The Basics: Google Analytics

Oh Google Analytics you confusing little thing you. When I first discovered it I was so hopelessly lost, with all the numbers and graphs, I had no idea what I was looking at. So instead I stuck to the stats provided by my old friend Blogger, and ignored those provided to me by Google Analytics. After years of trying to get on with it, I finally feel like I understand the sheer basics. So I thought I'd write this post especially for those of you that are in the same boat I was, in the sheer hope that it gives you even the slightest clue to what you're looking at. 

Audience Overview // When you first open up Google Analytics this is the first page that loads up. You can recognise which page this is by the fact that it has a big graph and lots of smaller boxes. The smaller boxes tell you various things and you can select a period (and even compare it to a previous one), and it will show you several figures such as the number of users, sessions, page views, and page views per session:  

Sessions // If you don't understand what sessions are, think of them as visits. One session is where one person has visited your blog without closing the tab. If they happen to close your website and then reopen it, you class that as another session, so you would have two (and so on).  

Users // Google Analytics tracks each individual user by their IP address. So each user is a different individual. So if 100 people read your blog, you will have 100 users. 

Page views // This is the total number of pages visited on your website. 

Pages per session // I feel as though this one is pretty self-explanatory. It is the average number of pages someone views when they click onto your website.

Average session duration // Again pretty self-explanatory, but the amount of time someone spends on your blog per visit.

Bounce rate // The rate at which someone clicks on your blog and then 'bounces' back onto the page they were previously viewing. 

New session percentage // The percentage of new visits compared to returning visits. 

Acquisition // Acquisition is basically where all your traffic comes from, or how you 'acquire' it. I find this really useful as it allows you to see which social media platforms you should concentrate on. For example, if you get most of your traffic from Twitter but only tweet once a week, you should start upping your Twitter game. 

All traffic > Source/Medium // This handy little page gives you a list of all that websites that have directed traffic to your blog. It will most likely mention the likes of Bloglovin, organic Google searches, and direct traffic.

Behaviour // Behaviour is useful for getting to know what people are doing whilst they visit your blog. 

Site content > All Pages // This is where you can see what is most popular on your blog. This page displays the most viewed pages on your blog. Usually the homepage (e.g. www.charlottesophiaroberts.co.uk) is displayed first followed by a forward slash ('/').  

Behaviour > Site Speed // Allow not as important as some of the other statistics available on Google Analytics, site speed allows you to see how long it takes to load your website on someone's device. Ideally you are supposed to make sure that your website loads in under 6 seconds. Any slower than this an you may want to consider reducing your image file sizes and getting rid of any unnecessary widgets. 

How do you get on with Google Analytics?

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How To Create Light & Bright Images

You all know how much I like my photography, and if you haven't already guessed - I like it light and bright. I have honestly lost count of the number of emails and tweets I've got over the years with people asking for advice on how to work their camera, or for how to create brighter photos. I always struggle giving advice with the former because yanno, there are like 242396496 types of camera out there, but I thought I'd write a post on the latter in the hopes it would save me a bit of time when replying to my emails.

Location // Not always an obvious one, but choosing a bright place to whip out your camera is crucial for getting light and bright images. As I've mentioned before, I tend to take my images on a windowsill as I find it the best for natural lighting. Try out different locations until you find one that works for you - hey I've even taken some of mine in the bathroom before! There are endless possibilities! 

Backgrounds // Pale backgrounds are obviously the ones to go for in this instance, and I find whites, neutrals, and pale pinks the best. If you choose a room with light decor, it will enable you to create a brighter image, as pale surfaces reflect light better than dark ones. 

Minimise shadows // Unless you're into moody dark images, shadows are your worst enemy. A single shadow has the ability to ruin a great photo, and it's key to try and minimise them if you want to create light/bright images. If you're photographing with natural light, it's important to make sure you are doing so at the right time of day. Personally I find early morning/late afternoon the perfect times to take any images, as the sun isn't as high in the sky. Another tip is to keep larger props towards the edge of the viewfinder so they don't cast a shadow on any other props!

Exposure // If you own a DSLR, you'll probably know all about exposure. But if you don't, exposure determines what is picked up by the camera's sensor. It is controlled by three different camera settings - ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. These three settings combined (forming the 'exposure triangle'), give an exposure value that is specific to each image. Play around with the camera settings, and see if your images come out brighter. 

