Blogger photography.

For several reasons I've decided I'd like to delve into photography a little.

Namely for my blog, for capturing images of my children/ family and as a hobby for myself.

I am fortunate in that my husband is a keen photographer, it's his passion. So when I started asking about a move up from my iPhone and point and shoot I've had plenty support in researching, practising with and purchasing a camera that meets my new found requirements.

I was looking for something not too bulky, that had great image quality, snappy autofocus and interchangeable lenses.

I adore Canon and immediately fell for the Canon EOS M. It's a part of their mirror less camera range. It looks sleek, well built and gets great reviews for its image quality. Not only that but pop an adaptor on and it's useable with an array of Canon lenses. It looks like my dream camera and you can pick one up for a good price especially second hand.

However despite this an unfortunate downside of the Canon EOS M is its Auto Focus which has been described as sluggish at best despite firmware updates. 

It is crucial to me that I can use my camera to capture images of our children. Now Lottie is still pretty stationary but Oscar he doesn't sit still! Photographing a toddler is by no means an easy feat and I have no experience with manual focus. So despite my love for its aesthetics and build quality I just couldn't part with our money for an EOS M. Now I'm not saying it's not capable of producing wonderful images because clearly it is, but I know I do not have the patience or skills as yet to work with a camera with a slower auto focus. I rely heavily upon autofocus on my point and shoot and iPhone cameras  to help me capture those moments that are here one minute and gone the next. I need something that will respond to my quick shooting style.

Just to show what the Canon EOS M is capable of check out one of my personal favourite blogs Hello Archie. Kaye works with the Canon EOS M beautifully and has wonderful clear, crisp and timeless captures on her posts which form part of her beautifully designed blog.

I think if I had a little more time and patience I would give the Canon EOS a shot but I have a few nerves and reservations and sadly do not have the funds to experiment with camera gear.

So instead I picked up Hubby's Fuji X-E2 and had a go. I must admit to me it feels big to grasp, I also am not keen on the silver and black styling as I prefer to have a monotone but it's great to be able to explore a decent camera before purchasing.

One of my first shots with the Fuji was my absolute favourite. 

Oscar reaching over to pass me back the  lens cap (much to my husband's relief I expect, no smudgy fingerprints on the lens here!)

I then took the Fuji out to a BBQ we were all invited to in the afternoon. This was perfect as we were surrounded by lots of friends and little ones, just the occasion for when I feel I would really love to use a decent camera to capture some of the fun and atmosphere at the party.

Now don't get me wrong. I clearly have some practice to get under my belt but I had fun learning. It felt nice not to be stuck to my phone and being prompted by Apple software that my camera roll was out of space. I really like how responsive the Fuji was, how sharp the images are and the lovely bokeh effect to the background of the shots. It's also fun to be able to use the interchangeable lens to zoom in and out of your subject manually.

I even had a dabble at Lightroom when we got home to add some retro filters to my images. I would definitely like to practise more with my photography and have chosen to opt for a Fuji xm1 this is because I don't feel I would get much use from a viewfinder and I appreciate its more compact size. The Fuji xm1 comes in black and silver, brown and silver and all black and I've chosen the all black model. We picked a used one up (body only) second hand which made it a much more affordable choice.

I will look forward to updating how I get on with it and expect to incorporate more of my photographs on the blog in the future.

What camera do you use for blogging? (: