Abstract photography is one of the most creative and absorbing genres, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Fortunately, you can give it a try in the comfort of your own home, and our top tips on what to shoot without opening the front door will help you to do just that!

Artists have been trying to effectively define abstract art for a long time, and the only constant in their ideas is that they’re all different! It’s the same with abstract photography, but we’re going to give you a simple explanation that we think will help you to enjoy this genre without getting bogged down in theory.

Abstract photography removes information from the viewer to present a recognised subject in a new and interesting way.

For example, you could photograph a whole interior door in your house and it will look like a door. But open it up, get in nice and close and shoot the edge of door against the background of a plain wall and it becomes an abstract image of lines and shades of colour. Removing most of the information creates something new!

Now that you understand the principles you can experiment yourself. Take one room in your house - the kitchen, perhaps - and start to look at everything in there as colours and shapes instead of the items you know so well. See the different textures and how the light plays across them? Move items around so the light changes; get closer to them or look at them from different angles.

Once you start to get a feel for this new way of seeing, pick up your camera and begin to shoot. Play with lines, texture, shades of light and colour, and you’ll soon see that there are no right or wrong images in this genre – if it works for you it’s all good.

Once you begin to feel comfortable with this freedom, your creativity will grow and the whole house becomes your playground!

If you take some shots that you really like, you can send them to us to print onto canvas for you. Abstracts work great as triptychs or large prints, and you’ll have the satisfaction of being able to tell your guests that you took them yourself… even if they don't know what they are!

We hope that we’ve inspired you to have a go at abstract photography and see that your home can be a source of some great images.