Tabla de contenidos para August 2017 en Practical Photography: Lite

HOW WELL DO YOU know your camera? Modern DSLRs, CSCs and premium compacts are smarter than Stephen Hawking (well, almost) and yet so many of us rarely venture beyond the first few pages of our camera’s menu. This means that we’re potentially overlooking dozens of creative features that could seriously improve our photography. With this in mind, we asked Tim Berry to delve deep into his menu and uncover the 10 best hidden features on your camera. Starting on page 32, we’ll show you why, when and how to use them and help you unlock loads of new techniques. Also in this issue, we’re celebrating our 50th Learn Photography Now show with a very special landscape road trip – turn to page 6 to find out more. WATCH FREE VIDEOS!…

1 Photoshop The Photo Merge function has been available in Photoshop as far back as CS2, but earlier incarnations were woefully inaccurate. Today, Photoshop CC offers a pretty precise and reliable pano stitching feature, although the software is still fairly basic in terms of functionality. It does allow you to choose different layout options, as well as offering vignette removal and geometric distortion correction, and it will seamlessly fill transparent areas at the edges of the frame. adobe.com 2 Lightroom Adobe introduced Lightroom’s panoramic stitching feature or Photo Merge in version 6, so if you own 6 or CC you’re in luck. The feature, which allows you to save your pano as a DNG (RAW) file, works very well, and comes with some advanced functions such as Boundary Warp –…

MIRRORLESS ELECTRONIC VIEWFINDER Offers an instant preview of your settings and exposure ELECTRONIC SHUTTER Allows shutter speeds up to 1/32,000sec LIGHTWEIGHT & COMPACT The lack of a physical mirror makes for smaller and lighter bodies in comparison DIGITAL SLR OPTICAL VIEWFINDER Offers no preview, simply shows you the view from your lens MECHANICAL SHUTTERS Allows maximum speeds up to 1/8000sec HEAVY & LARGE Cumbersome size due to having to include an internal mirror for focusing and viewfinders…

1 Arrange your lighting setup Whether you’re using continuous home lighting or a more pro setup with a flash, you’ll need to arrange your lights in a similar way. This technique relies heavily on dramatic lighting, using one single light source that you can direct anywhere across the body. You may want to try sidelighting to produce heavy shadows that create a sense of mystery. Alternatively, you could use an overhead light such as in the photo opposite. This will mimic a bright midday sun that illuminates the peaks while casting the valleys into shadow. 2 Bounce the light You only need one light for this technique, but if you feel that your images are looking a little unevenly lit then you may want to lift the shadows a little…

WE’VE ALL HAD THOSE MORNINGS where we just don’t look our best, and generally it’s our eyes that give it away. Dark circles and heavy bags under the eyes can make people look older and/or more fatigued than they actually are. The good news is, removing circles and bags is an almost unbelievably simple process that uses a couple of very basic tools, such as the powerful Clone Stamp Tool and the equally useful Healing Brush Tool. In this step-by-step, we’ll be using a non-destructive dodge and burn technique to blend the effects in naturally with Layer Masks, meaning you can go back and adjust the image at any time. As with many of the techniques we’ve shared during this portrait series, the key to a natural finish is to…

Andrew says: This was my first time shooting the Northern Lights in Iceland, and the full moon made exposure a real challenge. I kept the ISO low to maintain detail in the mountains, but this resulted in a dark sky. The sheer expanse and isolation of this landscape was incredible, and the abandoned snowcat tour vehicle was a great find – I’m still curious as to why it was left in the middle of nowhere! In Lightroom I altered the highlights and shadows to bring out the foreground. I also boosted the Clarity and Saturation sliders to pull it all together. Dan says: Iceland is one of the most photogenic places on the planet and I’m a little envious of Andrew’s adventure. I’m not, however, envious of the shooting conditions…

LIGHTROOM Personalise your user interface with customisation You can change the name that appears at the top of Lightroom, as well as the colours of the modules. It’s fun to do and gives the gloomy grey and black panels a bit of character. To do it on a Mac, go to Lightroom>Identity Plate Setup, or on a PC right-click on the Identity plate and choose Edit Identity Plate. Set Identity Plate e to Personalized. You can then adjust the fon nt, size and colour of the ID text, as well as the modules. If you have a logo you can have this shown at the top instead by hitting Use a Graphical Identity Plate. When you’re done, hit OK to apply your changes. PHOTOSHOP Hold down Alt in Camera Raw…

