Category Archives: photography

Why a Photography Gift Certificate is the Perfect Christmas Gift for Your Loved One

Framed newborn and family portraits displayed above a neutral-toned sofa in a luxury living room.

Christmas is getting closer! This means you’ve probably already started looking for those perfect gifts for your loved ones. You want something personal, meaningful, and unique—something that goes beyond the usual go-to gifts like jewellery or perfume. While these gifts are lovely, have you thought about giving the gift of memories? A photography gift certificate...

Breaking Free: Overcoming Phone Addiction and Building Intentional Habits

woman's hand scrolling on the phone

So, I’ve been wrestling with this whole phone addiction habit thing lately. It’s like this magical device that sucks us in, right? Endless scrolling, reading, learning, and even games—it’s a real time-sucker! But hey, I’m on a mission to break free from the phone trap and get stuff done. Where did all this awareness start?...

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  • Scrolling is one my bad habits. I need to reduce my scrolling time. Thank you for sharing this article. ReplyCancel

    • I know, it was my main time waster. Even if for work I have to use it, it’s so distracting! Thanks for reading.ReplyCancel

  • I completely understand the struggle with phone addiction. Your tips from ‘Atomic Habits’ are spot-on. I also keep my phone in another room at night and silence notifications for better sleep. It’s small changes like these that add up. Thanks for sharing your insights!ReplyCancel

    • That would be next level. I still have it next to me at night with notification off of course. But I need the alarm, I’m not sure I would hear it from another room! 🙂
      Thanks for readingReplyCancel

  • […] It’s all about finding the time. So again reading 10 minutes a day I think it’s a good start to creating a good habit. Also because with good books it’s always more than 10 minutes, […]ReplyCancel

Embracing Mindfulness and Photography: Lessons from My Morning Walk

Mindfulness and photography: lessons from my morning walk

This morning, I decided to break away from my usual walking routine and take a mindful walk. I live near the Richmond Lock so I went along the beautiful and peaceful path along the river. Armed with just my phone (not my trusty professional camera), I embraced the opportunity to be fully present and appreciate...

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How Photography Can Bring Mindfulness to Your Life

photography as mindfulness

In our fast-paced lives, it’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by distractions that pull us away from the present moment. I thought it was just me getting lost in the maze of my thoughts but studies show that our minds wander about 47% of the time. And guess what? Unfortunately, most of these thoughts wander...

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  • My friend does photography as a hobby and she finds it incredibly relaxing and it brings her mindfulness also x

    Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.ukReplyCancel

    • Good to hear that! Pass along this post to your friend 😉
      Thanks for stopping by LucyReplyCancel

  • Beautiful post and mindfulness application. I love using photography to practice mindfulness. It really is a wonderful way to enjoy life’s beauty and let our creative self-expression flow.ReplyCancel

    • That’s amazing Vanessa! Thanks for sharing your experience too. It’s definitely a helpful tool to express creativity and “healing” at the same time!ReplyCancel

  • It’s awesome to read about your experiences from someone enthusiastic about photography. It truly feels that time stand still when making photos..ReplyCancel

    • Happy to read you enjoy photography too! Stand still and flies by at the same time. I feel I could spend hours and losing sense of track.ReplyCancel

The Heart Behind My Lens: Unveiling the Why Behind Portrait Photography

Collection of portraits of a confident woman over 40, taken during a studio photoshoot by Photography by Valentina in London.

Recently, I’ve been diving deep into the question of why I do what I do. It’s not the first time I’ve pondered this, but with each passing year and each new experience, my “why” seems to evolve. So, what exactly do I do? Well, I’m a portrait photographer based in London, specializing in motherhood photography....

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    The Therapeutic Influence of Photos on Daily Well-being

    5 reasons why photos are important for well-being

    5 reasons Why Photos are Important for Well-being. In the era of smartphones and social media, where everyone has a camera at their fingertips, we find ourselves capturing and sharing moments like never before. Whether it’s a stunning landscape, a group selfie, a delectable meal, or a candid shot of a loved one, we document...

