Digital Camera - April 2022

SHOOT THE GREAT INDOORS

SEND US f/11 ISO 1/800
YOUR SHOTS! 800 sec

Pick your favourite project, give You may only get one, or possibly
it a go and email us your results, two, frames that work from each
with the subject line ‘The Great sequence – but what you do get
shows a magic ‘unseen’ moment.
Indoors’. We can’t wait to see
what you come up with!
digitalcamera
@futurenet.com

Andrew James

SHOOT THE GREAT INDOORS

2 Create a crazy light show

Turn everyday items into a riot of colour, using a locked-off
camera and some easy-to-find, handheld lighting kit

A ll photography is concerned with PRO ADVICE
capturing the light reflecting off GEAR FOR PAINTING
a subject. When you work indoors, WITH LIGHT
you can use multiple light sources to
illuminate the scene. Lighting from the top, Although there’s a whole industry dedicated
back, sides or front changes the character to fancy light-painting gadgets and gizmos,
of a subject dramatically, but mixing them all you really need to get started is a pen
together to get just the right balance torch, such as a Mini MagLite. This can be
generally requires a complex setup with a used as a regular light source to play over
lot of lights, stands, and light-modifying kit. areas of a scene from different angles; you
That’s not the case with this technique, can also remove the lens bezel to expose
though: provided you can keep the camera the bulb and use it as a point light source to
still, you can take multiple shots with trace around subjects. To further enhance your light-painting kit, a set of battery-
different lighting effects, then blend them powered LED string lights gives you a great tool for swirls, streaks and criss-cross
together using Photoshop layers to get grids of light. If you want to be more innovative still, you can use anything that
the effect you want. The shot on the emits some kind of glow, from a sparkler to a smartphone.
right was lit by one Mini MagLite torch
and a bunch of string lights, and the Mini MagLite AA LED string lights
six separate shots were then blended
together to give the final, colourful result.

The camera settings
for all six shots were
the same: Manual
exposure mode with
an 8 sec shutter speed,
an aperture of f/11,
and ISO set to 100.

Create a colourful light-painting with Photoshop layerss

Bring your best shots together, then edit the colours to really make the image pop

Andrew James

1 Select the best shots 2 Blend in Photoshop 3 Add colour to the mix
Take a bunch of shots with your camera In Photoshop, the shots will be put into a To add colour to a lighting layer, select
locked off on a tripod (8 sec at f/11, ISO 100) and layers stack; provided you didn’t move the camera the layer then create a Hue/Saturation Adjustment
shine the torch from a different angle each time. while shooting, they will line up perfectly. Click Layer. Hold Alt and click on the line between the
After this, take some more shots using the string on the top layer, then hold Shift and click on the layer and the Adjustment Layer to clip the
lights, dragging them through the frame and bottom layer to select them all. Now click where Adjustment Layer. In the Hue/Saturation Panel,
shaking them around. Ctrl/Cmd-click on your it says Normal and select the Lighten Blending tick the Colorize box and move the Hue and
five or six best shots in Bridge, and select Tools Mode. This blends all the lighting effects together. Saturation sliders to change the colour.
> Photoshop > Open in Photoshop Layers. Switch the eye icons on or off to get a good mix. Do this for as many layers as you like.

52 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

WATCH THE VIDEO!

Jon Adams takes you
through this technique in

depth digitalcamera
world.com/dc253

Jon Adams

SHOOT THE GREAT INDOORS Jon Adams

3 Love
bokeh!

Make your own
aperture shapes

I nside every lens is a diaphragm
ring that opens or closes as you
adjust the aperture value. Its chief
function is to let more or less light through
to the sensor to give you a well-exposed
picture, but a by-product of this is the way
it affects the zone of sharp focus in the
image. If the aperture is closed down to
its narrowest setting (like f/22), a very
deep zone of sharpness is produced;
if it’s wide open (the lowest f/number),
a shallow depth of field is the result.
The quality of the out-of-focus areas is
referred to as ‘bokeh’ (a Japanese word
that roughly translates as fuzziness);
on pinpoints of light, this will reveal the
shape of the ‘hole’ in the diaphragm
ring. It’s normally as close to a circle
as possible – but it doesn’t have to be!
If you open your aperture to its smallest f/
number available, you can make a hole in a
piece of card; then, once it’s placed over the
lens, you can render pinpoints of light in any
bokeh shape you like. We wanted to display
our love of coffee with a simple heart shape,
but the options are only limited by what you
can cut out with scissors or a scalpel.

Shoot shapely bokeh for images with a creative twist

Cut out the shape you want to reveal in your bokeh, and set up a shot using fairy lights on a dark backdrop.

Andrew James

1 Cut out your shape 2 Attach to a fast lens 3 Compose and shoot
Grab some black card. If you want to be You need a fast optic with a large, Drape some string lights over a dark
really precise, trace around the outside of the lens maximum aperture to get the best results, but background to give your pinpoints of light, then
you’re using and cut inside the line to produce a the effect will work with any lens. We used a focus on a subject close to the lens. Provided the
circle that holds itself snugly in place within the 50mm f/1.4 prime lens, and set the aperture to background and lights are sufficiently out of focus,
filter thread. If you want to be quick, just cut a its widest setting of f/1.4. You can attach the card you’ll see the shaped bokeh appear. Use Aperture
square of card big enough to cover the lens. Cut to the edge of the lens with Blu-Tack, or, with your Priority mode, set your ISO to its lowest value
out a shape in the middle – if you fold it in half camera on a tripod, simply hold it over the lens and dial in your widest aperture, and the
first, as shown, you can get a symmetrical shape. while checking the effect using Live View. shutter speed will take care of itself.

54 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

4 Frame up fruit
Get fresh, zingy pics from a simple setup

I f you’ve got an old slide-film light allows you to fix the centre column Live View helps framing Andrew James
box or a more modern LED horizontally will help enormously. Make
drawing board, it’s the perfect sure the camera is parallel to the subject Using your camera’s Live View option helps you
platform for a spot of backlit still-life so that your shot is sharp right across the to create the perfect composition. When you’re
photography. Next, you can raid the frame, revealing all the interesting details working close-up, even small changes in
fridge for things like lemons, limes or and textures. Overlapping some of the the subject’s arrangement can make a big
kiwi fruits to slice up thinly and use slices will help to create a slight variation difference to the finished photo. Take your time
as semi-transparent subjects. Then in tone, and it generally pays to fill the to move the objects around the frame and see
just add a macro lens and a bit of entire frame with your subject. You’ll what interesting shapes you can create.
careful composition to bag yourself need to shoot in Manual mode or
some really colourful shots. use Aperture Priority and exposure
You really need to position your camera compensation to make sure your image
directly overhead, so having a tripod that is neither too dark nor too bright.

f/8 ISO 1/10
100 sec

SHOOT THE GREAT INDOORS

5 Battle with backlight

Shooting directly into the light may seem counter-
intuitive, but it can make for stunning shots…

W hen it comes to classic still-life PRO ADVICE Á k0 ç…È«‫ژ‬ÁXx0
shots, it’s not often that the light
source itself will be part of the This kind of still-life shot
picture. But if you have an angle-poise requires a meticulous setup,
desk lamp with a circular reflector, so don’t rush the process.
you can give it the dramatic look Patience is a virtue with
of a rising sun behind your subject. still-life shooting, so take all
We arranged a chess set on a reflective the time you need to arrange
surface and angled the rows of pieces your subjects symmetrically,
inwards slightly to exaggerate the checking all the time against
perspective. If you try this, a handy trick the image in the viewfinder
is to use a ruler to keep the rows lined up. or on the Live View screen.
You’ll find that the strong backlighting will
dominate the scene, but the pieces on the To get the impression of a
extreme left and right will fall into shadow: warm, rising sun from your
a couple of LED lights will pick out their desk lamp, try different White
edges and pull them out of the gloom. Balance presets until you get
the effect you like – and don’t
ignore the potential of a cool, Nail your exposure
rising moon if you prefer it!
If your lamp has a tungsten As you are shooting straight into
bulb or a ‘warm white’ LED, a light source, your camera will
the Daylight or Cloudy WB underexpose. To brighten things up,
setting will give lots of use Exposure Compensation, and
warmth, but you don’t have dial in +1 to +2 stops, checking the
to get it exact in-camera: rear screen for the best effect.
provided you shoot in raw
format, you can adjust the
temperature afterwards.

6 xƏǸƺ ɵȒɖȸ Ȓɯȇ ɀƬǣ‫ٮ‬ˡ ȅȒɮǣƺ ɀɎǣǼǼ
Get the Ridley Scott look with a stylised alien hand!

I f you’re a lover of Ridley Scott Add a bit of moody blues Andrew James
movies like Blade Runner, Alien
and Prometheus, you’ll already Having processed your raw file as you want in
know the ‘noir’ look, and the blue colour Lightroom or Camera Raw, open it in Photoshop.
palette used to create a sense of intrigue. In the Layers Panel, select Hue/Saturation from
Well, we’re going to do it using a clear the Adjustment Layer options. Tick the Colorize
shower screen and Photoshop! box, then move the Hue slider to the right to
Run the shower to get water dripping get the level of blue toning you want for
down the glass screen, then get your model that cool, sci-fi feel.
to place their hand with the fingertips
lightly pressed on the glass. Backlight
the hand and water droplets with an
LED light, and focus on the fingertips.
Select as wide an aperture as your lens
allows – f/2.8 is perfect – to diffuse
the background. Don’t worry about the
camera’s White Balance setting, as we’re
going to create the important muted
blue hues during the next stage.

