I am always up for anything Christmassy, well by the first of November anyway, so really an evening of being surrounded by Christmas decorations, cocktails and food sounded like fun. Also having been to Dirty Martini before in Birmingham I half knew what to expect and knew where the best photo spots were (thanks sis!).

I’ll be honest, I don’t know much about my camera, how to take the best photos or a lot about anything else but Viking Photography were our hosts and I was determined to get a question or two in which Elouisa happily answered. In photography lighting is always a biggie and with the darker months it’s like an uphill battle trying to get photos taken whilst there is a fraction of daylight. It’s true to say that bars are not known for their bright, perfect selfie taking lights and so it was of course darker in Dirty Martini. To get the most from our photos at the event and during task one Viking Photography shared with us their light bars. Quite literally a game changer during winter and I’m definitely going to get myself something similar whether it be a ring light or bar style. The white light is exactly what I’m looking for to take clear photos even when the outside isn’t looking too great. We were also able to use coloured acetate sheets to give the images a different mood or wash of colour.

The second task consisted of a little more roaming. Using prisms we were able to create more abstract images, playing with different sides and edges of the glass to get the shot. I have included a few of the images but there was so much more that you could do with them and other girls had really shown these off.

Of course when the Instagrammable cocktails and food came out it was hard to resist a few more photos and by this time, if anything, I was more confident to just play around with the options on my camera to see what they did and what gave the best results. The food itself after picture taking was very good and personally the pigs in blankets and brownies were the best of the evening.

The event absolutely flew by and it was great to meet and speak to people who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. It was also so good just to take the time to learn and find out more about my camera instead of the usual point and shoot and hope for the best by taking a hundred photos. I found this extremely helpful simply because I believe sometimes pictures need to be captured quickly and in the moment rather than posed.

There was a competition later on in the evening with our entries being photos we had taken during the event and as I’m a huge fan of interiors and decor my entry was just that. After all of the photos and camera swapping in the evening I thought this image was taken on my phone but this was with my camera and I love the result, very Christmassy.

Elouisa was the judge with the final vote and a deserving winner, Little Blonde Blog, took a great photo winning a great printer from Viking Photography.

Luckily the evening for me didn’t end there and my sister showed me more sights of Birmingham to be seen on my Instagram soon.

Thanks for reading and a huge thanks to Viking Photography, Elouisa and Jennie for organising the event #VikingPicturePerfect!

Until next time,

L x