I’ve just completed the 100 Happy Days challenge and I am bursting with pride! This is the first challenge that I’ve actually completed, no cheating, no skipping days and it’s been super fun!

At first I struggled to get into the routine, but it really helped to do the challenge along with friends. Seeing my buddies’ pictures being posted, encouraging each other and panicking that we “don’t forget to post” together really helped me stay on track and served as a constant reminder not to fail. Once I got into the swing of things, though, it became second nature to post a picture every day and I started to see little happy moments all around me that I wanted to capture for the day.

– Get a group of friends to play along and encourage each other.
– Take photos throughout the day and then set aside a time in the evening when you always post. That way you’ll get into a routine and you’ll be able to select the best moment from a batch of photographs.
– Posting everyday for 100 days is a challenge in itself, but adding a theme like ‘happiness’ is a trigger to complete the task. Doing something that makes you happy will remind you!
– Make it easy, always have your phone or camera to hand so you don’t miss moments.

I feel a little bit like I’ve lost an arm since the challenge ended and I’m eager to start up a new one; I may even create my own! I definitely see my world in photographs now and kick myself when I don’t have my camera. If you haven’t taken the 100 Happy Days challenge, I seriously recommend it! It really makes photography second nature. You can read my post about the challenge and happiness or dive right into the challenge itself over at 100happydays.com.

Loves x xx

Prompt: Blur

When I got back to what seemed like my mundane life after my road trip last month I decided that I really needed to get stuff done to make ‘every day’ more fun. One of the biggest goals I’ve had for a while is to learn how to use my camera better on manual settings, so when I heard about a local photography course I joined up instantly instead of umming and ahhing and eventually missing the deadline ;)

Prompt: Black and White

Prompt: Close Up

My first class was last Monday at the Bowery Coffee Shop and Gallery in Headingley and I enjoyed it so much. If you’ve been thinking about doing something similar, I highly recommend taking the plunge! It was so invigorating and even wandering around on my own in the local village, where I go out drinking or pop to the supermarket, taking random photos didn’t even seem so silly.

Prompt: Left and Right

Prompt: Movement or Motion

Our first assignment was to consider composition. Our tutor showed us some of his favourite imagery and we discussed the impact of the photographer’s cropping and angle choices before being given a list of ‘prompts’ to go out and photograph in the surrounding area.

Prompt: Natural & Unnatural

Prompt: Near and Far (Perspective)

Prompt: Silhouette

I think having those prompts made me forget about how awkward I felt taking pictures of walls and trees and just allowed me to concentrate on the photography. I really recommend setting this challenge for yourself; You can use these prompts or even get a friend to send you a list of 10/15 words to create your own.

Prompt: Primary Colour

Prompt: Reflection

Prompt: Shadow

Prompt: Still

Have you ever taken a photography class? I’d love to know what you thought of it and if you found it useful for your every day photography in the comments or you can tweet at me :)
Loves x xx