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The rain has returned where I live and I know many of you in North America are dealing with a whole lot of snow! So I thought I’d share some tips with you for getting inspired to get yourself into the photo even if winter feels like it will never end (because, well…I think these are the things I need to remind myself of too).
Celebrate What You’ve Got!
Rainy days with umbrellas? Your big snow boots walking through the snow? Ourselves all bundled up in layers? These are the truthful experiences of winter right? Sure, we might wish for sunny days, but what about telling the story of right here right now?
The energizing energy of taking photos doesn’t only happen because we have nice weather…it is because we get our cameras out no matter what the weather and engage in it.
Plus, there are great things about winter weather. Cloudy days provide great balanced light and snow bounces light back at us to name a few. So lets celebrate what we do have. In this session of Be Your Own Beloved I’ve been so proud of the students getting out in the snow to do their course activities and I’ve been in awe of how beautiful their snowy photos are! Okay…we might need to wear more practical footwear than I did in the above photo (I tell ya, it was dangerous…I was slipping around everywhere in those silly shoes) but lets celebrate the beauty of winter while it is here!
Seek the Colour that is around You
I know it can feel like everything is brown or grey or white (if you’re dealing with snow) but one trick that has really helped me is to focus on what colour is around us.
Natural things like:
- Evergreen Trees & plants….what is still gorgeously green around you? Get yourself surrounded by gorgeous green!
- Bamboo! I often find it in a community or public garden and not only is it still green, it has a magical way of letting light pour through it! Standing near Bamboo or other gorgeous plants are a great backdrop or setting for your self-portrait!
- Go to the Forest or to a Park as inspiration!
Or alternatively, you might notice the colourful things that are always around:
- Murals to stand in front of !
- Colourful Buildings to use as a backdrop?
- Or BE the colour! Wear something bright and colourful and use the muted colours of this season to stand out in the photo!
Notice the Beginnings
One of my self-care habits is to go to a local community garden at least once a month, all year. For the past few months everything has been far past bloom: dried plants awaiting their trip to the compost bin, plots covered for the winter, everything settling into quiet until its time to emerge again. Soon enough it will begin again though.
I especially like to go there in February and early March when the buds are just coming out again. It feels important to witness the beginnings, the rebirths. Sure, in months it will be in full bloom but seeing just one more plant starting to come up or little buds emerging onto cherry trees just soothes my winter heart!
You don’t have to go anywhere far to notice the beginnings either. Look for them around your yard, or when you walk to the corner store! Lets notice what is beginning anew both in the world around us…and maybe ponder what is beginning anew in ourselves too! Of course get yourself in the photo with them too!
Get Outside for a Photo Walk (even If You Don’t want To)
This is the one I most need to tell myself! Some days it is really hard to get outside isn’t it.
But I know that even if I just go for a quick walk around the block with the sole intention of looking for things to photograph, I always come home feeling better.
In fact, it may be the days when we feel the most resistance to getting outside for a photo walk that we might most need it! Alternatively, when the weather is too fierce, we might try taking a photo walk inside.
Check the Forecast
I think this is one of my favourite tips for you: Check the Forecast. I know it sounds simple, but when people ask me “How do you get self-portraits with light in them when it feels like it rained all week” and that is the secret. I take a peek at the forecast for the week ahead and sometimes even the hourly forecast for the day and note if I can make it happen to go for a photo walk or just be outside around that time.
I know this might sound a bit strange to some, but it has been SO helpful in both having me feel like it doesn’t actually rain ALL the time…and also to get photos with winter light in them!
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Get Inspired, Inside!
Sometimes getting outside just isn’t going to happen! When it is absolutely pouring rain for days here, I just have to let go of getting outside and get inspired with what I’ve got…inside!
My favourite place to take photos inside is in my bathroom! Here are a whole bunch of tips on taking Bathroom Self-Portraits!
Of course, if you have lots of natural light in your home, that is dreamy to work with! Get yourself near those windows of yours to take your self-portraits, even if the light isn’t as bright as it is in other seasons!
If you don’t have much natural light in your home, don’t quit. Cause the truth is I don’t too! If you’ve ever wondered why I take so many photos outside…it is because I live in a small apartment with not much direct light…so I usually go outside to get inspired. But on those days it feels like too much to get outside to take photos, it can actually be really freeing to take photos inside! A big bonus, is that you don’t need to worry if people are watching if you live on your own or if you don’t, find yourself a room (yes, like the bathroom) to close the door and take some self-portraits in and get playful taking your self-portraits! Or invite those you live with (cat? dog? humans?) to join you in your indoor self-portrait!
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Get Creative with Your Photos!
So, after we get outside to take photos…what if they still feel not as vibrant as our summer photos? Why not get playful with those photos and see how we can add some spark to them.
One of my favourite ways to process wintery photos is actually to make them black & white. Or to make them into double exposures like the sample photo above! Its a great way to take two photos that might not excite me on their own, but together make me smile wide. I made that double exposure in the Goldfrapp App, and you can read more about how I like to do double exposures in this post!
It can also be a great time to look back in your archives and play around with photos from other seasons that you might have overlooked at the time!
My favourite apps & websites these days for playing around with photos are:
- Goldfrapp (Tales of Us) which is a Double Exposure App
- PicMonkey
- Mextures App adds textures and light to your photos and can transform something really simple into a really dreamy photo!
So take that older self-portrait you might have overlooked before and take this wintery season to get creative with post-processing and bring that photo some new life!
I so hope these ideas help you get energized to take more wintery selfies! If they do, please don’t hesitate to use the hashtag #beyourownbeloved if you share them on social media so I can find them and celebrate your wintery photo fun with you!