It’s almost that time of year again isn’t it? Instagram and Facebook will soon be filled with photos of children dressed in brand new, too big school uniforms, shiny, un-scuffed black shoes and they will be stood awkwardly in front of a door (causing much hilarity as we see yet another cute #frontdoorpic). It’s such […]
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10 reasons why your shot is not in focus
This is a photo I took of a friend’s lovely white Alsatian (Luna?). You might not be able to tell at this low resolution but it is nice and sharp. Although the auto focus on modern digital cameras is awesome, you do need some knowledge on how to take advantage of it to avoid operator error. […]
How to photograph strangers – the 3 C’s
C for CONFIDENCE – it’s hard to photograph people you don’t know. I’m not comfortable with it, but there are some amazing shots to be had if we could just get over our fear. So I want you to go for it this week. I’ve had a go over the last week, knowing this topic was […]
5 tips for a successful and fun family photo shoot
5 family photo shoot tips We all want lovely photographs of our family don’t we? And as our children grow older, we can foresee the day when they will have left home to pursue lives of their own. This was the case with this lovely family, where the oldest daughter will be heading off to […]
First Love Your Lens Guided Photography Walk
Well the inaugural Love Your Lens guided photography walk took place on Saturday and I hope it will be the first of many. I met up with six members of the Love Your Lens Facebook group at the famous Chester Cross next to a lively puppet show. Everyone was looking forward to seeing what the […]
Great street photography tips for newbies.
Practical street photography tips for “newbies” I was in London last week, having won a four day trip! We had an amazing time sightseeing, eating, drinking and of course, photographing. I decided to try my hand at street photography, well aware that it was out of my comfort zone. I learned a lot and thought you might find […]
How to photograph babies – 7 top tips from a professional
When my kids were born I barely knew which way up to hold a camera, never mind have any idea of how to photograph babies in the best way. As a result my photographs of them are very average (still very special to us though!). The odd good picture happened by lucky accident and we resorted to […]
How to take photos on a day out
My kids are older now – 12 and 14 – and although I still love photographing them, they are not as keen as they used to be (wild understatement – Abii acts like a vampire being shown a crucifix when I point the camera at her). So I concentrate more on what’s around me when […]
10 things to photograph this Autumn – [3] HALLOWE’EN
Like it or not Hallowe’en is growing in popularity every year and if your children are anything like mine, the opportunity to dress up and be allowed to accept sweets from complete strangers is the ultimate in fun. Their costumes get more elaborate each year, as do the decorations in our house, even spreading out […]
Holiday photos from Cornwall
We spent the second week of our summer holiday at my brother’s cottage in Marazion, Cornwall, with its famous landmark, St Michael’s Mount. Our accommodation is undergoing major refurbishment and we had been warned to have an “indoor camping” experience. It proved to be far more than this, with a beautiful kitchen, designer chairs in […]
Behind the scenes of a very special styled photo shoot
When Sarah Gardner of Sarah Gardner Photography put out feelers via her Facebook Group as to whether anyone would be interested in a collaborative styled photo shoot with our teenage daughters, I jumped at the chance. It took all of two seconds to persuade Abii; the mention of hair stylist and make up artist did […]
From snapshots to great shots in 7 steps.
I am often asked how you get from snapshots to great shots. Some people assume that I can take good pictures because I have expensive cameras and lenses. I tell them that I have a great oven but my cooking is awful… So it’s not about kit. You can take great photos with a camera […]
A few more holiday photos (& some top tips)
Our little cornish break came to an end all to soon, but I managed to squeeze in a quick trip to Glendurgan, a National Trust garden, on the last morning. Miraculously I was able to drag Abii out of bed and persuaded her to come with me (anything was preferable to packing). This is a garden more about […]
How to take better photos with a compact camera
Most of the images in my “how to” blogs are taken using a professional level D-SLR and some pretty fancy lenses and I imagine I can hear people saying, “well, she’s got expensive kit, no wonder her pictures are good!” I can’t deny that good equipment does improve photo quality, although you have to know […]
Chelsea First Timers
The RHS Tatton Flower Show gets scribbled on the calendar 1st January each year and we haven’t missed one yet, but this time it was pipped at the post by The Chelsea Flower Show, booked before the calendar was even out of its packet. A few glasses of wine and a bracing walk on a North […]
How to photograph babies indoors – capturing the every day stuff
Photographs of your baby beautifully dressed in your favourite outfit, with a shiny clean face and huge smile are fantastic and they are the pictures that end up in frames around the house. However, some of our favourite moments may not be “frame-worthy” but are still very special and the ones that make us laugh every time […]