Have you ever found yourself wondering about the difference between lifestyle and documentary photography, and which one suits your style and way of photographing best?

The truth is, the line between the two can be a little bit blurred and fuzzy, as there is just a few subtle distinctions that separate them, so it is easy to confuse them with one another, or even find yourself doing both from time to time!

So this blog post, we are going to get into a high level overview of both lifestyle and documentary photography, and see what those differences are, and whether it should matter to you….

The main reason I pick up my camera is for everyday life photography - in other words, to capture those beautiful, everyday, mundane moments that make up my day to day life.   I want to document “real” life, all the little things that happen in between birthdays and vacations and holidays, that many people don’t take the time to capture (but then wish they did)  

If you feel the same way, then you are going to love this post, because I’m going to go through 6 different tips that will help you beautifully capture your own everyday moments.

Today we are going to have tutorial on LIGHT - specifically how to find and use open shade in photography, so you can take more flattering photos.

First of all, raise your hand: how many times have you read / heard that you should shoot in the hours just before sunset or just after sunrise (a.k.a the Golden Hour), for the best light?

And how many times did you mutter under your breath that that’s freakin’ impossible to do all the time, especially if you have kids? (yes, I hear you)

The good news is, there is a way to photograph in full sun, even at midday, hat still allows you to get nice, soft even light on your subjects, AND is easy to use!

It’s called open shade, and in this photography lighting tutorial, I’m going to show examples of where you can find open shade, and how to use it for the most flattering results.

Let’s jump in!

For any images you want to put online, you are probably going to want to add a watermark to your images. The good news is you can easily create a watermark in Photoshop, and just in a matter of minutes, and that’s what I’m going to show you today!

A watermark helps protect your images, to make it difficult for anyone to use them without your permission (and also so that everyone knows who took that gorgeous photograph!) so it’s worth taking the time to do it if you post your images publicly.

(And If you are in business, a watermark can also be a great way to help market your business for free!)

Read on for your step by step guide on how to create a watermark in Photoshop...

The two lenses that I see people deliberating over a lot is the 35mm vs 50mm prime lenses, so if you are currently having an internal debate between these two, and wondering whether the 35mm or 50mm would suit you best, read on…

When we take an image, we flatten our three dimensional world into something two dimensional.

And as a result, our images can look a little...er... flat.

Adding depth is simply a way of bringing back that three dimensional feel - in other words, more closely mimicking how we see in the real world.  It helps our viewers feel like they are in the photograph, and adds more complexity to your image, in turn making it more inviting and engaging.

Luckily for you, that complexity only exists in the resulting image, because it can be super easy to do, you just have to remember to do it 😁

So, here are three simply ways that you can start to incorporate depth into your images, that will take you only a few seconds to do.

One thing that is guaranteed to cause some confusion to most emerging photographers is calibrating their monitors.

Calibrating your monitor is simply a way of making sure what you see on your screen matches what you see in print. If you have ever had images come back from the printer bearing little resemblance to what you see on screen, an uncalibrated screen is one reason why! 

The big downside to calibrating your monitor is that it is yet ANOTHER expense, as you will need to purchase a tool to do it, and let’s face it, photography can be an expensive enough hobby :-)

However, you do have several options when it comes to calibration tools.  The one I use is the X Rite Color Munki, which seems to strike a good balance between features and price, so for many hobbyists since is what I would recommend.

For this tutorial, I’m going to show you how to calibrate your monitor using my own tool, the X-Rite Color Munki,  but the process is very similar with other brands, so this should at least give you some idea of what goes into calibrating your monitor!

I can’t tell you how often I hear people giving advice online about Lightroom that makes me just want to yell “wait! no! Don’t listen to that - it’s just not true!"

Things like:

“Well so and so says that you need to use Photoshop if you want to get images that look like the pros”

Or…

“oh well that person said all I need to do is watch You Tube and I can learn how to edit from there."

I don't blame them - because I used to think the exact same things!

That's why today we are diving into a few of the BIGGEST Lightroom myths that will only hold you back from getting the most out of this awesome program.

Ready? Let’s go!

When photographing movement, you have a couple of options on how to capture it: either freeze the motion completely, or allow the subject to show a bit of motion blur.

Motion blur is simply when you get blur to just certain parts of your image - those areas that had a subject or item moving faster than the shutter speed you chose. 

Although unwanted motion blur is a bad thing, it can also be a used as a creative tool!  The difference is that we are using it with intent, rather than getting it when we don’t want it.

So, this week’s blog post is all about how to capture movement with motion blur, as usual, broken down step by step.

If I asked new photographers to name a piece of editing software, the one that pops into mind most often is probably Photoshop, or even Photoshop Elements. 

Whist Photoshop is (undoubtedly!) an amazing tool for editing, it’s definitely NOT the one I recommend for new photographers.

Why on earth not, I hear you say?

I’m so glad you asked 😀…..

Here are 5 reasons why learning how to edit your images in Lightroom is MORE beneficial to you when starting out - or indeed, at any time!

A few months ago, Adobe released a brand new application into their product suite: Lightroom CC.

If you are wondering what Lightroom CC, what it can do, and whether it is the right application for you, then this is the very article for you.

In this blog post you will learn:

1. What Lightroom CC is

2. How it compares to Lightroom Classic CC

3. Who LIghtroom CC is for

4. Who Lightroom is NOT for

5. Why you might want to use BOTH Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic CC

Ready? Let’s jump right in.

Every single one of us will doubt our photography skills at one point or another - in fact, I would say it is at least a yearly occurrence for me 😀

It also doesn't seem to matter whether you are completely new to photography, or been shooting for a while, there will always come a time when we feel doubt creeping up on us, and it can be paralysing.

Understanding how to keep moving forward, even when you doubt your ability, is key to making sure that you carry on on your photography journey, and achieve your goal of becoming a photographer.  

Tell me, are your photos all over the place when it comes to how you edit them?  Do you like a soft and airy edit one day, and then a dark and moody one the next, and then maybe vintage with a touch of matte?  When you view your images all together does it look as though they have been edited by around 30 people or someone with a serious multiple personality disorder (😁)?

Yes?

Then a) don’t worry about it too much as it happens to us all, and b) this is the blog post for you!

When someone asks me if I do other forms of photography besides interiors and still life, I always respond, seemingly joking that I shoot interiors because I don't like people. As an introvert, I could never have imagined that I would be someone that inspires and encourages people to start with interior photography and give them the directions to grow their business and brand. But it turns out that I love it as long as I can keep my groups small, really small! Like five students small, at the max! Probably not the best way to grow rich but I love the interaction, the personal approach and that is my strength.

It can be so disheartening when you pour your heart and soul into photography, but no matter what you seem to do, your images just don’t turn out the way that you want them to, or how you thought you’d captured them!

I know, I’ve been there too 😁

That’s why I wanted to write this blog post today, so you can know the MOST likely reasons why your images just aren’t turning out like you see in your head, and so you can go and do something about it!

The key to anything you read on this blog is ACTION. Have a look through these five reasons and see whether you are already doing the recommendation. If not, start to implement it as soon as possible to start seeing an improvement to your images!

Ready? Let’s jump right in.