Tabla de contenidos para September 2019 en Practical Photography: Lite

HOW WOULD YOU describe your style? I’ve often thought of mine as ‘fly-on-the-wall grunge’, mostly owing to my documentary approach to family holidays and my over-reliance on a preset called Grunge (literal, I know). If your answer to this question is ‘Not sure’ then we have just the advice for you. A little different to our usual technique-heavy subject guides, Create your own style offers up a five-step plan for shooting images that are recognisably yours. From learning from the masters to honing your methods, Richard Collins has dived deep into his own experiences as a pro photographer to help you raise your game. It’s a fascinating read. Turn to page 32 to start your style journey. Subscribe now & get PP for just £3.20 a month Save over £30…

COMPACTS & LENS Canon unveils new releases Canon is aiming to bolster its appeal to vloggers and compact camera users with a brace of new PowerShot releases. Both feature a 20.1MP 1in stacked sensor, 4K video with no crop and 120fps in Full HD 1080p. They also boast Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, 20fps continuous shooting mode, with 30fps RAW burst mode and 180 ¡ tilting LCD touchscreens. The G5 has a slightly more impressive 5x optical zoom lens, with a 24-120mm 35mm equivalent, while the G7 settles for 24-100mm. Both have a wide variable aperture of f/1.8-2.8. The G7 also offers live YouTube streaming directly from the camera, as well as a microphone input port, which will prove a huge bonus for vloggers. In addition to its compact camera update,…

This image was taken summer of 2018 in Yosemite National Park. We arrived early in the morning at Glacier Point to photograph Half Dome at night and at sunrise. This shot is a time-blend of two shots taken 30 mins apart. The first shot was taken during astronomical twilight. Then I waited for about half an hour to have the right amount of light to come in for the foreground. With Luminar's layer support and powerful time-saving filters i was able to blend the two images easily and seamlessly to create final output. Sherwin Magsino is a professional landscape and commercial photographer from Manila. Win has won numerous photography awards from National Geographic, Skylum, WPPI, and other organizations. Win is also an official Fuji X-Photographer, Skylum Ambassador and Nisi Filters…

PHOTOGRAPHY HAS always been unique among the arts for its blending of science and creativity. A camera is a machine – it has modes, settings and functions. Its lenses bend light and, since the advent of digital, it creates images through a series of 1s and 0s. When someone is new to the medium, terms like shutter speed, aperture, focus and depth-of-field can be daunting and confusing, but the technical side of photography, with which such terms are concerned, can be learnt and practised to a point of total familiarity. The creative side, by contrast, is much harder to formalise for learning, and that is particularly true of the nebulous concept of photographic style. Stand out from the crowd What do we mean when we talk about style in photographic…

1 Join a camera club It might seem anachronistic in the age of the internet, but many camera clubs have moved with the times and there’s nothing to beat being surrounded by like-minded creatives for helping you to develop. 2 Take a course Fitting formal study in around a busy life may be tricky, but lots of photography courses can be undertaken part time. Feedback from experienced tutors and the influence of other students can really fast-track your photographic growth. 3 Research the icons Photography has a rich and varied history in all of its various genres, and there are several iconic photographers whose work has both defined and developed the medium. Thanks to the internet it is easier than ever to research the work of these…

MASTER TECHNIQUE Your camera should be a help and not a hindrance to your development, so make sure that you fully understand all of its functions and can work it in full manual mode. The basics like exposure and depth-of-field should be second nature. WORK ON YOUR EDITS Never underestimate the importance of post-processing. Regardless of the software you use, the ability to get the most out of your RAW files is a vital part of defining your style. Pay particular attention to colour grading in order to create a more cohesive look to your finished images. KEEP EXPERIMENTING There really is no substitution for hours spent behind the camera when it comes to finding and honing your style. Shoot as often as you can, and while you should have…

I use Luminar because it offers some unique filters that Adobe doesn’t. With these filters I can bring my processing to another level – a level which I didn’t know was possible until I found Luminar. I don’t necessarily consider it a full replacement for the range of Adobe tools, but instead, I see it as more of an essential supplement of every photographer’s processing workflow. It definitely helps me create my unique style, for which I’m so well known today, and I can’t see myself being without it.…

