A picture is worth a thousand words - Canon EOS 200D Photo Challenge

A picture is worth a thousand words.
Never has a truer statement been made.
And it's a philosophy that I live by.
Yes I'm a words girl. I live for writing. But I also live for photos. Photos have the ability to bring back so many memories, create new opinions, endure feelings. Photos... they're my jam.

And I'm a Canon girl, through and through. Ever since my university days when I would hire out a DSLR from our media rooms to do my photojournalism course.

Although a fujifilm was actually my first ever DSLR camera of my own, it was a cheap buy from a friend, and my heart wanted a Canon. So I saved up and bought my 1100D.
It's lived a very good life, even surviving a four foot drop from a bookcase (thank you cat!) and has toughened up with a toddler too!

But now I'm upgrading, and I've been put to the challenge by Lifecake and Canon, to truly road test the brand new Canon EOS 200D* and show you how each photo is worth a thousand words.

Of course I was totally up for playing guinea pig, and what better way than a photo challenge, and I'm even going to share with you how I took every single shot.
To really make it a challenge, I also got every single one of these photos over a weekend back home with our family!

1. Shallow depth of field
Basically a little portrait photography for you. All the focus is on the foreground with a really blurred background. Both of these were taken in Av mode which is pretty much the perfect setting for portraits (so long as the kid sits still) The lower the Av, the more blur you have!

^^ ISO 400 // Av F1.8 ^^

^^ISO 400 // Av F1.8 ^^

2. Favourite view

One of my absolute favourite places is my mother-in-laws garden. She pretty much has the plant growing down to an art - yes I am intensely jealous of her garden lilies, Her's have flowered and mine really hasn't! Seeing my boys playing in the garden and chatting to the chickens is one of my favourite views. 

^^ Auto F3.2 ^^ 

3. Summer nostalgia

Is there anything better than ice creams in the garden to remind you of summers gone by? Luckily for us, or unluckily depending on your viewpoint, Henry is another fan of ice creams. I personally blame his father and Grandfather who are both ice cream/ice lolly obsessed. A visit to the Bradford family home wouldn't be the same in summer without ice lollies!  

^^ Av F1.8 ^^

^^ Av F3.2 ^^

4. Get down to their level

I always find getting down to Henry's level to be such an interesting experience. There's so much to see and find when you're less than two foot tall. And for Henry, his main view is his best pal Alfie. 

^^ both images - ISO 100 // Av F3.5 ^^

5. Kids in motion

Now that Henry is on the move we're definitely working on capturing photos with him on the move. These few were taken in the kids setting within the camera, perfectly designed for capturing children in motion, but keeping them in focus. That also included wagging dog tails too! 

I have to also admit I'm in love with seeing Henry walking alongside his dada and getting the movement caught on camera. 

6. Family self-timer moment

The self timer is an absolute must for us, but has always been a little tricky. Now however we have a flip screen to preview the image and get us lined up ahead of clicking that all important shoot button! We actually got this shot on self timer continuous, which takes several shots (I chose five) straight after each other! I'm not going to lie, this might be one of my new favourite things to do!!

7. A story with no faces

And last but by no means least, a little story! 

A boy and his best friend. Henry's favourite thing to do whilst visiting his Grandparents is to play in their kitchen cupboards, most specifically the food cupboards, and pull out anything that he can. On this occasion, he was "supervised" by Alfie, including with gravy pot inspections! You have got to love these two! 

This camera is pretty much the perfect camera for anyone who really wants to learn what a camera is capable of doing and has a true love of photography. It's perfect for family life if you don't mind a big camera in your bag!

Every setting comes with tutorial advice on how to use it, and how to make the most from it. Plus it's fully touch screen so no fiddling around with loads of buttons and dials. It is quite simply user friendly, and a pleasure to use. Also, a flip screen!!! This girl got hella excited about this feature, because I finally have that push to vlog!!! Plus those flat lays and aerial shots are now going to be soooo much simpler!

You'll also find that this camera is compatible with all EOS lens, so if like me, you've started to invest in new lens, like my 50mm lens, then you can switch them on to the 200D body with zero issues.
It's also available in other colours outside of the standard black (which I chose because my lens will fit it and match), including white and silver, which is pretty new for the DSLR family.

*camera sent for review as part of a collaboration project with Lifecake and Canon Company.