 – Look for extraordinary details in an ordinary space

Our first advice about how to take good photos at home concerns a problem that many people meet at home, since they believe they have nothing interesting to photograph.
In fact, it is possible to find the extraordinary in the ordinary, thus observing the objects deeply, in the most hidden cracks.
Give space to small details, see how the light changes during the day, try to photograph the things we like to watch.

A room will not have the same light and therefore the same “photogenic pathos” throughout the day.

Learn to understand which angles are most interesting to portray (and portray yourself using these angles as settings) and see at what stages of the day they give their best.

And then, a secret to take good photos at home, pay attention to the details that you find beautiful, interesting, which in your opinion tell a story. Better if it’s your story.

2 – Go with natural light

Even though ring lights have become a common piece of furniture (and I know something about it), the best way to photograph (in) interiors is with natural light (especially for those who are not professional photographers).

So choose as much as possible location and corners near doors and windows and play with the direction of light.

3 – Know and take advantage of some small basic rules of photography

No need to take advanced photography courses, there are a few simple rules that you should keep in mind when taking photos.
For example, the rule of thirds: divide the image into thirds and put the subject in the imaginary intersection lines to have a more dynamic image, which can be very useful in a “static” environment par excellence such as the home.

4 – be creative

Where the place’s photogenic does not arrive, your creativity does.
I love playing with the focus, the front and back grounds but you can also play with alternative angles and points of view, such as photos from above or, conversely, from below.

If you have empty spaces (empty walls or not too furnished corners), know that those can become real workshops of creative backgrounds.
You can in fact use plants, lights and lamps, photogenic objects such as books, musical instruments etc.

5 – Photogenic objects (namely props) you have at home: what are they?

When I speak of photogenic objects I am referring to those objects which, taken individually, tell a story or a moment.
Among these, there are certainly books (especially old books), vintage objects (film cameras, typewriters, old lamps, old telephones etc.), cut flowers, wine glasses.

Of course, things like colored walls or chalkboards suits particularly well for more interesting shots.