I am not sure if you remember, but some time ago, I posted on my Facebook page that I have won a Professional Line Photo Book worth of £100 from Saal Digital UK . I made a decision that this would be my Food Portfolio album.

I had so much fun to choose which photos should be included inside, how should they be placed, how I wanted the cover to look like, what shape of the book I would prefer. It was not always easy to decide. The Saal’s website has got so many options, I was changing my mind many times.

It took me few days to complete the task. Not because I had a problem to navigate the program. This part was very easy. The system is user friendly and even you are not techy person you will be able to complete your album without any problems. I simply wanted this album to represent my work the best it could.

Finally I have decided to produce a Portrait Style 22 x 30 Photo Book Professional Line, matte photo paper, leather black cover and 60 pages.

I was not sure what to expect, I knew I did not risk anything. In the worst scenario I would have a photo album which would have no use as the quality would not let me to show it to anyone. Soon after I placed my order the book arrived. Straight away I touched it I knew I won’t be disappointed. The quality is amazing, overall look is very professional and my photos looks alive!

I can highly recommend the company. Top service from every side, starting from customer service. I have been informed about every step and contact the representatives have been very responsive and helpful.

Bravo Saal Digital UK, I am definitely going to order another album with you!

I am very busy lately with my food photography. It is amazing to see how much people understand about benefits of useing good quality images on websites and social media, the trend changed during the last year. Many realised that those type of photos have got bigger potential for being liked, commented or even shared, but most definitely they are growing the business. I am against using any type of filters when shooting food or products. Let’s show your audience exactly what they are going to buy. This of course does not mean those photos should be boring. Most definitely far from that.

I have bought three flavoured Coca-Cola some time ago and today decided to have a little bit fun with them. I asked my youngest boy for assistance. I had this great idea in my head for him to be a model in this photoshoot, however this was not his day. He could not focus, stay still even for a moment and he was laughing all the time. I tried to think fast how to change my vision but still have fun during the whole process. I decided to bring the scenery up to life.

Tymon worked amazing as an assistant, he still was giggling and made funny faces which helped us to enjoy the task even more. I used only one lamp during this shooting. It was situated on my left side and brightened up all set from the top. As you can see, the shadows are stronger than usually in my work, I did not bounce the light from any reflector. I quite like the darker mood of this scenery. Purring drink was ok, but nothing new, we have done this before and everyone were doing this many times as well. We decided to play with bubbles and we both loved it.

I was very happy with the outcome, but still was missing something more real and alive. It took me a little bit time to came up with idea to involve our little pet rat into the scenery. The only problem was Cookie was never trained to perform tricks, therefore we had to sit patiently and wait for the best moments. For sure she did not disappointed.

Practice, try something new. Your ideas are not going to be everyone’s cup of tea but they are going to be your ideas which can evolve to something bigger in the future. Simply enjoy the process.

I met Hayley during one of my daily walks by canal. She was taking care of Puff and we started to talk.

After few days I ended up taking photos of this amazing pair.

I never shoot horses this way before but I use to ride and knew somehow what’s they like. I took my youngest boy with me and we filled his bag pack with apples, this was a very good shot.

I think we still would be OK without them as the connection between girl and her horse was so real, strong and unbreakable they just acted natural all the time.

I am not an expert with animal photography but this is what I learned during my last photoshoot:

1. If possible, spend some time with the animal to know it better before you start to take the photos. Simply take your time with them.

2. Let them get use to to the noise of your camera. My Nikon D750 is not the most quiet one on the market. I had to take few dummy shots to check how Puff will react to it. He was careful on the beginning but did not bother later during the session.

3. Employ a faster shutter speed. Animals constantly moving and you need to take few quick shots to be able to catch the right moment. The faster the shutter speed the less likely you are to blur the movement.

4. Choose time of the day when theight is not to harsh. When you shoot during very bright time the shodows are going to be too dark. ‘Golden hour’ work as a diffuser and better angle light on your animal subject.

5. If you can include the owner into the photo it is always much easier job as their know they pets. When Puff started to be unpatience Hayley started to rub gis belly to calm him down.

6. Enjoy the moment. None of the photos you take are going to be the same. You can be very surprise with the outcome of the session. I definitely cannot wait for next time when I am going to catch this pair when jumping.

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