Learn how to get started with macro photography, from which gear you need, to camera settings and composition! Macro photography has been an unexpected joy for me in my photography journey. . It allows you to see the world in a whole new way, and appreciate the beauty that can be found everywhere if you get close enough! So many people come to me and say that they would like to try macro too, but they don’t know where to start. So that’s exactly what we are going to look at today - how to get st...
Jul 24, 2024•13 min•Ep. 70
How to find more time in your day for learning photographyWhenever I ask people about what the number one thing is that is holding them back from learning photography, one of the most common answers I get is not having enough time! I can definitely relate to that - most of us are struggling, trying to juggle several plates at the same time, so learning photography can get shunted down to the bottom of the pile. Although I can’t help you add more hours to your day, I can try to help you work smar...
Jul 17, 2024•22 min•Ep. 69
The 5 must-know editing tips to help you edit your photos like a pro! If you have been following Live Snap Love for a while, you'll know that I LOVE editing photos. It’s a HUGE part of photography for me, because it's another area where I get to be creative, or get the photo looking exactly the way I want it to look! Editing is like the icing on the cake or the seasoning on your food - you might not technically need it, but without it, your photos can be a little bland and uninteresting. But the...
Jul 09, 2024•17 min•Ep. 68
How many times have you heard that in order to get the best photos, you should try to shoot in the Golden Hour, in other words, the hour right before sunset or just after sunrise? Probably a lot! However, many times, we simply cannot shoot at that time of day. Maybe we’re taking our kids to the beach or the park later in the day, or we’re photographing a wedding that is happening in the afternoon, or we’re on holiday and sightseeing during the day, or maybe you’re in business and your clients ca...
Jul 02, 2024•10 min•Ep. 67
There has been a lot of chatter recently about the use of AI in photography, especially as Photoshop's AI tools have been growing steadily, and very recently both Lightroom and Lightroom Classic introduced a new generative AI tool inside Lightroom, making it even more accessible to use AI on your images. So where do YOU draw the line when it comes to the use of AI in photography? I'm definitely no expert in AI but it did prompt me to think more closely about the use of AI in my own work! From ta...
Jun 25, 2024•21 min•Ep. 66
Over my 17 years of practicing and learning photography, I have had plenty of a-ha moments or changes I have implemented that have totally changed my photos for the better. So today on the podcast I am sharing just three of these, but these three are ones that you can do today (as in right this minute!) and they don’t require any new equipment, spending money or learning anything too complicated! Tune in today and learn the 3 simple changes you can make today that will change your photos forever...
Jun 18, 2024•16 min•Ep. 65
In need of a new photography project for summer? Then I've got you covered! In this episode of the Photography Made Simple podcast, I'm giving you 4 ideas of photography projects you can do that will help you document summer, get more creative photos, or just motivate you to pick up your camera. Whether you are photographing your young family, or you’re retired and capturing your travels or you just want to capture the beauty of your days and the world around you, there will be a summer photogra...
Jun 11, 2024•16 min•Ep. 64
The way that you show movement or motion in your photos can give your images a totally different look and feel, and today on the podcast, we are looking at all the different ways you can capture it! Using motion is a great way to make your images look more creative, have stronger compositions, or just play and have fun! You can choose to freeze the motion, have motion blur in the background, have motion blur on your subject, introduce motion blur just by camera movement and even do time lapse ph...
Jun 04, 2024•15 min•Ep. 63
As much as I love using Lightroom Classic for editing my photos, it doesn’t mean that it can do absolutely everything you need! There’s a damn good reason why Adobe bundled both Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC together in their Photography Plan - because when you have access to both programs, you can do absolutely anything your little editing heart desires! But when should you use Photoshop - and what can it do that Lightroom Classic can’t? That’s exactly what we’re covering today on the p...
May 28, 2024•22 min•Ep. 62
Choosing a lens can feel like a difficult and overwhelming task- there is so much choice that it can be hard to narrow it down and decide which would be the best lens for YOU. Let’s face it, lenses are expensive, so it’s an important thing to get right! Although you can always sell your lenses if they turn out not to be the one for you, it’s easier and more cost effective to get it right the first time. So today on the podcast, I’m going to walk you through 8 questions you should ask yourself wh...
