Tabla de contenidos para March 2019 en Practical Photography: Lite

Camera Buying Guide Unsure about which camera is best for your needs? Our ebook includes reviews, spec and prices for every interchangeable lens camera available right now. That’s 85 concise overviews designed to help you buy the best. 25 actions for Photoshop Get an all-new collection of presets, ranging from colour adjustments and mono treatments to resizing. Turn to page 126 for a full step-by-step. Photoshop video lessons Composite a fun superhero portrait, turn everyday objects into graphic photograms, and create vintage Victorian cabinet cards.…

Nikon D760 Word has it that Nikon is set to consolidate the D610 and D750 with the release of the D760. We expect a full-frame 24MP sensor, possibly with a BSI design, and upgraded Expeed 6 processor. Word has it that the 51-point AF system will receive a boost, with better low-light performance, and more selectable points to choose from. It’s also believed to shoot 4K video, and feature the D850 button layout. nikon.co.uk Sony α7R IV While the high-resolution α 7R III is relatively new, word has spread that Sony may be looking to break the 60MP barrier with its follow up. Thanks to a new sensor design, the latest update may feature 8K video with 12-bit recording, as well as huge 16-bit image files. Despite the file size,…

YOU’D THINK US LANDSCAPE photographers would get bored of trees. You’d think. But we perhaps see something in trees that others don’t. Most people appreciate the changing of the seasons, especially summer to autumn when fiery foliage fills branches, falling onto forest floors and lining pavements. They’re a staple of our urban spaces as well as the edgelands that distinguish between cities, towns and countryside. They’re ubiquitous, and anything with that label can fade so easily into the background, becoming integral to the white noise of everyday living. “THE HUMBLE TREE CAN TRANSFORM INTO SOMETHING TRULY DELIGHTFUL” For photographers, trees are so much more than ordinary. They can provide much needed focus for a wider composition. They can stand alone, jumping out from a chaotic background, demanding your attention. The…

• YOU DON’T HAVE TO SPEND YEARS DOCUMENTING human tragedies to take inspiration from the work of Dorothea Lange. Her approach to photography can help to shape anyone’s work, no matter what genre they shoot, but in the spirit of her pioneering work as a documenter, here are two projects to get you out and about with your camera... PROJECT #1 FIND A LOCAL EVENT TO DOCUMENT ■ OFFER YOUR SERVICES Photography has a fantastic power to document events, and it’s very likely that your local community will have groups that would love to have their efforts recorded. Contact local groups through social media and offer your services as an official photographer – fêtes, street parties, marches and even protests make great subjects for the documenter’s camera. ■ SET UP…

• HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON’S WORK REMAINS a huge influence on many modern street photographers more than 80 years on from when he started shooting. Street photography is one of the most accessible yet daunting genres to embrace, and we have two Cartier-Bresson inspired projects to get you shooting. PROJECT #1 BEGIN A STREET PHOTOGRAPHY SERIES ■ ENGAGE IN A STREET PROJECT One of the biggest problems faced by fledgling street photographers is deciding what to shoot. Busy towns and cities can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to come home with nothing to show from a day’s shooting. By regimenting yourself with a shot list you are much more likely to find success and get great images. ■ SET UP YOUR CAMERA Camera settings are relatively unimportant in street photography. If you…

• THE WORKING METHODS OF PIONEERING photographers like Julian Margaret Cameron would seem completely alien to anyone working in the digital medium, but there are some aspects that are worth taking note of for a different approach to portraiture. Here are two projects inspired by those early days... PROJECT #1 SLOW DOWN YOUR PORTRAIT SESSIONS ■ TAKE A VICTORIAN-STYLE PORTRAIT Julia Margaret Cameron’s portraits were taken in natural light, so for this project choose a room with a north-facing window and a plain background, or use a patterned throw for a Victorian look. ■ SET UP YOUR CAMERA Cameron’s huge camera was mounted on a tripod, so that’s where we’re gong to start too. With the camera fixed, use Live View to frame up your subject exactly the way Julia…