56 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

f/11 ISO 1/6
100 sec

With a desk lamp, a chess set and sufficient
time to arrange a careful setup, you have all you
need to create a dramatic battle scene at dawn.

7 Polarise plastic Jon Adams
Unveil a riot of colour in humdrum items Jon Adams

I f you have a polarising filter, you can get amazing APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 57
shots that reveal the stresses in plastic items. You
do need a polarised light source as well as a filter,
though – but, as luck would have it, you already have at
least one in the form of a laptop screen or computer
monitor! Just fill the screen with white using a blank canvas
in Photoshop or a zoomed-in Word doc: when you look
through a polarising filter and rotate it, you’ll see the white
screen turn black. Place plastic items on this, and you’ll see
an oil-slick of colours that change as you rotate the filter.

Geometry setup

We placed a humble geometry
set onto a laptop screen and
arranged the items into an
interesting composition. Then
all that was needed was a
twist of the polariser, and a
spectrum of colours flooded
across the plastic shapes.

www.digitalcameraworld.com

SHOOT THE GREAT INDOORS Jon Adams

8 Milk it! Andrew James

Take a colourful
advertising-style
still-life shot

F rom drizzling to drenching, pouring
shots are a staple of food and drink
advertising. But to freeze the
motion and communicate the freshness
of the subject, you need light – lots of it.
The easiest way to introduce lots of light
is via flash, but although studio flash is
the way to go for complex setups, a single
flashgun can bring lots of ideas within range
– provided you can use it off-camera. A set
of wireless flash triggers or a sync lead is
all you need to get studio-style shots from a
flashgun, and its compact, battery-powered
build means you can do it anywhere.

We used a sync lead to trigger the flashgun;
the burst of bright light freezes the moving
subject in place, giving the sense of freshness.

9 Put yourself in a spin with a slow-sync selfie
All the fun of a fairground merry-go-round – without the candyfloss or a toffee-apple in sight!

H ands up who likes having their
photo taken? No-one? OK, we
photographers prefer to be on the
business side of the lens – but for once, let’s
throw caution to the wind. Pick a wide-angle focal
length – about 24mm on a full-frame model is
ideal – to fit yourself in at arm’s length, and you’ll
need a pop-up flash or a flashgun on the camera.
For our shot we used Manual mode, with a
shutter speed of 1/8 sec and an aperture of f/11.
The flashgun was set to 1/4 power, so the flash
freezes us, but the slow shutter captures the
movement. If you’ve got an office chair with
wheels on, that’s perfect for the daft bit! Holding
the camera carefully, and with all AF points
active, tilt the camera towards you – and
once you’ve got a good spin going, fire!
One word of warning: get the shot quickly,
as too many rapid spins can leave you
feeling a bit green around the gills!

58 D I G I TA L C A M E R A

10 Let the laws of physics create your shot
Capture the movement of a swinging torch to create a fascinating physiogram light trail

W hen you swing an object on a the floor directly below the torch, using f/11 ISO 30
string, and the string is attached a wide-angle lens so the torch-swing 100 sec
to a fixed point, you get a natural remains within the field of view.
rotational pattern within the motion. With Combine the torch-swings Andrew James
a long exposure in a dark room and a torch In Manual mode, select a 30 sec shutter
on a string fixed to a ceiling, you can record speed and an aperture of f/11. Switch off If you want to make your images look even more
its journey. A small torch like a MagLite is all room lights, set the torch in motion and complex, combine them in Photoshop, using
best; fix it so that it hangs about a metre fire the shutter without jogging the camera. Layers and Blending Modes. You can change
above the camera, and set your focus Over the time the shutter is open, the light the colour of each light trail to make them
point manually. Place the camera on from the torch will record as a thin light different. To find out how it’s done, see our
trail against the dark of the room. painting with light technique on page 52.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 59

SPONSORED BY

CameraPhoto Marcus
Collegechallenge! Hawkins

You could win Photographer and
a copy of writer Marcus is a
former editor of
Affinity Photo Digital Camera

See page 68 The complete guide to modern photography

zȒ ˢƏɀǝ áǣɎǝ ˢƏɀǝ Flash photography is not
just for the home studio. A
ÁƏǸƺ ɵȒɖȸ ˡȸɀɎ ɀɎƺȵɀ flashgun, used off camera,
ǣȇ ˢƏɀǝ ȵǝȒɎȒǕȸƏȵǝɵ helped to reduce the hard
contrast on this sunny day.
Trying to get a good flash exposure can appear complicated and best left to the
pros. But everyone has to start somewhere – and it’s not as hard as it seems… Flash lighting isn’t just for
shooting indoors or lighting up
It’s somewhat ironic that, GN…) and the challenge of flash unit is limited in terms of the night either, as it can help
as a lighting technique, negotiating two exposures position and power, a flashgun solve tricky exposures in
flash can leave many for every shot (one for the allows you to position the light daylight, too. If your flash unit
photographers shooting background and one for the so that it strikes the light from is close enough and powerful
the dark. The world of flash flash-lit subject), it’s no wonder a more interesting angle, as enough, you’ll be able to open
photography can be a confusing that a lot of people would rather well as experiment with a raft up ugly shadows in portraits
and disorientating place when stick with natural light, or reach of light modifiers and coloured and even overpower the sun
you’re just starting out. With a for an LED panel instead. gels. LED panels don’t offer to turn day into night.
new set of initialisms to wrap the same level of versatility
your head around (TTL, HSS, But flash can be a wonderful or the raw power of flash. One of the first decisions
creative tool. While a pop-up to make when you’re taking
a photo with flash is whether
you’re going to work with the
flash unit set to TTL mode or
Manual mode. TTL (Through
The Lens) is an automated
form of flash exposure, in

60 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

CAMERA COLLEGE

áǝƏɎ ǣɀ ˢƏɀǝ ɀɵȇƬ ɀȵƺƺƳّ

Even though a burst of flash lasts a fraction of a second, you can’t shoot with very fast shutter speeds

Flash isn’t just useful for lighting will be overexposed by two stops (1/800 Density (ND) filter to the lens. As an
up the dark, it’s great for getting sec to 1/400 sec is one stop, and 1/400 alternative, you may be able to set the
rid of shadows on sunny days. One of sec to 1/200 sec is another stop). flashgun to High Speed Sync. This allows
the challenges of shooting with flash in you to use flash with shutter speeds
daylight is that you may not be able to set There are several ways to get around faster than the flash sync speed. The
a fast enough shutter speed to expose this. You may be able to reduce the drawback is that flash power is reduced,
the rest of the scene correctly. This is brightness of the scene so that the so you may need to position the flash
because you’re limited to the flash sync shutter speed required to expose it unit closer
speed – also known as the x-sync – which correctly is equivalent to the flash sync to the
is the fastest shutter speed that can be speed or slower. To do this, set a lower subject.
used with flash. It’s typically 1/200 sec, ISO or a smaller aperture, or fit a Neutral
but you should check your camera
manual to be sure.
If the scene requires a shutter speed
that’s faster than the flash sync speed
in order to expose it correctly then the
picture may end up looking too bright.
This is because with the flash switched
on, the camera has to use the longer
exposure time required by the flash. So
if the sync speed is 1/200 sec, but the
scene requires a shutter speed of 1/800
sec to expose it correctly, then the image

zȒȸȅƏǼ

You can use an ND filter to reduce the This image needed a shutter speed of 1/800 With High Speed Sync enabled on the
brightness of a scene so that a slower sec. But with the flash switched on, the flashgun, the camera’s shutter and burst
shutter speed can be used. camera set the shutter speed to 1/200 sec of flash were able to synchronise at 1/800
– the resulting image was too bright! sec – the resulting image was correct.

Áǝƺ ƫƺȇƺˡɎɀ Flash head
Ȓǔ Ə ˢƏɀǝǕɖȇ Many flashguns allow you to rotate
and swivel the flash head – the Canon
A flashgun gives you camera to fire the flash 470EX-AI can do it automatically.
greater power and remotely, which can be
more control than the small either another flash unit, a Display
built-in units commonly wireless trigger or even the Advanced flashguns have onbody
found in digital cameras. It pop-up flash of a compatible controls and a screen where you can
also makes it possible to camera. Alternatively, you monitor adjustments – although you
take the light source off can maintain a physical may be able to do this on your camera.
camera, enabling you to contact between the
choose the optimum angle flashgun’s foot and the Battery compartment
to light your subject from. camera hotshoe using Most flashguns are powered by AA
You’ll need a trigger on the an off-camera cable. batteries. Opt for rechargeable ones
designed for high-drain devices.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 61

SPONSORED BY

ÁÁn ˢƏɀǝ ƺɴȵȒɀɖȸƺɀ

With TTL, the camera does the hard work for you, but it may need a helping hand

When your flash unit particularly pale or dark
is set to TTL (Through subjects – just as a
The Lens) mode, all you standard exposure without
need to do is make sure that flash can be. This means
your shutter speed is no that you may end up with
faster than the flash sync some shots where the
speed, and ensure that the flash exposure is not
flash unit is close enough to bright enough and others
the subject (many flashguns where it’s too ‘hot’.
will indicate the reach of the
flash on their displays). Fortunately, you can
TTL is fast and smart, override the TTL flash
but not consistent. If the exposure using Flash
backdrop changes or you Exposure Compensation.
shoot from a different This can usually be applied
position, then the camera in increments of 1/3 stop,
may decide to adjust the on the camera or on a
TTL flash exposure. It can flashgun. Use positive
also be affected by reflective compensation to make the
parts of a scene, such as flash exposure brighter, and
windows or mirrors, and negative compensation to
make it less bright.

