Tabla de contenidos para May 2019 en Practical Photography: Lite

PATTERNS #1 Revisit locations TRAVELLING IS A GREAT opportunity for photos, but when you only have a limited window of time, it can often be a matter of luck whether you get the right conditions. On this occasion, Pawel Zygmunt (breakinglightpictures.com) was determined to capture these beautiful sand dunes. “If you’re a photographer, holidays never mean lying on a sunbed and sipping a mojito. Even if you’re on your very last day, you’re constantly thinking about how to sneak out to discover some more local landscapes, such as these sand dunes. “The patterns of dunes are fascinating, but it can be tricky to capture them without footprints from fellow tourists. I visited these dunes twice at sunrise, but it was hard to find even an inch of unspoilt sand. However,…

COMPOSITION is one of the most important elements in any photograph, and the one that the photographer generally has a large degree of control over. Every time you frame up a scene you should consider and tweak the composition for the best possible use of all of the elements in front of your camera. But while the rules of composition apply equally to both colour and black & white images, once colour is in play within a scene it then adds its own unique compositional complexities. Drawing the eye As we will explain throughout this feature, colour has an effect on the viewer that varies depending on the hue and strength of the colour. Bold, vibrant colours tend to draw the eye, informing the way that the viewer reads an…

DO YOU EVER look at a photo – whether it’s one you’ve taken or an image by someone else – and find yourself wondering why it seems so good? Beyond the obvious requirements for a great shot – composition, light and technical excellence – the effect of colour on the success, or not, of an image cannot be overstated. And when a colour shot seems instinctively right, there’s a good chance it’s because the number of distinct hues in the image will be limited. Being selective “THE EFFECT OF COLOUR ON THE SUCCESS OF AN IMAGE CANNOT BE OVERSTATED” We mentioned in the introduction how street photographers still favour black & white. They do so because the average, modern city centre is a riot of colour, and while that can…

1 LIGHT YOUR IMAGE Experiment with lighting as much as possible, because it really does have the power to take your work to the next level. When I first began shooting, I thought that lighting would be so difficult to get to grips with. Through constant trial and error, I’m now able to use light to enhance my images in ways that I couldn’t at the start. 2 PLAN YOUR SHOOT I’m a huge advocate for organising shoots effectively. Having a good plan can really help you manage your time and focus on the creative side. Of course, ideas can always be changed in the middle of a shoot, but having a cohesive vision beforehand really allows me to produce my best work, so I always recommend a good plan.…

Q I always keep a UV filter on my lenses. Can I use a polarising filter with the UV filter in place? Graham Meads, Derbyshire Richard says: The short answer is ‘yes’. You shouldn’t experience any ‘interference’ between the UV and polarising filters if you use them together. The longer answer, however, is why would you want to? A UV filter cuts down haze, which a polariser will also do, but as modern digital cameras generally have a UV filter fitted over the sensor, your additional UV filter is rather pointless. You can argue that it protects the lens, but modern lenses have really good coatings that already provide protection. Every extra piece of glass you place between your sensor and the image has the potential to degrade the quality,…

Q I’m still getting to grips with my DSLR and I’m wondering if you can explain the exposure compensation to me please? Geoff Woods, Surrey Dan says: When you take a photo in either program, aperture-priority or shutter-priority mode you will be relying on your camera to select the correct exposure. Modern cameras have excellent metering systems and usually get it spot on, but there might be tricky lighting conditions that will fool them, or you might want to alter the exposure a little to suit your vision. As a digital camera lets you instantly review any picture you take, you can decide if the exposure is to your liking, and then use your camera’s exposure compensation to alter it. On most models, the exposure compensation is measured in EVs,…

We’ve divided this technique into two halves. The first is perfecting your water drop setup to get the best possible shot in-camera, and then over the page we’ll show you how to make some subtle editing adjustments that will take it to the top of its game. You can achieve brilliant water drop shots in the comfort of your own home, you just need some basic photographic kit. A flashgun is essential as this will fire out a powerful burst of light to freeze a single bead of water as it bounces up. Flash will eliminate motion blur so your shots will come out pin-sharp – they’re also an absolute must for group shots of people among other shooting scenarios, so get your hands on a basic flashgun if you…

