Photography Techniques for DIY Home Decor

Photography is the perfect answer for people looking for home decor that is timeless, attention-grabbing, and personal. What better thing to line the walls of your home with than photos of life's most precious moments and people? Of course, not everyone has the resources to take professional photos multiple times per year. Capturing some on your own is not only a great creative outlet but the images you take will be uniquely yours. Here are some photography techniques you can use for beautiful DIY home decor.

Motion Blur

Motion blur is the streaking or blurring of an object in motion. It could be a photo of your child playing soccer or a beautiful sunset that you captured on a family vacation, or maybe your family pet running around after a bath, or your favorite souped-up car. 

Any kind of photograph that you take while an object is in motion will do the trick. A simple frame over your motion blur photo will create a simple and timeless look that you can hang on the wall or set on a tabletop.

Some tips for capturing motion blur photos include:

• Use a slower shutter speed: Motion blur requires a much longer exposure time. The most effective way to capture the long exposure is to slow down your shutter speed.
• Be aware of the lighting: Since a slower shutter speed allows more light into your camera, there is a risk of overexposing or blowing out a photo. This is why many photographers turn to capturing motion this way in low-light situations like at dawn or dusk.
• Stabilize your camera: When capturing motion blur, you must use a tripod or rest your camera on something that is stable. Otherwise, the long shutter speed will make everything appear blurry. 

If you're using a digital camera for motion blur photography, the process is fundamentally the same, but it is much easier. Canon and Nikon make digital cameras that have built-in double exposure settings to automatically create the effect for you.

Double Exposure

Double exposure is a technique of layering two different exposures on the same image. It allows you to transform ordinary photos into powerful masterpieces.

Double exposure works best for nature shots because it creates a sunset-like effect. So print off some of your favorite photos from your family vacation to the Grand Canyon or any one of Mother Nature's beautiful offerings.

If you are using a film camera, follow these steps to capture double exposure:

1. Take your first photo. The camera shutter will open to expose the film to one image and then close. The first image is typically a subject and most often a portrait.
2. Rewind the film and take your second photo. The camera shutter will once again open to expose the film to a second image, then close, shooting over the same frame again. This second image is commonly a background, and most often a landscape or skyline.
3. Develop both images in one photo. The last image combines the two exposures into a single image. Both images will be visible on top of one another.

Cyanotype 

Cyanotype is a printing process that creates a cyan-blue print. Engineers have used this process for years as a simple and cost-effective process to produce copies of drawings, known as blueprints. Cyanotype displayed on a large canvas on the wall is a unique way to showcase some of your favorite photos that is sure to grab the attention of anyone who walks by.  

The cyanotype process involves two chemicals: ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide — and sunlight or UV light to create a cyan-blue print on watercolor paper, with a photographic negative as the base image.

The process for cyanotype involves the following steps:

1. Use Photoshop to turn your digital photos into a negative. Print them on transparency.
2. Use a foam brush to evenly coat a piece of watercolor paper with equal parts ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide.
3. Once dry, layer the negative over the coated paper and expose the image to light from a UV lamp or direct sunlight.
4. Rinse the final print with water.

Black & White Photos

Black and white photos hanging on the wall or resting on a tabletop are a stylish and classic way to decorate your home. Black and white photos also bring an element of nostalgia and classiness to give your home the ultimate welcoming and elegant feel. 

Most cameras, and even your iPhone, have settings to take photos in black and white. There are also editing apps and you can play with your photo settings after you have taken it to make it turn from a color photo to a black and white photo. Black and white photography elevates the look of family photos, romantic photos particularly engagement, wedding, and anniversary photos, and fashion-forward photos.

Your Own Gallery Wall

Gallery walls are an excellent way to showcase many family memories in one place. Print your photos and choose your frame size and then decorate an entire wall with framed photos of life's precious moments. The best part about a photo wall is it grows with you. Read our full guide on how to hang a gallery wall at home. 

We hope you enjoy our photography techniques for beautiful and special home decor. Let us know which ones you've tried, and don't forget to tag us in your posts on Instagram with @mimeophotos and #HoldTheMoment.