Out of all the textures available at the coast, one of the most beautiful is also the most universal – the sea. Whether calm and clear, or roiling and frothy, the water can provide interesting texture that’s perfect for photographing. For the best results, get down to the same level and use a telephoto lens to capture a close-up view of the moving water. Use a wide aperture of around f/2.8 for a shallow depth-of-field and a shutter speed of 1/1000sec to freeze the water mid-motion as it rushes towards you. Try shooting around the time of the sunset to take advantage of golden hour. While this technique will give great results, it also carries with it a certain amount of risk. To help prevent your kit taking an unfortunate…

THE OUTDOOR Photo of the Year competition is back! After a hugely successful first year, attracting almost 3000 entries, we’ve once again teamed up with sister title Country Walking to bring you the ultimate celebration of the British Isles’ breathtaking natural beauty. In association with Fujifilm and Affinity Photo, the competition has three exciting categories to choose from and a total of £3596 of Fujifilm cameras and lenses to be won. Plus all entrants will enjoy a 50% discount on Affinity Photo, the fully-loaded precision editing software. With such great prizes on offer, Outdoor Photo of the Year 2019 is the perfect opportunity for natural world enthusiasts to get creative and share their passion. OPOTY 2019 is open to photographers of all ages, levels of ability and interests. Entry is…

Achieving the right shutter speed is vital for this technique, so pay close attention to your settings and adjust them accordingly as you shoot for the best results. Start off with 1/250sec and then inspect your shots carefully to see whether there’s any motion blur evident. If there is, increase the shutter speed until it disappears. If there isn’t, you can keep shooting at 1/250sec. ■ 1/60sec You’ll notice your subject’s limbs are blurred when they’re walking in the frame. ■ 1/20sec This slow shutter speed will cause evidence of camera shake throughout your image. ■ 1/250sec Your subject’s limbs and body should be crisp and free from motion blur.…

Although Blending Modes are usually accessed from the Layers panel, if you double-click the layer, or go to Layer>Layer Style>Blending Options, you’ll find lots of additional control. At the top of the panel there’s the regular Blending Mode setting and Opacity setting, but under Advanced Blending you can gain more control. There are lots of options in here aimed at graphic artists, but for photographers the most pertinent are the following two… ■ CHANNELS This lets you remove specific colour channels from the blending process. With the Red, Green and Blue (RGB) ticked, all channels will be used for blending, but untick one and you’ll notice an immediate change in the form of a colour shift. This can look striking or subtle depending on the Blending Mode and the nature…

It’s not just Adjustment Layers than can make use of Luminosity Masks in order to precisely direct the editing. You can also use them to mask regular layer effects like sharpening. Click on the Background layer and press Ctrl+J to duplicate it, then go to Filter>Sharpen>Unsharp Mask to add sharpness to the new layer. To keep that sharpening in the highlights, Ctrl+click on ‘Highlights 1’ and then click the Add a mask icon at the foot of the palette. When you’re done with the adjustments, make sure you go to Layer>Flatten Image and save the image as a JPEG.…

If you have a series of edits or adjustments you make often, you can easily turn them into an automated action. To start, go to Window>Actions to open the Actions panel. Then create a new set (or folder) of actions by clicking on the Create new set icon. Put the name you want to give this group in the pop-up panel, and click OK. Click on the Create new action icon and enter the Set and Name you want to use. You can take it a step further by assigning a Function Key shortcut. When you click Record, Photoshop will remember the next steps you take, and record them to your new action. This includes applying Adjustment Layers, Blending Modes and Layer Styles. When you’ve finished, simply hit Stop to…

Editing suites come in a wide range of styles and sizes. Whether it’s aimed at a specific genre, or provides unlimited creative opportunities, there’s a perfect fit for all users. Of course, this does make our job a touch more complicated. While ON1 produces one of the finest RAW developing suites on the market, it won’t appeal to those wanting to make the creative edits other suites offer. Likewise, LandscapePro may be ideal for novices, but it lacks the power of Affinity Photo, or the catalogue function of Adobe’s Lightroom and Skylum’s Luminar. That said, we have taken factors such as ease of use, creative potential and value for money into consideration to bring you our top three. And the winning software is… Affinity Photo has to be our clear…

