OUTDOOR
INDOOR
LIGHTING
CREATIVE
PHOTOSHOP
50
PHOTO PR0JECTS SIMPLESTEPS TO BETTERPICTURES! NEW LEARNSKILLS PHOTOSH0OT AND ZING AMA UR S ON YO IMAGE R & CSC! DSL
50PhotoProjects Prdced b DigitalSLRPhotography at: 6 Sa Crt, Cget Par, Peterbrgh,CambsPE7 8GX P:01733 567401.Fax01733352650 em:eqiries@digitalslrpht.cm o:.digitalslrpht.cm
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Welcome
EditrD l daiel_lea@deis.c.
...
Art Editr l M
“Digital photography has made it far easier for more people to take better quality pictures. The advent of affordable and highly versatile digital SLRs and Compact System Cameras offers the winning combination of high-resolution sensors and interchangeable lenses, allowing photographers more versatility and quality than ever before. However, while the latest technology helps make the actual capture of images easier than ever, it can’t offer you ideas and inspiration on what to photograph. While being technically procient is important, it’s nothing without creativity and the ability to turn your skills and imagination into great images. The easiest way to do his is to try out a variety of techniques, learn from your mistakes and build on your successes. Our 50 Photo Projectsguide has been produced for photographers looking to test their skills shooting a variety of subjects with the aim of producing brilliant images. All 50 of our projects have been designed as stepby-step guides to make them easy to follow and as you’ll discover, you don’t need expensive equipment to shoot stunning images like those produced in this guide. With themes covering Outdoor, Indoor, Lighting and Creative, you’ve no shortage of photo techniques to try and we’ve also a selection of Photoshop tutorials to help you create great images in post-production too. We hope 50 Photo Projectsproves exciting and inspirational and helps improve your photography. All the best!” Daniel lezano, eDitor
Meet ourteamofexperts All our experts are team members or regular contributorsDigital to SLR Photographymagazine. For more expert advice and inspiration, pick up the latest issue available on the second Tuesday of every month. For further information visit the magazine’s website at www.digitalslrphoto.com
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Publiing&Making nickyBakerDIGITAL PRoDuCTIon MAnAGER DharMesh MistryBookAzInEMAnAGER roBinryan PRoDuCTIon DIRECToR JulianlloyD-evans MDoF ADvERTISInG DaviD BarkernEwSTRADE DIRECToR JohnGarewal PuBLISHInGDIRECToR ian westwooDMD TECHnoLoGy Brett reynolDs CHIEFoPERATInGoFFICER ian leGGett GRouPFInAnCEDIRECToR JaMestyeCHIEFEXECuTIvE felix Dennis CHAIRMAn Allrightsi thelicesedmaterialbelgt FelixDeis,Hal rDeis Pblishigad mat bereprdced,hetheri hler part,ithttheirprir rittecset. Digital SLRPhotography isa registeredtrademar. Thepublishermakeseveryefforttoesurethemagazie’scotet iscorrect.Allmaterialpublishedi50Photo Projects adDigital SLRPhotography iscopyrightaduauthorise d reproductiois forbidde. Theeditorsadpublishersofthismagaziegiveo warraties,guarateesorassuracesad makeo represetatios regardigay goodsorservicesadvertisedithiseditio.no resposibilitycabeacceptedforimagesorcorrespodecelostor damagedipostortrasit. FrlicesigctactHaahHeage +44(0)2079076134 r emailhaah_heage@deis. c. FrsdicatictactAj Dsaj-Halai +44(0)2079076132 r emailAj_Dsaj-Halai@deis .c. The‘Magb’bradisa trademarfDeis PblishigLtd.30 CleeladSt,Ldw1T 4JD.CmparegisterediEglad.Allmaterial© Deis PblishigLtd,licesedbFelde 2009,ad matbe reprdcedi hlerpart ithtthe csetf thepblishers.
Daniellezano
carolin e wilkinso n
rosshoDDinott
leefrost
Editor Lezano is passionate aboutphotography and an author of severalbooks.He has beentaking picturesfor over 25 years and particularly enjoys shootingportraits and still-lifes.
An avid enthusiast photographer forseveral years, Carolineuses her in-depth knowledge of Photoshop and creativeskillsin post-production to add extra impact and polish to pictures.
A regular contributorto DigitalSLR Photography, Ross is an award-winningnature photographer,specialisingin natureand macrophotography. www.rosshoddinott.co.uk
A professionalphotographer and writer forover twodecades, with 20booksto hisname, Lee isone ofthe best-knownnames in the UK photographybusiness. www.leefrost.co.uk
whileeercareas taedrigthe prdctif this Magb,the pblisherscatbe heldrespsiblefr the accracf theifrmati ra cseqece arisigfrm it.DeisPblishigtaes respsibilitfrthe cmpaies adertisigi thisMagb. ThepapersedithithisMagbisprdcedfrmsstaiable bre,mafactredbmillsitha alidchaif cstd. Pritedb DalPritignyC
Whenyou’vefnishedenjoying this magazinepleaserecycle
Contents 50 photo projects: simple steps to better pictures! 42 Waterfalls
12 silhouettes
26 traffictrails
3 Editor’spage
85 Lightingprojects
A warm welcome to ourpractical guide totaking your best everimages
Find out how touse a variety ofarticial lightsources to capturebrilliant photos
7 Outdoorprojects
86 liGht trails 90 usinG flash Gels
Head outside and try out these brilliant ideas coveringa rangeof subjects 08 ethereal seascapes
96 hiGh-keyportraits
12 silhouettes in landscapes
98 fruit on a liGhtbox 100paintinG with liGht
14 star trails 18 mistylandscapes 20 poetry in motion 22 shoot cobwebs 26 traffictrails
34 Waterrefraction
92 addinG shadows 94 studio self-portraits
103 Creativeprojects Takeyour photo skills that little bit further by tryingout our creative ideas
28 beautiful butterflies 32 reflections
r subjects 104 freeze you 108headless portraits
34 water refraction 38 movement in landscapes
110 plasticfantastic 114 vaseline streaks
42 shoot waterfalls
116 illusion of scale
44 levitation effects
118 floatinG in air 120 venetianblind effect
48 Garden birds 52 shootyour car
55 Indoorprojects We showyou how to shoot stunning images from the comfort of your home
122 coatinG objects 124 create a calendar
56diffuseddayliGht portrait
Improve, enhance and alter your photos withour amazingPhotoshopeffects
60fun refractioneffects
128cross-processeffect
62capturethe beautyof a rose
130use a diGital nd Graduate filter 132 pop art portraits
64 bathtimeportraits 68 spaGhettistill-life 70freeze a water droplet 74 smoke trails 76splashinG foodshots 80 fine-art silhouettes 82 scannerstill-lifes
56 daylightportraits
138 Blendingmodes
127 Photoshopprojects
134 duotone your mono imaGes 136remove a distractinG backdrop 138boost with blendinG modes 140flipa face tion 142 mimic miniaturisa 144create your ownart poster
70 Waterdroplet
48 gardenBirds
98 fruitstill-life
148 P OF EXAGES PE PHOT RT ADVICO E
104 FROZENSTILLLIFES
THE IDEAL COMPANION FOR YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA
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Outdoorprojects 7
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Step-by-step tutorials
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OUR GUIDES HELP YOU TAKE STUNNING IMAGES OF LANDSCAPES, NATURE, CLOSE-UPS AND MORE!
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Create'mistywater'seascapes MARKBAUER:Coastallandscapes areamongthemostpopular subjectsforphotographers andit’s easy toseewhy. However,translating thatatmosphe reintoagoodphotogr aphcanbechallenging.Oneway to addmoodandcreateanethereallookistousealong exposure toblur water. There’s no ideal shutter speed, as it depends on personal taste as well as thesize and speed of the waves, but the longer the exposure, the more the water will smooth out, until you reach a point where it appears to be completelystill. I like to have some sense of movement in the scene, but how much depends on the conditions and thecomposition. Keeping things simple often works best, with just a single, strong element in the foreground with plenty of space around it to show the movement of the water. Once you have a composition that works, it’s best to stick with it and keep shooting as the light changes so you get a nice variety of shots.
TIMEREQUIRED
45 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED
CANON EOS 5D MKII 24-105MM F/4 LENS TRIPOD, LEE 1.2ND (FOUR-ST OP) FILTER, LEE 0.9ND (THREE-STOP) GRAD & REMOTE RELEASE
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ND+NDgradfilter
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Techniquewatch
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CALCULATING LONGEXPOSURES:
When shooting in lowlight, you’ll often findthatexpo sure times gobeyond 30 seconds, the longest shutterspeed on mostdigital cameras. It’s tempting to raisethe ISOand use exposuresof 30 SETTING UP: Whenshooting nearthe shoreline, there is alwaysthe possibility that a wavemay wash around thetrip odlegs , causing movement andruin ingseconds or less, butyou’ll get better theexposure.Jam thetrip odlegsas far as you canintothe sand or shingle, results if you stick at thelowest ISO to keep everything as stable as possible. Oncethe camera is securely lockedrating and shootlongerexposures. To ontothe tripod, slip theND andND grad filters onto thehold er. do this, you need to switch to‘Bulb’ mode). You canthen lock the shutter openforas longas you needto get the correctexposure. To calculate exposure Essentialkit in aperture-prioritymode, increasethe ISOuntil you get a meterreading. Then TRIPOD:With long exposures, a tripod is essential. Not usethisto work outthe shutter speed at just any tripod, but the sturdiest you can manage to thelowest ISO rating. For example, if the carry, as it has to remain rock steady during exposures correctexposureis 30 seconds at f/11at of up to several minutes. You’ll also need a remote ISO 800,it willbe 60secondsat f/11 at release. Without one, you will not be able to lock the ISO400,120 seconds at ISO 200and shutter open without moving the camera. 240 seconds at ISO 100. You also have NEUTRAL DENSITY (ND) FILTERS: These are to take into account thefactthatif you also useful and are not to be confused with ND are shootingat dusk, lightlevels will graduated filters. ND filters are ‘solid’ rather than split into a dark half and clear half, allowing you dropduring this to four-minute exposure, so you will need addmoretime. to extend shutter speeds by reducing the amount Don’t underestimate this – adding just of light entering the lens. They come in different onestopwill take your exposure time strengths – typically one, two and three stops – up to eight minutes in this example! although you can also get NDs of ten-stops or more! Obviously, the reverse applies if you I find these extreme filters less suitable for colour areshootingat dawn. work as they have quite strong colour casts.
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Conditions were perfect,as low tidecoincided withsunset, and had revealed a number of interesting rocks on theforeshore. I decided to include this one in the foreground, asit I liked itstextural quality, and the waythe waves were washingaroundit. Unfortunately, a shutter speed of 1/4sec didn’t quite do the trick, as althoughthe breaking wave hascreated a nice pattern in the foreground, themiddle distance lookssomewhat static and, if I'm honest,this makes theshot look rather uninteresting.
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A slight changein composition placed therock on an intersection of thirds, while the changein anglemeantit waspointing intothe picture, towards thedistantheadland. Thelight had alsochanged for the better, with thesetting sun lighting the clouds from below. I needed toslowthe exposure down a little, soI fitted a four-stop ND filter, aswell asa two-stophar d grad, to stop the skyfrom overexposing. A shutter speed of six secondscreated a niceswirl around the foregroundrock, but the wave is distracting.
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Stay clo s
Take ca e to you unatte re not to lea r kit! swirlin nded. The strve your tripo g d o s e a s over. D can ea ng winds an i g s d i i t l y a lc kn do not a happameras and sock it y marr a l t w ate iage m ake! r
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Finalimage The longer exposure has reduced the wave trails in the foreground and smoothed the water in the middle distance and background to reveal the reflections of the sky. There is still some movement in the foreground, and the wave patterns around the rock are still visible.
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I decided to lengthenthe exposure slightly, to further softenthe movement ofthe water, soI waited for the light levels todropand took a 15 second exposure at f/11 (still using thefour-stop ND).I alsotweaked the compositionagai n, to leavea littlemorespa ceto theleftof theroc k, to include theswi rl ofthe waves in myshot. The longer exposure smoothsout thedistracting wave in the middle distance, but hascauseda confusing pattern of ‘wave trails’ to appear in theforeground.
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A few minuteslater, and the light levels haddroppedagain, so I increased myexposuretime to30 seconds. Whenshoo ting in Raw format, I like to exposemy shots 'to the right’. Thisminimises noise andcaptures moretonal information, and as there’s space to theright of the histogram, I knew thatthere wasroom to push the exposure further before thelight faded completely. For myfinalshot , I set the exposure for two minutesat f/11– two stopsmorethan thisshot, which would reducethe underexposureseen here.
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As photographers, we are always ROSSHODDINOTT: striving for the ‘correct’ exposure, aren’twe? However, it could beargued that there is nosuch thing; asit greatly depends on the subject,the situation, and the effect the photographer wants to achieve. For example, a silhouette can create a truly eye-catching image even though, technically-speaking, it is the result of a poor exposure… A silhouette is when the subject is recorded as a black outline, without colour or detail, against a lighter background – in other words, thesubject is grosslyunderexposed. It is the most extreme form of backlighting but, when combined with the right sceneor subject,the resultscan be stunning – particularly whenthe subject is contrasted against an interesting or colourful sky. Despite the lackthe of detail and colour, silhouettes can conveymuchabout subject and they prove that there really is no such thingas a ‘correctexposure’. One of the great things aboutshooting silhouettes is that they are easilyachieved and you need very little in termsof kit. I visited Dartmoor’s windswept landscape to show youhow to shootperfectsilhouettes…
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TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D300, 24-85MM ZOOM LENS & TRIPOD
ALSO USED SPOT METERING & AE-L
Techniquewatch METERING: Your camera’s multi-zonemeteris designedto renderthe subject as a mid-tone. Whilstthisis perfect forthe vast majority of situations, it willrarely producethe resultsyouarelooking forwhenshootingsubjectsthatare considerablylighter or darker in tone. A silhouetted subject cancreate problemsformeteringsystems. Althoughhighlysophisticated,the camera’sexposuresystem cannot predictthe effect youare tryingto achieve.Therefore,if thescene is dominatedby a black,silhouetted subject,thecamerawillattemptto renderit as a mid-tone byselecting a longer exposure– resultingin overexposure.Alternatively , if the sceneis dominated bysky andis very light, thecamerais likelyto underexpose theframe. Thankfully, avoiding thistypeof exposure problemis simple by switchingyour camera’sspotmeteringmode. This meteringmodeis selectedeithervia a dedicated button,or throughthe camera’smenusystem.It calculates theoverallexposure from just a small portionof theframe – usuallya centralcircle.Point thespotmetering circleat a brightareaof theframe
andpresstheshut terreleasebutton halfway totakea reading.These are theexposuresettings youwant to employ to takeyoursilhouette. Pressing theauto- exposure lock (AE-L)button,‘lock’ thesettings, compose yourimageandreleasethe shutter. Theresultshouldbethatyour subjectis underexposed andappears When shooting silhouettes, a lowviewpoint oftenworksbest – helpingyou to set your subject starklyagainsta brightsky. Therefore, don’t be afraidto getas a pureblacksilhouette. your kneesdamp anddirtyto selecta lowangle. In this instance, I splayed the legs on mytripodwide-open, enabling me to shoot from a lowperspective.
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Seek a strong o utline!
In silho subjec uettes, we s so sele t to be devoi trive for the m recogn ct subjects wd of detail or ain anima isable outlin ith a strong, colour; ls and trees me. People, bu ild ake go od cho ings, ices
Treescreate a graphic, simpleoutline – perfect forsilhouettes. It is easiestto To ensure that the lovely colours of the sunrise were recordedfaithfully, and take silhouettesin mornings andevenings, when thesun is lower in thesky, thatthe trees were thrown into puresilhouette, I switchedthe camera's so I arrived at mylocationearly. Two treestogether on a hillside caughtmy eye.metering mode to 'spot'(Thisis often illustrated bya dot, as seen in thepicture Using thelong endof a standardzoom,I cropped in tightly to them, butthe above). On myNikonD300,I selected this modeby turning a dial, just abovethe camera’s Matrix multi-zonemeter attempted to record themas a mid-tone, monitor. If youareunsure how to selectspotmetering, check theinstruction resultingin a disappointing, washed-outshot. manual. If your camera lacks a spot mode, use partial metering instead.
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Finalimage Byzooming ina littlefromthe lastframe,I feelthat I’ve struck theright balance in terms of composition. Placingthe trees right-of-centre creates a stronger image than it wouldhave iftheyhad been central. Spotmetering has enabled me to capture the right exposure in-camera – all I had to do post-capture wasintensify the sky’scolour very slightlyby clickingImage>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and adjusting the saturationslider to +10.
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I removed thecamerafrom thetripod, viathe quick releaseplate, andthen pointed thespot-metering circleat a bright area of thesky. I pressed the shutter release buttonhalfwaydown,to take myspot meter reading,and then locked these settingsby usingthe auto-exposurelock (AE-L) button. I replaced thecameraon thetripodand quicklycheckedthatthe composition hadn't changed. Then, usingthe new, locked settings, I took another picture.
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Although theexposure was nowcorrect, I wasfeelingless happywith the composition. It looked a little cramped andI wondered whether I hadcropped intoo close totrees. The joy ofusing a zoomlensis being ableto quicklychange composition withoutevenhaving to move.I zoomedout to leavemore space around thetrees, allowing me to capture more of thesunrise. However, hadI now gonetoo far toward the opposite extreme?
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Star trails
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Shootingstars JOHNPATRICK: Star trails are rewardingsubjects that can addan element of magic to a landscapeshot,revealing thescene in a way that isn’t visible to the eye. They allow you to extend theday’s potentialshootingtime,and to get outwith your camera – especially if you work through theweek and can’t getoutdoors during thedaylighthours in winter. If there’s any‘secret’ to thetechnique, it’s gettingtheexposure right, butthat’s simple whenshootingdigitally...
