How to create a Facebook banner using Picasa (by Cheshire Photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

Would you like to know how to create a banner like this one for the top of your Facebook page, without using Photoshop and without having to spend money on templates? You can create it easily in Picasa, free software from Google, that helps you to organise, edit and share your photos. Once you've downloaded it and told it which files you keep your pictures in, then you're good to go. It's very easy to use and always preserves your original image, regardless of the editing you perform.

To create a Facebook banner like this, select the photos that you would like to appear in the collage and click on "create collage". I've written a blog on how to create collages so if you're not sure how to do it then take a look at it first. 

You need to make your collage the right size so that it displays correctly on Facebook, so when you are creating it and are selecting the dimensions you need to scroll to the end of the size options and create a custom size. If you enter 30 X 11 as the dimensions and then name it as. Facebook banner, it will always be there for you to use.

Click on the image to see a larger version

You can shuffle the images around in your collage until it looks like you want it to. Just bear in mind that much of the bottom lefthand image will be concealed by your profile picture once you upload the banner to Facebook.

This is how it should look on Facebook once you've uploaded it

Once you've clicked on "Create Collage" and it's finished you will need to re-size it as it will probably be a bit big for Facebook. You need to use the "Export" option at the bottom of the Picasa screen. If you're not sure how to do this I've also written a blog on this(!) so take a look. Re-sizing images in Picasa. I'd re-size this banner to around 1000 pixels.

I love creating different banners for Facebook and keeping it fresh and topical. This one is to celebrate my son's 11th birthday this week.

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!

So you've had a lovely new D-SLR camera for Christmas - what now? By Cheshire Photographer Jane Burkinshaw

Santa has been very generous and has given you your first digital SLR camera for Christmas. You've taken it out of its box, charged the battery, inserted a memory card and attached the strap - all pretty straight forward so far. You've even worked out how to set the time, date and language. Then you've turned to the next section in the manual and probably lost the will to live after about 5 minutes! Do the manufacturers not realise that manuals are mainly read by relative beginners who don't yet know their f-stops from their focal lengths?! The manual goes back in the box (with the CDs containing some software stuff that you don't think you need) and you switch the camera to the familiar green Auto setting. You take some pictures that seem to turn out all right - isn't it nice to have no delay when you take a photo and to be using something that feels like a proper camera.

However, after a little while you get frustrated. Some of your pictures are blurred and the flash fires when you don't always want it to. You had thought that by getting a decent camera you would be able to take much better pictures. You know that you're not using it to its full capability, settling instead for the "safe" Auto setting. You also think you might need another lens too, as the one you have doesn't zoom very far, but you don't know where to start and worry that you could make an expensive mistake.

Well, don't despair, as you are far from alone and help is at hand! The quickest way by far to get to grips with your new camera is to book on a course. You don't need to embark on a year long evening course, a half day or full day workshop will get you off to a great start and you can always book another at a later stage as you progress. There are lots of courses available now and you just need to shop around a bit to find one local to you, at the right level and concentrating on the right photographic subject.

If you live in the Northwest of England then look no further! I've got a full programme of courses for 2014, including courses for parents, bloggers, flower enthusiasts, as well as general beginners. I also offer bespoke sessions tailored to your skills level, camera type and preferred area of photography. I offer advice on what kit you need and what you don't! Although the magic is made in camera, you also need to know how to edit your pictures and I can share my expertise on that too.

You can also learn a great deal from reading books and browsing the internet. Personally I've found that this is only really useful once you've done a course to understand the basics, as many books and blogs assume you already understand apertures, shutter speeds, focal lengths etc.

In the meantime, whilst you decide what is best for you, here are my top tips on how to get started with your new camera:

• Shoot in natural daylight as much as possible - it's much nicer than flash. If indoors, open blinds & curtains and sit people so they are facing the window light.

• Use the P (Program setting) instead of fully automatic, as it still does all the important stuff for you, but won't fire the flash automatically.

• Look up in the manual how to see how fast your shutter speed is. To avoid blurred pictures it should be at least 1/125th of a second.

• If it's slower than this then all you need to do is increase the ISO number. Look up how to do this in the manual and then increase it until it gives you the shutter speed you need.

