Magical Autumn Family Portraits in Cheshire

Autumn is my favourite season by far! Nights start to draw in, with a nip in the air there's an excuse to have a real fire and dig the scarves and hats out. True, this autumn has been a little strange so far with frosts few and far between. But the autumnal colours have been spectacular especially over the last week or so. And in just a few short days the trees and bushes could all be stripped bare of their fiery glory - it will only take one gusty day or a sharp downpour.

With the ephemeral nature of Autumn in mind I have packed several photo shoots into the last couple of weeks. Of course the backdrop of scarlet, gold and burnished yellow leaves is perfect for outdoor portrait sessions but so is the light at this time of year. The sun is lower in the sky, shadows are softer, the light is kinder and if you can work quickly in the magical hour between 2.30pm and 3.30pm you can maximise all of this, resulting in stunning images.

Beautiful light on the edge of the wood

My chosen location for these recent shoots has been Marbury Park but I imagine any park with decent stands of trees would be as good, as long as you've scouted out a few good spots first. Woodland can be tricky - if the canopy of leaves is too dense then it can be a tad too dark and flat but if you can find somewhere towards the edge of the wood the light can be wonderful.

The birdhides made an unexpectedly great place to take portraits, as the viewing slots allowed my subjects to be lit naturally from both sides and the green wood of the hide was a very complementary backdrop.

Kids love messing about in woods and no more so than when there's an ankle deep carpet of leaves on the ground. I adore the fun of the piggyback shot but just look at that light in the background!

The other thing I love about Autumn is that the colours all go together so perfectly - Mother Nature never makes mistakes with her seasonal palette! I particularly like the fact that in my last shot here the family dog also matches in so well!

So don't hang about - you've got about a week at the most (don't hold me to that!) to get out and about with your cameras. We will have the magic of that cold Winter light next but it's not quite so pleasant doing a shoot then and kids' noses have a nasty habit of turning red and a bit runny!

Thanks to the families who have allowed me to share some of their images - these kids were wonderful - very photogenic and really fun to work with!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Venice revisited and revamped

I found a gorgeous book on Venice and its food in a discount book store today ("Venezia - food & dreams" by Tessa Kiros). In all honesty it's doubtful that I'll cook any of the recipes in it but it brought a whole raft of memories tumbling back and I just had to have it. In 2007 Nic and I went to Venice to celebrate a landmark birthday (his not mine!) and our wedding anniversary. In some ways it wasn't the perfect time of year to go - mid January - but it did mean that it wasn't swamped with tourists and the damp cold weather was preferable to unrelenting heat and its accompanying eau de sewage. It was a truly magical weekend - if you've been you'll know exactly what I mean and if you haven't make sure you add it to your bucket list. There really is no where else like it on earth.

I was a keen amateur photographer back in those days and took oodles of very average pictures whilst we were in Venice. I was pleased with a handful of them (I've even sold one or two!) but had relegated the rest to a sub folder somewhere in the bowels of my computer hard drive. Today's book purchase inspired me to unearth and reappraise my Venice "snapshots", with the knowledge that these days I am more of a dab hand at editing images.

And I was very pleasantly surprised! With a little cropping, tweaking of exposure, levels and brightness I found I had around 20 very nice images. They're not of a professional standard and I'd hope that nowadays I'd produce much better, but I've been able to create a very attractive collage of memories that will eventually adorn the walls of our downstairs loo!

This is the final collage - I'm going to get it printed at around 30cm x 30cm. I've stolen the quotes from Tessa Kiros' book - I hope she doesn't mind as it's only for our loo - but they epitomise our weekend in Venice, especially the part about getting lost but it not being a problem. We set off from our lovely hotel each morning and just walked and walked. We stopped to eat when we were hungry, whiling away a few hours in cosy little bars serving prosecco and cicchetti (delicious bites!). We usually didn't have a clue where we were and only consulted a map when it was time to find our way back.

Just as a comparison I've created a collage of the images before any editing, to show just what a few simple tweaks can achieve. It makes an OK collage, but the final version (above) is much more vibrant and punchy, I like the occasional use of black and white and I love the addition of the quotes.

If you'd like to learn how to create very simple but really impactful and personal pictoral memories of special events in your life just get in touch. I run one to one tuition sessions at very reasonable prices. http://www.picture-it-big.co.uk/Onetoone.html. Even better get someone to treat you to it - I have gift vouchers too. All those photos should not be languishing hidden on your computer when they could be bringing back nice memories every day!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Should I buy an SLR camera?

I get asked this all the time when I’m teaching people with compact cameras, so I decided to try to write a blog that will help you make that decision before you part with your hard earned cash.

Firstly let’s take a quick look at the types of camera out there as it may be surprising to some that compact cameras and SLRs are not the only options available.

Compact camera: Often referred to as a “point and shoot” camera and is designed for ease of use and convenience. It does not offer interchangeable lenses, has a built in flash and has many automatic modes to make picture taking as simple as possible. Some do feature options for controlling aperture and shutter speed and there are some with extremely good lens or optic quality.

(I’ll do SLR next although really it should come last as you’ll see shortly).

