Mackenzie Thompson

[exploring-the-curious]

The Importance of Backing Up Photos The evolution of smartphones is getting out of hand. It is very common for phones to have 2-3 cameras now that we are reaching the end of 2025. Phones filling into the position they are in today came with major advantages, but it also made me a photo hoarder. The main advantage is being able to keep endless memories in something you can look back on. Within the touch of a screen, you can capture moments in life that will be in photographs for decades. The storage that smartphones offer makes me feel stress-free when snapping everything in sight. Apps like Microsoft OneDrive, Amazon Photos, and iCloud, all come with free photo storage if you are already a member. Some other ones, totally free, that I like are MEGA, and Flickr. But those are limited in the storage they offer. When using the 3-2-1 photo backup method, these are great to work into the plan. The 3-2-1 backup method is used to ensure no photos are lost. The first thing I do when I am done taking a series of important photos is to back them up. Technology is way too unpredictable. I upload my images to my laptop first, and I have hard drives as part of the strategy. Uploading to online storage has helped me have easier access to my images if I’m not around my laptop. I still struggle with being a photo hoarder, but trying to keep up with junk photos has made a difference. 

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[exploring-the-curious]

Easy Way to Send Clients Photos Online There are so many ways to deliver your clients’ photos, but this is one method I enjoy using from time to time. If you want to share images with yourself, family, or clients, online galleries are an easy option that is available at your fingertips. Of course, like many great ideas, this one comes with a long list of options to choose from. But the one I've been using the longest is called CloudSpot.  You create a personalized gallery where you can arrange multiple folders. You have different aesthetics to pick from, and a free choice of the photo and title you want to appear before entering the gallery. After you’vecompleted the gallery, a link is provided, and you set up a password for access. I like to use the date of the photo session. After that, whoever has the link and password will open it to a gorgeous home page that I’veheard is a buildup of excitement to the gallery.   The app gives an amazing free package and affordable upgrades. I personally appreciate online galleries for smaller photo sessions and how available it is for people to view and download images. Often, I would create one folder for regular edited, one for black and white, and a folder of colour-selected photos. The colour-selected photos are for when I turn the photo black and white but show colour in certain parts of the image.  I hope you find a website that meets your needs. 

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[exploring-the-curious]

Photo Challenges to Help Boost Your Creativity A hidden trick I've found for opening my eyes to new ideas happened during high school. I was lucky to have a photography class as an option towards my graduation credits. My teacher was amazing, and she always introduced different photography ideas to try.  At the beginning of my first semester in the photography class, she gave us a few photo challenges. The first one was to choose an outdoor place and take a photo every day in the same spot for the rest of the semester.   She ended her conversation with us by saying to check online for photo challenges, so I googled around, and there is a huge range of options. It truly helped me get used to a camera that has more settings to mess around with. Before then, I had a small digital camera, or my iPod camera, but the cameras we were fortunate to have were more advanced.  I’ve also gone and found some great photography generators online that help you pick a random theme.  Alongside doing these challenges to help you boost your creativity, this is the perfect thing to help you have a consistent posting groove on social media. Being an active person online will encourage people to follow you and stay a follower. 

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Candid Vs Posed Photography  Instead of a staged photo session where you are posing your subject, another approach will give you a more natural look. Thosecandid photos. Candid photos are when your person of interest is going about their day without being aware of a camera lens. These photos are fun because sometimes there is a hidden beauty when people are not expecting their photos to be taken. Exploring candid photography starts in any scene with any subject. And although candid images are in the moment, I’ve had people act for a candid shot. Often, looking at each other can spark some giggles, and encouraging them to lock their eyes will bring out theirsmiles.   Posed photography will have you prepared for a date, time, and place. Planning photoshoots to be posed can open a huge amount of room for creativity. Themes and matching outfits with family members come together nicely when trying to achieve a mood. It is atime for portraits to shine. The subject gets the chance to show their inner model, and we, as photographers, get to frame them at their best. Candid vs posed, stand side by side. Both train you to treat your surroundings as possible photo opportunities. 

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[exploring-the-curious]

Editing Photos Might Be Your New Thing Learning to use your camera and snap photos in the correct settings is just the beginning of creating the perfect images for you and potential clients. If you want to elevate your photos to a higher level in terms of a specific style you’re aiming for or any effects you are interested in achieving, editing your photos is the next step. And no, you do not need the fanciest software available.   I’ve done numerous photo edits in the Lightroom free version. I’ve also dipped into free apps on my phone. And that is where I discovered I really like editing. Something about seeing the changes along the way, and being in full control within the image, makes me feel proud. I played around before trying the Lightroom 7-day free trial, and I've been a paying member since. But like I said, you do not need to pay, as there are many apps offering tools to transform your photos. As more AI is being introduced in the editing world, there are endless sources out there waiting for you to try and see if editing is something you may enjoy.   The biggest way to tell if you actually love editing or are just doing it because you have to, is if you don’t get annoyed with how long it might take. It is definitely worth a try to see if editing will become your newest hobbyor even make your photos stand out to upcoming clients. 

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The Start of a Newborn Photoshoot  You will come across a wide range of personalities in humans, but only one will be the most treasured. Newborn babies. Although there is no guide given to newborns and their comfort towards photos, they are the stars in it all. Over the years, I’ve found some little ways to make babies’ first photo session stress-free for everyone involved. For the best newborn photos, take photos within the first week after they‘re welcomed into the outside world. Babies grow so fast, so the earlier the better.  Babies are especially used to warmth after birth. Having a warm room ready to go for comfort will make the transition from blanket to exposed very cozy. When it comes to creating your base where the baby will lay, one affordable way for a homemade newborn prop is a pregnancy pillow. It creates a circle for the baby to lay and sit in. Under the newborn baby, you can also add towels and fold up smaller towels to adjust the arms and legs. I suggest taking any colour sheet you’d like, and laying in over your props for a smooth edge while you lay the baby on top. This part is for the baby to get their first solo shoot before introducing the family and newborn photos. Once the baby is comfortable, it would be the best opportunity to add any themes, lights, or decorations in the background. Parents will always know their baby more, and sometimes they’ll know what noises their newborn loves.  

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Photography is everywhere we go. Most things have photography involved. Where do you think we’d be without it?   Of course, we didn’t always have the luxury of today's technology. Cameras started to evolve before we even considered ‘photography’ to be part of a camera’s purpose.  At first, it was just an idea.  The earliest camera known on the timeline was the camera obscura. The idea dates back as far as 400 B.C, but some people think it could’ve stretched further back than that.   Chinese philosopher, Mo-Tzu, exposed the idea before an Arab scholar, Ibn Al-Haytham recreated the idea in a physical form.   These first camera obscuras were often made of a small room, or dark box with a small hole in one of its outside facing walls where light is let in, to produce an upside down, backwards imagine on the opposite wall where the light is shining through. It was often used for imagine tracing accurately.   Although this camera didn’t take any actual photos yet, thanks to Ibn Al-Haytham, we were able to see the idea of a camera evolve, we had something physical to look at and began to understand the potential in the years to come.  Next time you’re travelling, or even running errands, think about how easy we have it at the click of a button.