1 Have a clear idea of what it is you want to shoot. If you know what you want to achieve, it will be easier to meet that goal. There is nothing worse than searching for an idea. Speaking from experience, it only leads to frustration! 2 Plan, plan, and plan some more. This will help in the long run, and it helps define an idea. When I shot Roadside Britain, I planned the first leg of the project for one month before shooting anything. Prior to Desertfest, I made some test shots which I didn’t like. I waited a year, re-thought the whole concept, did a few reconnaissance trips to Camden and, with permission from the festival organisers, went back with the large-format camera. It was a success. 3…

Still life photography is one of the few genres where you can enjoy near-complete control over the look and feel of your shots. This does mean your viewer will tend to expect greater attention to detail though, so your camera settings, exposure and lighting all need to be spot-on. You’re free to use a tripod for this technique if you have one, though handholding your camera is also absolutely fine. Set your camera to aperture-priority mode and choose an aperture of f/8. This is where your lens is optically at its best, so will give you the sharpest possible results. Raise your ISO to 800 to help eliminate the risk of camera shake, but don’t venture much higher than this as it could introduce digital noise. Turning on image stabilisation…

• What’s the first lesson a new still life photographer should learn? As photographers, we work with light and much of the art behind creating still life images is related to accurately manipulating and controlling light. Irrespective of the light source used, the way in which it’s manipulated, directed and controlled has a huge effect upon the look of the image being created. Light modifiers needn’t be expensive and can even be made from household materials. These include diffusion panels to create gradients that highlight form and texture, snoots and grids that control the direction of light and stop the unwanted spill, and reflectors, gobos and bounce cards that can all be used to fill in or create areas of shadow. • Any rookie mistakes that Camera School students should…

Louise Carey Having just scooped Bauer’s prestigious ‘Rising Star’ award, PP’s features writer turns her attention to the human body for this issue’s skills guide. Turn to p58 Sam Mellish His love of street photography and reportage has seen Sam tackle three different projects that all share the same central theme – people. See p106 Kingsley Singleton The former Digital Photo deputy editor returns with a brace of Photoshop ideas to help you create fine art landscapes with a unique twist. Starts on p72…

“WILD CAMPING IS A FANTASTIC WAY TO IMMERSE YOURSELF IN PHOTOGRAPHY” THE LONGER DAYS AND SHORTER NIGHTS MEANS there’s more time for photography now, especially during the week when you can head out after work and still make the most of the conditions. Great, we all say! However, socially it can be pretty destructive. Sometimes it’s hard to convince yourself that standing in the rain waiting for sunset is better than sitting in the pub with your friends, or back home with your family, making dinner or watching a film. It’s a battle we’re all used to and one that never gets any easier. Having worked full-time as a photographer for the past two years, I’ve had all the time in the world to go out and take images, but…

Cross-processing Mimicking the effect of film being developed in the wrong solution, cross-processing yields unusual colour tones. Sepia toning Ideal for historic buildings and vintage events, the sepia tone gives images lots of historic character and a nostalgic feel. Black & white Mono is ideal for subjects with interesting textures, tones and shapes. Male portraits and architecture are good examples.…

1 Select parameters Find the multiple exposure options in your menu, and set the number of shots you want to merge (usually two). On a Canon, select On: Func/Ctrl and the Additive mode. On a Nikon, change the mode to On, and turn Autogain to Off. 2 Shoot your first image You can now take your first shot, ensuring you expose and focus correctly. Feel free to work in manual, program or either of the semi-automatic modes. Once shot, you may see a semi-transparent overlay to help you compose your second image. 3 Take your second image Line up your second image carefully, adjusting exposure settings if necessary, and making sure you refocus. You can now check your shot by pressing the image review button. Make several attempts at each…

