Ahhhh, Lightroom presets. One thing that divides many photographers is on the use of presets, and whether you should or shouldn’t use them.

I sit firmly in the middle - I think presets are amazingly wonderful, when they are used the way that they were intended: to speed up your workflow, so you can edit quicker, or share a particular workflow with others. There’s no way I could get as much done is as little time as I do, without the use of presets! I use them all the time, and can’t imagine editing hundreds of photos without them.

Unfortunately, many people see presets as a substitute for learning how to edit, and that is NOT what I believe presets should be used for. I strongly believe that you should learn how to edit FIRST, get to know Lightroom inside out, then use presets as a way of getting more done in less time.

I’ve also bought a few preset packs over the years (when I was first starting out with editing and didn’t really know what I was doing) and some have been great, and others have been awful and a huge waste of money. Spending your money on learning how to edit rather than on yet another set of presets will give you much more bang for your buck, because you’ll then be able to edit any photo, exactly how you want it, without relying on presets.

But let’s take a look at exactly WHY I think you should learn how to edit before using presets!

This blog post had been on my “brain dump” list (where everything single idea I’ve ever had for a blog post goes!) for a while. I figured now, when the challenges of homeschooling, working with home AND looking after your family means you probably have less time to yourself than normal. (Not that you probably had a ton of free time before!)

As I strongly believe that it is SO important that we continue to find time for ourselves and our hobbies (even if it may feel frivolous for some right now) during this lockdown period, I wanted to give you some tips on how you can continue to practice and learn photography, and make the most of the time you DO have, even if it’s not as much as you would like!

Do you feel nervous about sharing your photos with others? Do you worry that others will judge you, your skills and your creativity, and find you lacking? Do you fear that they’ll think “who does she think she is - Annie Lebowitz?!” and that somehow you’re not yet a “real” photographer, so you shouldn’t be sharing your work? 😬😬😬

If you are frantically nodding your head then you’re most definitely not alone - because I feel the same way too!

You might not know this because I share my photos every single week here on the blog, and again throughout the week on Facebook and Instagram, but that doesn’t mean that I actually enjoy doing it - it just means that I’ve gotten over the fear of sharing over the years, and feel confident that at least I love what I’m doing, even if no-one else does!

Catchlights are SO important in photography, as they add life and depth to the eyes in your portraits.

Eyes that look full of life and that sparkle are those that have catchlights in them, so for successful portraits, you’re definitely going to want to get catchlights in the eyes!

You can get catchlights in all sorts of lighting situations, from window light, to sunny days to studio lighting, but for today’s tutorial, I’m going to stick to using wonderful natural light, and how you can get catchlights in your portraits, both indoors and out.

Today we are diving into macro photography settings, tips and ideas! If you have been meaning to try out macro photography for a while, or you’re just curious about which settings to use, then you will love today’s post!

Looking for some photography ideas at home? Then I have you covered!

I know it’s tempting to think that we need to leave our home and go to some interesting or far flung location to get great photos, but there is a wealth of opportunity to practice your skills, AND get great photos, all without leaving the house.

In this video, I’m going to share 10 different photography ideas you can do at home.

These will kick start your creativity, give you some suggestions of photos to take, and give you some mini projects you can do to improve your skills!

I have another photography case study for you today: the amazingly creative Misty Schuler!

Misty is a student of all THREE of our courses, and it’s just incredible how quickly she has gone from complete novice to creative genius! I’m so delighted to have her here, because she is an absolutely amazing photographer who has totally rocked her own unique style and path.

I started doing these case studies to show you the different journeys people take to get to where they are, and to shed some light on the ways you can grow your photography skills too! If you want to read more photography journeys, there's links to more at the bottom of this post. Hope you enjoy them.......Audrey x

Have you ever wondered about what colours you should have your subject wear for photos…..or if there’s any colours that you should AVOID?

Although you can use any damn colours you wish, there are three colours (or actually, “sets” of colours!) that will simply make your job harder as the photographer, because they tend to “clip” easily - which is simply a way of saying that you’ll lose all detail in that particular area.

Wondering what they are….?!

Would you like to know which indoor photography settings to use to get the best results when shooting indoors, even in low light?

Yes?

Perfect!

Because today, I’m going to give you walk you through, step by step, how I approach shooting indoors, and what indoor photography settings I’m most likely to use.

Want some child photography poses that are quick, easy and downright cute?  Then I have 8 pose ideas for you, along with example photos for each one, that are tried and tested and will give you great photos of kids.

You can use these poses on your OWN kids, or if you’re business, you can use these for ideas during a paid kids photoshoot too.

You can also vary these standard poses greatly, so you’ll never run out of ideas again!

As usual, we have two ways to enjoy this - either watch the video below, or scroll down to read the blog post and see all the child photography poses in action!

Silhouette Photography - so do you want to learn how to take pictures of silhouettes? Then I have the perfect tutorial for you :)

We're going to talk about how to set up your camera, which camera settings to use, where to place your subject along with some bonus tips and tricks to help you get awesome silhouette photos.

So if you'd been wondering what the exposure triangle in photography is, then you're in the perfect place!

Because in this video / blog post I'm going to explain what exposure is, the three elements that control it, and how they all work together in something called the exposure triangle, to help you get perfect photographs!

And as a bonus, I'll be showing you how you can put all this together in practice to take better photos, so be sure to read or watch right to the end :)

As usual, you can choose to watch the video below, or keep scrolling to read a transcript….

What’s the best lens for child photography? That’s one of the questions I’m asked all the time, so today I'm going to go over my personal three favourite lenses for child photography!

I'm going to tell you what I like about them, what I use them for and what I don't like about them too.

Christmas morning can be a really hard time to photograph - there's usually a flurry of activity, less than optimal lighting, plus of course you're trying to be involved in the day too!

So today I have 10 tips for you covering everything from camera settings, to lighting to practical advice that's going to help you create awesome memories of your Christmas morning.

Simply watch the video below, or if you prefer to read, then keep scrolling as you can see a full transcript of the video too!

You can find all the links mentioned in the video underneath too!

Learn how to create shaped bokeh in this step by step tutorial, where you'll learn how create your own bokeh filter with just some black paper, scissors and sellotape!

Shaped bokeh is where you change the circles of light you would normally see background to shapes, such as heart shaped bokeh, or star shapes bokeh or even festive Christmas tree bokeh! Basically you can create any shape that your little heart desires, and all you need for this is to make your own DIY bokeh filter.