■ FOCAL LENGTH The most important way to describe a lens is by its focal length, which is measured in millimetres. Focal length is a calculation of the distance between the point where light rays converge to form a sharp image of an object, and the focal plane in the camera (where the sensor is). This is measured when focused at infinity. In practice though, focal length just gives us an indication of the lens’ field-of-view. ■ FIELD-OF-VIEW The field-of-view is inversely proportional to a lens’ focal length, so while a long focal length, for example 300mm, gives a very narrow field-of-view, a short focal length will give a wide field-of-view. Field-of-view is measure in degrees. ■ CROP FACTOR If you’re using a camera with an APS-C sized or smaller…

PHOTOGRAPHY ONLY REALLY CAPTURED MY attention when I discovered that there’s so much more to it than just robotically clicking a shutter and taking a photo. The creative side of this artform is what makes me excited to pick up a camera and experiment. For inspiration I look to photographers that push boundaries, such as Nick Knight. His ideas are out of this world and it’s these kinds of wild concepts that I want to create in my own work. Every day I sit quietly and stare into space, my brain going wild with all the creative projects I could undertake. If I’m being honest, I haven’t even started half of the things I’ve thought up, but I know that I will one day. Music and fashion photography are my…

We asked professional photographers, and PermaJet Brand Ambassadors, Damian and Lesley McGillicuddy about the importance of choosing the correct photo paper: “When it comes to printing your photography, paper choice is an incredibly important decision that can elevate your work to the next level. The true quality of your image isn’t going to be represented on a poor paper. That’s why we work with PermaJet – for their wide range of excellent paper, ranging from the everyday to the giclée quality choices. Each paper offers a unique feel while helping the different elements of a photo excel. Whether it be a contrasty monochrome or a soft fine art image, there’ll be a paper that brings it to life. “Photo Lustre is an excellent paper for a wide range of images.…

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Autofocus is something that many of us take for granted in this golden age of photography. But however simple pressing a button may seem, the tech that goes into the back end is both complex and impressive. The GR III includes eight modes of focusing. While some are as basic as AF-S and AF-C, you’ll also find an Auto-Area AF and Snap AF. Auto Area AF includes face recognition, and allows the camera to choose focus, placing a heavy emphasis on locking onto a subject’s face. Snap AF, now a GR staple, allows you to set a predefined focal distance, such as 1m, 5m or infinity, for example. When you half-press the shutter, it will snap to the chosen focus distance – ideal if you’re hunting after close-up shots, or…

Tracking is nothing new, with many cameras having included continuous tracking modes for years. However, it’s one area that manufacturers put a lot of effort into improving, with Sony being at the forefront of innovation. The latest real-time tracking AF takes advantage of the front-end LSI, design shared by both the α 9 and α 6400, and the company’s latest AI tech. This design allows for a 1.8x speed boost over the α 6300, making real-time tracking possible. The system has been ‘taught’ to recognise subjects based on four distinct subsets simultaneously. These are face and eye, shapes and patterns, contrast and distance and movement. The result is a tracking system which can jump seamlessly from eye to face to body, or even recognise patterns.…

Face and eye recognition is nothing new, with many companies having adopted the technique – including Fujifilm. While the X-T2 and X-T20 may have allowed you to track a subject based on their face and eyes, you couldn’t choose which subject the camera focused on in a crowd. However, the X-T30’s generation 4.1 firmware remedies this, and puts the choice back into the user’s hands. By turning on a feature called Face Select in the menu system while face and eye tracking is operative, you’ll notice that instead of a single green box on your subject, every alternative recognised face will also have a white box. Once activated, you can use the newly-added rear joystick to switch between your subjects on the fly. It’s a great feature.…