Beam me up (or down) Use Flash Exposure Compensation Splash exposure TTL is a good choice when your subject is on

to increase or decrease the brightness of the TTL flash exposure. the move and you don’t have time to make manual adjustments.

which the camera does most of the heavy use the camera’s AF points to work our If TTL can work out a
lifting for you. Before making the main flash where the subject is in the picture and, if tricky exposure in the
exposure, your digital camera fires a brief the lens transmits distance information, blink of an eye, why
pulse of flash. This pre-flash is reflected by how far away it is, too. It may also use the the need for Manual?
the subject back through the lens, where camera’s face detection system to prioritise
the camera measures the brightness of the the flash output for people in the picture.
flash and the ambient light before setting
the intensity of the flash exposure for the If TTL can automatically work out a
photo. This all happens so quickly that most tricky flash exposure in the blink of an
of the time the pre-flash is imperceptible. eye, why would you ever need to use
a Manual flash exposure?
The more advanced your camera is,
the more precise the TTL flash metering Well, for one thing, Manual gives you a
system tends to be. As well as taking any predictable and consistent blast of light. If
ambient light into account in order to refine the subject is in front of a white background
the flash exposure, the TTL system can for one shot, and then a black background
for the next shot, that won’t affect

62 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

CAMERA COLLEGE

xƏȇɖƏǼ ˢƏɀǝ ƺɴȵȒɀɖȸƺɀ

To get a constant flash output, switch to Manual flash and set the power level yourself

With Manual flash, the scene TTL xƏȇɖƏǼ TTL xƏȇɖƏǼ
isn’t automatically metered and
measured in the same way as a TTL Back in black Here, the camera has Grey matter … but it has overcompensated
flash exposure. Instead, you tell the
flash unit to fire a specific level of light reduced the output of the TTL flash exposure for the pale background to leave this shot looking
regardless of what’s in the picture. to ensure that the flower isn’t overexposed grey. The Manual flash exposure gives a consistent
The flash power level can be
adjusted in fractional increments against the dark background… result, regardless of the change in background.
– from 1/1 (full power) to 1/2 (half
power, 1/4 (quarter power) and so on.
You can typically go down to 1/128
power, although some high-end
flashguns offer even finer control;
the Canon Speedlite EL-1 can go as
low as 1/8192 power, for example.
If you set a high power then you’ll
get a brighter flash exposure. The
drawback is that you’re unlikely to be
able to rapid fire bursts of shots, as
the flash unit will need longer to
recycle between each flash.
As well as enabling you to add more
subtle degrees of flash, lower-powered
flash allows you to take a sequence of
pictures in quick succession. The
flashes are also shorter in duration,
which means that you don’t get the
motion blur that you sometimes see
on moving subjects that have been
shot with high-powered flash.

Camera skills How to control a Manual flash exposure

Try these easy ways of increasing and decreasing the brightness of flash

Flash power Flashgun distance Aperture / ISO Flash modifiers

You can adjust the flash power on In this example, with the flash at Selecting a small aperture (such If you attach a softbox or other
a flashgun, or on a trigger unit 1/4 power and the aperture at as f/16 or f/22) will reduce the modifier that diffuses the light,
that’s attached to the camera f/8, the subject will be exposed then you may need to increase
when you’re working with correctly at around 4 metres. flash light coming into the
wireless flash. You may also be Moving the flash unit closer to camera, so you may need the flash power in order to
able to adjust the flash power the subject will give a brighter to increase the power to maintain the same exposure.
on the camera display when a exposure; moving it further away compensate. Opening the Moving the flash unit closer, or
compatible flashgun is used. will have the opposite effect. aperture will make the flash opening the aperture, will also

exposure brighter. have the same effect.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 63

SPONSORED BY

IǼƏɀǝ Bare Flashgun:
ȅȒƳǣˡƺȸɀ Light work It’s worth running

Get more flattering and creative some tests with your modifiers
results with flash add-ons so that you can see how the light
falls off into the corners of the
Bare flash can be brutal, but photo and how much the output
fortunately there is a vast is reduced overall. Set up your
number of flash modifiers available flashgun on a stand a few feet
that enable you to soften and shape from a pale wall, and use a
the light. A handful of options are consistent Manual flash output
designed for pop-up flash units, but so that you can compare the
the majority are built for flashguns. results with the bare flash (left).
To diffuse the light and reduce its
harshness, umbrellas and softboxes Large softbox:
are the popular choice. Umbrellas are 76cm x 76cm The light
an affordable option, with two main
types available: shoot-through (where from a large Ezybox Hotshoe
you aim the flash at the subject Softbox delivers a soft transition
through the fabric) and reflective from light to shadow. The
(where the umbrella and flashed are diffusion material at the front of
reversed, and the light is bounced off the softbox has clearly reduced
the white, silver or gold interior). the intensity of the light from the
Umbrellas spread the light over a flash, so the power may need to
wide area, so a softbox is the way to be increased in order to achieve
go if you need more directional light. a correct exposure.
These units have solid sides and a
single diffusion panel at the front. You Small softbox:
can get even more control with the 45cm diameter The
addition of a grid, which is honeycomb
panel that fits in front of the diffuser. collapsible RoundFlash Dish
The grid reduces the spill of the light, folds out to 45cm in diameter,
giving a more spotlit effect. but it produces a smooth
If you want to highlight a specific transition into the corners here.
detail, then a snoot is the answer. Smaller softboxes are easier to
Essentially a black tube that covers work with, although they need
the flash head, it stops light spilling to be used relatively close to
across the rest of the scene. The beam the subject; the further away
of light is more hard-edged than you the light source is, the harder
can achieve with a grid, though. the light becomes.

a Manual flash exposure. Once you’ve When you’re using flash in the dark, then nȒɯƺȸ ˢƏɀǝ ȵȒɯƺȸ ǝƏɀ
dialled in the power level that you want to you only really have one exposure to worry the advantage of
use, the flash unit will output that from one about – that of the flash. When there is enabling you to shoot
shot to the next – as long as it’s had time to ambient light present, though, you’ll need to more rapidly, as well as
recycle between shots, that is. The higher factor that in if you want to preserve some preserve battery life
the power level, the fewer shots that you’ll of the scene’s atmosphere. Using flash in
be able to take in quick succession. Higher daylight compounds the problem. You can
power settings also drain the batteries of course leave it up to the camera to work
faster. However, if you turn down the flash out the exposure and the balance of the
power and move the flash unit closer to the flash to ambient light, but if you have the
subject, you’ll be able to achieve the same time then it’s worth trying some manual
level of flash exposure that you get by adjustments to see if you can improve
turning the flash power up and positioning things. It’s easiest to treat the ambient
the flash unit further away. Lower flash and flash exposures as separate elements.
power also has the advantage of enabling First, without the flash switched on, set an
you to shoot more rapidly as well as exposure for the background. Setting the
preserving battery life. camera to Manual exposure gives

64 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

CAMERA COLLEGE

Camera skills Zoom head

Make the beam of light wider or tighter

Many flashguns are able look of your flash pictures. With first curtain sync, moving
to automatically zoom the Zooming to a focal length objects can appear to be
flash head to match the that’s wider than the lens, reversing at high speed!
focal length of the lens, for example, can help to
but you can also manually soften and spread the light
make adjustments. In fact, (and is also recommended
changing the zoom is a when the flash is used
creative way to control the with some softboxes).

Head start Zooming to a longer focal length makes Second curtain sync fires the
flash at the end of the exposure,
it easier to highlight a specific feature in a wide shot. for more realistic results.

