I’ve had a camera in my hand for nearly 14 years now, and although I can now say that I’m pretty confident in my photography skills (most of the time at least 😉) I’ve definitely had a LOT of failures and frustration along the way!

So today I wanted to share 10 mistakes that I’ve made over the last 14 years, and that (chances are) you’re probably making right now.

My hope is that you’ll take advice from those that have gone before you, so that YOU can avoid making the same mistakes, and - better yet - fast track your way to being a successful and confident photographer. Let’s be honest, avoiding these mistakes won’t make you a pro photographer overnight, but it will help you get where you want to be more quickly and with less frustration!

In this post I’m talking about everything from where I wasted the most time, what I wish someone had told me back in the beginning of my own photography journey, and what I shouldn’t have wasted my money on!

As photographers, we take hundreds of photos at each photo session. Furthermore, we always have a camera at hand and love to photograph unique moments wherever we go. Yet we can’t edit all the pictures we take and send them to our clients. We can’t print all of them either.

Whether we prefer to photograph our family, people, nature, insects, or touristic locations, we all face the same challenge: how to organize our images in order to find what we need fast and be efficient in selecting the best shots?

If you've ever wondered how you should have your camera set up, then you are in the perfect place!

Today I'm going to give you a behind the scenes tour of my own camera set up.

Now be sure to watch right until the end, because I'm going to share with you how I would set my camera up if you're just starting out and not yet shooting in manual.

Have you ever looked at photos from other photographers and wished that they would share their camera settings as well?

I know that I certainly did!

Which is why today I'm going to share with you some example, photos, along with the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO settings that I use, but most importantly, why I chose them.

The focusing method you use can have a major impact on how sharp your photos turn out.

In this video, I’m talking about a common focusing technique that many new photographers use that isn’t always the best option, as it can lead to getting images that are ever-so-slightly soft, and not the tack sharp images I know you want!

If you want to feel confident in your photography skills, then understanding how your camera works so that you can make informed decisions is so important. By doing this, you’ll see your image sharpness improve as a result!

Check it out and let me know what you think.

In this video, I’m going to break down exactly what goes into a professional level image, so be sure to watch right until the end, so you can learn all the essential elements.

A lot of frustrated photographers, and this may include you, struggle with the exact same thing: getting their images to look like the polished, professional level images that they see in their head.

For many photographers I speak to, they are actually doing many of the same things.

They are chasing down tutorials on Google or YouTube, and as a result, they have a lot of information in their head around photography, but crucially they still can’t get the camera to take the image they see in their head.

One of the things that holds back many busy parents from learning photography is lack of time.

They struggle with juggling the demands of childcare, the household, their partner, and rarely make getting time for themselves, or their hobbies, a top priority - maybe something that you can relate to as well, because I certainly can!

But as I firmly believe that we are better parents and better partners when we do take time away from the household to do things for ourselves, today I want to share with you how you can create time in your busy schedule to learn photography, and most importantly, make the most of that time.

Getting sharp images is a major component of images that look and feel professional, so it’s so incredibly important to learn how to do it right!

Most new photographers get frustrated because their images constantly come out slightly soft and blurry, and they struggle to get the tack-sharp images they want. This is usually because they are either leaving most of the key choices up to the camera, or because they are focusing in the exact same way for everything they photograph.

In order to get photos that are tack sharp, you actually need to make conscious and informed decisions about your settings, and the techniques and strategies you use, and change these based on what your subject is, or what they’re doing. That way you get everything working together to get sharp images.

In this video, I'm going to break down the 5 different components that go together to get a sharp photos, so that you can start to increase your "hite rate" of keepers.

Have you ever wondered whether it's ever okay to take a photo in auto mode?

If so that is a question that we're answering today! This is a question that that was posted on my Instagram feed, and I know that many of you have the exact same question, so I wanted to come in and make sure that answer it for you.

As usual, there are 2 ways to enjoy this post - watching the video is your best bet (and it’s only 6 minutes long!) but if reading is more your thang, then scroll on down for the highlights.

I know you all love when we have a photographer “case study” on the blog, so I know you are going to appreciate this one, featuring Pam and the infamous Roxy the Kitty! We’ve all grown to love both Pam and Roxy in our Auto to Awesome student group - Pam is so wonderfully positive and helpful (she’s always there with a kind word for new students) and of course, we all get a kick out of seeing Roxy the trail blazing cat!

Although Auto to Awesome is geared toward “people” photography, you can definitely take those skills and apply them to different types of photography, which is exactly what Pam has done with her beautiful pet and nature photography (and her husband is a great model too!) Without further ado, I’ll hand you over to Pam to give the story of her photography journey….

Want to know how to take a self portrait, either with your DSLR or mirrorless camera? Then you are in the perfect place!

In this post I’m going to go over exactly what equipment you’ll need, how to set everything up, and how to take your self portrait, step-by-step. Plus I'm going to be sharing tips and ideas along the way to help you get best results, so be sure to watch right until the end.

As usual, the best way to experience this post is to watch the video, because there’s more info on there, but if you prefer to read, then scroll on down for the basic instructions.

Ready? Hit play on the video below to learn how to take a self portrait, step by step:

Today, I’m sharing with you 10 basic photography tips that every new photographer should know!

If you are a new photographer, maybe feeling a little overwhelmed with everything you need to learn, then this video is going to be perfect for you, as in it, I’m going to share some very simple tips that will help you lift your photos up, and give you some ideas about what to learn next (and what you should be aiming for overall)

Are you ready? Let’s dive in!

If you’d rather watch and listen rather than read, check out the complete video of this post here, but if you prefer to read than listen to my dulcet Scottish tones, then scroll down to read….

(it’s a good ‘un either way!)

One of the areas I wish I had gotten control over much, much earlier in my photography journey was having an organisational framework for managing my digital photos. My older files are in such a mess, scattered over different devices (and some precious baby photos are currently held hostage on a broken laptop!) that will take me a long time to sort out. That is why I’m always recommend that one of the first things you do is get yourself organised for successfully managing your digital photos.

Which is why I’ve invited an expert to come onto the blog and give us her tips for organising your digital photos! Caroline Gunter is a certified photo organizer, with years of experience helping people organise and manage their photos, so she’s the real deal when it comes to this topic!

In this blog post, Caroline is going to break down her 3 part framework for successfully organising your digital photos, step by step. Let’s do this!

Over the years, we have written SO many photography tutorials for beginners here on the Live Snap Love blog, that I thought it was high time that I compiled a few of our best ones into one place!

If you are brand new to photography (heck, maybe you just got your hands on your first DSLR at Christmas!) you are going to find SO much good stuff here. I highly recommend you bookmark this page, or pin it to your Pinterest boards so you can come back to it later!

But even if you’ve been shooting for a little while, some of these tutorials are going to give you a new perspective or add to your knowledge (you don’t know what you don’t know!) so I recommend you still check them out. even if you’ve been shooting a while.

Did you just snag yourself a brand shiny new DSLR camera? Or maybe you’ve just blown the layer of dust off the one that’s been sitting in a cupboard since last year?!

However and whenever you got your hands on your new camera, it’s an exciting time, regardless of whether it’s your first camera or your third!

But of course, ANY new equipment can take a bit of getting used to, and if it’s your first camera ever, it can all be a little bit overwhelming too :)

This post lays out 10 things you should do when you get your camera. Obviously, if this is not your first ever camera, some of these suggestions will be a bit basic for you, but it can act as a checklist to make sure you’ve covered everything. And if this is your first one, this post will be a goldmine of information for you :)