If all else fails, edit // Sometimes, no matter what you do - your photos turn out as dark as Marilyn Manson's eyeliner. In this instance it's important to use some sort of editing software. Personally I love Photoshop but there are many other alternatives out there! A lot of my friends like to use Lightroom as they find it a lot quicker to edit with, but I find it a bit more complicated than it should be so it takes me forever. If your budget doesn't extend to software costing ~£1000, there are many cheaper options. For example, you can subscribe to Photoshop/Lightroom from as little as £8.57pm! Plus there's the 30 day free trial if you've never used it before!

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Making The Most Of Your Phone Camera

I take, and have always taken all of my blog photos on a DSLR camera. But unlike me, there are many bloggers and even non-bloggers out there who don't have the privilege of owning a camera. Few people will probably agree with me here, but it isn't necessary to have a fancy camera or a DSLR to take good quality photographs. Nowadays the majority of people own some sort of smartphone, and most of them come equipped with a decent built in camera. Some of you may argue that photos taken on a phone aren't exactly high quality, but at second glance you can achieve some cracking images! So with this post I hope to show you how to get best use out of the different functions, to create some incredible photos. 

Tap to focus // This one is possible the best and most useful thing to remember when using your phone's camera. It may seem a bit obvious to most of you, but there are some people that don't even know how to use the basic camera settings - heck some people don't even know how to open the camera app! No matter how still you think you can hold your phone, you are always shakier than you think - otherwise we would all be experts at applying winged liner. Simply tap the screen once and everything will come into focus, or tap and hold on a specific area/subject to bring that into focus. 

HDR // HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. This setting takes three different photos at three different exposures, and then merges them together to create a more vibrant image. It is a function that doesn't necessarily work for closeups and portraits, but is great for things like landscapes. 

Timer // Apple have fairly recently brought in a timer function on the iPhone camera. The timer can be extremely helpful when taking images of yourself, or of a subject that requires less camera shake. It is really simple to use, and you can see in the above picture that the third icon in from the left depicts a little clock - this is how you use the timer function. 

Remote // There are many ways of taking images 'hand free' if you will. With the recent selfie stick craze fizzling out, I thought it a good idea to mention an alternative method using the same principles. If you plug in a pair of earphones into an iPhone (it may work with other phones too but I'm not sure) and then open up the camera app, you can use the volume controls to release the camera shutter. 

Exposure // By tapping the screen on an iPhone, it brings up a yellow box with a little sun at the side. By sliding your finger up and down the screen you can adjust the exposure. By sliding your finger up the photo becomes brighter and in some cases, overexposed. By sliding your finger downwards, it darkens the image and underexposes it. 

Editing // Even if your photo isn't exactly how you want it to look, there are various apps on the app store that will enable you to enhance your images. I prefer to use VSCO, even though the recent update has caused uproar amongst the blogging community, I like it because it has the effects that I like the most. 

Have you got any tips?

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Why It's Ok Not To Love Blogging All The Time

If you've been reading for a while, you'll know that I've only recently returned from a four month break from blogging. I'm not going to go into the reasons why as I have already discussed them here, here, and here. What I haven't discussed anywhere is my plans to quit. At the start of June, I was unsure whether or not I wanted to start back up again. Whether it was worth the hassle one goes through to put up and promote a post. I felt like I wasn't enjoying it, and when you feel like this you feel an intense pressure to start liking it again. I think it's perfectly normal to feel like this every now and again. While starting this blog has been one of the best things I've ever done, blogging isn't like a normal hobby (or career). It is all consuming and the roles of a blogger are never ending. There's always something to do whether it's writing, editing, promoting - the list is endless. Plus there's the pressure of having hundreds (and even thousands) of readers. So here are a few reasons why it's ok not to love blogging all the time (or at all). 

There will always be highs and lows // As with everything in life, there will always be highs and lows associated with blogging. And it's so easy to get caught up, focusing on the negatives. As long as there are more highs than lows you'll be fine. It's perfectly normal to go through a few rough patches, so don't worry. If you do find yourself hating it too much, it is perfectly fine to stop. Do whatever makes you happy.

