I know a lot of people who have a hard time leaving the home. They might be taking care of someone who is ill, super busy, immunocompromised or a hundred other reasons. This article is for you, a random grab bag of ideas that hopefully inspire you to still create.

Photographing in the yard

You may have a yard, a garden, some nearby flowers or sculptures, a patio with plants. Those are probably there because you love them and bring you joy. Photograph them and share them. Be creative. Have fun. Let it bring you happiness.

Photograph something from 10 different angles

This is a great exercise for anyone, stuck at home or not. The above butterfly sculpture is something I found that had fallen into a plant. I photographed it from numerous angles before deciding that coming in close and blurring most of the photo “felt” like something I wanted to say.

Light painting

Is nighttime the only time you have any free time? That doesn’t matter. Photographing at night is fun and creative and tranquil. Go to the backyard or your living room or kitchen and illuminate things while your camera is on a tripod.

Before you know it, the hours have melted away. This is fun and actively creative. I illuminated R2-D2 and Yoda with a flashlight and $8 E-Wire from eBay.

Spontaneous portraits

You may really enjoy photographing people in tranquil, unguarded moments. Spontaneity is fun and gives you another creative outlet.

Experimenting with unusual techniques

After work one day, I created a photo of me floating after a bottle of Franziskaner beer, “The Flight of the Bumble Beer.”

I took two photos. The first photo was me balancing precariously on a six-foot ladder while the beer was on a couple of stacked tables. The second photo was with all of the above taken away, just the yard. I then stacked the two images together in Photoshop and “erased” the ladder and tables using Layer Masks. Fun!

Other ideas?

What other ideas do you have? Have any of these ideas sparked any of your own? Share some of your ideas in the comments section below so other people can benefit.

Other ideas can include:

  • Creating a pinhole camera
  • Purchasing cheap lens caps and punching holes in them, and then photographing through them
  • Photographing through glass bottles to distort the image
  • Food sculptures
  • Making food float through the air, using skewers and the floating technique described above
  • Photographing as much of your garden as you can in only 10 minutes
  • Making a fire hydrant look weird
  • Photograph you or someone else every day in the same place and position, and then make a time-lapse at the end of the year
  • Photograph your children or pets doing ridiculous things

Do things that bring you creativity and joy.