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Welcome back... Having completed our exclusive For Beginners
digital guidebook, we have taught you all you need to master the
basics of your new device, software or hobby.
Yet that’s just the start!
Advancing your skill set is the goal of all users of consumer

technology and our team of long term industry experts will help you
achieve exactly that. Over this extensive series of titles we will be
looking in greater depth at how you make the absolute most from
the latest consumer electronics, software, hobbies and trends!
We will guide you step-by-step through using all the advanced
aspects of the technology that you may have been previously
apprehensive at attempting. Let our expert guide help you build your
understanding of technology and gain the skills to take you from a
confident user to an experienced expert.
Over the page our journey continues, and we will be

with you at every stage to advise, inform and ultimately
inspire you to go further.
Contents
Tips for Better Photos
8 Choose the right camera 14 Whatever the weather
8 Choose the right lens 14 Night photography
8 Buy a tripod 14 Low-light
9 Early bird 15 Photo editing software
9 Visual interest 15 Cold conditions
9 Pick a prime 15 Natural light portrait
10 The holy trinity 16 Leading lines
10 Stop the shakes 16 Group portraits
10 Depth cueing 16 Depth of field
11 Enhance your photos 17 Time of day
11 Are you compensating? 17 Position
11 Don’t fear the histogram 17 Harmony and balance
12 Learn from others 18 Close-up
12 Further afield 18 Hot weather
12 Out of the shadows 18 Black and white
13 Batteries 19 Focal length
13 A sense of perspective 19 Raw mode
13 Maximum exposure 19 Get on their level
Creative Photography
22 Shallow depth of field 56 Dawn photography
24 The need for speed 58 Still life photography
34 The fisheye lens 64 Misty water effect
36 Bokeh panoramas and portraits 66 Assignment: Sonia and Paul’s wedding
46 Wildlife at the zoo 74 Wedding photography tips
48 Landscape photography tips 80 Neutral density grads
82 Assignment: Promo photography
92 Glossary
4 www.bdmpublications.com
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a number of projects
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the absolute best out of
your gear…”
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www.bdmpublications.com 5
TIPS FOR BETTER PHOTOS
TIPS FOR
BETTERPHOTOS
Top tips that can help you take better photos
P
rofessional photographers use some very simple
tricks and rules-of-thumb that have been developed
over many years, including rules of composition
that are inspired by classical art. Combined with technical
skill and a thorough understanding of the principles of
photography that we laid out in the previous section,
these artistic methods produce well-balanced, attractive
photographs that will really stand out.
However the true artistic inspiration that differentiates a
talented photographer from merely a skilled technician must
come from within, and can’t be taught by any guidebook. There
are of course many more secrets and tricks in the field of creative
photography than we have room to cover, but hopefully we can
show you some basic ideas and tips that will form the foundation
of your hobby and inspire you to learn more. n
Tips for better photos
1
Choose the right camera

When you’re looking to buy a new camera
for your photography, make a list of your
requirements and set yourself a budget.
Don’t forget to allow for accessories such as
lenses, a tripod and cleaning kit if you need
them. Don’t fall in to the trap of thinking that
a more expensive camera will make you a
better photographer. You’re much more like-
ly to improve your technique by overcoming
the limitations of cheaper kit than by spend-
ing more money than you need to.
Choose the right lens

If you’re buying a compact system camera
or DSLR, it will probably come with a stan-
dard telephoto lens that is ideal for general
photography and snapshots but there is a
wide variety of special lenses available for
other types of photography. If you like to shoot
landscapes, get a good wide-zoom lens but
avoid super-wide lenses as these will distort
the image. If you want to shoot wildlife, you’ll
need a high quality fast telephoto but this will
be expensive.
Buy a tripod
The quickest way to improve your photography
is to invest in a decent tripod. For the best
combination of strength, rigidity and portability,
the ideal choice is carbon fibre. Carbon fibre
tripods start at around £120 ($175, €165)
and can cost ten times more, so if that’s too
expensive get a good quality aluminium one.
Features to look for include a ratcheted centre
column, portrait-format tilt and all-metal
construction. Avoid ones with plastic heads, as
they are seldom rigid enough to prevent camera
shake on long exposures.
Early bird
Shooting a landscape in bright midday sun is
fine but if you really want your shots to shine,
you’ll need to get up early and catch the light
available just before the sun rises, and as it
climbs above the horizon. The shadows are
long, giving definition to objects and the light
has that special golden ethereal quality. The
same is true at the opposite end of the day,
at sunset. The period of time around sunrise
and sunset is called the golden hour. Simply
switching the time you take photos can have a
dramatic improvement on your shots.
Visual interest
The rule of thirds is a simple guide that
can help the composition of your shots
and make them much more visually
appealing. When framing a shot, you have
to imagine that what you can see through
the viewfinder of your camera is divided into
thirds both vertically and horizontally with
lines, just like a noughts and crosses game
(or tic-tac-toe if you are in the US). Placing
your main subject on an intersection where
these lines meet is a simple and quick way
to improve composition.
Pick a prime
Fast glass is much prized in the world
of portraiture. Fast glass has very large
apertures, letting in more light and offering
faster shutter speeds in low-light conditions.
A good portrait lens that has a maximum
aperture of f/2.8 - f/1.2 is fantastic at creating
the background blur so sought after by
photographers. The quality of defocused light
this blurring produces is referred to as bokeh.
The ability to shoot at f/1.2, for instance,
means you can shoot more natural light
portraits, without the reliance on strobes.
7 8
The holy trinity Stop the shakes

ISO, aperture and shutter speed are the three pillars of Camera shake is the unwanted movement of the camera
exposure. The main idea is that altering one of these taking the shot and of the subject of the shot. Modern
three settings has an impact on exposure and therefore cameras offer image stabilisation and it can work well up
how your image looks. One or both of the other settings to a point but the lower the light, the more the likelihood
will have to be altered to maintain a balanced exposure. is that your shots will be blurry as you need longer shutter
As you develop as a photographer, you will realise that speeds to gather enough light for a balanced exposure. If
once you are in control, you can create images that look you buy one thing to go with your new camera, make it a
more as you want, rather than what the camera thinks is tripod. Use a robust tripod and your images will be rock
right when in full auto mode. steady in all manner of challenging shooting situations.
Depth cueing
A photograph only has two dimensions
and any indication of depth in a
photograph is purely optical. One of the
simplest ways to add depth is to use
leading lines like the curve of sand on a
beach image or railway lines converging
towards the horizon. Another method
is atmospheric perspective where mist
and fog shroud distant objects making
them lighter and with less tonal contrast
compared to darker foreground objects.
10
Enhance your photos

If your camera has the option to let you shoot
Raw images, use it. A Raw image is the key to
much greater post-processing possibilities.
Raw images, as the name suggests, are just
unprocessed raw data straight from the
camera sensor with all the information you
need to bring out a beautiful photograph. The
act of cropping the shot into a more pleasing
aspect ratio can save an image, as can turning
it to black and white. The choices are endless,
even if it’s just contrast, saturation, brightness
and sharpness.
11 12
Are you compensating? Don’t fear the histogram

As good as cameras are, they will often overexpose A histogram is a graphic representation of the tonal
and underexpose your photos in challenging lighting values in your shot and how they are distributed. If the
situations. That’s where exposure compensation comes graph is bunched at the far left, then your shot is very
in. It’s a common setting found on digital cameras and underexposed and you risk the loss of a lot of detail
it lets you override the camera by making the image to shadow areas. If it is sliding off the right hand side,
lighter or darker based on how much positive or negative then it will be overexposed and detail will be lost in the
exposure compensation you dial in. A lot of cameras will highlight areas. A good exposure will have all the major
let you preview the result on your LCD screen and once tones in the middle of the histogram.
you are happy with how it looks, you can take the shot.
13
Learn from others

Even the best pros had to pick up a camera
for the first time. There are any number of
photography forums that you can join and
then get advice from other photographers.
Why not join a local photography club?
It’s a great way to meet fellow like-minded
photographers of varying skill levels. It’s is
also a good way of getting motivated to get
out and take more photos. You’re also more
likely to be able to chat with those who are
well versed in using software to post-process
their images.
14
Further afield
Find a lovely location that you want to
photograph and research the area a little, then
get yourself out there. Plan to arrive before
dawn and get some amazing shots of the
golden hour. Explore the area and experiment
with composition and camera settings. In
fact, just go crazy and enjoy the experience.
That’s the key to photography. It’s there to be
enjoyed. Don’t worry about making mistakes;
keep those shots and review them when you
get home and figure out why they didn’t work,
it’s all part of the process.
15
Out of the shadows

While a bright summer day may seem like
the perfect time to take photos, at midday
every scene will appear flat and featureless
with shadows sitting directly beneath every
object. The perfect weather for outdoor
photography is a bright day with a few
white clouds to help diffuse the light and
take the edge off the shadows. The perfect
time is around sunrise and sunset with long
shadows defining the contours of the land.
16
Batteries
Your digital camera can’t operate without
power, so make sure you fully charge the
battery before taking it out for the day. If
you’re going away for a holiday remember to
take your battery charger and an adaptor for
foreign mains sockets; and maybe consider
investing in a spare battery or external battery
pack in case you can’t charge it for a while.
There are also several devices available that
can charge your battery using solar energy or
from a hand cranked mini-generator.
17
A sense of perspective
An average human, taking a photograph,
is viewing the world from their eye level of
about 5 feet. Simply changing that viewing
angle can radically alter the shot. As a simple
rule of thumb, shoot from low down, shoot
from high up. Getting above or below your
subject alters how you present your subject
and how they fit in the world that’s around
them. You can play with wide angle shots
or telephoto shots. You have an amazing
amount of choice. Anything to break away
from the eye level world that we are used to.
18
Maximum exposure
Consider using longer exposures in your
landscape shots. Photographers often
employ exposures that last seconds or
even tens of seconds, to show clouds
streaking across the sky rather than
looking static and puffy. Scenes shot with
a much longer exposure will turn the water
to a misty, milky fog. It is safe to say that
your tripod is the key to the success of
these shots.
19 20
Whatever the weather Night photography

Remember that the weather is part of the landscape You can capture amazing photos of the stars on a clear
too. While a nice sunny day is perfect for outdoor night by setting your camera on a tripod, setting the
photography, natural weather effects such as mist, clouds aperture to its widest position and using the ‘B’ exposure
and even rain can be used to create an attractive photo setting and a cable release to hold the shutter open for
under the right circumstances. Make the weather part five or six minutes. Make sure you’re well away from any
of your composition. Try capturing mist in early morning light sources such as street lights or passing cars. If you
light, or raindrops hitting puddles or the surface of a lake. point your camera towards the Pole Star (or the Southern
Cloud formations can add interest to the composition of a Cross) you’ll capture the apparent circular motion of the
panoramic landscape shot. stars as the Earth rotates.
21
Low-light
When shooting in low light the most important
thing to remember is that your camera’s
exposure meter will try to brighten everything
up; this can cause problems with image noise
at higher ISO settings. To capture dimly lit
subjects against a dark night-time background,
try reducing your exposure by a couple of stops.
This will also help to reduce the blurring caused
by camera shake and moving subjects during
long exposures.
22
Photo editing software

To get the best out of your photos you’ll need
photo editing software. You can make simple
edits with the Photos app that comes with
Windows or with Photos on a Mac but for
more accurate and detailed work you’ll need
something more capable. The best is Adobe
Photoshop but with a monthly subscription
fee, it may be too expensive for most hobby
users. Fortunately there are plenty of cheaper
options, including Corel PaintShop Pro X9,
Corel AfterShot Pro 3 and Adobe Photoshop
Elements 15.
23
Cold conditions
Cold conditions can cause a few problems
for your digital camera, the main one
being its effect on batteries. You’ll find
that even on a cold morning after a clear
summer night, your battery will only last
around half as long, so keep a spare in a
warm inside pocket and swap them over
when the first runs out. When you take
your camera back indoors, keep it in a
sealed plastic bag until it’s warmed up, to
avoid condensation problems.
24
Natural light portrait

Shoot portraits outdoors to take advantage
of natural light. Position your subject so
that their face is well-lit but don’t believe
the old tip about having the “sun over your
shoulder”. You should avoid having them
face directly into the sun, because this will
cause them to squint. The best option is to
have them stand in bright shade, or near a
white wall or other object that will reflect a
flattering diffused light.
25
Leading lines
There are many rules and guidelines
for photographic composition but one
that applies most often to landscape
photography is the concept of leading lines.
When composing your shot, try to find lines
in the scene, such as roads, rivers, railway
lines or hedges. Frame your shot so that
these lines will lead the viewer’s eye into and
through the scene. They will also help to give
the scene a sense of scale and perspective
and this will also help with your composition.
26
Group portraits
If you’re shooting a group portrait, try to
find a location that lets you position your
subjects at different heights. A set of broad
steps, a low wall, a park bench or even the
trunk of a fallen tree make ideal impromptu
stages, and add interest to what would
otherwise be a fairly dull photo. Position
shorter people at the front of the group
or get those at the front to kneel, so that
everyone can be seen clearly in the shot.
27
Depth of field
Depth of field is the distance between
the nearest and most distant objects in
a scene that are in focus. It is controlled
by a combination of aperture and focal
length and is an important creative tool for
improving your photographs. Use a narrow
depth of field (wide aperture) to isolate
subjects against a blurred background or
use a large depth of field (narrow aperture)
to capture an entire scene in sharp detail.
28
Time of day
When shooting landscape shots, the time
of day is all-important. You can’t control
the position of the sun in the sky, so you’ll
have to wait for it to be in the right position
to provide the best lighting for your scene.
Make a note of sunset and sunrise times and
try to visit the same location several times at
different times of day. The favourite times for
perfect lighting are an hour after sunrise and
an hour before sunset, known as the ‘golden
hour’.
29
Position
Since you can’t move the landscape
around to suit your composition, choosing
the right position to take your shot is
all-important. Study the scene you want
to capture and try to picture how it would
look from higher up, lower down or from a
different angle. Be aware of obstructions
such as power lines and pylons, and try
to choose a location that minimises their
impact. The perfect location may involve a
bit of hiking but it will be worth it.
30
Harmony and balance

There’s more to a good landscape
composition than just a snapshot of some
nice hills. Try to include foreground detail
such as old walls, rock formations or
plants. They will add depth and a sense
of perspective and scale to your picture,
and make for a much more interesting
composition. Try to balance foreground
detail with background detail to create a
harmonious balance to your composition.
CREATIVE PHOTOGRAPHY
CREATIVE
PHOTOGRAPHY
Learn the techniques that the professionals use
N
ow you’re familiar with how your camera works and how
to use its many features, you’re ready to start learning the
creative techniques that professional photographers use
to achieve great results time after time. By learning and using a few
simple techniques you can turn your photographs from well taken
snapshots into works of art of which you can be proud.
Professional photographers use some very simple tricks and
rules-of-thumb that have been developed over many years,
including rules of composition that are inspired by classical art.
Combined with technical skill and a thorough understanding
of the principles of photography that we laid out in the previous
section, these artistic methods produce well balanced, attractive
photographs that will really stand out. However the true artistic
inspiration that differentiates a talented photographer from merely a
skilled technician must come from within, and can’t be taught by any
guidebook, so we hope you will step out and make your mark.
There are of course many more secrets and tricks in the field of
creative photography than we have room to cover in this general
guide to photography, but hopefully we can show you some basic
principles that will form the foundation of your hobby and inspire you
to learn more. If we succeed in that aim, then our job here is done! n
Shallow depth of field
Isolate your subject using narrow depth of field
C
areful control of depth of field by the effect of this narrow plane of focus is
adjusting aperture and focal length to isolate the insect against what could
is one of the most striking creative otherwise be a distracting background of the
techniques available to the photographer, clothing of the person holding the butterfly in
and you don’t need any special equipment their hand.
to do it, just your camera and a zoom lens. One consideration to bear in mind is that
For this butterfly image, the photographer when working with very shallow depth of field,
has used a 100mm, fast macro lens with a precise focusing is essential. The slightest
large maximum aperture of f2.8. This has movement and your subject will shift out of
resulted in a narrow depth of field but by focus, so a good tripod is recommended to
carefully focusing on the creature’s body eliminate those shot-spoiling effects. n
“Large focal length lenses will demand

higher shutter speeds and a good tripod.”
The Canon EF 100mm

f/2.8 L series macro
lens. Perfect for
macro shots at 100%
magnification, with the
added bonus of image
stabilisation for more
opportunities to shoot
handheld. You can
shoot as close as 30cm
and the f/2.8 aperture
enables you to create
beautiful background
blur in your shots.
SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD
If the background of your photo is distracting,

you can blur it out by using a wider aperture to
create a narrow depth of field.
The need for speed
Taking high speed photography to the next level
H
igh speed photography is the art of motion sequence. In this instance, it doesn’t
capturing any rapidly occurring event. refer to the camera settings delivering an
High speed photography can be slightly extremely high shutter speed, or many frames
misleading as a description for the technique per second video recording to capture the
of capturing object movement or events, that action. In fact, the shutter speeds involved are
occur quickly and are over in a very short time actually quite slow with the technique that will
period. The assumption for anyone new to be used. Certainly nowhere near fast enough
the technique is that the event is frozen by a to freeze the motion of the subjects involved.
very fast shutter speed. In many aspects of You are going to be shooting high speed images
photography, that is certainly true. Sports that benefit from a particular property of
events, for instance, rely on fast shutter speeds flashguns. If a flash is fired in a darkened room,
to capture a moment in time. There is also the the room is lit only for the duration of the flash,
technique of actually filming an event with a regardless of the shutter speed that is set on
video camera capable of shooting thousands of your camera. This is the technique you’ll use to
frames per second to be played back as a slow capture a high speed event.
L R
1/16 power 1/16 power
THE NEED FOR SPEED
L R
“If a flash is fired in a

darkened room, the
room is lit only for the
duration of the flash,
regardless of the
shutter speed that is
set on your camera.”
The Canon 1DSMK3 is quite an
old camera now in technology
terms but it was once the top of
the range 1 Series professional
model. A good second hand
model can go for as little £800.
The Canon 600 EX-RT Speedlite. When A good macro lens like the EF100mm hits another liquid surface, it explodes and
used at 1/16 power emits a pulse of f/2.8 for full-frame cameras can separates into a ‘crown’ of smaller droplets,
light that lasts for 1/6500 of a second. resolve images at a scale of 1:1. This
whilst a central column rebounds back up,
This pulse acts as our ‘shutter speed’ means that an example object 35mm
and makes it possible to shoot at very wide appears to fill the frame of a before flattening out. This all happens in a split-
high speeds. 35mm wide full-frame sensor. second and the challenge is to try and capture
this extremely fleeting moment.
Light pulse Gearing up

When a flashgun is triggered, it emits a pulse of We are going to be using an old Canon 1DSMK3,
light that is based on the power settings that are a 21MP camera that is still a great bit of kit, and
dialled in to it. What people may not realise is that can be picked up as a second hand bargain
the pulse of light is always emitted at the same if you fancy getting your hands on one of
brightness. It is actually the duration of that pulse Canon’s original 1 Series professional camera
that defines how bright the output will be. As an bodies. Our subject water droplet is going to
example, on a Canon 600EX-RT Speedlite, the be relatively small, so we’re using an EF100mm
flash duration at full power is about 1/250 of a f/2.8 macro lens. This means we can get in and
second. At lower power such as 1/16, the flash focus very close and fill as much of the frame
duration is about 1/6500 of a second. Different with the droplet as possible. Our light source is
flashes have different durations but since we will provided by two Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites
be using the 600EX, 1/16 power looks like a good that will be controlled by a Canon ST-E3-RT
starting point. wireless trigger connected to the camera’s hot
shoe attachment.
Camera settings Obviously, you can use a wired solution if you
The camera settings themselves don’t have to prefer or purchase some cheap triggers from
be that special. The main requirement is that if Amazon for less than £20. The less wires you
you are shooting in a lit room, the settings you have to worry about, the better.
use should be able to eliminate any ambient light
in the shot. If you take a test shot without any The problem
flashes, the image should come out totally black. You might wonder how you actually time the
We will cover this in more detail as we progress. water droplet to the triggering of the camera
and flash. Once you are set up, you can connect
What to shoot? up a cable release to your camera and ‘trust
You are going to capture a classic image that is to luck’. You can drip water into a glass, tray or
seen everywhere. The humble water droplet. It is other receptacle, using something like a syringe
one of those images that encapsulates the idea or pipet and try to capture the critical moment
of high speed photography. As a drop of water of touchdown. The odds are not in your favour.
THE NEED FOR SPEED
The classic water drop image. Trying to

L R capture the precise moment manually
is tricky at best. If you introduce a
second droplet colliding with the first,
it becomes pretty much impossible but
1/16 power 1/16 power there is an answer to the problem.
The flashes were covered with coloured gel to add a little

colour to the proceedings.
Unless the source of your drops is consistent and doesn’t

move, you’re going to have to deal with the drops going in
and out of focus depending on where they land relative to the
focus point you’ve set on your camera. Persistence can pay
off though. If you shoot enough frames, you might get lucky.
Something like that is also going to be a two person operation
to give you a fighting chance of capturing something useful.
The problem would become even more apparent if you tried
to capture the release of a second droplet moments after the
first and photograph the resulting collision of the two drops.
The Pluto remote trigger kit is a very cost- The Pluto droplet valve can
effective solution to get you started in the be purchased separately and
world of high speed photography. It comes is the key to accurate water
with the Bluetooth trigger, a laser pointer droplet photography.
which is used as another triggering device
and the various cables to connect it all up.
The answer
There is a solution to the problem that can 1 2
eliminate the random variations mentioned
above and deliver consistent results. You can
actually automate the process using some clever
electronics and an app for your phone. It centres
around a Bluetooth trigger that controls both your
camera and a small water container paired to a
battery operated valve that can be programmed
to open and shut at specific intervals, allowing
a set amount of liquid to be released. By using
the supplied app, you can pair your phone to
the trigger via Bluetooth and command it to
release some water and then fire your camera
a set amount of time later. Once you enter the
appropriate timing values, you can release a water
drop and the camera and flashes will fire just as
it lands. Prices for this kind of equipment, known
as ‘drop kits’ can vary from around £200 to more
than £500 for more advanced equipment, but we
are using a basic set up that cost less than £120.
The kit comes with the wireless controller, the
droplet valve, a laser pointer which can be used as
a trigger when its beam is broken and the various
cables to connect everything up.
Setting up 3
So, we needed to set up a little studio to capture
our droplets. This was an ideal tabletop situation.
We placed a receptacle on the table that we could
fill with water or other liquid. The camera and
macro lens was placed on a sturdy tripod and set
1. This shot shows the basic set up of camera, lens,
up next to the tray of water. The Canon ST-E3-RT
droplet valve and Bluetooth controller. A much better
flash controller was attached to the camera hot and more consistent method than trusting to luck with a
shoe and both flashes were set at 1/16 power and more hands on approach.
placed either side of the tray facing backwards. A
2. Manually setting the drops going and placing a ruler
sheet of white card or Perspex was placed behind
at the point of touchdown means you can use the ruler
the tray for the flashes to fire into and reflect back as something to focus on to get your droplets as sharp
onto the water surface in the tray. For a little extra as possible.
colour, the flashes had small pieces of coloured gel
3. The camera uses settings that eliminate any ambient
placed over them, one red and one blue. Next the
light that may be present in the room. The only light in the
droplet valve was filled with water and suspended shot, comes from the flashes when they are fired via the
a few feet above the tray on a light stand. Next, Bluetooth trigger.
THE NEED FOR SPEED
the Bluetooth trigger needed to be connected

up. It has two ports that allow you to connect
the Bluetooth trigger to your camera via the
cable release port and also to the droplet valve.
When everything is turned on and paired up, the
Bluetooth trigger is controlled by your phone
using the supplied app.
Setting up the camera