Haters gonna hate // As with anything, there will always be someone that doesn't agree with you and wants to rain on your parade. Although these ugly trolls don't always rear their heads, there are a few things you can do to help. If people do try to spread negativity, block, unfollow, mute the individuals. Don't try and retaliate or stand your ground and they will eventually give up.

It's ok to say no // A lot of people find it incredibly hard to say no, and bloggers are certainly no exception. It is important to remember that the only person who has any say on what goes on with your blog, is you. Take PR for example, it's perfectly ok to reject a collaboration if you feel it isn't for you. If I'm completely honest, I've probably rejected more collaborations that I've approved. By saying no, you are giving the opportunity to another blogger who might appreciate it more.

It's ok if blogging isn't for you // Even though it seems like everyone is a blogger nowadays, blogging isn't for everyone. It takes a lot of hard work for very little in return, and a lot of people simply aren't up to the task. It can be hard to admit that you want to quit. But there is no point doing something you don't enjoy because you are too proud to quit.

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Two Years On: What I've Learnt

Yesterday marks my second year blogging anniversary. Whaaaaaaaat. I can't even believe I'm saying this! Two years have absolutely flown by, and there hasn't been a moment where I regretted hitting publish on that Friday afternoon. There has been the odd occasion where I've thought I'd had enough, and that I wanted to delete my blog. But then I think about what I've created, and I think why the hell would you want to delete something you've spent countless hours working on. It's funny because the other day I was sat thinking about how long ago that Friday seems, and how much I've changed over the past two years. And on Monday, the craziest thing in the world happened, and I somehow managed to hit 2000 followers. TWO THOUSAND! Madness! So in honor of these two years, I wanted to share a few tidbits and reflections. Things I’ve learned from the past two years, and what I hope to remember for the year ahead. 

1. Sometimes the best thing you can do is to take a break.
   
2. Spreadsheets are everything. How did I manage to keep myself organised over my first year? Like seriously - excel has become my best friend.
   
3. Taking fashion photos on your own is bloody hard.
   
4. HTML will always be terrifying and it's perfectly ok to pay someone to sort it out for you.
   
5. As with anything in life, blogging will always have it's ups and downs.
   
6. Blogging events are hella scary.
   
7. It's good to be different.
   
8. People don't get angry when you're late putting up a post because you've had one to many cocktails the night before.
   
9. Blogging is a hell of a lot of work.
   
10. Keep things fresh and blogging won't get boring.
    
11. If something doesn't feel right, don't do it.
    
12. It's nice to be nice.
    
13. The blogging world is a place to grow.
    
14. It's not about being the best. It's about being you.
    
15. Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes. 

How long have you been blogging?

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Life Lately

I've probably said this well over a hundred times, and so far, every time I've said it I haven't been true to my word. I keep saying that my posts will be up and running soon, but soon never seems to arrive. The odd scheduled post goes up, but my schedule is well and truly shot. I am writing this on the day of publishing, and at this moment in time, I have a billion other things that I should be doing - instead I'm writing this blog post to tell you about all the things I should be doing. I have work placement for the next four weeks, and with a 9-5 schedule as well as my university deadlines, I am exhausted to say the least. I think hectic is a bit of an understatement, but my life is absolutely crazy at the minute. I've been trying to put myself and my academic work first, and to some extent I feel 'happy'. I thought life would have quietened down by now, but again I have been proved well and truly wrong. I have one assignment deadline left to meet, and until then blogging is going to be taking a back seat. 

I'm currently five weeks away from finishing my second year at university (scary right?), and besides wondering how I've got this far, the pressure seems to be piling up. Over the next few weeks I have to submit a proposal for my major research project (aka my version of a dissertation), and above anything else - I have to think about what I want to do when I graduate. GRADUATE. I know what I want to do in life, and roughly what I need to do in order to get there, but where it all falls down is the fact that it all relies on how well I do now. This morning I got a pretty bad result on one of my assignments, not terrible (it was a 2:2 FYI) - but significantly worse than my lowest grade this year. I spent four whole weeks writing that essay pretty much 24/7, and to almost be told that it was rubbish is absolutely soul crushing. 

