#CreateWithChelle: Home Portrait Photography Challenges During Quarantine

COVID-19 has left the majority of creators stuck inside with tons of free time. While social distancing doesn't mean you have to stay home 24/7, it is best to take proper precautions. Take this downtime to expand on your ideas, learn new skills, and stay home if you can! 

Artists thrive on creativity and while I've focused on photography for the majority of my career, mixed-media has always played a huge role during my studies. Honestly, I’ve really missed trying all sorts of different creative styles, so this is the perfect way to find the motivation to keep creating just for the fun of it.

For anyone who needs a little inspiration during the quarantine, I'll be creating some challenges over the next couple weeks to spark your creativity. Let's support one another and make some amazing artwork together!

Challenge One: Line Art Portrait

While this has been a recent trend on Instagram, a lot of the line art has been generated through apps. This time, challenge yourself to draw the lines yourself! You'll have complete control in creating a unique, stylized portrait. 

If you don’t have Photoshop try a free app like this one or directly draw in Instagram Stories. Another option is to print out your picture and get a little more artistic with pens or paint! By drawing the lines yourself, you have control over the colors, width, and style of how you want your portrait to look.

This challenge focuses more on the artwork and portrait than your surrounding area, so this challenge is perfect if you do not have a lot of space at home. Go minimal! Find a blank wall for a background or just get up close and personal. All you need is yourself and a camera. 

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My Thoughts: Drawing has never been one of my strengths. This was a great way to practice without getting frustrated. In fact, I quite enjoyed it as I didn't feel like I was trying to create something too complex for my skill level. The real challenge for me was the indoor lighting!

Anyone who knows me knows that if I’m shooting, then I’m shooting outside. And because I’m outside, I don’t take many close ups. It took me a whole hour just to get one image I thought I could work with. The back and forth between the camera and posing was enough of a workout for me! In the end, I’m happy with the results.

If you try this challenge, share your artwork with me! Tag #CreateWithChelle on Instagram.