TIMEREQUIRE D ONEHOUR
EQUIPMENT USED CANON EOS 5D 17-40MM F/4 LENS TRIPOD & REMOTE
ALSO USED ADOBEPHOTOSHOP
50 PHOTO PROJECTS
Startrails 15
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Startrails
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Get out o
The glo f the ci ty light p w from urba miles aollution and c n areas is kn w a y on a cl an be seen own as not be e f a o r b show u vious to th night. Thisrom p clear e ly on a naked eye bmight u long ex posuret will
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You'll need to keep theshutter open forthe long exposure and the bestwayto dothatis tousea remotereleasewitha lock to hold theshutter open. This helps avoidinadvertently knocking or movingthe camera. A sturdy tripodis important tooand a wide-angle lens is handy as it helps you get plenty of skyin theshot.Otherthan that, star trails don't need any particularly specialistkit.Don'tforgetplentyofwarm FIND THELOCATION If youcan, it helps to findyour locationin advance,in clothing though. Even if you're used to being outin cold the daylight hours. Mid-day isa goodtimeto dothisfora coupleof reasons. Oneis that it'softendead-timein thelandscapephotographer's daywhenthe weather, standing aroundfor half an hour or more in thedark in sub-zero temperatures can bring a whole newlevel of lightis toohar shforshoo ting.Theothe r isthat, with the sun tothesout h,
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shadows will point north towards wherethe stars willbe circlingroundPolarischilliness, so pack a few extra layers to keep you comfortable. later. Pre-visualisingthat will helpyou createa goodcomposition. You'llneedto ensurethatyou'rea decentway from major lightpollution too.
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3 SCENE You canmeter thescene
choiceif possible) andset up the cameraon the tripod. Ifit'stoodark to seeproperly throughthe viewfinder, you can takea few shotswith a high ISO andwide aperture,gradually making adjustments to fine-tune the composition.Autofocusis unlikelyto workin verylowlight , soyou'll needto focus manually – either byusing the distance scale or byplacinga torch somewherein thesceneto focus on.
beforetakingthe finalshot bytaking testshots ata high ISOandwide aperture.I'm using ISO 1600 andf/4 here. Setthe camerato manual and start withan exposure timeof around 20 seconds. Takea shotand check the histogram,then simply alter the exposuretime andre-take test shots until thehistogram lookscorrect.After a bitof experimentationI findthat one stop underexposedworks best.
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Finalimage I've given the finalimagea little bitof curves adjustment, a colour balance on the cool side of daylight andapplied some Unsharp Maskin Photoshop.
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TAKETHESHOT Turnall lights out,notethe timeand lockthe shutter open SETTINGSFORTHEFINAL SHOT Whenyou'rehappywith the exposure, set withthe remoterelease. Getout somecoffee andchocolate, have a break for thecamera to 'Bulb'.SelectISO 100and seta wide-ishaperture. I tend to use f/5.6.Now you can use the exposure time fromstep 3 toworkoutthetime a whileandenjo y staringat thestars. Justdon't dowhatI didanddisc overat this neededfor thefinal shot, compensating forthe changein ISOand aperture by pointthatthecof fee's backdowntheroad , stillin the car!If you needto puta increasingthe time. For instance, if youneeded a 30 secondexposurein step 3:lighton at anypointto read thetime,be careful notto illuminate theforeground 30secs x 2 (for a one-stop changefrom f/4 tof/5.6) x 16(for thechange from at all,as it willshow up in thefinal shot(unlessyou'redeliberately attempting ISO 1600to ISO 100)givesa 16-minute exposure. lightpainting,but that'sanother topic).
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Dawnmist
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Shootamistylandscape r o o d t u O
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MARKBAUER:Late winter/early spring is an excellent timefor shooting atmospheric landscapes, especially if you're prepared to get up early. As one season slips into another, it often brings interesting weather with it, and at this timeof year, misty morningsare common, often combined with a touchof frost. Foggy scenes convey a sense of romance and mystery, and add an element that can lift otherwise bland scenes out of the ordinary. Withthe right technique and careful planning, it's possible to capture dramatic, atmospheric scenics.
1-2 HOURS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANONEOS-1DS MKII 70-200MMLENS MANFROTTO TRIPOD
ALSO USED REMOTE RELEASE
Essential kit Techniquewatch PERFECTMETERING: Mist andfog tendto fool thecamerainto
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underexposure,so be prepared toadd at stop over themetered reading using exposure compensation. If leasta shooting Raw, you’ll record the maximum amount of tonal information by exposing ‘to the right’ (pushing the exposure as farintothe highlights as youcan without actually ‘clipping’ the highlights.)You’llneedto do some work in the Raw converter on exposure, brightness and contrast, but the end result will be a better image.
The meter ✘ Normalexposure:
Around +1 ✔ Expose‘totheright’:
willassumethat whatever it's reading from is a mid-tone, and underexpose the mistso that it records as grey ratherthan white.
stop compensation would be enough to keepthe mist looking white. I’ve added a little more, following the ‘expose to the right’ theory.
KITFORMIST: Using a tripodis good practice forshootinglandscapes,but essential if you’reheading out forpre-dawnmistypictures, as exposurescan belong. A medium telezoomis probably themostuseful lens as itsfocal lengthcompressesperspective andenhancesthe misty effect. A set of Neutral Density graduated filters willbe necessary in pre-dawnshots, as thesky willbe much brighter than theland, which hasno directlightfalling on it.
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CHOOSEYOURDAY: Fog and mistare formed whenmild, moistair passes over cold ground – thelow er layersof theair get cooleddownrap idly to thetemp erature atwhichfog or mist forms. Keepan eye on thefor ecast and look outfor cold, clear nightswitha light south-westerly wind, as this gives a high chanceof mist or fog. Even if thecond itionsseem right,how ever, an atmospheric sunrise isn'tguaranteed– often, forexample, you can geta thick fog rather than mist – so persistenceis important. Be prepared tomake multiple visits to yourfavouritelocations.
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BEWELLPREPARED: Mistoftenforms at thebottom of valleys, where the ground is colder, sothe hills abovea valley are a goodplaceto be, as this enables you toshoot from above a layerof mist,withhillsrisi ngout ofit. Being near water also helps, as this helpsto cool any airmov ingove r it. Research suitablelocations well in advanceand arrive a good halfan hourbefore sunrise, as the pre-dawn lightcan bemagic al.For this shoot, I setup overlookingthe west Wiltshire Downs, withmistlyingat thebottom ofthe hills.Also, besureto wrap upwarm– gloves,a hatanda thickfleec e are essential!
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Finalimage I zoomed in slightlyfrom my initial composition, to remove the slightly distracting bandof colour at the top ofthe frameand keepthe shot as monochromatic as possible. I used a daylight White Balancepreset to keep the pre-dawncolourscool, andadded a touchof vibrance to enhance the bluetones. Keep shooting as the mist swirlsaroundand the light changes.
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r fog? What’s fog? W the differen of answe’re happy toce between m e The on rs – they’re provide the ist and if visibi ly difference basically th clearest e lity is le is ss than one of densisame! ty 1,000m , it’s fog– ! C r e a t iv e
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CHECKYOUR COMPOSITION:Youneedto look for strong, bold shapes, as EXPOSURE& FILTRATION: Mist canfool the meter into underexposure, so as mist hides shapesand dilutes colours, makinga scenemonochrome. I like to a starting point, set +1stop exposure compensation. Meter from theland lookfor overlappingand interlocking shapesthathelp adda senseof depth to andthe skyto check thedifference in brightness, to see if youneeda graduated thescene.Backlit scenes can also work well, as theshapesof hills are filter and, if so, which strength.Takecarenot to over-filter thescene (e.g. if silhouetted in themist.Flare isn't toomuchof a problem withbacklit shots,as there's a four-stopdifferencein brightness,use a three-stop grad so that thesky themist diffusesthe sunlight. For this shot, I selecteda hillrisingout of themist remains a little lighterthanthe land andthereforelooksnatural).Forthese as themainfocalpoint, andarranged it accordingto therule-of-thirds. Behind shots,I used a one-stop soft grad as,althoughthere wasn'ta huge range of theforegroundhill, thelayeringeffectleadsthe eye into thebackdrop. contrast, I felt that thesky neededa little bitof help to addinterest.
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Createpoetryinmotion r o o d t u O
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LEE FROST:It’s funny howsome photographic techniques come about purely by accident. For example, it’s saidthatsolarisation wasdiscovered whenAmericanphotographerLeeMiller (working as ManRay’sassistant at the time), turned the darkroomlight on while a print was still in the developer, causing a partial reversal of the image tones. I can’t claim that my latest technique will achieve the same level of fame or popularity, but I discovered it under similar circumstances,while taking pictures on the Northumberland coast just before Christmas. I was planning toshoot a sequenceof images for a stitched panorama, soI levelled the camera and scanned the scene I wanted to record. Confident that everything was ready, I tripped the shutter to expose the first frame but, without thinking, I swung the camera tothe right, ready toshoot the second frame before the exposure for the first had ended. Annoyed by my impatience, I waited for the image toappearon my camera’s preview screen so I could erase it. But when the image did appear, far from being a load ofold rubbish, as expected, it looked fantastic– an eye-catching abstract of coloured lines and streaks, more like a painting than a photograph. Surprised by my happy accident, I decided to try and repeat the effect, but this time doing it on purpose. Since then, I’ve produceda whole series of these images. Notonly arethey easy and fun, but the results look fantastic. Here’s a step-by-step guide so you cantry it yourself.
Steady as y
ou go Though t movemenhis technique is all tripod is stt, it’s important t about hat your ur d y and loc directions ked otherwise , other than the p off in all an – you’ll just get a blur ry mess
TIMEREQUIRE D TEN MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANONEOS-1DS MK III CANON24-70MMF/2.8 0.6NDHARDGRAD & FILTER HOLDER TRIPOD & REMOTE
Essential kit TRIPODHEAD: If youwantto produce smooth,consistent results usingthistechnique,you need therighttype of tripod head. I’ve been using a Manfrotto410Junior geared head forthe past few years. It is great forprecise adjustments, butnot so great when youwantto makebigger, fluid movementsof thecamera. Fortunately, justbefore Christmas I replaced the geared head witha Manfrottoballhead,which canbe unlocked on the horizontalaxis,makingit easy to panthe camera evenly. Pan & tiltheadsare evenbetterbecausethey have arms to adjust the camera on each axis, so you canlockthe forward/ backwardtilt andthe vertical adjustmentand simply move thecamera on thehorizontal.
First finda suitable location.I live bythesea and favour coastalviews because therearedefinedlinesof colourin thescene, 1 created by thebeach,thenthesea, thenthe sky. However, anyscenecontaining bands of colour is suitable. In thespring,fields of yellow oilseed rape againstblue skywould workbrilliantly. Thesamegoesfor poppy fieldsin summer. Urban scenesat nightare e v i t a e r C
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wortha trytoo, asthe colourful lightswill record asstreaks. The importantthing isthatyouhaveclearlydefinedareas ofcolour that arewide enough to formstripsacrossyourshot. Rememberthough,thatthisis an experiment andbreaking therules is allowed!
If you wantthe linesand streaksin theimage to bestraight (or asstraight Thestreaking is created by moving the cameraduring exposure, so the 2 as possible), you need tomakesurethecame rais level and that it remains3 shutter speed youuse is important. Anything between 0.5secs to two level when you pan acrossdurin g theexposure. I do this byfirstusin g the secondsis ideal. To setthis, I setthe camera to aperture-priority modeand stop spirit level on mytripo d, and thenusin g a second spiritlev el,moun ted on my thelensdownto f/16or f/22. In low light, sucha small aperturemay notbe hotshoe, which helps me to level the cameraitself. necessary, whilein bright conditions I often need a NeutralDensityfilter.
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Finalimage The final stage, for me, is tocropthe imageto a square.I feelthat thesquareformat adds to the symmetry and makes the compositionmore balancedand ordered. By always keeping the horizon central,a consistent themeruns through eachimage,makingthem workwelltogether.
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Once you’re setup andready, do a few practiceruns without takingany Back home, download theimage s toyour computer. I shoot in Raw, so the pictures.Hold thetripo d head or adjustment arm, position thecamer a to first step is to process them using Adobe Camera Raw. I usuallyfind that theleft of thesceneyou want toshoot , then smoothly panfrom left tsrcht. adjustments to Clarity andVibr ance addimpac t, along with ToneCurv e to Whenyou’ re happy youknowwhat you’re doing,try it forreal . Theresu ltsmayboost contrast. Once openedin Photoshop, I selectthe sky, make further bea little jerky tobeg inwith , but you’ll soongetthe hangof it. adjustments to levelsand curves, andthen do thesame tothe foreground.
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Webpatterns
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striving forthe it could be arg greatly depend effectthephotographer silhouette can create a t technically-speaking,it i A silhouette is when t outline, withoutcolour – in other words, the su most extreme form of b theright scene or subje particularlywhenthe su interestingor colourful colour, silhouettescanc prove that there really is One of the greatthing they areeasily achieved visitedDartmoor’s wind shoot perfectsilhouette
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Wild webwonders ROSSHODDINOTT: Ratherthan searchingthe webfor ideas, why not get outside with your digital camera andsearch fora real web? Spiders spin beautifulcobwebs of sticky silk,andtheir constructions areintricate,often symmetricalandlookstunningclose up. Therefore, if you own a close-focusingzoom,close-upfilter, extension tube or – better still – a dedicated macro lens, you will be able to capture stunning, frame-filling images. Spiders live everywhere, so you shouldn’t struggleto finda suitable web to photograph. They're easiest to find– and look their most photogenic – when smothered in tiny waterdroplets. Therefore, early morning after a clear, still night is thebest time to look. Alternatively, you could spray one with waterto create a similar effect by using a gardener’s spray bottle to create a fine mist that won’t damage theweb. In autumn andwinter, after a cold and frosty night, you might even finda frozenweb, which is particularly photogenicandcanmake veryarty, abstract-looking images by using a shallowdepth-of-field,together withcarefulfocusing.
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TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENTUSED NIKON D300, SIGMA 150MM,TRIPOD& REMOTE RELEASE
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ouettes TT:As photographers,we arealways ‘correct’exposure, aren’t we? However, ed thatthereis no suchthing;as it on thesubject, the situation, and the wantstoachieve. For example, a ulyeye-catching image even though, s theresult of a poor exposure… e subject is recorded as a black r detail, againsta lighterbackground ject is grossly underexposed. It is the cklightingbut,whencombinedwith
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t, the results can be stunning– bjectis contrasted againstan ky. Despite the lack of detailand nvey much about the subject and they no such thing as a ‘correct exposure’. about shootingsilhouettesis that and you need very little in terms ofkit. I wept landscape to show you how to … C r e a t iv e
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care! r any ,o e with Handlt to knock thetwoe(bit’s easily
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you ful no joined Be cares it might be leg). If you do,k the grasse ith a tripod eb and knoc nd w w u done amage the s to the gro may d enic droplet photog
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Essential kit REFLECTOR:
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A compact, fold-away reflectoris an essentialclose-up accessory.Theyare designedto bounce natural lightonto miniaturesubjectsinorder to relieveuglyshadows.A reflector willnormallycreate a more natural-lookingformof illuminationthanflash. However, I have often employed a reflector(orits blackcover)as a makeshiftbackgroundfor small subjectsto create a simplebackdrop.In some I didn’thave tosearchlongbefore findinga dew-laden web. I composedthe situations, youcan even use a image quickly, including theentire webin theframe. I setan aperture off/8, hopingthatthiswould create sufficient depth-of-field tokeep theweb sharp, while reflector’ssilver or white side in notrecordingtoomuch backgrounddetail.However, I didn’t payenough attentiontoorder to createhigh-key results.
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thebackgroundand thewebdoesn’tstandout very well against thelightbackdrop.
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2 successor failure. By simply changingviewpoint, shootingangle,focal leng3 th off/4,and placed myset- upat anangleto theweb. This wouldallow me to Thesubject’sbackdrop is often a majorcontributing factor to a photo’s
I wantedto createa more artylooking result. So,I selecteda larger aperture
or aperture, youcan alter the background’s colour andappearance. To eliminate recordjust partof theweb in focus. Focusing needs to be accurate whenworking thewhite sky from the image-space, I selected a higher angle by extending the with sucha shallow depth-of-field. I checked the image on theLCD monitor, legsof my tripod.A grassybank nowcreated a more attractive, green zoomingin tocheck the subject's sharpness. Unfortunately, my focusingisn’t background.I alsooptedfor a tightercomposition. preciseenough and theimage is soft.
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4 allows thephotographer toprecisely direct the viewer’s eyeto a specific 5 subject better– thinkingit would contrast starklywith the glistening water I tried again. Usinga shallowdepth-of-fieldat thislevel of magnification
pointof focus. If yourcamera hasa preview button,use itto review the distribution of depth-of-field. Thistime I took an extrafew moments toensure my focusingwas accurate andreleased the shutterremotely to prevent any camera movement spoilingthe image.
Althoughhappywith the previous shot, I felta black backdrop would suitthe
droplets.The cover ofmy foldaway reflector isblack , soI held it around 40cm behind the weband usedthe self-timer to triggerthe shutter. Finally, I had the resultI wanted. If you’d prefera more colourful look, youcould tryusing brightly-coloured card to alter theappearanceof the background.
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TIMEREQUIRED PAUL WARD:Oneof themost stunningtechniques on 30 MINUTES which to practice your low-light photography skillsis EQUIPMENTUSED thecapturing of traffic trails. Notonly are there an CANONEOS-1DS MkIII abundance of vehicleson theroad, buton dark WITHCANON evenings fromlateautumn throughto springtime, youcan 17-40MMF/4LZOOM venture out just after EastEnders to give this techniquea go, & TRIPOD rather than waiting untilthedead of night. Images of traffic trails work by combining a long shutter speed with the fast-moving lights caused by cars passing through the frame. Because of the low light and long exposure, the cars are invisible, leaving only the streaks of their headlights in theshot. The technique requires the smallest amount of kit, whichmakes it even more appealing. All you need is a digital camera and a tripod, although a remote release cable will make theprocess a lot easier. Readyto give this techniquea go, I grabbed my gear and headed out into the dark, taking a positionon an overpass of a busy Birmingham road.I recommend always arriving at your locationat least ten minutes before the sun goes down so you can take your time and find the best angle to shoot from, and also to take advantage of the sky’s blue tint that’s visible directly after the sungoes down. Because you’re shooting at night, it’s worth remembering a few important safety precautions. Always have permission to photograph if youare snapping from privately owned land.Remember to be as discreet as possible – you don’t want to advertise that expensive camera body to thieves. Finally, because you will be shooting in the vicinity of moving traffic – it may be anobviousone toconsider – be aware ofthe carsaround you. It may be a wise decision to wear a fluorescent bib, whichcan be bought from cycling shops such as Halfords.
WHITEBALANCE: Ifyou shoot in Raw, you can alter theWhite Balancein post-production after youhave uploaded yourimageson to yourcomputer. However, if youwant to try different White Balances while takingyourshot , thereare a couple of waysthis can be achieved.Either takea test shot, changing theWB in themenuas you go, orswitch toLiveViewand use theLCD monitor to judge howthe White Balance presetsaffect yourimage. Flashsetting
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I set upmy tripodto takea few quick testsho tsat a highISO , toseeho w I setthe cameramode to manual. You canuse aperture-priority mode, but the anglesand lights look, beforereturningthe ISOto 100and placing the thestreetlights cantrick the camera’s metering system. My exposure of camera on the tripod. I choose toshootthe imagein portraitform atto 1/10secat f/2.8 (ISO 100) isn’t long enough tocreateany emphasise thelong winding streaks causedby the headlights,and alsoto traffictrails. Also, thewide aperture makes thestreetlights look bland – using include the tallbuildings bordering theroad. a smaller aperture will givethe lights a pleasant starburst effect.
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Tensecondsatf/18
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I attemptto takeanother shot with a longer shutter speed. However, asI I playaround withsome different shutter speeds to seehow they affect the trigger the shutter button, my hand causessome vibration to thecamera, image. Atten seconds the imageis too dark, losingdetail in the road. blurring theimage.To getaroundthis problem,I attachmy remoterelease, However, at 16seconds theimage is too light, with the light trails burning out. althoughif youdon’t have one, youcan simply setyour camera’s self-timer. A shutter speed between these twopoints should giveme the correct exposure. Remember not to knock the tripod during the exposure. You should experimentwith your shutter speeds,too.
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Finalimage Withexposure settingscorrect, everything falls intoplaceto producea dynamic image. Why notgivethis techniquea shot?
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Beautiful butterflies
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Close-upsof butterflies TIMEREQUIRED 60 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D300 & 105MM MACRO LENS
ROSSHODDINOTT: Summerwouldn’tbe complete without thegraceful flightandvibrantcolours ofbutterflies. They can be foundinflower-richmeadowland,alongthe coastline, inwoodedglades andin ourgardens. Although wildlife photographycanbe trickyandfrustrating,butterflies are easy tolocateandget close to, particularly when feeding. Larger species are often easier tophotograph, as you don't needtoget so close to themtoachieveframe-filling shots.SmallTortoiseshell,Peacockand RedAdmiral butterflies are perfectforhoning your skills.They're largeandcommon, andwill oftensettleonflowersorbask open-winged onwallslong enoughforyou toshoot them. Insects are highlysensitivetomovement, so move slowlyanddon't
make any suddenorjerky movements. I recommendusingmanual focus, as it is quieter. Youalsoavoidthe risk of'hunting' as the lens tries tofocus,whichwastes valuabletime. Macrolensesare best for this type ofphotography, providingexcellent imagequality anda goodworkingdistance.However, cheaperalternatives suchas extensiontubesorclose-upfilterswill also get thejobdone. Most peopleshoot butterflies from overhead, with theirwingsopen flat; buttocreate striking, less conventionalimages, experimentwith otheranglesanddepth-of-field. Try shootingthem from eye-levelor backlitto show thetransparency andmarkingsoftheir wings. To give youa fewideas, I recently visitedsomenearbygardens where there were severalmigrantPaintedLadybutterflies. Allthat's required now is a littlepatienceandluck.
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Beautifulbutterflies
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Essential kit r o o d t u O
MACRO LENS:
It isn’t reallyfairto suggest that a macro lens is an ‘essential’ pieceof kit when photographing butterflies.Budget
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alternatives, like close-up filters, are capable of very good results. Also, many modernzoomsoffe r a ‘macro’ facility, which provides a highly useful reproduction ratio of up to 1:2 (half life-size), which is good enoughto fill theframe withlarger species. However, a dedicated macrois the best choice for wildlife close-ups.For flighty insects, a ‘tele-macro’, suchasa 90mmor 100mm,is a good choice. Notonly do they offer superbimagequali tyup to 1:1(life-size), butthis Shootingmode type of focal length Aperture-priority modeallowsyou createsa morepractical control overdepth-of-field, whilstthe camera-to-subject camera setsthe corresponding shutter workingdistance, speed to ensure you canwork quickly minimising therisk of andwiththe minimumof fuss disturbance and, therefore, maximising the photographer’s chances of success. GETTING PREPARED: When ‘stalking’ butterflies, you have no optionbut to keep your set-up A macro ofthislen gth is simple. A tripod often proves impractical – being too fiddly and time-consuming to position, and also relatively compact greatly increasing the risk of disturbing your subject. However, presuming it's a fine, sunny day, there should be sufficient light to enable you to select a shutter speed upwards of 1/200secand lightweight, making – fast enough to freeze subject and camera movement. When working handheld, keep your sharp results possible when handheld – even elbows pushed in towards your chest to limit camera shake. If you do require the added stability withoutimage-stabilising of a support, consider using a monopod, which is easier to position and shouldn’t disturb the technology. surrounding plants. Butterflies rarely feed or rest for long, so you will need to focus and compose your image quickly – something that gets easier with practice.
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1 minutes, observing their habits and which plants theypreferred. TheRed 2 your subject, as a messy backdrop willruin your image. With practice, it NOT CLOSE ENOUGH: I began by simply watchingthe butterfliesfor a few
Valerian wasa clearfavourite, so I stood nearby, cameraat theready. As the butterfly lands, approach it slowly, gradually moving the camerato your eye. Older insectscan looktatty,with faded colours,so onlysnap butterfliesin pristine condition. My firstefforts were disappointing,as I shotfrom toofar away, sothe butterfly is notlar geenou gh inthe frame. I neededto get closer.
BEAWAREOF YOURBACKGROUND: Be awareof whatis going on behind
becomes easierto letyou r eye wander around thefra mewhileyoufocu s and composeyour shot. A smallchangein shootingposition can eliminate distracting foliagefrom theframe.Alternatively, a wider aperture willthrowthe background out of focus. However, sometimes, there is nothingyou cando other thanwait until thebutterfly moves to a more photogenic position.
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Finalimage Photographing butterflies is a challenge, asjustas you'reabou t togetthe perfect shot, they fly away!Afternearlyan hour of chasingbutterflies around, I only managed a handful of imagesI was genuinely pleased with. Persevere and your patience should be rewarded too.
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DEPTH-OF-FIELD: This is crucial in close-upphotography. Too much, and SHOOTING ANGLE:Generally, if a butterfly is resting or feeding withits backgrounddetailwill be toodefined. Too little and thesubjectwon'tbe wings openflat, photograph it from above.If itswings areclosed, shoot from sharp throughout. A good general ruleis to setthe widest aperture thatwill stilloneside. Regardless ofwhetherthewing s are open orclos ed,tryand keepyour keep your subject acceptably sharp. Thisalso ensuresthat the shutterspeed iscameraparallel – if not,its wings willbegin driftingout of focus. However, fast enough to freezesubjectand camera movement. In thisinstance,after remember that youdon’talwayshave to optfor conventional angles.Try reviewing a handful of test frames,I found thatf/7.1 generated sufficient shootingstraighton at eye-level or from a lowviewpoint, forinstance. Withthis depth-of-field, whilst throwing the vegetationbehindpleasantly outof focus. shot, I combinedthe two approachesto createa more srcinal-lookingresult.
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32 Reflections
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Shootabstractreflectionsinwater ROSSHODDINOTT: Setup Reflections can be irresistible to photographers. A still bodyof water actsas a mirror, perfectly reflecting its surroundings. Landscape photographersoftenuse reflections to create symmetry,but water doesn’t need to be still for reflections to be photogenic. A slight breeze will create gentle ripples in smooth water, distortingthe colour and appearance of reflected subjects. Mundane subjects can be distorted to the point of abstraction, such as a block of flats, a boat’s mast or a brightly coloured buoy. By excluding the subject and isolating the reflections, it’s easy to take some unusual, artyimages. When photographing water and movement, each shot is unique, with thelook of therippled waterconstantly changing.In order to isolate thereflections, a telezoomis a good lens choice. A 70-300mm lens is ideal, as itsfocal length rangewill allowyou to achieve a variety of different results.Shutterspeed is a key consideration – too slow andthe waterwill blur. For crisp reflections, a speed upwards of 1/250sec is oftenrequired.As a result, you can normallywork handheldwithout any great risk of shake. I’drecommend using a polarising filter. Thismight surprise you, as this filter is oftenusedto reduce reflections, butit can also enhance their colour and intensity. Now allyou need is a suitable body ofwater and a breezy day – nottoo windy though, or thewater will be choppy.
TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D300 AND 80-400MM TELEZOOM WITH POLARISIN G FILTER
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A polarising filter is designed to block light polarised in one POLARISER: plane. By doing so, it can reduce or eliminate reflections and enhance contrast. They are constructed from a thin foil of polarising material, mounted between two circular pieces of glass. By rotating the filter in its mount, you can alter the filter’s angle of polarisation and the degree of polarised light that can reach the image sensor. Using a polariser is intuitive – simply look through the viewfinder and rotate the filter until you get your desired effect. Polarisers are one of the most useful filter types and their effect can’t be replicated on your computer later. Although designed to reduce reflections, applied correctly, they can also enhance them. By removing the reflective film or sheen on the water’s surface, the colours of reflections will be intensified. Apply the effect with care though – the filter will diminish the reflections if you’re not careful!
No polariser
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POLARISATION: Theeffect of a polariser has to be seen to be appreciated. SHUTTER SPEED: Shutterspeed is a keyconsideration whenshooting It canradically alter a scene’s appearance, and whileit caneliminate or abstract reflections. Too slow and the ripples will blur, whichis normally reducereflections, it canalso enhance themby removing the reflective sheenundesirable, as thereflections– and thebeautiful, swirly pattern they create– from the water’s surface. To ensureyou achieve the right effect,slowlyrotate won’t be sowelldefin ed.A good general rule is toshoot upwardsof 1/250sec. the filter whilelooking through theviewfinder. You'll seethe reflectionsfade Don’t worryif you need toselect a largeaper ture todo this – often the narrow and intensify. Stop at the point where thereflectionslook strongest. depth-of-field thiscreates will onlyadd to the ‘arty’effect. However, thisis These twoimages helpto illustrate thecontrasting effectsof thefilter. subjective, so experimentwith the shutter speed until youlike theeffect.
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Polarise rp
A polar roblem s! light. Yoiser absorbs a you sho ur camera ad round two sto j ps of u usts fo l d b e time w ill be le aware that th r this, but ng e too slow , raise t thened. If it b exposure he ISO ecomes to comp ensate
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COMPOSITION: Don’t
horizontal and vertical format compositions. It is possibleto achievevery different-looking results of thesame subject by simply turningyour camera. If you have a polarising filter attached, rememberthat switching formats will alter thedegreeof polarisation, soyouwill need toadjust the filter accordingly.
400mm
4 of the mainadvantages FOCAL LENGTH: One
ofusin g a telezoom to capture artyreflections is theversatility it offers. You can quickly zoomin or out, alteringthe composition withoutthe fuss of changing lens. Thelong end ofa zoomallo wsyou to highlightspecificdetails, coloursor patterns in the water. Theseshots show therangeof an 80-400mm.
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Shoot a colourfulflower refracted in waterdroplets ROSS HODDINOTT :You could argue thatphotographingthe refractedimage
of a colourful flower through one or more waterdroplets hangingon a stem or branch is a bit of a cliché, and with some justification too. However, whilst it may not be the mostsrcinal idea, there is no denying thatthe results can look eye-catching. Because it hasbeendonemany times before, it is easy tooverlooktakingthis type of shot. This is a mistake, though.There is nothingwrong with replicating an idea… so long as you do it well, and enjoy the challenge ofachievingthe final result.
TIMEREQUIRE D
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EQUIPMENT
NIKON D300, 150MM MACR O LENS,REMOTE RELEA SE ANDTRIPOD
ALSO USED
2x WIMBERLEY PLAMPS, GERBERA FLOWER,ATOMISER SPRAY BOTTLE
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36 Waterrefraction
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Essential kit r o o d t u O
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PLAMP FLEXIBLEARM:
I used a basic table-top set-up andbought a large, redgerbera from thelocalflorist. Thebigger theflower, thebetter, as it will alsobe thebackdropfor the shot. My droplets were suspended from a freshgreen reed, from mypond. I attached two Plampsto thetable; one to holdthe reedin place, and the other to position theflowerreed around20cm behind.The needs to be held horizontally, orthe water will run alongit, SETTING-UP:Thistype ofimageis easy toshoot andshould take no more than butthe advantageof using an hour. You canset up in your gardenor indoors, using a small table as your Plampsis that their flexible base. A macro lens would bethe idealchoice,as they typically havea 1:1 arms areeasyto adjust and reproduction ratio,but a reversing ring, close-uplens or extension tube would position. I alignedthe flower also work. A remoterelease would also be useful(or if youdon't have one, your and reedso thatthe flower DSLR'sself-timer would help), as would a small reflector. You'll needa nice, headcreateda frame-filling colourful flower to photograph, suchas a gerbera or sunflower. backdrop.Next, I sprayedthe Theflowerand the object your droplets arehangingfrom needto be clamped into position,and the droplets should be suspended between 10-30cm in front reed withan atomiser until a of the flower, from a thinreed,grassor branch.Wimberley Plampsare usefulforrow of droplets formed. Having donethis,I moved mytripod droplets, this, butbulldog clips or tape would also work. Lastly, to createyour use a water sprayer or atomiser. Spray repeatedlyuntil large droplets form into position– parallel to the and hangfrom your reed or branch. This can be a ratherfrustrating process, droplets andflowerbehind. soit may takea few attemptsto get thedropletsjustright .
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1refracted imageof theflower in everydrop. I decided to focus on a coupleof 2millimetres. Therefore,accurate focusing is critical, whichis why if your Just bylookingat therow of droplets, I could see theperfectminiature
With close-up photography, depth-of-field is often just a matter of
dropletsthat wereside byside.Next,I prioritiseda large apertureof f/4 in ordereyesight allowsit, youshould always optfor theaddedprecision of manualfocus. tothrowthe flowerbehind completely outof focus. I then focused on thedropletIscarefully altered mypointof focus, so that it wason therefracted image of the and released the shutter. However, by focusing on the drop itself, rather thantheflower. However, depth-of-field was so narrow at f/4, thatnothingotherthan my reflection, the refracted flower images were out-of-focus. point of focusis recordedas acceptably sharp.
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Finalimage Experiment with vertical and horizontal compositions and alter the shootingangle. Sometimesa shallow depth-of-field worksbest,and vice versa.I tried several approaches, but opted fora composition at a slight angleto theree d.I then focused on a single droplet, keeping the flower within it sharp,whilsteverythingelse driftedpleasantlyout of focus.
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In aperture-priority mode, I selecteda smaller f/number of f/14.I hoped this The previousimage wasOK, butthe composition wasn't terribly exciting. would generate enough depth-of-field to keep the droplets,refracted images I decidedthat isolating justtwo of thedroplets didn't createa strong enough and reed in acceptable focus. Theresulting slowershutter speed enhancedthe visual impact, so I sprayed the reeds again, to createmore drops,and then riskof camerashake,so even the tiniestvibrationcausedby pressing theshuttefoc r usedon a largergroup. I maintained thesettings forthe lastimage, usingf/14 releasebutton would softenthe image. Therefore, the useof a remoterelease with a corresponding shutterspeed of 1/4sec. Theresultwas more interesting, wasessential toensurea sharp result. but I was certain thatI coulddo better.
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Shooting movement in a scene ROSSHODDINO TT:Usinga lengthy exposure toblur subjectmovement is a popular techniquethatcan create theimpressionofmotionandgiveimages more life and dynamism.It is particularlywell-suited tolandscapes. This is a very subjectivetechnique, butI thinkit can transform a good imageinto anexcellent one. However, achievingjust the rightamount ofblur involves experimentingwith a range ofdifferentexposure times,so it cantakea while toget right,andis fairlyhit-and-miss. Watermovementis themost popularsubjectforthis technique, thoughit canworkwell with subjects includingclouds, people, flowersandgrasses. A golden fieldof wheat orbarley can be highly photogenic as it gently sways inthe breeze. Ona breezy day, finda viewpointwhereyou caninclude a staticsubjectto contrastwith themovement,such
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as a fence,treeor pylon. Now it’s time tobegin shooting movement inthe landscape.
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To generate the slowest possible shutter speedfor the available light, select the lens’s smallest aperture and lowest ISO sensitivity. This still maynot be slow enoughto create thedegree of subject movement you require. To lengthen your exposurefurther, you will need filters. NEUTRAL DENSITY(ND) filters are designed to absorblight to artificially lengthen exposures. They are availablein both screw-in and slot-invarieties anda range of densities. Themost commonstrengths areone,two andthree stops – while B+Woffer a ten-stop filter for generating exposures of extreme length. A two-stopND willsuffice in most situations. When using ND filters, compose andfocus your image beforeattaching thefilter, otherwisethe viewfinderimagewill be too dark. Your TTL metering will automatically adjust for the filter’s factor. POLARISING FILTERS also absorblight – increasing theexposure time by around two stops – andcan be utilised as makeshift NDs.