I may or may not be posting over the next couple of weeks, but believe me when I say that it is not because I have forgotten. I am well aware that posts aren't going up and comments aren't being replied to. But currently there physically aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. Who even needs sleep nowadays? I hope that you will stick around because I have quite a few ideas planned, all I need is the time to sit down and make the plans a reality. Come June, university will be over and I will have 6 months of freedom to get up to speed before returning in late September. Until then I will most likely be non-existent here on Charlotte Sophia Roberts. Apologies for this, but I consider the rest of my life more important than a hobby I have enjoyed for the last two years. 

As always, thank you for reading and I hope to see you soon!

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Is Blogging Becoming Less Personal?

I recently (maybe not so recently by the time I pluck up the courage to publish this post) did a poll on Twitter asking everyone what their favourite type of blog post was, and to my shock horror the least favourite type of post was 'personal'. With less than 15% of people choosing it as their favourite to read. I was completely bewildered as personal posts are my absolute favourite things to read. The ones that show real people, doing real things, and showing their real feelings. The ones where people talk about their battle with anxiety or depression, the ones where people are making a baking recipe post and they accidentally burn everything yet still write it up and laugh about it 6 months down the line. Now stop me if I get this wrong, but I think blogs are constantly becoming less and less personal with each passing day. The amount of glossy, overly Photoshopped blogs with images of 'perfect' individuals living out their 'perfect' lives. I know you're sat there thinking how hypocritical I am, with my apparently "flawless" photos and my sleek blog design - but I have always had a plain white blog, even when I started blogging in June 2014. And as for the main reason I try so hard with my photos, I started this blog after finishing my A Levels, and Photography was one of my favourite subjects. Since I wasn't doing photography at university, blogging was one of the only ways for me to keep doing what I loved. It's just what I do. I don't do it because I think you'll like it - I do it for numero uno over here. 

Long gone are the days where bloggers write purely for themselves. Documenting their lives to look back on, so they could laugh and cry at how they were feeling that one time. But with the overemphasis of SEOs, the number of likes on your latest Instagram, and the number of followers a blog has - personal bloggers are becoming more and more reader-influenced. Blogging primarily became so popular because readers wanted someone they could trust. They didn't want to see unrealistic photos, magazine style editorials, and pretty faces caked up in makeup. They wanted honest reviews and helpful advice from a real life person. Someone sat on the other side of a computer screen. And now, bloggers who are showing their raw and honest feelings and opinions are getting less and less attention with every newbie blogger who keep jumping on the blogging bandwagon.

Research has shown that bloggers are taking up to six hours drafting and redrafting their blog posts to make sure everything they write is comprehensive and as informative as possible. SIX HOURS. One of my favourite bloggers of all time, Charly from Style The Natives, only posts in the here and now. She writes what she wants to write, whatever the topic is.  She doesn't care if people reads her posts or not, writing up musings from the early hours of the morning, sharing embarrassing and drunken tales, and reflecting on personal experiences. The main reason I love her blog so much isn't for her sleek blog design or her aesthetically pleasing photos. It's her raw passion. Her love of writing. How her true thoughts and feelings come across in her posts. If you go and read, or have ever read any of her blog posts, you will know exactly what I mean. She writes as though her life is a novel. She includes all the sad 'Bridget Jones sat on the sofa with a bottle of vodka' moments, the 'I'm so happy I could cry' moments - she doesn't make everything seem like a fairytale and that's why I love her.

Enough about Charly. I just want to say that we, as a blogging community, should be more open. Remember the reasons why you started, celebrate them, write a post on them if you wish. But whatever you do, don't forget about them. Don't worry about putting a post up because you feel like you 'have to'. From this moment on, I'm going to try and follow my own advice. I used to regularly write about enjoying Sunday dinner with my best friends, our little silly jokes, and to not care as much about what other people thought. I do hope that nobody is offended by anything that I've said. I was sat wide awake in bed at 3am, writing blog posts and I was struck with this sudden thought that I just had to write about - in the here and now.

What are your thoughts? Is blogging become more of a race of popularity?
Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Taking A Time Out: An Update

Hellooooooooo! First of all NO it isn't Sunday, and this isn't my regular 9am Sunday post - you haven't got today off. I'm posting this incase you missed yesterday's usual post and the first couple sentences in it. So just incase you missed it - I am back. I repeat I AM BACK! I have a real urge to write out the lyrics to Without Me by Eminem, but I will resist that urge as I feel it is way too cliché and I don't want to be that person. (Guess who's back, back again, Charlotte's back, tell a friend...)