As mentioned earlier, the success of capturing
the droplets is based on the flash duration
of your light sources. No other ambient light
should be present in the scene. To that end,
the camera was set manually to an aperture
of f/16, a shutter speed of 1/160 and ISO 200.
It was also set to shoot in Raw format for best
image quality. A test shot without any flashes on
showed that it was recording the scene as totally
black. The droplet valve and the Bluetooth
trigger were both turned on and the app was
paired to the trigger. The app was set to ‘Droplet’
control mode. The next task was to make sure
the lens was switched out of autofocus mode
into manual focus. The droplet valve was
manually triggered to drip and where the drops
splashed down in the tray, a ruler was placed at
that point that enabled the focus to be set at the
precise point the droplets were landing. Even at
f/16, the depth of field was still quite shallow with
the 100mm macro lens, so it’s worth spending
a bit of time getting the point of focus right. With Timing is everything
the camera now prefocussed at the right spot, it The droplet control app has a simple enough
was time to start. interface. All the values are measured in
milliseconds (ms), which is 1/1000 of a second. It
runs as follows:
Drop 1 Size controls the release of the droplet. A

larger ms value simply means the valve is open for
longer, allowing more water to be released.
Flash Delay controls the amount of time that has

to elapse once Drop 1 has been released, before
the Bluetooth trigger commands the camera and
The Bluetooth trigger receives the timing
commands from your phone app and because it is flashes to fire.
linked to the droplet valve and the camera by cables,
both of them know exactly when to activate to get the Drop 2 Size gives you the option to release
shot you are after. a second droplet once the first one has been
released. Again, the value is measured in ms which
denotes how long the valve is open and how much
water can be released.
Drop 2 Delay is the value that tells the valve how

long to wait after the release of the first droplet,
before the second droplet can be sent on its way.
How it works
1 2
The app is activated and the It falls into the liquid below and creates a small splash that
first droplet is released and rebounds upwards in the classic water droplet shape. As
begins to fall towards the bowl this is happening the app tells the valve to open again and
of liquid below. release a second droplet that falls towards the first.
Drop 2
Drop 1
Drop 1
THE NEED FOR SPEED
3 4
With the correct timing, the Then, after a predetermined time set
rebounding first droplet and the by the app, the camera and flash fire,
descending second droplet meet capturing the moment as the droplets
in mid-air. meet and create a splash.
Drop 2
Drop 1
For the moment, we left the values for Drop 2 told us that the camera needed to fire sooner. When drops collide
Size and Drop 2 Delay at zero. This meant they The Flash Delay was set to 150ms and we tried With Drop 1 now sorted out, it was time to add the
would not activate. Our first priority was to get again. This time it did indeed capture the droplet second droplet to the mix. The trick here is to time
the timing of the first droplet right. Drop 1 was but it was suspended in mid-air and hadn’t the release of Drop 2 so that it collides with the
set as 5ms and an arbitrary value of 300ms was splashed down yet. rebounding Drop 1. Drop 2 size was set to 15ms
entered for Flash Delay since we weren’t yet and then we had to decide on how much time had
able to tell how long it would take the drop to fall Fine tuning to pass before it was released. A Drop 2 Delay
from the valve and hit the tray of water. The app We now knew that the Flash Delay needed value of 100ms showed the second drop entering
was triggered by pressing the play button that to be set somewhere between 300ms and the top of frame. Now we knew the Drop 2 Delay
sent the instructions to the Bluetooth trigger. 150ms. After tweaking the values upwards, we needed to be shorter. It was set at 80ms and a
The valve was commanded to open for 5ms, finally hit on the set of timings that gave us a shot was taken. There it was! We had been lucky
releasing a set amount of liquid, and then close. perfect water drop splashdown with the lovely to arrive at the Drop 2 Delay value quite quickly
300ms later, the Bluetooth trigger commanded rebounding droplet. Because everything is and we had the collision of both Drop 1 and Drop
the camera to take the shot. Reviewing the photo controlled electronically, this shot was now quite 2 captured on camera. We found we could affect
showed that the water had been disturbed by the repeatable. It also gave us the chance to check the nature of the drop collisions by very slightly
drop but the action had already taken place. This focus and flash power settings. altering drop sizes and drop delays by 1 or 2ms.
Adding a second droplet creates some amazing

collision effects. The key is to getting the timings
correct on the Bluetooth trigger. It can take a little
tweaking but it’s worth it when you see the first
collision captured by your camera.
L R
THE NEED FOR SPEED
Other liquids and subjects

We also tried adding food colouring to the
water in the droplet valve and instead of water
in the tray, we tried a shallow dinner plate
with milk in it. The milk is a little denser than
water and the droplets behaved in a different
manner, but we still got some surreal shots.
As a parting idea, we also tried droplets hitting
other objects such as fruit and flowers. It was
then a case of sifting through the shots on
the computer and picking out some of the
interesting images. Although we had used
blue and red lighting, we were also able to
use Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) to change
the colours of some of the shots for variety.
For our first venture into drop kit high speed
photography we were really happy with the
results and it is certainly worth the relatively
small outlay if you are interested in taking the
plunge into high speed photography. n
Various objects were used with the droplet valve

including apples, strawberries and leaves but the best
droplet effects are achieved when dripping the liquid into
a small body of liquid so you get a ‘rebound’ effect as the
droplet bounces skywards for a moment.
“It’s important to choose the right
lens for the job, but top quality DSLR
lenses are very expensive.”
The fisheye lens

The right lens for the job
D
igital SLR systems offer the greatest horizon and makes the structure of the
versatility of any photographic bridge very imposing.
system, and represent the best The kind of lens that can do this is
compromise between quality and portability. called a fisheye. Whereas most lenses
The best CSC systems are still some way are trying hard to eliminate distortion,
behind, but are catching up fast. the fisheye uses it to its advantage to give
There are lenses and other accessories you an unparalleled angle of view that can
available to suit every type of photography, encompass 180°.
both amateur and professional. It is worth being In the case of the example lens shown
aware that top quality DSLR lenses command here, the Canon 8-15mm fisheye can
top prices. actually create a fully circular 360° image
This photographer is using a very specialist at the 8mm end of the zoom range up to a
lens to get this low angle bridge at sunset. The 180° corner to corner image when zoomed
extreme nature of the distortion this lens gives to 15mm. Just be prepared to shell out well
you is apparent in the visible curvature of the over £800 for the privilege. n
The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM

series fisheye lens. You can
choose between a full frame
image or circular fisheye image
by using the zoom. Although it
is a full-frame lens, if you use
it on an APS-C cropped sensor
body, it acts like a 12-24mm wide
angle zoom which is ideal for
landscape photography.
THE FISHEYE LENS
A bridge shot with a difference. Taken with

a 15mm fisheye lens from a low angle, it
provides a great sense of scale.
Bokeh panoramas
and portraits
Achieve both a wide angle view and amazing shallow depth of field
T
he technique of creating an image of being taken with an aperture of f/0.5. This
with very shallow depth of field as well does allow you to recreate optical aesthetics
as a wide angle of view is referred to that could normally only be captured by a large
as a Bokeh Panorama, Bokehrama or the format film camera at its maximum aperture,
Brenizer Method. The latter is taken from using a negative of at least 4x5 inches or even
the photographer Ryan Brenizer who is cited 8x10. The word Bokeh, incidentally, has been
as popularising the method. It is essentially defined as the way a lens renders out of focus
a series of shots taken with a lens 50mm or points of light; and there is a certain quality
longer at its maximum aperture of around imparted to shallow depth of field shots when
f/1.4. They are taken in such a way as to this kind of Bokeh is present. Stitching multiple
facilitate image stitching later in the post work images together is not a new technique. That
process to create a large, shallow depth of field has been happening for decades but with the
panorama. You could, for instance, create a advent of digital cameras and software that
stitched Bokeh Panorama that has a wide angle can automatically stitch the images for you,
of view similar to a 20mm wide angle lens but it has become a much simpler process, that
with a depth of field that has the appearance people new to the technique can have a go at.
The main picture on this spread was created by stitching together

over 30 single overlapping images shot with a 50mm lens. Each
image covers only a small percentage of the overall scene; when
stitched together though, it creates a panorama equivalent to a wide
angle image but with amazing shallow depth of field.
BOKEH PANORAMAS AND PORTRAITS
“The word Bokeh,

incidentally, has been
defined as the way a
lens renders out of
focus points of light;
and there is a certain
quality imparted to
shallow depth of field
shots when this kind of
Bokeh is present.”
Third party manufacturers also supply lenses. This Sigma
30mm f/1.4 A lens (below) comes in various fit options for
Sony, Pentax, Nikon and Canon.
Lenses such as the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 (above) has an

extremely shallow depth of field and amazing image quality
but isn’t exactly cheap. APS-C lenses like the NIKKOR
35mm f/1.8 G-ED (below) are more pocket friendly.
Although zoom lenses in the 70-200mm f/2.8 (above) can

be successfully used to create the panoramas, it’s prime
lenses like the affordable Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 STM (left)
that can give you the most intense results.
A popular method you are dealing with large numbers of images, you aperture lenses like a 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 would
This technique has been used to great effect will need a decent computer with enough RAM to only give you a minimum aperture of f/5.6 if used
by Ryan Brenizer for his wedding clients. Now, carry out the stitching procedure. it around the 135mm mark. You may be able to
other photographers use the technique for achieve a small amount of shallow depth of field
weddings, portraits, pet photography and even The lens is important but f/1.2 - f/2.8 is what you should try to aim for.
automobile photography. It is also used to shoot In terms of camera gear, the important item is
wide landscape panoramas. At its heart, the idea going to be your lens. Generally, a fast prime Other considerations
of the technique is relatively straightforward. You lens such as a 50mm or 85mm with as large a Once you have the lens you want to use on your
shoot your subject with your medium telephoto maximum aperture as possible is the order of favourite camera, one thing worth noting is
lens, then you begin to shoot everything around the day. The main camera manufacturers all the kind of memory card you use. We would
them in a tight, overlapping sequence of shots. have a range of fast primes that you can choose recommend shooting maximum resolution
Your aim is to gradually work out from your from in both crop sensor format and full-frame. Raw files to maintain the best quality possible,
subject until you have covered as much of the Prices will vary quite a bit between models. The even if you process the shots and end up using
scene as you wish. most suitable and cheapest Canon prime lens for much smaller jpegs of the originals. At the
example, would be something like the full-frame time of shooting you will be capturing a large
Pros and cons EF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens at about £80, rising number of shots in a short period of time to avoid
As we’ve mentioned, creating a panorama using to about £1700 for the EF 85mm f/1.2 L series movement of your subject or items around them
the Brenizer method gives you an amazing prime. Third party manufacturers also have in the shot. A memory card with a fast write
ultra-shallow depth of field that a wider lens could lenses such as the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 which is speed is a good idea to avoid a shot-halting ’log
not capture. It has also been linked with tilt-shift equivalent to a 45mm full-frame lens. Nikon has jam’ as your camera tries to send image data to
photography where a similar effect is achieved the 35mm f/1.8 lens which is roughly equivalent the card faster than the card can actually write.
with a specialist lens. The images are very large to a 50mm full-frame lens. A lens in the region of A good quality, fast memory card is relatively
and high resolution and because the depth of 50mm to 85mm is a good starting choice for this inexpensive these days. If your camera uses
field is so shallow, it has that most sought after kind of photography. Some use longer telephoto Secure Digital (SD) cards, look for one that has a
Bokeh. You are creating a kind of overlapping lenses up in the 135mm range. As you develop the write speed of 60MB/s or greater. These are only
mosaic of images. This does require care. It is technique, you’ll no doubt find what works best for around £15 for a 32GB card and worth having
quite possible to miss a part of the sequence you. That’s not to say a zoom lens wouldn’t do the a couple in your gear bag. If your camera uses
or not overlap them properly. This will create trick. A longer lens like a 70-200mm f/2.8 would Compact Flash cards (CF), then £25 could get
problems at the stitching stage. Then, because work, as would a 100mm f/2.8 macro. Variable you a 16GB card with 120MB/s write speeds.
The prominent grille of this Bentley provides

a great point of focus for an automotive bokeh
panorama. Shot with an 85mm lens at quite
close range, it took 60 shots to make the final
image. The background is very blurred thanks
to the lens’ wide aperture of f/1.2.
Digital storage media like the SanDisk 32GB SD card and

the 16GB Compact Flash card are affordable and have
fast write speeds. This is useful when you are shooting
up to 30-40 images in a short space of time and you don’t
want to be held up whilst the shots are buffered onto a
slow card.
Using pets as your subject can be a bit tricky if they
Keep your subject closer to you, than they are to their
are not prone to sitting still. Bailey the dog was fairly
background. If they are too close to their background, the
compliant for his shots and we could successfully stitch
use of very shallow depth of field will not be so apparent.
the shots without too much issue.
Shot preparation
There are a couple of things to look out for when
deciding to have a go at the Brenizer Method.
Make life easy for yourself to begin with by
choosing a human subject, rather than your
pet. A human subject will be able to sit still long
enough for you to capture your entire sequence some distance between the subject and their
without moving too much and possibly ruining background to highlight the fact you are using Bear in mind that in very bright conditions, the very
the shot. Then you’ll need to consider your such shallow depth of field. Also be aware of wide apertures that are so useful on overcast days, can
present problems of maxing out your shutter speed.
location. If you choose a location that has very shooting in a location where there is a lot of
It was only because the Canon 5DMK3 we were using
little detail in the background, you may find that movement present in the scene. If it’s a windy had an ISO 50 option that were able to keep the shutter
once reduced to a shallow depth of field blur, the day for instance and the trees are swaying a lot, speeds just below the maximum of 1/8000 of a second.
shot may look empty and the lack of detail will then you may find this creates problems when
only serve to confuse the software you use to stitching the shots together later.
stitch the shots together. For most cameras, the maximum shutter speed
Be aware is around 1/4000 of a second. If you find you
Location, location One other factor that can be overlooked, is when are receiving warnings from your camera that
Locations that have foreground and background you are shooting out in bright sunlit conditions; this speed is being exceeded, you may want to
interest, can be the most effective places to you may find that the very wide aperture you’re consider moving to a more shaded area to get
site your subject. Bear in mind though, that using is going to give you very fast shutter those shutter speeds down into manageable
you’ll need your subject closer to you, than to speeds. Even if your camera has an ISO 50 areas. Just be mindful of dropping the shutter
their background. If they backed up against option, you may find that you’re bumping up speeds too low and that camera shake becomes
a wall, then the effect won’t work. You need against your camera’s maximum shutter speed. an issue.
Camera settings
For our attempts, we were using a Canon
5DMK3 with an 85mm f/1.2 lens and a 50mm
f/1.4 lens. Our memory card was a trusty
16GB, 60MB/s SanDisk Extreme CF card. We
were capturing the sequence in Raw format
so that it was possible to batch edit things
like white balance across all the shots later.
Shooting in full manual mode is the best way
to do it. Firstly, dial in the widest aperture
your lens is capable of. You can then adjust
your shutter speed and ISO accordingly to
give you a balanced exposure for the scene.
Then you can manually focus on your subject,
it is important that the focus does not shift
once you start the capture sequence. Finally,
if using a zoom lens, once you have your
composition, don’t alter the zoom. You want
to keep as much consistency between shots
as possible. If you are using a fixed focal length
prime, then there’s no need to worry.
Good composition
As mentioned earlier, your subject needs to
be a lot closer to you than they are to their
background to show off the shallow depth
of field. Now the question is: ‘how close do I
get to the subject?’. That will come down to
personal preference. If you frame them so
just their head and shoulders are visible, you
will have to shoot a lot more images to get the
wide angle of view, than if you framed them
with their entire body visible. To begin with, do
yourself a favour and try the latter first. You
don’t have to shoot a vast number of images.
Just limit yourself to 12 or so to begin with and
confirm that the process works.
The Canon 5DMK3 and an EF 85mm f/1.2 lens shown

here was used to capture these images. We also used the
same camera and a 50mm f/1.4 as well.
Compare a final Bokeh Panorama to the same scene
shot with a wide angle lens at f/4. You can see how much
shallower the depth of field is in the panoramic version.
Even if it was shot with a wide angle lens at f/2.8, it still
couldn’t match the panorama.
This portrait of Roy was shot with the 50mm lens at fairly
close range to the subject. It took over 40 shots to achieve
the coverage to simulate a wide angle lens. The depth of
field was very shallow and did cause a couple of stitching
errors later in the process.
Reproduced with the kind permission

of St Matthias Church, Torquay.
www.st-matthias-church.org
Start
When shooting your sequence, imagine your scene covered by a grid

that you can adhere to as a guide to creating your mosaic of overlapping
shots. Shooting the central character first and then working outwards
methodically, is one way to capture the sequence of images. As you gain
confidence, you’ll find a method that suits you.
Shooting the sequence found worked best for us was to shoot the subject, ball, we got the main shots of him first so if he did
Now we get down to the nitty gritty. After you’ve then shoot vertically above and below them, then move, we had a good reference to his best pose.
answered the question of how close you should work out from the left and right of the subject Then we shot our sequence. We found that we
get to your subject, the next question will be: always making sure the shots were overlapping were taking about 30-40 shots per sequence
‘how do I capture this multi-image sequence?’. by a comfortable margin. A good rule of thumb is because we were overlapping the shots by quite
Opinions do vary on this subject but the main to shoot more than you think you need and bear in a large margin. The bigger the margin, the better
thing is to capture your subject first. Then you mind what the final aspect ratio of your shot will be your chances of getting an accurate stitch. We
could start to work around them in a clock-wise and shoot enough to be able to crop it in the way tried a few locations and then it was time to get
direction capturing more of the scene around that you want. back to the computer to see if it had worked as
them but making sure you are overlapping all your we’d hoped.
shots just like you would do if shooting a traditional Humans and animals
panorama. Some actually start in the top corner We did a couple of human portrait based Process and stitch
of the proposed final image and work across in sequences and then, feeling brave, decided to get We loaded our first sequence of Raw files into
rows. The main thing is to be organised in how you Bailey the dog in on the action for a pet portrait. Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and processed
string the sequence together. What we actually Whilst his attention was focused on his favourite the main subject image first. Then, the entire
One of the sequences of Bailey the

dog is shown going through the
Photomerge process and being
stitched in Photoshop.
batch could be synced so all the images in the to work the best. You browse to where your jpeg Fill option, that tries to calculate what a blank area
sequence had the same adjustments applied as sequence is kept and load them all up. Make sure should be filled with based on what is around it.
the first. Then you can export your shots as a set the Blend Images Together option is checked,
of jpegs. Depending on the number of images then click OK. Photoshop will begin the process of Crop and finish
used, you’ll want to export them at a much stitching your images together. When it is done, it Next, it is just a matter of cropping your image to
reduced resolution so as to keep file sizes down will display the result as a series of masked images your preferred proportions and saving the file as a
once you are working in Photoshop. Exporting a merged together to create the Bokeh Panorama. PSD file or straight out as a jpeg or tiff. People are
sequence where the longest edge of your photos You may notice that a few images have appeared quite fond of cropping the shots to square format
is 1600 pixels, for instance, will keep things below the main image. These are usually images or 4:5 format to match the prints obtained from
manageable later on. Next, it’s time to fire up that weren’t needed or may not have had enough the large format analogue cameras that they are
Photoshop. The merge option in Photoshop can detail in them for Photoshop to work out where emulating. So, you’re up to speed on the method.
be found under File > Automate > Photomerge. they were meant to go. If you do have any gaps in Are you ready to give it a try? We reckon that once
Once again, opinions vary as to the best settings your panorama, you could try to clone detail into you’ve got the technique and the confidence,
to use. Our experience indicates that either the them, find the original jpeg that matches that area you’ll be stitching together Bokeh Panoramas in
Auto Layout or Reposition Layout options seem and place it manually or use the Content Aware no time. n
Wildlife at
the Zoo
You don’t need to travel the world to
find wildlife pictures
W
hilst the top wildlife
photographers jet off to exotic
locations to capture their
photos, for those of us of more modest
means, zoos and wildlife parks can provide
many opportunities to photograph
animals in more controlled and easily
accessible locations. Most wildlife parks
try to ensure that their animals are kept
in surroundings that closely match their
natural environment. Zoos and parks will
usually actively encourage photography,
and often build their enclosures to provide
an unobstructed view of the animals, so by
careful use of a telephoto lens it should be
possible to exclude anything from the shot
that might give away the fact that it was “A wide aperture has
not shot in the wild.
Since like most zoo animals the big cats reduced the depth
are accustomed to visitors, they are quite
happy to pose for their photo, giving the of field so that the
photographer time to compose the shot.
A wide aperture has reduced the depth of background is out of
focus, providing a fast
field so that the background is a little softer,
using a higher ISO setting also helps to
provide a nice fast shutter speed to freeze
any unexpected movements or chance of shutter speed to
camera shake.
A long telephoto zoom lens magnifies the
freeze any unexpected
view, allowing the photographer to crop out
the surroundings and concentrate on the
movements.”
animals themselves. n
A Canon EF 100-400mm
f/4 L image stabilised
lens is a good choice
for wildlife. It is both
versatile and affordable.
WILDLIFE AT THE ZOO
Seeing a Meerkat in the wild is beyond most of us. This is

where one of Canon’s powerful zoom lenses comes into its
own at the zoo, for a close-up view of an adorable animal.
Landscape
photography tips
A guide to getting the most from your landscape photography
F
or many people new to the world of endeavour, landscapes when taken well, are
photography, one of the easiest and able to instil all sorts of emotions in the viewer of
most accessible areas first explored the final shot. Even if it is that most mundane of
is the great outdoors and why not? You emotions summed up in the simplest way: ‘wish
don’t need a studio or masses of expensive you were here’.
equipment. There is plenty of available light, Before you venture out there, why not take
unless you’re feeling adventurous and want to a quick look at our 30 essential landscape
try night photography and beautiful seaside photography tips. Over the following pages we
or countryside scenes are usually not too far have assembled a useful quick reference guide
away by car or a brisk walk. to landscape photography that can take your
Landscape photography is an amazing and photographs to the next level. Go from ‘snap’ to
rewarding experience for both novice and ‘masterpiece’. There is so much that could be
seasoned professional. Whether it’s just a record covered but we will show some of the main tips
of a day trip you’ve made to a new location and tricks to get you on your way to being the next
with the family or a more serious professional Ansel Adams. n
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
“Landscape photography is an amazing