Camera skills Wireless control ³ǝȒɖǼƳ ɵȒɖ ǕȒ
ˡȸɀɎ Ȓȸ ɀƺƬȒȇƳّ
Free up your flashgun with a hotshoe trigger
Change the flash sync mode to make more
If you want to take a convenient, as there’s natural-looking shots of moving subjects
flashgun off the camera, no need for ‘line of sight’
then you’ll need a way of communication, and you Combining a relatively long exposure with a burst of
operating and triggering can hide the flashgun in flash gives you the potential to combine both a sharp
it remotely. A wireless a fully enclosed softbox flash-lit subject with blurred streaks of motion blur. The
transmitter is a convenient or behind objects in the results can be highly effective, making slow-moving
way to do this. You’ll need scene that you’re shooting. subjects appear to be travelling at light speed.
a wireless receiver for the Your camera and flash unit may give you the opportunity
flashgun, but many come to select a ‘second curtain sync’ or ‘rear curtain sync’ flash
with this already built in. mode. This triggers the flash at the end of a longer exposure
rather than at the start. The advantage is that any streaks
There are two flavours of of motion are recorded before the flash fires, so the blur
wireless control: optical and appears behind the subject in the photo. The drawback
radio. Optical uses infrared to second curtain sync is that it’s hard to know where the
light to trigger a remote subject will be when the flash fires. With a standard flash
flashgun, which can be exposure, the subject is frozen when you press the shutter
problematic if you’re button – it’s not so easy to time a second curtain sync shot.
shooting in bright light, or if
the transmitter and receiver Sync up
cannot ‘see’ each other (or
there are no walls or ceiling Your camera will use ‘first
for the beam of light to be curtain sync’ by default,
reflected off). Radio is more so you will need to make
the change in your
Trigger happy Flash triggers slot onto the hotshoe of camera’s flash menu. If
you’re using a flashgun
a camera and can be used to control multiple flashguns. then you can also make
the change there.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 65

SPONSORED BY

Flash photography tips
çȒɖ ɯȒȇ‫ټ‬Ɏ ǕȒ ɯȸȒȇǕ ǣǔ ɵȒɖٌ

1 Take it off camera: Using a flashgun Underexpose a bright sky and
remotely opens up a whole world use flash to illuminate a
of creative options, particularly if subject in shadow.
you’re able to work wirelessly. When you
position the flashgun, consider where the
shadows will fall and whether they will
obscure other parts of the subject.

2 Soften the light: Some shots
benefit from hard, edgy lighting,
but many look at their best when the
light is soft and diffuse. Try bouncing the light
from the flash off a large piece of white card,
a white wall or a ceiling, or use a softbox or
umbrella to spread the light. TTL flash will
compensate for these techniques, but you
may need to increase a Manual flash output.

3 Know your sync speed: Avoid
exposure errors when you’re
shooting in daylight by ensuring
that the shutter speed isn’t faster than
your camera’s flash sync speed.

4 Add drama to daylight shots:
Position a subject against a bright
sky and purposely underexpose
the sky so that the sky is dark and the
subject in silhouette. Add a burst of fill-flash
to illuminate the subject, and you will
effectively turn day into night.

5 Use a slower exposure: Combine
a slow shutter speed with flash to
capture a blend of sharpness and
blur when photographing subjects that
are in motion. Alternatively, use the same
technique, but move the camera instead.

you the most control. You won’t be able to Of course, even after making adjustments To eliminate hard
set a shutter speed faster than the flash to the flash brightness to make it blend in, it shadows, take a
sync speed, so set that first. Then adjust can still leave you with an obviously ‘flashed’ ˢƏɀǝǕɖȇ Ȓǔǔ ƬƏȅƺȸƏ
the aperture and ISO to give you the correct shot. To eliminate the hard shadows and and use a softbox
exposure. Now switch on the flash and set ‘rabbit in the headlights’ look, take the to diffuse the light
it to TTL. Take a test shot and use flash flashgun off the camera, position it closer
exposure compensation to fine-tune the to the subject and use a softbox, umbrella
brightness of the subject. You may prefer to or diffusion material to soften and spread
work in Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority the light. Even if you’re working with a naked
modes instead of Manual, but you might flashgun, you can achieve a more flattering
need to use exposure compensation to quality of light by bouncing it off a nearby
change the background brightness, wall or ceiling – as long as they’re not
followed by flash exposure compensation painted in a strong colour, otherwise you’ll
to adjust the flash brightness. end up with a colour cast on the subject!

66 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

CAMERA COLLEGE

CHPAHLLOETNOGE

!ǼȒɀ‫׏‬2 ǣ ȇ0ȵǕ22ȸ ƳǣǼ ƏɎƺ‫ي‬

Reader challenge !ȸƺƏɎǣɮƺ ˢƏɀǝ

Enter your best shot to win a copy of Affinity Photo for Windows or macOS worth £49/$50

Whether you’re a wildlife challenge – from fill-flash outdoors to the By entering your image into this
photographer or a landscape sole light source in a home studio setup. competition, you confirm that you own
enthusiast, a still-life specialist or a You can get creative in editing, too. the copyright to the image, and agree that
portrait shooter, you’re sure to find a Digital Camera can publish your image in
creative way to use flash in your picture- To enter your best image (one per relation to this competition. You retain
taking. And you don’t have to have an reader, please), either email your entry to full copyright of your image, and will
elaborate multi-flash arrangement in [email protected], putting be fully credited if it is published.
order to achieve something interesting ‘Creative flash challenge’ in the subject
– a single flash unit can subtly lift a shot. line; or upload your entry to Facebook The closing date is 1 April 2022 and the
All forms of flash are acceptable for this www.facebook.com/digitalcameraworld winner will receive a copy of Affinity Photo
– search for the ‘Creative flash’ post. for Windows or macOS. Good luck!

And the winner of the
Seasonal close-ups challenge is…

Janine Capaldi

In issue 251, we challenged our readers to shoot their best close-up
image with a seasonal theme. Well done to Janine, who wins a copy
of Affinity Photo worth £49/$50.

Digital Camera says: Janine’s capture of the surface of a partially frozen canal
is a mirror image of itself – smooth on one side, textured on the other, with
jagged icicles emanating from a smooth flowing line. A superb abstract image.

2nd place:
John Smith

Another abstract approach that works well, this study of baubles
on a Christmas tree is a photo that could easily feature on a card.

3rd place:
Amina Grigore

Minimal, but still offering
much to explore at the
same time, this image
captures the stripped-
back nature of the
midwinter season.

Join us on Facebook!

We’ll reveal the winner of issue 252’s Winter
Scenes challenge in a live stream on 31 March at
5.30pm GMT. facebook.com/digitalcameraworld

APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 67

SPONSORED BY

Before

After FILE & VIDEO

www.digital
cameraworld
.com/dc253

Retouch like a pro in Affinity Photo

Make use of Affinity Photo’s powerful array of retouching
ǔƺƏɎɖȸƺɀ‫ژ‬ɎȒ ƬȸƺƏɎƺ ȵȒȸɎȸƏǣɎɀ ɯǣɎǝ ǣȅȵƏƬɎ

James etouching is the next step up from What is Frequency
Paterson Separation?
R basic image correction: with
With over a decade’s correction, you adjust the overall Frequency Separation is a technique
experience as a writer look of the image, adjusting the that has long been used by retouchers
and photographer, James exposure or contrast, for example. to make natural-looking edits to faces.
is also an accomplished Retouching is when you edit the details, perhaps The command splits the image into
image editor – and an removing blemishes from skin or erasing stray two versions: high frequency (textures
expert in Affinity Photo. hairs. Affinity Photo has much to offer the modern like fine hairs and skin pores) and low
retoucher. Powerful tools like the Healing Brush frequency (colours and skin tones).
and the Inpainting Brush let you remove unwanted This means you can edit fine details
details with ease, while fantastic commands or broader tones independently of one
like Frequency Separation make advanced another. It’s brilliant for retouching, as it
retouching techniques accessible to everyone. lets us smooth out blotchy skin without
Here we’ll explore an array of retouching obliterating the fine detail elsewhere.
techniques you can use to boost your portraits,
from fixing small imperfections to larger problems www.digitalcameraworld.com
like the hair over the eye in our original image here.
For this we can’t simply clone or heal: we have to
take things further and copy over the other eye
to replace the details that are hidden.
Each of our edits makes use of a different layer,
so everything remains editable. This is important
for retouching: editing on separate layers means
that we can tone things down or retrace our steps.
Find out more at affinity.serif.com/photo

68 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022

SPONSORED BY

2 Healing tricks 1 Non-destructive 6 Shift colours
While using the Healing retouching with Curves
Tool, hold Alt to sample
a clean area that is We can use the Healing To give your portraits
similar to the areas you want to
fix. With faces, this usually means Tool to remove small a bit of extra impact,
Alt-clicking on a patch of skin next
to the problem area. For stray hair distractions like stray hairs and highlight the top layer then click
removal, it’s usually best to tick
Aligned in the options at the top spots. Add an empty layer, to the Adjustment icon in the Layers
so that the sample point moves
with our heal point as we paint. preserve the original image on the Panel and choose Curves. Drag
Use the ] and [ keys to change
the size of the brush tip. layer below, then grab the Healing up on the top-right part of the

Brush from the toolbar. At the top diagonal line, then drag down

is a dropdown that lets you set the on the bottom-left part to pin

tool to Current Layer and Below, it back in place. This boosts

so we can heal on the empty the highlights and deepens

layer while sampling from the the shadows. Experiment with

image layer underneath. colour channels in Curves, too.

