So this year I've decided to pass on some of my knowledge in the form of photographic tips. The tips will appear on this blog regularly, so keep an eye out.

The first tip is: Get out there and shoot!

When I teach photography, I take the student on a photowalk so that they can learn in a practical manner, instead of listening to me drone on in a classroom. I maintain the only way to learn is to practice, hence the 'Get out and shoot' tip. Practice shooting different subjects - photographing moving cars, boats, bicycles, and people will teach you about shutter speed.

Photographing a flower and trying to isolate it from the background will teach you about aperture.

Photographing a live band will get you used to shooting in low light - ISO is all important here.

*Gemma of Gemma and the Jets does her thing!*

The important thing is to keep practicing. It doesn't matter what gear you do, or don't, have, just use what you have to learn and you will become a better photographer.

For more information on tuition, do have a look at my tuition page, it explains what I offer and if you're interested in having a lesson from me, please give me a shout!

As well as shooting weddings, commercial etc, I also teach people the skills needed to produce great photographic images. The key to to this is getting out of Auto and into Manual mode.

*A student directs a model during a tuition session.*

When people get their first digital camera, they mainly shoot in Auto mode as they're possibly unsure what all the knobs and buttons do on their camera. Auto mode means the camera chooses every setting - ISO, shutter speed and aperture. Many a time one witnesses someone taking a picture of a huge cruise liner in Cobh when their little on-camera flash pops up, which is a tell tale sign they're shooting in Auto mode. That pop-up flash has a reach of approximately 10 feet - not much use when a cruise liner can be anything up to 1,187 feet, as is the case with Royal Caribbean's Allure of the Seas!

The best way to take photographs is to use Manual mode, in which the photographer chooses all the settings. In my lessons, I teach exactly that and can normally show the student how to get the right exposure in 3 shots.

My teaching style is to get out and shoot in a very informal manner, no stuffy, boring classroom based lessons here! The student dictates the speed of learning and what discipline of photography they want to learn - portraits, landscapes, architecture etc. I answer any questions as the lesson progresses; that way, everything is clear in the student's mind.

Lessons are normally conducted on a one-to-one basis, although I can cater for small groups of up to five photographers, should that be required.

Why not contact me if you're looking to get some great photographs by getting out of Auto mode and into Manual? You'll find my email address and phone number at the foot of this page.

Now here's an educational thing...

Now here's a thing...