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How to choose a photography workshop

May 20, 2015

Over the last few months I have really enjoyed sharing some fabulous photography tips and ideas and even more so because so many of you have come out and told me how useful you’ve found it – thank you for that! Today is the last post of this series and I wanted to share my recent experience of attending an inspiring photography workshop and my tips for choosing one for yourself. I knew I wanted to attend a course as I really want to improve my photography skills. Learning to improve your photography skills from written tips and e-courses is possible and can help a lot, but there is no substitute for going to a workshop and being taught in person, especially by photographers you already admire. So if like me you want to take your photography to the next level, then I highly recommend taking a beginners course which will get that expensive camera off auto mode – sound familiar?

Last weekend I went to A Happy Capture workshop which is taught by Abigail Fahey and Suzi Bowles both of whom are very talented family photographers with very different styles. Both have contributed tips to my photography series so I already knew and loved their work. They’ve recently started workshops held in Cobham, Surrey – a suburb just outside South West London. The workshop was held in a beautiful venue called the Medicine Gardens which is a walled Victorian garden with quaint cafe’s, workshops and art galleries tucked behind the garden walls. It was a full day course and had me engaged from the moment we started till the very end. I’m so glad I chose to go on it and if you’re thinking of a course, I totally recommend it but if you’re not in the area then I have some suggestions on how to find a course that’s right for you.

Photography courses can be expensive and you’re not likely to do more than one or two (unless of course you want to go pro). So it’s worth taking a little time to choose the right one for you and it will really pay off. I’ve done one before A Happy Capture which was completely un-inspiring and I ended up learning nothing. It probably wasn’t a bad course but was not the right fit for me being too techy and focusing too much on technique and numbers rather than creativity. So here are some tips on how to choose a photography workshop to make sure you get the most out of it:

1. It might sound obvious but look at the work of the photographer/s behind the course. Does his/her style inspire you? Do they photograph subjects that are similar to what you want to photograph? Read their website and any information you can find about them to check that they are the right match for you.

2. Most of us here are mums who may also be bloggers so our aim is to improve our everyday photos of our kids, our holidays and our life to keep as memories and perhaps share on our blogs. We don’t want too much technical knowledge or technical speak that will just mean nothing to us. So read the course details to see what’s covered and always check the level of the course – beginner, intermediate or advanced.

3. The venue is almost as important as the teacher as it tells you so much about what the photography workshop is going to be like. And if the workshop is held in an inspiring place it will help you get your creative juices flowing too. The first course I did was held in a small dark room with bare walls and one small window where everyone sat facing one of those bare walls! As you can imagine it did nothing to inspire me at all. But A Happy Capture was held in a beautiful room contained within a stunning walled Victorian Garden – this venue had me excited from the moment I got there.

4. Think about what you want to get out of the course and write down questions before you go otherwise you are likely to forget. If you’re an absolute beginner and don’t know what exactly you want, write a basic list and take along pictures that inspire you. Also carry photos you’ve clicked that you want to improve on. I loved that Suzi and Abigail asked us each to send them one or two photos we’re proud of before the workshop – this really made me think about what I like about my photography and what I don’t and helped me think about my questions.

5. Find out what happens after the workshop. With A Happy Capture Suzi and Abigail have set up a facebook group for past students to interact with each other and help each other and Suzi and Abigail pop in too and answer questions and critique your photos. I’ve already been taking part in the group and been learning even more.

6. Preferably always go by a recommendation rather than just picking a course off the internet. By recommendation I mean a like-minded friends suggestion but also your own experience of a photographer. Perhaps you have had photos taken by a pro you really admire and they do courses or you have just admired somebody’s work from afar, maybe on instagram. I have known and admired Abigail’s work for a long time and recently discovered Suzi’s both of which I like a lot. So when they recently launched their courses, I knew I had found the course for me and I wasn’t wrong.

So that’s what I would suggest on how to choose a photography workshop. Don’t make my initial mistake and attend a photography course that isn’t suited to you. I have seen the difference of what the right workshop can do for you. One of the things I wanted to get better at was taking dark and moody shots especially of Anya. I wanted to capture her face, her personality and her expressions in a natural, un-posed way but with a strong element of moodiness in the pictures. Above are a few shots I took after attending the workshop and while they’re not perfect I can honestly say they are far better than anything I have taken before (compare these to the one I shared on this post which was taken before the workshop when trying to do something similar). So a little research beforehand can really go a long way in finding the right workshop for you.

