Muslims in Singapore will be celebrating Hari Raya in a few days on May 24.

While Hari Raya gatherings are not allowed this year, we can still take nice photos together, even with those who don’t live in the same house as us.

Here are five photo ideas you can try out with your family or friends this stay-at-home Hari Raya!

Besides using Zoom for your online meetings, you can also use the platform to take some fun photos while calling your friends and family.

Here are the steps:

1. Take a photo of your usual Hari Raya hangout spot and share it with the people you’ll be posing with. You can also use free stock images online. I found a white couch photo on Unsplash.
2. Next, make everyone change their virtual backgrounds on Zoom to the same photo.
3. If you’re taking the photo with another person, you can even mirror your background image on Zoom to create the visual effect of being in the same location.
4. Once you have set up the background, strike a pose and take as many screenshots as you need!
5. If you’re posing with both hands in the photo, try to get someone else who’s not in the frame to help you take a screenshot.

Take some time before Hari Raya to go through old photo albums before you pick a photo to recreate!

Here’s how you can make your own before and after photos:

1. Make sure to choose an old Hari Raya photo that includes people living in the same house, so that you can easily recreate the photo.
2. Look for similar clothes to match those worn in the original photo. You don’t have to squeeze yourself into an outfit from 10 years ago, but try to match your old clothes’ colour or style.
3. Position yourself in front of the same background as in the original photo and mimic your old poses and expressions.
4. Finally, snap the photo!

Instead of trying to fit all your family members into one selfie, try using panorama mode to capture your family doing activities in different areas parts of the house.

Each family member should try to do a different activity to make the photo more dynamic, such as cleaning the house, eating or taking a selfie. You can get really creative with this part!

Here’s how you can shoot panoramic photos on your phone:

1. Open panorama mode on your phone. iPhones and newer models of Android phones should have this function.
2. Press the shutter button and move your phone continuously in one direction according to the arrow on your screen. Make sure each family member stays in view of the camera frame as you move your phone across the desired scene.
3. Continue doing this until you’ve captured all your family members in the panoramic photo.
4. Press the shutter button once more to save the image.

You can also take the panorama photo with just yourself using the steps above! The key is to have your photographer hold the phone still as you run behind them to get into your next position.

Since our friends and family can’t come over for Hari Raya visiting, here’s how you can still take “group photos” with your loved ones despite being away:

1. Get your friends and family to send you their Hari Raya selfies.
2. Print them out and display them in the background where you’ll be taking your photo.
3. Flash a smile and snap the photo!

If you don’t have a printer, simply display your friends’ or family members’ photos on your laptop or phone. Hold up your electronic devices and smile for the camera.

You might need to play around with the brightness of your laptop or phone screen for their photo to be seen clearly.

For this one, you’ll need sparklers, a group of people and a tripod. If you have an iPhone, you’ll need to utilise the Live function for this photo idea. For those with Android phones, you can adjust your shutter speed to around three seconds and change the ISO setting to ISO 400 or below.

You might need a third-party app if you cannot adjust the shutter speed on your phone camera.

Try to take your photo in complete darkness so that the light trails from the sparklers really stand out. Also, do be extra careful when taking photos with sparklers!

Follow the steps below to write your own Hari Raya message with sparklers:

1. Use a tripod to stabilise your camera.
2. Assign each person a letter to write out.
3. Align yourselves in the order your letters appear in. Remember to write the letters backwards so that they appear on camera in the correct way.
4. Get your photographer to press the shutter button while you quickly write out your letter using a sparkler.
5. If you’re using your iPhone, convert the Live image into a long exposure by selecting the photo in your camera roll. Then, swipe up and select the Long Exposure option.

All these photo ideas will definitely turn out looking livelier with more people involved, so try to get all your relatives and friends to join in if you can!

If all else fails, just smile and take a photo.

Have fun trying these photo ideas, and Selamat Hari Raya!