I know we all like to capture the holiday season, and Christmas Day in particular!  So, today, I've put together some  tips for you especially for photographing Christmas day, to help you be prepared and get the shots you want. 

Please bear in mind that it's not about getting perfect shots, or making sure you capture every little thing, it's more about ensuring that you get the one or two shots that are important to you, and some that help you tell a story or simply freeze moments from the day.  So once you have taken a few, put the camera down for a while and join in the day too - or at least go and get the dinner on :)

So, here's 10 Christmas Photography Tips for anyone wishing to capture their festivities at this time of year.

When you first start out in photography, you quickly realise just how MUCH there is to learn.  (And once you learn one thing,  you realise you need to learn something else!)  There is so much information available on the internet, books to read,  workshops to take and so on, that it can be difficult to know what to learn first, or just where is the best place to start. 

Although of course everyone is unique, and may learn things in a different order,  I've compiled a rough guide to a learning path that will get you from absolute beginner to shooting pro in no time :) 

One of the things I love about Christmas is the beautiful lights on display - either on your tree, or lighting up your home. Here's some tips, tricks and ideas for photographing your Christmas lights this holiday season

When starting out in Photography, you can easily get overwhelmed about you need to purchase. As you are being constantly bombarded with information about all the different accessories available you might be wondering about which ones to get- and which ones to forget about! 

Although everyone will have different needs, I thought it might be useful to some of you to list a few of the little "extras" that I think are extremely useful to have with you on your photography journey. These will either simply make your life a little bit easier, and in most cases, improve your end result - which can only be a good thing right?

I did a post a couple of weeks ago with tips for getting sharp photos with moving subjects, so I thought I’d expand on that and do one with tips for still subjects too! The good new is, with still subjects you have a lot more time to get your focus right, but nailing focus can still be tricky. Here’s my tips for getting sharp images....

Winter is upon us, and in my part of the world, that means snow - and a whole new set of challenges when taking photographs! There are a couple of things to be aware of when shooting in the snow, so I’ve compiled some tips that should hopefully help you if you dare to come out of your warm toasty house and enjoy some winter photography.

This year, I did my first ever Project 365. I've still got six weeks to go, but I can honestly say it's been one of the most rewarding photography projects I've done.  I do believe it has helped improve my photography, just by giving me the opportunity to practice every day, but it has also been a wonderfully personal project, since it's almost become like keeping a journal. 

A Project 365 is a very simple idea - you take a photo each day for 365 days.  However, there are a couple of things I think you should consider before you get started, which will help make sure that you Project 365 is a successful one! 

Here are some tips about how to get started. 

Ever year, I like to give gifts that are a little more personal, and I have found that using some of the many photos I take each year is a great way of doing it.  The recipients (especially Grandparents!) love the gifts as they are so thoughtful, and I like the idea of my images not just sitting on my computer but out where they can be enjoyed.

Here are 10 photo gift ideas, including a few that I am in processing of making for this year, and some that I have made previously (I like to mix it up each year!)  Most of these photo gift ideas will take under a couple of hours to make, and I tend to use the same gift for different family members, so I do the work once, but buy or make two or three copies and I’m done :) 

There are also different price points here - some you can make yourself, and some that are higher end, and some that are more fun gifts, so there should be something for everyone. Here goes! 

When you are taking a picture, ask yourself,  what is the first thing you want people viewing the photograph to focus on?

Most of the time when we are photographing people, the focal point will be the eyes, but sometimes it can be nice to change what the main subject of the photo is! 

A really easy peasy way to do this is to use a shallow depth of field, and change what you focus on. This simple change of focal point can really add a lot of interest to the story of your photograph, and elevate it above the rank of another snapshot. 

Sound good? Read on!

Although one photo can speak a thousand words, sometimes a few more can tell it better! A photo storyboard or collage is a fantastic way to display multiple images of similar photos, or even tell a story through your images. Here are some tips for making yours look as good as possible, along with links to some free collage and storyboard templates, and even how to make your own if you are feeling inspired!  

Understanding aperture and what it does is extremely important in photography, as it will help you understand how to balance your exposure when shooting in manual mode, and also how to control the look and feel of your images by controlling your depth of field. So, in today's post, I’m going to look at what aperture is, and how you can use it to get more creative with your photography!

The holidays can be such a busy time, and we can get so caught up in trying to get everything done that it's easy to forget to capture this special time of year! So, for this Christmas, I've created a list of 31 photo prompts to help you document your december, and capture the spirit, beauty and traditions of the season

One question I get a lot is how to get your subject sharp and perfectly in focus, even when they are moving.  This can be tricky, especially if your subject is a child - the movements tend to be more erratic and therefore harder to pin down!  (Not to mention the fact that they don't take any instruction, grrr) 

However, if you follow some simple tips, you should increase  the number of "keepers" you get - so without further ado, here's my tips for taking sharp photos of moving subjects..

As winter draws in, I often find myself shooting when there is low, or limited light.

After shooting through the summer when light is abundant, I personally love the opportunity to shoot images that are taken with very little light, particularly when I convert these to black and white - there's something about low light and monochrome together that tugs at me, which is why you will find all of the examples in this post converted to black and white! 

But, hey, you can leave them in colour too :) 

Here are some tips for low light photography: 

When you first start out in photography it seems like you have a million questions buzzing around in your head - how do people get those blurred background? Why is my subject out of focus? Why don't my portraits look good? Why do my images have that strange colour tint? 

 So, in this post, I've tried to take the most common questions I've been asked from beginners over my (many!) years of blogging and teaching photography, and give you the answers! In most cases, I've linked to a post here on the blog which goes into more detail for you on that particular subject so you can get all the information you need. 

Ready? Let's go!