SLR camera: stands for Single Lens Reflex but you don’t really need to know that! It uses a system of moving mirrors to allow the photographer to see exactly what they are going to capture (What You See Is What You Get – WYSIWYG). Non SLR cameras (the other three types discussed here) do not use this mirror system.  SLRs also allow you to use interchangeable lenses, have full control over aperture and shutter speed, use manual as well as auto focus and use additional filters and flashguns. Basically you get more control and can be much more creative than with a compact camera.

As I said earlier these are not the only two options and the alternatives are well worth taking into consideration.

Bridge Camera: bridges the gap between compact cameras and SLRs, hence the name. Bridge cameras are often a similar size to small or entry level SLRs and have common features. They do not have interchangeable lenses and usually have a lower ISO range (meaning that they won’t perform as well in low light). They have a fixed but very versatile lens which allows you to photograph close up and wide angle through to telephoto, with the zoom limit often being very high.

Compact System Camera: More recently manufacturers have brought out a fourth option designed to have interchangeable lenses and all of the flexibility of an SLR but in a much more compact body.

So now that you know about four options instead of just two, how on earth do you decide which is the right one for you?! I’ve used all except the newer compact system camera (if any of the manufacturers would like me to do a review of one, feel free to pop one in the post!) and they’ve all got their place in the market. It really comes down to what sort of photography you want to do,  how much money you want to spend and whether you like carrying and changing lenses or just prefer one that does it all.

Perhaps describing how I use my cameras will shed some light. I stick my compact camera in the bag whenever I’m going out with the kids and might want some quick snapshots. I know there’s quite a delay when I take pictures, I can’t get the nice soft focus background shots I love and I can’t capture close ups of faraway things. However, in good daylight conditions it delivers great quality snapshots. I have also done some really nice close ups with it. Shots taken with the flash aren’t great, but then I am used to using an SLR with external flash gun.

I use my bridge camera when I want to get better quality pictures than with my compact but don’t want to carry additional lenses. A good example of this was on a recent holiday to Cape Verde where I didn’t want to risk taking an SLR and all the lenses.  Sandy beaches and SLRs don’t mix well! My bridge camera has a 20X zoom so I knew I could get some good candid pictures of the kids playing in the pool and on the beach. It also does some great close ups with soft focus backgrounds and the image quality is better, sharper and crisper than the compact. It also has an optical viewfinder which I prefer to the LCD screen.

I bought this bridge camera as a natural step up from a compact, when I was still an amateur photographer stuck on AUTO.  I first started to see the limitations of it when I began an A Level evening course. I had my first play with an SLR and loved the quality both through the lens and in the final images. And of course there’s no delay when pressing the shutter (no more missed action shots!). Once I had tried a macro lens and an external flash gun I was hooked – there was no going back. However hard I tried I could not achieve the same quality of images or creative effects with my compact or bridge camera.

SLR cameras also allow you to shoot in RAW as well as JPEG. This gives you much more control when editing your pictures afterwards, a must for a professional photographer (some bridge cameras do offer this format as well).

If speed and image quality are important to you, if you’d like to enlarge your shots for display on the wall or enter them into competitions then you should probably go for an SLR. But only if you are prepared to spend money on additional lenses. The “kit” lens that usually comes with an SLR does not allow you to take real close up shots nor does it zoom very far, so you’ll soon find that you need at least one additional lens. You can buy lenses that have a similar wide range to bridge cameras (e.g. 18mm-200mm) but the quality is not as good as dedicated close up, wide angle or zoom lenses. I soon found that I needed a macro (close up) lens and a zoom lens. But then I’m selling my images. If I was an amateur photographer on a budget the one “Jack of all trades” lens is perfectly adequate, certainly when you first start out using an SLR. You can also save money by buying generic lenses such as Tamron or Sigma and by buying second hand.

For me, using an SLR feels like a “proper” camera – I can look through a view finder, it instantly takes the picture when I press the shutter button and has a real and satisfying feel, it’s fast and overall a more quality experience. If automatic modes fail to give the result I am looking for I can take control and make fine-tuned adjustments. A bridge camera can do this too but the quality is generally not as good, with more noise (speckled dark areas) on the final image and just not as crisp and punchy. I know that if I use a particular lens with my SLR I can achieve a particular result – it gives me much more control.

I can’t truly answer the question of SLR cameras versus the new compact system cameras as I’ve yet to use one and can only rely on the reviews I’ve read. They seem to have a place in the market, based predominantly on compact size and being light weight, but opinion seems to be that although very good, they don’t always perform as well as SLRs in the more challenging lighting conditions.

All my cameras have their place and role to play and I'm sure I could come up with an argument to add a new compact system camera to my kit bag! If I was forced to give them all up except one I would hang onto an SLR - and it would be my mighty Canon 5D - I'll blog on why it knocks the socks off my 350d and 40d another day!

Whatever you decide to do, make use of the internet and read lots of reviews. Stay away from manufacturers’ reviews initially as they will be biased and stick to web sites that offer independent reviews e.g. http://www.cameras.co.uk/ but there are many others

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!