Sometimes it seems like you need to go somewhere far away to get the photos you want. Only after waking up at 5am and making the pilgrimage to the top of a mountain can you get praise-worthy photos. While photos like these are certainly great, you don’t need all that effort to capture beautiful photos.
You can find many beautiful things to photograph in your own front yard.
But what is there to photograph?
Well everywhere has sky, so let’s start there. Clouds make for beautiful photographs if you can catch a partly or mostly cloudy day. Try taking photos in the morning, during the day, and at night. The clouds will look different at these three times of day in striking ways. The sky also changes with the seasons, so pay attention to the sky and try to capture some of its beauty throughout the year.
The sky is also a useful device for photo composition. It can be used to frame a single subject like a street lamp or as a part of the composition with something like trees. Try pairing the sky with different things you see that are interesting subjects or make for a compositionally complete photo. There’s a lot of beauty right in your front yard. Get out there and get creative.
Take cool objects outside to take pictures of them. The sun is a wonderful light source if you know how to deal with it (link to harsh light article) and there are plenty of wonderful background settings for whatever you bring outside.
Try the grass, a flowerbed, your driveway, or the street. Get creative with it. There is immense opportunity for beautiful pictures in your front yard. Get out there and try!