and rewarding experience for both
novice and seasoned professional.”
Landscape photography tips
1
Research your location
Take time to research your possible
shooting destination if you have not been
there before. Just Googling the location
you want to shoot will call up all sorts of
information. Most of it may be useless
to you but you can guarantee that there
will be examples of other photographs
taken there. The experiences of other
photographers in this location will give
you the heads-up as to whether it is an
easy or difficult place to reach. There may
be tips concerning local by-laws and the
best nearby parking spots etc.
2
There’s an app for that
There are apps available that can tell
you where the sun will be at any point on
any given day. These apps can overlay
information on a map of your given
destination, showing where the sun
will rise and fall and where it will track
through the sky on whichever day you
choose. This is great for working out
what time is best for you to shoot in the
location you are researching. Sunseeker
for iOS and Sun Surveyor for Android are
two great examples of these types of app.
3
Be prepared
Make sure you dress for the conditions
you are shooting in. If you are going to be
on rough terrain, then sturdy shoes are
essential. A sprained ankle miles from
anywhere, could be very unpleasant.
Travel light if possible and the purchase of
a good quality rucksack or rough terrain
camera bag will stand you in good stead
for your journey. Make sure someone
knows you are out there and that you
have your phone with you at all times. You
never know.
4
A golden rule
It can’t be stressed enough, if you want
the best from your shots, you need to
switch to Raw shooting mode. Most
modern cameras now allow you to
capture your images in Raw format.
Raw as the name suggests is the
uncompressed and unprocessed image
data straight from the camera’s sensor.
The files are much bigger than their jpeg
counterpart but they give much greater
latitude when it comes to processing your
final image.
5
Filter systems
Think about investing in some filters.
A circular polariser is very useful. It
can boost the contrast in blue skies
and is very useful for reducing or even
eliminating reflections in water; just be
aware that polarisers work best when the
sun is at 90° to you. If you are shooting a
scene where there is a large difference in
the tonal values between your land and a
bright sky, an ND grad will help stop those
skies from burning out.
6
Lock it up
For extra tripod stability, a lot of
photographers hang their camera bags
underneath the head of the tripod to act
as a counterweight, helping to immobilise
the tripod. In addition, even the movement
of your camera’s mirror flipping up and
down with each shot can create vibrations
that affect a shot’s sharpness. If you set
your camera for mirror lock-up, it will flip
the mirror out of the way long before the
shutter opens to take the shot, giving time
for any vibrations to cease.
7
Light fantastic
In photography you may hear reference
to ‘the golden hour’. For gorgeous
landscapes you cannot do better than
to shoot at sunrise and for an hour or so
after that; or at sunset and the hour or so
before it sets. The light has a luminous
warm glow, shadows are long and show
off the contours of the land. The sky
ignites in pink, orange and red hues and
if you catch a sunrise or sunset with an
interesting set of cloud formations, then
all the better.
8
Blue hour
There is also what is referred to as ‘the
blue hour’. This is the twilight period
you experience at either end of the day
when the sun is a fair distance below the
horizon but its influence can be seen in
the sky. It is ideal for cityscapes where
you can capture the city lights against
a deep, inky blue sky. The window of
opportunity is relatively small before
either the sun rises and lights the sky or it
sinks and renders the sky black. It usually
lasts about 45 minutes after the sun has
set or before it rises.
9
Stable conditions
A tripod is a must for landscape work. You
may be working in low light conditions
and handheld shots are not going to
yield sharp images. You might also want
longer exposure times to render water
soft and misty or show clouds moving in
the shot over a number of seconds for
added drama. There are plenty of strong,
lightweight tripods to choose from that
won’t be a chore to carry with you on your
shoot; couple a cable release with it and
you are set.
10
Take control
If you are relatively new to DSLR
photography, you may still be using your
camera’s auto or semi-auto functions
where it will decide on the best settings to
use in either Shutter Priority or Aperture
Priority. As long as it is in auto, it will
keep making decisions for you and you
will end up with shots that don’t match
your expectations. In manual mode you
can decide on how the scene is exposed.
Make the creative decisions; don’t leave it
to your camera.
11
Depth cueing
A photograph only has two dimensions
and any indication of depth in a
photograph is purely optical. One of the
simplest ways to add depth is to use
leading lines like the curve of sand on a
beach image or railway lines converging
towards the horizon. Another method
is atmospheric perspective where mist
and fog shroud distant objects making
them lighter and with less tonal contrast
compared to darker foreground objects.
12
Leave only footprints
While the great outdoors is mostly free
for you to explore and photograph to your
heart’s content, do remember to respect
other people’s property and privacy.
Don’t trespass on private property, don’t
damage fences or crops, always close
farm gates behind you and don’t leave
litter lying about. The rule here is “leave
only footprints, take only photographs”.
You want the natural world to look
beautiful for your photos, so do your bit to
make sure it stays that way.
13
Framing & composition
Composition is a very subjective thing.
What looks good to your eye may look
odd to someone else. If nothing else,
keep the ‘rule of thirds’ as your main
compositional tool. Imagine that your
frame is split by lines into thirds, both
vertically and horizontally. Placing an
object of interest at one of the points
where these lines would intersect means
you are adhering to the rule and this will
help bring balance to your shot. Rules can
be broken though, so it’s up to you.
14
Stay sharp
Photographers will want their scene to
be as sharp as possible from front to
back. This is where depth of field comes
into play. At large apertures such as
f/2.8, the area of sharp focus in front
and behind the point of focus will be
relatively small. Using a much smaller
aperture such as f/11 that ‘zone’ of
sharp focus is much greater. As a rough
guide, focus on a point about one third
of the distance into your scene to give
yourself the best chance of maximising
the depth of field available.
15
Maximum exposure
Consider using longer exposures in your
landscape shots. Photographers often
employ exposures that last seconds or
even tens of seconds, to show clouds
streaking across the sky rather than
looking static and puffy. Scenes shot
with a much longer exposure will turn the
water to a misty, milky fog. It is safe to say
that your tripod is the key to the success
of these shots.
16
Less can be more
Simple compositions are often the best.
Sometimes it can be difficult to train your
eye and your brain to look for the simplest
part of a shot because you might assume you
should be including details and interesting
objects to populate the scene. Now and again,
it’s worth having a go at the principle of the
‘unforeground’. The unforeground refers to
the part of the scene, closest in proximity to
the camera that contains no detail so it is not a
distraction to the viewer. An unusual but often
striking landscape trick.
17
Wet weather
If you’re taking your camera out in
wet weather make sure it’s properly
protected. Keep your camera in a rain
proof bag or case until you need to use
it. If rain gets on the lens, wipe it off with
a soft lens cloth. If your camera does
get wet, take the battery out, dry it
thoroughly using paper towels for the
body and soft cloth for the lens; then
leave it somewhere warm and dry for 24
hours before trying it again.
18
Persistence pays off
The great outdoors is unpredictable to
say the least. The weather has a habit
of doing exactly the opposite of what
you want, when you least want it to.
This can be a big turn off for many new
to photography. Don’t let below par
weather put you off. Sometimes you
have to be brave and get out there and
be prepared to sit and wait. You could
be rewarded by a break in the weather
that reveals some sublime lighting that
makes it all worthwhile.
Dawn photography
Early morning mist makes for a beautiful sunrise
P
hotographers have a phrase, the have to be really committed to your art to go
“golden hour”, which refers to the first above and beyond!
and last hours of light in the day, but As for the technical aspects of the shot, the
particularly the special light one only sees photographer has used a medium wide focal
at dawn. To capture a shot like the one on length of approximately 24mm, and a small
this page requires not only precise control of aperture to render the background soft and
exposure, but also the dedication and patience with very precise focusing to capture the detail
to wake up while it’s still dark and get set up to of the foreground plants. By careful use of
take the photo before the sun rises. Since that metering the photographer has captured the
beautiful morning mist depends on the weather soft colours and diffused light of the very early
conditions, you might have to try several foggy morning, giving the picture an ethereal
mornings in a row to get a shot this good. You and other-worldly look. n
“That beautiful morning

mist depends on the
weather conditions, you
might have to try several
mornings in a row to get a
shot this good.”
DAWN PHOTOGRAPHY
Mastering exposure metering allows you to cope with

almost any lighting conditions, and opens up a whole
world of creative possibilities. A beautiful shot like this is
only possible with very precise metering and exposure.
Still life
photography
Sounds simple, but still life is a
demanding art form
S
till life photography is defined as the
depiction of an inanimate subject. You are
probably familiar with classic paintings of
still life subjects which often tend to be bowls of
fruit, bottles, and flowers. Although some might
frown upon photographing a still life that mimics
an old painting, it actually takes a deft touch
with lighting and a skill in knowing how to set up
and arrange your particular subjects. In fact, it
is said that a still life photographer is ’making’ a
picture, rather than ‘taking’ it. Of course still life
is not limited to bowls of fruit and such, but on a
rainy day, when you’re stuck indoors looking for a
photography project, a good still life can teach you a
lot about light, texture, contrast and composition.
STILL LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY
The two images above represent the key Still life does fall into two categories. The first is in the final shot. The second type is ‘found’ still
difference between ‘found’ still life images
‘created’ still life which, as the title may suggest, life. This is a subject that has been found and its
and ‘created’ still life images. The image of
rusty old tools in a tool chest on the left could is where the final scene has been crafted and arrangement has occurred by natural means or at
easily have been found by the photographer constructed with a deliberate final result in mind. the very least had no input from the photographer
who decided to record it as it was discovered. It may also have been lit by artificial means. in creating the scene that they shot. It is as they
The image on the right is obviously a Daylight or any ambient light was not present found it.
deliberate creation, and has the hallmarks
of being lit in a studio environment.
A simple grey faux leather
fabric creates a great backdrop
for your still life composition.
Creating a still life

For our example, we are going to assume it’s
a bad weather day, and we’ll set something up
indoors and create a still life. Where do you start?
Well, the best idea is to start with something
simple, on a simple background, with simple
lighting. Sounds simple, right? It is good practice
to begin with an object that is non-reflective, if
you’re new to still life photography, you don’t want
the additional headache of dealing with unwanted
reflections if you’re not able to black the room out.
Once you’ve made your executive decision about
the subject you are going to capture, you’ll need
to build a set for it to inhabit. You’ll need a surface
or backdrop to create your environment for the
subject. It can be as simple as the surface of a
wooden table or a piece of fabric, cloth or canvas.
Set the scene

Light backgrounds have a light and pleasant
mood, whereas dark backgrounds are more
dramatic. It is generally held that the background
colour should be of similar tones and colours
as your subject, perhaps just a shade lighter
or darker than the main elements. Although
that is the rule, you can experiment with colour
combinations that suit your taste.
Your subject
With a background set up, it’s time to introduce
your subjects. The beauty of still life work is that
you can shoot literally anything you want. You
can amalgamate several disparate elements or
harmonise the subjects to your heart’s content.
There is a quoted maxim that arranging objects
in odd numbered groups (1, 3 or 5 etc.) is more
harmonious than even numbered groups.
Although our final set up uses
However you do it is up to you. flash lighting, you can use desk
lamps, torches and household
Lighting up time lighting such as this bedside
When you have your background and subjects lamp shown on the left and still
get a great result as seen in the
ready, it’s time to introduce light. This can be
main picture above.
as simple as arranging your scene next to a
window on an overcast day and using the soft
natural light. If that is not an option, then there is
no reason you couldn’t employ a couple of desk
lamps as your primary light sources. Bounce
the light of a nearby wall or piece of white card
to create a much larger softbox effect to reduce
the appearance of harsh shadows due to small
light sources, or place the lamp a distance behind
a white sheet and turn the sheet into your light
source. Some white card can also be used as
reflectors to bounce a little light back into the
scene to reduce the depth of the shadows.
On the left of the setup is the flash used at the 4 o’ clock position with an
orange gel. The flash on the right had a large white sheet hung over it to
increase the apparent size of the light source to create softer shadows.
Getting in the mood our first subject on the grey material which was all, which is a shame. However, the settings we had
In our example, we were going for a moodier a house-warming gift, plus a candle and a piece were fine for our set up so we could get shooting.
look. Something that looks more like an old 17th of jewellery. The subjects were arranged and the
century oil painting. In fact, a Google search for lights were set. The process began to dial in both Shooting the first scene
17th century still life paintings will provide you camera settings and the power required of the We shot a few frames, tweaked the position of
with many inspirational references where you flashes to light the scene. both lights. If you imagine the camera is at the 6
can study how they chose to capture the light in o’clock position, the main flash with the white sheet
their scene. Our example was set up on the dining Settings over it was at the 4 o’clock position and the flash
room table with curtains drawn to subdue the We ended up with one flash at 1/2 power shooting with the orange gel was at the 10 o’clock position,
ambient light, it was the closest we could get to through a large white sheet to mimic a window aimed at the grey leather-effect background. This
having the room blacked out. A local fabrics shop and the second at 1/64 power with an orange gel created some nice shadows across the scene and
had a couple of interesting leather-effect sheets placed over the flash to cast a warm glow across in the petals of the flowers. Try to avoid front-on
you could buy off the roll. We had a meter each of the back of the scene. The camera was set at a lighting as it has a tendency to flatten objects out.
a grey and a brown textured material, ideal for our shutter speed of 1/100th of a second, an aperture Shadows help create a sense of depth and give a
backdrops. of f/8.0 and ISO 100. We would have chosen a more 3D quality to your image. The final thing to do
shutter speed at the camera’s x-sync speed of was light the candle. Our camera’s shutter speed
Lights and camera 1/160th of second, but the camera was an older settings were such that enough of the ambient light
We were working with two wirelessly controlled Canon 5DMK2 and the wireless controller was in the scene could still show up in the shot, so the
flashes as our primary sources of light. The designed for newer Canon cameras such as the brightness of the candle flame was not lost each
camera was set up on tripod to avoid camera 5DMK3 and the 7DMK2. As such, the controller time the flashes fired. A small amount of smoke
shake, and a favourite 24-105mm f/4 lens gave limits how close you can get to the top x-sync from the lit candle also showed up very well in the
us ample compositional and framing scope of speed and will not let you use high-speed sync at shot, adding to the scene.
“The colours of the bottle and the
brown leather complimented
each other well, and the orange
gel from the second flash added
greater warmth to the scene.”
Once the lights and camera settings

were dialled in from the previous set
up, shooting the second scene was
just a case of making sure the lights
were in the right place so as to avoid
showing up on the glass of the bottle
and the tumbler. For any remaining
unwanted reflections, the image was
processed, opened in Photoshop, and
any remaining issues were cloned out
of the image.
Next up spherical ice cubes were placed in the glass, Post processing
Having captured the scene, it was time to set and scotch was poured into the glass from a All that remained was to download the
up the next one. This was a subject close to beaker. The colours of the bottle and the brown shots and pick out the favourite one from
the heart, and liver, of the photographer. We leather complimented each other well, and the the shoot. The processing was fairly
set the brown leather sheet up as we did with orange gel from the second flash added greater straightforward. We added sharpening,
the grey one and placed a bottle of single malt warmth to the scene. The scene was set and we some saturation, and also a dark vignette
scotch that had an interesting bottle design, could shoot. As we mentioned earlier, watch to make the edges of the shot darker to
a glass tumbler, and the cork from the bottle out if using shiny surfaces in your shoot. Be add the mood we were seeking to create
in position. Happy with our lights from the aware of what reflections are appearing in your and we were done. Why not try your hand
first scene, we could use the same settings as objects. We used a little positional sleight of at still life photography? Whether ‘found’
before and just frame the shot as desired. A few hand to make sure most unwanted reflections or ‘created’, still life is a very good exercise
test shots and some light position tweaks, we of the camera and tripod were hidden by the in arrangement, composition, and lighting
could finish preparing the scene. Some cool bottle label. skills, and well worth a go. n
“It’s best to take this sort of photo on a day that’s
bright, but not too sunny, because it’s easy
to burn out highlights on a longer exposure.”
Misty water effect