In case you are waaaaay out of the loop, haven't tuned in for a while or whatever.... a month or so ago I announced that I would be taking a well overdue break from blogging to focus on my health and well being. After almost two years of twice weekly blogging, I obviously found it extrememly hard at first to go cold turkey as it was part of my weekly routine. I kept checking up on my comments and page views, and had an overwhelming urge to write a schedule a few blog posts. At the start of my break, I was disappointed that my page-views had dropped dramatically, but I guess that was going to be a given thing considering I wasn't really blogging. Statistics aside, my health has improved dramatically - my stupid eye twitch has pretty much stopped twitching, but not entirely. When I am in a stressful situation, working out, or in times where I can feel my anxiety spike, my eye likes to let me know that it's still in it's socket! After my break I feel a lot more relaxed, insanely happier, back to my crazy organised self - and all together more myself. I've enjoyed kicking stress in the butt, and I will continue to try and keep my stress in check. (Also if you're interested in a few stress related posts - let me know!)

Although I am back, I will be gradually easing my way back in, dipping my toe into the water gradually. I don't want to waste the sheer amount of effort it took me to feel ok again, and end up having to take another month or so off. I also want to point out that I am sitting some end of year exams in April, so my main focus will be revising for them as opposed to worrying about getting every. single. post. up. on. time. So if one day there isn't a post up, please understand why.  

It's really nice to be back, and I will try and get a few posts written and scheduled this week! 

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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9 Things Nobody Tells You When You Start Blogging

Something a little bit different for you all today. But I found myself very reflective recently, which isn't entirely unusual for me. But in recent weeks my attention has been around my blog. I've been blogging here for over a year and a half now and during that time I have had a lot of shocks and surprises! So here we are - the things nobody tells you when you first start out in the blogging industry:

1. If you go to a blog event, everyone is awkward. It's just the way it is. You aren't the only one that feels all nervous and shy! But you can literally talk about anything. Instagram, cats, food, blogging, makeup, shoes - ANYTHING! And don't worry, none of the bloggers I've met (well the ones I've met anyway) turned out to be axe murders or catfish. 
2. You will never be completely happy with your blog. Whether its the amount of reads your latest posts get, your blog design or simply the number of followers you have. There will always be something you don't like or wish you could improve. In many cases there are things you can do to help. For example, if your blog isn't getting readership - share your posts on social media more. Plug yourself like crazy. It takes a lot of time and effort, but the results are worth it! 
3. You will get some strange PR requests. And I mean strange. Oh you want me to talk about mens underwear on a blog targeted at women? You want me to share an outfit idea for a stripper in Las Vegas? OK. I'll definitely reply to your email straight away. (NOT!) These are genuine requests I have been sent too! 
4. Coding is incredibly hard and you will probably end up paying someone to design your blog for you and maybe even install it for you. Even if you try googling how to do something, chances are you won't understand ANY of the results that come up. 
5. Every single time another blog with a similar amount of followers gets asked to go to an exclusive event or gets their hands on the latest beauty releases. You will get incredibly jealous. Like is my blog not good enough for you?
6. Some free blogger samples are not worth the amount of effort it takes to get them. You've taken two months to send me the products but you want me to write a post about them and mention them on my social media 272678976 times in 24 hours? Goodbye. 
7. When you finally get to meet a blogger in real life who you have been talking to on pretty much a daily basis, you will be shocked when words come out of their mouths. And their voice sounds completely different from how you imagined.
8. Buy a domain name from the start if you are wanting to buy one. Otherwise old followers or readers won't be able to find you if you spontaneously decide to purchase one at 4am on a Thursday morning. 
9. You'll run out of mobile data on a regular basis. Refreshing the Bloglovin' Popular page to see if you've 'made it', tweeting every blogger in the world, and uploading that Instagram of your latest buys or your delicious lunch will lead you to run out of data and will take away those precious pennies that could be better spent on something else. 