May 14, 2024•26 min•Ep. 61
This week’s episode is a little bit of an indulgent one, because I’m talking all about the courses we have at Live Snap Love, and the biggish changes we are making to these in 2024, and what we have coming up! If you are new to the world of Live Snap Love, then you’ll learn exactly what courses are coming up, so you can see what might suit you based on where you currently are on your photography journey, and what you need help with. And if you’ve been here a while and were planning on taking one...
May 07, 2024•18 min•Ep. 60
Do you know how to find beautiful, dramatic, interesting light for your photos? Light is EVERYTHING in photography. Good light will illuminate your subject, draw your eye to what you want the viewer to focus on, minimize distractions, make images more dramatic or magical, give them a three dimensional quality and just generally make our images more compelling and unique. Thats why learning how to see the light, use it in different ways, and be able to control or manipulate it is crucial for phot...
Apr 23, 2024•15 min•Ep. 59
Learning how to use and modify light is essential for taking your photos to the next level in photography because how you use and control the light will determine how your photos turn out! One tool you can use to modify and shape light is called a reflector. If you’ve heard people talking about using a reflector, but weren’t quite sure what it does, or indeed whether you need one, then I created this episode for you! Simply put, a reflector is simply a tool that will help you change or mold the ...
Apr 16, 2024•12 min•Ep. 58
Light is the single most important element of your photo, and is one that can lift a mediocre, mundane scene into something incredible and awe-inspiring. That’s why learning how to use light to its full potential is so incredibly important if you want to take your photos to the next level. However, I understand that working with natural light can seem a little overwhelming at first, because you don’t get to choose the light you are given on any particular day! But that doesn’t mean you don’t hav...
Apr 09, 2024•15 min•Ep. 57
“What do all these numbers on these camera lenses actually mean?!” This was one of my very first questions I had when buying my first DSLR and I don’t mind telling you, it took me a little while to figure out! So in this week’s episode, I’m going to break down what the numbers on your camera lens actually mean, so that you can figure out how a particular lens will perform, and therefore whether it is the right lens for you. Tune into today’s episode to learn: What the numbers before the mm mean ...
Mar 26, 2024•24 min•Ep. 56
In today’s podcast, I’m answering a question that has been submitted by one of our listeners, about shooting to 0 in manual mode. This is such a great question, because I’m sure that so many people wonder the same thing when they first make the switch to shooting in manual mode. Tune in to find out the answer! Tune into today’s episode to learn: Whether you should always meter to 0 in manual mode, or whether you should shoot over or under Why using exposure compensation isn’t always the same as ...
Mar 19, 2024•6 min•Ep. 56
These days, smartphones are not only a way to keep in touch with people, they are also a great tool for photographers! Not only can you take great photos with your phone, you can also use a number of apps that have been created especially for photographers. In this podcast, I’m going to share 5 apps that I personally use and love. Even though I don't use all of these all of the time, they are so useful that they stay on my phone / iPad for when I need them! The idea for this podcast episode actu...
Mar 12, 2024•10 min•Ep. 54
Whether you’re a long time user of Lightroom or Lightroom Classic, OR you’re brand new to editing and just wondering which program to get, you’ve probably come to realize that there are two different programs available from Adobe, both (confusingly!) called Lightroom. This always raises a lot of questions, particularly for those who are just starting out on their editing journey, and are confused about which one they should get, and the differences between the two! Adobe does make absolutely top...
Mar 05, 2024•31 min•Ep. 53
I’ve always said that photography is a game of two halves - one side of our brain needs to focus on the technical aspects, such as our camera settings, where to focus, finding the light etc. The other side needs to see the creative possibilities - the composition, angles, or unique twist we can stamp on our photos! As photographers, it’s pretty common to focus more on the technical side, and don’t set aside some time for nurturing or practicing our creativity! While learning the technical side i...
Feb 27, 2024•17 min•Ep. 52
There were so many times back at the early stages of my photography journey where I felt totally disheartened and frustrated, because no matter what I did, my photos just didn't turn out the way that I had envisaged in my head, and nothing like the photos I wanted to take. Of course, there can be several reasons why each individual image doesn’t quite hit the mark, but if it’s happening frequently, and most importantly, you don’t know what you’re doing wrong, it’s time to take control and do som...
