If you want to take better photos - whether with your camera, your phone or in Lightroom - you’re in the right place.
This blog is full of simple, practical tips to help you feel more confident, understand your settings and start creating photos you really love. You’ll also find plenty of food photography ideas and creative inspiration to try at home.
I’ve been teaching photography for over 17 years, and my aim is always the same: to help you feel less overwhelmed, more confident, and excited to pick up your camera.
Have a browse, learn something new, and start taking photos you love.
A great tripod for beginners
Joby asked me to select a tripod from their range and to give it a whirl and write about it. I chose, what I hoped would be the ideal tripod for beginners, that was capable of holding a small to medium sized camera or a phone (even the big ones). I selected the Joby RangePod...
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Do you need the golden spiral in food photography? (probably not)
The golden spiral is a great composition rule to use for food photography... or is it?I'm a self-taught food photographer and have relied on resources like food photography books and good old Google to pick up tricks and techniques. I, like many people I now teach, found composition one of the most daunting areas. I understood...
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Chasing autumn light: capturing its magic with a phone camera
This article first appeared in Cheshire Life magazine November 2023.I love autumn and I know I’m not alone. Writers and poets have waxed lyrical on this magical season for centuries. Searching for a suitable quote, this one spoke to me more than most:It was a beautiful, bright autumn day, with air like cider and a...
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Which tripod for food photography
Manfrotto Befree GT XPRO carbon tripodWhich tripod is best for food photography?I get asked this question a lot! And as is the case with most photography gear, there are many confusing alternatives and a risk of making an expensive mistake.But before we dive into the features you should be looking for in a tripod you'll be...
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Is a phone good enough for food photography?
Ramen styled by Jan Cron @kitchen_maverickCan you use a phone to photograph food?I get asked this question so often and a few years ago, I would have hesitated and replied that it would be okay for certain shots, but that a camera would be much better. Oh, how times have changed... there have been some...
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How to zoom on a phone camera without losing quality
Are your photos going soft or poorer quality when you zoom in on your phone?If you’re using the familiar pinch-to-zoom gesture, that could be exactly why.It’s something I see all the time in my workshops - and people are always surprised when they realise there’s a much better way to zoom that keeps your images...
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How to photograph early Summer flowers
This article first appeared in Cheshire Life magazine April 2024.One of my favourite things about spring and early summer is seeing hedgerows, woodlands and gardens coming alive once more with a riot of colours. Nature has hit the reset button and buds are appearing on once barren branches and flowers are unfurling their petals. I...
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Visual Storytelling
This article first appeared in Cheshire Life magazine March 2024.Visual storytelling - a picture is worth a thousand wordsThe saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is usually attributed to an American called Fred R. Barnard, who wrote it in 1921 in relation to the power of images in advertising. It has since been...
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Mindful photography
what is mindful photography?This article originally featured in Cheshire Life magazine January 2024.January owes its name to the Roman god Janus, the god of portals, doors, endings and beginnings. He has one face turned to the past and another looking towards the future. Hence this has become the month for making new year’s resolutions, leaving...
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