Welcome back for another creative challenge! If you are new to the blog, every month for 2017 I will be posting a creative exercise for you to do.  So if you like the idea of a monthly flex of your photography muscles, come back at the first Tuesday of every month for your assignment.  You can of course do these at ANY time, so at the bottom of this post you will find links to the previous challenges too!

For this month's exercise, we are going to use an often overlooked composition tool - framing. 

Framing your subject is ja really powerful way to bring your viewers attention to what’s important in your image, while also bringing an extra element of interest, so it's a great composition tool to be able to pull out of your back pocket. 

The good news is it’s not hard to do, it's only a question of being able to see the possibilities around you when shooting - and that's what this creative exercise will help you do! 

When I ask members of my Facebook group what their biggest struggle with photography is, the same thing comes up time and time again: lack of time.

I completely understand that it can sometimes be hard to find time to physically practise photography on a consistent basis - in fact, as I write this, I don't think I have picked up my camera for at least a couple of weeks either 😀.  If you are anything like me, you will probably also find  that the only time you really get to yourself is after the kids have gone to bed, which maybe isn't the time we want to whip the camera out and start taking photos!

The good news is you can still improve your photography skills without necessarily needing to have a camera in your hand. So if you find yourself with only a few minutes to spare during the day, or find that you get get most of your "free" time when everyone else is sound asleep, here are some other ways you can improve your skills without even needing to take a photo. 

I pretty much exclusively use natural light for my images, because I love the variety and beauty it offers. I also love the challenge of working with what mother nature has given me to work with on any particular day!

However, learning to work with and see light effectively does take some time, so today, I want to go over some tips for working with natural light that is just for beginners. 

Let's get stuck in! 

I started doing these case studies a few months as a way to show you the different journeys people take to get to where they are, and to shed some light on the ways you can grow your photography skills too!  Today, we are featuring the wonderful Danielle Stanley, who is also another long time reader of Live Snap Love.  I'm so thrilled to finally have her on the blog (I'm been pestering her for months!) as I have loved seeing her progress and how beautifully she captures her days. If you want to read more photography journeys, there's links to more at the bottom of this post. Hope you enjoy them.......Audrey xI

Did you recently start to take photos of people OTHER than your family?  Yes? Then, let me guess how you felt.....

You found yourself getting more and more flustered, unsure of what you should be doing next, worrying that you haven't got any good shots and feeling like you really needed to hurry things along because you were really taking too long getting your settings right.

Did that sound at all familiar? I bet it did! Most people when starting out have those exact same feelings: like we are being judged by how long we take, and not knowing how to make the session flow, or feel confident throughout. 

So, in today's post, I am going to do my darn best to make sure that you feel calm and in control during your next photography session. 

Let's get going shall we? Read on! 

I have another photography case study for you today: the ultra talented Monica Dominguez Carlson.  Monica is another long time reader of the blog, and I so delighted to have her here, because she is a wonderful photographer who has come so far.  I started doing these case studies a few months as a way to show you the different journeys people take to get to where they are, and to shed some light on the ways you can grow your photography skills too!  Hope you enjoy them.......Audrey x 

Let's get 2017 off to a kickin' start shall we?!

I don't know about you but I always think that the start of a New Year is a great time to focus on the year ahead, and what we want to achieve. 

If getting better at photography is on YOUR list of things to do this year, then check out these 5 ways to level up your photography skills this year!

A few days ago I asked a question in my Facebook group about what was the number one thing that was holding them back from learning photography.  Several of the answers that came up said an issue was they simply did not have enough time. 

Now, that is something I can totally relate to!

Time is definitely my most precious commodity these days, so I have to try to work smarter in the hours that I've got. I can't add any more hours into the day (although that would be nice!) - all I can do is make sure that I am being productive in the hours that I do have, and that I using the time to get the things that matter most done.

That's what I am going to at least attempt to help you with today - make more time for learning photography, and how to work smarter with the limited time that you do have.  

It can be hard sometimes to make enough time for ourselves in our daily life to improve our photography skills, but one of THE best things you can do is simply practice - getting into the habit of picking up your camera every day for even just ten minutes can have an big affect on how well you understand a particular concept, or just building in some muscle memory so you start to instinctively know where all your buttons and dials are on your camera. No more fumbling around for you! 

With this in mind, I'm sharing an exercise today for beginners that will help you understand the affect aperture and depth of field has on your images, but one that will take you just ten minutes to complete. Short, sweet and straight to the point :) 

Making an investment in yourself and your photography skills can be a key element in how successful you will be in reaching your goal of becoming a photographer.  You don't even have to spend a fortune: even tiny little baby micro-investments can give you a big return, either on helping you progress your skills, or just by saving you time and headaches whilst you are learning - and beyond! 

Investments in learning can be anything from a small piece of photography equipment, to getting paid software instead of relying on the free stuff, or even taking a course to improve your skills.  I do appreciate that for many of us, photography is a hobby so there is not a lot of extra cash to throw down (nor can you write it off as expenses - boo!) but even if you only have a teeny tiny bit of cash to invest in yourself (or even not a bean) read on.....

As I've said before, one of the main reasons that I got started with photography was to capture my everyday - those small mundane moments that may seem boring to others, but that mean the world to me.   It's one of the main benefits of being your own family's photographer - you know exactly the moments you want to capture and why,  those moments that unique to you and no-one else. 

But just because you are capturing the everyday doesn't mean it has to be boring! There are loads of ways to shake it up a bit and capture your family's moments beautifully.  (And if you find yourself stuck with what to photograph, or just need a little creative push, then you can also grab a free ebook with a whopping 100 prompts to get you started!) 

If you are shooting Lifestyle or Documentary images - in other words capturing your everyday life - which lens is the best for you to use? Well, that is a pretty big question as there a number of options available to you, and each have their own plus and minus points, or things they are best suited for.  This is one reason why many people will have two or three prime lenses, or a couple of zooms, so that they have a range of lenses that they can pull out to give a different look. That, or they have a small lens addiction 😉

Learning the in and outs of your camera is something we should all strive to do so - not just so we can become technically proficient, but so we can reap the benefits that comes with it!  Here are 5 reasons why I think you should start learning how to master your camera TODAY. 

There was a lot of positive feedback on the last photography case study we had on the blog (Jan Johnson) that I decided it would be fun to have another one!  Briana is again another long time reader of the blog, and I love the story of her photography journey because although she started out just wanting to take photos of her kids, she has branched out many other different types of photography, with a LOT of success! Let me pass you over now to Briana to tell you more about her photography journey....

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.