lover of the light: Photography tips and tricks

Hello dear people! I apologize for my long absence, and not posting anything for a while now. College obligations have piled up and I can't find any time to go out for a photosesion, or do some other type of post. January and February are months of exams, seminars and studying, so all I do these couple of days is sitting, drinking coffee, and working on finishing all my exams as sooner and better possible so I can have time to blog again properly. When I think about 2016. I see amazing things that will happen and great opportunities for me to explore. I'm soooo looking forward to finishing my exams by the end of February, so in March I can start with redecoration and finally painting my living room white. When I have a lot of stuff to do in college I get kind overwhelmed and depressed because I love going out, drinking coffees and taking photos of everything pretty I catch with my observant eye. One of my NY decisions is to sell my old Canon 1100D and buying Canon 5DMark3 :) I realized how much I love photography and that it's something I want to invest in. Many people have asked me in my DM on Instagram, how do I edit my photos so today I'll share with you some tips and tricks I've learned over the years about light, composition, objects and editing. I hope this will be helpful. :)

The most important thing I've learned so far is to be in love with the object in front of you, You should never argue with the image. There are some days that light from your windows just isn't good enough, or you don't know what to photograph etc. Don't push it. There are just some days that your inspiration is low and every tiny bit you move while making a composition just isn't good enough. That's okay. Let it go. Never over push it. The more you get mad about not capturing the right composition, the more your photo will ''run away''. If you're not madly in love with the object in front of you, don't expect anyone else to be. Inspiration comes spontaneously, that's why you always have to be prepared. Just don't chase it. :)

I love traveling and it's something I want to do through my whole life, so whenever you're traveling, before you go, research a bit about the place and interesting things to see. That's why, when you take photos, you can bring something new and exciting to the table, something people have never seen before.If you're curious about the place, go! Save some money and go! Traveling is the one of the things that makes us richer than money.

I love styled photography and my IG is mostly photos of cacti, coffee, my dream journal etc. So when I take photos of things like this, I always experiment with cropping, moving objects, negative space on one side of the photo.. I've learned that ordinary objects can become extraordinary by the composition itself. Key to taking a 'spot on' styled photography is experimenting. Photos I take most of the time don't even end up on my IG because I'm always unsatisfied with how the photo turned out. I started experimenting with styled photography about a year ago, and even though I took thousands of photos, few of them turned out right. So, keep experimenting whenever you find the time. Work until excellence. :)

Most of the photos I take (besides photos for the blog), I use my Iphone camera (because the phone is small and you can carry t in your pocket) which is pretty crap because I have an Iphone 4s. Hoping to get me one of thoseIphone 6 in a while. But Canon first! Camera always before a cell! Remember that. For a while I wanted a Olympus Pen and wanted to sell my Canon so I can buy myself one, mainly because it's small but takes good photos. But then I realized that professional camera will always be better than a digital one, no matter what! And I sure am glad I changed my mind and decided to buy myself even bigger and better Canon. But let's get back on phone photography. Tip is to use VSCO cam while shooting with your cell. I know that you can upload on editor the photos you take using normal camera on your phone, but VSCO camera is sooo much better. And when you have a shit phone like me, that works miracles. On their camera you can use white balance to adjust white tones on your photo, focus is brilliant, you can set exposure while taking the photo, plus the effects are my fav! I mostly use HB1 during the winter to brighten up environment and grey tones. But my favorite is F2. I use it at 9 or 10 at the scale, brighten the photo up just a bit (1 or 2), add the contrast (1) and sharpen it up just a bit because the lines get blurred when you use brightening. During the summer, I mostly use C1 (also 10 or 9) because I love summer colors, blue skies, sunshine on everything, and this effect is just perfect for that. :) I don't use any other apps really, sometimes Pixlr express for some basic stuff like tilt shift, auto contrast etc. but VSCO is and will be always my fav, so get yourself one (if you don't have it already).

If you're a blogger you know how much white space is important. I hail every white surface I come up to :) But if you don't have something white in your apartment like a table or a wall or something, improvise. I mean my apartment walls are painted pale orange with drawings all over the wall that people who lived here painted. It's rubbish and I can't hang my new piece of clothes on the wall because it's damn orange haha. That's why I equipped myself with white floor boards, white fake fur carpet, white blankets, and made myself a little photo studio. If you don't have the space, make one! You just have to let your imagination run free and combine something amazing with what you've got.

And in the end.. Keep shooting. Just take your camera wherever you go and shoot. Observe the ordinary objects and make them shine. Share with the world something that excites you and occupies your imagination, mind and soul. Never be afraid to post something different. That's exactly the thing you should do. These are just some tips for you that can be found useful. There are no rules. Post whenever you feel like it, stay true to yourself and every once in a while, step out of your comfort zone and try something new and different that will widen your horizons. Until next time. Sea of love, S.