There’s no better way to demonstrate the nature of photographic style than to let two photographers interpret the same location. PP staffers Louise Carey and Richard Collins arrived at Penmon Point in North Wales – a favoured location for landscape photographers – at the same time on the same day, and were presented with identical conditions in which to shoot. Both photographers used similar equipment – full-frame DSLRs – and both had limited time in which to work. Beyond those constraints, each photographer was free to interpret the scene in any way they pleased. Richard’s natural affinity for the minimalist aesthetic saw him make use of the sweeping, monochromatic nature of the foreshore to lead the eye towards the distant lighthouse, while Louise took advantage of the various rock pools…

TAKING INSPIRATION from, and even aping the style of, other photographers will give you a good grounding in the way in which styles develop, but in order to create a look that is uniquely yours, you will need to indulge in some serious introspection. Taking a critical look at your own work can be difficult – these images are your ‘babies’ and you love every one of them – but it’s only by being ruthless that you will grow. Work on your critical editing Digital photography carries a double-edged sword. It’s far cheaper and much more accessible than film ever was, but free of the constraints of the roll of 36 exposures, we can often over-shoot. It used to take months or even years to build up a body of…

BY NOW YOU SHOULD BE firmly on your journey towards discovering your own style of photography, but in order to stay on course you will need to introduce a bit of discipline. Photography is meant to be fun, and if you primarily shoot from a hobbyist perspective it may seem counter-intuitive to start limiting yourself. But if you really want to see your work develop and your own style start to shine through, it makes sense to work to a brief. Be cohesive “STICKING TO A BRIEF WILL HELP YOU DEFINE YOUR OWN STYLE” Any artist who has ever been commissioned to produce work for a client will have found themselves working to a brief, and placing a similar control on yourself when you go out to shoot will ensure…

SEASIDE INSPIRATION FOR SUMMER SHOOT MACRO TEXTURE Find natural patterns on the beach. FOCUS ON THE LITTER Support a cause while you shoot. EXPLORE ROCK POOLS Capture the underwater world. SHOOT CHILD PORTRAITS Document fun-filled moments.…

WE’RE FORTUNATE to enjoy such easy access to the coast here in the UK. Our miles upon miles of beaches attract streams of visitors. The majority of beach-goers treat our shared environment with respect, but there are always the unfortunate few who leave their litter behind. This has a devastating and lasting impact on the creatures that inhabit the beaches and the seas. Evoke emotion On the long list of photogenic subjects available at the beach, rubbish isn’t high up. This can make it a challenge to capture a pleasing photo, but we have a handy trick. Rather than hiding how ugly discarded plastic can be, use it to emphasise just how beautiful the environment would be without it. Avoid composing your photo with just the rubbish in the frame.…

SUN, SEA, SAND AND AN overexcited child. That’s all you need to capture a vibrant portrait with oodles of personality. Photographing children or grandchildren combines seaside fun with capturing special memories. Take your cues from the child Without the inhibitions and reserve instilled by adulthood, children are much less likely to grin and bear something if it’s not enjoyable – especially if they can hear the sound of waves crashing on the shore and they know that there’s more fun to be had. With that in mind, you have to make sure that this shoot is the most fun they could possibly be having at the beach. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach here, as it’ll depend on the child. If you’re working with a shy, reserved kid, task them with quietly…

Ben Hawkins PP’s editor is a massive fan of moody black & white landscapes, abstract art and edgy fashion. Also loves flapjacks. Richard Collins PP’s deputy editor has an eye for the unconventional. He loves street photography and mono portraits. Louise Carey PP’s features editor loves shooting natural light portraiture, lifestyle photos and travel landscapes. Team spirit by Paul Want I was looking for a new project and thought I’d try rugby. It was Kendal’s last season at their old site and they wanted a visual record. This image was taken on a very cold Saturday afternoon just after Kendal scored a try. It was a spontaneous shot. Edits were made in Lightroom using Nik’s Color Efex plug-in, with grain added in Silver Efex. tinyurl.com/y6tjngk8 Ben says: You can…