• If you have to use your flash then make sure you are no closer than 1 metre to your subject and no further away than 3 metres. Don't use the red eye setting, fix it later in a free editing programme like Picasa.

• Have your camera out and ready to use all the time so that you get in to the habit of taking lots of pictures. And do take lots at this stage, as you will learn from your mistakes.

• Look at other people's photographs  - in books, magazines and on forums like Flickr and Pinterest. Don't be afraid to copy their ideas in order to learn.

Good luck with your new gadget - with a bit of practise it will soon become your new best friend!

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!

5 reasons why you should do a photography project (by Cheshire Photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

All 366 images taken during my photo project in 2012
(Click to enlarge)

I love babies and (most) kids and for some crazy reason I like to earn a living by chasing them around with a camera, capturing natural photos of them and selling them to their parents. Newborn babies are my favourite subjects as they don't get about so much and because they are without exception extremely cute.

In 2011, however, I started to feel the desire to photograph something in addition to little people. I looked back fondly to my days as a mature photography student, when I worked on projects that made me explore different photography techniques, use various forms of lighting, photograph everyday mundane objects and create striking images. For an assignment called "Silhouettes" I even photographed a Barbie doll being chased down a dark corridor by a wooden mannequin!

During yet another evening of browsing online photography forums I came across the concept of taking and posting a photograph a day for a year. I was immediately hooked and 1st January 2012 I began my 366 project with a shot of empty bottles from our New Year's Eve party. I posted the image on my Facebook page for Picture It Big and on a website called The 365 Project (www.365project.org). As each day went by I got more support and comments on my images and was spurred on to keep posting. I even felt as if I would be letting people down if I didn't. This played a big part in ensuring that I stuck at it for the whole year. 14th December 2012 was my only major fail when I completely forgot to take a shot and uploaded a picture of our calendar with a big red "F" for fail scribbled on it.

A friend presenting my photo book at a networking event

I've just got round to completing a photo book containing all the images, a truly rewarding task seeing all my hard work presented over 98 pages. It struck me again how much I gained from this year long project and I want to share with fellow photography enthusiasts seven reasons  why they should take up some sort of photography project or challenge.

1. Get out of a rut 

If you feel like you are shooting the same old stuff all the time and not feeling very creative, then an exciting and challenging project is just what you need to make you feel a renewed enthusiasm and creativity. Before long I was digging lenses out of my camera bag that I hadn't used for months or even years. I had been shooting kids on the Av setting for years and it was fun to start using Tv and experiment with  long exposures to blur movement or to capture the sky at night. I started to use different effects in Photoshop - selective colour, filters. I played around with still life on different backgrounds, reflective surfaces, using natural light, reflectors and continuous light. I tackled street photography and photographing strangers - way out of my comfort zone. Some days I used a DSLR, other days all I had was my camera phone or a compact. Some of my favourite images were with my phone where you are forced to work really hard getting the composition right.

2. Improve your photographic skills

I am amazed at how much my photography improved over the course of the year and what I had learned. It's easy to stick to what you know especially when you are working to deadlines but but we can all learn new stuff if we put our minds to it. I started to shoot on Manual for the 365 project and before long I was doing it during all my professional shoots too. I learned how useful Live View is in making sure your focusing is spot on.

3. Train your eye to see images everywhere

At the risk of sounding like a geek I was getting out of bed in the morning already thinking about what that day's image would be. I'd turn my breakfast plate around wondering how to capture bacon in an interesting way or stare at ripples in puddles as I walked the dog. You can find a creative shot anywhere when you put your mind to it.

4. "Meet" like-minded people

I've already said that without the support of people on Facebook and The 365 Project I would probably have given up, missed days out. It was so rewarding and motivating to get comments from people in countries on the over side of the world and to see their images, which opened a window on their worlds - exotic flowers and birds, different cultures, amazing scenery. People's pictures and their commentary could be quite personal and revealing about their lives, as we often use our cameras to mark significant life events. During 2012 we lost my husband's mum and then our boxer dog died of cancer a few months later and we received a great deal of support from the online forums.

5. Create a visual record of a period in your life

What I didn't expect out of the project was to get such a great visual diary of a year in our lives. Inevitably I took pictures of the everyday, the mundane as well as celebrations, holidays and special occasions. I never tire of browsing through the images, seeing the seasons change, remembering what we doing and where we were when I took the picture. It was a good year for Britain with the Golden Jubilee and the Olympics and this is reflected with a shot of the Olympic Torch in our local town and lots of union flags in other shots.

If you'd like to see the photobook I created and had printed click on the link.

http://www.bobbooks.co.uk/bookshop/366-days-through-my-lens

I hope you are inspired to start your own project. It doesn't have to be for a year and it could be on a particular subject. I've recently been doing 50 days with a 50mm lens (not quite so successfully!). I also bought a book called "Photocrafty: 75 creative camera projects for you and your digital SLR" by Sue Venables and there's definitely some inspiration in there.

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!

50/50 project #19-29 (Photography courses Cheshire with Picture It Big)

50 days with a 50mm lens

On our recent holiday in Pembrokeshire I had loads of opportunities to do the daily 50/50 shot and managed to keep it going throughout. Where I fell down was getting access to my laptop and precious WiFi - the kids won out each time so I hardly posted any of my shots. So here they all are - day 19 through to day 29, each with a brief commentary. It's been fun looking back on what we got up to - what would we do without photos to bring back those precious memories?

Day 19 Coastal Flora and fauna

The amazing colours, textures and smell of the heathers and ferns on the cliff tops and along the coastal paths remind me so much of childhood holidays in the UK.

Day 20 Walking (sitting) on water

We tried to balance days at the beach with more active days and all absolutely loved Heathertons Activity Park. They even let dogs in so Ferb got to watch us on the zip wire, go karts, golf, shooting, zorbing and more!

Day 21 Pebbles

What is it about pebbles on the beach? Sam and Nic loved skimming them across the surface of the waves and Ferb tried pointlessly to retrieve them (dumb dog!), whilst Abi and I hunted out special ones and built towers.

Day 22 Rusty mooring at Porth Clais 

A morning's kayaking instruction for the kids led to us discover a beautiful little harbour just outside St David's called Porth Clais. It was very sheltered, perfect for learning how to kayak and with a tiny National Trust cafe it was unspoilt and quiet. Whilst the children paddled off into the distance we watched families arriving to drop crab lines off the side of the slipway and read our books in the warm sunshine.

Day 23 Rusty railings in Solva

Solva is a lovely little port (best seen at high tide) with a clutch of shops and galleries and a very nice pub. A restaurant called the Old Pharmacy had closed down since we were last there and was on sale for £295k - we were tempted!

Day 24 Catching some rays in cool shades

We soon worked out that the boys got bored sunbathing whilst Abi and I were happy to sit for hours and people watch at the beach. My little girl is growing up fast.

Day 25 Early evening in Porth Clais

We headed up the coastal path to a rocky outcrop for a spot of early evening fishing but I feared for Ferb's life as he leapt across the rocks, so I took him down to safety of the harbour. This time the tide was out and we walked along the beach where boats were moored high and dry, waiting for the tide to turn.

Day 26 Meet Philippe Phlop

Family holidays are great for forcing you all to spend time together and I really enjoyed the banter and jokes. I can't even remember why we named my flip flops Philippe Phlop but it stuck and had us in hysterics (almost certainly one of those times when you had to be there for it to be even remotely funny!)

Day 27 In search of Dobby

Dobby the house elf was laid to rest in the dunes at Freshwater West so we went looking for his grave (as you do if you have Potterheads in the family). We expected at least a sign post or a gift shop with a few bits of Potter paraphernalia, but there was nothing apart from a spectacular windswept beach and a top beach deli.

Day 28 Surf's up at Whitesands Bay

Following a day of strong winds and driving rain (the only one in 14 days) the sky cleared in the late afternoon and we headed down to Whitesands for a walk. The high winds meant that the waves were big and the surfers were out in force. I could have sat for hours watching the waves with the sun and wind on my face.

Day 29 Doggy days

Taking a dog on holiday can be a bit restricting - many beaches don't allow dogs in the summer, you can't leave them in the car in warm weather, they can't be left in the caravan for hours on end and you have to sit outside pubs and restaurants with them. But Ferb went everywhere with us and looked as if he had an amazing holiday with his humans. He swam in the sea with the kids, dug holes on dog friendly beaches or just lay down to sleep next to us - Nic even used him as a pillow when he snoozed on one beach.