• WHEN HE WAS LUGGING HIS MASSIVE camera up and down mountains, Ansel Adams would have delighted in the compact gear that modern photographers enjoy. And as an advocate of technology, he would have happily swapped film for digital. Here are two projects inspired by the landscape master... PROJECT #1 TAKE A BLACK & WHITE LANDSCAPE ■ SHOOT A MONO MASTERPIECE There’s more to black & white photography than just desaturating the image in the edit. By visualising the scene in mono and looking for the elements that make a great black & white shot you will create a much better photograph. ■ SET YOUR CAMERA UP Visualising in black & white is a skill that takes some time to master. But modern cameras can help you out. In the…

When creating a rustic food photo, there’s no need to use fancy lighting kit. Instead, you can produce perfect results by using window light and then enhancing it with a reflector or a flag. We recommend shooting right next to a window to cast as much light as possible on your scene. If you find that the shadows are a little too dramatic for your tastes, then you may want to place a reflector opposite the window to bounce the light back into your scene. Alternatively, you may want to enhance the rustic nature of your composition by boosting the shadows. If this is the case, position a large piece of black paper in place of the reflector.…

1 Use manual manipulation Just because we’re living in the digital age, it doesn’t stop us taking a more hands-on, analogue approach to creative photography. If you have access to a colour photocopier or a flatbed scanner you can produce some great results by moving or dragging the copied or scanned image during the copying process. Your final image will be elongated and you’re likely to see some ‘glitchy’ scanlines too. 2 Take multiple exposures In the days before digital manipulation, photographers carried out their special effects work in-camera. Modern cameras make the process of taking multiple exposures even easier. Simply take the first shot you want to use, go into your camera’s menu and activate the multi-exposure mode (see your manual for details) and then select your first shot…

Manfrotto Manhattan mover-50 £160 A very sleek design that looks nothing like a camera bag at first glance. But the Wandrd packs some excellent protective qualities, has great options for customising and is surprisingly spacious. manfrotto.co.uk Lowepro ProTactic 450 AW £149 Lowepro has a great pedigree in bag making and this is no exception. Built like a tank, very comfortable to wear and superbly versatile, packing more customisable pockets than anyone could ever fill. lowepro.com Mindshift UltraLight Dual 36L £229 Another lovely looking bag that’s also usefully subtle. This Peak Design offering is very spacious, holding two ‘pro’ size bodies, six lenses and a 16in laptop, isn’t heavy and can be customised. thinktankphoto.com…

Now for something completely different! Alex Gross is a Los Angeles-based artist specialising in pop-surrealism. He’s built an entire series of paintings utilising cabinet cards, letting his imagination run wild and applying his unique new vision over the top, keeping parts of the original photo intact. He usually transforms his vintage portraits into pop culture icons, such as Star Wars characters and superheroes like Batman. It’s a great way of adding a modern twist to a charming antiquity. You can see more of his work at alexgross.com…

■ If your image is soft, it could be that you or the model moved in the time between focusing and taking the shot. If this happens, have another go, this time shortening the time between half-pressing and fully pressing the shutter. ■ If your images are coming out blurry it’s because the shutter speed is long enough to record the movement of your subject (subject blur) or the vibration of your hands (camera shake). Make sure the shutter speed is equal to or faster than the reciprocal of your focal length (eg 1/50sec at 50mm) by boosting the ISO to banish the blur. You can set up on a tripod to eliminate camera shake.…

Getting a great action shot can be made a lot easier by the application of your camera’s on-board tech. Here are our tips for ultra-fast shooting: ■ Set the shooting mode to high continuous. This will cause your camera to keeping firing all the time your finger is on the shutter button. ■ Use continuous AF mode and either single-point focus or, if you can, set a focus grid large enough to cover the area filled by your subject. ■ Use back button focusing to free up your shutter finger as you track your subject. ■ If your camera’s buffer fills up too quickly and locks you out of shooting, try a faster memory card, and in the worse case scenario switch to JPEG.…

