Learn Christmas light photography with these 3 ways to photograph Christmas lights in and around your home!

So we're getting into the holiday spirit here at Live Snap Love, because today I'm going to teach you how to photograph Christmas lights, by showing you three different ways that you can capture Christmas lights in and around your home.

So this video is all about how to get that blurry background in your photos so that your images look more professional, and so your subject just seems to kind of pop off the screen!

Regardless of what camera you have, what lens you're using, if you follow the steps laid out in this video, then you are going to get images that have an amazing blurry background.

So I'm going to break this down into four simple steps, but be sure to stay right until the end of the video because I got an extra bonus tip for you that's going to give you more dramatic looking blur.

In this week’s blog post and video, I’m going to show you how to use an expodisc to set both your exposure and your white balance.

For those of you that might not know what I’m talking about, an expodisc is a handy little tool that makes it really easy to set a custom white balance, so you get the best and most accurate colour in your images.  

One of the biggest problems I hear from new photographers is that they are struggling to understand why their photos are so grainy - and what they can do about it!

I totally get how frustrating it is, believe me. Back when I was using my Canon Rebel, a lot of the time my photos would look grainy, and simply wouldn’t have that same sharpness that I could see from other photographers, which to put it mildly, is freaking annoying.

So that’s the problem we’re going to address today - why your photos are grainy, and most importantly, what you can do to avoid or fix the problem!

What do the numbers on a camera lens mean?!

If you’ve been asking yourself that question then you are in the perfect place, as today we’re going to be talking about what all the numbers on your camera lens means, and how you can use this information to decide which lens might be best for you.

So if you've been looking at lenses online, or maybe you already have your lens and you just don't understand what all these numbers actually mean, stick around. as by the end of this post, you'll know exactly what the numbers mean and you'll know how your lens is going to perform!

Ready? Let’s dive in!

Photographing toddlers can be really hard!

So in this post, I'm giving you my tried and tested tips for photographing toddlers that will help you put them at ease, get great expressions, and hopefully nip any tantrums in the bud so that you can capture some great photos of your toddler!

I'm also going to give you some BONUS tips for camera settings for photographing your toddler, so be sure to watch right to the end of the video (and grab your FREE aperture priority cheat sheet below the video - it’s 8 pages of pure gold.

Click play to watch the video, but if you prefer to read, scroll on down for a transcript!

The number one frustration I hear from photographers is that they struggle to get the images they see in their head, or at least consistently! Sure, they may luck out from time to time and snag a great shot, but they can’t repeat it, and their photos never end up quite looking the way they wanted them to…

If that’s you too, then you are not alone! I literally spent years feeling the exact same thing, so believe me when I tell you that I totally get where you’re coming from :-)

There are usually the same key areas holding you back, and stopping you getting the photos you want - and it’s usually because you believed a certain myth around photography. One that allows you to stay in your comfort zone than take the steps you need to take to get great photos.

That’s why in this blog post, I’m going to set the record straight about what it takes (or more specifically what it doesn’t take!) to get the photos you want - and what myths might the ones holding you back…

When we think about AUTO mode in our cameras, we usually just think about the mode that allows us to balance our exposure, since, well, it’s the one called AUTO :-)

But your camera has lots of automatic functions that you’ll want to move away from, so in this week’s blog post, we’re talking through what they are, and most importantly, why you want to stop using them!

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are times and situations where you MIGHT want to use some of these automatic features - but honestly, those times are few and far between, so let’s check these out, so you know what to stop doing….

I’ve spoken a lot about just how darn important it is to learn how to shoot in manual mode if you want to get great photos, and today I want to teach you how to do that - step by step!

Yep, that’s right, for all you AUTO (or semi-auto!) lovin’ folks out there, you’re going to take the first step in taking control of your camera, by learning how to shoot in manual mode!

So, grab your camera and let’s get started!

