If you’ve been wondering why your photography isn’t improving, you’re not alone. Since the beginning of September, I’ve been setting a group of just over sixty people a photo prompt every day. Complete beginners, people who have enjoyed photography for years, phone shooters, DSLR owners, all mixed in together. We’re now a couple of weeks […]
Summer Holiday Photography Tips: Capture the Moments, Not Just the View There’s something rather lovely about looking back through old holiday photographs. A couple of weeks ago I was searching for one particular picture and ended up spending a happy hour revisiting holidays I’d almost forgotten. As I scrolled through the photos, I realised that […]
Holiday Photography Tips: 8 Questions to Ask Before You Go At the start of the summer I start hearing the same questions: “Should I upgrade my phone?” “Is it worth taking my camera?” “Which lens should I pack?” “How many memory cards will I need?” And perhaps the biggest question of all… “Why don’t my […]
Many people come to my photography workshops wanting to improve their photography composition but are convinced that they don’t have a creative eye. They’ll say things like, “I don’t know how photographers spot a good picture,” or “I’m just not very creative.”The truth is, I don’t think that’s the problem at all. I believe most […]
What Judges Look for in a Photography Competition (and How to Improve Your Entry) Entering a photography competition can feel a bit daunting. You might be wondering what the judges are actually looking for and why do some images stand out instantly Having run photography competitions and looked through lots of entries, I often see […]
How to take better photos of children – 8 simple tips (phone or camera) Easter, weekends, holidays… these are the times we naturally reach for our phones or cameras. Families spending time together, children playing. Days out, walks, and lots of little moments that you want to remember. And yet, when you look back at […]
Pixel Perfect: A Simple Guide to Image Size and QualityHave you ever submitted a photo to a competition or tried to print it large, only to be told the resolution is too low? You’re not alone! In my Facebook photography group Love Your Lens, I often see gorgeous images that sadly don’t meet the technical […]
Photography Competition ResultsWe are delighted to announce the results of the photography competition that took place in Spring 2025. Participants had the opportunity to showcase their talent across multiple categories. Each category winner will receive a £25 gift voucher to redeem in store at Share Your Story, an exciting new retail store and training hub opening soon in […]
Share Your StoryGot a story to tell? Whether it’s through photos, videos, writing, or even the spoken word, a brand-new creative hub is opening in Altrincham that’s designed to help you bring your ideas to life. Share Your Story is more than just a shop — it’s a place where creativity meets community, where memories […]
If you’re looking for books on camera settings and equipment, don’t buy these. I’ve had stacks of books over the years that explained exposure, metering, focusing, editing and, to be honest, they weren’t very helpful. Not because they weren’t good books but because I learn technical stuff by doing it rather than reading about it. And […]
This article first appeared in Cheshire Life magazine November 2023.How to take beautiful winter photographs“Wow! That’s a great photograph, you must have a really good phone…” A seemingly innocuous comment and well-intentioned but consider this instead: “That’s a delicious cake, you must have a really good oven…”. I know this isn’t exactly a like for […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A few of my favourite things:Photography ~ Writing ~ Being OutdoorsAnd just before Christmas I got to indulge in two of them. I hadn’t used my ‘proper’ camera (Sony A7ii) for pleasure for a long while and was getting a little snap happy with my phone. I suddenly realised I was missing the feeling of […]
‘Phojo’A joy and passion for photography.Having the motivation, inspiration and creativity to enjoy photography.(Not yet an official word… rejected by Collins dictionary but I love it!)Is this your camera? Sitting alone and gathering dust on a shelf? Or is it ages since you’ve used your smartphone camera for anything other than quick snapshots? Are you experiencing […]
Travel photography tipsThe phrase ‘travel photography’ conjures up images of buddhists in temples in Thailand or riotously coloured festivals in Delhi, but actually ‘travel’ just means to go from one place to another. And photography is just capturing the experiences you have.Whether you’re travelling half way around the world or two hours to a beautiful […]
The next Birds Of Prey Photography Workshop is 26th November 2022. Book now.I was amazed at what we were able to capture.Okay so I’m a professional photographer with around twenty years experience of using a variety of cameras and lenses, exploring and using lots of camera settings. I understand the theory and know what settings […]
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 […]
January, I have to admit, is not my favourite month. It’s long, I’m usually skint, I have to do my tax return (which I should have done last May I know!), it’s cold and damp and dark. And yet, it’s supposed to be a time for new beginnings, goal setting, resolving to get fit, budget […]