And that's the end of my list! Anything I've missed? Share it below!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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Taking A Time Out

Over the last two or so years I have experienced a lot of changes in my life. I've started university, created a blog, had some of my bestest friends move away to other cities, and generally just had my life crumble around me. And although mentally I feel absolutely fine with all this, my body has decided that life is getting too much for me to handle. I've had a constant eye twitch that has lasted the best part of 6 months, what I can only describe as morning sickness on pretty much a daily basis (without being pregnant obvs), full on mental breakdowns (which my lovely uni friends were kind enough to help me get over), and a short snappy temper that can emerge at any given time. Although one of my new year's resolutions was to make more time for myself, I haven't seen any reduction to my stress levels despite working so hard to reduce them. I've tried apps to reduce anxiety, colouring books, relaxing music, reading, meditation, yoga... - everything I could possible think of! I know we aren't that far into the year, and I have seen myself feeling a bit more relaxed over the last couple of weeks, so I will continue to dedicate that little bit of time for myself everyday.

Although I don't actually feel stressed or anxious, and I have absolutely no reason to be as I have no assignments or deadlines to meet or anything. But being a psychology undergraduate, I know how detrimental stress can be to your health (I'm taking death here people), and I'm really starting to worry about my general health and wellbeing. And I'm not being a hypochondriac, I am seriously worried. Obviously I have to put myself first over everything, so under the circumstances I have decided to take a month or so off from blogging (and a few other things) in the hopes that my body can relax. This doesn't mean that no blog posts will go up; I will try and get plenty scheduled so I am still here whilst not really being here if that makes sense? And at the end of the day, I started blogging as a hobby, and at this moment in time I need to focus on myself rather than worrying about getting posts up on time. 

So until further notice, I am out of office... Dreaming of a holiday in the Caribbean, and cocktails on tap. Fingers crossed posts will go up as normal - but my blog comments, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. will be pretty much abandoned (sorry!). I'll let you know when I'm back in business, and I hope a break will hit the refresh button and bring with it lots of fresh ideas for content. 

Apologies for abandoning you - I hope you understand!

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you soon!

Love Charlotte x

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Happy New Year and Blog Goals For 2016

Happy New Year!

I wanted to do a post like this last year, but I had no idea what to say, where I wanted by blog to go, or even if I would continue running a blog! My only goal was to reach 100 followers by the end of the year and I soon managed and surpassed that!  I didn't really expect to carry on with my blog, with university getting in the way, but I'm still here over 18 months later! The last year has been so amazing. My blog has blossomed and improved in so many ways. Some of the biggest highlights of my year have been blog related. Reaching 1500 followers on my blog, getting shortlisted for an award, and getting shortlisted for a bloody award!!!  I've loved getting to talk to like-minded people, being asked to attend events (if only for the free cocktails!), and being offered some incredible opportunities! As my blog is starting to get off the ground, I thought I'd start off the year with some simple business cards and a custom domain. I finally bitten the bullet and purchased myself a domain name as I'd been toying with the idea of a custom domain name for well over a year and it became set in stone around October?

With this air of change, the blogging community has become such a big part of my life, and I've found myself making little goals and targets over the last couple of weeks or so. So of course I had to share them on my little corner of the internet - and here is what I want to do and achieve with my blog over the next 12 months…

Engage more: Engagement is extremely important to me. I've always made sure I engage with my readers by replying to my comments and tweets, checking out any links left behind, and just generally trying my best to engage with you all. Tacking into account how much my own comments mean to me, I want to do the same for others and show my support. I've been pretty rubbish at letting other bloggers know that I bloody adore them so hopefully I'm going to up my game this year!

Be more creative: Although I'm generally pretty happy with my blog images, from time to time I get a bit bored. Back in August I started to really push myself, and for a while I was really happy, buttttt as always - I'm starting to get a little bored. I want to try and mix up my backgrounds and fall in love with photography again! Over the last month of so you may have noticed a couple of portrait shots, which I haven't really included in blog since I first started over a year and half ago. I would love to invest in some new camera equipment - maybe a new lens and a fancy af studio light, but they are on the expensive side, so I'll try and see what my budget is. 