If you’re interested in learning more about A Happy Capture workshops, visit the website and feel free to get in touch with Abigail or Suzi – they’re both really helpful and very approachable. And if you haven’t already guessed, I couldn’t recommend them more. I learned so much in such a friendly, relaxed and creative environment which has given me the skills to experiment far more with my DSLR.

A very big thank you to all the talented photographers who contributed to my photography series and gave us such useful photography tips – Julia, Abigail, Lucy and Suzi. Gosh imagine getting all four of them in a room and learning from them?! Shame that can’t happen but the good news is that you can get two!

There are lots and lots of handy tips and ideas on photography in my previous articles which you’ll find here:
How to style your photos
How to photograph your newborn baby
How to organise your digital photos
How to grow your instagram following
How to photograph moving kids
The best photo filter apps
How to photograph kids using an iphone only
A mini photobook
A beautiful forever photobook

*I’ve linked up to Honest Mum’s Brilliant Blog Posts

A stunning atlas book for children (and adults)

May 18, 2015

If money were no object I think I would practically buy every single kids book out there. But since I can’t do that, I have to be selective about what I buy. And when I come across a fab book I always like to share it here. While browsing for new books today, I remembered a book that I bought a while ago but hadn’t shared here. And it’s definitely one worth recommending. It’s simply called Maps and is a series maps of a range of countries.

Traveling is a big part of our lives and with that goes learning about different countires, different food, different cultures and different people. This atlas book is a great introduction to learning more about the world we live in without leaving your home! When we first got the book Anya poured over it and was especially interested in looking for places she has visited. But since then both us of us often went back to the book and discovered something completely new about a country we haven’t visited. Each country’s map has many details of things like famous landmarks, animals that are local to that country, national food dishes and so much more all beautifully illustrated often with humour thrown in too. The book is large – nearly 40cms tall – making it easy for 2-3 kids to pour over it together or for you to snuggle up on the sofa and enjoy it with your kids. Also this large format adds to the striking looks of this book and this book is indeed very beautiful – think coffee table looks.

Maps by Aleksandra Mizielinska is a book that we’ll keep and enjoy for a long time. It’s the kind of book that once you have on your shelf, you’ll always go back to and it’s so enjoyable for adults and kids alike. This book makes a great gift too – I must have already gifted it about 3 or 4 times and have had great feedback from the recipients. Maps is definitely the best atlas book for kids that I’ve come across.

Friday chat: Conversations with my six year old

May 15, 2015

It’s Friday! To end the week I wanted to share some recent conversations I’ve been having with Anya. Some are funny and sweet while others are brutally honest – kids have no editing facility do they?!

On the theory of evolution:
Me explaining that many people believe that we started off as apes and evolved in to humans.
A: That’s wrong.
Me: Why?
A: We all start off as babies and become grown-ups.
(Can’t argue with that!)

Latest excuse not to sleep:
A: I’ve forgotten how to sleep. I really have.

Out of the blue one day:
A: Mama, why do you always have bags under your eye’s?
(That made me feel good – not! And how does she even know what under-eye bags are?)

We are in the midst of house renovations and living in one room. A lot of the rest of our home is still a building site so we can’t use it. I overheard her telling her teacher:
A: I have a broken house and my mum keeps me locked in one room.
(Oops! Luckily her teacher knows the situation!)

What are some of the funniest things your kids have said or even brutally honest things? I’d love to hear in the comments.

Have a wonderful weekend and lets hope for some sunshine! – nomita x

Black, white and beautiful!

May 14, 2015

Ever since I can remember I’ve been drawn to minimal, simple, monochrome style. When Anya was born and someone wanted to gift me a blanket for her, they asked what colour I wanted expecting a reply like pink or yellow. My reply was off white or black and white. My mum was horrified! Horrified that I was subjecting my child to a colourless life! But you know what – black, white and neutral tones can be so stunning in a kids room just like these decorations show us. I can’t help but be drawn to things like that cat poster and that gorgeously simple pear pillow. They can always be mixed with pops of colour so you can add as little or as much brightness as you like. I won’t be giving up my black and white obsession any time soon so I’ve found some gorgeous black and white kids room decorations to share with you:

A beautiful photo book + a discount

May 13, 2015

Over the last several weeks, I’ve shared lots and lots of tips on taking better photos on iphones and DSLR’s. I’ve also shared tips on editing and organising your digital photos. But perhaps the most important thing is what we do with all those thousands of photos. Ultimately we all want to take photo’s for one reason and one reason only – to capture and immortalise those fleeting moments of our lives. Those moments that mean so much to us. Big life moments like the birth of a child or a wedding somehow always manage to get captured and usually put in to albums. But it’s the hundreds of everyday photo’s and everyday memories that often get left sitting on a hard drive somewhere. And those are the very moments that make up our lives.