It’s National Make Your Dreams Come True day today so I thought it might be useful to get you thinking about your photography goals or dreams. We’re already almost halfway through January and, if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already ditched a few of your New Year’s Resolutions. I don’t tend to make any […]
Silhouette images have a certain magic about them don’t they? A simple story told with an outline against a beautiful backdrop, usually a sunset or other beautiful sky. They can be quite difficult to create though, often occurring by chance rather than intention. Here are some tips: Shoot towards the sun – but remember that doesn’t […]
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 […]
I’m taking a slightly different approach with this post and not taking you through all the classic composition rules for landscapes. I’d like to concentrate on WHY you are taking the photograph and what you should CONSIDER before you press the shutter. I’m a huge advocate for slowing down and thinking before you click away and end up with […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 my […]
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 […]
This is quite a tricky composition rule to explain and it’s one that we probably apply unconsciously, as our minds seek balance in images and art. A balanced image feels right, pleasing and stable. In a balanced image there is perhaps some symmetry and the main subjects have equal weight or importance in the shot. An image […]
I have never stopped learning and developing my skills as a photographer and I don’t think I ever will. Technology won’t stand still (!) and there will always be new subjects to explore: wildlife, landscape, low light or night time photography, macro photography, architectural, travel – just some of the areas where I’ve only dabbled […]
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 […]
I absolutely love it when one of my clients sends me pictures they’ve taken that show what they’ve learned and how confident they now are with their camera. I had a great email from new mum Louise today. She attended a Let’s Shoot The Kids course in January and has recently given birth to baby […]
Markets are great places to practise your photography. There are so many interesting and colourful subjects and people generally don’t mind photographers snapping away. At the Easter Sunday Makers Market Knutsford people were in such high spirits in the long awaited Spring sunshine, that there were broad smiles all round! A few market photography tips […]
The wet and mild conditions of Autumn provide the perfect growing conditions for fungi and this exceptionally mild Autumn means that there’s lots around at the moment, without having to look too hard. They have their own kingdom completely separate to plants and animals and there are tens of thousands of different kinds. They are fascinating to […]
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 […]
In the first of this series we looked at How to Photograph Trees (click on the link if you missed it). This time we’re going to concentrate on how to photograph Autumn leaves and capture their many glorious colours, shapes and textures. It’s all about the Light. Well of course it is as without light we wouldn’t have […]
I LOVE Autumn (or Fall, for our friends across the pond!). Summer is fab while it lasts but around the start of September I yearn to wear fleecy jumpers and knitted hats, to walk through woodland, seeing my breath as white clouds, kicking through fiery coloured leaves with my wellies, spotting weird fungi on tree stumps and […]
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 […]
Aberdaron and Abersoch with niece, great niece and nephew. Camera: Canon 350D with Tamron 28-300mm lens We’re having a two-centre holiday this summer, with a week on the Llyn Peninsula and a week in Marazion, Cornwall. You might think we’re mad choosing two locations so geographically far apart, but there was method in the madness! […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Helford Passage is a lovely spot on the Helford River, offering everything you could want from a little seaside hamlet, a decent pub, boat hire, ice creams, crabbing, a tasteful gift shop and a dozen gigs! These are fast, narrow rowing boats and there’s obviously a thriving community of them in Cornwall, judging by the […]
Saturday promised to be a glorious sunny day and we had planned to head to a beach for a spot of boating, crabbing and exploring, but talk of a display by the Red Arrows over Falmouth changed our minds. It was windy on the harbour but we found a gem of a cafe with […]
340 miles door to door… seven hours (including stops to collect a teenager from a sleepover and obligatory leg stretching, Costa coffee buying and loo breaks) in the car with an over-excited dog. All made well worth while when we saw the view from the living room window of our home for the next few days. The two […]
Most of my blogs are about how to take better photographs, but it’s time we looked at what to do with the ones you take. What do you do? Share a few on Facebook, send some to grandparents and every now and again print and frame the special ones? Gradually your hard drive gets full and […]
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 […]
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 […]
I love babies and (most) kids and for some crazy reason I like to earn a living by chasing them around with a camera, capturing natural photos of them and selling them to their parents. Newborn babies are my favourite subjects as they don’t get about so much and because they are without exception extremely […]
