This is guest post from a couple of years ago that i've moved over from the old blog - so if you are are a long-time follower you may have read this before but it was such a good tutorial I had to share it again!  If you have ever wondered how you can get a black background without a backdrop (or just need reminding!), then this is the post for you. Over to my good friend and wonderful photographer, Jan, to share how this is done....

First of all, thank you Audrey for having me back.  Don’t you all just love Audrey’s blog?  I think she can explain things more precisely than anyone else out there.  She’s amazing! 

I don't take credit for this idea - there are loads of variations on this theme around Pinterest, each with a slightly different take on it, and this is mine..  It's so simple to do - you just take any glass bottles, or jars, and pop in your images for an instant photo frame that's a little bit different. 

If you want to actually BE IN some of the pictures you are taking, then you will find life much easier if you have either a wireless remote or interval timer! Both of these work by allowing you to press the shutter remotely, so you can actually be in front of the camera but still in control.  They both work a little bit differently, a wireless remote is a small transceiver that you simply point at the camera. They are small and inexpensive, and allow you to take a picture as and when you would have pressed the shutter if you were behind the camera. 

Last week I mentioned how much I enjoy Macro - it's like therapy via photography for me - but it can get quite expensive if you want to get really serious about it.  However, if like me, you just want to be a casual macro shooter, all you really need is a dedicated macro lens.. A true macro lens are those that have a 1:1 ratio, which basically means they can capture your subject at life size magnification (some other macro lenses offer 2:1 magnification or some less than 1:! but for the sake of this article I've stuck with those that are "true" macro) When shopping for a macro lens, there are two main areas with are usually fraught with confusion, or at least they were for me, the focal length and whether to get IS / VR or not

No matter where we are in our photography journey, I'm willing to bet that there are always to improve what we do or how we do it.  Although everyone reading this will be at different stages along the road, and even on different paths, I hope that reading this post gives you some ideas of the areas you can work on this weekend regardless of where you are or what you do...

The rule of thirds is one of the most basic principles of composition in photography, and one you will use all the time going forward!  Here's how to do it: 

What you need to do is imagine that your photograph is divided into nine equal sections by two horizontal and two vertical lines (as shown below) Apparently, when we look at something, our eyes are naturally drawn to the points where these lines intersect. Placing a point of interest on one of these intersections, or placing elements along one of the lines, gives the photo more balance and is more appealing to the viewer. 

Still taking most of your photos on Auto and too scared to make the move to Manual?  

You probably already know that in order to get the shots your camera is capable of,  it really needs some guidance from you! 

The good news is that your camera has some features that allow you to begin to very, very gently move away from Auto and start to gain a little more control, which will in turn greatly improve your pics - all whilst you pluck up the courage to switch over to full manual control.  

(Go on, you know you want to!)

Although I confess to loving a bit of a play about in Lightroom or Photoshop, for some of my images I just want to be able to take them straight from camera to print without having to do much work to them!

Of course, it also helps if you have a great base image when you want to go further with your editing too, that way you have extra time to spend on the image without having to do a load of boring adjustments first :)

Other things, like skin tones, are always much better if you get them right in camera too.  So, my goal is always to make sure that I get a great shot straight out of camera (SOOC)

As you know, I don't have a studio or any kind of studio lighting - but I do have a garage, a cheap background stand, one roll of background paper, and that - coupled with some natural light - is all you need for a makeshift studio on a budget! 

Last week I finished photographing around three years worth of artwork and the resulting images are all now stored nice and neat on my hard drive.  Whilst this is great as it means it is all backed up - and out of the way! - I don't really like having things just stored digitally.  For me the whole point of keeping these is so that they can be enjoyed in years to come, but also in the here and now - people don't generally flip through a hard drive in quite the same way! 

So, I had two goals in mind when photographing the artwork - Firstly to have it out on display, and secondly to have it saved for long term, but in an accessible way.  Here's what I've done so far...

Every week my son will come home from school with at least two or three new works of art - and possibly a certificate or two - which up until now I've simply been tossing into a large storage basket. Even though not every single one makes it into the basket,  the pile is still getting pretty big, so to stop it from becoming overwhelming, I've decided to take action on the artwork! 

Negative space (sometimes also called White Space) is simply an area of "empty" space around the subject of your image. Space that is negative is usually either a neutral or contrasting background that draws your eye to the main subject of your photograph.

Want smooth, even skin and eyes that are full of life in your child portraits? I bet you do!  This simple tutorial will guide you through the first steps of using natural window or doorway light to create beautiful portraits.

Sometimes it can feel like we take the same images time and time again!  That's why I always try to mix it up by making sure that I include three types of photos when taking images of a person.   

Although that sounds like a little amount of options, within these basic types you will have a considerable amount of variation available on each one, depending on where you place your subject and where you shoot from, how you have them pose etc.  

If you keep these three simple types of portrait shots in mind when shooting, you will help make sure you get a good range of photos from one session. 

Ready? Let's go! 

White Balance is my nemesis, and I am sure it is many of yours too! There are a few ways you can set your white balance in camera - you can use Auto White Balance (not recommended!),  use one of the presets available in your camera (like Sunny, Cloudy, Tungsten etc) then tweak in processing, or set a Custom White Balance, or use Kelvin...