Being an avid photographer I have multiple camera's which I use. I have the Nikon d7000 which is an amazing for photoshoots, I also have a cheeky GoPro for some holiday underwater snaps. However even with all the cameras I have, I was missing a high quality compact camera to help me take some awesome shots for my blog.
Olympus PEN £399
Well.. Of course I looked into the Olympus PEN, which nearly every single well known blogger out there is using. The PEN is pretty and has great reviews about how good the photos are.

However I went to John Lewis the other day to test a few cameras out to make the decision for myself, and to be honest I was let down by the Olympus. The hype around this camera is that it was so good for blogging and taking self portraits - which is what I want to start experimenting with. The flip camera, faces at a 90 degree angle outwards or faces downwards, which isn't a great concept when you want to mount the camera on a tripod to take pictures or videos.

Also I found the controls confusing, considering I've got a degree in this shiz, I felt like I couldn't instantly pick it up and use it - which is what you must look for in all camera you buy.. I know there's a little bit of learning to be had with massive DSLR's but compact basic cameras should be easy to use for people of any ability.


Shot in Intelligent Auto - with Face soften on, timer comes on when shooting with the screen up and there's an option of 3 or 10 seconds.


 Aperture Priority Mode - You can scroll and select what F stop you want, depending on the amount of blur you want.

1. Columbia Road Market 



Perfect for you flower lovers out there! This road comes alive on a Sunday and is absolutely jam packed full of flowers. It is a 20 min walk from Liverpool Street, Via Brick Lane or can be access from Bethenal Green Underground which is a bit closer.

Best times to visit - It has a magical feel around Christmas




2. Brick Lane 




Well this is a kind of obvious one.. Accessible from either Aldgate East Underground or Liverpool Street, this east end street is a hub of street food and vintage fashion during the weekend, and is still pretty busy during the week due to the amount of businesses local to the street.

Things you must try - The Mexican street food is insane and the underground vintage market.
It's also home to a variety of pop up shops including Cereal Killers (Expect a massive queue at the weekends)

Top Tip - Go via Spitafields Market for some more quirky stools.



3. Hoxton Square 

Home to some amazing quirky bars and restaurants, including The Breakfast Club and Molly Bakes Hoxton is a hub for the young east end Londoner, and actually some business men due to its proximity to Liverpool Street.

Hipster Must Have - You are guaranteed to find a bar that serves an alcoholic beverage in a jam jar.






4. East London Thrift Store 




Feeling like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, you can shop till your drop filling a bag up for just £10!
Not only is this insanely fun, you can get some great goodies, from vintage Nike to Levis and pimp'in fur jackets.
Just a stroll down the road from either Whitechapel or Stepney Green, this store is hidden down a little alley in East London.

Top Tip - Go on a weekday or it's manic at the weekend, and make sure you bring some sturdy bags to carry the massive haul you will inevitably get.


5. Camden 


This is for all you baby hipsters out there.
It has all the fun of Brick Lane, with the food markets and stools, but on a much more mainstream basis. Most stools are open all week, bar the actual market.

Best Place for - Crap you don't need but you want anyway

So here are my 'Top Tips' for Instagram Photo success! 

Daytime

Saturday involved shooting with Lucy in the morning, then a sunny alcoholic picnic in Hyde Park for lunch. After getting a bit tipsy, me and Jo headed to get our makeup done at Bobbie Brown in Selfridges.

Super excited for our makeup experience - which is by the way absolutely free - Amazing! We headed to Selfridges with a quick bit of shopping on the way.  

Bobbie Brown Makeup Sesh - Selfridges 

Jo got her eyes done and I went for the radiant beauty.... Well it all started off well with us taking off our makeup and answering a series of questions about what look we wanted. Jo said she wanted a light subtle eye to open up her eyes and make them look bigger, and I just wanted a glam look for the evening.. 
 Jo wouldn't remove her sunnies.... 

Night time - Cirque Le Soir 

After re-doing our makeup, we headed out to Cirque Le Soir. It's been shut for about 5 months after a fire broke out in December.. Safe to say we were really excited to see what it was like! 


We had an amazing night.. great music, crazy acts and fire eaters, too much alcohol and so much dancing I ripped my skirt...FML.

It made it's come back in style, with completely refurbished interiors and a new layout, there was a bouncy castle, new acts.. a dwarf in bondage hanging from the celling.. yep that happened.. and of course some amazing burlesque performers. 

We were thankful for queue jump as the queue went all the way to the end of the street! With Cirque being such a favourite for many people this was kind of inevitable. 

Overall a tip top night.. equaling in me being ridiculously hungover on Sunday with one very sad looking skirt... 

A Channel compact is such a chic thing to carry, mine is a bronzer, for all your contour emergencies!!


Because tweezers can help you out in so many sticky situations!!


Vogue is an obvious train read and nude polish - because I can't stand chipped nails!

After living there for two years, and now returning about twice monthly shooting with Lucy, I have come to discover some cool places to shoot in london.

They're probably pretty obvious but ya know.. Thought I'd share..


Notting Hill.. If you wonder off the beaten track of Portobello Road you will stumble upon lots of little cute houses. This super cute pink house with pink flamingo in the window was on a righthand side road off Portboello over half way down.
Shame about the buzzer not being pink.. but still cute


Notting Hill again.. this is better shot later on in the day as the it gets lighter on the house side
This is literally just before you get to Humming bird Bakery on the right hand side


This is a little Mew in South Kensington, just past the National History Museum and V&A on the right hand side again.. looks like a bunch of factories on the outside, but it's an adorable really quiet Mew when you get there.. ideal for a few quick outfit changes too!!