Go out of my comfort zone: I hate meeting new people. Hate. It. It's just something I've always tried to avoid. I dread to think how many blogging events I turned down because I was terrified of meeting people I didn't know! But from this moment on, I want to try and make more of an effort with meeting up with my blogger friends! I was so proud of myself for turning up to the Bloggers Blog Awards and Rhianna's Xmas Meet, when I felt so anxious (and actually physically sick). I mean even my best friends started out as a stranger to me in the first place!

Find new blogs to read: Even though I'm constantly on the hunt for new blogs to follow, I find it pretty difficult to find ones that I've not heard about before. Even when Bloglovin tried (and kinda failed) to promote 'undiscovered' bloggers. This is why 'share the love' style posts are so important as it can give some undiscovered little gems the chance to be 'found'. So if you've got any blogs you love then please share them in the comments below!

Gain more followers: Cliché I know, but I'd really like to get up to 2000 followers this year. Although that sounds like a huge target (to me it does anyway), it is less than a third of what I gained over the last year - and hopefully my blog will continue to grow it's following this coming year.

Build up a backlog of posts: Over the last months my backlog of backup posts has completely diminished. I had all my posts planned, but I kept finding myself writing them the night before they were due to go up - in some cases even mere hours before they should have been published. This totally isn't like me and I have been finding it hard to just sit down and write. Occasionally, the planned posts have been written but there have been no photos to go up alongside them (due to bad lighting), so I've had to use a backup. Meaning I need to get myself sorted at plan ahead again!

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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How To Take Good Photos In Bad Lighting

With the days getting shorter and the weather getting more and more gloomy with easy passing day, it is becoming increasingly harder to get some decent looking shots to go alongside your blog posts. Whilst I was at work this week, I was showing students how to use studio equipment to properly light their subjects - and besides wishing I had my own studio, I found myself thinking how I could achieve similar effects with what little natural light I have at home. A couple of months ago, I shared a post telling you all how I take my blog photos, and at the time we had loads of sunlight. But now I feel as though I should update it slightly to fall in line with the current time of year. I do have to be completely honest and say that you shouldn't expect miracles from the advice I have to offer, but I do hope that my tips help you in some small way.

 The Obvious Stuff 

First things first, you will need to make sure your camera is charged. I know this sounds so stupid an obvious, but there are so many occasions over the last couple of weeks where I have thought "omg the lighting is ok, I can actually get some blog photos taken" - only to set everything up to find that my camera battery is flat.  Besides being completely frustrating, it can mean that you miss your opportunity to take some well lit photos!  When your camera is charged up and you finally get to the point of taking your photos - make sure that you find the area with the best source of light, whether it's near a window or outside if needs be (as long as it's not raining or snowing obvs). 

Camera Settings

When your environment is darker, you WILL need to alter your camera settings. As I've said before, one of the main camera settings that will affect how bright your photos are, is ISO. Basically, ISO is how sensitive the camera's sensor is to light. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor is - making your images brighter (but also grainer at the same time). Generally as a rule, I like to use an ISO of 100 or 200 hundred at a push depending on what I'm shooting. Over the last few weeks I've started using an ISO of 400 as my camera doesn't have a setting for 300 (or I'd use that), and then slightly increasing the aperture accordingly. With a higher ISO, I have also been using a slower shutter speed. As I have previously mentioned, I usually use a shutter speed of 1/125 - but recently I have been going as slow as 1/60. The slower your shutter speed, the more light gets into the shutter - but if you do too slow, your images tend to be blurry if you don't use a tripod. 

Other Techy Stuff

HAHAHA how vague can I be with the term 'techy stuff'?! But like I said in my other post, it is really important to take your files in a RAW+JPEG file format. This may sound majorly technical and professional, but is honestly so easy to do - but I can't explain how as it's different for every camera. But this particular camera setting allows you to essentially 're-take' your photo in Photoshop (and some other editing softwares/programs). You can alter your iso/aperture meaning you can completely change how your image came out! 

If All Else Fails - Photoshop

I know it is technically cheating as you aren't actually taking good photos straight off, but I always end up editing my pictures as they never turn out bright enough for my liking. If you are new to Photoshop or you are just looking for a simpler way to make your photos brighter, I have a really simple way that literally takes me like 30 seconds to edit my photos! It is super easy and (not being biased) I think I've explained it pretty well! 

How are you getting on with your blog photos this season?

Thanks for reading!

Love Charlotte x

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