So, how many times have you heard that you should make the switch to RAW? Probably a few times I bet!  But perhaps you are not yet convinced, or don't really know what this means for your images, so today I'm breaking down the reasons why I believe you should shoot in RAW, and why it's a great thing for your images! 

Before we kick off, let's start back at the beginning with what RAW is.  

As a photographer, it’s pretty common (dare I say unavoidable) to go through different peaks and troughs with regard to your creativity.  There are times when you feel so incredibly inspired that you can't wait to pick up your camera for another day, and you have so many ideas for images that you can't possibly take them all!  However, on the flip side, there are also bound to be days when you don't feel inspired to pick up your camera at all, much less know what to photograph with it, or what to try next. 

Or you may be a new photographer, wondering what you on earth you can photograph, and needing a little push to get you going again - and maybe even to learn something new!

Are you scared to make the switch to manual mode? Or maybe you just don't see the point of moving away from the AUTO functions on your camera, after all, your camera can do it all for you - can't it?!

Not to put to fine a point on it, if you only ever use your high-quality DSLR quality on one of the automatic modes, you would have been just as well buying an inexpensive point and shoot camera.  Sure, your camera may luck out from time to time and snag you a decent photo, but more often than not, all you will end up with is middle of the road images that lack any real impact. Relying on a bunch of wires and sensors in your camera is no way to make a good photograph! 

Hey friends! 

Today, we’re diving into what I think are some of the biggest mistakes that new photographers make when trying to learn how to take successful images. Honestly, these are mistakes that I’ve seen tons of new photographers make over and over again - and I did most of them too so I'm pretty familiar with them :-)

In no particular order, here are 5 common mistakes,  along with what you can do to avoid them. 

Hey friends! If you follow Live Snap Love elsewhere, then maybe you have already heard me talking about my new ecourse - Auto to Awesome. but I wanted to take a minute to formally introduce it to you all here too!  And I'm seriously so excited about it! 

The AUTO to AWESOME e-course is a step by step program that will take you away from the safety of AUTO and "middle of the road" photos, and give you the tools and techniques you need to turn your images into wall worthy, professional images, in the least amount of time possible.   No more searching the internet for tips for you my friend!   Think of it like getting an injection from my brain into yours,  so you'll learn the tools and techniques it took me three years to master in just a few weeks. 

Capturing texture can add an extra dimension to your image, by conveying not only how something looks, but how it might feel as well, for example being soft, or rough, or wet.  It's a pretty dang powerful thing to be add to add a sense of touch to an image! That's what we are going to look at today - how we can use texture in everyday images to create a more powerful photograph.

There are two ways to photograph texture – the first is to make the texture the subject of your photo, and the second is to incorporate it into an image where something else is the main subject, to add extra interest. 

Let's get crackin' with two ways you can use texture in your image!

Let me start by saying this is a LONG post - not one of those "quick lists" of camera gear that doesn't really tell you very much nor is particularly helpful.  Today, I'm going to break this down for you - what you need, why you need it, what you can get away with using just now, what you should invest it first to get the biggest return on investment, along with a few tips and tricks for using them. 

Although I never want anyone to have to go out and buy new equipment,  I also want to keep it real. I don't want someone who keeps hearing that "it's not about the gear",  feeling discouraged because they are not getting images that are as good as they hoped when in fact, their gear DOES have some impact on their images.  That's not fair nor helpful in my book.

It's often said that the best camera for the job is the one you have with you. Since I am particularly terrible at remembering to take my DSLR with me on everyday outings, I'm often left to take images using my iPhone instead.  Thankfully, the camera on the iPhone is pretty darn awesome considering the size and weight, and so are the cameras on other types of phones too - mobile phone technology has come such as long way! 

It's always a pretty good idea to pay close attention to EVERYTHING you can see in your viewfinder, like the surroundings and backgrounds, and not just your main subject.   Just of the (many!) aspects to watch out for when you are framing your photos is the horizon - which can actually mean ANY horizontal lines in your image, so don't think you've got away with it if you don't shoot landscapes :) 

Let's get going with the 5 "Rules" for the horizontal lines in your image!

Is that summer I can see just around the corner? I do believe it is! Unless you are one of those very lucky people who live in a part of the world where beach days are an all year round thing, for the rest of us, the warm weather means we can get ourselves down to the beach without having to wear five layers of clothing!  And of course, with every weather change comes a new host of shooting opportunities, so here are 8 Tips for Shooting at the Beach.

Have you recently bagged yourself a new DSLR? Here are 10 camera settings that you should look to change or check before you start shooting!  

There are loads of different ways to use color in photography, but for this particular post we are going to look and how we can convey contrast using color. This is often called chromatic contrast, but personally I think it’s easier to use the term complementary or contrasting colors - but either is good :)

Here's a useful guide on how we can use this to add interest to our images!

Adding star / sun bursts to your image is a great way to make an everyday scene or moment look a little bit more interesting, so it’s a great trick to have in your photography arsenal! I actually don't play around with this as much as I should, but since I have just reminded myself of it's awesome affect - I'm off to play with it again today! 

If you want to give it a go, it's really simple! Here's a step by step guide on how you do it....

I love shooting with a shallow depth of field, where you have only the subject sharp and clear, but everything else soft and out of focus.  It's such a great way of drawing the eye straight to the subject of the photo, and eliminating any distractions around your subject.  You can get this affect from shooting wide open, but it can be tricky to perfect!  So, today, I'm giving you five tips for shooting at low apertures. 

But, before we get to the tips, let's rewind a little bit, and start at the very beginning, with what shooting "wide open" actually means! 

The eyes are a huge part of a successful portrait (they don't call them the window to the soul for nothin'!) and one way we can make sure they really look their best is to make sure that they have catchlights. 

A catchlight is nothing more than light being reflected in the eyes of your subject - they are the white areas you can see in the eyes on the examples below. They help to make your subject look alive, and give depth and life to any portrait - without them the eyes look lifeless and empty.  The good news is they are incredibly simple to achieve - it really is all about how you position your subject!