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SETTING UP:When using a lengthy shutter speed to blur subject movement, a tripodis essential,or you’ll addyourown movement to that of the subject. This is a very different typeof ‘blur’, know asalm camer a shake whi chnis ostalwa ys , undesirableas it can ruin a shot byblurr ing elements that ought to be sharply in focus.
1 landmark andI knew that thesurro undingfarml andwas planted with corn. TheDayma rk is a navigationalaid in South Devon.It is an attractive
I waitedfor a fine, breezy evening andvisit ed with theinten tion of blurring the crop. However, in program mode, the camera selected an exposure of 1/80sec at f/11 – too fast torecord anyobvio us subject motion.
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quickly set the slowest shutter speed availablefor theambien t light. I also selected thecamer a’s lowest ISO sensitivity, to help generate a long exposure. Although longer, the resultingexposureof 1/15sec at f/22 wasn’tslowenoug h to make any discernible difference.
movement,you’l l need touse filtration.Polarising filters havea filter factor of two stops, so I attached one. Notonly didit lengthen the exposureto 1/4sec at f/22,but it helpedto saturate thecolou rs.I opted fora low viewpoint, tohelp to emphasise the movement.
motion, I wondered how an even longer exposurewould alterthe image,so I attached a three-stop ND filter. The resulting exposurewas two seconds. However, the movement of thecrop wasnow too great. Thecorn in the foreground was completely blurred and looked messy.
Switch to shutter-priority
effect look intentional; yet without makingthe subject look unrecognisable. This will depend on thesubje ct andwind speed.Forthis image, I replacedthe three-stop ND with a two-stop ND filter. In this instance, an exposure of onesecon d at f/22 created just therighteffe ct.
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Finalimage Using the same settings, I took a variety of shots, as no two 'motion' shots areever the same. I experimented withviewpoints and composition.I washappy with the results, but havingexperimented recently with black & white photography, I decidedthe image would work well convertedto mono.
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Shoot movingwater r o o d t u O
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TIME REQUIRED LEE FROST:Although it has becomesomething of 30 MINUTES a cliché, using a slow shutter speed to record EQUIPMENT USED moving water as a graceful, milky blur is an CANONEOS-1D S MkIII undeniably effectivetechnique, which is why so WITHCANON manyphotographers, including myself, liketouse it. From 17-40MMZOOM tumbling mountain streams tobubbling brooks and ALSO USED thunderingwaterfalls, wherever youfind moving water, the NDFILTER,NDGRAD, same basic approach can be used tocaptureit and turn an TRIPOD, REMOTE RELEASE,LENS CLOTH ordinary scene into a creative image that’s full of atmosphere. Even better, moving water is best shot on an overcast day with soft light so there areno blinding highlights to contend with, caused by sunlight reflecting on the water. This makes it a perfect subject forthosedull, grey days photographers in the UK know so well!
SELECT A SLOW SHUTTER SPEED Thekeyto : success when shooting movingwater is to usea shutter speed that’s slow enoughto blur thewater, so it records witha smooth, milky appearance, but not soslowthat areas where the water ismore concentratedstartto overexpose and burnout. This is a matterof trial anderror, butan exposure of onesecond usuallymakes a good starting point. Thegreat thing about digitalcaptureis that youcan check eachshotyoutak e toseehowit looks, then shortenor lengthenthe exposure timeuntilyou get theperfect result. If tiny areas ofwaterburnout, don’t worry – when you downloadthe images and view them as full-sizefiles, chances are those highlight warnings willhavedisappeared.If not, it’s a simple jobtocopy use the Clone Stampfrom toolin Photoshopto andpastewater a different partof theimageoverthe overexposedareas.
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Because a slow shutter speed willbe used to blur the water movement, always mountyour camera on a sturdy tripod tokeep it nice andsteady. It’s also a good idea to attach a remotereleaseso youcantrip theshutter withouttouchingthe camera, which risks vibrations that could lead to your images being ruinedby shake.
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In dull weather, stoppingyour lens down to f/16 orf/22andsetting a low ISO may give you a shutter speed slow enoughto blur thewater. If not, usea Neutral Density (ND) filter toincreasethe exposure.A polarisingfiltercan also be used to increasethe exposure by two stops– so 1/4sec becomes one second, for example.
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Beforetaking a shot, check thelens or filter for water droplets.If you’re shooting closeto a waterfall splashesor spraymay geton thelens. In this case, drizzle wasthe culprit. Wipe thewater awaywith a clean microfibrecloth, otherwiseimage qualitywill suffer. Holdingan umbrella over the camera canhelp in rainy weather.
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Takeyourfirstshot andreviewit. I wasinitially attracted to this spout of water hitting a rock andcascading in alldirections. Shooting side-on proved to be a good angle anda shutter speed of onesecond offered enough blur. Theshotworked, butthere were many other optionsto explore.
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I decided to trya wider view,usingthe water spout in thepreviousstepas foreground interest, carrying the eyeup the ravine towardsthe distant peaks of theCuillin Ridge. It took a few attempts toget theshutter speed just right so no areas of the moving water were overexposed.
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Finalimage Here’s the end result, shot with an exposure 1.3 seconds f/22 (ISO 50), of using a 0.9ND at filter to increase the exposure and a 0.6ND hard graduate to hold detail in the sky. The dull weather and soft light worked well, perfectly revealing the subtle colours in the scene, while the blurred water captures the feel of the tumbling mountain stream.
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Levita tioneffect
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Ablastofashutterthat will blow youaway! CAROLINEWILKINSON: DavidBlaine hasshown us he can do it, Derren Brown does it with large tablesand, come on, we allbelieved in the power of Mary Poppins’ umbrella. But is it truth or trickery? Quite frankly though, whocares? Thelevitation effectlooksgreat and,evidently, always leaves people wondering how it was done. Using Photoshop to create the illusion is a skill of its own, usually done through compositing or removing objects that give a personheight. However, this time, I’mgoing to show you how to achieve theeffect entirely in-camera, relyingon timing, patience, a veryfastshutter speed and a subject who is fit enoughto jump time and again!
TIMEREQUIRE D 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D300 & SIGMA 18-200MMLENS
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tioneffect 46 Levita
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Things are look ing up!
The ef looks ufect works be unflatt p at the umbtter if your su jumpinering expres rella. It avoi bject the um g and gives sions createdds any th brella i s the ca e impressio while n use of t he levitthat ation
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I triedthistec hnique ina field and onconcrete, but By standing parallel tothe model, soher feet weren’t neitherworkedas well asbein g ontop ofa hill with atmy eye line,it was hardto tell thatshehad much 1 2 justsky as background. To capture theall-important distance offthe ground.Havingchosento move to a hill, height, trya contrasting backdrop behind thefeet,adding it allowedme topositionmyself below herfor an upward a shadowor standing someonenextto themodel to viewpoint that really helped mecapture thefull distance benchmark howhigh they areoff theground. when shejumped.
There aretwo factors thatwill determinesuccess or failure: the shutter speed and thesubject’s position. Useas fast a shutterspeed as possibleto freezethe subjectin mid-air, ideally at thetop of thejump, when they arefurthest from the ground.Watch themodel’s feet too. If they’re pointeddown they will mask thedistance between foot andfloor which makes theshot so effective.
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I setmy camerato shutter-priority and 3 Continuous AF, which continually adjusts the focusona moving subjectto keepthe imagecris p.I also set the camera toCH (continuoushigh shootingmode)to increase myshooting rate.Youcanalwaystry to predictthe timeto hit theshutter release,but I found iteasi erto hold itdownfro m the moment sheleft theground.
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Thesuccessof theillusionrelies on the subjectlooking likethey'relevitating. 4 To getthis effectrequiresa fast shutter speed,soI set the ISO to640toletmese t theshutter to 1/8000sec.This frozemy subjectbut mytimi ngwasoffso I missed her atthepeakof her leap.I triedagai n,and did better, buther feet pointeddown, obscuring howhigh shehad jumped.
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Finalimage Timing is everything with this technique. Just keep your subject jumping, don't stop shooting, and you will eventually get the shot you want. I tweaked the Hue and Saturation of this image to pump up the vivid colour.
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Photograph our feathered friends ROSSHODDINO TT: If you havea
garden, I expect you also share it with a number ofbirds. The average UK garden is visited by a wide variety, with bluetits, great tits, chaffinches, robins, sparrows and blackbirds beingthe mostwidespread. Wildlifephotography is a very popular subject and, at one timeor another, mostdigital photographers willbe tempted to try snapping the birds in their backyard. Bird photography isn’t easy, though, andcan prove challenging and frustrating.However, witha little food planning,patienceand bribery – in the form ofwildbird – it is possible to capture stunning bird images. You may even be able to do so from the comfort of your very own living room or kitchen.
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Essential kit TELEPHOT O LENS:
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Gardenbirdsare small and evenif you can entice themwithinthree metres of yourcamera, you’ll still need a focal lengthupwardsof 300mmto capture frame-filling shots. Thankfully, telezoomsare notas costlythesedays. Thelong endof a 70-300mm zoomshouldprovesufficient,particularlyin combinationwith a DSLR witha cropped type sensor– as itsfocallength willeffectivelybe increased by a factorof around 1.5x. Theonly problemto using budget telephotos is that they tend to have a relatively pedestrian maximum aperture,typicallyf/5.6.Consequently,shutter speeds areslower, makingit more difficult to freeze subject movement.In gooddaylight though,usinga lens witha slowermaximum aperture shouldn’t be a problem.
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1 conceal your whereabouts. Most wild birds arequite timid andeasil y
To capture visiting birds,you first needto decidehow youare goingto
2 can dothisin the formof foodor water. Ifyou already havea birdfee der in
frightened away. While a hide is ideal,it is an added cost. Instead,try using a gardenshed or a householdwindo w. Buycamoufl agenett ingfrom your local army surplus supplies or www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk and hang this acrossyour open door or windowto create a makeshifthide.Youcan then pokeyour lens through the netting, keeping yourself hidden.
your garden,just move it within a few metres of your ‘hide’.If not, buya feederfrom a local gardencentr e andposit ionit close toyour set-up. Only buyrecom mendedwild bird seed andpeanu ts.Withi n days, hours,or even minutes, birds will be visiting your ‘feeding station’. Keep feeders full, so that birds get in thehabitof visiting regularly.
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To enticebird s withinrang e of your lens, you will need tobribethem. You
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3 didn’twantto photographthe birds on thefeede r. Instead,I introduced one4 prioritisea fast shutter speed to freeze theirmovement. Shutter-priority is I wanted to capture some nice, natural-looking birdimages. Therefore, I
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or two propsnearb y that visiting birds wouldhopef ullyuse to rest on between themode best suitedto this type of photography. Ideally, a speed upwards of feeds.You could tryanyth ing, forexam ple, position a branch of colourful 1/400secis needed, otherwiseyour shots maysuffe r from subject blur. Select blossom adjacent toyour feeder, or maybe a clothes linewith pegs in orderto themaximu m aperture of your lens and, if necessary, increase theISO rating. create an urban-looking shot. In this instance, I opted forthe handleof an old Despite using a shutter speed of 1/250sec, my first fewimage s suffered from spade, positioned nextto the feeder. subjectblur, so I raised theISO from 100 to200.
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Planfort
helight Set up y in an areour feeding stat several ha that receives ion and ‘props’ good lig somewh ours of a day. Av ht for building ere that is shad oid placing it , a fence e , hedges d by a or trees
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5 shallow.This is usefulfor throwing background and foreground detail out 6 persevere. With my set-up complete,I investedseveralhours overthe When using a telezoomwith a large aperture, depth-of-field will be very
Oneof thekey pointsto takinggood wildlife pictures is tobe patient and
of focus andhelpin g to isolate your subject. However, such a limited courseof three days at my studio window shooting thevisiti ng birds. depth-of-field means youneed to focus with pinpoint accuracy. Try tofocusonSometimesI hadto wait more than an hour before a bird woulduse theperch . the bird’seye s – ifthes e aren’tshar p,theimag e willbe ruined. AFis the best Be prepared tospendlots of time andtakelots of framesbefor e getting the andquick estmetho d of focusing when shooting fast-moving small birds,so I shot youare after. You will have lots of ‘near misses’, butthe good shots more setmy D300 to itscont inuous AF trackingmode. than make up forthem.
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Capture interesting detail shots of your car STEWART BYWATER: A fun wayto makesome striking, colourful images is to shoot carclose-ups. Cars make great subjects, as they have so many details and angles, and you can shoot them anywhere, from beautiful landscape locations to just outside your home. Bright sunshine willemphasise the colours of the bodywork, but don’t let cloudy conditions put you off. If it’s bright, the clouds will be reflected, adding interest to the shots.
Essential kit TIMEREQUIRE D 30 MINUTES
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CANON EOS 10D & 17-40MM F/4 L LENS, POLARISING FILTER
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MINI COOPER
POLARISER: I used a circularpolarisingfilter onmy CanonEF 17-40mmf/4 lens.Rotatingthe filtermeantthatnot only were the detailson thecaraccentuated, I could also manipulate the reflections onthe glassand non-metallicpartsof thecar, such as thewindscreenandbodywork.However, polarisingfilters do not affectmetallic reflections, so be aware ofyoursurroundings,asthey willbe reflectedin any chromeor steelparts.Perhaps themost important benefit ofusinga polariser forthistechnique, however, is that they reallyhelpto saturatethecoloursof a car, givingtheshots a reallyvivid lookandmaking them standout more.
THE SET UP: OnceI arrivedat the showroom,I hada lot ofcarstochoo sefrom. I decidedon a red Mini,foritsstr ong colour anddistinctive Union Flag roof.I asked Alex tomove the car ontoa grass verge,so that theshowroomand nearbycars wouldnot reflectin thebodywork. I also felt that a clean backgroundconsisting simply of the greengrassand cloudy bluesky wouldwork betterwith these shots thanthe showroom's exterior would.I turnedon thelights, as well as theorange warninglights, which I thought wouldadd a littlebit of extrainterestto some of theless colourful parts of thecar.
Either way, it’seffort.Do easy to get great results with minimal keep in mind that buildings or objects near your car will also be reflected in theglass or the bodywork though. I chose to shoot a Mini, as they're instantly recognisable, with lots of fantastic details and curves. Many thanks to Alex at Sycamore BMWin Peterborough, who was kind enoughto lend me one. To seetheir excellent range of new and pre-owned cars, please visit: www.sycamorebmw.co.uk
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As it was a fairlybrig ht day, butslig htly overcast,I set my ISOrat ingto 200. Once I'densur ed that my camera was correctly setup,and my memorycar d This wouldgiveme a fast enoughshut ter speed,and keep thenois e levels wasin place andform atted, I attached a circular polarising filter tomy lens. relatively lowin theimag es. I set theWhit e Balance to'Dayl ight', although I This is a simpleproc ess, as thepolar iser simplyscrewsintothe filter threadat changed it to'Clou dy'late r on.I used aperture-priority with thelensat itswidetheend st of thelens . Polariserscan be really usefulfor bringing outcolo ursand aperture, f/4, to limitthe depth-of-fieldfor a morearty effect. clouddetai ls.Tobe honest, this onerar elyleav es mylens.
Onethingthat 's very difficult when shooting such shinysurfa ces as the In my bidto shootthe carfro m some unusual angles, I found it necessary chromedecal s of a car, is tokeepyourown reflection outof thefram e.To tolie on thegrou nd.I findshoot ingfroma lying-down positionmuch easier startwith , I used a tripod on self-timer mode tominim isethe reflection, buttheandmorecomf ortable than crouching andstr ainingmy neck. It also allows me camera was still reflected. It also increased thetimefor each shot andtooka lot tohold thecame ramorestea dily. If you don't wantto get dirty, usea DSLR with of the spontaneity outof it,so I decided toshoothand held instead. LiveView or fit a right-angle viewfinderattachment.
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THE IDEALCOMPANION FOR YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA
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SHOOT BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS, STILL-LIFES AND CLOSE-UPS IN THECOMFORTOF YOUROWN HOME
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Manyleading lifestyle portrait photographers use DANIELLEZANO:
TIMEREQUIRE D 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED CANON EOS 5D MKII WITH 50MM F/1.8
ALSO USED SILVER REFLECTOR & LASTOLITEDIFFUSER
nothing more than ambient daylight forthe vast majority of their portrait shoots. So, while we have the benefits of bright, sunny days at ourdisposal, we shoulduse it to capture some simple yet effective portraits of family and friends. The best thing about shooting lifestyle portraits is that you can do it with the minimum amount ofequipment – your DSLR or CSC with a kit lens is enough – although I’m using my favourite optic, the humble (and cheap!) 50mm lens. Due to the unpredictable nature of daylight,lighting aids such as a reflector and a diffuser can come in handy too,but aren’t essential. The key thing to remember is that you want to capture a ‘clean’ image, in other words try tokeepthe subjectand the setting as simple as possible. I’ve opted for the classic combination of having my subject, Bethany, wear a white top andjeans, andshot her lying on my diningroom's laminate flooring.
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SHOOTAT A SLANT: One compositional trick that most lifestyle photographers apply to their imagesis to slant the camera so that theimages are captured with an uneven horizon. This simple technique adds a littleenergyinto the image andis very effective – just take care not to tiltthe camera toofar.
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diningroom is quite small, so I’ve 1My hadto clear it completely of furniture. Asmy subjtoensureit’sas ect willbe lyingon theas flo or,sib I le. vac uumit clean pos Dueto thecrampedspace, I open thepatio doors in caseI needto shoot fromthe patio. However, I’ll startby shooting fromwithin theroom and use the white wallsas a neutral backdrop. Using a wide aperture to give a shallow depth-of-field is ideal for this typeof shotand I’ll betryingout my 50mm’s maximum aperture of f/1.8, although I’ll take most of theimages at f/2.5-3.5 as it will improve sharpness.
Techniquewatch DIFFUSEDDAYLIGHT For : flattering portraits, thelight shouldbe as diffused as possible to avoidyour model squinting in direct sunlight or having the light on theirface too harsh.In this instance, tryto repositionthem so they’re in the shade or use a diffuser to shade thescene (inset right). If neither of these work, you may need to wait until the sun’s position changes or shoot when the sky is more overcast. A silver reflector is handy even when shootingin non-directional light to fill in shadows.
