Hi!

How has your 2024 been, photography-wise? If you live in colder areas, finding the motivation to get out with your camera in January can be tough (this I know from personal experience!). And if you live in hotter areas, heading outside during the summer’s peak can be equally difficult.

Fortunately, even if you're experiencing some horrific weather conditions, there are still some excellent opportunities for indoor photography - and in this newsletter, I share a handful of indoor photography ideas to inspire you!

I also share:

1. The dPS bi-weekly challenge
2. A few camera recommendations (in case you’re looking to upgrade in 2024)
3. Two more image critiques

Let’s dive right in!

The dPS bi-weekly photo challenge: Pebbles

From Sime: 

This challenge is brought to you by our dPS member, Elena! You can find pebbles pretty much anywhere, so you have no excuse to go out over the next couple of weeks and make a new photograph for this challenge.

Make sure you include the hashtags #dPSWeeklyChallenge and #dPSPebbles in your post, in the comments of our official weekly challenge page, or over on social media. You can tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!

And you can also share your image(s) in the dPS Facebook group!

Easy ideas for indoor photography

If you're like me, you primarily enjoy getting OUTSIDE with your camera - enjoying the fresh air, the beauty of the natural world, the sights and the sounds, whether you photograph landscapes, flowers, insects, wildlife, architecture, people, or street scenes.

And when the weather is freezing cold or sweltering hot, regularly heading out with your camera gear in tow can become a real chore. Now, you CAN brave the cold weather by bundling up and carrying some of the items I recommended last week (like this rain cover, these gloves, and these rechargeable hand warmers). 

But that’s not feasible for everyone, and some days, photographing in extreme weather can be exceedingly dangerous. That’s where indoor photography comes to the rescue! So if you’re itching to take some photos but don’t feel comfortable shooting outside, here are a few ideas:

Still life photos. Many folks don't realize how easy it is to get started capturing beautiful still-life photos! I've become more and more interested in this genre over the past few years, and it’s both rewarding and a lot of fun. You can do it in your living room, bedroom, or basement; all you need are a few objects from around the house (such as bottles, vases, flowers, books, etc.), a table to put them on, and some form of lighting (be it window light, a speedlight, an LED light, etc.). 

We have an in-depth guide on still-life photography right here, and if you need any additional advice, you can always hit Reply to this email and ask me directly!

Household macro shots. Grab your closest-focusing lens or even your smartphone camera, then have fun photographing random objects from around the house at high magnifications. This one always results in great images, and you can do it for days on end without getting bored! 

Also, if you do want to explore true macro photography - with 1x magnifications - check out our guide to the best lenses for macro photography, which includes plenty of expert recommendations! This is the macro lens I use personally, and the RF version is also great - though a low-cost alternative that I’ve had excellent experiences with is Sigma 105mm macro, and it’s available for a variety of different camera brands.

Family portraits. There’s no better time to do family portraits than those days when you’re stuck inside! Just grab a family member, bring out that camera, and spend some time posing them by a window! (Of course, if you’re interested, you can always delve into artificial lighting and lighting modifiers, which can be a great way to improve your capabilities as a portrait shooter.) And before you shoot, take a look at our guide to portrait lighting patterns!

Window scenes. If you enjoy capturing more landscape-style images, you don’t have to photograph from outside - instead, you can enjoy capturing scenes from the window. Depending on where you live, you might be able to capture human-free shots - such as snow falling on the trees outside - but I encourage you to play around with including the window, and perhaps even the house interior, in your compositions! 

A few great cameras to consider in 2024

Looking for a new camera to start the new year? Picking the perfect model can be overwhelming, so I wanted to share four recommendations for cameras that I’ve been impressed with recently:

1. The Canon EOS R50. If you’re looking to upgrade from a smartphone or point-and-shoot camera, it’s tough to go wrong with this budget-priced mirrorless camera from Canon, which offers excellent image quality, an articulating screen, very nice autofocus capabilities, and solid video - plus, access to Canon’s amazing lens lineup.
2. The Nikon Z 6II. This camera is perfect for hobbyists and up-and-coming professionals looking to gain plenty of state-of-the-art features without breaking the bank. It’s also a great choice if you want to switch over from a DSLR but you’re not sure where to start.
3. The Canon EOS R5. A pro-level camera that never seems to get old, the EOS R5 is ideal for serious photographers of all stripes thanks to a 45 MP full-frame sensor, blazing-fast autofocus, a beautiful electronic viewfinder, and so much more.
4. The Sony a6700. Sony’s latest APS-C camera is an outstanding option for hobbyists as well as beginners looking for more flexibility; it can handle pretty much anything you throw at it, including both photo and video, and it’s amazingly compact, too.

Critiquing your photos

This week, I have two more critiques to share (and, as usual, if you want to submit your images for critique, go ahead and hit Reply to this message and send over the file!).

First, a beautiful flower image from Holly G:

What a wonderfully intimate image, Holly - I love how you’ve framed the light flower against such a dark background, and I also appreciate how you’ve gotten in close to show all sorts of wonderful details. The way the petals curve around the center is a lovely touch, as are the scattered water droplets. 

A few small ideas for improvement:

1. I love how you’ve captured the beautiful flower center surrounded by the softly curving petals, and I’d encourage you to emphasize it more! Right now, a petal is blocking the bottom right corner of the stamens, which hides some of the details from view, plus it creates a slightly distracting overlap. If you were to move slightly up and to the left, you might be able to show the entire set of stamens and carpels, which would be even more impactful.
2. While I love most of the details here, there are a few items that are a touch distracting; for instance, I'm noticing a few blemishes on the pedals, and there's also some slightly distracting carpels that have fallen off the flower and our sitting just underneath the set of stamens in the center. One option here would be to do a bit of cloning or healing in post-processing, though you could always look for another subject that is in slightly better shape. (You could also try adjusting your angle in order to hide some of the imperfections, or you could attempt to embrace the imperfections, perhaps by going for an even moodier vibe, maybe with a black and white conversion?)

But I love the photo as it is, and I think you've done an excellent job of capturing this magnolia so as to show off the different features. Thanks so much for sending it in!

Second, we have a gorgeous landscape from Alan B:

Alan, what an excellent shot! You've created a beautiful composition with the layering effect; you have the worn out fence in the foreground, the trees in the midground, and the misty mountain in the background. I also love the fall colors on the mountain, and they pair so beautifully with the yellow and green grasses in the foreground.

A few recommendations:

First, I'd recommend adjusting the white balance to cool down the shot slightly; I like the warm tones, but they're also a little overpowering, at least on my monitor.

Second, part of me feels like there could be a bit more room at the bottom for the sand to “breathe,” and a bit less empty space along the right-hand side to allow the two larger trees on the right to better counterbalance the smaller trees on the left. To implement the former, you'd have to reshoot, but the latter could be handled with a bit of cropping!

Third, there are two small details that I'm noticing: the pine tree on the right hand side just at the base of the mountain, and the tree on the left edge of the mountaintop that's jutting upward in the mist. These are pretty minor concerns, but I do think they draw the eye away from the beautiful scene that you've composed and mess just slightly with the sense of harmony. You could try cropping; just make sure you’re careful when cropping the fence on the left, because you probably want to maintain that sense of flow in the bottom left corner.

But overall, it's a beautiful landscape inside, and thanks for sending in such a nice shot, Alan!

Well, that’s all for this week - but thanks again to everyone who submitted images, and I look forward to seeing some more of your photos this week!

Talk to you next Saturday,

Jaymes Dempsey and the dPS team