CARMARTHEN CAMERAS was started in 1998 by the current owner Mathew Whittal-Williams, who’d spent many years working in Francis Photographic, a small but dedicated camera shop dealing in new and used photographic gear. When the shop was first opened, Mathew specialised in used photographic equipment, mainly 35mm film cameras and lenses, but also medium-format and large-format, as well as many collectable film cameras and accessories. With the introduction of digital cameras, the business flourished, with a lot of film equipment being part-exchanged and sold. In 2008 we took over the existing Francis Photographic business when owner Bill Francis retired, and continued to expand and build the new business, adding brands and new lines. With the internet boom, business expanded further with Carmarthen Cameras being quick to branch out online. In…

I never thought I would capture this image. I was having a really bad shoot up until this point, and I was really upset at myself for being late changing between my 300mm and 70-200mm lenses for an earlier celebration picture. The delay meant I’d managed to miss the best frames. I sat on the side of the pitch, exhausted and emotional that I’d come all the way to Paris and screwed up. I only managed to snap out of it after a colleague reassured me: “I’m sure there will be another goal.” Then just moments later, Paris Saint-Germain player Neymar scored, and this time I was ready with the right lens. After a particularly awful start, I ended up walking away with my favourite celebration picture of the entire…

NIK’S POPULAR plug-in anthology has seen a meteoric rise to fame ever since it was acquired – and released for free – by Google in 2012. Fast forward to 2017, and Nik was bought by experienced editing guru DxO. It’s now 2019, and DxO has not only updated the plug-in suite, it has also released a sequel – Nik Collection 2. Building on the success of the original, it offers seven unique suites that are designed to give maximum impact for minimum effort. Whether you specialise in black & white or HDR, or just like to add a vintage tone to your shots, Nik packs in a wide range of tools. There are also respected plug-ins for noise reduction and sharpening in the form of Dfine and Sharpener Pro, which…

CONNOISSEUR of style Fujifilm is known for its retro X Series of APS-C mirrorless cameras. It also made waves when it broke through the sub-£6000 medium-format mark by releasing its GFX 50S CSC range. Building on this, it’s tearing down boundaries with the 102MP GFX 100. Main features The large DSLR-style body packs in the first 102MP medium-format BSI sensor to hit the market, utilising the powerful X-Processor 4 engine to offer phase-detect AF and 4K video capable of recording at 30fps, or Full HD 1080p at 60fps. Add to that the first in-body medium-format image stabilisation capable of providing up to 5.5 stops of compensation. Improving on both the GFX 50S and GFX 50R’s contrast detect system, Fujifilm has managed to include the same 425 points of phase detect…

Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS £12,000 THE 2020 TOKYO Olympics is set to be the sporting highlight of the year for athletes and pro shooters alike. With so many eyes on the event, Sony is aiming to sweeten the appeal of its high-end sports camera, the α 9, with its latest professional 600mm G Master lens. It’s a fixed f/4 aperture telephoto with a superior build and excellent image quality in a relatively lightweight 3040g weather-sealed body. It boasts three modes of OSS stabilisation, for different movement patterns, as well as four focus hold buttons, a large focusing ring and focus limit switch. Internally, you’ll find 24 elements in 18 groups, with two ED (extra-low dispersion), one XA (extreme aspherical lens) and three fluorite lenses. These are…

FLASH Pixapro Citi600 Pro £799 IF YOU SHOOT PORTRAITS, there’s a possibility you’ll have explored off-camera flash. The technique, also known as strobism, allows for dynamic lighting while shooting on location. The only barrier for many is the price of a powerful enough flash. Thankfully, UK-based Pixapro, who re-badge Godox kit – a brand name that’s become the flash of choice for many photographers – provides the perfect mix of features, power and value for money. This is true for the latest version of the powerful Citi600. Main features This 600W flash is a battery-powered TTL monolight, or large studio flash, which offers a range of shooting options and improvements over the manual version. The battery lasts for a very impressive 370 full-power flashes, and takes two hours to…

Chasing the storm by Marc Adamus I shot this photo in Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, north of Yuma, Arizona while on a monsoon season storm chase. After following the weather west, I arrived near the interesting rock formations of the Kofa mountains near dusk. I was just in time to capture the rise and fall of this thunder cell, which was isolated from other storms and made a very memorable subject. Nikon D800 | 24mm | 30secs | f/18 | ISO 1600 Marc Adamus is a US-based landscape photographer whose work has been used by companies including Apple, Blackberry, HP and more. marcadamus.com Rebel heart by Edward CH Lai This shoot represents a figure controlled in a monitored society where everyone is forced to have the same ideals. In contrast,…