If you'd like to see more pics from our Pembrokeshire holiday watch out on the blog over the coming weeks as I'm putting a digital scrapbook together.

If you'd like to learn how to take great holiday pics get in touch to book a workshop or one to one class with me. Details are on the Picture It Big website.

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!

For the love of dogs (by Cheshire Photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

You’re either a dog person or you’re not - no halfway house nor sitting on the fence about whether you like them or would have one as a pet. If you’re in the “don’t like” camp, you probably see them as loud, dirty, smelly, messy, unruly, destructive, slobbery, hairy, a restriction on your freedom and possibly even downright scary and dangerous. Non dog lovers (I won’t go so far as to call them dog haters - they just don’t like them or “get” them) are usually more forgiving towards cute little puppies. That is until they leave puddles and steaming piles around the house and garden! I suppose if you look at all these negatives then it’s surprising that anyone even lets these nuisance canines into their houses, never mind on sofas and beds (53% of dog owners let their pet sleep on their beds*)!

But with approximately 23% of UK households owning at least one dog, and a UK dog population of around 8 million**, many of us must be willing to put up with their less pleasant attributes, feeling that they are outweighed by the benefits of sharing our homes and our lives with a dog.

We had a succession of pet dogs when I was a child - Copper, Jason, Muffin and Penny (two boxers, a springer spaniel and a golden retriever). I remember Copper being a bit fat and old, but very gentle, Jason farted for England, Muffin would bite your hand off if you went near her when she was eating and Penny shadowed you everywhere. Following a long period where I had to make do with visiting my parents’ and brother’s boxers - Chloe and Basil - we finally found ourselves in 2007 in a domestic and work situation which allowed us to have our very own dog at last! I felt I was immensely well prepared, having come from such good dog-owning stock and without hesitation we decided to choose a boxer - well it was in the family after all!

However, we were soon to learn that having a dog around the house to cuddle and occasionally play horsey on (as a child!) is very different to actually being responsible for all its needs and training! Boxers are notoriously boisterous and require a lot of hard work and time to train as we found out.

It’s easy to see why the campaign “Dogs are for life, not just for Christmas” is necessary. Puppies are simply irresistible and it’s so easy to fall head over heels in love with every single one. We fell  for Daisy from the moment we saw her aged just 4 weeks. She was like a little pot bellied pig with wrinkles of super soft skin everywhere. Her dad, Tom, put his front paws on my shoulders and peed on me - I assume he was giving his seal of approval for us to take one of his babies away. We couldn’t wait until she was old enough to come and live with us.

She came to us in August 2007 and immediately became a huge part of the family.

Apologies to Paul O'Grady and ITV for nicking their phrase but it's so apt.

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!

50/50 project #12/50 New Converse! (by Cheshire photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

Day 12. New Converse!

50 days with a 50mm lens
Technical stuff: Canon 5D, 1/160, f/2.2, ISO 100, manual exposure

Abii has been waiting an age for these to arrive - a very late birthday present. They are custom designed and say "POTTERHEAD" up the back, homage to her love of all things Harry Potter / Daniel Radcliffe related.

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!

50/50 Project 10/50 Bee on heuchera flower (by Cheshire photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

Day 10. Bee on a heuchera flower

50 days with a 50mm lens

Technical stuff: Canon 5D, 1/1000, f/1.8, ISO 125, Aperture Priority

There are plenty of bumble bees in our garden at the moment, but they aren't very obliging when you try to photograph them, only settling for a few seconds at a time. It makes it very hard to photograph them at extremely low apertures as you have to be spot on with the focusing.

I took this from above (and many more very similar to it but with blurred bees) and love the contrast of the flowering spires of the heuchera with the dark soil below.

The 50mm lens survived being dropped and the front element falling out. It's very noisy on focusing and I'm still eyeing up the f/1.4 - need to save up though!