3

3 Copy and flip 4 Low-opacity 5 Frequency
features cloning Separation

As with the partially The Clone Tool is ideal This command enables

covered left eye in for blending uneven you to improve skin by

the original image, sometimes tones and tidying up the edges editing tones without damaging

we need to re-use other parts of where two layers meet, like the delicate textures. Merge a

the image to fix issues. You can eye here. The key is to set a low copy of all layers with Ctrl/

make a selection of the intact opacity of around 20%, then Cmd+Shift+Alt+E, then go to

right eye here with the Lasso Tool, clone from the surrounding areas Filters > Frequency Separation.

then copy it to a new layer (Ctrl/ to tidy rough patches. (Alt-click to Choose an amount that blurs

Cmd+J). Next, flip it and move it sample a source.) It can be useful out the skin, then click OK. Now

over to the other eye to rebuild to set the brush Blending Mode to highlight the low-frequency layer,

the details lost behind the hair. Lighten: this lets you clone dark grab the Clone Tool (set Sample

Add a Layer Mask and paint patches like eye bags without to Current Layer), and clone to

with black to blend the edges. affecting the lighter details. smooth out areas of blotchy skin.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 69

Reader gallery PICS WIN
PRIZES!
Digital Camera readers continue to show how they’ve been getting
creative, submitting images across a range of photographic genres The standout image in our
reader gallery wins a one-year
(13 issues) subscription worth
£53.99/$119. For details of our

subscription offers, go to:
www.bit.ly/dcsub22

1 ‘You Looking at Me?’
by Keith Smith

“Taken at Bullers of Buchan,

Aberdeenshire – a great spot

for seabirds. Looking back,

these two puffins could well

have been talking about me!”

Digital Camera says: We

love the use of negative space
here. It really makes for an
intimate shot of two puffins
in their environment.

70 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 71

Reader gallery

2 ‘Chatelherault Lodge’
by Jordan Graham

“The rear of Chatelherault

House in Lanarkshire, Scotland.

I was fascinated by the perfectly

groomed greenery of the

gardens and the way the hedges

were framing each corner.”

Digital Camera says:

Symmetry within photography
can be extremely powerful, and
that’s demonstrated well here;
Jordan’s shot wouldn’t be out of
place on a poster for the latest
Netflix period drama. Bringing
in the foreground bushes at
the left and right edge was
a classy touch by Jordan.

3 ‘Morning Glory’ by Digital Camera says: Well, you wouldn’t
Ginny Straton
tell that this was in your back garden, Ginny.
“I took this photo in my garden a couple of The use of the tall trees in the background
gives this image gravitas – it was wise to
weeks ago. I removed the red colours in the desaturate the red colour, leaving all the
attention on the front and centre flower.
plant behind the Morning Glory and also

cropped the image to give more impact.”

72 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Reader gallery

4 ‘Tower Bridge’ by Katie Everton
“One of the first images I took in London
with my Canon EOS R6. It was a very cold day.
I wasn’t having much luck, but ended up taking
this photo. I quite like the slow shutter effect.”

Digital Camera says: A new camera

can always inspire you to get out and shoot
something new. If you haven’t tried it before,
slower shutter speeds can really bring a totally
different vibe to your street photography. A
cracking shot, well worthy of a page to itself.

READER SHOT
OF THE MONTH

Katie Everton wins a year’s
subscription to Digital
Camera for this image.
Well done, Katie!

Reader gallery

5 ‘Reflections’ by
Mark Dunbaven

“Cogra Moss is a manmade reservoir

near Lamplugh in western Cumbria.

It’s excellent for walking and fishing.”

Digital Camera says: And

photographing, too! An excellent choice
with the wide crop, and retaining all
the reflections the area has to offer.

6 ‘Stone Arch Bridge’
by Al Giencke

“A night-time shot of downtown

Minneapolis looking across Stone

Arch Bridge, a well-known landmark.”

Digital Camera says: This is a

well-balanced night shot, with the
brighter streetlights leading you
into the frame towards the city
heights in the background.

7 ‘Gary Enjoying
His Ball’ by

Paul Mitchell

“Gary the Weimaraner enjoys

chasing his ball on a trip to the

park. Shot with a Nikon D850

and a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.”

Digital Camera says:

The decisive moment is
such a fundamental part
of photography and you’ve
really nailed it here, Paul.

DIGITAL CAMERA 75

Reader gallery

SEND US
YOUR IMAGES!

Want to feature our gallery? Please email a
high-res image (at least 2.5MB) marked ‘Reader
Images’, and including a title and brief description,

to: [email protected]

8 ‘Mujer’ by Ben Wootton
“This photo was taken in Bilbao, Spain,
at the perfect time on the perfect day. The
winter sun was low, and ensured that the light
spread right across the photo.”

Digital Camera says: This is a classic

street scene, Ben. You’ve got light and
dark, plus strong lines and a member of the
public going about their day-to-day life – all
encompassed in one fabulous capture.

Reader gallery

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 77

TOP PHOTOGRAPHER

Tiago Schön-Adão, United States

We’ve joined up with online photo game GuruShots to
ȵȸƺɀƺȇɎ‫ژ‬Ɏǝƺ‫ژ‬ɯǣȇȇǣȇǕ ǣȅƏǕƺɀ ǔȸȒȅ ǣɎɀ ÁƺǼǼ ³ɎȒȸɵ ƬȒȇɎƺɀɎِ
xȒȸƺ‫ژ‬ɎǝƏȇ‫ژבהژ‬ȅǣǼǼǣȒȇ ɮȒɎƺɀ ɯƺȸƺ ƬƏɀɎ ɎȒ ǔǣȇƳ Ȓɖȸ ɯǣȇȇƺȸɀٍ

uruShots is billed as the world’s leading

G photo game. It’s an online platform conceived Enter GuruShots yourself!
to give global exposure to people who love
taking photographs. GuruShots members Sign up to GuruShots for free, upload your
best photos and start entering competitions
start out as Newbies and compete with today! Vote for your favourite entries from
other photographers and receive helpful
other photographers to win challenges, feedback from the GuruShots community.
You’ll improve your photos and have fun!
increase their ranking on the site and eventually progress www.gurushots.com

to coveted ‘Guru’ status. Challenges are voted on by Gurus

and the wider GuruShots community, and there’s a fresh

challenge – for example, ‘Tell A Story’ – every day.

Winners receive prizes from GuruShots’ partners,

including Adobe Stock, Lowepro and Kodak.

Find out more at www.gurushots.com

78 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

TOP PHOTO Advertising feature

Janelle Douglas, New Zealand Honourable mentions

GURU’S TOP PICK Pavlína
Rolincová,
Afeed Muhammed, India
Czechia
Ron Conigliaro,
United States Teodora
Sarbinska,
www.digitalcameraworld.com
Bulgaria

Patricia
Santana,
Portugal

Ilan Horn,
Israel

Vidmantas
Verbickas,
Republic of
Lithuania

Judit Mikol,
Australia

Magic Maggie,
Portugal

APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 79

Advertising feature

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Gary Luk, US; John Jesney, UK: Mi Razon de Ser, Mexico: mmmmrvica, Serbia: Daniel Kazor, Canada

More honourable mentions Merja
Ekebom,
Finland

Mohan Payyoli, United Arab Emirates Maria Sifaki, Greece

Gibarjan GF, United Kingdom Fabiano Santos, United States Grazyna Fuchs, Poland Pedro Garcia, United States
www.digitalcameraworld.com
80 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022

DISCOVER THE UNIVERSE

www.spaceanswers.com

Available
from all good
newsagents and
supermarkets

New issue on sale now!

EXPLORATION SOLAR SYSTEM DEEP SPACE FUTURE TECH ASTRONOMY

Print and digital subscriptions available at

www.magazinesdirect.com/know3for3

/AllAboutSpaceMagazine @spaceanswers [email protected]

Martin Dust

Sthheotmoof nth ABOVE: Martin Dust says: “These
Martin Dust shows ‘Brutal Yorkshire’ – a world buildings are our homes, our
of concrete edges and buildings with bite backdrops. They punctuate our
lives. Loved or hated, they exist,
orn in Sheffield and working and beyond your prejudice, we find
their beauty and function beyond
B as a graphic designer, Dust demographic fictions of the future.”
has turned his hand to
photography. Whether he’s and trying to translate that into an
image that no longer needs words.
uncovering lost rehearsal
“There is beauty in everyday objects,
rooms, remembering but finding and capturing that can be
difficult. For locations like this, that
ex-record shops, or capturing the process can involve many fruitless
visits and missed shots. This photo
poetry of concrete and glass, his took patience to find. It speaks of the
architect’s first rough drawings, and
photographic world is one in which the high-contrast finish is intended
to demonstrate the dynamics and
sullen-faced car parks can conceal intent of the final structure.”

fragmented recollections, and become Dust has taken his camera on a
journey through this most myth-laden
the accidental backdrops to our lives. of counties, and returned with images
capturing a future that’s already deep
“Park Hill is one of my favourite in the past. From subways to stairwells,
bus stations to bridges, this is stark
places, and it has a long history in my and staggering architecture from the
Yorkshire they don’t put on the ads.
hometown of Sheffield,” says Martin.
Brutal Yorkshire, featuring 140+
“It has struggled to survive, but now all-new photographs, is available
to buy now, RRP £25, from
Martin Dust stands bold and proud on the hill, www.martindust.
photography/
Photographer looking down on all who care to visit. store/p/
brutalyorkshire.
Title: Park Hill For many, the style and execution of Includes a free
Location: Yorkshire, UK 8 x 8in print.
Date: 2021 architectural photography is little more

www.martindust.photography than an estate agent’s sales pitch. For

me, it’s about breaking the rules,

finding the dynamics of the building

82 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022

FILE & VIDEO

www.digital
cameraworld
.com/dc253

BECOME A
PHOTOSHOP

MASTER!

