How to make a not so interesting picture interesting

I’ve always wondered what makes a photo magical. Is it the light, the location, the story telling, the connection? Turns out it’s all of those things and sometimes a bit of luck in capturing just the right moment in time.

But what if you don’t have one of those? What if the location or the light isn’t perfect? Can you still make interesting photos? Can they still tell a story just as well? I think so!

Here’s my best advice for making interesting pictures from not so interesting conditions.

Indoor Portraits

First, let’s start with indoor photos. When you have one light source, whether it’s natural or studio light, what can you do with that? Plenty!

1. Plan ahead.

When you are creating a portrait in a clean space, where you have nothing to distract from your subject, the tiny little details start to add up. For the clothing, make it as least distracting as you can. You want what they are wearing to add to the story, not take away from it. Same goes with hair. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but again, make sure it is adding to the story and not taking away from it.

2. Use something interesting.

I am not a huge fan of props, but if we are trying to get intimate studio photos of little ones, sometimes handing them something to hold on to can loosen them up and make them not so aware of the camera.

3. Play with the light.

Changing the direction or intensity of the light can add variety to your images. If you just have a window light, consider moving them closer or farther away. As well, you can use a curtain to filter the light as it streams in. In this photo, I had the light behind her and slightly above to create an interesting silhouette that is just a bit different.

4. Focus on the details.

Get up close and personal to capture details in a more interesting way. We want all of those tiny beautiful details captured that add up to one amazing story.

5. Get creative with your edits and crops.

This is your story, tell it your way. Even if you have just one light, one subject, and a plain background there are infinite possibilities of how to create an interesting picture that tells a story. This to me is the most powerful kind of photoshoot that there is — and sometimes the most challenging — but it also can be where you let your creativity shine!

Outdoor Photographs

What about outside? We all have an ideal location and lighting that we love to work with. Sometimes one or the other (or both) just aren’t available and we have to work with what we have.

In this example there is the patch of overgrowth right on the side of my house. You can also see it’s not quite golden hour here but the light is being diffused by some clouds so I could work with it.

Here is the pullback image of the location used for the following outdoor photos.

6. Frame your subject with what is available.

Get up close with them and use the environment to help draw the viewer into the story you are trying to tell.

7. Be flexible.

Sometimes your original idea just will not work with your location but you must go with the flow. Use the environment that is around you to create interesting photos from any location. In this case, it was really windy, so we went with it!

8. Capture the moment.

Exploration comes naturally to children. Capture them exploring the area, sometimes a patch of weeds or flowers can make the most interesting stories (and natural props!).

9. Capture the silly.

The in-between moments when they aren’t paying attention to you at all, that is where some of my favorite images have come from. Images like these don’t need golden hour light or magnificent locations. The moments alone are enough.

10. Compose with thoughtfulness.

Have a not so interesting location? Choose a composition or angle that will help make it interesting. Here I had my long lens with me, and the composition and angle are pretty standard, but her expression and connection with the camera worked well. When you have distracting items in the background, consider getting up high (you can simply stand on your tip toes or use a step ladder) and shoot down to remove the distracting elements from the frame.

Photos by Jennifer Lappe

More tips for creating interesting photos in any conditions:

6 Ways to create beautiful photos in small spaces or dark apartments

6 Unexpected ways to use window light to add magic to indoor photos

Create striking ring of fire photos in 3 super simple steps

5 Ways to create emotive low-light photos in your home

6 Tips for meaningful environmental portraits that honor nature as a character