Rebecca Lord-Lyon - Photographer of the Month - August '19
This month we caught up with hobbyist photographer Rebecca Lord-Lyon whose passion it is to photograph her daughter in mini individual style projects.
Tell us a bit about yourself:
Hello, my name is Rebecca and I am from Cheshire. I have my own bridal boutique specialising in Plus Size Bridalwear and photography is my hobby.
How did you get into photography?
I moved to Australia in 2010 and while I was living out there I wanted to capture what I was seeing to share with my family back home. My husband and family put together and bought me my first DSLR for Christmas that year. After opening my bridal boutique I enjoyed working with some amazing wedding photographers on photo shoots. I wanted to learn more and hopefully be able to take my own images on my own photoshoots and so I bought my Nikon D750. When my daughter was born in 2018 and I started taking pictures of her, I realised I was just making it up as I went along. So I joined an online photography course called Click Love Grow. They taught me how to use my camera in Manual and I loved it so much I did their advanced course too.
What can you tell us about your entry, “A walk through the countryside during the
golden hour” in May’s Great British Countryside photo competition?
We have some beautiful areas of woodland and countryside a short drive from our home. I had been taking part in a workshop online that was focused on ‘The Golden Hour’. One night that I could see was turning into a beautiful evening, I took my daughter for a walk. We found that one of the nearby fields was starting to grow and we walked through. It turned out to be the perfect spot to practise. I had a little bubble machine that we tried for the first time, you might be able to see a few little bubbles that my daughter was chasing.
Do you have any particular style of photography you specialise in?
I take photographs for myself and for my daughter. So I would say I specialise in Lifestyle photography. I would love to learn more about newborn photography in the future.
What is it that you enjoy about photography?
Not only does photography help me capture the little moments, but it’s also really taken us as a family outside, especially to places that we might not have known about or been interested in visiting before. I started to see things I had never noticed before like how the light falls or the colours in the trees. I also love being part of a community of photographers and learning from others. My cousin is really good at Macro photography and I want to learn more from her in the future.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on a ‘Project 52’. Rather than focusing on a different word each week. I choose a singular theme. The idea was to capture my daughter over a year of her life and also to get us both outdoors as much as possible. So I chose the word ‘Seasons’ and we have pretty much spent one day a week at the beach, the park and finding new places. I only have 5 more weeks to go. I will definitely be doing another Project 52 but with a different theme next year.
If you could offer one piece of advice to aspiring photographers, what would it be?
Find a community or mentor to help you. I find it so helpful asking them for advice and seeing if they think a photograph is successful or not. Because it’s hard to take a step back and see the good in something you think didn’t quite work out. I honestly was a bit nervous joining the course but I absolutely loved it and their way of teaching. I have been on three of their online courses and I love the fortnightly challenges in the Facebook group. I have learnt so much in the past year.
Where can we see your work?
My Instagram account is www.instagram.com/letters.to.lenox
Do you have any plans for the rest of 2019?
I finish my project 52 in September and I would love to work on a different type of project. In August I want to do a “31 days of summer” and take a picture of my daughter every day. I saw an amazing photographer who has done this every year of her daughter’s life and it was so lovely to look back on. I’m also hoping that Click Love Grow do another workshop soon that I can join. I would like to save up and take part in a newborn photographer workshop too.