My first shotis just a tester forcomposition andexposure. I’ve a pretty I placea silver reflector toBeth any's rightjust out offrame and it makes 2 clear ideain myheadof the type ofshotI’m looking for, with Bethany 3 a noticeable difference, bouncingback enough light to even out the lying downwithher lower legs and feetbentbacktow ardsher head. This lightingon the face. Thelighting’s better, but the wall behind, while plain, shot isn’t bad,but theside -lightingcau ses herrigh t side tobe too dark.
causes the whole scene to appeara little toocramped formy liking.
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My next shot is perfectand all I need todo is applymini mal post-production. I’ve boosted the contrastin Curvesand croppedthe image slightlyto give me the result I set outto shoot. Giveit a try– you’ll be surprised just howeasy it is to shoot a great lifestyle portrait at home.
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I shiftBeth any and myposition sothatI’m now shootingintothe room I crouch down andthe lower viewpoint is far betterbut the multi-zone from the patioratherthanfro m the side.I close theblin ds in the meter has bleachedout Bethanyslightly due to the dark background backdrop so to darken the background. Theempty space created behind her causing it to overexpose the scene. This is easily taken care of by dialling in is an improvement over the srcinalset-up but my viewpoint is toohigh. some negative exposure compensation. I find -2/3EV is ideal.
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Fun with refraction r o o d t u O
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ROSSHODDINOTT:Refraction is the directional shift or ‘bending’ of light rays as they TIMEREQUIR ED leave one density andenter 45 MINUTES another – it is the reasonwhy yourlegs EQUIPMENT USED lookshorter underwater whenviewed NIKON D300 & from above thesurface. Theway in SIGMA 150MM whichwater refractsand reflectsits MACRO LENS surroundings, and nearby objects, ALSO USED offersendless creativepotentialfor SWEETS, CD CASE, PAPER & SYRINGE photographers. Waterdropletsactlike tiny‘lenses’reflectingperfect,miniature, reversed images within them. Photographed in close-up,usingeithera macro lens or close-up attachment, youcancapturethisstrikingeffect. Colourful flowerslook particularly goodwhenphotographedthrougha water droplet – creatingan ‘image withinan image’. You could trytaking pictures outside after rainfall or a dewy night when foliage is dripping.However, this gives youlittle control over theimagereflectedwithinyour droplet, andyou also have to consider wind movement. Instead, why notarrange a simple, table-topset-up indoors andcreate your own refraction photos?By doing so, you can decide exactly what will be reflectedwithinyourdroplets. You canhaveall sorts of funusing differentsubjects; for example, you could usetext, flowers, a flag, a
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1 I decidedto photographthe refractedimageof somecolourfulsweets. I wantedto createa fun,colourfulimage.So after muchdeliberating,
To doso,I neededsome glassor clearplastictoplac e mydropletson – I opted forthe lidof a CDcase.Tocreate andpositionmy reflectivedroplets, I decidedto usea syringe, buta dropper or water spraywouldalso work.
To achieve enoughdepth-of-fieldto keep both the droplet andrefracted image in acceptable focus,you will needto select a small aperture. This willresult in a slow shutter speed, making the useof a tripod essential to keep the camerashake-free and to allow youto accurately select your pointof focus. Capturing frame-filling imagesof tiny waterdropletsrequires shooting at a relatively highlevelof magnification – when even the tiniest movementseemsgreatly exaggerated.Usinga remote release is preferable to physicallyreleasing the shutterwith your finger, which can createslightvibrations thatcan softenthe final image. If you don’t have a remoterelease,use your camera’s self-timerfacility.
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2white card into a cylindricalshape,placing it aroundthe sweets, tohelp reflect3 maximisedepth-of-field.I composed my shotand carefully focusedon the I arranged thesweets on a black surface. I thenrolled-up andtapeda sheet of
Using a tripod,I positionedmy cameradirectly overhead,keeping itparallel to
light evenlyand tocreate a makeshift‘stand’on which toplacethe CDlid. Using refractedimagewithinthe droplets – notthe droplets'surfaces. I started witha thesyringe,I carefully created a seriesof tiny droplets onthe CD case – eachdrop large aperture off/4,but thedepth-of-fieldwas toonarrowand everythingother creating a refractedimageof thesweets below. thanthe reflected imageswas outof focus.
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Focus o n the
With th manua is type of im itself, n lly focus on age, it is imp t drople ot on the su he refracted ortant to t r to pred , as the AF s face of the w image y a ict you r desir stem may st ter ru ed poin t of foc ggle us
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I changedthe aperture tof/22 toincreasedepth-of-field.The resulting Thenext stepwasto tidyup myimage.Even though I hadwip edover the plasticcase beforeI began shooting, tiny marks were obviousacross the essential. Theresult hadfar more impact– thedropletswerein focus,and the image.Using a combinationof Photoshop's Clone tool andHealingBrush, sweetsbehind madea colourful background.However, dustand scratches ontheI carefully cleanedthe image.I thenadjustedthe Levelsto increase contrast, plasticwerealso nowvisible becauseof thesmalleraperture. uppingthe saturationslightly too, in Hue/Saturation, toadd impact.
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DANIELLEZANO: If you've never tried photographing a flower, I'd suggest you give it a go. As a photographer who has concentrated mainly on portraiture, the enjoyment I found from composing my first ever flower still-life came as nothing short of a revelation. It's an incredibly rewarding form of photography, which allows you to practise your skills with composition and lighting, as well as testing your creativity by trying to find different angles and viewpoints to shoot from. The sheer variety of beautiful flowers available will give you endless options foryour still-life. My personal favourite is the gerbera, butit is run a close second by the elegant beauty of the rose. However, I find thegerbera to be a far easier flower tophotograph,as its shapeallows you tocapture it from all
TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 500D & 100MM MACRO LENS MANFROTTO 055MF4 TRIPOD WITH RC322 HEAD & REFLECTOR
ALSO USED PINK GARDEN ROSE
Essential kit MACRO LENS & TRIPOD: Because we’re trying to fill the frame with a very small subject, a macro lens is pretty much an essential bit of kit. It will allow you to focus within a few centimetres from your subject and exclude the background from the frame, so that the entire image is filled with your flower. Now it’s fair to say that you can get away with shooting handheld here, especially if your camera or lens has an image stabilisation facility, but I’d highly recommend that you do use a tripod. Using one will allow you to fine-tune your compositions, ensure your focusing is absolutely precise (this is absolutely critical with macro photograph y) and also let you shoot a series of identical shots at different aperture settings so that you can later choose the one that you prefer.
sortsof angles crops. In my the rose ispetals a much harder proposition; it isand more fragile andview, the folds of its can mean that not everyone you findis a suitablesubject for photography. In the past, whenI've bought roses, I've specifically headed to a good florist and delved through their selection for the perfect subject. For this step-by-step however, I snipped roses from a neighbour's garden (with permission of course!) to show that it is possible tofind a suitable subject even among ordinary flowers from the garden.
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THE SET-UP:The great thing about close-up flower photography is you don't need an elaborateset-up. Thearea close to the French doors in my diningroom providedall the light I needed for theshoot. The rosewas balancedin a half-filled plastic water bottleto holdit in position,while my camerawith macro lensis set upon a tripod.I find that shootinga flower indoors offerstwo key advantages: wind blowing the flower isn't an issue shoo and tingin the shade provides a far gentlerlight.Finally,it's worth keepinga silver reflector on hand should youneed to bounce some light back into the scene. e v i t a e r C
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FOCUS PROBLEMS I setaperture-priority modeand, foroptimumquality, FINE-TUNE THE COMPOSITION Withfocusing solved, take a shotand check a low ISOof 100.One thingI haven'tsetyetis theaut ofocus.I leave it at the histogram. You should findthat unless thefloweris very light or dark, multi-point, justto demonstrate whathappens. With all AF points active,the your exposures arecorrect.Now concentrate on the composition.Make small camera focuseson the closestpartof thesubj ect, whichis on the farleftof the adjustmentsto thetripodhead, raise or lower the legsand move the flower until frame.Switching tosingle-pointAF and settingthe AF point over the area I wantyou'rehappy with howit's framed.LiveViewproves very useful, as youcan tofocus sorts this out. Another option is touse manualfocus. monitorchanges more easily thanif using theviewfinder.
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Finalimage Theadvantage of buyingfrom a florist is thatyour subject will have fewer imperfections. This gardenrose hada few discoloured areas, but they were easilycleaned up with the Healing Brush tool in Photoshop. After 15 minutes of photography and five minutes of Photoshop, I've a beautiful still-life ofa flower toadd to my colourful collection!
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USE A REFLECTOR IF REQUIRED I waspleasedwith thecompositionof the APERTURESETTINGSOnce you'rehappy with the composition and image, butnotso happythatthe side ofthe flower closestto thewind owwas lighting, take a series of exposures at one-stop intervals from maximum to much brighter than the rightside . I balanced this outby restingmy reflector on minimum aperture to give youa complete set, from minimal depth-of-field toas the tripodleg closestto theflower. The lightit bounces back is subtle,but I'm muchas possible in focus. To minimise shake in thelongerexposures, use the happy withthe differenceit makes to the image. self-timer or a remoterelease to firethe shutter.
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Howtotakeaperfectbath-timeportrait ROSSHODDINOTT: Whilst some photographers might have access to a studio, or own a home studio set-up and lights, the majority of us don't. So what can wedo when we're stuck at home on a cold, wet winter day, to create studio-like results? Well, have you ever considered using your bath? No, not for a relaxing soak, but toreflect light. A white tub will act likea large reflector – reflecting light entering through an adjacent window (or a burst of flash), evenly around a subject placed in the bath. It will also form a clean, white backdrop – helping create attractive, high-key results. To put this theory to the test, I decided to take some fresh portraits of my two-year old daughter; but would she stay still long enough for me to take a good picture?
TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D300 & 105MM MACRO LENS
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lightrove to be theIn p s. Windhot cw an often our portrait onal
lig gy ssi Windowt way of lightinat many profeear by it, perfechere are a grehers who sw resort t p t fact, it photogra ash as a las portra troducing fl only in
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ofusing a bathas a makeshift ‘reflector’ is thesize ofthe subjects that youcan shoot.Theymustn’t exceed theheight ofthe tub, so selectan object which isn’t toobig. Due tothetypeor size ofthe subjects youwill be shooting, a focal lengthin theregion of 100-150mm is ideallysuited. A macrolens is ideal,due to its close focusing ability. To photographmydaughter, I used a Sigma 105mm macro. This is a popularlens withportrait photographers,as it allows youto takepicturesfroma comfortable distance away fromyoursitter, while its f/2.8 maximum aperture creates a brightviewfinderimage.
HISTOGRAMS: Regularly check yourimage’s histogram
to ensure exposureis accurate. Whilst photographingmy daughter in thebath,I relied on thehistogram to ensure that thebright, whitebath tubwasn’t fooling mymetering into underexposure– something whichwould have been indicatedby peaks to theleft of thegraph.
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I'mnot a portraitphoto grapher anddon'thave access to a proper studio, so With thehelpof a few chocolatebuttons, mydaughtersat in the bath. when I take pictures indoors, I have to improvise.I wanted to take some Althoughconfused by thelack of water, she happily smiled while I began freshshotsof mydaughter butthe initial results were disappointing. When taking pictures.The light entering throughthe windowbounced aroundthe bath, simplytakin g shots of herin ourloung e at home, dark, unflatteringshado ws creating a more flattering light source. Thetub formeda clean, simple backdrop, formedunder neath hereyes , mouth andchin. but hereyes lacked a catchlight– vital forcreating depth and life.
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Finalimage When shooting portraits, you often have to shoot a large sequence of images before you get the light, composition and pose just right. After many chocolate buttons, I’d managed to take a couple of shots I was really happy with – nicely lit portraits, taken with the simplest of set-ups. Finally, don’t overlook the possibility of converting your image to black & white. In Photoshop, one of the best methods is Image>Adjustments>Channel Mixer . Check the Monochrome box and try to keep the combined total for channels to 100.
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To create a catchlight, I employed a small burst of fill-flash.I used my Nikon I selected thelens’s largest apertureof f2/8 to throw thetub outof focus,so D300’s built-in unit, with a flashexpo sure compensationof -2stop s, to it wasunre cognisable, andto give a fast enoughshutt er speed toallowme ensurethe burst didn’tover whelm theambien t light.Not only didthe burst to workhandheld. However, the resulting depth-of-field was narrow, making create a catchlight, butit bounced more light aroundthe bath tub. However, thiacc s urate focusing critical. It is essentialthat eyes are sharp,so I tried again, time my focusing letme down – theeyes are notcriti cally sharp. takingextr a care to ensure theeye closest tome wassharp ly focused.
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ROSS HODDINOTT: I possess a complete lack of culinary skills…just ask TIMEREQUIRED 45 MINUTES my poor wife! I’mhopeless EQUIPMENTNEEDED inthe kitchen, which is why it is NIKON D300, SIGMA saferfor everyoneconcerned if I 105MM, TRIPOD photographfood ratherthan ALSO USED prepare it for eating! Opening a tin SPOON,DISH, ofbeans or soupis just about my TWEEZERS AND TIN OF ALPHABET SOUP limit. My little girls love alphabet spaghettiand it was watching my older daughtermaking words with theletters that got me thinking about thepicture potential. I decided to raid the cupboard and have funspellingout specific words using thealphabetsoup.This is a fun shot totry and it couldn’t be easier or cheaper todo. You can buy a couple ofsmall tins for under a pound atyour local supermarket,and then allthat is required are a few everyday household bits and pieces. I used a small still-life tableto arrange myset-up, although a simple tabletop set-upin your kitchenor livingroom would do thejob equally well. Rather thanusingflash, the soft natural light from anadjacent window is ideally suited to this type of still-life image. Time to start spelling…
GETTINGSTARTED: I used a white products table as my base, but anytableor kitchen surface willworkwell. Keepsome kitchen towel nearby too: alphab et soup iseasy mes systuffand to get on your hands when you arepicking out and arranging your letters with tweezers. You don’t want to transfer tomato saucefrom your hand to your valuable camera gear!
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Firstly, I opened thetinof soup andpou red thecontents into a flat, white I thoughtit wouldbe funto havemy words ona spoonas itwoul d help the dish. Using tweezers,I began picking out theletters I required. In this letters stand outand the spoon would addvisual interest.Again using instance, I thoughtit aptto spell out PHOTODIY. However, even with tweezers, tweezers,I arranged theletters. However, while the ideawas good, in practice you haveto begentle not todama geor breakthelett ers,but aftera few the letters all slidtogetheras themetal is scooped,distorting their shape and minutes, I soonfound theletters I needed formy chosen phrase. making the words tricky to read.
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Carefully, I moved theletters backonto the dish. To ensure PHOTODIY stood outI left a small gap around the words.I then held the spoon in position, just abovethe dish,usinga clamp. I focusedon the spoon,butto ensure thewordsin the backgroundwere still distinguishable, I selected an aperture of f/11 to providesufficient depth-of-field.
I wasn’t happy with either of my previousefforts,so I decided todispense withthe spoon – insteadof creating interest,it wasproving a distraction. Thistime, I croppedin tighter, filling the frame withthe alphabetspaghetti. Thewind owlight providedampleligh ting andI used a tripod toensu remy pictureremained shake-free at an exposure of 1/4secat f/11.
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Finalimage I decidedthe alphabet spaghetti would look bettershot in a vertical composition. The format change meantI hadto rearrange the surrounding letters, leavinga larger gap around PHOTO DIY.
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Make a splash! r o o d t u O
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ROSSHODDINO TT: Wateris highly photogenic,
whether in large quantities or a tiny droplet.H 2O seemsto be irresistibleto photographers:theycan 'suspend'it by using a fast shutter speed or render it as a milky blur with a lengthy exposure, capture reflections off its surface or use it toadd the feeling ofmotionto an image. There is an infinite number of ways to shoot it, so it's no wonder that water features in so many of our images. Onepicture that many photographers want to take is a close-up of a droplet splashinginto water. Yes, it is a bit of a cliché, but done well it creates a very striking image. You don’t need much room; a simple tabletop set-up in your kitchen or livingroom will suffice. Andyou only need a basic set-up: a digital camera; close-up filter or macro lens; a single flashgun and a handful of everyday bits and bobs. Withinhalfan houror so, you can be set up and ready to begintaking beautifulimages of sculptured waterdroplets.
TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENTNEEDED NIKON D300, SIGMA 105MM LENS, TRIPOD, REMOTE RELEASE, SPEEDLIGHT SB-800 FLASH & FLASH CORD
ALSO USED CONTAINER , PLASTIC BAG, PENCIL & TOWEL
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g dry! erythin ar dry Keep et tovkeep your ge ronics.
rtan elect It’s impont damage to wel handy at to preveth keeping a ton your camera It’s wor s to wipe downeeded all timend lens when body a
Essential kit FLASHGUN: An off-camera flash is required for this technique. You need a flashgun that can be used via a wireless transmitter or TTL flash cord. The flashgun then needs to be positioned so
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1 needa container, halfto three-quartersfull of water, foryour droplet to fall Beforeyou begin taking pictures, youneed toarrange your set-up. You will
into.I used a painttray butanylarg e,shall owcontainerwill do. I placed this ona still-life table,but a simple tabletop set-upwould do fine.Next,suspenda bag– partially fullof water – 30-60cm directly overhead.
that it illuminates the surface being reflected in the water – in other words, you direct the flash burst at the water droplet’s background. Adjust power output and move the flashgun to different positions to alter the final result.
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2 water tray. Next, it's timeto consider lighting. You needto illuminate what 3 speed. I rarely use flashmyself, butit's fairly straightforward.I setit to its I positionmy tripod-mounted Nikon D300so it's shootingdown into the
Nowthe technical bit.It's thepulse of the flashgun thatdictates your shutter
you seerefl ectedin the water through the viewfinder – notthewat er itself. I Manual modeand dialled in 1/16thpowerto generate a fast enough speed to placed a sheetof whitecardat theendof thetray tocreatea simpleback groundfreezethe droplets. This isa goodstar ting pointso I recommendyou usethe andangled my flashgun towards the card. sameand make adjustmentsafter reviewing results.