It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when learning photography - let’s face it, there is SO much to learn, and so much information available online that you can sometimes feel like you’re drowning in information.

But the truth is, although there is definitely a lot to learn, if you can focus on just five key areas in photography, you’ll get better photos. And if you are new, they can even be done one after the other, as you want to layer on the knowledge, not take random pot shots from each area and try to fit them together (doesn’t work too well!)

So today’s blog post is what you need to focus on to become a better photographer. Do just these five things, and by the end, you’re photos will look freakin’ amazing, I’m telling you.

Although I’m a big fan of unposed “lifestyle” or documentary images, I can’t deny that i love a good portrait shot too!

So this blog post, we’ll cover the best camera settings for portraits using natural light - either indoors or outdoors.

Please note that if you work with studio lighting, or use flash, your settings are going to look different from the ones below. But since I love natural light, and I’m guessing that most people who read this blog use natural light, that’s what we’re going with :-)

With summer officially just around the corner (at least it is if you are reading this as it goes live!) I’ve got a lazy and breezy summer themed blog post for you today 😃👙☀️🍦🍹

I noticed a definite dip in how many photos I took each year just after my son started school. No longer could I just pick up my camera at any time of day - I had to try to squeeze in photos in the morning (unlikely, since I’m never organised enough to find myself with a spare 5 minutes before school starts) or having to wait until he got home, which in winter, meant it was already getting dark.

So, for me, summer is a time when I tend to take a lot more photos since we don’t have to get anywhere in a rush, and where I can take photos all day long if I feel like it.

I also read something that resonated with me (and if you have kids I’m pretty sure it will resonate with you too) that we only get 18 summers with our kids. That’s SO crazy to think of it like that, right? It makes me just want to bottle up each and every summer. Since I can’t do that, capturing them as best I can is the next best thing.

So, in honor of aiming to capture another one of our 18 summers together, I thought it would be fun to compile a summer reading list for you, all with posts that should help you get better photos of your kids this summer.

Do you ever feel like sometimes you’rre just winging it when you pick up your camera?

That you get all flustered and not quite sure what you should be doing….?

….So you end up just clicking and hoping?

Then this week’s blog post is for you!

I wanted to break down some of the things you should be thinking about when you take your photo - many of them before you even lift the camera to your eye - so that you can shoot more purposefully, and most importantly, get better photos.

So we’re going to go into FIVE questions you should ask yourself when you take your photo. There are more of course, but these are the big ones, the ones that can make or break your picture, so let’s dive into those now…

Whether you want to shoot a portrait or a landscape or a documentary-style photo, you’ll want to choose the best lens for the job!

With an array of lenses to choose from, it can be hard to know which one to pick, and which will suit your photo best. As I have far too many lenses to choose from, I thought i’d go through my thought process when picking out a lens for a particular photo. Of course, there may be other reasons why I pick a lens (versatility for going away on vacation, or weight if were going on a trek) but the two MAIN reasons are the focal length, and the aperture.

Let’s go into the four questions I ask myself (which you can totally steal, I don’t mind) for choosing the best lens for the job.

One of the things I love seeing is the change in people’s photos as they are learning photography - where you can literally see the difference in the “befores” and “afters” - and I know this is inspiring for many of you too!

So today I’ve got a case study for you that I think you are absolutely going to eat up :-)

It's from one of my amazing Auto to Awesome students, Erica, and she’s put together some amazing before and after photos for us, plus some of her favourite photos. It shows two things - how learning photography doesn’t just happen overnight, and also that with the right training, you can absolutely take amazing images with an entry level camera. (Although she has since upgraded, Erica shot most of these images with an entry level DSLR and kit lens - proof that you don’t need the most expensive gear to take great photos)

For those of you who are already in Auto to Awesome, I hope it inspires you to keep going through the program! And if you’ve been thinking about maybe enrolling in Auto to Awesome, this is one blog post you’ll definitely want to read.