Blogtography Workshop

Last week, I headed to Cambridge for a Bloggers’ Photography Workshop which had been kindly set up by Karen from I Don’t Like Peas. I always admire Karen’s photography on both her blog and Instagram so when I heard about a chance to have a picnic, socialise with some fellow bloggers and learn how to use my camera better, I was excited to get involved:

I feel like my photography is one of the weaknesses in my blog; yes, I own a DSLR but I am lazy about using the Auto settings and never feel like I am making the most out of my equipment. Some of my fellow bloggers had brought an incredible spread of goodies and we quickly set up a huge picnic to both eat and photograph. Karen chatted to us a little bit about composition and thinking about drawing the eye around the image like you might read the page of a book.

The other main thing I learnt was the importance of props. For example, the plate of brownies looks so much better on a vintage plate, accompanied by interesting fabrics, some bunting and totally adorable miniature golden pineapples. I’ve started collecting bits and bobs to make my images more visually interesting and add some texture to a potentially flat-looking image.

I also learnt to switch up my settings and the secret basically seems to be a high ISO and the AV setting (if you use a Canon like I do). I normally shoot on P or M, but check out the difference between the photo on the left on P versus the photo on the right on AV. Totally dreamy right? I love the super blurred background and how the raspberries pop as a result. It’s definitely my new favourite camera setting!

I then tried to put everything I’d learnt into practice the following day. I was kindly sent these special edition Diet Cokes* and the packaging was so pretty I wanted to do it justice. The bottles were designed by JW Anderson and I love the striking pattern and pixelated shapes. They’re a bargain at just £1,95 each and could easily be used as props once they’re empty. I also had a some of Betty’s wonderful Fat Rascals sent to me by Kel from Adventures in Tea and Cake; she knew I’d a tough week and what better way to cheer me up than some of my favourite Yorkshire treats? They didn’t last very long after this photo, I will admit!

Do you have any top photography tips? How do you raise your blog photos to the ‘next level?’