Fundamentals: Fix

74 your landscapes
Discover the essential

processes that make

any landscape photo 86

84 look great

This month… Get the Look: 88
Process portraits
Tool School: Enhance videos Enhance portrait and
Put your photo-editing skills to work on moving images fashion images with
to maintain a natural-looking and striking aesthetic simple and effective
techniques

VIDEO TRAINING OMFINVIU6D1TEEOS PHOTOSHOP
The issue 253 download includes Enhance your videos
video lessons building on our tutorials,
plus bonus videos with extra tips!
www.digitalcameraworld.com/dc253

FILE & VIDEO LIGHTROOM PHOTOSHOP AFFINITY PHOTO
Fix your landscapes Process flawless portraits Create portraits with impact
www.digital
cameraworld
.com/dc253

Download 61 minutes of video PHOTOSHOP PHOTOSHOP PHOTOSHOP
training for Photoshop, Lightroom Create a portrait scatter effect Add stars to a night-time sky Enhance and control colours

and Affinity Photo.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 83

TOOL SCHOOL

Before

After

Enhance videos in Photoshop

Put your photo-editing skills to work on
ȅȒɮǣȇǕ ǣȅƏǕƺɀ ɎȒ‫ژ‬ȅƏǣȇɎƏǣȇ Ə‫ژ‬ȇƏɎɖȸƏǼ‫ ٮ‬
looking and striking aesthetic

FILE & VIDEO ven though Photoshop has offered Keyframe
animations
www.digital E video tools for several years, many
cameraworld users still don’t know they exist Video clips and other elements like
.com/dc253 – and those who do may assume text or still images can be animated
that Photoshop is unsuited to editing using keyframes. First, click the
James videos. But not only is it possible to edit video in arrow icon by the clip name to
Paterson Photoshop, it can also be a sensible way for expand the options. Transform lets
photographers to work with moving images. you alter the size and position of
With over a decade as a The great thing about using Photoshop for video elements. We’ve used it to make our
writer and photographer is that you can take lots of the things you already clip slightly larger over the course of
behind him, James knows know about editing photos, and apply them to a few seconds, which makes it look
exactly which Photoshop video in a similar way. Your can use brilliant tools like a slow zoom. (It’s best to use 4K
and Lightroom tools and like the Camera Raw filter to tone your footage, footage for this, then set the image
techniques matter most. and even add layer effects like Blending Modes size to 1,920 x 1,080 so that you
to combine videos in creative ways. have the resolution to work with.)
All that being said, just as many of us are Simply click the stopwatch icon
photographers who dabble in a bit of video to set a keyframe, move the
shooting, Photoshop is first and foremost about playhead and resize the clip
editing photos. The video tools can’t match those to set a second keyframe.
found in a dedicated editor like Premiere Pro,
and we certainly wouldn’t suggest you attempt www.digitalcameraworld.com
importing and editing together hours of video
footage. But for short videos that need toning
or effects, Photoshop is more than up to the job.
Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started…

84 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022

TOOL SCHOOL

1 The Timeline 6 Playback and 3 Toning with
The Timeline Panel rendering Adjustment
(Window > Timeline) is
much like timelines in The playhead lets you Layers
other video editors. Clips appear
as coloured blocks that can be choose a point in your Adjustment Layers
lined up to form a sequence.
Trim a clip by dragging the ends video. If you find that playback can be added above videos to
or using the scissors. When you
first open a video clip, a new is slow and choppy, try leaving enhance tones. Adjustment
video group appears in the Layers
Panel. If you drag in another clip, the clip to play a couple of times, Layers make it easy to selectively
it’ll be included in the group and
appear after the first clip. or click the cog to reduce the alter parts of the frame. Here, we

resolution. Once you’ve finished can use the Select Sky command

editing your videos in Photoshop, to isolate the area. When we add

go to File > Export > Render an Adjustment Layer, the active

Video. You can choose a format selection becomes a Layer Mask,

for the video, as well as a preset allowing us to make a selective

for the resolution. change to the sky.

2 Simple editing 5 Blending videos 4 Filters with
You can add transitions Clips that appear on top videos
like fades using the of one another work in
square icon next to a similar way to layers One of the best things
the scissors. Drag transitions to in Photoshop’s Layers Panel, so
either the start or the end of a clip. you can blend them together with about editing videos
Audio clips can also be added, Blending Modes, or use Layer
using the Audio track channel in Masks to make parts of a clip in Photoshop is that you can use
the Timeline. Click the musical transparent and reveal another
note icon to add music or sound. clip on the layer below. First, drag filters on them. First, right-click
You can also right-click on clips the second clip outside the video
in the Timeline to choose from group. Now it will sit on its own the video layer and select Convert
simple preset animations like line in the Timeline. You can
pan and zoom, which can help move it over the clip below, to Smart Object. Next choose
to liven up slideshows. then choose a Blending Mode.
any effect you like from the Filter

menu. We used the Camera Raw

Filter to add a colour effect and

adjust the tones, then we used

the Tilt-Shift filter (Filter > Blur

Gallery > Tilt-Shift) to blur

out the foreground.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 85

FUNDAMENTALS

Before

FILE & VIDEO After

www.digital
cameraworld
.com/dc253

Fix your landscapes
in Lightroom

Discover the essential processes that
ȅƏǸƺ‫ژ‬Əȇɵ ǼƏȇƳɀƬƏȵƺ ȵǝȒɎȒ ǼȒȒǸ ǕȸƺƏɎ

Sean or the beginner photographer, photographing Target the sky
McCormack
F the landscape is a great option. You simply If you want to work on just
Sean McCormack is need to be there and take the shot. You don’t the sky, click the Masking icon
a photographer and need to direct anybody, build a set or set up below the Histogram and
writer, based in Galway. lights: all you need to do is figure out the choose Select Sky. This will
He’s the author of The best time and show up. Sunrise and sunsets are classic give you a perfectly selected
Indispensable Guide subjects to shoot, but even a drive in the surrounding mask for the sky only, allowing
to Lightroom CC. countryside can yield a good crop of photos. you to adjust the exposure
As time passes, you learn to judge the light better and and add a touch of Dehaze.
improve your photography. Even a beginning photographer
can take an amazing shot: it’s the consistency of shooting www.digitalcameraworld.com
amazing shots that comes with experience. From that point,
editing can have a huge impact on your photos. It won’t make
a mediocre shot good, but it can make a good shot better.
Let’s tackle some of the common issues that can happen
when you’re beginning and want to improve your landscapes.
These include aspects like wonky horizons and fixing the
exposure, as well as enhancing the contrast and colour.

86 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022

FUNDAMENTALS

1 Crop the 2 Extend the
photo dynamic range

As the photo has no

Press R, or click on areas clipping initially,

the Crop Tool icon in drag the Blacks slider

the toolbar below the to the left until you

Histogram. In macOS see a colour appear in

hold Cmd, on Windows the left triangle of the

hold Ctrl; then click and Histogram. With the

drag along the horizon. Whites slider, drag it to

Here we’re using the the right until you see

base of the mountains clipping on the right of

as our reference for the Histogram. Move both back slightly until the clipping has

the horizon level. gone. With this photo, it’s Blacks at -30 and Whites at +66.

3 Enhance 4 Boost the
the tones colour

One great editing trick Finally, for colour,

to improve the dynamic use Vibrance and

range of your photo is to Saturation. Vibrance

bring Highlights down tends to increase the

to -100. Next, bring your blueness of a photo, so

Shadows slider to +100. for landscape photos,

This evens out the balance mixing in Saturation

between the tones. This gives a better balance

photo also needs some of colour increase.

work to remove haze, Here it’s 27 for Vibrance

so set Dehaze to 40. and 10 for Saturation.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 87

GET THE LOOK

WATCH THE
VIDEO!

FILE & VIDEO Before

www.digital
cameraworld
.com/dc253

Process portraits

like a professional

Enhance portrait and fashion images
with simple, effective techniques

James Abbott hooting portraits, whether they’re Getty

James is a professional S indoors in a studio or outdoors
photographer who under natural light, always produces
specialises in landscape interesting images, because of the
and portraits. He’s an human element we can all relate
advanced Photoshop to. As always, it’s best to get your images looking
user and has created at good as possible in-camera to reduce the
hundreds of tutorials. amount of editing required later on.
The thing about portraits, though, is that there
can still be a few editing tasks required beyond the
basic processing of your raw files, even with the
best start images that were shot perfectly. We’re
going to cover four useful techniques that maintain
natural-looking portraits and avoid the over-edited
and unrealistic look often seen in advertising
images and lifestyle magazines.
These techniques will be applied progressively,
so each will be kept in place to arrive at the desired
end result. We’ll start by subtly changing the colour
of the background, then remove blemishes, reduce
skin shine and finally brighten the model’s eyes.

88 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

GET THE LOOK

1 Change the
background colour

Go to Select > Colour

Range and click on the

background with the Eyedropper. Use

the plus and minus eyedroppers to add

or subtract from the colour range, and

use Fuzziness to adjust the range.

Click OK; when the selection loads,

press Q to open Quick Mask. Paint

black over unselected areas of the

model or paint white to delete. Press

Q to reload the selection, then create

a Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer

and drag Hue to change the colour.

