Not so long ago, I wrote a blog filled with lockdown photography ideas; you can check that out here. A lot of us still find ourselves locked down, in quarantine etc etc. So here is a list of some more photo ideas, and some activities you can do to further yourself as a photographer.
Astrophotography
I'm not going to get into the complexities, and the ins and outs of astrophotography because, 1) I am not an expert on it, and 2) you could easily write books and books about it, yet still not have covered everything. That being said here are some links to some really good/informative youtube channels, to help you get started; Astrobackyard, Nebula Photos and Astro Biscuit.
This is something you can do out of your back garden, window, just anywhere that you have a clear view of the sky. It is nice to have all the proper equipment, you can definitely get some really great images with an entry level camera, and a tripod though. So you won't need to break the bank to get started. Definitely worth a try, you can get rewarded greatly with some effort and persistence.
Water Droplets
Water droplets can be really good fun to photograph, a great macro type project to start at home. You can do this in a bucket, bathtub, anywhere you can store water really. You can either just photograph individual droplets on their own for more of a minimal feel, or get creative with it- have water splashing over something, use food colourings, flowers, anything really.
A shot like this can be made a lot easier using something like a pipette out of frame, you could just drop water off your hand though. The main thing you will need to use to capture something like this is a fast shutter speed. I'm talking like 1/2000s, perhaps faster. Just experiment and have fun with it.
Wildlife
If you are fortunate enough to have a back garden, you have a significant advantage here. You can still try to get some wildlife shots out of your windows if not. Something like a bird feeder or anything that is going to be appealing to wildlife where you live will also be useful. You would be surprised at the kind of shots you can get just in your own garden.
Wildlife photography is very much about patience and researching your subjects. Don't get disheartened if it takes days/months sometimes even years for the pros, to get that shot you are looking for. You will be rewarded for your patience one way or another.
You will like the water droplets need a fast shutter speed for this. Most animals move quickly, I mean unless you are lucky enough to have an abundance of sloths in your back garden!
Photo Courses
Moving on from photo inspiration, and onto activities you can do to improve yourself as a photographer. You have a lot more downtime, you may as well take advantage of that. You can do plenty, and learn plenty, without even necessarily spending a penny. There are so many great courses and photography lessons online, places like youtube are full of them. Here is a link to my channel Photo Unity, there are many other channels with fantastic content on them like Peter Mckinnon, PiXimperfect and Nigel Danson. Here is a link to a Top 10 Free Photography Courses Online.
You can also check out my facebook group here, in the units section there is plenty of content there, and an amazing online community of photographers helping each other out. So if you do find yourself stuck, theres a lot of people there to help. Oh, and finally you could always have a look at some of my other blog posts too!
Build a Website
As a photographer, having an online presence is essential to you getting business in this modern day. Even if you have a basic website, that is better than nothing. You will give potential clients a much more professional image with a website. They're awesome for displaying your work, providing easy ways for people to get in contact and much more (even blogs if you fancy it!).
You don't even need to know how to code, or pay necessarily. Once you start to grow, you can start to look into that sort of thing. Although you won't ever need to know how to code; not in modern day web development. If you did ever get big enough for that, you can always hire someone to make plugins, themes etc. I wouldn't turn someone away from coding as it is good fun (if it works! ha), but yeah, you don't need to know how to do it. Wordpress have a free version, and I'm sure sites like Wix and Squarespace do too. Just getting started with it is the main thing.
Plan
There is so much value in planning future shoots, you may not be able to go to locations, you can still do a lot of planning. Here is a link to a video I made a while ago showing you how to find some photography locations. Get some new spots mapped out, arrange to do photoshoots with various people, if you want models, here is how to get them for free! There is no end to the amount of planning you can do for the future. It is very valuable too, I wish when I started I knew that, and planned a lot more.
Archives
Never underestimate the gems you can stumble upon going through all your photo archives. You will probably know loads more about editing and photography in general too. So something you might have brushed over in the past may still be lurking in your archives, waiting to surprise you. This is also a good opportunity to get your files organised properly if you haven't already. Just makes your life a lot easier in the future, trust me.
I came across this shot, deep in my archives from Norway. Something like this I was shocked I just skipped passed it, I really like this shot. I'm sure you will find some awesome shots, you really like going through yours.