Fast flowing water looks great with a slow shutter speed
T
his mist-like waterfall effect is very exposure. A calm day is best, because you don’t
popular and looks great when it’s want any trees or plants waving about in the
done right. It looks challenging, but wind and being blurred too.
in fact it’s very easy to set up. All you need Set up your camera using a good solid tripod
is a tripod and any camera with manual on solid ground, and set the shutter speed to
shutter speed control. one second. Trigger the shutter using a cable
The hardest part is finding a stream or release, a remote control or the two-second
river that has a nice photogenic waterfall or timer, so as to avoid any camera shake. You
some rapids. Use your common sense and may need to experiment with different shutter
always exercise caution around fast-moving speeds, depending on how fast the water is
water; it may be deeper than it looks, with moving, but somewhere between half a second
strong currents. and two seconds should produce the effect
It’s best to take this sort of photo on a day you’re looking for.
that’s bright, but not too sunny, because For longer exposures you may have to invest in
it’s easy to burn out highlights on a longer a neutral-density filter to avoid over-exposure. n
The Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8

L II USM series wide angle
zoom lens. Top notch, fast
optics make for a great
landscape lens. It delivers
amazing image quality
throughout its zoom range
and it’s maximum aperture
of f/2.8 allows for hand-held
shooting in low light.
MISTY WATER EFFECT
Careful control of shutter speed can produce some

beautiful effects. This huge waterfall takes on a soft,
almost mystical quality when photographed at a
shutter speed of several seconds. Be sure to use a
tripod though!
Assignment: Sonia
and Paul’s wedding
Some help and advice when photographing a wedding
W
e’ll say right at the outset, wedding Would-be photographers usually spend time
photography is a skill in its own as an apprentice or assistant to an already
right. Photographers spend years established wedding photographer, learning
honing these skills to create a style that is all the basics and technicalities before even
all their own. They can command large fees getting a chance at shooting any part of the
for their work and they are busy! An amateur wedding. So you might imagine that there
photographer who has never shot a wedding is no situation where an amateur should be
before is going to struggle if they are dropped called up to shoot somebody’s big day. Well,
into the middle of a large scale wedding and not exactly. Any photographic enthusiasts
deliver results that are deemed acceptable. who shoot just for fun will probably
It takes time, skill, creativity and confidence understand the situation we are about to
to become a top flight wedding photographer. describe next.
“Any photographic enthusiasts who

shoot just for fun will probably
understand the situation we are about
to describe next.”
ASSIGNMENT: SONIA AND PAUL’S WEDDING
The scenario
So, you’ve just bought a camera and you’ve been
happily snapping away at family gatherings and
social events, posting images of your dog on
Facebook, uploading some pics of a sunrise on
Flickr and word is obviously getting around that
you enjoy your photography. A friend of a friend
is getting married in a few weeks’ time and they
weren’t too worried about spending large sums
of money on a wedding photographer. In fact they
were happy to rely on people taking shots on their
smartphones. Your name has come up during
the conversation though and you can probably
see where this is going. Your friend decides to
volunteer your services. ’Oh, they have a nice
posh camera, perhaps they could come along
and take a few snaps of the wedding for you. It’s
a very low-key thing at the local registry office’.
This is a key moment for anyone relatively new
to photography. Should you do it? Here then is a
situation where you can probably say, ‘yes’. The
couple in question have a very relaxed attitude
to the wedding. It’s low-key and award-winning
photography is not a priority for them. This just
might be a great opportunity to try the ‘wedding
photographer experience’.
The Canon 5D Mk III is
the third iteration of the
popular 5D series. Another
very popular camera for
The reality pros and enthusiasts alike.
This was our primary
Although the above scenario is fictional, we can camera for the day.
relay an actual story that is quite similar to the
situation above. Paul and Sonia were about to
get married at a local registry office in the lovely
setting of Cockington Hall in Devon. They too were
more than happy to let their friends and family
snap away with their phones to record the day. We
were approached, only days before the event, and
asked if it was okay to arrive for the ceremony and
capture those moments. We’ve had experience
of a number of weddings, so we were more than The Canon 5D Mk II. An
old model now but still
happy to say ‘yes’.
very capable. This was
The expectation
one of the cameras used
on the big day.
Discussing the requirements with Paul’s best
man, his brother Mark, it was agreed that apart
from the obvious moments during the ceremony,
and some posed group shots in the gardens
afterwards, taking lots of candid shots would be a
good idea. This was good information as it meant
we could turn up with the appropriate gear to get
those kinds of shots. As the wedding was very
close now, the usual things of meeting the bride
and groom before the big day and discussing a
shot list was not able to happen. The EF70-200mm f/2.8
telephoto lens is a great low light
Gearing up performer. This was an ideal

choice for candid shots that could
Arriving at any location and shooting with just be taken from a distance.
one camera is commercial suicide if you do it
professionally. We had a gear bag containing a
Canon 5D Mk III with an EF24-105mm f/4 lens and
a 5D Mk II with an EF70-200 f/2.8 zoom lens. We
also had two Speedlites and a wireless controller.
There were also spare batteries and extra memory
cards. We arrived in plenty of time to check out the
area as we had not shot there before and also to
chat to the registrar about the sequence of events
during the ceremony and when it was permitted
to shoot with flash. It also meant we could pick the
best vantage point to capture the ceremony and
decide on which camera and lens combo to use to
really capture the moments and get some camera
settings dialled in for both flash photography
and taking shots in ambient light. It’s things like
this that make a small but important difference
to the end results. If you have one camera with
an 18-55mm kit lens, you’re not likely to get great The EX600 RT is one of Canon’s top of the
range Speedlites and has plenty of power
close-up shots whilst keeping a discreet distance,
for pretty much any shooting situation. This
the way you can with a long telephoto lens. was used primarily during the ceremony
in the registry office and its output was
bounced off the ceiling by angling the tiltable
head upwards.
Sonia arrived at Cockington Hall in a Morris
1000. This is one of the shots that looked
great when converted to black and white.
Automatic flash was used in these shots but
with -1 flash exposure compensation dialed
in, to fill in any deeper shadows and to create
a little catch-light in her eyes.
ETTL -1 FEC
The bride command dials or menu screen. There was

Sonia was going to be arriving in a Morris no indication anything was wrong up to this
1000. It’s an iconic British car that debuted point and we could not fathom what the issue
in 1948 and suited the relaxed, classic style was. Here is a classic example of why you
of the wedding. Whilst sitting outside waiting need more than one camera on any shoot.
for the bride, things took a turn. We were It became a case of switching to the other
going to use the 5D Mk II with EF70-200mm camera and lens and modifying the shots that
lens attached to capture the car as it drove were to be taken. Since we needed the other
down the drive. Suddenly, the camera and camera to get portraits of Sonia as she exited
lens would not communicate with each the car, it wasn’t a complete disaster. If any
other and the original settings I had dialled shots desperately needed to be taken with the
in to use indoors through the ceremony telephoto lens, we could simply swap out the
could not be altered by using the camera’s lens on the working camera.
ASSIGNMENT: SONIA AND PAUL’S WEDDING
Key photo opportunities were

provided when the registrar
paused proceedings so shots
could be taken.
The ceremony where we could actually shoot with flash

Discretion is required during the ceremony. Taking were easy to capture as we had already
shots with the flash during key moments of the sorted the settings out before the ceremony
vows is not good form. The registrar was kind began. One key point is not to use direct
enough to be able to pause parts of the ceremony flash. You run the risk of bleaching out faces
where we could get a few shots at the appropriate and causing hard, unflattering shadows.
points. If you have a camera with a silent shutter This can be a problem if you are just using a
option, that is the time to use it. The ‘broken’ 5D camera with its pop-up flash. It is better to
Mk II and the telephoto, was stuck on settings dial up the camera sensitivity and shoot in
and a high enough ISO that could actually be natural light. It’s better to have a noisy but
used indoors without the need for flash, so a few natural looking image, rather than making
candid moments could be captured through the your subjects look like they are caught in the
ceremony from a discreet distance. The moments beam of a warship’s searchlight.
ETTL -0.67 FEC
Wedding photography tips
1
Before the big day
A pre-wedding photoshoot is not a
requirement for these situations but it
may be a great chance to meet with the
bride and groom and spend a little time
with them. It helps you make a connection
with them and discover their kind of
humour and it means that on the day, you
won’t be meeting complete strangers.
That aside, it is definitely a good idea to
meet them a couple of times in advance of
the approaching big day.
2
Make a list
A shot list is going to be an important part
of your preparation. This is particularly
true if you are recording the whole day.
Once you are in the thick of it, it can be
surprising how things can slip your mind.
A schedule of where people will be and at
what time is also important so you can
plan where you’ll need to be at any given
time, to stand a chance of getting all the
required shots.
WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
3
Camera skills
A good, solid technical set of camera skills
is key to being able to shoot a wedding.
You need to know how to adapt to different
lighting situations and when to use flash,
or more importantly, when not to use it.
You’ll need to be completely comfortable
with your camera gear and be able to
switch settings and modes quickly when
the situation requires it.
4
Use a bag
A camera bag is an important bit of kit.
If you need to stay mobile but need a
couple of lens and lighting options, then
a good quality bag that can house all
the kit you need is going to be a big plus.
Manufacturers like Lowepro have a wide
range of styles and sizes. Look for a bag
that can carry two DSLR bodies and a
couple of lenses and a flash. This is a great
little starter set up.
5
Visit the location
It is always very useful to be able to
visit the location where the ceremony
will take place. This will let you gather
important information about what kind
of lighting conditions to expect and the
best places to position yourself during
each sequence of the ceremony. If the
couple are doing a rehearsal, see if you
can go along and shoot some test shots.
It’s all good experience to prepare you
for the actual day.
6
Shoot in Raw
If we had a penny for every time we’ve said
this next bit, we’d have a small mountain
of them. Invest in a few large capacity,
high speed memory cards and make sure
you are shooting in Raw format. The extra
processing ability you gain by using this
format means that you may well be able
to recover a number of shots that you
thought were ruined by bad exposure.
There could be a key shot of the day that
you can rescue in this manner.
7
Start bouncing
If you are using flash at any point, assess
whether you can bounce the flash off a
nearby surface. Bounced light creates
softer shadows than direct light and is
much more flattering to your subjects.
Just be aware that if you bounce the
flash off a coloured wall, then your
subjects will be bathed in a colour
cast created by that coloured surface.
Alternatively, you’ll need to shoot
natural light but use high ISO and large
apertures to get decent shutter speeds
to avoid any camera shake.
8
Get creative
Whenever time allows during the day,
take the opportunity to get a little creative
with your shots. Try different angles and
perspectives. Experiment with different
focal lengths. You could even go abstract.
There will be plenty of normal shots
but add a little extra something with a
few crazy ideas. You never know when
something amazing will come out of it.
9
Two cameras
If you can manage it, use two cameras.
Each with a different lens for a different
shooting situation. As mentioned in the
wedding article, we used two cameras,
one had a 24-105mm f/4 lens for general
and wide shots. The other had a 70-
200mm f/2.8 telephoto which was great
for low light situations and getting candid
shots and just being a discreet distance
from the action.
10
Making mistakes
The beauty of using large capacity
memory cards is that you can shoot all
day if needs be and not have to worry that
you’re filling up the card. This means that
there will probably be a lot of unintentional
or possibly unwanted shots taking up
space on that card. You may be tempted
to start deleting images, but don’t. Keep
everything you shoot. At least give it a
chance until you’ve seen it back on your
computer. If nothing else, you can learn
from these mistakes.
11
Eyes open
Throughout the day, look out for
those unexpected moments where
things may not appear to be going to
plan. Uncooperative bridesmaids or
pageboys messing about during the
ceremony. Laughter and joking around.
Rain and people’s looks to camera can
all be those small defining moments
from the day that offset the formal
nature of the rest of the shots.
12
Relax and enjoy
The key thing to help you through the
day is a relaxed but determined attitude.
Be bold when you need to get the shots
but don’t overstep the mark and annoy
the people who are trying to celebrate
their big day. Laughing and joking with
your subjects goes a long way to putting
them, and you, at ease. Be friendly and
approachable and always try to help out if
things go wrong.
“You can compose your shot, take an
average meter reading and capture
your image knowing that the filter has
balanced the tonal value of the scene.”
Neutral density grads

