I've spoken before about using a grey card to either set your white balance or exposure, and today I thought I'd go one step further and explain the steps you take to do that!  First off, a gray card is just a piece of card that represents 18% gray - in other words the middle gray that your camera tries to expose for (See this post on understanding your light meter for more information on that)  Before I got my Expodisc, I used this one - CPM Delta 1 8 inch x 10 inch Gray Card which costs around $10 - but you can get lots of different ones which are pretty inexpensive. (I don't have it but this Pocket-sized one looks good for being a bit more portable). It doesn't really matter which one you choose, as long as they are non-reflective.

I love a simple classic portrait shot from time to time - having your subjects face as the centre of attention allows to really concentrate on their features and expressions,  and can feel much more intimate than other portrait types.  

And since it's been a while since I've done one, here's a classic "10 tips" post on them for you! 

When you are shooting in Manual Mode (or any other mode for that matter) you are probably using your camera's in-built light meter to "read" the light available in the scene and tell you when you have reached the correct exposure.  When the little bar on your meter is at 0, that is your camera telling you that your image will be correctly exposed....in theory at least. However, sometimes, our camera's light meter can get it wrong. Here's why, and how to deal with it: 

Having problems getting your exposure spot on?  Then I have got the tutorial for you!  We are going take a look at how we can combine the awesomeness of spot metering, with the simplicity of something called the Zone System.  This system was developed by a very famous black and white film photographer called Ansel Adams,  who devised it as a way of determining the perfect exposure in camera for any given scene. Although this was created for black and white film users, we can steal it for use in color and digital photography too! 

Enough history: Let's get crackin' with the tutorial!

This is guest post from a couple of years ago that i've moved over from the old blog - so if you are are a long-time follower you may have read this before but it was such a good tutorial I had to share it again!  If you have ever wondered how you can get a black background without a backdrop (or just need reminding!), then this is the post for you. Over to my good friend and wonderful photographer, Jan, to share how this is done....

First of all, thank you Audrey for having me back.  Don’t you all just love Audrey’s blog?  I think she can explain things more precisely than anyone else out there.  She’s amazing! 

No matter where we are in our photography journey, I'm willing to bet that there are always to improve what we do or how we do it.  Although everyone reading this will be at different stages along the road, and even on different paths, I hope that reading this post gives you some ideas of the areas you can work on this weekend regardless of where you are or what you do...

The rule of thirds is one of the most basic principles of composition in photography, and one you will use all the time going forward!  Here's how to do it: 

What you need to do is imagine that your photograph is divided into nine equal sections by two horizontal and two vertical lines (as shown below) Apparently, when we look at something, our eyes are naturally drawn to the points where these lines intersect. Placing a point of interest on one of these intersections, or placing elements along one of the lines, gives the photo more balance and is more appealing to the viewer. 

Still taking most of your photos on Auto and too scared to make the move to Manual?  

You probably already know that in order to get the shots your camera is capable of,  it really needs some guidance from you! 

The good news is that your camera has some features that allow you to begin to very, very gently move away from Auto and start to gain a little more control, which will in turn greatly improve your pics - all whilst you pluck up the courage to switch over to full manual control.  

(Go on, you know you want to!)

Although I confess to loving a bit of a play about in Lightroom or Photoshop, for some of my images I just want to be able to take them straight from camera to print without having to do much work to them!

Of course, it also helps if you have a great base image when you want to go further with your editing too, that way you have extra time to spend on the image without having to do a load of boring adjustments first :)

Other things, like skin tones, are always much better if you get them right in camera too.  So, my goal is always to make sure that I get a great shot straight out of camera (SOOC)

Negative space (sometimes also called White Space) is simply an area of "empty" space around the subject of your image. Space that is negative is usually either a neutral or contrasting background that draws your eye to the main subject of your photograph.

Want smooth, even skin and eyes that are full of life in your child portraits? I bet you do!  This simple tutorial will guide you through the first steps of using natural window or doorway light to create beautiful portraits.

Sometimes it can feel like we take the same images time and time again!  That's why I always try to mix it up by making sure that I include three types of photos when taking images of a person.   

Although that sounds like a little amount of options, within these basic types you will have a considerable amount of variation available on each one, depending on where you place your subject and where you shoot from, how you have them pose etc.  

If you keep these three simple types of portrait shots in mind when shooting, you will help make sure you get a good range of photos from one session. 

Ready? Let's go! 

White Balance is my nemesis, and I am sure it is many of yours too! There are a few ways you can set your white balance in camera - you can use Auto White Balance (not recommended!),  use one of the presets available in your camera (like Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten etc) then tweak in processing, or set a Custom White Balance, or use Kelvin...

After you have mastered the basics of photography, it's time to get started on the fun stuff - and for me, composition is one of them!  Interesting composiiton can take an ordinary lifestyle image and elevate from a snapshot into something much more artistic so it's worth wrapping your head around a few tools  So, today, I'm running through some compositional "rules" (I say, "rules" but really you should think of them more as guidelines to experiment with) that I think can add the most impact to your images. 

Give your mom an amazing gift with this FREE Mother's Day Template for creating your own Interactive album in Photoshop! 

I appreciate i'm a little early, but if you are anything like me, projects that used to take one or two days to complete now can take weeks instead, so I thought I'd post early to make sure you have enough time to use this Mother's Day Template if you wanted to! 

The idea for this album came about after my mother received a christmas card from my son. It was the first time she had been given anything with his handwriting, and there were tears in her eyes as she read it. (bless her, she also wanted to frame it!) I knew then that a little book with some recent photographs, along with his writing and drawings would make a perfect gift for Mother's Day, so this album was created. I love it so much that I thought I'd share it with you guys if you wanted it too.