The EVF is only necessary as CSCs lack a mirror (although early EVFs were used with semi-translucent mirrors, they weren’t as precise, often losing up to half a stop of light), meaning that instead of the view from the lens being reflected up to the viewfinder, the sensor can now digitally render a full preview. The benefits of this system are immediately evident, with the preview instantly updating to show any changes in settings as you make them. Having an EVF also lets you review images in bright, sunny conditions where reviewing on an LCD wouldn’t be possible.…

SHOOTING A PORTRAIT usually means revealing something intimate about your subject. However, this technique subverts what your audience would normally expect, instead masking your model in both shadow and intrigue. The minimalist hints of your model’s face and body can end up being far more arresting than a simple portrait when executed well. The old adage ‘less is more’ has never been more apt! Plan your poses Portraiture normally focuses squarely on a person’s features – such as the eyes, mouth and facial expression – but the nature of this technique is that all of these things are thrown into darkness. This lack of information is far from wasted space though. Instead, it draws your eyes to the most important aspects of the shot – which is whatever you’ve chosen…

Your overall frame will be busy with many different elements, so you don’t want to confuse your audience’s eye by including dramatic lighting. Heavy shadows are also likely to shift slightly as your model moves around between each shot. Instead use evenly-diffused light to ensure minimal shadows. This will also mean that your photos will blend into each other seamlessly, rather than jarring in the grid. To create an evenly-lit high-key setup, use two lights with softbox diffusers attached. Place them in front of your model, both pointed inwards towards the face. This will create a flat and even light that will work perfectly for your portrait grid.…

LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY covers an enormous spectrum, as there are many styles in which you can indulge your creativity. At one end of the scale, photographic purists do little to their images in Photoshop, perhaps just tweaking colour alone. At the other end, dramatic changes can be made to the original photo, giving a highly dramatic, fine art look that’s perhaps closer to a painting in style. They’re both perfectly legitimate, but here we’ll embrace the latter, using an image that’s quite flat and working on the lighting, contrast and colour to create an impactful result. A large part of this fine art landscape technique has its roots in traditional hand printing, with its reliance on lightening or darkening an image selectively, just as the purists’ favourite, Ansel Adams, and his…

US PHOTOGRAPHERS love to experiment, as finding new angles and styles is all part of the fun when creating a picture. No doubt you’ll be familiar with panoramas, especially now every smartphone and compact camera worth its salt has the ability to capture these extremely wide views. This is a quick and fun way of capturing the scene, but to get the best results you’ll need to use a creative camera such as a DSLR or CSC, and shoot in the larger RAW format for extra detail. This is more involved than simply waving your phone across the scene, but the extra effort is well worth it, producing highly detailed results. Using a creative camera not only boosts your image quality via its larger sensor and lens, it increases your…

Dan says: I wanted to portray a story of togetherness and family with these macaque monkeys in Borneo. My main problem was the low levels of light in the rainforest, so I had to increase my ISO. I took this shot from a boat and underexposed it a little to add contrast and drama. In Lightroom, I tweaked the highlights and shadows to boost the contrast. Dan says: There’s a great deal of intimacy in this picture. Dan was absolutely right to increase the ISO to 4000, as this made sure the two juveniles were pin-sharp – there’s no camera shake to note. The downside of this high ISO is that has given the image a slightly grainy appearance. But by applying some selective sharpening and noise reduction (see panel…

When using off-camera flash or studio lighting, it’s essential to work in manual. This is because in the other modes, the camera will set exposure for the available light before the flash goes off, causing overexposure when the shot fires. In manual you can take this into account and select custom settings. ND filters block a proportion of the light from entering the lens, depending on the filter’s density or ‘strength’. This reduces the ability of the camera’s metering system to determine an accurate exposure, especially for 6-, 10- and 15-stop NDs. For this reason you’ll need to choose your settings manually. In rapidly changing light, such as at a music concert, the automatic and semi-automatic modes will struggle to produce an accurate exposure. In manual though, you have full…