1 TELL A STORY Photography is a language. If you haven’t got anything to say, it’s best not to say anything. In your portraits you should be telling the viewer about the person. Think about props, the clothes and how the model is posing. All these devices work together to tell a subject’s story. This is what a good portrait is, not just a record of how they looked at that moment. We’ve got passport booths for that job. 2 GET A GOOD ANGLE Pictures where people aren’t looking straight into the camera are sometimes more interesting. Your viewers can look at the subject without feeling like they’re looking back at them. Try changing where your subject is looking, and where you’re viewing them from. 3 FIND YOUR LOCATION Environmental…

MY FIRST MEMORY OF PICKING UP A CAMERA was when I was on holiday and my mum let me use her Olympus OM-1. I was constantly reminded to be careful, to hold the camera properly, to check the light meter and to capture just one photo at a time. These habits became so natural that by the time I was 14, I’d effectively been given the camera. However, my true passion was sparked when I undertook my HNC course at Kingston College. This started to make me have serious questions about the content I was delivering, the view of photography in the art community and its role to inform the public of what’s going on around the world. While studying at UEL (University of East London) in 2015, we were…

PRESETS ARE FANTASTIC FEATURES that allow you to apply saved settings to images quickly. They’re a convenient way to process images, but tweaking the settings to refine the results can be a time-consuming process that involves detective work to figure out which settings are involved in the preset and how they work together to affect the image. This is where The Fader from Capture Monkey comes in – it’s a free shareware plug-in for Lightroom Classic CC that provides an Opacity slider for presets, with an option to boost the effects up to 150% and reverse them by moving the sliders in the opposite direction. It’s a simple process that gives powerful results. Here we’ll show you how to download, install and use the plug-in on your shots. 1 Load…

Canon pooled its years of experience, including an already successful range of APS-C CSCs, and created the EOS R. It’s the company’s first full-frame mirrorless camera, and houses a 30.3MP sensor, similar to that found in the professional-level 5D MkIV. It also boasts a massive 5655-point on-sensor phase detection AF system, as well as Dual Pixel CMOS AF, and a maximum 8fps continuous shooting speed. The grip is especially pleasing, and should appeal to those who like something substantial to grab onto. It also includes a new M-Fn multi-function touchbar, which allows you to swipe through settings, as you would a smartphone, and customise it to your taste. There’s also the 3.15in 2100k-dot 180 ˚ tilting touchscreen, a first for this class.…

CANON EOS R Body price: £2349 Effective resolution: 30.3MP Sensor: 36x24mm LCD: 3.15in 2100k-dot Shutter: Bulb, 30sec-1/8000sec Autofocus: 5655-point phase detection ISO: 100-40,000 (50-102,400 expanded) Shooting speed: 8fps, or 5fps when using continuous focusing Video: 4K 30fps (with 1.7x crop), 120fps at 720p Other features: 4K time-lapse movies, Picture Styles, Dual Pixel RAW shooting, multi-function touchbar, Eye AF with single AF, Dual Pixel AF, silent shooting, C-Log Battery life: 370 shots CIPA rating Card type: Single SD card slot Weight: 660g Size (WxHxD): 136x98x84mm Web: canon.co.uk PROS + Great autofocus system + Tilting vari-angle screen CONS - Autofocus tricky to navigate - Poor ergonomics NIKON Z6 Body price: £2099 Effective resolution: 24.5MP Sensor: 35.9.x23.9mm LCD: 3.2in 2100k-dot Shutter: Bulb, 30sec-1/8000sec Autofocus: 273-point phase detection ISO: 100-51,200 (50-204,800 expanded) Shooting…

STILLS 12MP VIDEO 4K 60FPS BATTERY 2 HOURS DRONE MEGASTAR DJI is well known for its aviation excellence and range of gimbal solutions. In this Osmo Pocket, it’s taken both realms of expertise and condensed them into a diminutive package. Main features You’ll find a 1/2.3in sensor, capable of 12MP images, UHD 4K video at 60fps, or 120fps in Full HD 1080p. There’s face tracking, as well as DJI’s brilliant ActiveTrack technology, and it’s able to film time-lapses, motion-lapses and traditional or 3x3 square panoramas. It also houses a 1in rear touchscreen to allow you to compose and review footage, or alter your settings, and an internal mic to capture the audio in your scene. Performance The Osmo is roughly the size of a chocolate bar, and at first glance…