Feb 20, 2024•19 min•Ep. 51
Do you ever feel like you’re not really in control of your image? That you’re just winging it, and hoping for the best when you press the shutter? Or maybe you get all flustered and not sure what you should be doing? Then you are going to love this week’s episode! In it, I’m going to break down the FIVE questions you should ask yourself when you take your photo. Asking yourself these questions will help you shoot more purposefully, which in turn, will help you get better photos! So join me in to...
Feb 13, 2024•15 min•Ep. 50
Are you thinking of starting your own photography business, but wondering if you are ready to take the plunge and start charging for your work? Or how long you need to have been shooting for? Or what experience do you need?? Then this week’s episode is for you! I'm going to talk about some of the things that I personally think you should have in place, and be able to do, before you start charging for your skills. Tune in to learn: Why deciding what type of business - and who you want to serve - ...
Jan 30, 2024•24 min•Ep. 49
In this week’s episode, we’re going to be talking about lenses, specifically one type of lens, called “fast lenses”. You may have already heard this term bandied about and wondered what the heck it refers to! Or maybe you’ve already heard of it, but not sure exactly WHY you might want one, if this is something you should get, and what you should look for if you did! So tune in as I break down exactly what fast glass refers, and why adding one to your lens collection is a good idea! I must warn y...
Jan 23, 2024•12 min•Ep. 48
As we kick off a brand new year, it’s a great time to think about how to organize and clean up your digital image files, and a great program that can really help you do this, is Lightroom Classic. In fact, that is exactly why Lightroom Classic was created - to give photographers like yourself a tool to manage your photos with a complete end to end workflow. So today on the podcast, I’m going to give you 6 tips for helping you organize your images using Lightroom Classic. Now if you don’t use Lig...
Jan 16, 2024•23 min•Ep. 47
Did you get a brand new DSLR or Mirrorless camera under the Christmas tree last year? Then this episode is for you! Getting your first camera is both exciting and terribly overwhelming! There’s so many dials, buttons and menu options that it can feel a bit daunting at first. I know both from personal experience, and from teaching photography to thousands of students over the last 8 years that it can also be very disheartening when you don’t get the photos you want from your camera. So much so, t...
Jan 09, 2024•17 min•Ep. 46
Back in 2015, I completed my first ever Project 365! Taking a photo every single day for a year not only improved my photography skills, because it gave me the opportunity to practice every single day, and try out new things, but also gave me a wonderful record of my day to day life. Taking a photo a day is almost like your own personal journal, so it’s also a fantastic personal project as well as a photographic one. Over the years I have completed more Project 365’s - but also failed at many mo...
Dec 12, 2023•19 min•Ep. 45
Photographing Christmas morning can be a little tricky - there can be lots going on, the lighting is often less than ideal, and of course, you want to actually be present in the moment and not stuck behind a camera all the time! Plus if your day starts out like my Christmas mornings used to work out, you’re woken up by the kids, dragged downstairs half asleep, only to find that your camera is out of battery and you have a full memory card just when you want to start snapping away at the kids ope...
Dec 05, 2023•22 min•Ep. 44
We’re doing something a little bit different on the podcast today, as I’m sharing the audio from a free lesson we share in our FREE Christmas Photography Boot camp! I highly recommend that you join the bootcamp to get the full video training, so that you can get the fun diagrams and image examples, plus of course, get the video training we have coming up on Day 2 and 3 of the boot camp too! Today we’re sharing the lesson from Day One, which is all about Creative Light Bokeh. We cover, step by st...
Nov 28, 2023•23 min•Ep. 43
Whenever you try your hand at anything new, you are bound to make a few mistakes along the way! And learning photography is definitely no exception. Although making mistakes can actually be a good thing, as they are part and parcel of the process for learning photography, that doesn’t mean that we need to keep making them, or indeed, make them in the first place! I certainly made my fair share of mistakes when learning photography, but after teaching thousands of others over the last 7 years, I’...
Nov 21, 2023•25 min•Ep. 42
I have no doubt that you have heard, time and time again, that if you want to improve your photos, and most importantly, get the images that you see in your head to translate to the camera, you need to learn how to shoot in manual mode. But I also know that no matter how many times you hear that, you can feel reluctant to make that final switch to shooting in manual mode. I know because I went through the same time too! And I have taught thousands of students in my Auto to Awesome program who ha...
Nov 14, 2023•16 min•Ep. 41