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Finalimage After 30 minutes, I hadtaken some nice imagesbut they lackedcolour, so I altered White Balance from Auto to its Tungsten WB preset. Deliberatingmismatching WBin this way gavemy final image a bluehue.
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I madea tinyhol e inthebagusi nga pin tocr eatea constantdri p and helda Time togetstar ted. Good timing anda huge sliceof luck are required,so take pencilin the water atthe pointwher e the droplets werefall ingso thatI could lots ofshots – hundredspos sibly – togetwhatyou are after. Itis an focus manually. I setan aperture of f/8 to generate enough depth-of-field to keeunpr p edictable technique andevery image is different. Expect lotsof ‘near the dropletsharp butrenderany ripples attractively outof focus. I setthe flash misses’, suchas water ripplesbut no droplet. I found a remoterelease helped my sync speed to1/200secand set a low ISO rating of200 foo optimumqual ity. timing, releasing the shutteras thedroplet hitthe water.
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Shoot some smoke trails SAILESHPATEL: Aneasy way to create stunning,abstract TIMEREQUIRED imageswith a mystical 45 MINUTES air is toshoot some smoke trails. EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 10D WITH I've used incense sticks forthis 100MM MACRO LENS, technique, as they are relatively CANONSPEEDLITE430EX safe for indoor useandprovide FLASHGUN,WIRELESS just the right viscosity of smoke FLASH TRIGGER for this sort of result. As the ALSCK O USE D & CARD, BLA FABRIC smoke always rises in a slightly INCENSE STICKS,SHEET differentway, there's an infinite OF GLASS, STUDIO TABLE variety of shapesand patterns to shoot. Onceyou've capturedyour smoke trailshots, there's also a wealth of options for adjusting them to create some truly magical results. Each trailcanbe coloured,flipped, dodged, burnedor distortedin post-production to create other shapes. Thereis literally no limit to the potentialof this technique. However, it is importantto ensure that the incense sticks areused responsibly, as they cancause fires. Make sure that once they are lit, you stay with them at all times.
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I cover a studiotablewith a black cloth, addinga sheetof glass (aceramic dishwill also suffice) to reduce any riskof fire. I then stick theincensestick to theglasswith Blu-Tack. I mountmy flashgun behindthe incense,with a piece of black card stuck to thefar side of it,to prevent thelightspilling outontothe background. I set up mycamera (and wireless flash trigger)on a tripod,and open windows to ensurethatthe room is properly ventilated.
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Once I’mready to startshooting,I carefully light I set mycamera toManual mode andswitch the Once I amsatisfiedwith theresults, I uploadthe lens to manualfocus, pre-focusingfor thearea theincense, makingsurethat thestickis stuck images to my computer. In Adobe's Camera just abovethe incense.I set a shutter speed of securely andin no dangerof falling onto theblack Raw converter, I usethe Blackssliderto darkenthe fabric. For comfort'ssake, I usea remote releaseto background beforeopening thefile.I then usethe 1/200sec– my camera'sfastest flashsync speed fire theshutter. Once I havetaken between 30 and Eraser tool in Photoshop to clean up any unwanted – andan apertureof f/14, togive me sufficient depth-of-field. I also set mycamerato record the 40 shots,I make sure that theincenseis completely smoke spread. Next,I invertthe image(Image> images in Raw format, asthis willnot onlyprovide extinguishedand then review theimages on myLCD Adjustments>Invert). This will change the smoke thebestqualityimages possible,it willalso allow mescreen. I'm mainlylooking to check that no light trailsto a hazy black andthe background to a crisp, toenrichthe blacksin theconversionprocess. from theflashgunhas hitthe background. pure white– makingthe imagestandout more.
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To addfurther interestto theshotand give it a real impact, I decideto add With both shots open, I copy theblueone (Select>Select All;Edit>Copy) somecolour. In Photoshop's Hue/Saturation palette,I tick the Colorize and andpaste it onto thered image(Edit>Paste). I reduce theopacityof the Preview boxes, beforemoving thesliders around until I'mhappy. I choosethis blueimage andmoveit arounduntilit looks good. To align theimages, I use the rich redcolour, anda saturation of 75per cent.I then savethe image under a FreeTransform tool (Ctrl+T).I then return theopacity ofthe blue layer to 100% new filename. Next,I open a different image andrepeat stepsthree andfour, andchange theLayer Blending Mode from Normalto Multiply. Finally, I flatten butI decideto colourthe secondsmoketrail witha rich blue. theimage(Layer>Flatten Image) andsave as a new fileagain.
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Finalimage Aftera few final tweaks to the Curves, Saturation and Contrast,I'm very happy withmy finalima ge. Itis a very colourful abstract that couldlookgre atas a canvas print on anywall.
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Shoot fruit! STEWARTBYWATER:Inspiration for an image can
come fromanywhere,and I got the ideafor this shot when I saw a billboard advertising a particular brand of alcoholic drink. The technique I used is a great one to try, as it allows you to produce a varied series of images, simply by making very minor adjustments. I decided to backlight the fruit togiveit a slight glow, and totry and capture the bubbles as theyrose tothe top,to create a more dynamic image.
TIMEREQUIRED 20 MINUTES
EQUIPMENTNEEDED
CANON EOS 10D 100MM F/2.8 MACRO TRIPOD & REMOTE STUDIOFLASHLIGHTS
ALSO USED COFFEE JAR, LEMON & LIME, SPARKLING WATER & ICE CUBES
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I useda studiotable for myshots, but ifyou don’t LIGHTING: have one, anytable wouldwork,with a white sheet,or some thick paper placedoverit. For thebackground, a sheet of white card works just fine (though for more unusual results, you could also try colouredbackgrounds). I used two Interfit studioflash lights, although any basic studioflash or continuous lighting system is suitable Onelight wasaimedat thewhitebackg round, tomake surethatit lookedwhite inthe shot, ratherthana dull grey colour. This wouldalso bouncethe light back onto the subject, givingthe fruit a translucentglow. The other light was positioned over thejar, to light thesubject.I then carefully adjusted the positionof the lightsand thejar, to minimise the reflections that appeared on thefront of thejar.
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Once I’dgot allmy ingredients together, I cleaned thejar witha soft tea towel thorou re you clean the g las ghly befor e you start s or jar (beingcarefulnot to leaveany fibreson theglass). I filled thejar with ice, Use very ho sh sliced thefruitand slid them into position (trying notto rubthem toomuchon and then t water to wash it ooting. , let us theglassin theprocess), andplaced thejar on thestudio table.I used anold to remove e a soft cloth or sh it dry, am any dried water mar my coffee jar, as itsflat sideswouldhelp me to control thereflections.
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I setmy camera up on a tripod,attacheda remote releaseand plugged the I set mycamera’s WhiteBalance toFlash(setit to Tungstenif you’re shooting lights in (I used Pocket Wizards to triggerthem,but a sync lead would have with lamps), andthe exposure mode to Manual. I set theshutter speed to workedjustas well).I turnedthe lights on andmadesurethey werepositioned to sync at 1/125secand then took a flash exposure reading andadjusted thepower light thesubject nicely, whilstminimising thereflections on thejar. I then of thelightto give me a workingaperture off/10, which would providesufficient checked myfocus, andlocked it by switching thelensto MF mode. depth-of-field. A test shotconfirmeda good exposure.
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Finalimage This wasone of my favourite imagesfromthe shoot, as I liked the position of the fruit, the translucent effect, caused by the backlighting,and the wayin which the bubbles have been capturedas they riseto thetop.
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The nextstepwasto pour the sparklingwaterontothe ice. When thejar Thefinal step wasto transfer my images to my computer. In Photoshop, wasnearly full, I took several shots. Oncesatisfied,I adjusted the I adjusted the contrast by creating an ‘S curve’ in theCurvestool. To make composition by moving the tripodslightly.I thenrefocusedand shota few the bubblesstandout more, I thenappliedsome UnsharpMask, adjusting the more frames, toget a good variety of images.Shooting straight after thewater amountsof sharpness and radiusto getthe optimalresult. I tweaked the waspouredgavethe best results, as there were more bubbles in theshots. Colour Balance slightlyas well, to makethe colourslook ‘punchy'.
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Createwindowlit fine-artsilhouettes IANFARRELL: Silhouettes are graphic images that not only look great but are easy to produce too. All you need is a plain background that’s lit more brightly than the subject in front of it. As for what to shoot, some subjects work better than others, so experimentation is key, but it’s worth seeking out objects with some transparency or fine detail in them. After some trial and error, I found
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EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D700 & 50MM F/1.4 STANDARD LENS
ALSO USED SHEET OF WHITE PAPER, GRASSES, THISTLES, DANDELIONS, ETC
SETTING UP: A piece of ordinary A3 copierpaper tapedto a south-facing window on a sunny day willmakea great background forour silhouette image.Tracing paper works well under cloudier conditions.Our subjectis then placed in front of the paper.
long grasses to be particularly suitable. They’re around all through the summer, and grow in large numbers. Thesource of your bright background can be as simple or as complicated as you like. If you have studio lighting, a softbox makes a great white background. Alternatively, light a sheet of paper from the rear with a flashgun, or even just tape a piece of tracing or photocopier paper to a window for a simple but effective solution. We used the paper-on-windowapproach for the photographs you see here. It’s such a simple approach that the whole thingwas done and dusted in 15 minutes!
Techniquewatch WATCH YOUR TONE! This type of imageis just begging forsometoning to reallyset it off. Thereare so many waysof doingthis.A great optionis to usethesplit-toningfeaturein Photoshop’s CS3’s Camera Raw conversionplug-in.
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Setting your camera toan auto exposuremode,or metering in manual,straight fromthe paper, won’t give youa good result: a camera’s metering aims to make things18% grey, notwhite. Instead,startat your meter’s indicatedexpo sure in manual mode andtake pictures while lengthening the shutter speed, watching thehisto gram until you cansee proper whites at the right-hand side of thegrap h.
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With your correct exposurelocked-in,using manual mode, bring in your subject, positioning it slightly away from thebackg round.You'll want touse a shallow depth-of-field torende r thepaperout of focus and, therefore, devoid of any distracting detail. You may be able tohol d the grass stemwithonehandand your camera with theother, butwe’d highlyrecom menda clamp or vase tomake this step mucheasie r!
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TWEAKINGTHE RESULT:Inspect the results of your effortson your computer EXTENDINGYOURCANVAS: Sometimes graphiccompositionslike this can – if it’snotquit e theeff ectyouhope d for, you cantw eakthin gswitha simple benefitfro m some extra white inthe composition– knownin the trade as Levels adjustment.In Adobe Photoshop or Elements, choose ‘negativespac e’. Aneasyway todo this is withthe croptool . Drawround the Image>Adjustments>Levelsand pullthe right-hand marker inwards tomake the whole ofthe canvas with it, then usea drag handleto extendthe box beyondthe background whiter. Thentweakthe left-hand marker to deepen the blacks existingimage.Hit returnand new spacewillbe addedand filledwiththe somewhatuntil you’re happy with the effect. backgroundcolour – which in thiscase should be white.
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Finalimage A semi-silhouetted approach works well forthis stem of grass.This was achieved bynot movingthe black point in Photoshop's Levels adjustment screen too much.
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Scan a flower with ease r o o d t u O
LEEFROST :Few photographers realise it, butthe humble flatbed scanneris not only good at scanning flat artwork – you can also use it as a large-format digital scanning camera, to ‘photograph’ 3D objects andproduceimages of astounding quality. Even a budget-priced scanner like the Epson PerfectionV500 model used here is capable of results way beyond a top-end digital SLR. I've been experimentingwith this techniquefor some time now, scanning natural objects such as flowers, seeds, heads andleaves to create beautifulfine-art images. In this techniqueI'll show you how it’s done, and explain how thesrcinalscannedimage is just thebeginning of a creative adventure.
TIMEREQUIRED 1 HOUR
EQUIPMENT NEEDED EPSONPERFECTION V500SCANNER
ALSO USED BOXFILE, GERBERA & PHOTOSHOP CS3
Essential kit FLATBEDSCANNER:
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Flatbed scanners are often seen as a cheap alternative to a dedicated film scanner. However, while most may not be able to scan film srcinals as well as a proper film scanner, they’re far more versatile for general use and every photographer should own one! The good news is that you won’t need to break the bank to buy one. The Epson Perfection V500 is a budget option and boasts a resolution of 6400dpi –which means pin-sharp prints measuring 24x20in or more at 300dpi are easily achievable. The V500 is also The first step is to give theplaten (the glass plate) a good clean with a the first CCD scanner to use LEDs as a light source so instead of microfibre cloth toremove as much dust as youcan.Thiswill reduce the hanging around for ages while it warms up, just one second after amountof spotting youhave to do to clean-up thescan. When you’ve done that, take your chosen object (flowers,leavesand other natural subjects areideal) and flicking the ‘On’ switch you’ll be ready to scan.
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place it on theplaten. Takecare notto scratch theplaten with sharp objects.
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2 need to make your ownD.I.Y. hood to cover it.I usean old boxfile sprayed 3 anyadjustments to contrast, exposureand colour balance,then set the As thelid of thescannercan’t be lowered withthe object on theplaten,you
Open your scanner software andcreatea preview scanof theobject. Make
insidewithmat t black paint.By cutting the lidoffI was leftwitha blackbox 4in outputsizeof thescan– I chose16x12in at 300dpi.Whenyou’reall done, click on deep, which I placed over theobject. Notonly does it contain thelightfrom the SCANandsit backandwaitforthesca nnerto doits job – thisusu allytak esa scanner, butit also creates a plain black background. coupleof minutesif theoutput size is reasonably large.
4 in Photoshop andenlargeit to 100%. Notonly 5 imagination andcreativityto good use. Make a 6converted thesrcinal colourscanto black & When thescanning is complete, open theimage
Once theimageis 'clean', it’s time to putyour
For theimage shown in this step-by-step, I
does this show just how impressivethe image copy so you'vean unaltered srcinal andthentry whiteusingImage>Adjustments>Black& Whitein quality is,but it willalso highlight any dust spots andthingslike boosting contrast, converting it to black &PhotoshopCS3 thenexperimentedwith Levels and blemishes that can be removed using theHealing white, toningit or addingfiltereffectssucha Diffuse Curves before adding Diffuse Glow and Gaussian Brushtool or Clone Stamp tool. Glow or some GaussianBlur. Blurto an adjustment layer. Easy!
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Finalimage A beautiful image of a flower captured withoutthe use ofa camera.Isn’t the digital age amazing!
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n ra inte f grea Add ext ning a sheet oure screen, the by scan create a text ain image and en paper to it with the mthe texture scre ct ity of y with the effe combine he opac adjust tntil you’re happ layer u
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THE IDEALCOMPANION FOR YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA
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LIGHTING PROJECTS SWITCH ON YOURFLASHGUN, STUDIOFLASH OR YOURFLASHLIGHTFOR IMAGINATIVE RESULTS
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Give it a swirl! HELENSOTIRIA DIS: Capturing light trails is
usually an outdoor, night-time activitybutit's just as much funtrying indoors, and also often far more achievable. Allyou need is a dark roomin yourhome and a strongLED torch for paintingshapes andto illuminate the prop, whichis being added to improve thecomposition. Most people try this techniquewithout objects andjust spell words or drawa simple shape,suchas a heart or starin the air, buthaving somethingto draw patterns around – especially if it’s reflective like a glass – can make the image look less humdrum andmuch more impressive.
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EQUIPMENT USED CANON EOS 40D WITH CANON EF 50MM F/1.4LENS
ALSO USED MANFROTTO 190XPROB TRIPOD, A REMOTE RELEASE & LED TORCH
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Findingthe right LED torch for thistechnique canbe tricky;too large andyour light trails couldmergetogether, toosmall andyou could struggle illuminating the prop.Tryto findone that’s compact and lightweightso it’s easy to manoeuvreand gives off a strong,highly-defined light beam. Ideallyopt forone withmultiple bulbs(the torch used herehasnine) asit will provide moreinteresting swirls, enriching a potentiallybland composition.Thecolour ofthelightis also worth considering,too.
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I used a water-filled fluted glass for thisshot to createrefractions of light. As thelight accentuates fingerprintsand dust, make sure the glass is clean, and after fillingit, wipe the outside and the insideabove the water level to avoidstr aydrop lets.I used a very strong LEDtor ch, with a cool blue light, but to be more creative cover thetorch with coloured cellophane.
This shot required verylittle post-production.I created an exposure adjustment layerin Photoshop (Layer>NewAdjustment Layer>Exposure ) , increasing gamma todarkenany hints oflight on the black backgroundand base. Finally,I used theHealing Brush Tool toclea n upbitsof strayduston the reflective surface andthe glass itself.
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The set-up for this imageis simpleand costs almost nothing.Benda large Whilethe room is stilllit, compose the scene andfoc uson theglas s. sheet of black constructionpaper so it leans against a cardboard box, If youused autofocusrather thanmanual focus, turnit offbeforeyou steadied bythe weight ofa few books. I used a sheet of dark,tint edglassbut switch thelights offor thecamera will try unsuccessfullyto refocusin the you could use a second pieceof cardas a base.The cameramustbe dark. Set the camerato manual mode to allowyou tovarythe shutter speed completelystil l for thedur ation ofthe shot, so mountit onto a tripod. and setthe aperture to f/22. Turn offthe lights and start shooting!
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4 illuminateit andto think about thetypesof shapes youwant to create. My5 illuminatethe glass from theside with the torch andcreate enoughlight Rememberto spend a few seconds shining light onthe sideof the propto
Initially, I used a five-second exposure butI didn't have enoughtime to
first few attempts weretoo high, toospars e or toolow (creating an undesirable trails. This techniqueis all about trial anderror, so trydiffe rent shapesand reflection in thebase ) or just thewrongshape . It took a few attempts,but prolong the shutter speed.I found tensecon ds wasidealas it allowed plentyof finally I started gettingresu ltsI waspleas ed with. timeto light the glass andto createpleas ingswirl s.
