Love photography? With summertime rolling around and our amazing 15% off Canon offer at your fingertips, we thought some photography advice could be useful for your holiday adventures! Whether you're already studying photography or you just love to snap away as a hobby, some tips from professionals will always be handy. I've caught up with four very different professional photographers to give you the low down on their advice!

Harvey from Victory Visuals - Sports photographer and videographer

Planning and considering light

"Photography in its purest form is created by light. It's light that hits film on an analogue camera, it's light that hits the sensor on a digital camera. That fact alone should show us that light is not just vital to great photography, light IS photography. With that said, any shot you produce outside of a studio (where you have complete and utter control of, you guessed it, light) needs planning.

You should know where the sun will be, and at what time. What buildings are close by, will they create shadow and depth? Do you need to shoot in the shade? Are you shooting portraiture, where a high sun will create potentially unflattering shadows? These are only the basic considerations for the ambient light we have around us. Apart from the technical aspect, shooting at different times of day or in different conditions will create completely differing moods. Of course, photography is an art form, and will always be subjective. But it's certainly worth considering the potential disappointment – or success, that the light around you can create."

Sam from Sam Nahirny - Music photographer

Experiment

"Okay, not necessarily a ‘tip' - but you’d be surprised how many photographers think they have to stick to an old-fashioned rulebook. By experimenting, you start to craft your own unique style. Which, in a world full of 12 megapixel iPhones, is very important."

Bokeh

"One of the great starter lenses, a Canon 50mm 1.8 is great for playing with bokeh. Want to shoot some pretty portraits, but still have that beaut faded out lighting in the background. Cool, ya can do that."

Your editing style

"One of my personal favourite parts of photography is the editing stage. I often shoot live music, which means dark environments, but, often some very cool lighting. Once they’re all loaded up in your editing software of choice, start playing with the colour tones. Maybe the saturation. Why not try and recreate some film looks a la VSCO?"

Try different types of photography

"I know, bit obvs. But you’d be surprised how many people get into photography and then stick in an area they don’t enjoy. I started with portraits and knew I loved photography, but something wasn’t quite right. Once I started shooting music, everything fell into place."

Zoe - Fashion photographer

"My top tip would be to make sure you have the right shutter speed. It's super important as it can make or break your picture - you can use it to your advantage! Long shutter speeds can work really well when capturing light/motion and you can get some really creative outcomes. My tip for shooting fashion bloggers would be to research the location well. Most photo shoots for fashion bloggers are street style and a good location is important, especially if you can tailor the location to their theme or their blog. One of my favourite locations to shoot is Chelsea - you always get really clean photographs!"

Anna from Pear and Bear Photography - Wedding and fashion photographer

Learn the basics

"Know how the aperture, shutter speed and ISO affect the photos. There are many free online resources that will teach you the basics, helping you to be more in control of your camera!"

If you’re not ready to shoot in Manual mode yet

"Try Aperture Priority instead (marked as Av or A on your Canon camera). This allows you to select the aperture, whilst the camera automatically selects the rest of the settings. Cheat tip: the smaller the F number (for example, f1.8) the more light enters the camera – this is particularly useful in low-light situations. A low F number also means that the background will be blurry (also known as bokeh), whereas a high F number will ensure that everything in the frame is sharp."

Invest in a prime lens

"Such as the Canon 35mm f/2 or 50mm f/1.8. If you’re just looking to buy your first camera, skip the kit lens and pick up one of the prime lenses instead. They’re great for low-light and gig photography. They’re also the best all round lenses which can be used for portraits and street photography, too. You won’t regret the investment!"

Feeling inspired? Don't forget to save 10% on these cameras from Canon! Show us your snaps on Instagram with #UNiDAYSXCanon and we'll repost our favourite ones.