LANDSCAPES #1 Get an early start GREAT LANDSCAPE SHOTS require dedication, and when Cumbrian-based photographer Paul Thomson awoke to some beautiful light, he knew he had to make the most of it. “I really wanted to capture a spring shot with bluebells and I knew just the place. Having previously scouted this location, I made my way back up the steep hill and thick undergrowth to a small clearing where the light coming through the trees, illuminating the bluebells and bark, was just fantastic. I chose an aperture of f/16 as I wanted to capture a sun star and have most of the scene in sharp focus. I used a circular polarising filter to minimise reflection on the foliage and boost saturation. “The image worked out just the way I…

THE ULTIMATE END GAME may seem like quite a strange starting point in this journey towards defining your own photographic style. But having a clear aim for how you want your work to progress will really help to focus your efforts on the process of developing your unique aesthetic. One of the first questions that any budding shooter should ask themselves is, “What sort of photographer do I really want to be?”. Generally, it’s limiting to pigeon-hole yourself too early on in your ‘career’, but it can be difficult to hone a defining style if you shoot anything and everything that’s in front of you. Settle on a genre While there’s no need to limit yourself to just a single type of photography, for the sake of this program of…

NOBODY LIKES A COPYCAT, but art has never existed in a vacuum either. All artists will be able to point to where their inspiration came from and that’s just as true for photographers. Unless you are gifted with the most exceptional eye, it is unlikely that you will come to the medium ‘fully formed’. Find your own heroes Whether you’re just starting out in photography, or you’re looking to take your work to the next level, finding inspiration in the work of others is absolutely justified. And, if you are hoping to develop a style all of your own, imitating, or finding stimulation in, the style of others can really speed the process up. With the internet providing an almost limitless archive of work from both iconic and contemporary photographers…

While there’s no need to limit yourself to just a handful of images, the process of creating a portfolio will really help you to see the way in which your style is developing. If you don’t want to be too limited, consider making multiple portfolios on different themes or genres. To get started, choose ten to 20 of your favourite images that relate to the goals set out in Step 1 of this feature. Take a really good look at these images, viewing them up close, far away and even upside down (it’s a great way to check composition). Look for similarities and unique elements that catch your eye. It may not be 100% cohesive yet but you will start to see what makes them ‘yours’.…

SO FAR, WE’VE LOOKED at some rigid ways to hone your photographic efforts into a unique and recognisable style of your own. But one of the great appeals of photography – particularly in its digital form – is the immediacy it enjoys compared to many of the other arts that require much longer processes to create the finished work. This relative freedom affords the photographer many opportunities to shoot and re-shoot subjects and to learn important lessons from those images that don’t turn out quite as planned. One of the steps in this process towards finding and defining your own style of photography concerned looking for inspiration from some iconic images. A really good exercise in discovering your own style is to attempt to recreate some of these images. It’s…

Jay Birmingham is a teacher and landscape photographer based in the West Midlands. His work has been shortlisted in the Landscape Photographer of the Year awards and he was a runner-up in the inaugural British Photography Awards in the landscape category. jaybirmingham.com TAKING A CLASSICAL APPROACH TO landscape photography and infusing it with 21st century innovation, Jay Birmingham’s imagery is the visual outpouring of a curious mind and a critical eye. From snapshots to major exhibitions in a little over a decade, Jay’s highly-polished pictures are now gaining international recognition and seeing him rub shoulders with genuine A-listers. Not bad for a primary school teacher from Tamworth... When did your photography adventures begin? I remember having a plastic camera as a child and taking pictures of the Needles on the…

Max started taking photos in 2008 to document a mountain trip he took between studies. Today, he travels around the world to capture unique scenes with mountains as the subject. maxrivephotography.com AS ANY PRO photographer can attest, developing an eye-catching style is key to standing out from the crowd. Voted Landscape Photographer of the Year 2017, Max is known for his shots featuring mountains, but also for his unique editing style – he achieves this with the help of Luminar. Since his photographic style is tied so closely to his editing, Max has developed a wide range of Looks, or presets, over the years, which give him instant results in a single click. You can purchase Max’s Dramatic Landscape Signature Looks pack as one of the many offerings in the…