Camera: Fujifilm X-T30 Lens: XC 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6 Price: £899 Effective resolution: 26.1MP Sensor: 23.5x15.6mm LCD: 3in 1040k-dot tilting touchscreen Shutter: Bulb, 15min – 1/4000sec mechanical, or 1/32,000sec electronic shutter Autofocus: 425-point phase detection AF ISO: 160-12,800 (expanded 80-51,200) Shooting speed: 30fps for 17 RAWs Video: DCI 4K 30fps Other features: Fujifilm Film Simulation modes, Focus bracketing, Sports Finder, Interval timer, Pre-Capture Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth via free app Battery life: 380 shots Card type: SD, SDXC, SDHC Size (WxHxD): 118x83x47mm Weight: 383g Web: fujifilm-x.com…

Konstruktor F £33 Thanks to some simplistic designs, this kit actually allows you to build your very own 35mm toy camera. You’ll get a 50mm focal length plastic lens with a fixed f/10 aperture, 1/80sec or bulb shutter speed and Zone Focusing from 0.5m to infinity. lomography.com Spinner 360° £89 This innovative spinning camera can create 360° panoramas with the pull of a cord. Able to capture eight shots from a 36-exposure film, it boasts a fixed focus lens, and allows you to set either an f/8 or f/16 aperture. It personifies the quirky Lomography spirit. lomography.com…

The PP team swap their fancy DSLRs and CSCs for disposable film cameras in the ultimate test of their creative skills. Kirk pounds the streets with a Lomography Simple Use colour negative camera in search of Cartier-Bresson-esque decisive moments. Dan takes inspiration from iconic artist David Hockney to create a series of ‘joiners’ using a Fujifilm Quicksnap Flash camera. Richard indulges his love of classic black & white with an Ilford HP5 Plus 400 camera while looking for shapes and contrasts. Plus! Louise explains the basics of colour theory and shows how hues and tones can inform how you ‘see’ the world around you.…

IT OFTEN GOES THAT CONDITIONS THE REST OF the country find to be a mild inconvenience bring palpable joy and excitement to all kinds of photographers, but particularly those of us who specialise in landscapes. Fog, especially the thick pervasive kind, is rather a rare occurrence and such conditions followed by sunshine are even more elusive. I’m an avid weather watcher, and a couple of the apps I use provide me information on humidity which gives a rather arbitrary indication of whether or not fog will form. If there’s hope, I’ll set my alarm for some unholy hour (inevitably snoozing it half a dozen times) and head off to my location in the hope that my calculations were spot on. “FOG CAN CHANGE AN EVERYDAY SCENE INTO SOMETHING EXTRAORDINARY” Why…

STEPPING INTO THE WORLD OF Linda Blacker’s photography is like entering an entirely new land, where strange colours and surreal creatures rule supreme. While Linda might be a pro photographer, she hasn’t lost the wide-eyed passion of amateurs new to the field, and this is evident in her work. No matter how far outside the box her concept may be, Linda is able to wrangle it into submission and create something spectacular. We caught up with her to discover the secrets behind her photos. How did you first become interested in photography? “I DIDN’T EVEN REALLY KNOW HOW TO SHOOT IN MANUAL BY THE TIME I LEFT COLLEGE!” Unfortunately, I don’t have the classic inspiring tale of picking up my first camera at three years old and proving to be…

JUST AS THE NATURAL shadows are what makes the previous project so special, artificially manipulating shadows is also a brilliant way to get creative with the human body. If you have a secret passion for lo-fi experimentation, then try draping a lace curtain over a sunny window. Alternatively, you could cut thin slots into a long piece of card to mimic window blinds. If you want ultimate control over what you’re creating, invest in a specialist flash gobo and open up a whole host of creative shadow effects. Use a stencil A gobo – ‘goes before optics’ – is essentially a stencil placed between the light source and the subject. Specialist flashgun gobos are a fantastic way to obscure your subject and add some visual interest. You can buy a…