The sharp eyed amongst you will have noticed that I've switched to the Canon 5d. This has made quite a difference as it has a full frame sensor, meaning that the 50mm focal length is now actually 50mm, rather than the 80mm equivalent focal length that I was getting on the 350D which has a cropped sensor. I wasn't being too precious about this as I really liked the ease and convenience of carrying the much lighter and smaller 350D around everyday. But on the 5D the 50mm lens gives a considerably bigger / wider view and I know I'll get much better performance at lower ISOs. So from now on it's 5D all the way.

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!

50/50 Project: #2/50 Windswept man (by Cheshire photographer Jane Burkinshaw)

Day 2. Windswept man

50 days with a 50mm lens

Technical data: 1/400, f/3.5 ISO 100. Aperture Priority.

We went shopping in a very hot Manchester city centre today and came across this strangle windswept man - especially as there wasn't a breath of wind! He's a street artist - what a strange way to earn a living. Perhaps his wife thinks he's actually going out to work in an office each 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!

A new photography project - 50/50 (photography course Cheshire)

I've really missed doing the 366 project I did right through 2012, when I took and posted a photo every single day. It wasn't always easy (at times it was a downright chore done at 11pm at night!) but I learned so much and enjoyed swapping comments with other people in 365 forums.

I was chatting with another photographer a few weeks ago and he suggested that I do something else this year that wasn't such a big commitment but would give me scope to be creative - a 50/50 project. My brain was trying to work out how a project could be half and half of anything but he put me out my misery and clarified that it was 50 days using a 50mm lens. I was hooked straight away as I have a 50mm lens that I adore using but haven't had out the bag much recently.

(Pic taken on my lovely HTC One camera phone)

This is a Canon 50mm f/1.8 mk II prime lens and cost me around £90. To cut through the jargon / numbers it is a lens that doesn't zoom (to get closer to your subject you move yourself), it isn't very wide angle and is often used for portraits. The low aperture of f/1.8 means that you can get very creative with soft focus and also it lets in lots of light so is good in low light conditions. Not bad for £90 and a favourite of wedding photographers.

I used this lens a fair bit last year for the 366 project until I bought a new telephoto 28-300mm lens from Tamron which quickly became my favourite toy. So I'm looking forward to pushing the boundaries a little more this time with the 50mm lens.

366 photos taken in 2012 with 50mm lens

I hope you'll follow my daily photos for the next 50 days and let me know what you think of them. If you're doing a photography project at the moment I'd love to hear about it. And don't forget that I run courses in digital photography and offer one to ones designed around your needs. Find out more about my photography courses on the website.

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!

How to take great summer photos - Tip 7 (Cheshire photography course with Jane Burkinshaw)

And here's the final installment for this series on how to take sizzling summer shots:

ENHANCING, ENJOYING & SHARING YOUR PHOTOS

You haven't taken all this trouble to take some great photos only to leave them languishing on your hard drive, so the next step is to edit them and create stuff. If you're not very confident at image editing - or you just don't have the time, then you should consider using some of the straight forward software that's available. Two great examples are Picasa and Picmonkey and they are both free. I prefer Picasa because it's the one I've used for ages and has been developed by Google. Lots of people love Picmonkey and it looks good but certain features are only available if you upgrade whereas Picasa is 100% free.

I'm not going to go into loads of detail here on how to use these applications - they are both straight forward and intuitive so the best thing is to play around with them. You can crop, straighten, change the exposure, recolour, add great effects, make collages, share on line and by email and lots more. Although I edit all my professional work using Photoshop I often use Picasa to show images to clients and I am a HUGE fan of collages. See my earlier blog on how to make collages.

If you want to try more sophisticated editing but feel a bit intimidated by Photoshop you should try Photoshop Elements and if you know someone who is in education or at school then you can buy it more cheaply. Also you can try before you buy by downloading a 30 day trial.

To see the difference between a non edited and an edited pic see below - it really is worth learning how to use editing software if you're keen on photography.

I'm a big fan of photo books too and can't remember when I last used an album (all those plastic pockets and pics that fall out of them!). Photo books are really easy to do and there's a huge choice of companies doing them now. My favourite is Bobs Books for quality and great colour reproduction but they are not the cheapest. I've also used Photobox and Albelli for cheaper options and many people swear by Blurb for really great value.

This book on our holiday in Cornwall was made with Bobs Books and you can read more about how I made it in my blog.