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90 Flashgels
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Addcolourwithflashgels r o o d t u O
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DANIELLEZANO: Getting to usejust one flashgun proves a daunting prospect formany, so howdoes the thought of using two grab you? This technique deals TIMEREQUIRED with showing you how tolight a subject with one 30 MINUTES flashgun, while a second flash is used to illuminate the EQUIPMENTUSED background. This technique is useful when youwant to highlight CANON EOS 500D & detailin the scene or, asshown here,youwan t touse flash gels SPEEDLITE580EX to light it in a completely different colour. While this may sound ALSO USED difficult,it’s actually quite easy to achieve. You need to use your COLOURED GELS camera’s integralflash (ora hotshoe-mounted flashgun) to illuminate your subject, which is pretty straightforward as the exposureis taken care of automatically by the camera thanks to the wonders of TTL flash. A second flashgun is triggered automatically by the main flash to illuminate the background, so you’ve little to do other than ensure that the remote flash is set up correctly, which as the panel on the right reveals, is pretty easy to do. Flashgels are small sheetsof coloured plastic that are placed over the flash head to colour the flash output. The flash gel is heldin place over the headvia Velcro oran elastic band and with a number of kits available with a choice of colours, it’s an inexpensive andeasy way to add creative flash effects to your images. Largerflash gelkits are available forstudioflashheads too, so the technique used here can easilybe applied to studioflash set-ups as well as flashguns. Using flash gels to illuminate a background is equally suitedto both indoor andoutdoor locations. Plain backdrops as well as textured surfaces are suitable,although the latter does provide additional visualinterest. It’s also worth bearing in mind that you can usemore than one flashgunfor the background, so feel free to mixcolour gels.
Remote flashgunset-up
WAYS TO TRIGGER A REMOTE FLASHGUN: Dependingon thetypes offlashgun and accessories youare using, there area number of ways of triggering your remote‘gelled’ flash. If you have a dedicated flashgun with a slavefunction, you can usethe Master/ Slave facility to triggerit whenyou release the shutter. You’ll needto refer to your camera/flashgun instructions as this varies according to the camera/flash brand and mode. Alternatively, youcan fit a slave cell tothe bottom ofany flashgun, which is then triggered by the output fromthe camera’s built-in or hotshoe-mountedflashgun (depending on whichyou areusing).
SETTING UPTHE EXPOSUREON THE REMOTEFLASHGUN: If you’reusinga dedicated Master/Slaveflashsystemto trigger theoffcamera flashgun, then you caneither setup its outputto bebasedon a TTLexposureor manual power setting.WhileselectingTTLis normally thebestchoice,we’dactually recommend you setthe flash tomanual for this technique, as theresultswill be more consistent.If you are
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Here’s our subject photographed using onlyour We’veset up a remoteflashgun behind her, hotshoe-mountedflashgun.She’s well exposed whichfiresto lightthe wall in the background butthe backgroundis drab and dark. but the effect isn’t particularly attractive.
using a slaveflash,you shouldset theflashgun tomanual toallowyou toset a specific power setting. With theflashin manual, you canset the remote flash tofire atfixedpower settingssuch as fullpower (1/1),half power(1/2),quarter power(1/4) andso on.Takesometestshots andadjust thepower settingsto suitthe scene. Adjustpower if you wanta strongeror weaker effector if you switchcolour gels,as some absorb morelightthanothers.
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We’vefitteda Lumiquest redgel and the colour addsinterest, but,with theremoteflash setto TTL, itsoutp utisn’t asstrong aswe’d like.
Settingthe remoteflash to manual power provides a farstronger output, althoughthe full-power (1/1)setting is fartoo strong.
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Wetry variousmanual power settings to see whichprov ides thebes t result and findtha t for the half-power settingworks best.
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Finalimage While the redgel is attractive, it proves overpowering, so we tryvarious colours and findgreen works the best.
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STEWARTBYWATER: A technique that I’ve wanted to try for quite a long time is totake a photograph where the subject’s shadow appears to be different from the subject that has cast it. I’veseen this done a number of times, and often wondered how it was executed. There are several ways in which it could be done, most involving very clever lightingtechniques and an understandingof scale and trajectory. Thisseemed somewhat over-complicated, so I tried to think of a simpler way of doing it. In the end, I decidedto shoot two exposures using a white paper studio backdrop, with one light placed in front of it andone light behind. For the 'shadow' exposure I would place the subject behind the paper, as it was thin enough tolet his shadow show through, yet thick enough so that it would not be completely transparent. For the portrait image, I placed himin front of the paper. I would later merge the two in Photoshop. However, it's worth pointing out that if youhad two people of roughly the same build, who would project a similar silhouette, you could get the result with a single shot. SETTING UP:Small childrencan getboredvery quickly if they’rejust standing around waiting, so I decided topractise thistechnique before my subject arrived. I placed one studiolight behind thewhite paper background,pointing roughlyat where I wantedthe ‘devil’shadowto appear. I then set a stool betweenthetwofor the subject tostand on.I placeda second studioflashhead – thistime witha softboxattached – off tothe side where I wantedthe ‘angel’to stand. I thenaskedtwo colleagues to stand in placeand tooka seriesof testshots until I washappy with my exposure. Thebacklight wason fullpower, while the lightat thefro nt, fitted with a softbox, wasset to around1/3 power. Next, I switched myDSLRto manual exposure mode, settingthe shutter toits maximum flash sync speedof 1/60sec and an aperture of f/22.
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Oncemy subject had arrived, I showedhim my test shots, sothathe would understand whatwe were tryi ng toachieve I thengo t him to . stand in position, and asked his father tostand in the ‘devil’ positionbehindthe screen.This would help me with my composition,and also makethe ‘angel’ easierto cutoutin Photoshop later. I thentook some shots of the‘angel’ from various heights and reviewed them on my camera.
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Having captured a goodshotof the childsmiling, I asked him toputonthe devil horns and hold the trident, andto standon the chair behind thepaper background. His mother wasalso there tomakesur e he didn’t fallor injure himself. I checked the firstshoton my camera’s LCD screen, andmadesur e that everything was exactlyright,such as the angle ofthe windmill/tridentand the position of his hands, etc. I then took the ‘devil’shot.
TIME REQUIRED ONE HOUR
EQUIPMENT CANON EOS 10D WITH 17-40MM LENS, TWO INTERFIT STUDIOFLASH HEADS, POCKETWIZARDS, LASTOLITE WHITE STUDIO BACKGROUNDPAPER ROLL
ALSO USED DEVIL PROPS & WINDMILL
Essentialkit STUDIOFLASHLIGHTS While thistechniquecould be achieved withoutstudioflash, theydo make it a loteasier. The mainreasonfor this is that you canadjusteach light’spowerto findthe perfect balancebetween theforeground subjectand back-light. Thelightscan alsobe easily moved into various positions until youget thebest results. Studioflashis alsoa great option in situations where subjects, suchas children, might movearound a lot, aswith many newer DSLRs,they cansync up to 1/250sec, allowingusersto capture theirsubjectssharply.
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Finalimage Thisshotcan bedone in-camera.But if you’re lucky enough to have almost identical subjects to hand, you’dbe better off combining two shots. Either way, it’s great fun and willleave you with a reallyfun image.
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Using Edit>Copy(Ctrl+C)I made a copy ofthe subject selectionand then Once I hadthe necessary images, I transferred them to mycomputer. After closedthe fileand moved onto theshadow image. I used Levels here asI did spending a short time selectingtwo ideal frames – oneof theshadow, the other of thesubject – I openedthemboth up in Photoshop. I then used on theotherimageto achieve a clear whitebackground, then, using Edit>Paste Image>Adjustments>Levels (Ctrl+L) and moved the whitesliderto the left until(Ctrl+V) I placedthe copiedselectionontothe shadowshot. You can move the thebackground wasalmost pure white. Then,usingthe Magic Wand,I set the subject byholding theCtrl key andmoving themouse and, using Edit>Free Transform (Ctrl+T), resize thesubject bydraggingany of thecorner pointswhile Tolerance to ten(pixels)and clickedon thewhitebackgroundto make a holding theShiftkey to ensurescalingis proportional. selection. I thenuse Select>Inverseto select the subject.
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CAROLINEWILKINSON : Studio photography can be an expensive, and daunting, TIMEREQUIRE D 60 MINUTES area of photography to test EQUIPMENT NEEDED drive, but often the simplest set-ups NIKON D300, 50MM prove to be the best. Here, I’ll show you LENS & MANFROTTO howto create an attractive hair light 055B TRIPOD using a table lamp, but you can alsouse ALSO USED wireless flashguns or a studioflashkit. TWOHOUSEHOLD LAMPS&A HANDHELD A hair light is a flattering technique DIFFUSER forportraits, created by a strong directional lightbehind the subject’s head, which produces a soft luminous highlight around the hair. If your subject has short hair, directingthe light source at the middleof the head cancreate a subtlehalo effect. Whereas,for subjects with long or curly hair, a more dramatic effect can be achieved bypositioning thelight at thebase ofthe head so itdiffuses through more of the hair. It's also worth experimenting with the position ofthe main light,in this casea second table lamp, tocontrolwhere the shadows fall on the face. A reflectorwill also help with this. I chose to do this technique as a self-portrait. Unfortunately the one person most photographers shoot the least is themselves, but self-portraitsareanidealway to test lightingandcreative techniques. Plus it’s easierthan you might think!
Essentialkit:Diffuser In thesamewaya reflector can fillin shadowsor add warmth to a subject’s face, a diffuser can soften the strong effectsof artificial light – producing a more flattering result. Whetheryou can get your hands on a diffuser, oran equally effectivealternative,suchas grease-proof paper, it’s worthbearingin mind that notonlywillit reduce the amount of light thatreaches the camera,but willoften alter the White Balance too. Normallythis won’t pose a problemif you’re shootingin Raw, as the colour temperature can be easily resetonce you havethe images on your computer, butif notthe White Balanceneeds tobe changedin-camerato compensate forthe lighting conditions.
SET-UP: I decided touse a bla backdr op foect r this sho t ck to mak e theeff ofthe hair light standout asmuch as possible.I positioned my main light source,a tungstendesk lamp, off to thesideand highup.If thisligh t istoo harsh, consider usinga diffuser (ora homemade equivalent) to soften it.
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HAIRLIGHTI set a standard table lamp, without itsshade, between the EXPOSURE Although I wasshootinga head andshoulders portrait,I framed it so backdrop andthe stool – ensuring thelightwas directly behindmy head and therewas plenty of room to crop later in Photoshop. I then set thecamerato far enoughawayfromthe backdrop so notto illuminateit. For optimum highlights,aperture-priority modeat f/2.8to geta shallow depth-of-field. Having a largemirror makesure the bulbis level withyour head. Use a fan,or havea friendflapa placedbeside thecameramay help you togaugehow thecompositionlooks before magazine, to liftthe hair andadd drama to theimage. it’s taken,but I took a few test shots first toassess theframingand focusing.
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WHITE BALANCE Although a diffuser canbathe a subject in softer, more flatteringlight,it canalsoalterthe colourtemperature.As I shot in Raw,the WhiteBalancecanbe easily changed later in Photoshop’s AdobeCameraRaw. I therefore took a photoof me holdinga whitepieceof paper, which I could later useto set theWhiteBalanceon mycomputer.
INTERVAL SETTING The interval timer is a hiddengem on theNikonD300. I used it instead ofthe self-timer as it allowed me to shoot continuous frames at set intervals. A remotetrigger would havesimilar benefits, butthe interval timer also adjusts theexposure,focusand metering beforeeachshot. Thereis a lotof trial and error involved in this technique, so be patient andtakelots of shots.
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Finalimage Using thefan added much needed interest to the image. I left the colours as they were as I liked how thewarmth of the glowcomplemented thesoftlighting and shallowdepth-of-field. However, for a different look you could try convertingit to mono.
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Bright and beautifulportraits r o o d t u O
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PAUL WARD:High-key portraitsrefertoshots leaningheavilytowards TIMEREQUIR ED 45 MINUTES thehighlights,limiting EQUIPMENT USED anyshadows, fora bright, 70-200MM LENS, light-looking portrait.It's a JESSOPSPORTAFLASH populartechnique,adopted by KIT & SILVER REFLECTOR manyhigh-stre etstudios, possiblybecause it's soeasyto shoot and,ifneeded,topost-process,togetpolished, professional-lookingresults. As a minimum,usetwolight sources; oneto illuminate the subject's face and another to overexpose thebackground. A home budget studio kit is perfect but, although it's a little trickier, you could try standing your subject in front of a sun-drenched window and illuminating theface with a flashgun. However, luckily, the price of studioflash has tumbled in recent years and it’s now possible to buya studioflash kit (with two flashes, brolly and softbox) for under £200 if you shop around. I used the Jessops Portaflash kit forthese shots. It’s also important to get the backdropright: although it’s preferableto usea flat, white surface like a wall or a white roll of background paper, you can also get byusing just a white bedsheet as long as it's pulled tight to reduceany shadows caused by wrinkles or creases.
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Myfirst job was toarrange thelights around mymodel,Sophie. I used one studioflash andsoftboxto light thewhitewall.By overexposing the background,it prevents the light illuminating the subject fromcreatingshadows on thewall.My second head,fittedwith a brolly, wasplaced to thefront right of Sophie. Finally, I rested a reflectoron herknees to bounce light under herchin.
Essentialkit REFLECTOR: As well as thestudioflash kit,I also madeuseof a large reflector. If youdon’t have a reflectorto hand, youcan improvise by using a rollof tinfoil,or if you’re really stuck, a large mirror. Thatsaid, reflectors areso cheap
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You’llneedto fire offa coupleof testshotsto fine-tuneyour settings. I opted to startwith an exposure of 1/125sec atf/11(ISO 200), butmy first attempt is a tadon thedark side,losingthat bright high-key effect. Thisis due to slightunderexposure, which I can correct byusinga wider aperture.
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With a new apertureof f/9,I’vefinallygot the correct settings, butthis time thereflector has slippedand failedto bounce thelightin theright direction.Youcansee from this image what a difference the reflectormakes.
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With thereflector correctlyplaced andthe OnceI’ve uploaded the correctlyexposedimage camera settingsspot on,I'm at last happywith to mycomputer, I usethe Levels slider to mylighting.Whileeverythingis workingwell,I ask increasethe brightnessof theskin tone. Lastly, I Sophieto tryout some different posesand angles adjust the Saturation sliderto decreasethe colour andcapturea numberof shots. slightly before saving my file.
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High-keyportrait97
Finalimage In underan hour you can produce a quality, high-key shotthat brings striking impact to your portraits.
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Frui tstill-life
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Look at fruit salad with fresh eyes! r o o d t u O
ROSSHODDINOTT: Ourhomes are full ofpotential pictures, you just need tolookat everyday objectswitha fresh,creativeeye. Small objectsaretheeasiestto illuminate creatively, allowing you plenty ofcontrol overthe type oflighting– naturalorartificial – andalsoits direction. Oneof myfavouriteformsoflightisbacklighting.Translucentsubjects,likecoloured plastics, glass and leaveslookparticularlyattractiveandeye-catchingwhenbacklit.Theeasiestwaytocreatethistype of lighting indoors is touse a lightbox.Manydigitalconvertswillalready have onefrom theirdaysof viewing slides. However, if you don’town one, they are relatively cheap tobuy ormake. Allyouhaveto donow is finda suitablesubjecttoshoot.Foodis a particularlygood still-life subject,especially fruit, withitsbright colours andvarietyoftextures.I wasmakingthefamilya fruitsaladoneeveningwheninspirationstruck.
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I returned from the localgrocers with an assortment of fruit including
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TIMETAKEN 45 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D700, SIGMA 150MMMACRO LENS & TRIPOD
ALSO USED LIGHTB OX& VARIOUS TYPESOFFRUITS
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OPTIMISEDEPTH-OF-FIELD:
LIGHTBOX: Backlightingsmall
apple pears anand or angs, e,a lem,on a lime, grapesand a pomegranate. I wanted to highlight their shape and form, therefore I carefullycut each oneintothin slicesto create a photogenic, translucent crosssection of each fruit, readyto arrange on my lightbox.
Whenyou’retakingclose-upsfrom overhead,optimisedepth-of-fieldby keepingthe camera’s sensorplane– markedon thecamerabody – parallel to thesubject. Bydoing so,you will keep allobjects of similarheight in focus.If thecamera isat anangleto thesubject, areasof it willdrift out-of-focus,spoilingthecrisp,fresh lookof thefruitand lesseningthe impact of theshot.
translucentobjectsindoorsis easywiththe help ofa lightbox. They areavailablein a variety of sizes, but A4 size orlargeris probably themost versatile and useful.The lightboxcan be placed ona tabletop oron the floor, then,with the help ofa tripod, positionyour camera overhead. A lightboxcan also create strikingsilhouettesof small, solid objects.
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I placedslices of apple,pearand grape on thelightbox. I took timeto arrange I checked thehistogram,whichconfirmedthe photo wasunderexposed, so I them so they created a pleasing composition. I tried to fillthe image space appliedpositive(+) exposurecompensationof 2/3EV. Thisremediedthe with the fruit, avoiding largeemptyspaces thatmight prove distracting. When problem and the subsequent imagewas exposed correctly. However, the image happy, I took myfirst shot. However, backlighting can oftenfool TTLmetering lacks colourand impact. This type of shot evolvesas yougo along. into slightunderexposureand theimageis toodark. Experimentationis thekey, so I decided totry some different fruits.
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In orderto addsomenee dedcolo ur, I switched tocitru s fruits,usin g a slice I scooped outthe insides ofsomekiwi fruit and then carefully placed the eachof orange, lemonand lime.I liked the contrasting coloursand sizesof juicyresults around my fruit slices.I decided to make a slice of apple my the fruit.I arranged them sothatthei r edgesmet and theback lighting really keyfocal point, as thishad themost interesting and recognisable outline. I emphasised their form andtransparency. However, thewhite gaps between theused theslices of citrus fruit to balancethe composition. However, I feltI fruit were distractingand didn't make the best composition, so I decided I needed toadd a splash ofred tocontrastwith thegre ens and yellowsthat needed to fill the entireframe withcolour. dominated theimage forextrapunch.
