Getting the most from your camera

Hi everyone.

I admit my camera really needs more love and use but whenever I experiment with the settings and options the images can really come out poor, making a camera phone from 2003 look like a professional shot. Now in many cases it's my own fault as I've not paid attention to what the camera has shown me on the screen or worse, taken it without paying attention and fluffing the entire shot up. Some of my sports day photos were notoriously poor this time and frustrating when I looked at some of the photos and they don’t look quite like I had envisioned at the time!
It only takes a fraction of a second for a perfect photo into a perfect fail. And this is where Photobox come to the rescue.

Photobox have teamed up with Sheffield-based freelance photographer Charlie Barker to offer her top tips for taking the perfect photos will useful advice and help to make the most out of both your camera and phone no matter the occasion or camera itself.
And for the more adventurous they also gave me this set of 10 tips to share with you, some of these are more complicated but can transform a photo instantly.

And the tip's don't stop there, especially as I love you all so much, I had a chat with some amazing bloggers and friends asking them to give me top secret tips on how they take the perfect photo - Thanks ladies :)


Andrea from All you need is love and Cake says, "For me not being a great photographer, the photos I like the best are totally natural ones of my little one having fun. Quite often taken on my phone, they are so much better than 'perfect' posed photos"

Carolin from Mummy Alarm adds, "Take a lot of photos, there's bound to be one that stands out when you go through them."

Maggy from Red Ted Art offers  "Take lots of shots in one go, so at least one shot is good. Try and take shots when people don't realise - more natural and avoids cheesy grin. Check background- does moving one step hide an ugly bin? Or a piece of road. Basic editing like cropping and brightening photos can do wonders. Avoid flash if you can."

 Aly From Bug Bird Bee continues "I use flash near enough all the time during the day now.I think it's important to look at different angles when taking photos.Try to get behind a subject or by the side rather than face on.Get higher or lower too can create different perspectives especially with kids.I take test shots when I arrive somewhere (the bonus of digital eh?) before I start taking actual photos.
I do use Hipstamatic app a lot but I have been using HDR on my phone too.Oh if it's a dreary day black and white never fail"

Anya from Older single mum mentions "Use HDR if it's available on your camera or phone" and PinkOddy stops the press at the last moment with "Take pictures from different angles"

Now while many of these tips are similar it shows how in some cases taking a great shot can differ from moving a few inches to the side, your mood, and even the options a camera or phone has built into it can all make huge differences to how a photo looks.

If you've got any tips you'd like to share with us, please drop them in a comment below. 

Now get out there and get snap happy!

Disclaimer - This guide was sent to me and created by Phototbox. 

Bike Week. School run fun!

Morning all.

As part of bike week and bike to school week  I've teamed up with Sustrans to talk about their campaign for safer streets and why I think it's important for safer streets as a cyclist and also explain how I do the school runs using the bike and trailer.

Where I live we're fortunate to have Travel Choices, a joint project with Central Beds Council and Sustrans and together they actively work within the community to get more people out and about and trying to educate the wider community to make the streets safer, while some of the changes have been a tad annoying to the town it's not going to be an overnight conversion it's a darned good start.

Our school runs are usually a mix of bus, Bike/trailer or and scooters depending on the girls moods and the state of my knees and back. The bus being reserved for the more extremes of weather or pain levels.

We spend the majority of the school year cycling and scooting to school, the benefits of this being less hassle for the girls and I lose a bit of belly in-between!

On bike the girls jump into the trailer and gabble, argue while i make the mile journey to school.

It'a an awesome little trip which can be (for the girls) epic depending on the route we take, being the Luton and Dunstable busway or the main road.

The busway path is a crushed lime which needs to be replaced with tarmac or a hardcore and sand mix as it can be unstable and with the trailer on the back I've wheelspun and bashed the trailer and nearly the kids with loose stones spinning off the tyres, It's not the preferred choice mainly due to it's exit on an active and very busy industrial estate, if the pathways were upgraded It would improve things there. So we go the main roads mostly.

The main road takes us down two busy roads, but set out well with comfortable and wide dual use pathways so there's less risk of getting in the way of anyone here and lots of good light too. The girls use this to sing lots of Frozen songs, Hug Roo and Tigger (Not Boo, Roo and Tigger Too! D'oh!) when they're having a grumpy day and gabble like awesome little monsters do!

What I love about riding and scooting with the girls is how happy they are when out riding and scooting with me to school it's an instant grump fix, no matter the cause of the grinch!

You should try it as it's fun. Yeah it's a learning curve but awesome experience.

If there's anything you want to know. let me know.

Paul, the kids, Naughtybike and grouchotrailer