And why stop at books when you can share your images on mugs, key rings, jigsaws, placemats - you name it and I think you can probably get a photo printed on it! I use Snapfish for travel mugs (love my coffee whilst I'm travelling!) but again there are lots of companies. Look out for all the offers and you can get some really great deals.

I hope I've inspired you with this series of blogs on Top Tips for Sizzling Summer Shots. If you need any help I offer one to one tuition tailored to your requirements (in the Cheshire, Manchester area).

May this weather last into August when I'll be heading off to South Wales with my photobook half visualised in my mind!

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!

How to take great summer photos - tip 6 (Cheshire photography course with Picture It Big)

This is my favourite of the top tips so far...

BE CREATIVE, EXPERIMENT AND HAVE FUN!

This sounds like it could be the introduction to a totally different topic, but we are still talking photography!

Digital photography is brilliant because you can play about as much as you like, take dud pictures and just delete them - at no cost. With apps and different settings you can get some really great effects. I've never done Instagram personally, only because I'm an android girl, but I've got some great apps on my phone that I use a lot for my fun photos. My favourite is Retro Camera - it's really easy to use and has about 6 or 7 different camera effects.

Most of the pics on the left have been taken using this app and a few had effects applied in Picasa - free image editing software from Google (more on this in the 7th and final post of this series).

A word of caution - don't over do the effects - don't use them for every picture and make sure it's still a photo worth taking. It should still be well composed, in focus and correctly exposed. Don't use effects to disguise a bad photo - it never works.

I like to make photo books, calendars and all sorts of stuff so that I can enjoy and share my photos (again more on this in tomorrow's post), and this sort of fun, creative shot gives some variety to whatever it is I'm making.

I also like to capture shots of details that remind me of my holiday or that special day. I love trying to do abstract shots too. This next collage has some great examples.

The more you experiment the more you learn so get playing with those settings and apps!

And if you like the collages learn how to create them in Picasa by reading my blog about it! Here to serve!

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!

How to to take great summer photos - TIP 3 (Cheshire photography course with Picture It Big)

With all this gorgeous sunny weather this one will be very useful for you:

HOW TO TAKE GREAT PICTURES OF PEOPLE IN BRIGHT SUNSHINE

Lovely weather makes us all feel happy and we go to lots of events where people are enjoying themselves in the sunshine - the perfect time to take photos of friends and family. But actually the bright sunlight makes it difficult to get good shots. People's faces can be hidden in dark shadows or they are squinting into the sun.

Shade creates the perfect light conditions for photographs, so if you can, ask your subject to move fully into the shade and make sure there's no bright sunlit area in the background. The contrast between the shade and the brightness tricks the camera and can still make your subject too dark. So a fully shady area. Make sure your flash is switched off as you want to make the most of the lovely even light.

In this shot Abii is shaded by a covered seating area and the light is coming from the left

Sometimes you can't move people into the shade so if you want a shot without dark shadows on faces then switch your flash on. Use the "Forced flash on" setting which is the lightening symbol without the A for automatic next to it. This will light up the dark areas on your subject's face. The effect is not as nice as shade but much better than without flash.

When you use flash stand at least 1 metre away and no further than 3 metres away.

Watch out if people are wearing hats that shade their face. Flash can help but ideally push the hat back a bit or take it off. Also if they seem to be squinting because the sun is behind you, move so that they don't have to face the sun so directly.

Eve with hat shading her eyes

This is much better!

Simples! You can apply all of this to animal portraits too of course! These guys were very obliging when I asked them to take their hats off and move into the shade. Such posers!

Simples!

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!

How to to take great summer photos - TIP 2 (Cheshire photography course with Picture It Big)

OK, today's tip is a great one:

HOW TO MAKE YOUR SUBJECT FEEL COMFORTABLE

I hate standing and having my picture taken! I don't know how to stand, what to do with my hands and I'm convinced I'm going to look embarrassed and awkward - and I did!

Until, that is, I learned to pose people myself and now I feel much more comfortable. I hardly ever stand if anyone wants to take my picture - I lean or sit because I know I feel so much more relaxed and I look at ease.

Izzi looks very relaxed in front of the camera

And again here she is looking chilled out sitting down

This really works and results in lovely natural shots. Keep talking to the person you are taking a photo of and don't take ages! Sort your camera settings out first and then get them to pose for you.

