This post will demystify all the jargon surrounding sensors for you.

Many people consider bridge cameras to be simply an expensive point-and-shoot, in that the performance and image quality is similar but you are paying more. If you want to buy a “big camera”, ask yourself why.

Save yourself some expensive and embarrassing mistakes: this post will tell how to look after your camera and extend the life of your gear.

The recommendations in this post are based on what current A Year With My Camera students and staff have tried.

You have ventured off auto mode. You know what aperture is. You can have a go at changing the shutter speed. But what settings should you actually use, now you aren’t on auto?

If you find yourself with unexpectedly blurry photos when you start to venture off auto modes, read this post and check you have fixed one critical setting buried deep in your camera’s menus.

How many times have you tried to learn how to use your camera? And how far did you get?

1. Hold the camera firmly, but not over-tightly. You don't want to be tense. You're aiming for solid but not rigid. 

2. Support it with two hands - one to press the shutter button and the other to take the weight of the lens.

Do you know how to look after your lens, clean your sensor, and stop your memory cards corrupting?

Are you scared to change anything on your camera in case you can't get it back to how it was? Are you worried you'll miss the shot? Fear not. I have some emergency settings you can use. 

What's the best camera for beginners? - someone wants to know this every day. I've avoided naming names until now, because all digital cameras nowadays are great. But a few makes and models keep cropping up as the best-loved in my online courses and in person workshops, so I now feel that I have enough hands-on experience to make some recommendations.

The thing with most beginner photography lessons is that they don't start at the very beginning. This list is for you if you've just unpacked your new camera and you have no idea even how to switch it on. 

"Which tripod is best?" has to be the question most often asked in the A Year With My Camera Facebook group. Pretty much everyone who joins already has a camera, and it's this next piece of kit that is troubling.

Critical advice for beginners venturing into the world of black and white photography.

Which lens should you use? What's a kit lens? What does cropped frame mean and why is it important? What do all the numbers mean?