Q Do you have any tips for giving the eyes a little boost in a portrait? Davina Meeks, Sidcup Dan says: One way to take your pictures to the next level is to make local adjustments to the RAW file, such as brightening specific areas like the eyes. This is really easy to do in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) where any adjustments made to your RAW file are totally non-destructive, meaning that you can always revert back to the original for an alternative edit. Open up your RAW portrait into ACR and get the global exposure as you want it. Then grab the Adjustment Brush Tool from the Toolbox and in the settings on the right make sure Overlay and Mask are ticked. The latter options will apply a red…

TIMING CAN MAKE or break a picture, whether it’s a person walking through a street scene at just the right moment or a bird of prey swooping down directly into your frame. But this can often be more luck than judgement, so how do you capture the exact moment when it comes to a high-speed photograph, like this water splash still life? We’re revealing the secrets and have laid out precisely how to do it over the next few pages – the great news is that you can get brilliant action shots like ours from the comfort of your own home and with just basic equipment. Not only will you discover how to freeze a fast-moving subject with flash, you’ll learn how to make a consistent stream of water so…

Yongnuo flash triggers £28 Off-camera flash means firing your flashgun away from the camera’s hotshoe. To do it you’ll need a set of triggers – the Yongnuo RF-603N II for Nikon or RF-603C II for Canon are a great starter option. yongnuo.eu Calumet 10ft Light Stand £45 This budget compact light stand from Calumet consists of four sections. It has a maximum height of 3.31m and can be collapsed down to 99cm. It’s an essential accessory for positioning your flashgun. wexphotovideo.com Godox TT685O TTL Speedlight £96 A flashgun is a brilliant tool for freezing scenes like our water drop and is essential for group shots, too. This budget flash from Godox features TTL so exposure is automatically calculated. godox.com…

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!…

Unlike JPEG, which stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group and is a file type, RAW isn’t an acronym – it literally means the raw, unprocessed data from your camera. Nor is RAW a file type – each camera manufacturer has its own specific RAW file extension, such as Canon’s CR2, Nikon’s NEF or the universally compatible DNG format. They’re larger in size (a JPEG from a Nikon D810 is around 10MB while the RAW is 40MB), but this small drawback is overshadowed by the amazing editing flexibility RAWs offer. The extra information they retain makes it easy to adjust exposure, white balance, colours and many other parameters back at your computer.…

1 SCOUT LOCATIONS I highly recommend scouting your location with Instagram hashtags to see how others have photographed it. Whether it’s a tourist with a mobile phone, or someone with a professional camera, we always find inspiration from looking at them. It’s also good to see what the weather conditions are like. 2 TAKE YOUR TIME Spend as much time as possible at each location. We all strive for golden hour lighting in our photography, but some of my favourite shots have actually come from before or after that golden light window. 3 EDIT YOUR PHOTOS Photoshop can often be seen as intimidating, but for us photographers, it’s truly our friend. A lot of magic can be achieved in-camera, but it does have its limitations. Don’t be afraid to experiment…

WIDE-ANGLE LENSES Wide-angle lenses have short focal lengths, so generally any model with a number less than 35mm is considered one. The shorter the focal length, the wider the field-of-view. So at 35mm, this could be 60˚, while at 20mm, it maybe be something like 90˚. Get below 20mm and you’re into the realm of ultra-wide lenses, so a 14mm lens could give you a huge 120˚. Remember, though, that lenses give a narrower view on a cropped sensor, which is why wide-angles designed for smaller sensors have shorter focal lengths than full-frame models. Most wide-angle lenses are used for landscape, interior and architectural views, so very wide apertures aren’t vital, but if you want to work in low light, try to find a ‘fast’ version. Watch light and framing…