When Anya was born I decided I would make a photo book or album to document each year of her life. One book, once a year – how hard can that be? I did it for the first two years and then just gave up for lack of time and even laziness. But starting this photo series made me realise just how precious our photos are and how I needed to get them off my laptop and phone and on to paper. A few weeks ago I shared some mini photo books which are great for quick little albums especially for giving to friends and family. Today it’s about making forever photo books that I will hand down to Anya and hopefully one day my grandchildren (and beyond) will see it too. And there’s a special reader discount for you too.

I’ve searched high and low for the best and most beautiful photo books around and I think it has to be Artifact Uprising. Making a book from there has probably been on my to do list for two years and I finally did it. I chose the 8.5″ square format photo book because I love that shape but there is also a beautiful hardback cloth bound book that I will probably choose to make next time. I made a book documenting our life for a year from when Anya turned five. This included any holidays we took in that year and also just moments we want to remember like her Halloween costume, her 5th birthday party, her first school performance and so much more.

Artifact Uprising keep it simple and that’s why their photo books and other photo products are so stunning. I also love the matte, recycled paper they use – no shine in sight! I want my forever photo books to last forever and I know these will. These books are special and take time to make so it’s not about making them all the time but instead, just one a year. I’m feeling inspired to do something with all my important photo’s so that I can touch and hold them whenever I want. I hope today you too are inspired to get printing those beautiful memories of yours. Whatever you do, don’t leave them on that hard drive!

Artifact Uprising don’t often do sales but have offered my readers 10% off any of their photo offerings. The discount is valid for a week from today and ends on 20.05.2015. At checkout, just use the code: AUEBB10 This offer is open to readers worldwide. Enjoy!

There are lots more handy tips and ideas on photography in my previous articles which you’ll find here:
How to style your photos
How to photograph your newborn baby
How to organise your digital photos
How to grow your instagram following
How to photograph moving kids
The best photo filter apps
How to photograph kids using an iphone only
A mini photobook

A very special gift box

May 12, 2015

Did you know that in Finland every expectant mother gets a baby box as a gift from the government? The box contains all the newborn essentials she’s likely to need including clothes, bath products, nappies, a sleeping bag and even a mattress. This is such a lovely idea and for those of us not in Finland I’ve always thought it would make a great gift idea for a mum to be. It’s as if Almondella, a Finnish company read my mind because that’s exactly what they’ve done but taken it a step further. They’ve put together a range of monthly gift boxes for kids that aren’t just for newborns but for babies and toddlers.

Now they’ve gone even further and partnered with Peggy (the super stylish blogger behind Paul et Paula) and together created this great box of delights. Peggy thought why are these boxes for babies only, why not for older kids too? So she put together a gift box that is unisex and perfect not only for babies but for all kids up to 6 or 7 years old. The box contains fun decor items that will work in a nursery, a playroom or a kids room.

Peggy kindly sent me a box for Anya and when I opened it there was much excitement from Anya and me. Anya was immediately drawn to the iconic elephant money box (which needs no introduction) and the Evolution colouring book. The Evolution colouring book is a colouring book but so much more too. As well as colouring in the pages there are more interactive elements like flaps to lift, die-cut holes and stencils that can be drawn through and decorated. And then there is text that describes the evolution of life. So the book is fun to read, interact with and colour.

I was excited with all the bits that will work so well in Anya’s new room but my favourites are the animal poster and the wall sticker. The black and white animal poster has been created specially for this box so it’s not available elsewhere. And then you have a wall sticker – either ‘You are loved’ or ‘Grow Strong’. You don’t know which one you’ll get so it’s a nice little surprise. Lastly you have the cute sleepy hedgehog cushion.

