Projectwoman - means nothing but tutorials..

Whether you’re basking in the first throws of a new relationship, newly hitched or coming up to your silver anniversary, February is a time to focus on your relationship with your husband, partner, or significant other. It’s a time to bring the two of you to the forefront and what better way to do this than in your photos?

If you haven’t done this before, the ‘future you’ will appreciate the time you spend now in chronicling the little things in your relationship. Think how wonderful it will be, tucked up in your rocking chair one day, to look back on the early days of your relationship?

There are lots of ways you can make a photographic record of your lives together. While visiting a professional photographer for a custom portrait will give you a lasting showpiece, some of the best shots can be captured yourselves. These are photos of things that are meaningful to you both and that capture the things that are important to you and your relationship.

Look around at the day to day things in your life. Take photos of your shoes, side by side in the hallway, the favourite mugs that you use each morning or the magazines you each read. Capture the good and the bad – such as your hands clasped together, the favourite shirt he loves but you hate, and the assemble it yourself furniture that nearly caused you to divorce while putting it together!

Take the time to photograph each other too. It’s a fun way to spend some time together and to get some great photos to boot. Try to capture his goofy grin and get him to catch you with that dreamy look in your eyes he tells you that you get when you’re imagining yourself in a new pair of Jimmy Choo’s.

For “together” shots, use the camera’s delayed shooting mode. Have your partner sit or stand in place and set up the camera on a flat surface making sure it’s focused on them. Enable the delayed shooting mode (check your camera’s manual if you’re unsure how to do this) and join your partner for the shot. Repeat as often as desired to get that perfect shot.

You can also take “together” shots by standing really close and holding the camera up in the air in front of you facing towards you. Snap away as you pose or enjoy a joke. This is a more “hit or miss” approach but it’s possible to get some fun photos this way.

If you have one of those fairground photo booths nearby, spend a couple of pounds and take a strip of photos of the two of you – just the physical effort of jamming yourself into the booth is enough to guarantee ear to ear smiles and a sense of fun.

For a more romantic portrait of your lives, take a photo of your partner lit with candle light or soft lighting at home. You can do this by placing lighted candles where they will light his face and, if desired, use some other soft lighting such as a small lamp but keep it out of the photo. Turn off the camera’s flash or it will ruin the shot and set the camera to night shooting mode. If you can set film speed on your camera, opt for 400, 800 or higher so that the camera will be more sensitive to the light that is available (and the photo will have a wonderful grainy look too). Ask your partner to sit very still as the shot might take a second or more to be captured. Use a tripod to steady the camera because you won’t be able to hold it still this long. You will find that the candlelight will throw a lovely coloured light into the shot and give your partner’s features a soft look.

Helen Bradley