FACING OFF against tough competition, PermaJet’s Photo Lustre 310 was awarded ‘Best Professional Paper 2018’ by The Societies of Photographers. This comes just ten months after its release. Despite winning the award for professional paper, it’s actually ideally suited for everyday use, by everyone from beginner to high-end commercial users. This is due to its extremely high quality and suitability for a wide range of images at an affordable price. What’s even more telling is that this marks the sixth year that PermaJet has laid claim to the highly regarded Societies award. PermaJet tells us that many people don’t realise just how accessible and easy home printing has become, and how much it can further your appreciation of photography. With this in mind, PermaJet is the first to champion home…

GOOD NEWS! WE’RE OFFERING every Practical Photography reader a free copy of Skylum’s amazingly powerful Aurora HDR 2018 software, worth £92. It’s compatible with PCs and Macs, and download instructions can be found in the bottom-right panel. You’ll need an internet connection to download your free software. An HDR, or High Dynamic Range, image is a picture with a larger gamut of tones than a standard single photograph. HDRs have a deeper degree of definition in the shadows and retain more highlight detail when compared to a standard shot. Aurora HDR 2018 can turn a JPEG or RAW file into an HDR image, but for best results you’ll want to load up a range of images taken at different exposures so you can merge the best bits of each together.…

IT IS SAID THAT DESTRUCTION IS a form of creation, and this month we have a project that proves precisely that. You’ll want to get your hands on an old film camera that you can take apart, but don’t reach for that dusty Leica relic in your attic! Unless you’re masterfully skilled, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to reassemble it into a working camera again, but there are plenty of old and faulty film cameras online for less than £10. You’ll also need a few essential tools, like a jeweller’s screwdriver set to take the pieces apart cleanly without breaking or bending them; a sheet of white A3 paper to arrange all of the various components on; and a digital camera, as well as a tripod to take the…

1 SHAKE IT OFF One of the biggest additions to the latest GR is a 3-axis shake reduction system. Compensating for pitch, roll and yaw, the GR III is ideally suited for shooting handheld at slower shutter speeds. 2 BLOCK OUT THE SUN The GR III actually includes a built-in ND filter effect. You can set this to off, on or auto, and the camera will darken the scene accordingly – great for taking longer shots in bright daylight conditions. 3 SHARP AS A TAC This is the first model to update the processor, sensor and lens at the same time – to great effect. The new 28mm equivalent f/2.8 lens captures brilliant detail and colours. 4 GET CLOSER One feature that poses interest for many is the macro mode.…

1 A LAPSE IN TIME Sony’s bodies have long lacked in-camera time-lapses – until now. The α 6400, and the α 7R III and α 7 III via firmware update, will be able to shoot and create time-lapse movies – a great introduction. 2 EYE OF THE TIGER The α 6400 will share the same AF improvements as the flagship α 9, including real-time tracking and the evolved Eye AF. It will also gain animal Eye AF via a free summer firmware update. 3 THE DARK NIGHT Thanks to a new sensor, which is 1.8x faster than that of the α 6300’s, the ISO limit has been raised. It now tops out at a hefty ISO 32,000 – ideal for a spot of low-light shooting. 4 FLIPPING OUT Boasting the…

1 IN VOGUE The style conscious will be pleased to hear the X-T30 stays true to the brand’s aesthetic sensibilities. You can choose from traditional black and silver, or new charcoal grey. 2 FINDING FACES A welcome new feature is the ability to tell the face recognition to switch between faces in real time. It’s ideal for portraits or in crowded areas. 3 RAPID FIRE Action fans can shoot at 8fps using the mechanical shutter, or 20fps with the electronic. There’s also the blistering Sports Finder mode. 4 TAKE A BREAK The Auto switch is a great shortcut that tells the camera to take over the controls. It’s ideal if you lend your X-T30 to any beginners. 5 SWIPE RIGHT You can now assign settings to the touchscreen, which…

The M50 is a 24.1MP compact CSC with a 180 ° tilting touchscreen, maximum 143-point phase detection Dual Pixel AF system and 10fps in AF-S, dropping to a respectable 7.4 shots using continuous focusing. It features 4K video at 30fps, with a 1.7x crop, or Full HD 1080p at 60fps. canon.co.uk This 24.2MP packs 425 points of phase detection AF, including Eye AF and real-time tracking, a 180 ° tilting touchscreen and 11fps burst shooting speed. Like the X-T30, it features 4K 30fps and 120fps in Full HD 1080p, and the company’s flat video profile, S-Log – perfect for vloggers. sony.co.uk…