The great thing about shooting a still life is you can get brilliant results from the comfort of your own home, so you can totally control the environment. You also have full reign over the subject, so this month we’ve chosen a mouth-watering and easily accessible one – food. We want you to use raw fruit for this module, so you won’t need to be a masterchef to get the best results. Be sure to use some fresh fruit rather than the week-old bruised banana and dried-out grapes in your fruit bowl – your pictures will only look as good as your food does, so it pays to buy good quality, fresh ingredients. You’ll also need a clean, plain background, such as a brightly coloured bowl or textured plate or…

Every lens in our test is at the top of its game, and capable of exceptional quality, so picking a winner was always going to be hard. Even those appearing to be less user-friendly – ie lacking AF or with a bulky construction – still offer pin-sharp focus and low light potential. Focal range is also nullified, with our chosen lenses covering ranges from ultra-wide to telephoto. Of course, each has a strength and weakness – wide-angles excel in landscapes, 85mm and beyond offer amazing portraits. Then there are the lenses in the middle ranges which being truly universal will allow you to partake in most genres. The winning lens is... The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 HSM | Art is a lens for every occasion, and will enable you to shoot…

• THE TECHNICAL IMAGE PRESS ASSOCIATION (TIPA) IS THE OSCARS OF the photographic industry, and it convenes every spring to decide on the very best imaging products released over the previous 12 months. This year, the association met in Cuba, with representatives fro om 28 leading photo magazines across five continents, which includ des Practical Photography. A TIPA endorsement is renowned as tthe highest accolade in the photo industry, so you can be sure anything in with a TIPA award is a class-leading product. tipa.com Best DSLR Entry-Level Nikon D5600 The 24.2MP DX-format D5600 features a 39-point autofocus and 5fps continuous burst mode, as well as an ISO range of 100-25,600. The tilting 3.2in 1037k-dot touchscreen LCD allows you to compose shots in otherwise hard to reach positions, making it…

Sony 135mm f/1.8 We have heard whispers of a new Sony fast-aperture full-frame portrait lens. Rivalling the exceptional Canon 135mm f/2L, this new lens will have a wide aperture of f/1.8 and is expected to be one of the sharpest lenses in the tech giant’s range. Although this is a very specialist focal length, we’re sure it will find a home with anybody who concentrates on taking people shots. sony.co.uk Nikon DF MkII With all the talk about the Nikon D820 or D760, we think it’s likely that a DF MkII could be on the cards. We expect the classically-styled full-frame to include the same 24.3MP sensor as the D750 (a step up from the current 16.2MP), a maximum ISO of 51,200, the Expeed 4 processor (rather than the current…

“FIND LOCATIONS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO HELP TELL THE STORY YOU WANT” NO ONE WOULD THINK THIS WAS A DOG PARK, I thought to myself as I flipped through images on my camera. Finding locations had always been a struggle for me, especially in the beginning. When I started shooting fashion photography, I thought you needed extravagant locations that would cost a fortune to rent. We have some gorgeous architecture in our city of Alberta, but it was never quite what I was looking for, or it had been used so many times before by other photographers that I wanted something different. As I started falling in love with shallow depth-of-field and incorporating that into my shoots, I realised that I didn’t need these grand locations after all. I could…

TIP 1 TIM BERRY FIX DISTORTIONS WITH LENS CORRECTION Every lens on the market is optically imperfect in one way or another, which can have a significant impact on your images. Unfortunately, you can’t do much about a lack of sharpness, but you can accurately correct a host of other issues, and you can do it in-camera. We check out three of the most common problems – vignetting, lens distortion and chromatic aberration – to the right. Your camera corrects these using lens profiles, which hold info on exactly how each lens model performs at every focal length and aperture setting, and compensates for this with impressive precision. Lens corrections are only applied to JPEGs – RAWs need correcting in editing software. VIGNETTING The corners of the frame appear darker…

Fuji Photo Film Co was established in 1934 as the first Japanese manufacturer of photographic film. Ten years later the fledgling company began to produce lenses and optical glass, then in 1948 it released its first camera – the Fujica Six – a 6x6 folding viewfinder camera. The Fujifilm brand has since gone from strength to strength. In 1988 it was Fujifilm that developed and released the world’s first fully digital camera, the FujiX DS-1P. And in 2010 the company produced another game-changer, with the release of the Fujifilm X100 heralding the start of the X Series. A 35mm equivalent fixed lens APS-C mirrorless CSC, this camera proved extremely popular, offering great power in a compact body with a stunning retro design. It was so well received that today the…