Matt Watkins Super-reader Matt is a landscape fanatic who loves exploring South Wales looking for new locations. Read his story and see his impressive portfolio on p54 Perou Famed portrait professional Perou uses razor-sharp wit to navigate the murky world of celebrity. Just don’t mention Pamela Anderson. See p94 Cathal Abberton Dedicating his final year project to Europe’s migration crisis, student Cathal has created an emotive body of work that is turning heads. See p108…

Defined and established the idea of the photojournalist Paved the way for women in documentary photography Unleashed photography’s power for social change WE LIVE IN AN ERA of instant news and we are used to seeing the impact that global events have on people. But when America was hit by the Great Depression in the 1920s, and then by the Dust Bowl disaster in the 1930s, news media was still in its infancy and the human story might have been completely overlooked – if it wasn’t for one woman and her camera. Finding her calling Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) studied photography at Columbia University in New York and had a successful career as a portrait photographer in San Francisco. But the onset of the Great Depression saw her take more and…

Pioneered the art of street photography Defined a genre that endures to this day Used minimal gear to great effect FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS of photography, practitioners trained their lenses on street scenes, capturing the day-today minutiae that would ultimately become a document of the past. But when Henri Cartier-Bresson picked up a small 35mm camera and started to record images of people going about their everyday activities, he kick-started a whole movement… Taking to the streets Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) actually trained as an artist, but found the rigidity of fine art, as taught at the time, too constricting, and while he didn’t take up photography in any serious way until the 1930s, he instantly ‘clicked’ with the medium, embracing its power to freeze a moment and hold it forever. His…

Established portrait photography as a genre Elevated the medium into the realm of fine art Defined the concept of the celebrity portrait PHOTOGRAPHY DID NOT have the easiest of childhoods. Dismissed early on by the art world as nothing more than a scientific process, it could easily have spent much of its formative years as an end-of-the-pier curiosity. Thankfully, there were some who saw the potential in this new way of seeing the world, and in the very earliest days of photography they created images that still resonate today through their beauty and technical excellence. A late bloomer Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879) was 48 years old before she took her first photograph – ably demonstrating that it’s never too late to embrace the hobby. Her daughter gave her a camera…

Defined landscape photography as a genre Captured the majesty of the great outdoors Created an enduring legacy in his field MOST GENRES OF photography might struggle to pick one particular moment or practitioner as the instigation for a whole movement, but in landscape photography there is a clear beginning. On April 10, 1927, a group of five friends were trekking through Yosemite’s LeConte Gully in the USA, with their destination on that chilly morning being Half Dome, the park’s iconic summit that rises 5000 feet from the valley floor. And the photo that one member of the group took that day would kick start a genre-defining career. Breaking out The young Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was what we might call a ‘keen hobbyist’ these days. He had been taking photographs of…

MASTER #1 MAN RAY THE SURREALIST ■ WHO WAS HE? Man Ray (1890-1976) was an American visual artist who spent much of his career in Paris. While he considered himself a painter above all, his photographs are the most enduring of his works. His link to the Dada and Surrealist movements helped to establish photography as an art form ■ WHAT CAN HE TEACH US? Man Ray was arguably the first photographer to do as much work in the edit as he did taking the shot. Anyone who manipulates their images in Photoshop or any other creative software is following in the footsteps of Man Ray. One of his biggest contributions to photography is the Solarization effect, which can be recreated in the Curves Layer in Photoshop. Simply alter the…

PROJECT #1 ARRANGE FOOD FLATLAYS Cook up beautifully rustic food photography. PROJECT #2 GET CREATIVE WITH COLOUR Turn ordinary make-up into high-end abstracts. PROJECT #3 SUSPEND LUXURY PRODUCTS Bamboozle your viewer with this amazing trick.…

Nikon D5600 £649 This mid-range staple from Nikon is a proven performer and its 24.2MP sensor delivers great results. It has built-in Wi-Fi and comes with a useful 18-55mm zoom lens. It’s also a very solid camera that will take a few knocks. nikon.co.uk Sony α 7 II £1199 Sony’s mirrorless masterpiece has been around for a while so the older models are bargain buys in the full-frame CSC market. This camera takes great pictures and, with an adapter, it can use vintage lenses for retro coolness. sony.co.uk Canon EOS 80D £799 Canon’s excellent high-end enthusiast camera has been out for a while now, which means there are some great offers to be had on it. It packs a 24.2MP sensor and very fast and effective 45-point AF system. canon.co.uk…

TAKING A STEP BACK IN TIME, WE’RE embracing the stylish retro vibes of Victorian cabinet cards. We’ll show you how to create your very own set with just a camera, standard kit lens and a version of Photoshop or Elements. You’ll discover how to take simple, shake-free portraits with a window to light your subject. Then you’ll learn how to ‘tarnish’ your shots in post-production to make them appear old and realistically aged. We’re even supplying you with five cabinet card templates in the Free Gifts folder on your disc or download, which you can use to give your pictures the distinctive cabinet card framing, as well as a selection of scratchy textures to overlay, making them look even more worn and gritty. Follow the steps over the following pages…

Taking the portrait for this cabinet card effect is super easy. All you need is a willing model – your other half, a close friend or even a self-portrait is fine. Then you’ll need a large window preferably with a net curtain over it to provide soft, directional light. This simple lighting setup looks fantastic when you turn it into a cabinet card, and we’ll go into detail over the page on how to do this in Photoshop. Check to make sure you have the items below and then follow the step-by-step to get your portraits in-camera. Be sure to get a range of different looks and poses to give yourself more options when you start editing it all together. WHITE WALL Cabinet card portraits were taken in studios that…

Often overlooked amid Lightroom Classic CC’s gazillion other features, the native presets are a great way to experiment with your edit. Anna used the Creative – Cool Light preset to inject colder tones, before selectively increasing the saturation of her colour channels. Other presets include black & white variations, colour effects such as bleach bypass and cross-processing, and general effects such as grain, vignettes and sharpening. There are thousands more Lightroom presets available for purchase at the Adobe Exchange – visit adobeexchange.com – and plenty of freebies available with a quick Google search.…

Understand the limitations All the image stabilisation in the world can’t counteract subject movement. So if you’re shooting a non-static subject at a slow shutter speed, you may still find it blurred in the picture. An easy way to tell subject blur from camera shake is that, in the former case, some parts of the scene will be sharp. The best way to combat subject movement is to increase the camera’s shutter speed. Improve your handling No matter how technologically advanced your camera’s image stabilisation system, good handling technique is still required. Make sure you’re well balanced as you shoot, with your feet shoulder-width apart and your elbows tucked in. If possible, find something static to brace yourself against. Support the lens at its front and squeeze the shutter button…

All of the refugees and migrants I’d met in the small town of Riace, southern Italy, were being forced to wait around for something to happen. Whether this was for money, support, to be moved to a new location or even just to be allowed to leave, they were stuck in limbo. I listened to their stories, took their feedback, and told them that this is how I wanted to photograph them. I seated each subject on plastic chairs dotted around the town, which was a symbol of the temporary state that they found themselves in. I really wanted a sense of authenticity with this project, which sometimes meant putting the camera down and absorbing as much of the situation as I could.…

PHOTOGRAMS ARE A fun little photographic project you can try by laying opaque or semi-translucent objects on light-sensitive paper and then exposing it to light. If you’ve ever developed film in a darkroom then you’ll most likely have experimented with this effect, and in this tutorial we’re paying homage to the creative abstract results with our own digital rendition. You’ll need some objects to turn into your graphic silhouettes but you don’t need anything too fancy, just look around the house and dig out anything with an interesting profile, such as old keys, scissors, glasses, jewellery or even a pair of headphones. Unlike the traditional photogram, you’ll be able to fine-tune the position and size of your items to get it absolutely perfect. Ready to give it a try? Begin…

CANON EOS R PRICE £2349 IMAGE RESOLUTION 30.3MP NIKON Z6 PRICE £2099 IMAGE RESOLUTION 24.5MP SONY a7 III PRICE £1899 IMAGE RESOLUTION 24.2MP LOOKING BACK, 2018 was a roller coaster of a year for camera companies, with Canon and Nikon aiming to compete in the Sony-dominated world of full-frame mirrorless. Both companies released their offerings, pitting them against Sony’s Alpha series, with the EOS R and Z6 targeting the outstanding α 7 III, and Nikon going after the α 7R III with the high-resolution Z7. Here, we’re taking a look at the entry-level offerings, and finding out whether they can dethrone the champ. The reigning champ Sony’s α 7 III is a wild haymaker, designed for the sole purpose of putting nails in the competition’s coffins. It takes elements from…

From ergonomics to design, the Nikon looks great and handles like no other CSC we’ve tried. It has a comfortable deep grip, intuitive one-handed button placements and enough customisation to make it fit seamlessly with your workflow. The huge 55mm Z mount boasts a world’s shortest 16mm flange distance, and can capture an unprecedented amount of light. It will also facilitate Nikon’s upcoming 58mm f/0.95 Noct lens, scheduled for a 2019 release. Beyond the excellent design and weather-sealed body, image quality is impressive, with the 24.5MP sensor returning sharp shots and very pleasing colour tones. It also has an amazing image stabilisation system, which impressed us for handheld shots at slower shutter speeds.…

IMAGE QUALITY The most important part of any camera is image quality. So these offerings have undergone real-world testing to ensure they have what it takes. FUNCTIONALITY AND USE We also took into account factors such as the features included with each, the impact they’ve had on the industry and the price. While full-frame may be highly coveted, there are an equal amount of reasons to shoot APS-C, so we did not include sensor size as an over-riding factor in our decision if the features supported it.…

1 ActiveTrack, which has made the leap from DJI’s drones, allows you to set a subject from your phone, or the touchscreen. The Osmo Pocket will then automatically follow that subject with impressive tenacity. 2 Time-lapse is an excellent feature. It’s capable of shooting multiple images and compiling them into a movie format. Even better is motion-lapse, which allows you to manually set two points, while the Osmo will work its way between them, creating a sweeping time-lapse. 3 Story mode is a new feature in the dedicated MIMO app. It offers a selection of templates, and automatically stitches together a highlight reel from your footage. It gives a definitive pro look, and is ideal for video-editing newbies.…

WHILE MOST PHONE camera lenses boast surprisingly good image quality, the one aspect that tends to let them down is that they have a fixed focal length. This means that you approach every situation, no matter whether it’s a portrait or a landscape, with a 35mm equivalent focal length of around 30mm. Artificially zooming in is fruitless, as this simply crops into the megapixels, degrading the image quality. The good news is that you don’t have to languish in disappointment with your phone’s built-in lens. Instead, invest in a good quality set of clip-on lenses to boost your phone camera’s versatility and capture shots that would otherwise prove elusive. For this project we experimented with a clip-on wide-angle lens to capture a busy, bustling architectural scene. When trying to photograph…

THESE DAYS, I RARELY VENTURE OUT WITH my camera just to see what I can find. Most of my images are carefully planned or are the result of long-term projects. Although this is rewarding, especially when you get the shot you were hoping for, it can also be restrictive, causing a tunnel vision that makes you miss other opportunities. A few springs ago, during my roe deer project at a local wood, I arrived at dawn and settled in a spot among the bluebells where I hoped to ambush the deer. The area was at the woodland edge next to arable farmland and I’d not been there long when I noticed something moving through the low wheat crop. “SOME OF MY MOST FAVOURITE IMAGES ARE FROM UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTERS” I sat…

■ LOOK FOR GEOMETRY A common theme running through Cartier-Bresson’s work is his use of geometrical shapes and patterns to define his shots and frame subjects. This is a method that can be applied to any genre of photography, where the use of frames, lead-in lines and natural elements adds strength to compositions. ■ BE PATIENT While Cartier-Bresson is known for his ‘decisive moments’, the great man often had to wait for all of the elements in a shot to come together – such as in his ‘The Leap’ (right). This patient approach has a place in all genres of photography, where rushing a shot will rarely deliver a good image. ■ STICK TO ONE LENS Cartier-Bresson often used a range of lenses when on assignment for Magnum, but when…

If you want to create a make-up still life with impact, there are two different ways that you can light your colourful creations. You can either eliminate or minimise any shadows, or you can deliberately include and enhance them for dramatic effect. For the first technique, place a softbox over your flashgun and position it over your foamboard so that it’s looking directly down onto it. Take a few test shots, and if there are still some shadows, you can either increase the power of the flash slightly or introduce a reflector to bounce the light back. An alternative is to place your softbox and flashgun to the side of your setup, as low as you can get it. This will create long dramatic shadows that will add instant visual…

Richard Collins PP’s deputy editor is a hugely experienced journalist, tutor and pro fashion photographer. Dan Mold PP’s technique editor is an Adobe Certified Associate (ACA) with encyclopedic photo knowledge. Louise Carey PP’s features editor is an award-winning fine art and documentary photographer. Can I push my creativity without Photoshop? Q I’m really interested in the purely ‘art’ side of photography and want to produce some really unusual images, but I don’t want to pay out for Photoshop or any other expensive software. What are my options for getting creative results? Virginia Krink, Tyne & Wear Richard says: Digital photography, and the ability to really push things in the edit, has certainly opened up more avenues for creative artists working in the medium, and powerful editing software such as Photoshop…

FLAT CAP £2 Worn in England since the 14th century, the flat cap is a classic prop with loads of character and charm. They’re readily available and very cheap. amazon.co.uk BRACES £4 No gentleman’s wardrobe would be complete without a set of trusty braces. These affordable Boolavard suspenders look the business. boolavard.com POCKET WATCH £7 This chained pocket watch from BestFire is a great accessory that you can hang from a waistcoat or ask your model to hold and look at in a pose. amazon.co.uk…

Nikon 50mm f/1.8D AF £129 The 50mm f/1.8D AF from Nikon is an affordable prime lens that is great for slightly wider head and shoulders framing on a full-frame. On an APS-C DSLR body you’ll get a tighter focal length of around 75mm. nikon.co.uk Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM £119 The Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 is one of the most affordable prime lenses on the market and boasts a wide maximum aperture of f/1.8, making it easy to blur backgrounds. canon.co.uk Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM £349 This widest aperture available on this Canon 50mm is a super-fast f/1.4 so it’s great for shooting in low light. It boasts an Ultrasonic Motor (USM) for faster and quieter focusing. canon.co.uk…

Now it’s over to you! We absolutely love to see how you’re getting on, so whether you’ve given this tutorial a shot, or had a go at any of the other editing techniques in the magazine, send your results over in an email to ppsubmissions@bauermedia.co.uk with the subject heading ‘The Edit’ to be entered into our monthly image editing competition. The winner will receive a Manfrotto Pixi Mini tripod worth £26.95 and all of the entries will be displayed on our Facebook page. Send yours over for a chance to win!…

■ CAMERA SHAKE The unwanted movement of the camera, usually when handholding, that’s picked up as blur in exposures. ■ IMAGE STABILISATION The process of compensating for camera movement and achieving sharper results, particularly at slow shutter speeds. ■ OPTICAL STABILISATION Lens-based image stabilisation that detects movement and moves elements within the lens to correct blur accordingly. ■ MECHANICAL STABILISATION The camera moves the image sensor during the exposure to counteract any camera shake. ■ DIGITAL/ELECTRONIC STABILISATION Video is processed to remove camera shake. Alternatively, this can also mean a mode that takes multiple exposures and then combines them to improve sharpness. ■ SUBJECT MOVEMENT Not to be confused with camera shake, you can still get soft results if the camera’s shutter speed is not fast enough to freeze your…

KEEPING THE RIGHT PARTS OF YOUR IMAGE tack-sharp is one of the most useful tools you can rely on when shooting creatively. Here are three ways that taking control of image stabilisation can help you capture a stunning photo. 1 GET SHARPER PANNING SHOTS OF ACTION A panning shot is an image based on intentional camera movement (ICM), which is basically deliberate camera shake. This movement is recorded as motion blur, so as you track a moving object, such as a speeding vehicle, athlete or animal, it should stay reasonably sharp against the background blur. However, image stabilisation is designed to combat movement, so it can both adversely affect image sharpness on panning shots and also make the subject difficult to follow in the viewfinder. To combat this, pick the…

MAKING DETAILED SELECTIONS can be a time-consuming process, but Photoshop has the ability to quickly make a selection based on which parts of your image are in sharp focus. This is an extremely handy feature if you have a picture with a shallow depth-of-field, taken with a wide aperture, as you can select your sharp subject with ease. The Quick Selection and Magic Wand Tools pick out similar tones in your shot, which renders them ineffective for using on this shot of a short-eared owl, as both it and the background are similar shades of brown. Here’s how to use this new selection method to cut out your subject and place it on a different background. 1 Open your shot and start the Focus Area selection In Photoshop CC 2019…

WHAT’S THAT IN THE SKY? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No it’s Kirk, bringing you this fun, but simple technique, that allows you to easily create your very own comic book superhero scene. With nothing more than a simple background photo, a friend to adopt their best hero pose and a little Photoshop know-how, you too can create this fun result. To make a start on your own scene, firstly choose a background which has plenty of lead-in lines. This will help to give the illusion of speed. Secondly, place your model against a plain white wall, as this will make cutting them out a lot easier. Once you’ve gathered your individual components, it’s time to jump into the tutorial, and create your very own amazing composite,…

WANT TO SPEND LESS TIME AT your computer editing and more time out shooting? Of course you do! Photoshop actions can help you do precisely that as they allow you to record complex edits and save them to apply to any image. We’ve created a set of actions that will help you do everything from resizing for quick printing, to making tricky colour adjustments, cross-processing and mono treatments – all in a single click. In the step-by-step below you’ll discover how to load up your set of free actions, use them and then fine-tune the results. At the end we even show you how to create your very own set for bespoke, speedy edits. 1 Open a picture and load in your free actions In Photoshop go to File>Open then…

When Sony came to the game late, it faced some tough criticism. However, it took this on board, and channelled it to monopolise the full-frame CSC market with its brilliant α 7 range. Benefiting from the high-res α 7R III, and the sports-orientated α 9, the α 7 III keeps its trademark Sony looks, but takes a huge jump up from its predecessor. Packing in a host of advanced specs and intuitive features, it single-handedly redefined what entry-level full-frame means, and set a tough standard for Canon and Nikon to follow. Despite being the smallest physical body in test, it’s still well laid out, with the basic settings at your fingertips, and a large amount of customisation options available. There’s also a comprehensive menu system, packed with everything you’ll ever…

A camera is so much more than its spec sheet and this has never been more obvious than here. While the Canon looks great, with Dual Pixel AF, supreme low-light focusing and 4K video, it’s let down by some niggling problems, such as restrained shooting speeds, a 4K crop and some questionable ergonomic choices. This is something that Nikon has done very well, with smooth video, image stabilisation and world-class ergonomics. However, the low-light focusing is a touch off, and its single XQD slot is questionable, not to mention costly. Sony may have a lower resolution screen and EVF – and ergonomics that are now trailing – but its three generations of trial and error means it narrowly edges out the Nikon in this test.…

Gitzo has taken its know-how, and produced this tiny tripod. Essentially a slimmed down, 265g version of the Traveler series, it uses the same eXact carbon fibre tube design as its larger siblings. You can set the legs to one of two angles, and it works with any Traveler ball head. Despite its small stature, it can take 3kg of gear when fully splayed, or 25kg with the head removed. At almost £200, it’s still a bit of a niche product. manfrotto.co.uk/gitzo…

If you’re looking for a selection of lenses that will transform your ordinary phone camera into a multi-functional photographic tool, then look no further than the Olloclip Multi-Device Clip. The full set comes with a fisheye, a macro, a telephoto and a wide-angle, which gives you everything you need to capture stunning shots in any situation. While this set of lenses may be a little pricey, the sophisticated design of the kit speaks for itself. The wide-angle lens gives you more than 120 ˚ visibility in your scene, allowing for amazing landscapes, cityscapes and even street photography. Meanwhile, the macro lens allows you to capture shots with microscope-like magnification. This means that you can turn the inside of a flower or the intricacies of a five pound note into your…