NIKON’S VERY latest ultra-long prime is aiming to be a huge hit with wildlife and action pros looking for the best optimal performance, in the slimmest package yet. So we took to the streets with it to see if it could live up to the hype. Performance This is not a small lens. As you’d expect from a 500mm f/5.6 prime, it comes in at a whopping 24cm in length and sports a sizeable 95mm front element. It weighs in at 1460g, which may sound heavy, but compared to the current Nikon 500mm f/4, it’s half the weight. This is thanks to the Phase Fresnel element, similar to the lens design found in lighthouses. It compensates for chromatic aberration using photo diffraction, instead of the traditional photorefractive phenomenon. In practical…

Skylum Aurora HDR 2018 Download the full version of Skylum’s award-winning HDR software and create images loaded with detail and dynamic range. Turn to page 118 for instructions. Camera Buying Guide Unsure about which camera is best for your needs? Our ebook includes reviews, spec and prices for every camera available right now. The latest additions include the luxury Leica Q2. Photoshop video lessons Bend pixels with the Liquify Tool, retouch portraits like a pro with the Brush Tool, and create an artistic flat lay using an old film camera.…

Nikon Z 1 Nikon’s Z 6 and Z 7 are both relatively high-end cameras. However, in the wake of the Canon RP, the company is said to be releasing a more budget-friendly offering into the full-frame mirrorless market. Said to be named the Z 1, we would expect to see a 24MP sensor and single SD card slot. We would also expect a smaller, lighter body, though believe it may omit IBIS. nikon.co.uk Canon pro EOS R Canon’s latest EOS R is said to finally give the company a pro-footing in the mirrorless full-frame market. Rumours state that the Japanese market leaders will include a number of sizable updates, including a brand-new high-resolution 70MP sensor, as well as finally introducing in-body image stabilisation and a joystick to the system. Furthermore,…

AS SOON AS photography left black & white behind and made the move into glorious technicolour, things became more complex. But with that came opportunities to add impact to a photo that simply didn’t exit when the options were restricted by mono. Going bold Perhaps the simplest way of using colour for impact in your shots is to seek out the boldest of hues. Deep, saturated colours will always be impactful, especially if they are used sparingly and juxtaposed against more muted tones. When you’re taking a landscape image, look for a splash of strong colour and make a feature of it. In a still life, try to use one really bold colour for instant impact, and if you’re shooting a portrait, consider using a really colourful accessory to inject…

By now it should be clear how the use and control of colour is a key element to making a great photo. And while there’s a lot you can do at the shooting stage to ensure you’re making the most of the colour within a scene, remember that in digital photography what you do in the edit is just as important to the creative process. So if your images are not as eye-catching as you’d hoped, learn to enhance them with some tweaks. The best way to do this is to make use of a Hue/Saturation layer in Photoshop, which will let you subtly boost or decrease any colour of your choice in an image.…

Using a flashgun for off-camera flash gives you the freedom to position the light where it’s needed. To set it up, first attach the TTL-compatible wireless trigger to your flashgun and then fix the transmitter onto your camera’s hotshoe. Place the flashgun and trigger on a light stand and make sure that each device is switched on. Next, add your gobo onto your flashgun – systems such as the Lastolite Strobo Gobo snugly slot over a flashgun. Take a few test shots to see whether the flashgun’s power is set accurately. Start at the lowest power setting and then work your way up in increments until you’re happy with the results.…

Q I’ve noticed there’s a lot of writing on the front of my SD cards. Can you tell me what it all means please? Malcolm Jones, Cirencester Dan says: When we buy memory cards, most of us probably base our choices on budget and capacity. But there’s a lot more to an SD card than how many photos it can store, and with increased cost comes an increase in features. Photographers tend to acquire SD cards at quite a rate, which can mean that the average kit bag will have any number of different types rattling around. And if you’re out on a shoot and you need to change cards it might be important to you to maintain the same level of performance. But if you’ve thrown away the packaging,…