Shooting into the sun can be an exposure nightmare
but there are methods that can help
Y
ou are out and about happily taking sun itself is part of the shot. You have options,
photographs, with gorgeous sunshine of course. If you had the time you could wait
to brighten the experience. It’s your until the next day when the sun is in a different
last day before venturing off home and you part of the sky but then you wouldn’t have the
happen upon a scene that you want to capture. drama of the sun low to the horizon. You could
The sun is rising and its position is creating a bracket your exposures if you had a tripod. You
dramatic lighting effect. What can you do to could expose the shot so the sun and sky isn’t
get the most from the opportunity? blown out, but then the rest of your shot will be
The problem is that the dynamic range of the very underexposed if not totally in silhouette.
scene before you is very extreme because the Conversely you could exposure your foreground
NEUTRAL DENSITY GRADS
2 3 4 5
3-stop Graduated
correctly and hope the sky doesn’t blow out too The filter is reducing the amount of incoming through the viewfinder[3] and [4]. As it is a
much that you can’t recover any detail when you light where it is darkest and letting more light 3-stop filter, you can compose your shot, take
come to process your shots. in as it fades to clear. There are various filter an average meter reading and capture your
All these methods will work to varying manufacturers who all make specialist holders image knowing that the filter has balanced
degrees but many photographers also try to get able to be mounted to the front of your camera the tonal value of the scene and lets you keep
a balanced exposure first time ‘in camera’. This that can allow you to use up to 3 filters in one detail in the sky and not underexpose your
is where the use of filters can be essential. go [2]. You slot it in and adjust it so the darkest foreground [5]. Many filter types are available
The main image above was shot using a part is at the top and the point it goes clear and it’s definitely worth having a couple in
2-stop graduated Neutral Density filter [1]. is roughly level with the horizon as you look your camera bag. n
The next shoot Although direct flash
is generally an unwise
Our next meeting was a week later on a pleasant approach to lighting your
evening down by the harbour. The plan was to get subjects, as long as you
some various head shots with the harbour as a only use as much power as
required to light your subject
backdrop and end up in one of the local bars for
correctly, you can avoid
more shots with a different backdrop. In keeping those typical white-faced
with the boys wishes, we were essentially going to overexposed portraits.
‘wing it’ and see where it took us. The first thing we
noticed was that the sun was going down in a lovely
orange sunset. We were going to be setting up
lights for one part of the shoot but the sun would
be gone by then so we grabbed a flash, mounted
it on the Canon 5DMK3 which had a 50mm prime
lens already attached and grabbed a few shots of
each of the boys before the sun dipped out of sight.
x1
1/4 power
ASSIGNMENT: PROMO PHOTOGRAPHY
Direct flash options and equipment. You would normally meter we wanted; then the flash was manually set to
Now, normally we would state that direct flash your subject to get them properly exposed but we about 1/4 power to light our subject and because
is not a flattering method to light your subjects. had some strong backlighting from the sun which they had no immediate background on which to
We were shooting in hurry and would have we wanted to keep from overexposing. Our subjects, cast a shadow, the usual harsh shadows you see
dearly wanted to set a light on a light stand, by comparison would be quite underexposed as a in these instances were not present. By keeping
shooting through a brolly for softer light. We result. This meant balancing our flash with ambient the power of the flash under control, you can
were next to a busy main road with a busy light. We dialled in an aperture of f/6.3, shutter avoid the bleached out faces you see in so many
thoroughfare so we were limited with our speed 1/100s and ISO 50 to give us the background direct flash photos.
More head shots leads trailing around the place and limiting This time, since we were not using direct
We moved to a spot overlooking the sea that the placement options for our flashes. The flash, we were actually hoping to create
had a stone wall and steps where we could flashes were positioned roughly 2m either some shadows falling right to left through
get the boys to sit for more posed shots. side of the subject. We were still using the some railings next to where the boys would
This time we could set up a couple of lights, Canon 5DMK3 and the 50mm f/1.4 prime lens. be seated. These actually came out well, the
one of which was gelled to mimic the sun A base exposure of aperture f/4.5, shutter slightly darker underexposed background
which had just set. The use of a wireless speed 1/80 and ISO 100 was enough to slightly provided a nice contrast to the brightly lit
triggering system for the flashes meant underexpose the background, whilst the foreground with our fake sunlight coming
we could stay mobile and not suffer sync flashes at 1/4 power could light the subject. from camera right.
Being able to use additional
lighting in your shots, rather
than just relying on ambient
light, is a truly creative way
to raise your game when
it comes to photography.
Modern flash equipment
is easy to use and gives
impressive results.
x1 x1
1/4 power 1/4 power
The Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens we use is a

magnificent piece of glass. It may be considered
a telephoto lens, but it is very often used to shoot
portraits. The longer focal lengths coupled with that
f/2.8 maximum aperture mean you can achieve some
amazing shallow depth of field portraits if you choose.
The most recent version of this lens now incorporates
an image stabiliser for better sharpness when working
at slower shutter speeds.
Here they come was clear, the boys started

Another shot we were looking to capture was walking across and we could
all four of the guys walking four-abreast over use continuous autofocus,
the harbour footbridge, guitar cases in hand known as AI Servo on Canon
as if they were making their way to a local gig. cameras, to lock focus on them
We set them up one side of the bridge, we were and shoot a number of frames
on the other side with a 70-200mm lens now as they approached. The shape of
attached to the 5DMK3. Aperture was set to the bridge, the shallow focus and the
f/3.5 and ISO boosted to 640 to give shutter compressed perspective from the telephoto lens
speeds around 1/320s to avoid camera shake created a particular look and feel to which the boys
whilst using the longer lens. Once the bridge seemed quite partial.
(Above) Whilst in the bar, we tried a few
shots with the 70-200mm lens. This let us In the bar
keep a discreet distance as we snapped We stopped at a local club, initially to
some candid moments. Even with the grab a drink, but the club had some great
f/2.8 aperture and very high ISO, we were decor, which we thought would be great
struggling with getting high enough shutter
speeds. Using a monopod can help steady
to use in the shots. It’s important that
your camera and is easier to set up and use you seek permission to do things like this,
in more confined spaces. just as a professional courtesy. It was a
Tuesday evening and the club was quiet
and the owner was happy to let us shoot
as long as we didn’t disturb anyone. The
boys sat down for a drink and a chat, so
we switched back to using the 50mm
f/1.4 lens on the 5DMK3. We didn’t use
flash as it would disturb other guests so
we opened the lens up to its maximum
of f/1.4. ISO was boosted to 2500 to
get shutter speeds between 1/60s and
1/160s depending on the lighting which
(Left) The 50mm lens’ max
aperture of f/1.4 meant we didn’t was, shall we say, lurid and constantly
have to push the ISO further than changing. Outside though, they had a
we felt comfortable with. At ISO quiet seating area lit by tungsten bulbs.
2500 we could still get shutter Since we were shooting everything in Raw
speeds up to 1/160s and the
Canon 5DMK3 Raw files were
format, we didn’t worry about changing
still reasonably clean at these white balance settings. We knew we could
higher sensitivities. alter all that during the post process
SHOT USING AMBIENT LIGHT
SHOT USING FLASH
The dilemma of whether to shoot ambient low light shots