2 Remove blemishes
Create an empty new layer
by pressing the icon at the
bottom of the Layers Panel.
Click on the Healing Tools icon and
select the Healing Brush Tool. Set the
brush Hardness of the brush to 50%,
and use the left and right square
bracket keys to change size, making
sure the brush is only slightly larger
than each blemish to be removed. Hold
down Alt/Option and click to sample
from close to the blemish, then click
over the blemish or anything else
that needs to be removed.

3 Reduce skin shine
Create an empty new layer
by pressing the icon at the
bottom of the Layers Panel.
Press B to activate the Brush Tool and
set the Hardness of the brush to 0%.
Use the left and right square bracket
keys to change the brush size as
required. Hold down the Alt/Option
key and click close to the shine to
sample the skin colour, then paint
roughly over the shiny areas of skin.
Once you’ve finished, set the layer’s
Blending Mode to Color and set
Opacity to 40%.

4 Brighten the eyes
Press L to activate the
Lasso Tool, then press Caps
Lock for the precise mouse
pointer. Carefully draw around the
edge of the first eye. If you make
a mistake, hold Alt/Option to subtract
or Shift to add to the selection. Hold
Shift and draw around the second
eye, then go to Select > Select And
Mask. Set Smooth to 15 and Feather
to 5.0px before clicking OK. Create
a Levels Adjustment Layer and set
the white point to 215, black to 10
and midtones to 1.20.

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 89

Shootout

Keynsham, Somerset

Shootout

Thrills, spills, mud and glory await during Round 13 of WCCL
at ShamXross – and that’s just for the riders. Are our two
contestants ready to roll with it, asks Niall Hampton

Reader 1 Reader 2

James Clarke Paul Brewer

Camera: Sony A7R IV Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Location: Street Location: Weymouth

Having recently established his own photography business to Paul is a professional photographer based in Dorset, and
improve his work/life balance following a career as a civil servant, although he specialises in shooting weddings, he also shoots a
James specialises in shooting sport and fitness. As passionate variety of other genres, including commercial, architectural and
about photography as he is about sport, James can draw on over interiors, lifestyle and landscapes. Photographing sport is also
two decades of experience in the sporting world, and says that on Paul’s roster, but not having done as much of it as he used
there is no challenge he won’t accept – which is just as well, to, he jumped at the chance to join us at ShamXross to get
because the challenges will be coming thick and fast today… in the thick of it and see if he still had his action chops.
www.justjamesmedia.com paulbrewerphotography.co.uk

Join us and learn new skills! Keep an eye on our Facebook page for Shootout invitations.
www.facebook.com/digitalcameraworld

90 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

What is Cyclo-cross?

Cyclo-cross events take place in
off-road venues – surfaces can
include grass, mud, gravel and sand.
Courses are short (1-3km in length)
and winding, enabling multiple laps
to be completed within a set time
(30-60 minutes, depending on
the age and ability of the riders).
www.britishcycling.org.uk/
getintocyclo-cross/

Shootout

Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II
Exposure 1/100 sec at f/14, ISO 100

Challenge 1 “I faced away from the sun to get blue sky in the
Paul Brewer background,” says Paul. “Getting down low
allowed me to exaggerate the height the riders
Challenge 1 elcome to the ShamXross track were reaching, and having tried a range of
shutter speeds, 1/100 sec worked the best.
Shoot an W in Keynsham, Somerset, for the
action photo penultimate race of the season. “In Lightroom, I added more saturation and
It may be the last weekend in vibrance, adjusted the tones a little to give the
image a little more depth, and made a crop.”
January, but the weather is more
Expert opinion
spring-like: mild and windless, it’s great for the
Well thought out and executed by Paul, the
spectators, but the cloudless skies aren’t going slow shutter speed gives the shot motion
and is fast enough to keep the rider sharp.
to be favourable to our two photographers. As

we are shooting around midday, the sun is high

in the sky and casting very harsh shadows.

Get set for action shots

If you’re new to action photography,
then don’t be afraid to use the semi-
automatic exposure modes. Shoot in
Shutter Priority so that you can make
faff-free adjustments, and bump up
your ISO to allow higher shutter speeds
and shake-free shots. Use a medium
aperture (f/5.6 or more) for more front-
to-back sharpness, and shoot raw files
for maximum latitude when editing.

92 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Camera Sony Alpha 7R IV
Lens Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS
Exposure 1/80 sec at f/5, ISO 640

Challenge 1
James Clarke

ony user James is

S experienced at shooting
sports and fitness
photography, but wasn’t
familiar with the layout of
the ShamXross course, so asked the
organisers to recommend some
promising spots to capture the action
from. Knowing where to stand when
covering events like this is as important
as bringing the right camera kit, but is
something that can only come with
experience and familiarity. So if in
doubt, it always pays to ask.
“I wanted to capture some of the
more advanced riders jumping this
board, but it was more difficult than
I had expected,” explains James.
“Most riders chose to get off their
bikes and carry them over the jump
before remounting, so while I was
always ready for a rider to try jumping
here, it didn’t happen often.
“Eventually, one rider did give it a
go, so I stayed standing up and from
a distance of around 50 metres away
from the boards, shot at a focal
length of around 170mm.”

Expert opinion

In contrast to Paul’s shot, James
decided to shoot into the sun, which
has created a pleasing side/back light.
It’s a crisp shot with the rider frozen
in mid-air and perfectly focused on
a long lens. If only there was a little
more mud flying around…

Don’t forget camera craft

For photographing events like cyclo-cross, you
can’t go wrong with a medium telephoto lens,
like the 70-200mm that James and Paul are
both using here. Back this up with basic camera
craft to make sure that you shoot more hits
than misses – support the lens by holding it
properly, or use a monopod. Attach a lens hood
to stop flare, and make sure that you apply the
reciprocal rule to avoid shake – use a shutter
speed that is at least double the focal length.

www.digitalcameraworld.com

Shootout

Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II
Exposure 1/50 sec at f/16, ISO 100

Challenge 2 Challenge 2 “I used a slow shutter speed of 1/50 sec to lend
Paul Brewer a sense of acceleration as this rider sped away
Capture an from one of the obstacles on the course. The
action photo or the second challenge, we felt image stabilisation on my lens steadied the shot
using panning well and allowed me to get enough of the rider in
F that a dedicated panning round focus. Again, I faced away from the sun so that
would produce some distinctive the colours popped. I’m pleased with this image,
images of the event’s action. but if I was taking it again, I would get down a little
“This was one of the first shots lower to include more of the grass and connect
I took when I arrived, of the seniors and women more with the rider and the environment.”
race,” Paul says. “I wanted to capture the
contrasting colours of the dry grass and the Expert opinion
colourful kit of the rider. The first part of the
winter has been unusually dry, so there wasn’t A difficult day for panning shots given the bright
too much mud flying about, but the colourful sun and little cloud cover. At 1/50th sec, you’ve
cycle kits did look cool under the winter sun. done well to stop the rider being too blurry.

Stand your ground

While anticipation and timing are
crucial to capturing successful action
shots, don’t overlook the importance
of starting off with a good shooting
stance. Holding the lens securely
here, Paul is giving himself a stable
platform to track the action and
shoot from. While in-camera or lens
stabilisation offers reassurance, try
leaving as little as possible to chance.

94 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Shootout

Challenge 2 Camera Sony Alpha 7R IV
James Clarke Lens Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS
Exposure 1/1600 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100
inding suitable places

F around the track from
which to take some
panning shots wasn’t
the only difficulty
James faced for this challenge.
“As the light from the sun was so
harsh, it was really tough to get some
decent shots for this round,” says
James. “I felt I made some good
attempts at the time, but looking at
the results afterwards, there wasn’t
anything straight out of the camera
that I was really pleased with. So I
decided to get creative in Photoshop.
“For this image of a rider framed
using the rule of thirds, I used quite
a high shutter speed of 1/1600 sec.
During the edit, I used the magnetic
lasso tool and a lot of adding and
deleting to create this look. I’ve
managed to keep the subject sharp
while blurring the background along
the path the rider was taking.
“A lot of white marker tape was
strung around the course, which would
have made this editing technique a lot
harder. But in this shot there was only
one piece of tape to have to work
around, which I was able to minimise
with the magnetic lasso tool and
some nifty brush work.”

Expert opinion

James captured a fully sharp image
knowing that he would achieve his
‘panning’ shot in the edit. There’s more
than one way to skin a cat, as they say.

DSLR or mirrorless?

Formerly a DSLR user, James now
shoots on Sony Alpha full-frame
mirrorless bodies. He cites weight
savings as one of the main benefits
of this system – mirrorless cameras
tend to be lighter and more compact
(this isn’t always the case with
mirrorless lenses, though). Being
able to see any on-the-fly exposure
adjustments is another selling point.

www.digitalcameraworld.com

Shootout Camera Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Lens Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 f/2.8L IS II
Challenge 3 Exposure 1/800 sec at f/10, ISO 400

Shoot an
environmental
photograph

Challenge 3
Paul Brewer

pon arrival at the race, it

U looked like there would
be plenty of opportunities
for our ’togs to capture
environmental photos,
but a cyclo-cross event is busy and
fast-paced, and with a decent spectator
turnout both Paul and James had to
work hard to find unobstructed
sight lines to their subjects.
“There were numerous pylons going
through the rear of the course; I wanted
to use at least one of them to give a
sense of scale to the riders as they
weaved through the countryside,” says
Paul. “The structures were set against
the blue winter sky, which allowed me
to capture the contrasting colours of
the grass, sky and clothing of the racers.
“You can see that the rider at the
front has just spotted me – I was
pleased to get some eye contact, as
it adds to the sense of connection.”