1 Use off-camera flash Banish blur and capture pin-sharp water drops by using flash power to freeze the action. You can do it with basic flash kit, so turn over to see how. 2 Go into your camera’s manual mode Learn to take full control of your camera by going into its manual mode to dial in the exact shutter speed, aperture and ISO to achieve the perfect exposure. 3 Sharpen selectively To make the drop of water really stand out from its surroundings we’re going to show you how to sharpen this specific area in Photoshop using a High Pass filter and a Layer Mask to control the sharpened area.…

■ Your camera will have a maximum shutter speed that can be used when shooting with flash, called the maximum flash sync speed. On Canon cameras this is usually 1/200sec, or 1/250sec for Nikon. Shooting with shutter speeds faster than this will cause part of your frame to be rendered black, as the shutter curtains won’t be fully open when the flash fires (see picture, right). ■ A quick way to dramatically change the colours in your water drop shot is to adjust the white balance. It will be set to Auto by default, but you can achieve warmer or cooler colours with white balance presets like Tungsten or Daylight.…

Removing fringing and chromatic aberration has never been easier. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Lightroom offer intuitive features that absolute beginners can master in minutes. If you’re working with a JPEG, as we are with Mark’s shot, open Adobe Bridge and locate the file, then right-click on the shot and choose Open in Camera Raw. With ACR open, click on the Lens Corrections tab and tick the Remove Chromatic Aberration box. Zoom in with the Zoom Tool (Z) or hit Ctrl+Plus a few times to get in tighter on the image so you can inspect the fringing, also called Chromatic Aberration. If it persists you can use the sliders under the Defringe heading to finish the job. With a purple or red fringe, push up the Purple Amount slider to…

OVER THE COURSE OF THIS series we’ve looked at how to get the best out of your camera body, and how its different modes and settings can be used to achieve the kind of pictures you want. But of course the body is just one half of what makes up a camera as a whole – the other part is the lens, and if, as is most likely, you’re using a body that supports interchangeable lenses, like a CSC or DSLR, then you’ve got lots of choices. In fact, one of the best ways that you can improve your pictures instantly is by understanding the specific benefits of the different types of lenses, which to use for your subject, and most importantly how to get the best out of them.…

PUT YOUR LENS SKILLS TO THE TEST WITH THESE three project ideas. Each one provides a situation where you can get the best out of a particular lens type and tips on doing it better, but remember that you can use the tips for different types of subjects, too! 1 GET BIGGER, BETTER, MORE BALANCED LANDSCAPES Wide-angle lenses combine a large field-of-view with the ability to focus very close to the camera, and this produces an exaggerated perspective where objects close to the lens seem much larger than those in the background. It’s a perfect combination for landscape photography. Find a scene with a strong background subject and look around for some foreground interest. Now compose with your wide-angle lens angled down a little, which will fill the lower…

With its luxurious lustre surface texture and a heavy base weight of 310gsm, Photo Lustre stands proudly above its rivals. Manufactured with a very bright white base, this tough media has a 100% instant dry, resin-coated base finished with a UV protective, microporous supercoat guaranteeing a high degree of water and fade resistance. Photo Lustre is suited to a wide range of subjects and particularly excels with vibrant colours and deep blacks. ■ Photo Lustre is available in 6x4in to A2 sheets and 17in to 44in rolls ■ Price from £17.95 each ■ Learn more at permajet.com…

