Creating a consistent look for a photo series calls for your attention in planning the session, while photographing, and also in post-processing. A great occasion for making a photo series came to me as my dear friend moved to an older farming house in the province with her family. She has an eye for styling, possessing a unique ability to find exquisite vintage items from flea markets. To encourage my friend to follow her dream of becoming an interior designer, I photographed her beautiful home when visiting her for the very first time. I used my Nikon D322 and 18-55 mm lens.

The following 5 tips will help you in creating a consistent photo series:

1 | Pay attention to the light

Plan your photography session to the time of the day, when the light works best for your purposes.

I took these pictures on an a cloudy afternoon in July, where the overcast light was subtle. To brighten the exposure, I set the ISO up to 800. The natural light was flowing in softly, making the shadows less harsh with a low contrast, compared to afternoons with bright sunlight.

2 | Be attentive with colors

The pretty sofa cushions and blankets originates from Kenya, where my friend spent some of her teenage years with her parents. Her hone decorating style is characterized by Scandinavian minimalism: White walls and light wooden floors, with a twist of vintage and a few color spots. My friend lives out her principles of recycling and using toxic-free materials, making wonderful vintage finds in the local markets, and renovating the furniture with her personal touch.

Her home illustrates how consistency in colors creates a feeling of continuity in a photo series – the turquoise and warm wooden tones against a white background, appearing in every picture, does bind these photos together to a whole.

3 | Play with composition

Create variation in your photos, using different perspectives and angles in your images, making the most out of the basic compositional elements. Play with changing the focal point, placing it purposefully in the foreground, in the middle or in the background in your frame; compose images with a shallow depth of field; notice leading lines, different textures and shapes. Remember the effect of negative space, and have fun with the endless possibilities of filling your frame (my friend was giggling as I was lying under their dining table, taking a photo from a frog perspective).

4 | Tell a story

A photo series gives you a wonderful opportunity to tell a story. Leaving some of the central elements partially out of your camera frame awakens the curiosity of the viewers – making them fill in the details. You may choose to follow a sequence of events from start to finish – or maybe do the opposite – starting from the very end. The light and the shadows are helpful in accentuating the progression of time – from early morning twilight, through the sharp midday sun to the golden hour in the evening.

A photo series theme I would like to do, is “Our Kitchen.” To start with the light – our kitchen feces east, so the light is beautiful as the sun is rising. In the evening the light is low, which will challenge me in making the most of my camera settings. Secondly, our teenage sons are in a period of growing – and making tons of sandwiches – so I’d love to capture them and the beautiful mess they create…as well as the helping hand they give me by filling and emptying the dishwasher. And last but not the least, we spend a lot of time in our relatively small kitchen – and I would love to capture some of these moments.

5 | Be consistent in post-processing

When post-processing your photos, aim to keep the the tones, exposure, and contrast of the images alike. If you choose to create some effects, like a matte or a black and white effect, be consistent in your style in all photos. If you use pre-made effects like Lightroom Presets or Photoshop Actions, remember that you can adjust the effects in order to achieve the look that suits your photos. In order to create a warm and cozy feeling to my images here, I have added Privet and Venice photo veils from Love That Shot (click here for a detailed photo recipe).