All my blog photos are done using a Canon 600D (I mean what blogger hasn't owned this camera at some point) and even now, after 5 years of blogging, it’s still going strong!
For lenses I either use my 18-55mm lens, my 55-250mm lens or my 50mm/f 1.8 EF STM lens.
Although most of my photos are "au naturel", I do have a set of softboxes (from Amazon) that are very helpful in the dark winter months. And a recent acquisition of an awesome ring light (from Cash Converters…too good a deal to resist!) which has both cool and warm light settings which I can’t wait to play with (p.s. it was initially meant to be used with phones but a quick little Amazon purchase later and I have the missing piece to mount my Canon 600D, perfect! :D
That said, any further major lighting/colour issues I deal with in Photoshop. I took a week's photography course with Mark Smart, at that time in Glasgow, a university-trained photographer, who taught me all the basics. Also, Phlearn on YouTube is a lifeline when it comes to perfecting my photoshopping skills. Because if I can make something or someone even more beautiful, I'd say why not? Just to be clear I'm talking skin blemishes here, not full-on metamorphosis!
Collages are done using Picmonkey although now that Flash Player is being phased out, I’m using the collage maker on BeFunky.
A big thank you to my brother and my dad for patiently taking outfit photos, because tripods can't do everything! :P
And of course, another big thank you goes to my mum who gave me my first "proper" lipgloss at the age of 8 (from The Body Shop, if you're interested) and allowed me to experiment with makeup as much as I wanted (I may or may not have rocked a dark teal eyeshadow for secondary school at one point in my life).
Also, if you don't see any grammatical errors on this blog that's because my dad has patiently gone through every post to correct them (best dad in the world!). But I'm British not American, so in my spelling no "u" gets left behind! :P
That's the equipment out of the way. Now to what will appear on my blog:
Affiliate links may be used and will be marked with an asterisk (*), and sponsored content will always be indicated.
Free products will always be marked with two asterisks (**). I know this is a sore subject for many. Personally, I would not categorically refuse free products and PR samples sent to me by companies for the sheer morality of it (honestly the beauty world is mucho dinero, and my wallet would appreciate the break!). But it will be from companies I know and use, and only products I love and that work for me. Because sometimes it's hit and miss even with the brands you like!
Furthermore, all thoughts will be 100% my own, I don't see any point in sugar-coating products I don't like and would not use (however my acne prone skin is very fussy, so some products might work on you, just not on me!).
For any business enquiries please e-mail: E.L.McKinlay@outlook.com