In this week’s blog post and video, I’m going to show you how to use an expodisc to set both your exposure and your white balance.

For those of you that might not know what I’m talking about, an expodisc is a handy little tool that makes it really easy to set a custom white balance, so you get the best and most accurate colour in your images.  

One of the biggest problems I hear from new photographers is that they are struggling to understand why their photos are so grainy - and what they can do about it!

I totally get how frustrating it is, believe me. Back when I was using my Canon Rebel, a lot of the time my photos would look grainy, and simply wouldn’t have that same sharpness that I could see from other photographers, which to put it mildly, is freaking annoying.

So that’s the problem we’re going to address today - why your photos are grainy, and most importantly, what you can do to avoid or fix the problem!

Today I'm going to show you the exact Lightroom Export Settings for Instagram!

If you've been finding that your images look fantastic in Lightroom, but then when you upload them to Instagram, they look crunchy or pixelated, or they've just got this really weird color vibe going on, then this is definitely the video for you!

I'm going to walk you through step by step setting by setting exactly what you need to do to export your images for Instagram.

Cropping your images in Lightroom is so important in order to make your images look more polished, more professional, and of course more engaging and dynamic through better composition.

So that is exactly what I'm going to show you in this video!

I'm going to show you how the crop tool works, and we’re going to talk about aspect ratio, changing orientation with a really in depth like at the crop tool.

Do you make sure that you watch right until the end because I'm also shading a sneaky little bonus tip for changing the crop overlay so you can get more dynamic composition. That's really important to make sure that you don't miss that!

What do the numbers on a camera lens mean?!

If you’ve been asking yourself that question then you are in the perfect place, as today we’re going to be talking about what all the numbers on your camera lens means, and how you can use this information to decide which lens might be best for you.

So if you've been looking at lenses online, or maybe you already have your lens and you just don't understand what all these numbers actually mean, stick around. as by the end of this post, you'll know exactly what the numbers mean and you'll know how your lens is going to perform!

Ready? Let’s dive in!

Photographing toddlers can be really hard!

So in this post, I'm giving you my tried and tested tips for photographing toddlers that will help you put them at ease, get great expressions, and hopefully nip any tantrums in the bud so that you can capture some great photos of your toddler!

I'm also going to give you some BONUS tips for camera settings for photographing your toddler, so be sure to watch right to the end of the video (and grab your FREE aperture priority cheat sheet below the video - it’s 8 pages of pure gold.

Click play to watch the video, but if you prefer to read, scroll on down for a transcript!

The number one frustration I hear from photographers is that they struggle to get the images they see in their head, or at least consistently! Sure, they may luck out from time to time and snag a great shot, but they can’t repeat it, and their photos never end up quite looking the way they wanted them to…

If that’s you too, then you are not alone! I literally spent years feeling the exact same thing, so believe me when I tell you that I totally get where you’re coming from :-)

There are usually the same key areas holding you back, and stopping you getting the photos you want - and it’s usually because you believed a certain myth around photography. One that allows you to stay in your comfort zone than take the steps you need to take to get great photos.

That’s why in this blog post, I’m going to set the record straight about what it takes (or more specifically what it doesn’t take!) to get the photos you want - and what myths might the ones holding you back…

When we think about AUTO mode in our cameras, we usually just think about the mode that allows us to balance our exposure, since, well, it’s the one called AUTO :-)

But your camera has lots of automatic functions that you’ll want to move away from, so in this week’s blog post, we’re talking through what they are, and most importantly, why you want to stop using them!

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are times and situations where you MIGHT want to use some of these automatic features - but honestly, those times are few and far between, so let’s check these out, so you know what to stop doing….

I’ve spoken a lot about just how darn important it is to learn how to shoot in manual mode if you want to get great photos, and today I want to teach you how to do that - step by step!

Yep, that’s right, for all you AUTO (or semi-auto!) lovin’ folks out there, you’re going to take the first step in taking control of your camera, by learning how to shoot in manual mode!

So, grab your camera and let’s get started!

It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed when learning photography - let’s face it, there is SO much to learn, and so much information available online that you can sometimes feel like you’re drowning in information.

But the truth is, although there is definitely a lot to learn, if you can focus on just five key areas in photography, you’ll get better photos. And if you are new, they can even be done one after the other, as you want to layer on the knowledge, not take random pot shots from each area and try to fit them together (doesn’t work too well!)

So today’s blog post is what you need to focus on to become a better photographer. Do just these five things, and by the end, you’re photos will look freakin’ amazing, I’m telling you.

Ever wondered what the difference is between a full frame and crop frame sensor?

How those differences will ACTUALLY affect you, and overall, which one is best?

Well, good news! This is exactly is what we’re going to dive into in this blog post.

If you want to change the colour of something in your photo, for example, a t-shirt or a pair of shoes, lip colour or even a background, it's pretty darn easy to do in Photoshop!

The video below shows you a simple technique you can use to change an item’s colour.

In the video, I show you how you could change the colour of the background, and use the exact same steps to make her lips pinker, just to show a couple of the different things you could use this for - but remember, you can use this on ANYTHING.

(One caveat though, please note that this works best with solid colours - anything that has a pattern or graduation won’t work nearly as well)

Although I’m a big fan of unposed “lifestyle” or documentary images, I can’t deny that i love a good portrait shot too!

So this blog post, we’ll cover the best camera settings for portraits using natural light - either indoors or outdoors.

Please note that if you work with studio lighting, or use flash, your settings are going to look different from the ones below. But since I love natural light, and I’m guessing that most people who read this blog use natural light, that’s what we’re going with :-)

We’ve all done it - taken a picture where we’ve overexposed the sky, either by accident or to try to ensure our subject is correctly exposed. But, fret not, as you can quickly and easily fix an overexposed sky in Lightroom - and in just three (or even two!) simple steps….

And that’s exactly what I’m going to show you how to do today!

Photoshop is seriously filled to the brim with wonderful tools and shortcuts that can make editing our images a breeze, allow us to get more creative with our images, add a little extra magic and sparkle, and make huge fixes that are simply not possible with Lightroom.

But unfortunately, because it can do so much, it’s not exactly easy to learn 😔

That said, there are tools and features that you’ll find yourself using time and time again in Photoshop, so after a while, although it’s still a beast of a program, using it does become so much easier when you have some basics down.

So in this week’s blog post, I’m going to share just 3 must-use tools in Photoshop, especially selected for those that are new to the program, because they are SO simple to use, and because you’ll use them all.the.time.