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    • Charity

      I love this! Photos are definitely important for well being. Thanks for sharing all the reasons why.ReplyCancel

    • As a photographer myself I totally agree with everything you’ve written here. It’s definitely about the preservation of memories as well. Lovely post.ReplyCancel

      • It’s good to have another photographer’s point of view. And definitely, preserving memories is a big one! Thanks for stopping by.ReplyCancel

    • It’s great to have some photos that we can connect to in this way; this has reminded me to spend some time looking through the ones I have and seeing if I can display them in some way. Great!ReplyCancel

      • Amazing! Yes, having photos around, especially of the people we love, make us feel closer to them.ReplyCancel

    • I agree with everything you’ve written in your post. Photos are so important, I know I wish I had taken more photos of/with the family members I’ve lost over the years. It’s a big regret of mine. I enjoy being behind my camera rather than in front of it x

      astoldbykirsty.co.uk ReplyCancel

      • Yes, we all look for photos when a loved one has passed away. So it’s important to have photos of them and most importantly be in the pictures with them.ReplyCancel

    • Photos are definitely a mood boost for me, what a lovely post! x
      Lucy | http://www.lucymary.co.ukReplyCancel

    • Jenny Marston

      I definitely get how photos can improve well-being! I have a scrapbook where I get photos printed and it’s such a lovely activity xReplyCancel

      • Scrapbooks are so great to create memories and such a calming activity too. Thanks for stopping by xReplyCancel

    • Mind Beauty Simplicity

      taking photos bring me joy! I love reminiscing on memories…ReplyCancel

    • It’s TRUE that it boos5 mood. Something I love doing when going back to old photos and good memories. Great post!ReplyCancel

    • It’s true! I love having photos of my baby 🙂 ReplyCancel

    • Jeanette

      I love the point you made about enhancing gratitude. I was just looking at an old photo thinking ‘I was genuinely happy in this photo’. It’s a memory I hold dear. I love photos.ReplyCancel

      • Thanks for sharing this. Yes, photos close to our heart make us happy indeed xReplyCancel

    • Really interesting post! Having a 3 year old, I just love taking photos to capture moments and use them to compare in futureReplyCancel

      • That’s great! At the age they love to be photographed as well – I remember my daughter, she loved to be in front of the camera and taking photos as well. Now that she’s nearly a teen she run away from it!ReplyCancel

    • […] Related post: The Therapeutic Influence of Photos on Daily Well-being […]ReplyCancel

    • […] Related article: The Therapeutic Influence of Photos on Daily Well-being […]ReplyCancel

    From Chaos to Control: How a CRM System Transforms Your Business

    photo of a computer screen. CRM system are great to keep your business organised.

    Being a photographer is not just about taking pretty photos. It’s also about running a business, and like every little business, managing daily admin tasks can be challenging and overwhelming. From the first enquiry to scheduling the photoshoot, sending the invoice and managing all the steps in between is not always easy to stay on...

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    • Charity

      This is such great info! I didn’t know much about CRM systems before this post, so thanks so much for sharing!ReplyCancel

    • I’ve never used a CRM for my own business, although I have worked with HubSpot for a client. I like the idea of birthday emails and such, I’ll have to check out 17Hats, thank you!ReplyCancel

      • I’m sure all CRM have valid features. I’ve been using 17Hats for so many years now and couldn’t do without it 😉 
        Thanks for reading Lisa!ReplyCancel

    • Leslie

      Wow, this sounds like something I should look into. I don’t want to fumble over things and right now I’m using Google Calendar but that kind of overwhelms me seeing all of the things I have to get done. Thank you for sharing, I’m going to check into it. I’d love to own a photography business!ReplyCancel

      • A calendar definitely helps, a CRM system does so much more. It’s like a personal assistant. Thanks for reading.ReplyCancel

    • This sounds very useful! I am more of a Google Sheets girl for organising. Making a move like this does seem quite daunting! ReplyCancel

      • Spreadsheet are great! I used to used them a lot, now less. But a CRM does much more – I love particularly the fact it sends for me email reminders, outstanding invoices reminders, there is a lot of automation that makes my life easier.ReplyCancel

    • Lauren

      This is a really informative blog post. Thank you for sharing your tips. 

      Lauren – bournemouthgirlReplyCancel

    • […] actually wrote a full blog post titled From Chaos to Control: How a CRM System Transforms Your Business, where I dive into all the details about why this tool is such a game-changer for small business […]ReplyCancel

    • […] espresso, no curated posts about mountain views. I checked emails sporadically, trusting that 17hats, my CRM was handling the important stuff (thank goodness for systems that work while you sleep, […]ReplyCancel

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    07577 978246 VALE@PHOTOGRAPHYBYVALENTINA.COM

    LONDON NEWBORN PHOTOGRAPHER