This is a great pose and has resulted in a lovely shot of Sam

In the shot above of Izzi and Abii, they look very relaxed but also this shot works because there is a lovely vibrant background behind them and also they have put their heads close together. This would work well cropped in tighter around their heads and shoulders too.

And here's a pic that Abii took of Izzi on a compact camera - I did an edit on it for her but what a lovely shot - by a 12 year old!

So there you have another very simple but really effective tip! Look out for tomorrow's on the blog!

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!

The Exposure Triangle - what is it and why do you need to know? (Cheshire photography course with Picture It Big)

Click on the image to see a larger version

If you've started to wander off the AUTO setting on your camera and are having a play with the Aperture (Av / A) or Shutter (Tv or S) setting, you'll have noticed that when you alter one, the other changes at the same time. This is because they work together to make sure that your picture will be correctly exposed.

Just in case I've already used a bit of jargon that's confusing, let's cover that off first.

The obvious question you might be asking at this point is why would you change the aperture or the shutter speed, rather than let the camera do it all for you on AUTO? Well it puts you in control of the type of image that you take, rather than pointing and shooting, you are determining the outcome and can get creative. Probably the whole reason you splashed out and bought a bridge or SLR camera rather than sticking with a compact. (Some compact cameras do allow you to set the aperture and shutter speed and all this applies to those too!)

So, first of all, why would you want to change the aperture? Have you ever wondered how you get that amazing soft focus, blurred areas in a photograph, whilst the point of focus is still completely sharp, like in the picture of the baby? Aperture, that's how! Set a low aperture like f/2.8 (which crazily is a big opening in the lens) and you'll get a lovely soft background. This makes your subject stand out nice and crisp and opens up a whole world of creativity. This is also called a narrow or shallow Depth of Field.

If you set a high aperture number like f/16+ then your image will be in focus from front to back. Typically you might do this with landscapes. And whilst you're in control of the aperture, your camera is setting the right shutter speed to get the exposure right.

So, what about shutter speed? This is how long the opening in the lens is open for and it can be anything from the tiniest fraction of a second through to several seconds. If you select a fast shutter speed any movement is frozen - anything higher than 1/500th of a second is considered quite fast. Slow shutter speeds blur movement and can be used to great creative effect. If you use a slow shutter speed - anything less than 1/60th of a second, you need to rest the camera on a flat surface or use a tripod to avoid camera shake.

I started off this blog by saying that aperture and shutter speed work together to get the right exposure. In order for a picture to be correctly exposed the opening in the lens needs to let in enough light onto the camera sensor. If you have selected a small opening, then it needs to stay open longer than if you selected a large opening - simple isn't it?!

But sometimes there simply isn't enough available light to do what you want to do. A situation I've faced a number of times is photographing a child running along a forest path, where the overhead canopy of leaves has reduced the amount of light. The camera is on its lowest aperture setting (biggest opening in the lens), but the shutter speed is still too slow to freeze the child's movement. I don't want to use the flash as it's so flattening and it wouldn't reach the child anyway. But there's another option available to me, thank goodness - the third part of the Exposure Triangle, the ISO setting.

ISO determines how sensitive to light the camera's sensor is. In the olden days of film (!) you could buy reels of film that were more or less sensitive to light and your digital camera's ISO setting is the equivalent of this. The higher the ISO number, the more sensitive to light. So in nice bright conditions you use a low ISO number - 80-200 and in duller conditions you could use a higher one like 800+.

When you use a high ISO number you will find that your shutter speed increases - yay! The only downside to high ISO numbers is that you can get a grainy effect in your images. It depends on your camera how pronounced this is. Top end cameras handle high ISOs well, whereas compact cameras can be notoriously bad. If you leave the ISO set on AUTO the camera will decide what to do for you. Call me a control freak but I prefer to know what it's doing!

So there you have the three settings that make sure your pictures are correctly exposed:

Aperture
Shutter Speed
ISO

And I've even created a handy Exposure Triangle diagram to help you remember it all!

Click on the image to see a larger version

I can bring all this to life for you in a bespoke one to one photography class, tailored to your requirements. To find out more or to book click here.

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!