“SHOOT A NUDE WITH A TWIST BY EXPERIMENTING WITH A HUMAN LANDSCAPE...” PHOTOGRAPHING THE human body in a unique way may seem like a tall order when it’s been so meticulously documented over the course of history. However, nudes with a twist are within easy reach, simply by experimenting with the art of the human landscape. At its core, this technique is all about using your creative eye to craft a killer composition. You’ll need to direct your model into poses that simulate a rolling landscape, so you can frame up a shot that’s reminiscent of a scenic vista. You’ll want your image to retain just enough context so that the viewer has to take a second look. Book a model Finding a suitable model for this technique is essential.…

IF YOU’VE EVER INCREASED the contrast of an entire shot in Photoshop, you’ll be all too familiar with the dark and dingy results you can be left with. The trick to boosting contrast so it doesn’t look unsightly is to apply it gradually to specific areas – and Photoshop’s Dodge and Burn tools are both great for doing this. However, the flattened JPEG you’ll be working on at this stage (post-RAW conversion) will only allow you so much leeway. If you really want to get the most out of your image, it’s far better to get the contrast looking right when you’re working on the RAW file. While it’s true that RAW files take up more space than JPEGs, this is a price well worth paying as they contain a…

WILDLIFE HAS TO BE THE hardest yet most rewarding photographic genre there is. It can take hours to capture the perfect moment – in fact it took a full day in a makeshift hide in my garden before I was able to get this stunning portrait of a goldfinch, with the light falling just where I wanted it. When you’ve invested so much time and effort getting the shot, it’s equally important you do your image justice in post-production. Your files will contain much more data than that displayed in the flat image on the back of the camera, and squeezing it out is key to making your shots look as good as they possibly can. Purists will say that wildlife pictures should be left as they are, but adjusting…

Panoramas are great fun and let you get a completely different style of image that you can’t normally achieve. They’re really easy to shoot too. All you need is a creative camera with a manual mode and RAW image format setting, so DSLRs and CSCs are perfect for the job. You’ll also need some image stitching software such as Lightroom or Photoshop. Then find yourself a wide vista brimming with detail and you’re good to go. For this technique it’s best to use a wide focal length. The 18mm end of a kit lens is a good starting point, though wider lenses will help you pack more in the scene from top to bottom, such as the foreground and sky in a landscape. You’ll need to shoot your panorama in…

WHAT YOU NEED • Any version of Photoshop or Elements • An image you’d like to apply a wide range of adjustments to ACTIONS ARE A brilliant way of saving time in Photoshop. In a nutshell, they are pre-recorded edits that can be replayed on any image you choose at the push of a button. Working with them is a great way to reduce editing time – which means less time spent in front of your computer and more time spent outside with your camera! This month we’ve bundled together no fewer than 101 free Actions for you to enjoy, all of which have been designed to let you make rapid edits. From adjusting the brightness of your picture to adding contrast, and increasing sharpness to applying retro filter effects,…

Mena says: For this picture, I wanted to contrast the softness of the water with the harsh rocks in the waterfall. I used the vegetation to provide natural framing around the water, then converted the image to black & white in Photoshop, though I found it difficult to get a strong contrast between the highlights and shadows. Dan says: The composition of this shot is fantastic. The leaves around the edges of the image act as a perfect natural frame, and the viewer’s eye is drawn straight to the middle of the picture, where there’s some lovely texture between the soft water and the rough rocks. Mena used a long exposure to blur the waterfall, which gives it a beautiful ethereal quality. The portrait orientation works well too, following the…

Tim Berry  PP’s deputy editor has a master’s degree in photography and has taught undergraduates. Dan Mold  PP’s Photoshop editor is a former Digital Photo staffer who has encyclopedic photo knowledge. Louise Carey  PP’s features writer is an experienced fine art and documentary photographer. How do I get better landscape reflections? Q I’d love to know how to get stunning reflections in my landscape images – mine are so underwhelming! Any top shooting tips would be much appreciated. Wendy Drake, Leatherhead Tim says: Using reflections in your landscape images can add real impact, especially if the background and sky are also eye-catching. The technique suits mountain scenes, and lakes are ideal, though you can also use ponds, puddles and even slow-moving rivers. Here are our five top tips... Avoid windy…

