Here are 13 close-up photography ideas to shoot when you’re bored at home

Judging from the current situation, we’ll face another round of lockdowns soon. Winter is also closer than it seems here in the Northern hemisphere, so all in all- I guess we’ll be at home a lot more. And in case you get bored, you can always spend some quality time with your camera. In this video, Run N Gun will show you ten ideas for shooting close-up and macro photos around the house, and I’ll jump in with three of my own.

Here are the ideas from the video, and I’ll share some examples I took over the years:

Plants and leaves: you can shoot your houseplants, or if you have a garden, go out and shoot those as well. Plants make wonderful subjects for macro and close-up photography.

Glass: if you own some interesting glassware, you can combine it with some lights and create plenty of creative shots

Water droplets: either outdoors on plants or indoors in the studio, water droplets always make an interesting subject.

Watches/jewelry: I used to make jewelry and I have tons of it. So naturally, I’ve also taken a lot of photos of it over the years. Jewelry can look amazing in macro photos, but you can also use it to practice product photography.

Ice: I don’t really like winter, but hey – at least we can go to the backyard, shoot some ice, and get back inside where it’s warm and cozy to edit our photos.

Musical instrument: okay, not all of us have a musical instrument at home. But If you do, point your camera towards it and shoot! My brother is a guitarist so I sometimes shot his guitars when I lived in my family home.

Lights: there’s no photography without light, but light on its own can make a great subject. here’s one of my favorite photos I took, showing optic fiber from up close.

Wood: wood has interesting textures and patterns and can be very photogenic. You can shoot wooden furniture at your home, but wood bark in your back yard is even more interesting.

Mechanical parts: I wish I could redo this photo now that I have more experience because this part was so interesting to shoot. But here’s an old photo of some electrical thingy I took over a decade ago. I have no idea what it is, I found it in my brother’s workshop.

Cars: if your car is in the garage or on the driveway, you can shoot some close up details of it. In my case, it would rather be a bike, though. :)

And here are three more ideas that popped into my mind while watching the video above. There are plenty of possibilities you can get with these.

Insects: they are one of the favorite subjects of macro photographers and they can become your little models while you’re stuck at home.

Oil on water: oil on the water can give you plenty of unpredictable abstract shapes. Add a little nail polish or food coloring to the mix, throw in some interesting lighting, and you can have fun all day. Here’s one I took during the lockdown vol. 1:

Food: well, food is something we always have lying around. Fruit and veggies can be quite photogenic, but don’t be afraid to experiment with other items and see what you come up with. Can you guess what this is?

Make sure to watch the video to get plenty more fantastic photo ideas. And let us know: what’s your favorite subject for macro or close-up photography?

[10 MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY IDEAS to Shoot at Home | Run N Gun]