WHETHER YOU’VE SEEN IT on social media, in glossy magazines or beauty portfolios, you’ll know what we mean when we say impossibly flawless skin. It’s long been the trick of professional photographers, who can spend hours creating the ultimate high-end model look. The handy technique we’ll lead you through here will give similar results, but in a fraction of the time. Separate colour from texture Skin retouching is quite an advanced technique, so we’ve broken it down into eight easy-to-follow steps and there’s also an accompanying video you can watch to clearly see how we worked up this portrait in real-time. Using Photoshop’s layers, you’ll learn how edits can be applied to separate the texture from the colour in a portrait. This will allow you to smooth out patchy shadows…

While shooting with the GR III, we loved the crop modes. Assigning this feature to the Fn button, we could switch between the native 28mm, 35mm and 50mm. This is achieved by cropping into the sensor, and is great for giving you extra reach, though does sacrifice megapixels. This shot, taken with a 50mm equivalent, works out at a touch under 7MP, though still looks perfectly usable. The colours are bright and vibrant, and the dynamic range is rather impressive, as seen in this edited DNG RAW file. The 28mm f/2.8 equivalent lens, which is a brand new design, returns very sharp results, even wide-open – though we will need to complete a more comprehensive test before delivering a full verdict.…

Although our initial time with the a 6400 was brief, the first thing that pleased us was the dynamic range, which was impressive for a camera in this class. Also, the focusing was snappy, with the new Eye AF algorithm rocketing into place, even when the focus started on the back of the head. The colours produced have done a great job of staying true to life, further indicating the ongoing advancements Sony has put into its colour theory. The 11fps continuous shooting, which now lasts for capturing up to 46 RAWs, allowed for the action to be recorded for over four seconds at a time – making it the ideal companion for high octane situations.…

While testing the X-T30, we tried out some night-time travel shots and were extremely happy with the results. Shot at ISO 160 on a 15-second exposure and propped up on a wall, this shot retains a great level of detail. The RAW file holds up well to further editing. Here we’ve lifted the shadows in the foreground up a touch for added interest. This allowed us to expose for the highlights, as seen in the centre of the shot, and capture the huge dynamic range of the image, as well as the vivid colours and dramatic lighting. For current Fujifilm users, this won’t come as a surprise, but if you’re thinking of joining the system, it’s reassuring to know that it’s capable of such impressive feats.…

The X-T30 is a very compact camera, and uses its space well. For us, the lack of D-pad and subsequent extra space makes it feel bigger than it is. It’s comfortable to hold, though you may notice your little finger slipping off the grip from time to time. Of course, being small comes with a wealth of added bonuses. Not only is it easy to carry and pack in a day bag, it’s also very discreet. While we carried it through the streets, nobody batted an eyelid at our mini-marvel. Pair this with brilliant image quality and a first-rate focusing system and it’s a real winner.…

IMAGE QUALITY We looked at the quality of film, for those that use a single type, as well as the performance of the lens, the flash and the handling. Optical quality was second place to emotive reactions on this one. LOW ON COST, BIG ON ENJOYMENT Although we love shooting film, we can’t deny the cost is edging towards prohibitive for many. With that in mind, we wanted to make sure the ‘bang for your buck’ factor was strong here, with the emphasis on a fun and unique experience.…

Ilford XP2 Super £9 XP2 Super is processed via C41, meaning any high street lab can develop it. The camera is identical to the HP5 version, with 30mm f/9 lens and flash, though the film returns a finer grain than its HP5 alternative, that some may prefer. ilfordphoto.com Fujifilm Marine £13 This offering from Fujifilm comes in an underwater housing capable of surviving down to 10m. It also boasts 27 exposures of Fujicolor Superia X-Tra 800, 1/125sec shutter speed and 1-3m focus distance when shooting underwater. fujifilm.com…

The instax Wide delivers 86x109mm shots, including borders. It has a 95mm lens, built-in flash and motor-driven Zone Focusing. It even features a built-in metering system and automatic shutter speed between 1/64-1/200sec. instax.com Perhaps the most iconic instant camera, this Andy Warhol favourite is actually an SLR. It boasts full manual focus, from 26cm, and automatic aperture and shutter speed from 1/75sec to over 10 seconds. It’s also stunning to look at. polaroidoriginals.com…