Ever year, I like to give gifts that are a little more personal, and I have found that using some of the many photos I take each year is a great way of doing it.  The recipients (especially Grandparents!) love the gifts as they are so thoughtful, and I like the idea of my images not just sitting on my computer but out where they can be enjoyed.

Here are 10 photo gift ideas, including a few that I am in processing of making for this year, and some that I have made previously (I like to mix it up each year!)  Most of these photo gift ideas will take under a couple of hours to make, and I tend to use the same gift for different family members, so I do the work once, but buy or make two or three copies and I’m done :) 

There are also different price points here - some you can make yourself, and some that are higher end, and some that are more fun gifts, so there should be something for everyone. Here goes! 

When you are taking a picture, ask yourself,  what is the first thing you want people viewing the photograph to focus on?

Most of the time when we are photographing people, the focal point will be the eyes, but sometimes it can be nice to change what the main subject of the photo is! 

A really easy peasy way to do this is to use a shallow depth of field, and change what you focus on. This simple change of focal point can really add a lot of interest to the story of your photograph, and elevate it above the rank of another snapshot. 

Sound good? Read on!

Although one photo can speak a thousand words, sometimes a few more can tell it better! A photo storyboard or collage is a fantastic way to display multiple images of similar photos, or even tell a story through your images. Here are some tips for making yours look as good as possible, along with links to some free collage and storyboard templates, and even how to make your own if you are feeling inspired!  

I'm in the process of buying myself a new tripod, and boy, it can be confusing to know what you are looking for!  So, I thought I'd write up a quick post on how to choose a tripod: what to look for, and how to narrow down the choices.  On thing I want to point is that I write all my posts with people like me in mind - lifestyle / portrait photographers who mainly shoot at home or in the local park, maybe dabble in macro or landscapes and so on, so if you intend going trekking in the Amazon for National Geographic, this post on tripods might not be the best one for you :) 

Understanding aperture and what it does is extremely important in photography, as it will help you understand how to balance your exposure when shooting in manual mode, and also how to control the look and feel of your images by controlling your depth of field. So, in today's post, I’m going to look at what aperture is, and how you can use it to get more creative with your photography!

The holidays can be such a busy time, and we can get so caught up in trying to get everything done that it's easy to forget to capture this special time of year! So, for this Christmas, I've created a list of 31 photo prompts to help you document your december, and capture the spirit, beauty and traditions of the season

One question I get a lot is how to get your subject sharp and perfectly in focus, even when they are moving.  This can be tricky, especially if your subject is a child - the movements tend to be more erratic and therefore harder to pin down!  (Not to mention the fact that they don't take any instruction, grrr) 

However, if you follow some simple tips, you should increase  the number of "keepers" you get - so without further ado, here's my tips for taking sharp photos of moving subjects..

As winter draws in, I often find myself shooting when there is low, or limited light.

After shooting through the summer when light is abundant, I personally love the opportunity to shoot images that are taken with very little light, particularly when I convert these to black and white - there's something about low light and monochrome together that tugs at me, which is why you will find all of the examples in this post converted to black and white! 

But, hey, you can leave them in colour too :) 

Here are some tips for low light photography: 

When you first start out in photography it seems like you have a million questions buzzing around in your head - how do people get those blurred background? Why is my subject out of focus? Why don't my portraits look good? Why do my images have that strange colour tint? 

 So, in this post, I've tried to take the most common questions I've been asked from beginners over my (many!) years of blogging and teaching photography, and give you the answers! In most cases, I've linked to a post here on the blog which goes into more detail for you on that particular subject so you can get all the information you need. 

Ready? Let's go!

It doesn't matter where you are in your photography journey - just starting out or a seasoned old timer - lenses will always be important to you, since they are pretty essential tools in digital photography! So I figured it would be a good idea to put together a post that brings together all the posts I've written about lenses over the last year or so, so everything you need to know  is all in one place for easy reference.  

Whether you ready to buy your first lens or just looking to add to your lens collection, there should be something for you here!  

At the end of yesterday's post on the 6 different ways to set white balance, I promised some comparisons between a few of the different methods outlined there, so here they are!   I'll be comparing Auto White Balance, the Preset settings on the camera, Kelvin, Gray Card , and the ExpoDisc .

Getting white balance right in camera is an extra step when shooting, but it’s so worth it to get rid of all of those wonky color casts that make your photos look awful! Whilst you can always change your white balance later in processing, it’s much easier to get it right in camera, and will save you a ton of time in editing, promise. 

Here are six different ways to set your white balance when taking your photos.

If you have children that love getting their photo taken, then I totally envy you!  As my son has grown up and developed his own (strong willed) personality, he has also grown more resistant to getting his picture taken.  Of course that is fine – I mean, who wants to have a lens in their face everyday? – but as a mother who wants to document our family life, it can be downright tricky at times! However, I have my ways of making sure I can still take lifestyle shots, either by ensuring his co-opration, or by being sneaky :) 

So, if you are one of those who have children who either cower or complain when the camera comes out, here are my tips for getting lifestyle images of your children, whilst ensuring that they are still comfortable with it.  

I been making a photo book a year for a couple of years now, and over that time I have (unwittingly!) developed a shooting style that helps me more easily develop page spreads that look good together in my family photo books.  I still end up with a few pages of random photos, but for the most part, the pages look more like they were "meant" to be together, and I can put the thing whole together more quickly.

This is what I aim for when shooting day-to-day stuff that I know will make it into my photo books, but I think the following tips would apply if you are a lifestyle photographer and want to be able to sell photo books too. 

As winter draws in, I do find myself shooting indoors more often, which presents it's own set of challenges - working in smaller locations, and dealing with less light are the two that spring first to mind!  I used to shy away from shooting indoors, but as much of our normal, everyday lives take place indoors,  it was important to me to get more comfortable with shooting there! 

Here are my tips for improving your indoor photos: