How to stay motivated as a creative | 6 Ways to Stay Motivated

How to stay motivated as a creative

6 Ways to Stay Motivated

I am in a slump

I am just not feeling it

I don’t have the time

My creative juices are gone

I am in a creative lul

I’m just not motivated…….

Yes, we have all had those feelings. Those feelings of doubt, those feelings of not wanting to, those feelings of not good enough, those feelings that our motivation is just completely out the window. Even the best of the best of the best have those feelings. Those feelings of just not wanting to, not being able to, or even really just not liking to. So how do we fix that? How do we get out of our creative slump? How do we stay motivated as a creative?

Just recently I was watching a Youtube video from Sorelle Amore. In her video she referenced a conference and a presentation being put on by Cody Wanner. Someone asked how Cody is able to create so much dang content (Cody posts daily Youtube videos. Yes…. DAILY).

Cody’s response really hit home, and I just had to share it with you guys. He said:

“You are not creating enough… you are getting out of the heads pace… and procrastinating”

Now obviously those are not his exact words because I wasn’t at the conference; however, they are somewhat close, but really think about that for a minute. YOU ARE NOT CREATING ENOUGH.

This is so dang true!!! The more we create the more we crave to create. When we begin to slow down, when we begin to lag, when we begin to procrastinate we then begin this downward spiral. Our motivation goes out the window. We start this negative self talk, we procrastinate because we are feeling bad about ourselves, which then continues to demotivate us. It is a vicious cycle that we have to break!

How do we break this cycle? According to Cody, create more!

Now if that doesn’t work here are a few additional ways to stay motivated:

How to stay motivated as a creative:

Increase the challenge

What I mean by this is make it harder. Step outside of the box. Do something that you aren’t used to doing. Stop doing the same ole same ole. When we get in a rut, that is when our creativeness starts do go away. That is when our motivation declines. That is when we get in this terrible cycle.

Change your creative method

Try shooting with a different gear set up. Talk about a motivation killer when you are bored with what you are doing right? Well, switch it up!

Create from a different point of view (MIX IT UP)

Change your angle! Shoot from above, from below, sideways, at an angle. Stop doing the same thing over and over again.

Make time for it

Lets face it. Adulting Sucks. Like for realz. Life is so dang busy. Sometimes, we just need to schedule our craftie time. So whether you are a photographer, crafter, baker, or candlestick maker it doesn’t matter. Life gets a hold of us, we get caught up in the day to day life, and next second we realize we haven’t been able to be creative for weeks. No wonder our mood sucks! We aren’t taking the time to do the things that we love! So, if you are finding that you are having a hard time being able to do your craft, schedule it. Actually put it on your calendar. Write it down. Block out the time.

Forget about the goal and just have fun

We get pretty caught up trying to reach our goals that we forget to have fun. After all, we are doing this for fun right? We are doing it because we love it right? We create a goal, we start grinding, and we take away all the fun. We get frustrated, and then we want to give up. Stop it!

I’m not saying stop setting goals here. Do not get me wrong. I am just saying sometimes we need to do the things we love to do just to have fun. To enjoy ourself and to actually do what we love.

Create more and create it more often

This goes back to Mr. Cody Wanner’s quote. Create more and more often. This will have you wanting to create more.

So, I do 100% believe this. I know if you are in a rut, if you are unmotivated it sounds rediculious, but just hear me out. If you start creating, your creativeness begins to start flowing. When you create, you begin to be more creative. Ideas come to you so much easier than they do when you aren’t in your creative mind.

Once you stop creating you begin to get in this “rut” or you begin to have this “block” where you just can’t seem to find any motivation to create. Nothing sounds fun, everything sounds hard, and you are just uninspired.

When you create, you start getting ideas all the time…. in your sleep, before you go to bed, in the shower, while you are cooking. This is because you are actually doing it! You have turned on that part of your brain. It is something that you just can’t stop from happening. Awesome ideas come into your head when you are in your creative mindset.

So create more. Start creating which will then put you in that creative mindset. Yes, it is hard to get started because DUH your not inspired or your not motivated or your not in the creative mindset, but once you get started the ideas will slowly start to come. Then eventually you will be so overwhelmed with ideas that you won’t even know what to do :)

Stop comparing yourself to others!

This is huge you guys! Seriously, this is probably the #1 motivation killer in today’s world. we have the world at our fingertips and social media is blasting us everyday. It is human nature to compare, yet with so much information coming to us on a daily basis, we have every opportunity to compare ourselves to other people. This is so important that I even created an entire video on it. Please please please go watch it, read the post, listen to the words and try to stop the comparison game.

P.s. Make sure you check out my list of Must Read Girl Boss Books to keep you extra motivated!

I hope this helps you a little bit to get out of that slump the next time you find yourself lacking motivation or in that vicious cycle of: not creating - negative self talk - procrastination - not creating…..

Wishing you nothing but the very best!

Bessie

Best books on photography composition

This is a question I get all the time. What are the best books on photography composition. I have almost thought about making my own book since I get the question so often lol.

As you all know I love to provide tips, tricks, and how to’s with photography. Make sure to head on over to my Youtube channel to see all sorts of tips on photography compositions.

Now, with that being said, I wanted to be able to provide a good answer to the question, so I did a bunch of research on the best books for composition. Please note, that I have not read all these books; however, this is a list of the highest ranking books and / or the most suggested books out there. It has taken me the majority of the year to find these books for you.

As a quick side note, composition theory has been a thing for hundreds of years. Make sure that you do not narrow your search to just photography books. You will be surprised how much you can learn from old books on painting composition. Make sure to check out your local library and just look for books on composition.

So let’s get into it:

Best books on photography composition

1. How to Create Stunning Digital Photography by Tony Northrup

   *This one comes in around $20

2. Mastering the art of Photography composition

   *This little jewel is only $3

3. The New Art of Photographing Nature

   *This was one of the most recommended book in all my research. It is around $25

4. Perception and Imaging: Photography - A Way of Seeing, Richard Zakia

   *This was the second most recommended book; however, it is much more expensive coming in at $50

5. Tavis Leaf Glover's composition : Canon of Design: Mastering Artistic Composition

   *Under $10

6. Magazine photography (Life, National Geographic, Travel magazines)

   *This is not just a book. This means magazines about photography. There are so many out there that will help you with your photography art. You can sign up via the link above to the National Geographic magazine for 1 year and $25.

Hopefully this list will help you be able to start digging deeper into learning photography. If you have a suggestion leave a comment below. I would love to hear your suggestions and then add them to this list :)

Happy Reading Friends!

Bessie

Common Photography Terms for Beginner Photographers

Learning digital photography can be super intimidating especially with all the terms! There are so many dang terms out there that it can be crazy overwhelming.

Understanding the terms and lingo is crucial to be able to learn and grow your skills as a beginner photographer . It can take hours to read books, start googling each term, or watch youtube videos. I am here to make it a bit easier and quicker for you!

In this post you will read some of the most common photography terms and their definitions; however, if you want a large list of photography terms and their meanings make sure to download my free guide!

Most Common Photography Terms

Aperature

This is the most common term in photography that you should know. To put it simply, this is the size of the size of the opening in the lens. You can think of the lens as a window. The large windows or wide angles will let in more light. A wide open aperature will let in more light for a brighter image. Aperature is measured in F Stops. The lower the number the wider the aperature meaning the more light it will let in.

Shutter Speed

The shutter is the part of the camera that opens and closes to let light in. The shutter speed is how long the shutter stays open. This is written is seconds or fraction of seconds such as 1” (one second) or 1/200 (1 200th of a second). The longer the shutter stays open the more light that is let it. Note: anything that moves while the shutter is open will become blurry.

Bokeh

Bokeh is created when when light is out of focus in the image. It is that beautiful creamy background that everyone loves. This is created through a wide aperature.

Burst Mode

You can take photos one at a time or you can use burst mode to have the camera take continuous photos as long as you hold down the shutter button, or until the buffer is full. Burst speeds will differ based on your camera. Some are faster than others and are measured in frames per second (fps). This mode is best when shooting something moving. You can get a bunch of photos all at once.

Focal Length

The focal length is shown in millimeters on a lens. This is the distance between the lens and the image it forms on the film. Essentially the focal length is how zoomed in your image is. So an 18mm will be a wider shot that a 35mm. A 70mm will be a much closer shot (or more zoomed in) that a 35mm.

Manual Mode

Manual mode allows the photographer to set the exposure rather than letting the camera make the decisions. In manual mode you will choose the aperature, shutter shutter speed, and ISO. This will allow you to add that artistic effect to your pictures such as bokeh in the background, smooth waterfalls, stars streaking across the sky, and so forth.

Manual may also refer to manual focus where you focus your lens rather than your camera doing it for you.

Long Exposure

A long exposure is an image that has exposed for a long time or has a long shutter speed. This technique is typically in low light and used by landscape photographers.

Hot Shoe

The hot shoe is the slot at the top of the camera for adding accessories such as a flash.

Noise

Noise is the little flecks in an image. Sometimes this is also called grain. The higher the ISO the more noise you will have in your image.

Alright, that was alot of info.

Make sure to check out the free download up above if you want to learn more photography jargon. It is an instant download with loads of terms for you to study and become familiar with :)

Are you just starting out in photography? Well welcome to the tribe! I am so excited for you and have made a couple awesome things to help you along your photography adventure:

• My Camera Gear List

• More Freebies!!!

• Youtube videos full of behind the scenes, tips, tricks, and how I got the shot

Let me know what questions you have by leaving me a comment below :)

Bessie

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P.s. If you are learning photography and love posts like this then make sure to check out these ones :)

Batis 85mm Lens vs Sony 85mm G Master Lens - Lens Comparison

Batis 85mm Lens vs Sony 85mm G Master Lens - Lens Comparison

Photography Gear

Ever since I started using the Batis 18mm lens I have been extremely interested in Batis lenses.

Before we start this lens comparison, if you are looking for more information on the Batis 18mm or the lens comparison video for the Batis 18mm vs. the Sony 16-35mm make sure to check out the lens comparison blog here: Batis 18mm Lens vs Sony 16-35mm Lens

Now, I want to start off by saying that I do not own either of these lenses. I have been debating on grabbing an 85mm lens of some sort, but really didn’t know where to put my money. Do I buy the big boy, the Sony 85mm G Master? Do I spend all the money on the top of the line native lens, or do I save some money and not by a non native lens? Now, I figured if I had that question and that debate, others did too!

So, off I went to compare two lenses that I had my eye on. The Batis 85mm F1.8 vs. the Sony 85mm G Master F1.4 G Master. I was able to borrow these two awesome lenses from my friends down at Horn Photo. On a side note, if you are debating on equipment, or wishing you were able to check out equipment before you made that major purchase, make sure to check out your local camera shop like Horn Photo. You can actually rent gear for the day or the week! This could save you major money in the long run. I absolutely love this option, and have rented gear multiple times throughout the years. Whether I want to do a lens comparison, see if I like a certain item, or if I need something for an upcoming wedding but don’t want to purchase the item. Just rent it!!!

Ok, moving on :)

To start off there are a few huge differences for the Batis 85mm vs Sony 85mm G Master:

• Price

  • Batis 85mm: $930

  • Sony 85mm G Master: $1800

• Weight

  • Batis 85mm: 1 lb 3 ounce

  • Sony 85mm G Master: 2 lbs 7 ounces

• Aperature Ring

  • Batis 85mm: No

  • Sony 85mm G Master: Yes

    • The aperature ring is super cool for video!

• Aperature capability

  • Batis 85mm: F1.8 - F22

  • Sony 85mm G Master: F1.4 - F16

Batis 85mm F1.8

Filter ThreadFront: 67mm

Aperature: F1.8-F22

Length: 3.6 in.

Weight: 1lb 1 ounce

Price: $930

Sony 85mm G Master F1.4

Filter Thread Front: 77mm

Aperature: F1.4-F16

Length: 4.2 in.

Weight: 1.8 lb

Price: $1800

Now lets talk about actual field experience and photo comparison…

An 85mm lens is typically used for portraits. I am debating on using the 85 as my second lens for backpacking. Right now I use the Batis 18mm and the Sony 24-70mm G Master. What I am thinking about doing is changing out the Sony 24 - 70 G Master with an 85mm. Now, with all that being said, I wanted to do a lens comparison for what these lenses are typically used for, Portraits!

Luckily I have the cutest model in the world that just loves to have her picture taken… my Boston Terrier Yota :) In order to do an accurate lens comparison, I kept my aperature at 1.8 for all the photos. This way I didn’t compare an F1.4 to an F1.8.

In the field and during post processing I noticed a few main things:

• Bokeh differences

• Vignetting

• Chromatic aberration

• Automatic Focusing

• Lens Noisiness/ Loudness

Bokeh:

There isn’t a huge difference with the Bokeh at F1.8. The thing I noticed most here was that the Sony had a creamier bokeh and the Batis had more of a swirl that was counter clockwise. If you look at the Batis image, it looks more like you are spinning. Really focus on the images below. Notice the swirl on the Batis? Do you see how the Sony is much more creamy?

Vignetting and Chromatic Aberration

So there are two things here and each lens has its fault. The Sony has a bit of chromatic aberration compared to the Batis. The Batis didn’t seem to have any chromatic aberration during my little session with Yota. Now, this was only tested during this session, so this doesn’t go to say that the Batis doesn’t have chromatic aberration in certain scenarios. See the images below.

Now with that the Batis has a bit more vignetting than the Sony. See images below.

Automatic Focus Speed and Sound:

Wow, now this is really where there is a major difference. Honestly, this was where my decision was made and where the Batis really took the cake.

The Batis was able to automatically focus quickly, capture movement, and didn’t make hardly a sound. The Sony on the other hand didn’t focus quickly at all. Actually, I wasn’t able to capture a single motion image in focus. Plus, during the focusing, it made the loudest noise ever, and just really annoyed me lol. I am not sure why it was bothering me so much, but it was at the point where I didn’t even want to use it any more. The focusing sound it made was really not awesome. Imaging being at a wedding, where everyone is silent, and your lens is making a focusing/ kind of grinding noise? I think that would ultimately suck. People would start listening to your camera rather than the vows!

Batis:

Sony:

Conclusion:

So, with all that being said, I will definitely be getting the Batis 85mm. There is just absolutely no reason not to! It is cheaper, lighter, focuses quicker, quieter, and the photos are almost the exact same as the Sony 85mm G Master. The aperature goes to F22 which is awesome for Landscape Photography and there is less chromatic aberration. The down side to the Batis is the fact that there is a bit of vignetting and the aperature doesn’t go as wide as the Sony; however, these are definitely things that I can work with.

What lens is your favorite? Leave a comment below.

Would you like to see a certain lens comparison video? Comment below and I can add it to my list :)

Wishing you a beautiful day!

Bessie

How To Take Flower Photos - Joshua Tree National Park Wildflowers

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Click the image to purchase or click the buy me button below.

About 2 weeks ago I came down with a cold and it was something fierce. It sucked. It lasted an entire week! I woke up on Wednesday and I felt like I had been hit by a truck! I thought that it was going to be just a day thing, but man did it last longer.

The ultimate bummer part is that I had plans to go to Death Valley that weekend! I was super hopeful that I was going to get better; however, it just didn’t happen. So… my Death Valley trip got cancelled. It sucked!

Then, after about a week of this not feeling good and having a temperature over 100, I started to feel slightly better, but really not 100%. So another weekend went by of me just being lazy, laying on my couch, and trying to get better.

Finally, after 2 weeks, I was feeling quite a bit better. I started to get the itch. All I could think about was Death Valley and the wildflowers. After deciding I was going to make a trip no matter what, I started to do my research for Death Valley (checking weather and road conditions). To my surprise it was supposed to be in the upper 90’s! Yep, I really wasn’t ready for camping with a low of 65 and a high of 98.

With all that being said, I thought I was going to miss out. I figured it just wasn’t in my cards this year, but then I remembered Joshua tree! I have never been to Joshua Tree and I knew it was supposed to have quite a bit of wildflowers. I checked the weather… High of 75…. Yep Joshua Tree it is!

The Adventure

Joshua Tree National Park is about 5.5 hours from my place. I left around 11am thinking that this would give me enough time to get to the park, roam around for a minute, and then get a sunset shot… Boy was I wrong lol.

I headed down the freeway and everything was going smoothly until I hit the dreaded LA traffic. I got to San Bernidino and the traffic was terrible. It basically cost me 1.5 hours. So my 5.5 hour trip turned into more of a 7 hour trip which put me in a bit of a time crunch.

Joshua Tree National Park Wildflowers

There are two entrances to Joshua Tree, the North and South. I chose to stay in Indio along Hwy 10 in order to start at the South entrance. Then, my plan was to stay in Yucca Valley for the second night which is near the North side entrance.

When I finally reached Indio, I checked into my hotel, and then I was off to the South side entrance of Joshua Tree National Park.

When I arrived, I had about a half hour until sunset so, I ended up barely making it into the park, pulled over at the first trail I could and walked around.

It was awesome! There were so many flowers blooming and the trail was just what I needed to stretch my legs and get some neat shots of the flowers.

While I was there, I figured it would be the perfect time to talk about how to take flower photos. So, I created the video above for my Youtube Channel, and wanted to put these tips into writing. So, lets get to it!

Tips on How to Take Flower Photos

Ultimately I have 2 types of photos that you may want to get, and the tips to get those photos. I wanted to get you started with taking flower photos because Spring is here!!!

1. How to get that creamy background

• You need to get at their level. Yep, you have to move your bootay and get down to the ground. Don’t try to stay standing up. This is where most people go wrong.

• Use a low F stop/ wide aperature. Basically, the lower the number the better in my opinion. Now most lenses will go to F4. This is ok, but ultimately you want to be around F2.8 or lower. If you are just starting out, just make sure that you are at the widest aperature possible for your lense. As I was saying F2.8 or lower is so much better. This is where you are really going to see that creamy background, also known as bokeh. This means that yes, you are going to have to spend a bit of money to get that type of lens; however, it is totally worth it!

See the images below for example. All of these images were taken from ground level at F2.8.

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Click the image to purchase

2. How to get that amazing landscape shot with the flowers in the foreground

Ok, so do you ever see those images, of the amazing flowers in the foreground, yet some how there is still that awesome landscape in the background? These are some of my favorite images! So how do you get them?

• You need to again, get down to their level. Get up close and personal with those beauties. This is going to allow you to have the flower in the foreground and then the gorgeous landscape in the background.

• Use a moderate F value. What do I mean? Basically you will want a good ‘landscape’ F value. I prefer F8 - F11.

• Focus on the mountains in the background. Whalah! You get your beautiful landscape wildflower image!

3. Other Tips

• Type of Lens to use: Really, anything that will allow you to focus manually and to shoot at a wide aperature. For me, I use my Sony 24-70mm G master F2.8

• Type of camera to use: You really need a camera that will allow you to shoot manual mode. If you don’t have this, then you are going to be hard pressed to try to use these tips. I use the Sony A7riii and the Sony A7rii

• Time of year to take flower photos: Pretty much any time of year that there are flowers! Now, if you want wildflowers you will need to shoot in the spring time.

  • For desert wildflowers you will want March and April, but these little flowers die quickly so you really need to keep an eye out on how the flowers are doing. There are awesome websites that you can check. The National Park Service website even has cool wildflower ratings :)

  • For foothill wildflowers you will want to go out during March and April.

  • For high mountain wildflowers you will want sometime in late July and early August.

  • Note: This all depends on the weather and the rain accumulation. You will need to check. These months are all a rough estimate.

• Time of day to take flower photos: Sunrise or sunset. These are the ultimate best because you are going to get that soft gorgeous light. If you happen to be shooting during the middle of the day, you can always block the flower with your shadow to help mellow out the light.

Do you have any tips on how to take flower photos? If so, comment below. I would love to add them to the list :)

This blog is all about community over competition. Let’s help each other, be friends with each other, learn together, and grown together.

Wishing you the very best!

Bessie

P.s. Love this post? Check out these similar ones:

Photography Apps I Use

There are so many dang Apps out there how do you even begin to choose what Apps to use?

I have tried alot of apps. Like a lot a lot and to be honest most of them kinda sucked. It took alot of installing, time wasted, and uninstalling to find good apps.

Now, there are many different apps I use for photography. Some for landscape scouting, some for backpacking, some for editing on my phone, and some for social media. Yes… like I said… I use alot of apps. So lets get into it.

Are you learning Photography? Check out the freebie page to get you started! I have created a bunch of awesome freebies to help you out :)

Photography Apps I Use

Photography Apps For Landscape Photography:

I created a post on this one. I use two main apps for my landscape photography. Head on over that way to check that out. In short I use Back Country Navigator and Photo Pills. You can read the entire post all about why I chose these two apps here:

2 Essential Apps for Landscape Photography

Photography Apps For Social Media:

• Unfold

  This little app is pretty awesome for instagram stories. It allows you to create absolutely beautiful picture stories for different occasions. I use it for when I create a new blog post, a new Youtube video, or add new products to my BYP Shop.

• Snapseed:

This is one of the best photo editing apps I have found out there. If I take a photo with my phone, I can edit in in snapseed and not worry about how it is going to look on my instagram feed. It is beautiful! So now you can take some pretty awesome images on your phone and share away. Yay!!

Other:

• Keep Notes

  I keep all my notes on this. It is seriously the best and helps me stay organized. I use it for my business and for personal use. You can create different notes with different lists.

• Playmemories

  This is the app I use to hook up to my phone. The app makes it to where my phone becomes a remote. It also allows me to share the photos from my camera straight to my phone!

• GPS Test

  This little handy dandy app does quite a bit. The thing I use it for the most is to help my GPS lock onto the satellites when it is having a difficult time. It also shows the compass, how quickly you are moving, the date and time, sunset date and time, and where all the satellites are in the sky,

• My Tracks

  This tracks me everywhere. It is actually what I use for backpacking, hiking, walking, or running. It shows my speed, my distance, elevation gain and more! It allows me to add way points such as different cool landscape features, lakes, and so forth. I love this one specifically for the distance, speed, and elevation gain.

• Blog

  This is a Squarespace app. It is freaking awesome! When I come up with a blog idea I can just open this app and start a new blog post. To me this is just amazing. This way I don’t have to carry a notebook and I won’t have to let an idea slip away. Once I get back to my computer I can just open up my website, and BOOM! there it is! The new post that I started :)

Do you use any of these apps? If not, what apps do you use? Leave a comment below. This is a community for photographers to help other photographers. Lets create a list of awesome apps so we don’t have to keep wasting our time with the install / uninstall game. Leave a comment below with the app you use and why.

Wishing you the absolute best!

Bessie

Stay Inspired with Photography - Things to try in 2019

Being a creative can sometimes be difficult. We are incredibly hard on ourselves, we get frustrated when we cannot create, we doubt ourselves quite often, and we get in these weird creative slumps from time to time.

I have done all this more than I would like to admit, and that is just counting last year :? I wanted to create this post to help you to stay inspired. To give you some ideas of different things to try this year to stay going forward in your photography journey, to keep you inspired, to keep you creating and doing what you love.

These are just a few ideas that I had off the top of my head. If you have other ideas please share them in the comments below. I want this to be an amazing community where we help each other grown, learn, and stay inspired. Becoming the best creatives, the best photographers, and the best humans that we can absolutely be.

Check out these fun photography mugs that I design for Photographers, Creative Entrepreneurs, and coffee lovers:

Stay Inspired with Photography - Things to try in 2019

1. Refresh your skills with a class

 I seriously cannot stress this enough. Taking a class is probably the last thing on your mind, but it is probably the most valuable thing that you can do. It will not only help you learn new skills, it will also keep your creative juices flowing! This is huuugggeeee!

Plus, you are investing in yourself, your knowledge, and your well being. As creatives we tend to think that the last place we should spend money on is ourselves. Well I Yell Blasphamy! Serious, you are where you should invest your money in. Take care of yourself, treat yourself, expand your knowledge, become better.

Did you know that many careers have a continuing education piece? This is where they have to go back to school a certain amount of hours each year in order to stay on top. We should be treating ourselves and our business just like this.

2. Spice up your lens collection

 Ahhh, there is nothing like getting a new piece of equipment to really help you stay creative. This is a double investment in my opinion. This will help you with getting better photographs, it is an investment into your business, and it will keep you creatively motivated. How freaking awesome is that? Here are some of my favorite lenses.

3. Explore new heights and angles

 I mean this as far as composition is concerned. Think outside of the box.

Do you always take photos standing straight up? Well, then try squatting down! Here are a few other things to try:

• Try shooting from above (aerial view) - You can stand on a log, a rock, or a mountain! Just try taking images from the top down.

• Photograph from below - Lay on your back and shoot up into the sky.

• Photograph from laying on your belly - Get at ground level. Who cares if you get dirty!

4. Start a self portrait project

 This can be one of the funnest and scariest ideas out there. I have tried this a few times, and man, each time I get nervous. Lol. I mean how can I get nervous in front of myself?

Starting a self portrait project can also help you think outside of the box, it can help you become more creative with lighting, angles, posing and so forth. But it can also help you with self confidence. Seriously, there is nothing like seeing a pretty picture of yourself to make you feel better.

5. Save time on editing

Editing can seriously be such a drag. We started photography because we liked to take photos! Not because we like to sit behind a desk all day, staring at a computer, editing our life away. There are some amazing tricks to help you save time on editing whether that is editing photos or videos. Make sure to check out my photography tips and tricks to get some awesome editing tricks. You can also check out my Youtube channel that has some easy tips and tricks for editing faster!

6. Try editing on the go

 So I just started this this year and OMGEEEEE!! It is amazing. Talk about always staying creative. I bought a super sweet laptop for photo editing, downloaded my Lightroom, and BOOM! Now I can edit on the go. This is going to be amazing for when I head out of town on a road trip.

This is also going to help you stay on time with your galleries, not feel too overloaded, and will help you stay creative.

7. Experiment with double exposure

 I looovvveee double exposures. Have you tried them yet? Comment below if you have.

There are certain cameras that will let you take a double exposure in camera! Now if that isn’t just the coolest then I do not know what is. The Sony A7rii is one of those cameras.

If you don’t have one of those cameras you can also do a double exposure in post. Check out these images below that I created in post:

 8. Sell your presets

Yep, this is a big one. There is nothing like being inspired with photography then by helping others. It is so awesome to see others use my presets for their photos. They tag me in the photos and OMG I am obsessed.

Plus, it is pretty awesome to get paid to do what you love!

If neither of these inspire you then I just don’t know what will.

Did you know that I sell some presets? Well, if not make sure to check them out.

9. Sell your landscape prints

 There are so many pros to selling your landscape prints I don’t even know where to begin. If you have been on the fence about this let me just give you a HARD push. What do you have to lose? Seriously though can you answer me that? What do you have to lose by trying?

Selling your prints is amazing. First of all you get to see your images printed on a huge canvas, metal, or lustre paper. Ok, if that hasn’t sold you yet let me just keep going.

Second, you get to sign your photograph!

Third, you get to decorate someone elses home with your creation! Imagine, someone is putting your print on their walls and admiring that image ever day! AHHHHH! This just makes me so excited.

10. Print more often and on the go!  

I created an entire blog post around this subject. You need to go check it out for yourself so see why it is so freaking cool to print your photos, and print them more often. Here is the post:

How to print photos from your phone

Printing your photos is just the best. Seeing your creations in person, holding them in your hands….. man there is just not much better than that. It kind of solidifies the entire process. It makes everything whole. Whether you are a professional photographer, a mom, or someone in high school, there is nothing like getting your photos printed out. You need to do this.

Create photo albums, hang the photos on your walls or your fridge, put them in your wallet. Do all the things! Believe me, you will thank me after that.

The Polaroid Zip:

Now, to make printing on the go super freaking easy check out this little guy. You can print anywhere right from your phone!

It is called the polaroid zip. Now there are a ton of different options out there, but this is the one I use. I use if for my brides, I use if for my families, I use it for my engagement sessions, and I use if for my family get togethers. It is my favorite. Again, check out the post that I created, linked above.

I hope this gets your creative juices going and thinking about new things that you can try this year to stay inspired with photography. Make sure to comment below if you have other ideas on how to stay inspired. My goal with this blog is to not only share photography tips and tricks, but to create an awesome community that helps each other become the absolute best we can be.

Wishing you nothing but the most beautiful 2019!

Bessie

P.s. did you enjoy this blog? Make sure to check out these similar ones here:

Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Blog

Ok, so you are ready to start a blog! How awesome is that! I am so dang happy for you, but I do want to give you a few things that you need to know before actually starting the blog. Things that I wish I knew before I started mine :)

There are many things that absolutely no one talks about. Everyone likes to keep things all peachy and like ‘oh its a dream’, ‘i make all this money’, ‘im living my best life’ , ‘its so easy’, ‘i only work when i want to’…. blah blah blah

I am just going to say all those are true to an extent. People like to take things to an extreme. They want everything to look so good. You know, the grass is always greener on the other side, but sometimes things can suck. Sometimes as a Creative or as an Entrepreneur you can get frustrated, you can be jealous , you can be discouraged, you can get let down, but don’t worry. That happens to EVERYONE! Even the ones that want to claim overnight success….

Don’t get me wrong, running your own business is freaking awesome. Having a blog and helping others is awesome too! There are a ton of awesome things as a blogger, I just wish people would be more upfront about the bad things. You see, I am a bad things kinda girl. I want to know all the negatives to something. This way, I can decide if I want to attempt it or not :) I can make an informed decision rather than get let down because my expectations were so dang high.

So with all that said, everyone can start a blog. Everyone has the potential to make it an amazing business. Everyone has the potential to make money, but here is what people do not warn you about:

Things You Need to Know Before Starting a Blog

1.You are not going to get rich quick:

I have subscribed to alot of newsletters about being a photographer, a creative, and entrepreneur. I get so many emails saying things like ‘I made $200k in one month off of one blog’

Ugh! Those emails frustrate me. I am not going to lie. There is a message behind those emails saying that you can get rich quick. That you should be able to create 1 blog post and BOOM success.

Well, my friend, that is just not the case. I am sorry. I wish it was, but honestly, if it was, I would probably have a big house and not be sitting in a crap apartment.

You are not going to earn $10k your first month of blogging. Hell, you probably won’t even earn that in your first year of blogging.

2. The learning struggle is REAL!

There is a huge freaking learning curve when it comes to being a small business. There is that same learning curve with just blogging. You cannot accomplish anything if you are not willing to learn. You need to dig dig dig and learn all you can. As soon as you feel like you know it, you probably need to learn more.

It will be overwhelming and you will want to quit. You won’t see any success and it is incredibly discouraging, but do not give up.

Explore and try new things. Don’t be afraid to invest in yourself and your business.

3. Nothing Ever Happens Overnight

This relates to my get rich quick scheme.

You most likely won’t get 100,000 subscribers by offering a cheat sheet. You probably won’t get 100,000 subscribers in your first year. Building a brand, building a business, and building a blog is going to take alot of your time.

4. It takes alot of your time and effort:

I have heard many people say that they schedule their blogs out for the entire year in 1 or 2 weeks. This makes it sound like they only work 2 weeks out of the year… hmm…. wouldn’t that be sweet? Well, I am just going to say that this entire process is going to take alot of work. Most of my blogs take me hours to create. I’m serious. They take me hours. This blog in itself has taken me 2 hours already and I'm not even finished! CARAZY.

Now some people can write quicker that others. I am not the fastest writer there ever was, but I am not slow either. I like to create good content. Plus adding images to your blog takes quite a bit of time as well.

Bonus Tip! You will need to know how to use Photoshop Elements, or some sort of tool to add words to your images.

5. There are a lot of ups and downs…. a lot of downs…

Once you start making money your income is going to fluctuate. You are going to make money one month and none the next. You need to prepare for that. It is ok. Don’t worry, but just know that it will happen.

6. You will compare yourself to other people and you will feel really bad about where you are in your journey

We are the worst when it comes to comparing ourselves to others. Especially now with social media. We are constantly scrolling looking at everyone else’s awesomeness, everyone else’s success… guess what…

What you see are peoples highlight reels. You never see their behind the scenes. You never see them on the floor crying, you never see them with their mascara smeared and them sitting with a big ole tub of ice cream on the couch, you never see them getting ready to throw in the towel. You only see their highlights, their successes, and what they are proud of.

This is going to be hard and this is probably one of the hardest things, but try your damdest to put your blinders on and focus on where you are going. Try to not compare yourselves to others because it will just make you feel bad and it will make you want to quit.

Now with all that being said, blogging is pretty darn awesome. It gives you huge flexibility with your lifestyle. It can be a full time job, a side hustle, and really whatever you want to make it!

I just wanted to give you some truth so you know what you are getting yourself into.

If you are interested in blogging make sure to check out my ‘ How to Start a Blog and Make Money ‘ post. It will help you get everything in line to make sure you are successful.

I hope you all enjoyed this blog! If you did, leave me a comment below, or even better, share it with your friends!

Wishing you the absolute best!

Bessie

Do You Need a UV Filter for Your Lens

This question has been asked over and over again so I figured it would be a perfect post! Do you need, or should you use, a UV filter on your lens?

This is a very controversial question and one that is mainly based on an opinion. Many photographers will leave the filter on at all times where others do not. Is one right? Well, I think you should decide for yourself.

Before we get into it lets get some basics:

Are you learning Photography? Check out the freebie page to get you started! I have created a bunch of awesome freebies to help you out :)

What is a UV filter?

A UV filter is a glass filter, just like most others, that will attach to your lens. It is meant to block ultra violet light rays. It also removes the blue cast from images taken during a very bright day, or bright sunny conditions.

Do You Need a UV Filter for Your Lens?

Lets bring up the most common arguments, pros vs. cons

Pros for using UV filters all the time:

• The UV filter provides protection for the lens from damage

  Oh my gosh there is only 1 thing worse than dropping your camera…. picking it up and seeing your lens shattered. I haven’t had this happen to me, thank the lord, however, I have heard horror stories. I have also heard amazing stories as to how the UV filter saved the lens. Now, in my opinion, that is a pretty good investment. I would rather lose a $100 UV filter than lose a $2k lens.

  To play the devils advocate though, if you drop your lens to where your UV filter shatters, wouldn’t that also ruin your lens internally due to the impact?

• The UV filter keeps my lens clean. No dust, dirt, scratches, finger smudges, and so forth

  This is true too. The UV filter is an extra layer of glass; therefore, it will keep all the dust and grime off of your lens glass. It is also a flat piece of glass which is much easier to clean when needed.

  If the filter does get scratched then it is much nicer to have to buy a $100 filter rather than a $2k lens.

Cons for using UV filters all the time:

• The filter causes a loss of image quality

  This is true in theory. Yes adding glass to glass can reduce the image quality. But the loss is going to be so small in practice that you need to really ask the question of ‘is the loss of image quality significant and going to effect me?’

• Loss of light

  I have never seen this. Adding a piece of goo quality glass to your lens, that is clear, should not effect the amount of light that enters your sensor.

• Loss of resolution

  As long as you are using a good quality UV filter you will not see any significance in the quality on a normal lens. A good quality filter will have optically flat surfaces and should not disturb the direction of the light that will pass through the filter.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, I do keep a UV filter on my lens, but the choice is really up to you. Again, you need to choose if the ‘loss of image quality is significant’ to you.

I do need to warn you though… if you put a cheap filter on your lens and in front of your expensive glass you are ultimately creating a lens with the image quality of that cheap filter. Do not buy a cheap filter. Basically all I have to say is :

Cheap low quality filters are NOT acceptable.

Filters are not the funnest thing to buy, lets just be honest; however, they are important, keep you creative, and can be incredibly helpful. Make sure to get yourself a good quality UV filter. Expect to spend in the $100 range when purchasing a good quality UV filter.

I got my filter from Horn Photo and love it. I have not seen any negative effects to my image quality with it. If you can go to Horn, then make sure to do so. They are an amazing company and local small business. If you cannot go there, then I would check out the Zeiss, the Heliopan , or the Hoya .

Do you use a UV filter? Comment below and let me know. This blog is meant to be a community helping each other out, growing our businesses, growing our knowledge, and so much more. We are seriously so much stronger together!

Bessie

How to Photograph the Super Blood Wolf Moon January 2019 | How to see it in California

It’s tonight! The Super Blood Wolf Moon Lunar Eclipse is happening and the sky is going to be putting on a pretty darn awesome show. I am sure even just hearing the name you are interested, but what is it and how do you see it? Here is everything you will need to know about this phenomenon :

Super Blood Wolf Moon January 2019 | How to see it in California

When is the Super Blood Wolf Moon?

Sunday January 20th into Monday January 21st, 2019 (depending on where you are located in the USA)

The Lunar Eclipse will begin around 11:30 ET which means about 8L30 Pacific time.

You will want to start watching the sky around 7:30pm. if you are in California. As the Earths shadow begins passing in from the lower left. Totality will be around 8:40 and the moon will return to its normal appearance around 9:40pm.

What is the Super Blood Wolf Moon?

This term is being used because there are several events happening all at once. It sure is a mouthful but lets break it down a little.

Super Moon: A super moon occurs when the full moon is at its closest point to the earth.

Wolf Moon: Every month has special names to describe the full moon. For January it is Wolf Moon. It originates from the Native American folklore.

Blood Moon: This is going to be the coolest part of the show. This is the lunar eclipse where the moon will turn a blood red color as it passes the Earths shadow.

How to see it:

You will need to be outside, during the right hours, with clear open skies. If it is cloudy, which is what the California weather is calling for, you unfortunately will not be able to see it.

Most of the US will have the ability to see the Super Blood Wolf Moon this January. You will not need any special equipment to see it. Just your own two eyes.

How to photograph it:

You will need a variety of things…

1. Plan out your location - scout it out to find the best composition

   • Decide if you want a large landscape shot, or just the moon shot. This will determine your lens.

2. Make sure it is clear skies

3. Be at your location well before the occurrence

4. Tripod

5. Camera

6. 100-400+ mm lens

   • This will be more for just a moon image. If you want more of a landscape you will use a 70-200mm lens

7. Head lamp

8. Camera remoted

9. Warm clothes to make sure you are comfy and warm. This way you are having fun rather than miserable and only thinking about how cold your toes are :)

10. Snacks and drinks to make sure you are comfortable and enjoying the show

That’s it! Now get out there and freaking get some amazing moon images! Are you going out to see the show? Comment below and let me know where you will be viewing it from, what kind of gear you plan on using, and all the deets!

I can’t wait to see your photos!!

Bessie

Things You Need to Do During Your Off Season

Alright fellow photographers, creatives, and entrepreneurs… there is one thing that you are going to have to accept…. Entrepreneurship is seasonal. Once you accept that the better you will be. Business will get slow, and then it will speed up. It will really really speed up to where you feel like you are spinning, and then it will slow down to a snails pace leaving you questioning if everything is ok.

Everything is ok. This business of ours is just seasonal. Try to be ok with that and you will feel a lot better. Plus, once you are ok with that you will be able to really take advantage of your down time.

Let me give you a little story of where I am coming from. At the beginning of last year, I was so slow that I began to worry. Ok, worry is an understatement but you get where I am going. I sat there sad, kinda depressed, and ultimately worthless.  During the summer, especially the late summer, things got crazy. I was staying up late, getting up early, and I even started to drink an energy drink here and there which I don’t ever do.

I honestly wondered if I could keep up with it. I was also super worried because I didn’t have the time to blog. My blog fell completely off the radar. I mean it was so far gone it wasn’t even funny. Months went by without me blogging and that little voice inside my head wouldn’t leave me alone. It was telling me I wasn’t good enough, I needed to do more, blah blah blah.

If I would have just been ok with the idea that this business is seasonal then I could have accomplished sooooo much during my off season to where I felt amazing during my busy season. So here are some things that you just need to do during your down times in order to not get overwhelmed, frustrated, depressed, and just plain overworked during your busy times:

Things You Need to Do During Your Off Season

Update your portfolio

I mean this one in 2 different ways. The first way being, now is the perfect time to schedule some styled shoots! You have a bunch of free time so why not make the most of it. Do something for you. Create a shoot that you have been dreaming of. Let your creativity flow. This isn’t only good for your mind, and your soul, it is good for your portfolio. Show people what you are capable of.

Secondly, update your portfolio on your website. Show your favorite images. Your best images. Not all the images. You want to attract your people, your tribe. Update your portfolio to resemble who you want to attract.

Network!

There really is no better time to get together with other creatives, other entrepreneurs, and other like minded people. I don’t mean this to mean reach out to people to make money. I mean actually network with people. I mean talk to them. Be friends with them. Help them. Give them your gifts. This is huuugggeee in growing your business in the long run.

Learn

As small businesses we tend to not invest in ourselves. This is terrible because honestly that is really the best place to put your money. I think learning from others is such an important thing. This is how we grow as individuals. You have to spend money to make money friends. This is the perfect time to sign up for a workshop, schedule a mentorship,

Start a personal project and learn by being creative and playing.

It takes a lot of effort to get your business moving forward and to keep it moving forward. We have to stay current, up to date on all the things, and just “in the know” (no I’m not cool enough to say that, but I said it anyways).

Devise a Plan and Schedule

This is where I went wrong last year during my down time. I freaked out and just didn’t do anything, but I could have been planning all the things. So my thoughts here are start planning your posts. I mean all the posts… Pinterest, social media, blog posts.  

This is really where you are going to help yourself during your busy season. You can schedule posts. This way when you are busy, you don’t have to worry about blogging, or pinning, because guess what? It is already completed for you. You did it during your down time! How awesome is that really though?

So, devise a plan for your blogs. Create the blogs, and then schedule them out throughout the year. Now you have content for half the year, or maybe even the entire year, or at least until your next down time.

Enhance Your Brand

During the slow season you can really take a fine look at your business. You can see it from every perspective.

Have a real honest conversation with yourself and how your brand looks. Is it cohesive throughout all the things ie social media, websites, emails, newsletters, etc?

Can you simplify anything for your customers to make things smoother?

Does your brand attract your tribe? Does it attract your target market?

Work on your website

This goes along with the above ‘enhance your brand’.

We always put off working on our website. It is one of the last things we creatives want to even think about, but it is freaking important friends! Does your website resemble your brand? Does it attract your target market? Is it easy to navigate? And be honest, how old are the photos on your website?

I hope this blog was helpful and just got you thinking about how you can really take advantage of the down time. Also, hopefully it will help you not fret when those slow times do come around, because believe me they will come whether you try to avoid them or not.

Honestly though, the slow times are one of the best times for your business. They are the times where you can really nurture your business back to health. These are the times that you can make everything shiney again. Embrace the slow times, appreciate them, love them, and be ok with working on all the other things that we didn’t realize came with running a business J

Wishing you the very best!

Bessie

P.s. Love this post? Check out these similar ones:

How To Print Photos From Your Phone - Print on Location

How To Print Photos From Your Phone - Print on Location

I am a HUUUGGEEEE believer of printing your images. Yes, I think it’s crazy important. In todays world, everyone thinks that me most important thing to have is digital images. Well I do believe those are important printing your images is just as important. You need to hold your images in your hands, hang them on your walls, put them in photo albums, share them with friends, and just do all the things with them.

As you guys know I do both Landscape photography and Portrait photography. I love love love to spoil my customers, I love to be able to hand an image to someone and see their expression, and I just love printing pictures lol. (how many times can I say that?! So, I have been on the search to print images on location.

I figured it would be the coolest thing to be at a portrait session or a wedding and be able to hand a printed image to my people. We are so used to getting things right now, and I want to be able to provide that kind of service.

I also wanted to be able to be at a family party and hand a print over to my sisters after a silly selfie :O

So, the search began and I found the coolest little printer you ever did see!!! It is called the

Polaroid Zip

There are so many things I love about this little printer.

1. It is small which is perfect for packing around while you are on a shoot, or just putting in your purse while you are at a party

2. It is easy to use! All you need to do is download the app and boom!

3. The battery lasts a long time

4. The printer prints quickly

5. The picture size is awesome. Perfect for wallets!

Now, with the pro’s always comes the cons. So here are the things I don’t like:

1. Only holds 10 sheets of paper

2. The color is off

3. The quality isn’t that great

Now, the con’s really aren’t that bad because I only print in black and white. If I am going to print a photo for my clients I do not want to print it in color because then they might get the idea that their images will look like what is printed. If you print black and white, they get the picture, the immediate satisfaction, and great customer service. They walk away smiling and super excited to see the rest. Not to mention it places a small little thought in their head that prints are awesome!

There is also a bunch of other super cool printers that are incredibly similar. So check out these tiny little printers:

Are you learning Photography? Check out the freebie page to get you started! I have created a bunch of awesome freebies to help you out :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this little post :)

If you want to see more gear make sure to head on over to my gear lists!

Wishing you the very best and super pretty pictures!

Bessie

Photography Jargon for Beginners- What do all those words mean?

Photography Jargon for Beginners

What do all those words mean?

Ok, so you are just getting into photography and your head is swimming because of all the ‘photography words’ like aperture, shutter speed, stopping down, and so forth.

Don’t worry friend, I have been there and done that! Seriously, it can take a long time to figure it all out and what the heck everything actually means. That is why I created this Free Instant download photography cheat sheet just for you! It has 9 of the most common photography words and what their meaning is. YAS!

No more guessing, or researching, no more googling. Now you can have the information in one easy to download guide that you can print out or keep on your phone :) How cool is that?

Are you just starting out in photography? Well welcome to the tribe! I am so excited for you and have made a couple awesome things to help you along your photography adventure:

• My Camera Gear List

• More Freebies!!!

• Youtube videos full of behind the scenes, tips, tricks, and how I got the shot

Let me know what questions you have by leaving me a comment below :)

Bessie

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P.s. If you are learning photography and love posts like this then make sure to check out these ones :)

Black and White Lightroom Presets by Bessie Young Photography

Black and White Lightroom Presets

by Bessie Young Photography

Ok so we all know how much I absolutely love love love black and white images. I mean I may go to the ‘im a bit obsessed’ with black and white images. So…. It is officially official friends!!! I finally freaking made my black and white lightroom presets available! For Realz!

I love lightroom presets for a few different reasons:

1. they will make your life easier

2. they will make your editing faster

3. they are easy to use

4. they will help you find your style

5. they will help you learn editing

6. they will help you learn Lightroom

So for me, these are just a win win win. Now, let me tell you something friend. These are no traditional presets. No. They are not just a bunch of presets where you either like them or don’t. Oh not for this girl. I had to make them amazing. I had to make them worth it. I had to make them phenomenal. So how, or what did I do, to do that?

Well, I went above and beyond is what I did!! I decided to create what I needed when I was first starting out as a photographer. No, I didn’t know lightroom or how to edit, but by golly I was going to be a photographer so I needed a little bit of help. So check this out, the best thing about these presets are that you have complete control over all the presets with an easy to use interface which allows you to create the look you want one click at a time! I have included easy and quick contrast edits, vignetting edits, film edits, and more! Plus… these presets include everything from the standard black and white image, to the light and airy black and whites, and even to the very popular moody black and whites.

Alright, so enough already, here are the deets:

Whats included in the BYP B+W Presets:

• 8 Black and White Original BYP Presets (these are all 1 click edits!)

• 4 FREE Black and White Presets

• Contrast Settings

• Vignetting Settings

• Film Grain Settings

• 3 color filters

Do you have any questions? Please please please comment below with your questions or send me a message via this contact form.

I am so dang excited about these presets and so dang excited to see your creations that come from them! Make sure to tag #bypshop or #thebypshop in your social media posts so I can see all the goodness!

Wishing you nothing but amazing, beautiful, and oh so awesome black and white photos!

Bessie

Love this post? Want to seem more? Check out these similar posts here:

ND Filter vs. No Filter

ND Filter vs. No Filter

Photography Tips and Tricks

Have you ever really wondered what an ND filter really does? Does it really make that much of a difference when it comes to taking a landscape photo? Well, my friend, I conducted a test for you guys so you can see what a 10 stop ND filter looks like in comparison to no filter at all.

Yes, I hiked 7+ miles one way just to conduct this test for you ;)

So let me start off with saying why I love my 10 stop ND filter. It is pretty amaze balls for when you are trying to do a few things:

1. Photograph in the harsh light

2. Photograph waterfalls or moving water

3. Wanting to take a long exposure

I particularly like to use the 10 Stop ND Filter when I am wanting to have that nice smooth water effect, but I cannot have a long exposure. The Filter allows me to crank my shutter speed to 20” and lower during the middle of the day. How cool is that?!!

A Neutral Density filter allows a photographer to control the exposure in an image very easily. The filter stops light reaching the camera sensor, therefore allowing us to leave the camera with a higher aperture for a longer amount of time.

This blog post is strictly to show you the difference between using a filter and not using a filter. We will get into how to use an ND filter and what they are all about in a different post. So stay tuned!

When do you find yourself using a ND filter? Comment below and let me know :)

10 Stop ND Filter vs. No Filter:

Side by side comparison:

These photos were taken at high noon at about 10,000’ elevation with all the glare imaginable due to the granite backdrop and the water.

Photograph with No Filter:

Settings: ISO 64 | f14 | 1/60”

Photograph with 10 Stop ND Filter:

Settings: ISO 64 | f14 | 20”

So there you have it. The 10 stop ND filter vs. No filter. I thought this would just be a fun comparison and help you see the difference between using a ND filter vs not using one :)

Wishing you nothing but a beautiful day!

Bessie

P.S. Did you love this post? Want to see more photography tips and tricks? Check this out here: