getting those cosy home photos...
Autumn & Winter are my favourite months when it comes to my blog and instagram. My favourite kinds of photos to take are warm and cosy snaps at home, involving lots of hot chocolates, freshly brewed coffees, all the snuggly blankets, cushions and of course, some fairy lights here and there. But, like everyone else I go through creative blocks and so I thought that I would share some of my top tips for getting those cosy shots...
the atmosphere
Dim, moody vibes, and a whole lotta fairly lights and a lantern or two makes for super cosy lighting when it comes to those autumnal shots. Think of it like recreating the light you'd get from an open fire on a cold night at home! You don't have to keep your photos dark either, you can keep them nice and bright if you wish but just chuck in loads of fairy lights, candles, lanterns and all that jazz to keep up with the cosy vibe.
warm tones
Cool tones aren't very cosy feeling at all, but there's also a fine line between giving your photos warmth and just making them orange. The lighting from any lanterns or candles will give you that warmth that you want, but be careful when editing them that you don't over-saturate the yellow/orange tones so it just becomes one big orange blob! I personally tend to desaturate my orange and yellow tones as they don't need to be massively saturated to give you a warm, cosy effect - a little bit will do! Sometimes if a photo comes out quite dull, I will be more likely to saturate the yellow/orange tones a bit more and bring the temperature of the overall photo down to the cooler side so that the rest of the colouring in the photo isn't too saturated and clashes with the warm lighting. I find this works really well in terms of my editing.
all the cushions & throws
When you're snuggled up on your sofa, you want all the cosy cushions and throws right? So bring those into your photos! Utilise all the soft, snug materials like your bedding, your sofa cushions, your blankets, your duvet... every home is filled with these little luxuries so make the most of them. My personal favourites are anything that has texture, fringing and is super fluffy! Pom poms are always a winner too.
Rugs can also be great for making floors look more cosy (especially shag rugs and sheepskin rugs!). They’re particularly good for pictures with cute babies or adorable pets. Check out this site Rugstore NE for inspiration.
winter-esque props
Think about all the things you use and consume regularly throughout Autumn & Winter, the hot drinks you make on a cold evening, the steamed puddings to warm you up, the hand creams that are a winter essential. Even the books you might curl up with on the sofa with a blanket and the candles you'll light when settling down for bed. It all comes in perfectly when you want to create a homely picture so utilise it all! Plus, any excuse to create those insta-worthy hot chocs, am I right?
keep it real
I find that the cosiest kinds of photos are ones that are more realistic. I'm not going to pretend we don't tidy up a bit and some-what set up a corner for an instagram shot (you're definitely lying if you say your perfect photos weren't a little styled for the gram) but keeping it as real as possible makes for a much better photo. Keeping them home-like and creating snapshots of how you really curl up on the sofa on an evening, for example, gives you a much more warming homely feeling than something that looks totally fake. Think about what makes you feel all cosy when you're scrolling through insta or pinterest and take all the inspo too!
Do you like creating cosy photos? What kind of homely corners do you enjoy?
