I’m sharing with you 6 tips and tricks that will help you use your space - even a normal everyday home - and turn it into a great location for clean uncluttered photos!

In this episode, I’m talking with an incredible photographer, Pam McIntyre, who was actually a student of Live Snap Love many years ago, but has gone on to do amazing work in all different genres.

How you can plan for a fall photoshoot - when to find the best time of year to shoot,  what to think about when planning your outfits, lighting, practical tips and more.

I’m giving you advice on how you can find more interesting and dramatic light for your photos, regardless of whether you take photos to document your family, capture still lifes or portraits, so it really is for everyone.

I’m going to cover what a reflector is, when you might want to use one, when the right time is to get one, and if you do, which one you should get.

I’m giving you just a few different photography lighting ideas so you can experiment using the light around you. My goal is a simple one - I want to inspire you to pick up your camera and start looking at the LIGHT as your inspiration! 

Do you struggle with how to use light in photography? Or find yourself using the same “safe light” over and over again because you don’t know how to control or work with more challenging light? If you do, then you’re not alone!

When you think about it, it makes sense that photographers would struggle with it, because it literally is the single most important element in any photograph! Photography literally means “painting with light” so it’s so incredibly important that we, as photographers, understand how light behaves, and how to manipulate it.

But much of the time, it’s our mindset that holds us back more than anything! We believe certain things, and because we do, we fail to see and exploit the opportunities around us.

For myself, breaking free of always having “perfect” light, and forcing myself to work with what’s available, has allowed me to be more creative, feel more inspired and confident, and create images that are better than ever!

All light may not be equal, and some light is better than others, but if you approach light with the right mentality, it will reward you with some of your best images :)

Here’s some of the ways that I used to hold myself back - check them out and see if you recognise any of these!!

Here’s 5 things I focus on that help me break out of my comfort zone and create more interesting photos, even when the subject matter itself might be totally mundane.

Being able to identify, understand and modify light is one of the most important skills you can master in photography.

Why, I hear you ask?!

Because knowing how to use light effectively will allow you to turn everyday, mundane scenes into something magical and awe-inspiring, help you feel confident shooting in ANY type of light at any time of day, allow you to get more creative images AND make you feel inspired to pick up your camera every waking moment.

Not bad for something that is essentially free 😉

Of course, light is fundamentally important in photography (since without it we would only have a black frame!) but going beyond simply seeing light for the sake of exposure is what allows us to convey depth, mood and emotion in our photos.

In short, it’s that magic missing ingredient that lifts up every single image, and makes it look “otherworldly”.

Which is why, once you have mastered the fundamentals of photography (such as shooting in manual mode, getting sharp focus and using composition and ideally, knowing how to edit those images!) then then next thing I recommend is learning more about LIGHT.

So here’s 4 big reasons why learning about light will have a big impact on your images….

Ever wondered exactly when and why you might want to use a dedicated flash unit (such as a speedlight) in photography?

In this blog post, I’m going to break down the 3 most common ways that natural light photographers will supplement existing light with an on camera flash unit!

In this guide to indoor portrait photography, I’m going to teach you exactly how to take portrait photos indoors, so you can get beautiful, natural images of people in your home, or other indoor location!

Have you heard people talking about a reflector, wondered what it does, and whether you need one? Then good news, that’s exactly what I’m going to be answering in this post!

Knowing how to manipulate the light around you is crucial as you progress in your photography journey, because those subtle nuanced shifts in light can have a major impact on your images. A reflector is simply a tool that will help you change or mould the light to suit your vision, and help you get your images to look the way you want them to.

Not bad for a $35 piece of kit :)

So in this post, I’m going to cover what a reflector is, when you might want to use one, when the right time is to get one, and if you do, which one you should get.

Understanding light and how it behaves can be key to getting interesting images, flattering portraits and lifting your images to the next level…..

….But of course, it’s photography, which means it’s not always plain sailing :)

Here’s just a few of the mistakes I’ve personally made with photography when it comes to lighting - some of them subtle, many of them less so!

Check ‘em out so you can see what to avoid…

Light can be the single factor in lifting a so-so photo into something awe-inspiring, so it’s definitely worth experimenting with some creative photography lighting ideas, in order to take your photos up a notch!

I know that natural light can seem intimidating at first, probably because it’s not something we can control! But if we can learn how to work with what we’ve been given (or how to modify it to suit our vision) then you will have unlocked the key to creative and otherworldly photos, so the payoff is definitely worth the time you’ll spend learning about it 😉

There are so many different types of light, and so many different ways to use it, so I thought I’d give you just a few photography lighting ideas of how you can use the light around you. My goal is simply to inspire you to pick up your camera, or maybe try something a little bit different!

Today we are going to have tutorial on LIGHT - specifically how to find and use open shade in photography, so you can take more flattering photos.

First of all, raise your hand: how many times have you read / heard that you should shoot in the hours just before sunset or just after sunrise (a.k.a the Golden Hour), for the best light?

And how many times did you mutter under your breath that that’s freakin’ impossible to do all the time, especially if you have kids? (yes, I hear you)

The good news is, there is a way to photograph in full sun, even at midday, hat still allows you to get nice, soft even light on your subjects, AND is easy to use!

It’s called open shade, and in this photography lighting tutorial, I’m going to show examples of where you can find open shade, and how to use it for the most flattering results.

Let’s jump in!