WHEN THE SUMMER season is at its peak, there’s no better opportunity to reach for your camera than on a family day out at the beach. No matter whether you’re met with clear blue skies or typically British grey clouds, training your lens on interesting natural textures guarantees results in all conditions. Find your subject As the sea continuously washes against the shore over a period of centuries, it slowly creates patterns in the geological features of the location. This means no matter which beach you visit, you can discover interesting and unique textures. From eclectic collections of pebbles, to gentle waves of finely milled sand, and intricately designed shells, there are plenty of subjects just waiting for you to train your camera on. Before you load the car up…

KNOWN AS GOLDMINES of biodiversity, rock pools are fantastic places to explore with your camera. As the home to a range of creatures, including fish, snails, crabs and starfish, you could come away with a portfolio filled with underwater wildlife shots. Shoot from above water Most cameras are designed to be kept firmly on dry land, but that doesn’t mean you can’t capture images of the wildlife residing in rock pools. If you don’t want to disturb the marine life, it’s possible to shoot from above the surface of the water. To avoid capturing reflections, attach a polariser to your lens. This handy filter removes polarised light from your image, which will reduce reflections and glare. If you’re exploring the rock pools with a friend, partner or child, take the…

Capturing the fun of a day at the beach will add plenty of action to your portfolio, but if you wait for golden hour to appear then the real magic will happen. By the time the sun begins to dip low in the sky, children should hopefully have burned off some energy and might be in the mood for family portraits for some heart-warming photos. For the best results, position them between you and the sun, as this will give you a gorgeous backlighting effect in their hair. Shoot in RAW and underexpose by 1 or 2 stops using your camera’s exposure compensation setting to retain detail in the highlights, and then use an editing program to bring detail back to the shadows.…

Automated editing tools are great for getting started and we looked at them in detail in last issue’s The Edit section. But it’s important to be aware of their limitations. The Magic Wand Tool, for instance, makes selections based on colours and tones. It’s a great choice for selecting large areas such as skies, but remember to use a low Tolerance and leave the Contiguous box unticked if working on an image with similar tones elsewhere that might also be picked out. The Quick Selection Tool works in a similar way, but is more advanced – it samples textures and is better at finding edges. It can also be used freehand, so it would be perfect for busy images such as Paul’s.…

By capturing a composition where the subject is close to the dividing line between the reflection and reality, where the subject fills the frame without any limbs being cut off, and where the dividing line is central in the image, we’ve been able to shoot a street image that fulfils the brief correctly. The image is made more successful because we kept an eye on the lighting in our environment. If the inside of our chosen shop window was too bright, then we wouldn’t have been able to capture this reflection. The less light that directly hits the window, and the more light that directly hits your subject, the better your reflection will be. While this may be a tricky equation to balance, it’s worth keeping in mind when you…

Digital image manipulation can instantly propel your best shots to a whole new level, which is why the editing process is as much a fundamental part of photography today as it was in the days of the darkroom. In this round-up of the best budget-friendly editing suites, we’re taking a look at everything from the more basic, all the way up to the multi-featured behemoths that house a range of features designed to give you full control of your edits. Whether you want to add a touch of subtle contrast, go mono, merge your shots for an HDR masterpiece or create a complicated composite image with multiple elements, there’s something for you in this test. Each of our choices slides under the £100 mark, so they’re guaranteed to be a…

THERE’S SOMETHING special about holding a print in your hands. It’s the culmination of hard work and time spent planning, shooting and editing, and completing this journey by producing your own high-quality prints at home on a larger scale is now an achievable prospect. Not only does being in charge of your print process allow you precise control over your final image, but it can also help to keep the costs down. The initial outlay will be offset by each print you produce, rather than outsourcing your printing to a printshop or online provider. To help you choose the best for your needs, we’ve gathered together a set of our five favourite high-quality A3 home printers at a range of budgets. Epson Expression Photo XP-960 £200 The Wi-Fi-ready Expression…