Behind the Scenes: A Breakdown of One Image

Today I thought I'd so something a bit different and give you a first-hand, "behind the scenes" look at just one image, from start to finish. I will show you how the image looked straight out of camera, the lens used, which settings I chose and why, and even how I edited it! Hopefully by looking at some "real life" examples of images you'll be able to see some of the things that go into making an image - and also the mistakes too! This is not a perfect image - there are many things I could have / should have done differently, and I'll talk about them too.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, EDITING TUTORIALSAudrey AnnAugust 23, 2016TIPS & TRICKS, LIGHTROOM, PHOTOSHOP

5 Mistakes I Made As a New Photographer (and how you can learn from them)

Making mistakes is all part of learning photography. In a way, it's how we come to realise what we cannot do, and what we need to spend some time focusing on - so never feel bad about making mistakes, it's all part of the process of achieving your goal.

Although I could probably name quite a few more, below is five of the mistakes I made as a new photographer, and - as I'm willing to be that a few of you do the same things too - under each one is the solution! Don't say I'm not good to you :)

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnAugust 22, 2016BEGINNER

How to Photograph Your Child on A Swing!

I don't think there is a child in the world who doesn't like swings! So, for us as photographers, it's a great place to capture joyful, happy images of our children, with only a few things to worry about :) It's a win - win as far as I'm concerned - your child is enjoying himself and you get to play too!

Here's some tips for photographing your child on a swing.

CHILD & LIFESTYLEAudrey AnnAugust 15, 2016TIPS & TRICKS

Metering Modes Demystified

Most DSLR’s will give you some different options for metering for the light in your image, and the results you get can vary tremendously depending on which metering mode you use! That's why understanding the different metering modes available and how they will affect the exposure of your final image is so so important.

What is Metering?

Metering is simply our camera trying to gauge the amount of light in the scene, so it can set the correct exposure. Regardless of whether you shoot in AUTO, a semi automatic mode, or in full manual mode, you will still use your in-camera meter for assessing exposure, and knowing how it works can help you get your exposure right first time, instead of having to continually 'chimp" and assess your exposure by eye.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnAugust 9, 2016BEGINNER, TIPS & TRICKS

Photography Case Study: Jan Johnson

Ever wondered how photographers get where they are today, how long it took them, and what their turning points were? I know I do and I bet you do too, so today, my fav "momtog" Jan Johnson is going to be sharing the story of her photography journey with you, along with some details on how she shoots. Jan was one of the very first readers of this ol' blog, way back in 2013, and at that time, she was incredibly frustrated because although she could see exactly how she wanted the picture to look in her head, she couldn't quite get the camera to co-operate! I know that many of you will feel that same frustration RIGHT NOW, so I hope seeing someone else progression helps you realise that you will get there too! Over to Jan...

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnAugust 2, 2016BEGINNER, TIPS & TRICKS, CASE STUDIES

5 Places with Great Light In Your Home

Think you need a dedicated studio or gorgeous outdoor setting to capture great portraits of your child? Think again!

The key to great looking portraits is using somewhere with great light, and as luck would have it there are loads of places you can use just in and around your own home! Here are 5 areas in your home to use for great portraits.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnJuly 27, 2016TIPS & TRICKS, LIGHT

Which Color Space should I use?

How much do you all know about Colour Space? It’s something we tend not to pay too much attention to until we start to notice that our prints aren’t coming back from the print shop the way we thought they would, or we post our images on Facebook and they look all washed out and with weird colors!

Getting your colour space right is one of the secrets to having your images look beautiful, so it pays to take a few minutes to get this right - and that is exactly what we are going to look at today!

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, EDITING TUTORIALSAudrey AnnJuly 20, 2016TIPS & TRICKS

Photography Jargon Buster!

I've been learning, blogging about, and teaching photography for so long now that most of the photography terms trip off my tongue without any thought to them, but I do remember being so confused by some of the terms that people bandied about! So I figured that a little jargon buster might be in order :)

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnJuly 11, 2016BEGINNER, TIPS & TRICKS

How to Critique a Photograph

A handy little tool to have at your disposal is knowing how to critique a photograph, either your own or somebody else’s. Being able to look constructively at your own photographs will allow you to improve and grow as a photographer, and you can use the exact same process to "pick apart" images from a photographer that you admire, so you can see what elements appeal to you, and try to purposefully add them into your own images.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnJuly 5, 2016TIPS & TRICKS

How To Use The Curves Tool in Photoshop

The Curves Tool must be one of the most versatile tools in Photoshop, and you can do so much with it! It's also looks seriously scary with all those grids, lines, and points - so much so that many people shy away from using it. That is all going to change today my friend! You and I are going for a little walk through the curves tool, and finding out some of the things we can do with it.

EDITING TUTORIALSAudrey AnnJune 28, 2016PHOTOSHOP

5 Reasons Why You Should Make The Switch To RAW

So, how many times have you heard that you should make the switch to RAW? Probably a few times I bet! But perhaps you are not yet convinced, or don't really know what this means for your images, so today I'm breaking down the reasons why I believe you should shoot in RAW, and why it's a great thing for your images!

Before we kick off, let's start back at the beginning with what RAW is.

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPSAudrey AnnJune 22, 2016BEGINNER, TIPS & TRICKS

25 Ideas for Photographs (for times when you need a creative push)

As a photographer, it’s pretty common (dare I say unavoidable) to go through different peaks and troughs with regard to your creativity. There are times when you feel so incredibly inspired that you can't wait to pick up your camera for another day, and you have so many ideas for images that you can't possibly take them all! However, on the flip side, there are also bound to be days when you don't feel inspired to pick up your camera at all, much less know what to photograph with it, or what to try next.

Or you may be a new photographer, wondering what you on earth you can photograph, and needing a little push to get you going again - and maybe even to learn something new!

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS, PHOTOGRAPHY PROJECTSAudrey AnnJune 9, 2016BEGINNER, COMPOSITION, TIPS & TRICKS

Welcome to the Live Snap Love Blog!

What is Metering?

Ready to fall in love with your photos?