Factfile Photographer: Sam Mellish Full-time occupation: Commercial & editorial photographer Aim of projects: To document the UK’s roadside services, to observe London using a rangefinder, and to shoot festival portraits with a large-format camera Location: The length and breadth of the UK Duration: Roadside Britain took four years, while the Desertfest project took three days Time spent: Many, many hours! And that’s just the photography – I spent 18 months exhibiting Roadside Britain and dedicated a month over a one-year period to plan and produce the Desert Fest zine Images taken: Thousands of digital files, over 100 roles of Kodak Portra 120 and over 50 5x4 plates Website: sammellish.com BACON AND EGGS BY THE A303, or denim and leather in a sweat-soaked London gig venue? It’s a tough choice and one that…

\\ MODULE 1 LANDSCAPES Issue:: May 2017 On sale 13 April 2017 2017 2017 Homework deadline:: 10 May 2017 Marks announced: 24 May 2017 \\ MODULE 2 PORTRAITS Issue: : June 2017 On sale: 11 May 2017 Homework deadline: : 7 June 2017 Marks announced: 21 June 2017 \\ MODULE 3 NATURAL AL L WORLD Issue: : July 2017 On sale: 8 8 8 June 2017 2017 2017 Homework deadline: : 5 July Marks announced: 19 July 2017 \\ MODULE 4 CREATIVE STILL LIFE Issue: August 2017 On sale: 6 July 2017 Homework deadline: 2 August 2017 Marks announced: 16 August 2017 \\ MODULE 5 MOVEMENT Issue: September 2017 On sale: 3 August 2017 Homework deadline: 30 August 2017 Marks announced: 13 Sept 2017 \\ MODULE 6 AFTER DARK Issue:…

With our settings and composition taken care of, we now need to ensure we get pin-sharp focus. Working with our camera above the subject brings with it additional shooting challenges, such as keeping the camera stable and the lens pointing directly down. Since we’re shooting with an aperture of f/8, we have a relatively large depth-of-field to play with, and we can focus accordingly. In our scene we have fruits and herbs of various heights, with some closer to the camera than others. For this particular composition, we want to aim at the object that’s closest to the camera (here it would be the physallis), since our brains comprehend background blur much more naturally than they do foreground blur. If we have a sizeable distance from our scene, over 1.5m…

Best DSLR Telephoto Zoom Tamron SP 150-600mm This telephoto can be used on full-frame or APS-C cameras, and features Tamron’s improved VC (vibration compensation), offering a 4.5-stop advantage. It also includes a fast ultrasonic silent drive ring-type motor, and leakproof seals on the metal barrel. tamron.eu Best CSC Prime Lens Fujinon XF 23mm This fast, wide-angle lens boasts an impressive maximum aperture of f/2, has an internal stepping motor that provides fast, smooth and quiet AF operation, and is able to achieve focus in 0.05sec. fujifilm.com Best DSLR Prime Sigma 85mm ART This full-frame lens features a hypersonic motor (HSM) for rapid and silent AF. It also boasts a fast maximum f/1.4 aperture to perfectly isolate your subject from the background while providing exceptional sharpness. sigma-imaging-uk.com Best CSC Telephoto Zoom…

• I’VE BEEN LUCKY TO WORK AS A PROFESSIONAL photographer for nearly a decade now, having landed a job for Time Outt after I graduated with my BA in English and Communications. The assignments were always a real adventure and I found myself shooting travel guides all over North America and Europe. After several years of shooting commercially I wanted to pursue more personal projects. Working as a photographer can often be quite isolating, so I craved community, structure and a new challenge. The inspiration behind my project ‘Ex-Voto’ came from a film called Lourdes (2009), directed by Jessica Hausner. Not having any religious affinity myself, I was intrigued by this place that offered great spiritual contemplation and healing. I booked myself onto a pilgrim package tour to Lourdes, not…