I’m always looking for exciting and unusual gift ideas and this box would make a beautiful gift for any child. It’s a box of things that will grow with your child and they can keep for ages. And the best part is that you pay much less for all the things in the gift box than if you had bought them separately. This box is limited edition with only 50 boxes but I hope Peggy and Almondella will make more such boxes in the future because I so love the unisex, ageless aspect of it and of course the stylish Scandinavian delights inside it.

Mealtime doodling fun!

May 11, 2015

I’ve long been a big fan of Taro Gomi who I first discovered through the simple and very sweet book called My Friends which was Anya’s favourite book for ages when she was around two years old. But it’s been a while since I’ve checked out anything more by Taro Gomi until last week when I had a birthday party gift to buy for a six year old. I came across these fun doodle place mats and immediately bought it for the birthday girl.

Sitting still at the dining table is still a bit of a challenge for Anya and many of her friends too so I thought these doodle place mats are the perfect answer. They come in a book of 50 tear-off sheets and each page has a different drawing activity. There is already a doodle on each page and then there are some instructions like the images show. There are three different ones – animal, story and yummy. Not only do these fun place mats for kids make unusual gifts, they’re also handy for a kids birthday party and they would be great to take to restaurants to keep kids occupied while waiting for their food. I know Anya gets impatient at restaurants and asks to play with our phones which I don’t like to encourage. But I would have no objection to pulling out one of these sheets to keep her busy.

Fabulous French art for kids

May 7, 2015

I’m in love with this new French design studio – how great is their art? I love discovering new designers for a range of things but especially for kids art. Art like this that may be aimed at kids but really it’s ageless and will be loved by adults too. I’m loving the posters as well as those quirky animal trophies. Every child should have some art on their walls and I’m planning to have a lot in Anya’s new room – the only trouble is choosing from all the amazing kids art out there. But I think those animal trophies and that adorable juggler print are going to be hard to pass up! Visit Melanie, the designer’s shop to see the rest of her striking collection of kids art.

How to style your photos

May 6, 2015

It’s Wednesday and that means time for more photography tips. This week it’s all about styling your photos. I will start by saying I am no styling expert but over the years of writing this blog I have learned quite a lot about styling. I used to drool over the photos you find on pinterest and wonder how they did it. Then I decided to see if I could teach myself through some basic courses and practice. We all know one part of a great photo is the photography but the other part is how and where you place everything. Ordinary, everyday objects can look stunning with just a few styling tricks. As bloggers we all know how important our photo and styling skills are but also if you’re just interested in photography and want to learn a bit more about taking better looking shots, then these photo styling tips for beginners will help you create beautiful images.

1. Get inspired!
Before you even touch your camera and start trying to compose images, gather lots of inspiration. You can do this online or offline but with pinterest it’s so easy to do. I have set up 5-6 different secret boards by subjects that I’m interested in learning to style like food, toys and beauty. Any styled shot that appeals to me gets added to these boards and over time I have built up quite an inspiring selection of images. The plan here isn’t to copy but to get inspired and get ideas of ways to style your shots. In addition I write notes on each pin as you can see from the snapshot of my food styling board. I write what I like about that shot or why it’s inspiring me – is it the colours or the positioning of something or an unexpected touch that brings the image to life.

2. Practice, practice, practice
Once you’ve gathered some inspiration, grab your camera pick a few objects and get styling. The first few times you try, it may look nothing like you had hoped – I’ve been there! But don’t give up. As with most things, the more you practice the better you will get at it. And by practice I mean take a few household objects and put them together and photograph them. Move them around, put them on a different table, put them on the floor, on the bed, add objects, remove objects and just keep trying till you get a shot you like. This won’t happen in a day but over time you will train your eye in to learning which compositions work and which don’t.

3. Keep it simple
This is key. When you are starting to develop your styling skills, keeping it simple and small helps a lot. So to start with take a vase, a jar of make-up, one toy or a book and start styling that object with a few props. If you start trying to style a whole bedroom as a beginner it will feel overwhelming. Styling entire rooms or big gatherings or anything on a big scale comes with a lot more time and practice.

4. What’s your style?
Styling is all about style. As you practice, you will find that you are drawn to a particular style. This could be bright and light or dark and moody, it could be minimal, monochrome shots or shots bursting with colour. So choose your style and experiment with it. You are much more likely to produce great shots with a style you are naturally drawn to.

