Taking Photos In Autumn & Winter

Autumn/Winter is actually my favourite time of the year to take photographs. It can be hard chasing the light and the darker evenings are a pain when inspiration hits and there's no natural light left to shoot, but for me, nothing compares to the soft light that cloudy winter days bring! 

Here's a few tips and tricks that help me to make the most of the light on Autumn/Winter days..

Timing
Learn the time of day that gives you the best light - this can be quite a personal thing as it depends which way your home faces. I like to take note of where the sun is at my favourite time to shoot and then alter the time accordingly throughout the seasons. For me now, the light is best in my home at around 11am-1pm, whereas in summer it's normally 2pm onwards. If you can bulk shoot at these times, it can help to keep your photo quality consistent!

Work with the weather

Light grey cloud filled or foggy day's are my favourite to shoot on (just not dark, gloomy rainy clouds!). Bright, clear skies/sunny days are ideal for interior shots, but can be a little harsh for flatlays. I find that sunny days can also sometimes be a little temperamental, add scattered clouds and gusts of wind and it can be a nightmare waiting for the right light! 

Plan ahead

I believe that it's so important to be organised in Autumn/Winter for good photo quality. Check the weather for the best times to shoot, plan out and jot down which products you need to include in your flatlays and if inspiration does hit of a dark evening, lay out your products roughly and take a quick phone snap so that you can quickly set up the next day! Knowing your layouts can really help for bulk shooting - you can spend less time sorting (and loosing precious daylight hours) and more time taking pics!

Equipment

Invest in a reflector, or diy one like I have! It's ideal for bouncing the light back and minimising shadows. I also like to use white surfaces or have light and airy backgrounds like marble, soft blankets or fluffy throws to keep things bright! 

Editing

A little editing can go a long way in autumn and winter, I like to tweak and adjust on Pixelmator to brighten up my images. Usually I use the curves tool to lighten, I sometimes alter the contrast, remove some of the blue tones (if needed) and sharpen the image for the finishing touch. 

I hope these help!

Blog Photography

After a few requests to pop up a blog photography post and with such kind comments on my photos I thought I would write up a little post. I'd just like to add that I'm in no way a professional, this is just a little peek at my photography process - Kate, Carrie & Rebecca are my photography inspirations, their photo's are incredible, they have some great posts on photography too!

Realistically you're likely to find me teetering on the edge of a stool (5ft + flatlay is a difficult combination!) next to a big window and surrounded by a huge mess. Here's a few photography essentials for me, hopefully they will help you as well!

Equipment

The camera that I use is a Canon 600d and I shoot my photos using a 18-55mm lens or an 50mm f1.8 lens. The f1.8 lens is great for a blurred background, for beautiful close up's and for bokeh backgrounds. The 18-55 kit lens provides a little more clarity, it's crisp, sharp and focuses on a wider area, perfect for flatlays.

I sometimes use my iPhone 5s for photos too, it's more convenient to carry around when I'm out and about, and the quality is still pretty good!

I also have this tripod close to hand for when I dare to take a snap of myself, or if I need to shoot in low light.

Lighting

I take most of my photos next to a big window with lot's of natural light. I'm lucky to have big french doors and so that's where I try to take most of my snaps. I use my light reflector (that I DIY'd from this tutorial) to bounce the light back too, which helps to brighten up the whole area.

Editing

I use either Pic Monkey or Pixelmator to brighten, sharpen, colour adjust and up the saturation, I aim to make my photo's to look quite natural, crisp, clean and bright. I don't usually like to add filters, (the only exception being on instagram snaps!) as I like to manually edit each photo and tweak as I go.

Props/Background

Following on with my crisp, bright and clean aims, my backgrounds are normally light and airy. I love clean white surfaces, marble, white floorboards or blankets for added texture.

For props, I have candles, blankets, cushions, sequins, flowers, anything pretty, relevant or close to hand to add to my pics. Scattered petals, sequins or bells make a pretty addition to photos, home decor, make up brushes and bobbi pins too!