Monthly Archives: March 2020

Documenting your Corona Chronicles

The Coronavirus has completely changed our lives in what it seemed like an instant.  In these unprecedented times, take a few moments to document what you are seeing and experiencing in words and pictures.  If you are home with your family, take a few photos each day of activities that you are engaging in.  And you don’t have to be a professional photographer or own a “fancy” camera to do so.  Just take photos with your cell phone to document what is happening in your life and in our world.  You will be happy that you did.  You will be able to look back at these photos and it will remind you of the memories that you made at this time.  Heck, maybe make a photo album out of it.  You could call it The Corona Chronicles.

Here are a few tips for you to be able to capture your photos.  

  • Composition: Look at what is in the shot when you go to take it.  Sometimes by moving something or moving it will completely change the photo.
  • Angle: Look at the angle are you taking the picture.  Usually especially in portraits by taking the photo at a higher angle it will be more flattering to the person you are taking a picture of.
  • Light: I always try to use natural light first when I am taking a photo.  It is more flattering than flash if you don’t know how to use flash properly.  So open your curtains and let that natural light in.  And have the light source come from behind the camera as it will light up what you are taking a photo of.
  • Story: Think of the story your photo tells.  I am a believer that every photo tells a story.  We just need to look for it.
  • Use the tools on the camera on your phone: Play around with the features that the camera has.  I am sure it has more than than you realize.  If you want to learn more about a feature on the camera and you can’t figure it out, go to the internet and search for a video that teaches you how to use the feature.
  • Editing: Editing your photos is not a must when it comes to documenting the day to day activities with your family.  There are simple apps that you can use if you want to edit your photos.  These are a few apps that I use to edit my photos on my phone: Snapseed and Adobe Lightroom Creative Cloud.

I know this can be daunting to remember all this when you are taking a quick picture with your phone.  Don’t get caught up trying to remember all this.  Just take photos! Document what you are experiencing on your own or with others(family, friends/roommates).  There is so much that we can take photos of during this time.  Some suggestions are: what social distancing looks like for you in your home, your children helping you cook dinner, when you go for a walk look at the things around you, cute things your pets do, etc.

Give yourself grace as you are learning to take photos.  You will not be at the level as a professional photographer and that is ok!  You don’t need to be a professional photographer to be able to take good photos of your Corona Chronicles.

Lastly, I would love to see the photos that you take during this time.  Tag me in your photo on social media or send me an email(marilyn@marloandco.us) with your photo.