5. The props
Don’t go out and buy props – just look around you. Regular household objects can make fantastic props. The kitchen is my favourite place to go to find props and another great source of props are Anya’s toys especially the smaller ones. Also look in your garden (or a nearby park) – leaves, twigs, flowers all make great little props to add to a photo.

Speaking of props, if I buy something that comes in nice packaging or a nice jar, I always keep the jar once I’ve used up the product. I never go out and buy props as styling isn’t my job. Instead I collect interesting boxes, bottles, toy parts – anything that has a bit of beauty in it. For e.g. in the shot above that little glass bottle was some hair oil I bought and after using the oil I hung on to the bottle. I also went to a park next to my home and found a little flower to put in to it. The little vase just adds a bit more interest to the shot but it’s still a very simply styled shot.

6. Backgrounds and backdrops
Props are one aspect of styling a shot and another is the background. Look around your home – do you have a wall painted in a colour that would make a good background? Do you have a wallpapered wall? Do you have some interesting floor tiles? Or even some fun wrapping paper that you can use as a background? A tablecloth maybe? I use anything and everything that I can find in my home from walls to scraps of cloth that I can make a backdrop out of. I also occasionally buy some pretty tissue paper or wrapping paper if I come across something that catches my eye. Or else I just use a white wall as I love keeping my shots simple, white and bright. For e.g. In the picture above, I wanted to show some ingredients against a dark background to help them stand out. I found a piece of slate I had lying around and it made the perfect background. Don’t forget you will always crop your photo’s so the background doesn’t have to be huge.

7. Play with your angles
You’ve set up a shot and you keep clicking but it’s just not working. Of course you can move things around but instead try moving yourself! Photograph from above, from below, from the side, straight on, go in closer or take a step back and just keep playing with your angles. The same objects in a shot can look completely different when you change the angle just like in the example above. I didn’t move the trees at all when I took those two shots, I only moved myself and you can see how different each shot looks. The first just doesn’t work while the second is so much better as the little trees look like a forest which is the intention of the shot.

8. Just start
Nobody can become an amazing photo stylist in a day or a week or even a month. And the idea isn’t to become a top stylist but just to lift your photos and make them more interesting. You will see a huge improvement in you styling skills over a period of a few months if you practice often. Remember to take your first styled shot and keep it hidden away then after six months take a look at it and compare it to your latest shot. You will see a world of difference. The secret here is to get started so why not look around you now and see what you can photograph today.

So those are my top photo styling tips for beginners. For us bloggers it’s an important skill to have but also for anyone interested in photography or anyone who just wants to take better photos. Once you learn how to style your photo’s it will become addictive and you will realise it’s not so hard to make an ok photo look amazing just by adding a little thought and effort.

There are lots more handy tips and ideas on photography in my previous articles which you’ll find here:
How to photograph your newborn baby
How to organise your digital photos
How to grow your instagram following
How to photograph moving kids
The best photo filter apps
How to photograph kids using an iphone only
A mini photobook

*I’ve linked up to Honest Mum’s brilliant blog posts.

The Wolf’s Whistle

May 5, 2015

If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll know how much I love kids books. And every time I come across a great book, I love sharing it here. While I love many of the better known kids books, I also love searching for lesser known gems and today I have one such gem for you. The The Wolf’s Whistle is a book I am so glad I came across. At it’s simplest form it is a twisted tale of the Three Little Pigs and the big bad wolf. But this book is so much more. It could be the story of how the wolf came to be so bad or even how superheroes are made. It features a lone wolf called Albert who is a bit of a misfit. He and his group of three friends, none of whom really fit in, are tormented by the ‘honeyroast brothers’ – three enormous pigs! Albert has a dream of becoming a comic book artist and his story continues from childhood in to his adulthood where tragedy befalls him and yes the ‘honeyroast brothers’ are involved.

The Wolf’s Whistle is not only a great read but also the illustrations are beautiful. The drawings are created in a retro style which works so well with the story. The book is aimed at 5 to 8 year old kids but I think the upper end of this age group will appreciate it better. Anya enjoyed the story and loved looking at the pictures but couldn’t fully understand the subtleties in the book. For her it is a simple story of a good wolf and bad pigs but that is what is so appealing about this book – it will grow with her and I see her reading it several times over the years. I love this book for it’s originality and the beautiful illustrations.

Have you come across any lesser know kids books that are unmissable? Do let me know in the comments.