at very high ISO or lower the sensitivity and use flash
comes down to personal preference, and how the shots
will finally be used. Although noisy, the ambient shots
were preferred. A little noise removal work in Photoshop
meant they were more than usable for their web pages.
stage. We could grab some more portraits of each light would’ve been overpowered and it would look a and overwhelmed the shots but they still looked
of them using only the available light. So, once little too stark. With a few test shots, we achieved a preferable to using flash. A couple were converted
again as the boys chatted, we shot a collection reasonable balance between the two. to black and white and actually worked better than
of posed and candid shots which the guys could expected. With that, the evening was done. The
choose from later. The parting shot in the bar Last shots shots were processed and uploaded to Dropbox
was a group shot which required the use of the As we walked back to our cars, we crossed the for the guys to download and use. Their online
24-105mm lens at the wide end to get them all in bridge one more time. Night had fallen and the lights presence on Facebook benefited from the shots as
shot in the cramped conditions. The maximum on the bridge had come on, so we decided to grab did their gig guide pages.
aperture of f/4 meant we were using some very one more group shot. Initially we used flash but it
high ISO values of 4000 to get usable shutter was too stark and just didn’t look right. The 50mm More to come
speeds of around 1/100s. We also decided to use f/1.4 lens was opened up to f/2.8. The boys stood We’ve got more work in the pipeline agreed with the
a flash and bounce some light off the fabric of the roughly in line to try and keep them all in focus and boys, including a studio shoot and some actual gig
gazebo under which we were sitting. Very high ISO the ISO needed to go up to 3200/6400 which is just photography to round out their portfolio. We would
values do create a lot of noise in the shadows, we about at its acceptable limit. Shutter speeds were like to thank them for letting us use their material
could have used a more powerful burst from the around 1/100, so we got a few more images. The in our article. You can find them on Facebook by
flash and dropped the ISO, but then the ambient bright blue neon of the bridge lights was pretty lurid searching @thebuzztorbay. n
Glossary
AMOLED light-collecting area. Back-side chips are in an increasingly large proportion of allows a lot more creative freedom and
Stands for active-matrix organic made the other way up, so that the wires digital cameras. Cheaper but with control over lighting, because the flash
light-emitting diode. A new type of are on the back. Offers potentially better better tolerance than other methods. can be positioned further away from the
display technology used in mobile low-light performance. camera. This feature is only usually
devices and televisions, used in the Depth of field available on more expensive or
monitors of some digital cameras. Has Barrel distortion When you focus your camera on a professional-quality cameras.
several advantages over LCD, including Barrel distortion occurs when a wide subject, some detail behind and in front
using less power. angle lens distorts an image so that it of the chosen subject will also be in EXIF
appears slightly spherical. If you take a focus. The distance between the The Exchangeable Image File (EXIF)
Aperture seascape with a wide-angle setting and nearest and furthest in-focus objects is format is used by nearly all digital
Behind the lens of your camera is a notice that the horizon seems to curve, known as the depth of field. It is changed cameras that output pictures as JPEGs.
movable circular iris which opens and this is barrel distortion. It’s most by altering the size of the aperture – the It enables information, such as the GPS
closes to control the amount of light noticeable when there are straight lines smaller the aperture, the larger the co-ordinates, date and time the shot
falling on the sensor. This is usually near the edge of the frame. In digital depth of field. was taken, plus exposure and other
controlled by the light meter, although images barrel distortion can be camera information, to be stored in the
some cameras have a manual aperture corrected in image-editing software. Digital zoom image file alongside the normal
control. Altering the aperture also Some cameras give you the option of picture information.
changes the depth of field. Bracketing zooming in on the centre part of an
Bracketing shots is where a image by expanding it in the camera. Fixed focus
Aperture Priority photographer takes the same shot Although the zoomed area looks bigger, Cheaper cameras have fixed-focus
This is one of the semi-manual exposure three times or more, each at different it still contains the same number of lenses, which means they cannot be
options found on some cameras. The exposures. This increases the chance of pixels as it did originally, so it will appear adjusted. Instead they rely on a very
user sets the aperture according to the getting an ideally exposed image. Also, blocky and will lack resolution. This is narrow aperture to make everything
depth of field they require, and the it’s possible to combine the shots in not to be confused with optical zoom, appear in focus, from a few feet in front
metering system sets the shutter speed software to increase the light and shade which is far superior. of the camera out to infinity. They are
to obtain the correct exposure. within the image, which is essentially fine for snapshots at average distance in
how HDR works. Dynamic range good light, but are not so good for
Artefacts The difference between the lightest and creative photographs where focus can
When an image is stored in your Burst mode darkest areas of an image. If a camera be used to produce unusual effects.
camera’s memory it has to be Many cameras offer a burst mode, can simultaneously capture shadow
compressed to fit, usually into a JPEG which means they can take several and highlight detail then it has good Focal length
file, and in the process some images in rapid succession, just as dynamic range. Few cameras can do In brief, this term describes the
information is inevitably lost. When the you’d get with a motor-wind on a both but they are improving all the time. magnifying power of the camera’s lens.
image is uncompressed for viewing, traditional film camera. The number of The longer the focal length, the greater
noise creeps in and appears as angular shots that can be taken is limited by the DPI the magnification. Conversely, the
blocks in the image, which are known speed of the camera’s image capture Stands for Dots Per Inch. The sharpness smaller the focal length, the more
as artefacts. and processing systems, as well as the of an image produced by a printer is wide-angle the lens. Most digital camera
size of the internal memory buffer. You’ll defined by how many dots of ink per zoom lenses can vary between short
Autofocus typically get about three frames per inch of printed paper its print head can and long focal lengths.
Almost all digital cameras have second from a standard digital camera produce. A figure of 1,200dpi or higher
automatic focusing. There are essentially in burst mode. is usually required for high quality f-number
two types; contrast detection, used in results, although most modern printers This is the number which describes the
compact cameras and most CSCs, uses Centre-weighted metering are capable of this. ratio of the aperture of a camera’s lens
the camera’s main sensor and works by This is when the camera takes an to its focal length. Generally, a higher
detecting the borders between average light reading from the whole Effective pixels quality lens will have a smaller f-number,
high-contrast areas and trying to make frame, but pays more attention to the Although your digital camera may which bizarrely means a wider
them as sharp as possible. Phase centre of the image where the subject claim to have 13.6 million pixels on its maximum aperture, and thus more light
detection AF is used in digital SLRs and normally is. This has been largely CCD, some of that number will not be entering the lens.
some CSCs, and uses a separate sensor. superseded by multi-pattern metering, used for taking the picture. Usually,
It is usually faster and works better in low which is better able to cope with some pixels around the edge of the HDR
light conditions. unusual situations. sensor are painted black to provide a A rather over-used technique whereby
colour balance, while others fall outside several shots at different exposures
AE Lock CCD the range of the lens. are combined to produce one image
Stands for Auto-Exposure Lock, a Stands for Charge Coupled Device. This capturing a very wide range of
function found on most advanced is the light sensor behind the lens of Electronic viewfinder contrast, or dynamic range. Useful for
digital cameras. This enables you to your camera that records the image Some cameras have a viewfinder high-contrast lighting and night-time
take a light meter reading from a when you take a photograph. It consists containing a miniature LCD monitor shots, but can be over-used by art
particular part of the image and then of a grid of millions of tiny light sensors, showing you what the camera sees. This students who’ve just discovered it.
hold that setting while you compose one for each pixel of the image. The size usually uses less battery power than the
the image. Useful for dealing with of a CCD is measured in megapixels, LCD screen on the back of the camera, Histogram
back lighting and other difficult and the higher the megapixel rating, the but can be a strain on the eye and A histogram is a graph of brightness.
lighting situations. better the image quality. difficult to focus. It ranges from black through grey to
white along the horizontal axis, while
Backlighting Chromatic aberration Exposure values in the vertical axis represent the
Backlighting occurs when your subject is Coloured fringes that appear around When you take a picture, the camera number of pixels at the appropriate
brightly lit from behind, such as objects, often toward the edges of the determines how long the shutter should brightness. It provides a means of
somebody standing in front of a sunlit frame. Caused by light rays of different be open for and how wide the aperture checking the exposure of an image. If
window. Unless you adjust the exposure wavelengths coming to focus at should be, thus obtaining the correct too many pixels are present at the
to compensate for this, your subject will different distances from the lens. Better exposure. If a picture is too dark, it is left-hand side of the histogram, the
appear as a dark silhouette against the quality lenses seek to minimise this by underexposed, whereas if it goes the image is underexposed, while if it’s
bright background. the use of special coatings and lens other way and is too light, it is then weighted to the right, then it’s likely to
designs. Can be corrected by software referred to as being overexposed. be overexposed.
Back-side illumination after the picture is taken.
Not to be confused with backlighting, this External flash Interpolation
refers to a new method of sensor design. In CMOS This means that the camera has a Some cameras and image-editing
conventional sensors the wires connecting Stands for Complimentary Metal-Oxide connection, usually a hot shoe, that software can increase the size of a
the photocells of the sensor run over the Semiconductor. A chip-manufacturing enables you to use a flashgun other than digital image by adding extra pixels in
front surface of the chip, reducing the technology used to produce the sensors the one built into the camera. This between the original ones. They take an
GLOSSARY
average of the pixels around the new focal length, but these days it is used to powerful optical zoom lenses. This the shutter is open for is determined by
one and attempt to match the colour describe any facility for taking extreme means they can be adjusted to the metering system, and is known as
and brightness to create a seamless close-ups. magnify the image (zoom in) or to the shutter speed.
image. Some systems give better capture a wide-angle shot (zoom out).
results than others. Manual mode Because the image uses the full Shutter lag
This is for experienced photographers capabilities of the CCD this is This is a problem found on many digital
ISO only. It gives you full control over both preferable to digital zoom. cameras. Because of the way they
Stands for International Standards aperture and shutter speed, enabling work, there will often be a slight delay
Organisation. In conventional you to experiment with exposure and Pixel between pressing the button and the
photography, the ISO number is a depth of field. Essential for any Short for Picture Element. If you camera actually taking the photograph.
measure of the light sensitivity of creative photography. enlarge a picture on your computer, The latest camera designs have
photographic film, and this has been you will see that it is made up of tiny reduced this problem a great deal, so
carried over into digital photography as Megapixel squares of a particular colour and check this when buying a new camera.
a way of expressing the light sensitivity Megapixels are a measure of the size brightness called pixels. A pixel is the
of the CCD. and resolution of the pictures that a basic building block of a digital Shutter Priority
digital camera can produce. Mega photograph, and there can be several This is a semi-manual mode that
Jaggies means one million, and in this case a millions of them in an image. The enables the photographer to specify a
‘Jaggies’ refers to jagged diagonal lines million pixels, or more accurately a higher the pixel count, the better the shutter speed while the camera’s
that appear in a low-resolution picture. million individual light sensors on the quality of the photograph. metering system sets the aperture for
Pixels are square, so if large pixels are camera’s CCD. The more megapixels, the correct exposure.
being used to represent a diagonal, the better. Portrait mode
you’ll be able to see the corners of each, This is a program exposure mode that SLR
creating a saw-like edge. Anti-aliasing is Memory card optimises the camera for taking Stands for Single-Lens Reflex. A mirror
used to soften jaggies, whereby the Most digital cameras store your classical portrait shots, widening the or prism reflects the light coming in
software will attempt to calculate pictures on removable cards full of aperture to minimise the depth of field. through the lens to the viewfinder, so
‘in-between’ shades to blur the line a computer memory. They come in a This ensures that only the subject is in when you look
little and make it look a lot smoother. variety of sizes and there are several focus, while the shutter speed is through it you see exactly what the
different types, including increased to minimise camera shake. camera sees.
JPEG CompactFlash, SD and MicroSD
This file type stands for Joint cards as well as Sony’s own Memory Processor Spot metering
Photographic Expert Group, and is the Stick format. All digital cameras have an image Found on the more expensive
most commonly used system of image processor, which takes the data from cameras, this metering mode enables
compression. Using a sliding scale Metering system the sensor and turns it into the finished the photographer to take a light
between file size and picture quality, it This is how the camera measures the JPEG image that you see on the screen. reading from a small area in the middle
enables digital cameras and amount of light being reflected by A faster processor means larger of the frame, usually marked in the
computers to squash a large picture whatever you are trying to photograph, resolution images can be processed viewfinder. This is the best way of
into a small amount of memory. Be to determine the correct exposure for more quickly, improving the camera’s dealing with difficult lighting conditions
careful when compressing files, that particular scene. There are many performance. such as backlighting, and is normally
though, because too much different types, including spot metering, used in conjunction with auto-
compression will reduce the quality of multi-pattern metering and centre- Program exposure exposure lock.
your image. weighted metering. Found on most digital cameras,
program exposure is an automatic Time lapse
Landscape mode Multi-pattern metering setting where the camera’s metering We’ve all seen films of flowers opening
A program exposure option found on This is a sophisticated means of system selects an appropriate at incredible speed, or the sun and
many mid-priced cameras, this function determining the correct exposure of a aperture setting and shutter speed in clouds racing across the sky. This
automatically selects the best exposure photograph. The camera takes light an attempt to get the best exposure super-fast motion technique is called
settings for taking landscape readings from several different areas and performance out of the lens. time-lapse photography, whereby a
photographs, usually a longer shutter of the frame and compares them to its stationary camera takes several
speed and the narrowest possible pre-programmed data to determine RAW successive shots at time intervals of a
aperture to maximise depth of field. It the right exposure. The idea behind RAW mode is found on most high-end few seconds, minutes or even hours.
can also refer to holding the camera this is that bright light sources, such as digital cameras. It is an option which The images are then played back
horizontally, which is usually preferred the sun or brightly lit windows, won’t stores the uncompressed raw data rapidly, giving the impression of
for landscape shots. cause the rest of the image to be from the sensor, which can then be continuous motion.
underexposed. processed on a computer using
LCD software such as Adobe Camera Raw, VGA
Stands for Liquid Crystal Diode, a Night-time mode Bibble etc. Raw files contain more Stands for Video Graphics Array, and
display technology first developed in A program exposure mode that information than JPEGs, and take up refers to an image size of 640 x 480
the 1970s, and in widespread use today. compensates for low light by setting more memory. Raw is actually not an pixels. This was once the standard size
Most cameras have an LCD monitor the aperture to maximum. This lets the acronym and so shouldn’t be all of a computer monitor output, but these
screen mounted on the back for viewing most available light into the camera capitals; it should really be written days even mobile phones have larger
photographs. Some also have an LCD and gives the fastest possible shutter simply as “raw”. displays. VGA is still sometimes found
electronic viewfinder, and some speed under the circumstances. as an image size mode, particularly in
DSLRs also have a separate LCD data Resolution the video recording modes of some
display panel. Ni-MH The more pixels there are in an image, cheaper cameras.
Stands for Nickel-Metal Hydride, a type the sharper that image will be. This is
L-ion of rechargeable battery rapidly the resolution of the picture, and is White balance
Stands for Lithium Ion. This is the replacing older Nickel Cadmium usually expressed as two numbers Most modern digital cameras
latest kind of rechargeable battery, (NiCad) batteries. Ni-MH batteries do representing the height and width of automatically adjust the colour
superior even to Ni-MH. It can hold not suffer from the ‘memory effect’ the image in pixels, such as 3,872 x balance of the picture to
more power, and does not suffer which was a problem with older 2,592. Multiplying these two figures compensate for any tints in the
from ‘memory effect’, where a rechargeables, and they can also store gives you the effective megapixels, in ambient light, such as sunlight,
partially charged battery, when a lot more power. This makes them this case 10.03MP. fluorescent strip lights
recharged, will only register the ideal for use in battery-guzzling or normal light bulbs. This is
additional charge rather than its digital cameras. Shutter called a white balance, and means you
full capacity. The shutter is a device behind the lens can take a picture indoors without that
Optical zoom of the camera which is normally closed, orange tint you
Macro mode With recent advances in lens but opens for an instant when a picture get with a film camera.
This traditionally refers to a lens that manufacturing technology, many is taken to allow light into the camera
can focus closer than its designated digital cameras now have small but and onto the CCD. The length of time
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Canon Tricks and Tips Ed4 2020

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Canon Tricks and Tips Ed4 2020

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techgo

Next level Advanced Rediscover

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Choose the right camera

Choose the right lens

The holy trinity Stop the shakes

Enhance your photos

Are you compensating? Don’t fear the histogram

Learn from others

Out of the shadows

Whatever the weather Night photography

Photo editing software

Natural light portrait

Harmony and balance

“Large focal length lenses will demand

The Canon EF 100mm

If the background of your photo is distracting,

1/16 power 1/16 power

1/16 power 1/16 power

“If a flash is fired in a

Light pulse Gearing up

The classic water drop image. Trying to

The flashes were covered with coloured gel to add a little

Unless the source of your drops is consistent and doesn’t

the Bluetooth trigger needed to be connected

Setting up the camera

Drop 1 Size controls the release of the droplet. A

Flash Delay controls the amount of time that has

Drop 2 Delay is the value that tells the valve how

Adding a second droplet creates some amazing

1/16 power 1/16 power

Other liquids and subjects

Various objects were used with the droplet valve

The fisheye lens

The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM

A bridge shot with a difference. Taken with

The main picture on this spread was created by stitching together

“The word Bokeh,

Lenses such as the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 (above) has an

Although zoom lenses in the 70-200mm f/2.8 (above) can

The prominent grille of this Bentley provides

Digital storage media like the SanDisk 32GB SD card and

The Canon 5DMK3 and an EF 85mm f/1.2 lens shown

Reproduced with the kind permission

When shooting your sequence, imagine your scene covered by a grid

One of the sequences of Bailey the

Seeing a Meerkat in the wild is beyond most of us. This is

“Landscape photography is an amazing

“That beautiful morning

Mastering exposure metering allows you to cope with

Creating a still life

Set the scene

Once the lights and camera settings

Misty water effect

The Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8

Careful control of shutter speed can produce some

“Large focal length lenses will demand

“If a flash is fired in a

“The word Bokeh,

“Landscape photography is an amazing

“That beautiful morning

“Any photographic enthusiasts who