Canvas Design & Discount Code

I adore photos. They capture a special moment and ensure it's never forgotten about. One moment that - even without photos - I doubt I'll never forget is when I danced onstage with Britney. I won't gush too much as you probably already know, but I'm quite frankly the biggest Britney Spears fan in the whole world. My love for her runs deep, it's an obsession, and I'm sure I know more about her than she knows about herself. So when I got the opportunity to go onstage with her, it was without a doubt the greatest moment of my life. If you're interested, you can read more about it here.

I have the photos in albums, on my laptop, printed in large print, they're everywhere. You can't get away from them. But I've always wanted the photos on canvas. I love canvases, they look beautiful and since I started working in Boots' photo department, my love for canvases has grown deep. So you can imagine my excitement when I was offered two canvases from CanvasDesign*. I immediately knew which images I wanted displayed and when they finally arrived at my door, I fell in love instantly.

As I mentioned, I work in Boots' photo department so I do know how to make a canvas. And the ones from CanvasDesign are beautifully made. They look stunning on the wall and really do complete a wall and showcase a special memory. They were easy to put onto the wall - if my dad can do it, anyone can! I find myself constantly admiring them, it most definitely is a precious memory to me and it's wonderful to have it showcased so beautifully on my wall. I'd highly recommend going to CanvasDesign if you're looking to invest in something pretty for the wall. Their prices start from just £7.99 and if you use the code "BLOG15" then you can get a 15% off of your order.

Do you have canvases on your wall? Is it something you'd consider?
*PR Sample

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Getting to know your DSLR workshop & a few photography tips + exclusive offer

For Christmas, my "main present" was a Nikon D3100 SLR camera which was my first ever SLR. As a result of this, my dad and stepmum booked me onto a "Getting to Know Your SLR" workshop to help me along the way. I'd never used a SLR before and my knowledge of my camera was extremely basic, so as you can imagine, I was pretty excited for the workshop. The other Saturday, I headed over to Bakewell (which is such a beautiful place) and after a scary drive - I'm a bit of a nervous driver - I took part in the workshop. I learnt a hell of a lot and I decided to write a few things down for you lot.

Aperture Priority

Without a doubt the best setting for bloggers. If you're taking images of things that are still - for example, a lipstick or a person - then this is the setting you should choose. If you have a Nikon, it can be found by turning the top right hand dial to 'A.' The bigger the hole, the lower the "f" number which will end up blurring your background like the photo above; perfect for taking images of beauty products. The smaller the hole, the higher the "f" number which means that less light is getting into the lens and the focal area is much bigger, therefore lessening the blur.

Shutter Priority

I knew nothing about Shutter Priority until this class as I'd always used my camera for taking pictures of still products. However, this setting is wonderful if you're taking images of anything that's moving. This setting can be found on a Nikon by turning the top right hand dial to 'S.' The bigger the shutter speed, the quicker the shutter closes and therefore the crisper the image. The photo above was taken using a lower shutter speed of 1/15th which meant the shutter closed slowly and therefore made the water look dreamy. If this would've been taken with a higher shutter speed (say 1/500th) then the water would have been crisp and you would've been able to see droplets.

ISO

Lots of bloggers talk about bumping up the ISO in low light conditions and whilst this is a wonderful way to brighten up your images, it's also creates a lot of horrible "noise." The ISO should be one of the last things you adjust. I'd recommend never going above 800 ISO if you'd like to keep your photos crisp, sharp and noise-free. A better way to inject light into your photos is to bump up the Exposure Compensation a little bit as this doesn't jeopardise the quality.

I learnt many other useful things including: AF-Area Mode; Focus Mode; White Balance and Metering. If you're interested in another post, please do let me know. If you're interested in taking part in the course yourself then you can find out more information here. I'd highly recommend it. Joy is such a lovely woman and she explains everything perfectly. After a workshop in the morning and the most delicious homemade pie at dinner, you and the rest of the group embark on a photography walk around Bakewell. If there's anything you don't understand, Joy helps you along the way with her extensive knowledge.

If you'd like to participate in Joy's fabulous workshop then she has said if you contact her (joynewbouldworkshops@gmail.com) and say that Bamboozle Beauty sent you, she will charge you £32 for the full day including lunch instead of the RRP of £100!

What are your top photography tips? Have you ever been to a photography workshop before?

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REVIEW: Blurb Photobook

To me, photos are everything. No matter where I'm going, I'll always have some form of camera with me. Whether that's a phone camera, a point-and-shoot camera or a bridge camera. There's something special about capturing that important moment, that beautiful memory in a picture for life. So when I was offered the chance to try out a Blurb photobook* for myself, there was no way it was an opportunity I was going to turn down. In case you didn't know, or you haven't heard of Blurb before, the website enables individuals, professionals and amateurs to create their own high quality photobooks online easily. Users can create soft cover books, send eBooks to friends/relative, create a hardcover book and print Instagram images - the options are endless.
I have many photo albums from birth to my current university one (which I've just filled up so I'm going to need another one) but I've never before had a photobook. I've seen them, of course, especially when it comes to wedding photos and I love how beautiful they are. At first, I was going to create a university photobook but I guess in the end, I didn't see the point because of my album so instead, I decided to create a photobook for my sister's upcoming birthday. We've shared many memories together and a lot of these memories have been captured on camera so it just seems right to have them in a beautifully presented book. I ordered this book on the 26th March (quite late at night). I received it on the 4th April. This means that it was printed and sent to me in 9 days which is incredible.
So onto the photobook itself. It was extremely easy to create - I imported my photos, moved them to where I wanted them to be, typed in my text and pressed order. In fact, I loved creating it. It's very high quality. Even the scanned photos that I used from 20 years ago are of an incredible quality. It's glossy, beautiful, professional and I love it. I can tell that my sister is going to love it to when I give it to her for her birthday. This photobook cost me just £27.21 including shipping. I ordered the "small square 18x18cm, 20 pages, premium paper, lustre finish, ProLine white end sheets."
If you're interested in Blurb then the guys are giving new customers 15% off of their order. Use the code BOOK15OFF at the checkout (up to 30 days after you have registered on the Blurb website) to receive your discount. The code expires on the 30th of April.

xxx

*PR Sample

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My photos from London

I love London and it was only last week that I was complaining about how much I wanted to go back and visit. Just being in London makes me happy. Everything it so beautiful. From my previous two posts (and countless amounts of tweets) I'm sure that you already know about my journey to London and I promise you that this is the last post about it. You can view my experience with meeting the Spice Girls here and view my outfit and make up post here.

I travelled down to London on Monday 4th February and stayed overnight in a Travelodge at Bethnal Green until the Tuesday. On Monday evening, I took a trip around my favourite places (minus Buckingham Palace unfortunately). I went to St Paul's Cathedral, Covent Gardens, Big Ben & the Houses of Parliament, Embankment & the Eye and of course, Tower Bridge.
You can view all of my photos from my time in London here and see a few pictures in HQ on my Flickr. All photos above were taken with my new Fujifilm FinePix S2980.
xxx
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