Expert opinion

We love the composition here, Paul.
The pylon drags you away from the
riders into the environment, and it was
an unusual part of the race’s course.

Go environmental

By simply incorporating elements
of the surroundings in the frame,
it’s easy to lend an environmental
angle to photographs of action
scenes. Here, the grass in the
foreground can be included to
produce extra visual interest
to the image. Make the most
of this effect by using a wide
aperture to defocus the grass.

96 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com

Camera Sony Alpha 7R IV
Lens Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM OSS
Exposure 1/2000 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100

Challenge 3 created a flurry of sand, which I froze using a
James Clarke shutter speed of 1/2000th sec. To get as close
to eye level with the sand pit as possible, I shot
ames took a slightly different this image at 200mm whilst lying down.
approach, trying to capture the
“I wish I had used a narrower aperture to
J grittiness of the event despite the get more of the subject in focus, though – f/4
dry conditions on the day – we to f/5.6, with a slightly slower shutter speed,
expected it to be much wetter. would have worked better than the f/2.8 I used.”
“Having previously photographed cyclo-cross
events, I knew that mud splats or sand sprays Expert opinion
look cool,” says James. “I took this shot quite
early on in the day, when the sand pit was still Focusing in on the finer details by shooting
quite soft – by turning his wheel in, this rider close offers up a front row seat to the viewer,
putting them right amongst the action.

Get down but not dirty

Full marks to James here for lying
on the ground and really trying to
capture the best angle. Although the
weather was quite forgiving on the
day, we have a feeling that James
would have done the same thing even
if the rain was shedding down. Action
photography is all about getting the
shot, and sometimes you have to do
whatever’s necessary to achieve it.

www.digitalcameraworld.com

Photo Answers Andrew
James
Flummoxed by f-stops? In a muddle over macro?
Andrew is a highly
³ƺȇƳ‫ژ‬ɵȒɖȸ ɎƺƬǝȇǣȷɖƺ ƏȇƳ ƬƏȅƺȸƏ ȷɖƺɀɎǣȒȇɀ experienced writer
ɎȒ‫ژ‬[email protected] and photographer –
if you have a problem,
Jump to it he is here to help.

I am being given www.digitalcameraworld.com

Q access to a small

show jumping event,
but I’ve never shot this type
of subject before. Any tips?

Kelly Purcell

There’s no need to be nervous,

A Kelly: as long as you follow
some basic techniques, you
will get excellent shots. The
first thing to remember is to keep your
shutter speed high – nothing short of
1/800 sec, but faster is better. Ensure
you are using continuous autofocus, too:
your subject is going to be moving, so
you need to maintain focus on it. This
will enable you to track the horse and
rider, ensuring your shots are sharp.
And, of course, set the camera to
its fastest continuous drive mode.
The other important thing to think about
is the elements within your composition,
such as what’s in the background. If you
have free movement around the arena
before the competition starts, walk
about and assess the lighting (and
how it might change). Once the action
starts, watch the movement carefully.
An important consideration is how high
the horses actually jump – give yourself
a little extra room to make sure you’re not
cropping the rider’s head off. Time your
shots for the point the horses are lifting up
or in mid-air, because the form of the horse
will look so much better. Don’t ignore the
downward part, though, as this is where
an occasional shot of horse and rider
parting company can occur. It’s probably
not what the rider wants to see, but it
can look spectacular in a shot!

As with other sports, capturing show Andrew James
jumping is a case of fast shutter speeds
and framing so you don’t crop the subject.

98 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022

Tech Check Firmware

Discover the secret sauce that enables
your camera to function correctly

What is firmware? updates to fix errors in the original Then look at the manufacturer’s Making sure your camera firmware
Firmware is the name given to software, or increasingly to add website for your specific camera is up to date keeps it healthy, and
the software that’s built into functionality after the fact. model and see if there is an update may give you extra functions.
your camera, and it controls the available that has a higher number.
operational functions of your Do I have to update firmware? the new firmware. The manufacturer
camera, including the menus. You don’t have to, and your camera How do I install it? should supply precise instructions
will continue to function – but since The exact method can vary with the download. Before installing,
Why do I need to know about it? some firmware updates are often according to manufacturer; but in always make sure you have a fully
You don’t need to know how in response to potential technical most cases, you need to download charged battery, so the update can
firmware works, but it’s useful issues, it’s best to ensure that the relevant update and load it into take place and complete without
to know that it exists – and your firmware is up to date. a clean (empty) memory card. Put the camera running out of power.
that it can be updated. the card into the camera and install
How do I find out if my firmware
Why would it need to be updated? needs updating?
There may be times when a Look through your menu and find
manufacturer releases firmware what firmware version you have.

Before ǔɎƺȸ ȵȸȒƬƺɀɀǣȇǕ You’re kidding on the exposure and focusing
side of things, then just make
The trick with editing photos of young My two- a few simple changes to
children is to keep them feeling natural composition and a slight
rather than over-processed. Q year-old clean-up where necessary.
Two-year-olds rarely stop
grandson moving, so that’s why you will
has become my need to use the Crop Tool from
photography muse, time to time, and they’ve often
but I don’t think my got dried food marks – or
processing is up to worse still, the dreaded snotty
scratch. I shoot raw nose – that will need a bit of
and use Lightroom, attention with the Spot
so what’s the best Removal Tool in Lightroom.
approach to take?
Avoid the Clone Brush and
Susan Harker use the Heal Brush to make
these changes bit by bit.
You’re not shooting Lightroom will automatically
sample for you, but you may
A commercially, need to override its choices
therefore you sometimes, so make sure
have no pressure you’re zoomed in at 100% and
on either the shooting or the are watching for any slip-ups.
processing side. This means Don’t overdo the work with the
you can come up with your Heal Brush either, so that your
own style. I think when you are shots stay looking natural.
concentrating on capturing Lightening the skin tones
your own child or a grandchild, will help a little bit too on
what you want is as natural occasions – but again, it’s all
a portfolio as possible – about keeping that balance
something that you can turn between the portrait looking
into a yearly photo book to natural and fake.
document their development.
It sounds to me like you Finally, make the most of
should concentrate on keeping the next couple of years: it’s the
things as simple as possible – time when children are the least
get as much right in-camera camera-shy, so you can shoot
plenty to embarrass them with
when they’re teenagers!

www.digitalcameraworld.com APRIL 2022 DIGITAL CAMERA 99

Photo Answers

A long lens always helps for wildlife shots, simple portraits, with the sea behind way it is ordered will be what has attracted
but puffin are often content with your acting as an excellent backdrop. you to it in the first place. As humans, we
presence if you are quiet and still. love order and dislike chaos. What a pattern
One more thing to keep in mind: when does is move the viewer’s eye through and
it’s sunny, it’s very easy to blow out the around the image, taking in the detail.
highlights on the white breast of a puffin,
so make sure your exposure is spot-on, You can fill a frame with pure pattern,
and use negative exposure compensation without a single obvious focal point. For
if you need to keep it under control. example, if you were to shoot a tight image
of a leaf, the structure of the leaf will be
Pattern pointers perfectly satisfying as an image on its own.
But you can also use pattern to direct the
I always get stuck eye to a point within the frame, as I’ve
done in the example image below, with
Q trying to capture the repeated lines of trees, the path
through the middle, and the repetition
patterns that occur of the slender trees at the back.
in nature. What’s a good
plan for framing up this Because pattern is design, there’s a
kind of shot? temptation to think the composition has all
been done for you, but you do still need to
Ray Brookes consider elements such as depth of field,
viewpoint, and whether the image is more
Pattern simply means successful in colour or black and white.
The example image is in black and white
A repetition, and there is a lot of because the inclusion of colour was a
natural or human-influenced distraction from the pattern itself. In
repetition out in the natural monochrome, the pattern in light and
world. To some degree, the pattern itself shade is much simpler, and therefore
will dictate the composition, because the the shot works better.

Puffin plan Patterns in nature are a wonderful visual device to work with. Here, converting to mono
helps bring out the repetition of the trees and draws the viewer’s eye into the frame.
This summer,

Q my mission is to

photograph a puffin.
Will my 100-400mm lens
be long enough?

Bobby Halsall

I can’t promise that it will be

A long enough for every occasion;
but, as a rule, I think you have
plenty of reach with that focal
length range. I have rarely needed to
go much longer than 400mm while
photographing puffins – even when I’ve
wanted a tight portrait. Depending on
the locations you are visiting, you might
find that 400mm is actually too long,
especially if you want to include some
environment within the frame, too.
My example image here, taken in the
Farne Islands, was shot at a focal length
of 300mm. Puffin only come onto land to
breed and raise their young, so they are
relatively tolerant of humans. I find it’s
best to locate an area where they come
and go, then I just sit still, waiting for them.
The one in the image landed, posed for
a while on one rock, then actually hopped
closer to my position. I kept very low so
I was at the bird’s level, and focused on
its eye, managing to get some lovely,

100 D I G I TA L C A M E R A APRIL 2022 www.digitalcameraworld.com