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Finalimage I carefully removed thebrightred seeds of a pomegranate and used themto replace the kiwi fruit. This added the colourcontrast andimpactthe previousshots had lacked. A vertical composition workedbest.The result– a simple butstriking still-lifetakenin the comfort of indoors. And, the left-over fruit made fora delicious fruit salad!
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Paint a subject with torchlight r o o d t u O
DANIEL LEZANO:Painting by light involves using a long exposure and illuminating your subject with a torch (or any other light source for that matter). It’s a simple technique that can be used to light a variety of subjects,but worksparticularly well with still-lifes. Theidea is that you must shoot the subject in complete darkness, so that the only light that illuminates your subject comesfrom the torch. For this step-by-step, a bowl of apples was used toillustrate the technique. Thekey thing is preparation – setup your equipment correctly and you’ll quickly masterthis technique. As you can see from the shots below, you only need minimal kit togive it a go, so it's something that you should be able totry when you next havea bit ofspare time in the evening. One useful bit of advice– \ set up near a light switch soyou don'thave tomove around too much in the dark!
Techniquewatch
20 MINUTES
EQUIPMENTNEEDED NIKON D60 WITH 18-55MM LENS MANFRO TTO190X TRIPOD & TORCH
ALSO USED FRUIT & BOWL
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Sohow exactly doyou paint withlight?It's pretty simple really. During the exposure yousimplybathe your subjectwith light, moving the beam around at different angles and speeds. Ifyou hold the beam over a certainarea for a prolonged period,it willappearlighter than areas withminimal exposure, whilechanging the angle also creates differenteffects.It'sall about trial and error, and everyimageis different, but it'sgood funand producesgreatresults.
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TRIPOD:A tripod is an absolutely essential accessory, as you'll be taking long exposures, running into seconds. Any tripod that offers a stable platform is suitable, but if you want to have your camera pointing downwards, as I had, one with a centre column that an be positioned horizontally is ideal. I used the Manfrotto 190XProB, which features an ingenious centre column that can be switched from vertical to horizontal without having to remove it. Any modest digital camera kit is suitable – I used a Nikon D60 with an 18-55mm lens.
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The firstthing you needto dois tosetup yourcamera securelyon a tripod. Compose theimageusing theviewfinder (or LiveView) andfocus on the For thisshot, I neededmy camera to point directly down, which waseasy with subject. Once you’ve focused,switch thelensfrom AF to manualfocus, theManfrotto, as thecentrecolumn canbe sethorizontallywith ease.Set Manua bec l ause when youswitch offthe room lights,yourcamerawon’tbe ableto focus exposuremode, an apertureof f/8 or f/11for optimumsharpness anda startingin thedark.So long as you don’t zoom thelensor move thecamera(or subject), exposuretime of between fourand eightseconds. theimage shouldstaycorrectly focused – butcheckthis regularly!
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Finalimage This wasmy favourite from the 20or soimagesI shot. Very little Photoshopwork was needed,other thanto crop the image into a squareformatand to adjust the Levels slightly.
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Switchoffthe room light andget into position. Press theshutter buttonand By changing theangles from which youlightthe subject, andthe amount of move thetorch in random directions andangles to paint your subject with time you spend lightingdifferentareas, you’llbe ableto produce very light. Once theexposure hasended, check thepreviewand adjustthe exposure differentresults. Experiment with fastrandomtorch movements or more by changing theshutter speed in full stops(i.e.halve or doubleit) dependingoncontrolledpaths of light. You’ll also findthata normaltorchgives a warm, whether theimageis toodark or light for your liking. orange cast, while anLED torch gives a brighter andwhiter effect,so tryboth!
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THE IDEALCOMPANION FOR YOURDIGITAL CAMERA
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Createa wintery close-up Our winters are growing increasingly mild, making it more and ROSSHODDINOTT : more difficult to capture great wintery images. Even when there is a hard frost, there is no guarantee you will be able to capture the glistening winterwonderland outside, as you may be working or doing the school run. However, rather than getting frustrated at the lack of opportunities toshoot close-ups offrost and ice,why not create your own by freezingobjects in yourfridge-freezer. You could freeze practicallyanything, but feathers and leaves work particularly well. Other than your camera set-up, all you need is your chosen subject, a large (freezable) Pyrex dish, some water, a few spare minutes and a little creativity…
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EQUIPMENT USED NIKOND300WITH SIGMA150MMMACRO TRIPOD & REMOTE
ALSO USED PRE-FRO ZENLEAF
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ROSS HODDIN striving forthe it could be arg greatly depend effectthephotographer silhouette can create a t technically-speaking,it i A silhouette is when t outline, withoutcolour – in other words, the su most extreme form of b
theright scene or subje particularlywhenthe su interestingor colourful colour, silhouettescanc prove that there really is One of the greatthing they areeasily achieved visitedDartmoor’s wind shoot perfectsilhouette e v i t a e r C
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‘correct’exposure, aren’t we? However, ed thatthereis no suchthing;as it on thesubject, the situation, and the wantstoachieve. For example, a ulyeye-catching image even though, s theresult of a poor exposure… e subject is recorded as a black r detail, againsta lighterbackground ject is grossly underexposed. It is the cklightingbut,whencombinedwith
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t, the results can be stunning– bjectis contrasted againstan ky. Despite the lack of detailand nvey much about the subject and they no such thing as a ‘correct exposure’. about shootingsilhouettesis that and you need very little in terms ofkit. I wept landscape to show you how to … C r e a t iv e
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SETTINGUP(ABOVE & RIGHT): Positioning your camera above thefrozen leaf enables you to shoot iton the groundfrom a sturdy position, whiletakingfull advantage of the natural light. The bright, reflective ice fooled my TTL meteringsystem into underexposingthe image, so I had todial ina +1stop exposure compensationto getmy result.
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A lens that canfocus relatively close is ideal fortaking frame-filling shotsof your frozen object. In thisinstance, I opted for a macro lens, but thetele-endof a standard zoom shouldprove fineif you arephotographinga large subject, like a maple or sycamore leaf. However, if you still need to get closer, consi der usingan inexpensive close-upfilter . A +3dioptre shouldbe fine, with versions fromHoya andKoodavailable for around £10-£15.To maximise image quality when using a close-up filter, selecta mid-rangeapertureinthe region of f/8-f/11.
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When sh ield your shutooting static, fl as long ter speed is imat subjects, as you ha m Instead ve a st aterial – , priority. aperture shoul urdy support. d moderatFor this shot, yo be your e depthu of-field, only need so f/11 i s ideal
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oursomewaterintoyourdishand placeit inthe freezer– ensuringit islying 1 tofreeze, beingsomething that you mightfind naturallyfrozen ina puddle, or 2 Pflatso thatit freezesevenly. Carefullyplaceyoursubjectcentrally in thewater First, you'll needto find a suitable subject. Leavesare themost obvious subject
theedgeof a lake atthistime ofyear. A mapleleafcaught myeye, thanksto its – ifit freezestoo nearthe edge,it willrestrict your composition.Oncethe water’s colourandinteresting shape. However, youmay wellhaveotherideas, andjust frozen, adda littlewarmwater andrefreeze.Thiswill help create cracks andair aboutanything willwork, from a featherto a pine cone. bubbles inthe ice, addinginterestto your final shot.
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Finalimage Icethawsquickly under direct sunlight, so work quickly. With the exposure now correct, try different compositions. I tried horizontal and vertical formats, andwent in close to isolate specificdetailas well as including the leaf in its entirety. After muchexperimenting, I settled onthisshot . The endresult isa creative, winteryclose-upthat you could takeat any timeof year!
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Once thewaterhas frozen, youcan begin snapping. You could shoot it To rectifythe problem,I knew I neededto apply a degree of exposure indoors,usin g a lightbox toback lightit; butI optedto takeit outside,so I compensation. As withmostDSLRs,my camerahas a dedicated exposure could usethe softnessand warmthof thenatural light. Using a tripod, I positione com d pensation facility. Using this, I selected a compensation of +1stop.I took mycamera overhead,composed myshot andreleasedthe shutter. However, theanotherphotoand, havingstudiedthe result(andcorresponding histogram)on brightly-litice fooled my metering system into underexposure. mycamera’sLCD,I knew that theexposurewas nowcorrect.
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Hea dlesstorso
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Isn’tittimeyoulostyourhead? r o o d t u O
DANIELLEZANO: There are numerous reasons for taking pictures, but sometimesyou shoulddo it just because it’s fun. With thisin mind, I decided torecreate an image I’d seen in a magazine that showeda headless body holding a head under one arm. It was quite a high-end image,so there was plentyof Photoshop involved to make it appearrealistic,but I wanted to shoot a far more attainable image for anyone wanting to recreate a similar shot without having to spend ages in post-production. While this image does include a littlePhotoshop work,the emphasis is on careful composition and lighting to give the impression that there’s only one personin the frame, andthat they’re holding their own head!
TIMEREQUIR ED TEN MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED
NIKON D700 WITH 50MM LENS,MANFROTTO 055MF4 TRIPOD WITH RC322 HEAD, BOWENS TWIN HEADSTUDIOFLASH
Studioflash lightingoutfit I could have used ambient light coming through thegarage door andwindows tolight mysubjects. But, I wanted toprevent as much light as possible from landing on the‘head’ model’s shoulders, so I neededmore control over the light’sdirection.For thisreason, I used two studioflash heads,one with a small softboxfor a relatively wide,even spreadof light,and the other with a small spill, which provided a narrowfocus of light.
SETTINGUP:There wasno glamorous locationfor thisportrait shoot, just the inside of a garage! Thesubjects, Hayley(the headless torso) and Katie (the head) wereplac eda metre or sofromthe whitegar age wall, with Hayley standing and Katiesat on top ofa couple of sofacush ions.Both had been asked towearblac k, asthis wouldhelpwithmerg ingthe two figures together togivethe impressionof a floating head. The windowsof the garagehad tobe blocked off with parcel paper tominim iseambi ent light. For this imageto work,I had toillum inateHayl ey'sneck and torso with oneflas hhead and Katie's head with theother. I fitted the softbox tothe 500W studioflashand , with it at Hayley'shea d height, tilted it upwards slightly to reduce theamou ntof lightreaching Katie'shead . I fitted a spill to the 250W flashand placed this low and closeto Katie, so that the lightwas concentratedon herhead, withas little lighting as possible on her shoulders. A snootor spotlightwou ld havebeena better option, but I lacked both. You can see the optimum position of the lights on theimage on the right.
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Thebest way to calculate the exposure is to use a handheld flash meter, taking readings from the neck of the 'torso' and theface ofthe 'head', adjusting the power of each studioflashlight so that bothhave the same exposure. For those without a flash meter, the simplest way is, with your camera setto manual exposure mode, put theshutt spee d ed, to theflash er syn c spe choose a small aperture (in thiscase f/8) andtak e a picture, then review the imageon the LCD. Thisfirst test shot wasgrossly overexposed.
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FINE-TUNETHE EXPOSURETo adjust theexposure, youcan openor close downthe aperture, changethe ISO rating and/or adjust thepower of the studioflash(do thisby changing the power valuesand/or moving it closer or further awayfromthe subject). I kept ISO320,set the apertureto f/16, then loweredthe power ofboth flashheads, taking careto keep the ratioof both the same. A couplemoretes t shotsand minor adjustments tothe power gavea decent exposure, which I confirmedby checkingthe histogram.
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Withthe lighting and exposure sorted, it was time to positionthe models sothatthe imagewas as realistic as possible. Thekey area I had tokee p aney e on was gettingthe head'sheight correct sothatthe arms looked natural andnot stretched out.It was also important to have thehands positioned sothattheyappe ar to beholdi ng up the head,as well asalso covering up as much ofthe neck areaas possible. I asked Hayley to keep her chin up sothather neck is stretched out. OnceI was happywith the set-up, I fired off a few different images, gettingHayleyto adjust herhands to findthe best position.
TIMEFOR PHOTOSHOP Work is needed to removethe visible necklineand detail fromthe T-shirt. For theneckline, using thePolygonalLasso Tool, I makea selection around the necklinearea. NowI select the Paint Brush Tool and, while holding downthe Altkey, click on anareaof black,whic h selectsthat colour, andbegi n topain t outthe skin. To mergethe dress and T-shirtdeta iI,I go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>SelectiveColor, creating a newlayerand preservingthe srcinal image. I select Blacks in the drop-down menu, then move theBlack slider until all thedetail hasmerged. Finally, using theErase Tool, I delete any areas where wanteddeta il has been lost, suchas the faceand arms, restoring detail still preservedon thelayer beneath.
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Finalimage Andthere wehave it!An image thatappearsto show a headless torso holding a head.Why not try something similar withmembers of your family come Halloween!
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Makeplasticfantastic! DANIEL LEZANO:Cross-polarisation is a
great technique totry athome asit'sa relatively simple oneto do. The idea is to 'sandwich' plastic objects betweenpolarising material, to reveal stresspatterns withinthe plastic as a kaleidoscopic feastof wonderful colours. It's a great way of creating extraordinary images of very ordinary subjects – in this case some clear plastic cutlery that I picked up at the local supermarket for £1!As you'll need to shoot in a darkened room,it's a technique you can try in the comfort ofyour own home atnight.
TIMEREQUIRED 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENTNEEDED CANON EOS 400D 100MM MACRO LENS MANFROTTO TRIPOD LIGHTBOX,POLARISING GEL& POLARISING FILTER
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112 Cross-polarisation
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I used a macro lens to get in really close to small areas of my subject, but the tele-end of a standard zoom would be suitable too. You’ll need to use a tripod, as exposures will run into seconds, so a remote release is useful too, though I used the self-timer and mirror lock-up facility of my Canon EOS 400D to minimise shake. A lightbox provides all the light you’ll need and, apart from the polarisers, you’re almost there. One extra bit of kit I’d recommend is a lens cloth and/or blower brush. Smears and dust will be obvious at such magnification! Use aperture-priority mode, start at f/8 for optimum sharpness, but feel free to change the aperture, to vary depth-of-field. Multi-zone metering will work here, but apply exposure compensation if needed.
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Live
View is If your a big he make DSLR has a lp! objectssure to use it LiveView faci to com on a lightbo when adjusti lity, p n x . o g I s t i t m io than lo oking t n far quickerakes changes hrough a the viewnd easier finder
Techniquewatch CROSS-POLARISATION This technique involves placing a plastic subjectbetween two polarisers. Theeasiest way to do thisis to have a circular polarising filter attachedto your lensand thenhave anotherpolariserresting on a lightbox, withthe plastic object(s) on top. You canuse anotherscrew-inpolarising filter on thelightbox,but it limits thesize
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ofthe subjectyoucan use.A better alternative isto buya sheet of polarising gel, which covers the whole lightbox surface. They’re a littlepricy in theUK,but we’ve beentold by readers of an internet Cross-polarisationis all aboutrevealing stress fractures in plastic, so colourfirm s in the Far East (www.3dlens. com) thatoffers a good quality, willplay a very strongpart in thesuccess ofthe final image. However, equally important is theshape of thesubject youchoose,whichwill addextra interesttoaffordableoption.
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thecomposition.Choosing subjects with very definedoutlinesreally works – for this step-by-step,I decided to shoot a cutlery set.
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It's worth jotting down a listof set-ups beforeyou start andadd to it as you Once you'veset up thecomposition, lookthroughthe viewfinder(or better go along – as you'lldiscover, once youstart, you'll be changing the still use LiveView) androtatethe ringof thecircularpolarising filter. As if by arrangement ofobjects, zooming in andout (or raising thetripodup anddown) magic, you'll seethe background changefromwhiteto black andcolours asyou think up new anglesto try. Start offwith a simplecompositionlike this transform your plasticsubjects. Stop turning thering once you'vea solid black andbe more creativeas you getthe hang of things. background andthe most intense colours andshootaway!
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Finalimage Theimageon theopening spreadis myfavourite,but this one runs it a close second. Thewholeshoot only took30 minutes toset upand shoot and I managed several imagesI'm happy with. Do it yourself andI'm sure you'll have similar success.
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As I wentthroughmy list ofshots,I startedto concentrate more on the Despitetryi ngto keepthe cutlery as clean as possible, therewas no way fork and theknife,as their distinctshapesmade themfar more photogenic of preventing dust and fluff, floating throughthe air, from settling on it.It's than the spoon.As well as shootingfro m directly abovethe lightbox, I then worth doinga quick cleanever y coupleof minutesas it'sa far quickeropti on triedloweringthe tripod andshooting from an angle. I also triedusin g a wide thanhavingto removedust and debris in Photoshop. Theproblem is aperture to reducedepth-of-field tovary my effects. accentuated whenyou start shootingmacro close-ups suchas this.
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Blur your vision!
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DANIEL LEZANO: Photoshop hasallowedall sortsof weird and wonderful effectstobe applied toimages in postproduction,but I still prefer toget as close as possibleto thefinal image in-camera. Much ofthis is because I’mnotparticularlygood with Photoshop tobe honest, butmainly because I actually find it fun (as well as occasionallyfrustrating), togo ‘old-school’ and usemore traditional
FILTER,VASELINE & CLOTH: This is a very affordable technique.A tub of Vaseline won’t break thebank, but you’ll needa UVor skylight filterto screw onto thefront of your lens.I cannotover-emphasise how important it is that you applyVaselineto thefilter and not tothe front elementof your lens, as it could permanently damagethe optics.Youshould also keepa clean lens cloth handy, forwipingaway Vaseline when youwant to
TIMEREQUIR ED 30MINUTES
EQUIPMENTNEEDED CANON EOS 400D SIGMA70-200MMLENS MANFROTTO TRIPOD UV FILTER,LENSCLOTH
ALSO USED POTOF VASELINE
photographictechniq uestogivetheresultsI’mlooking . I’ve recently startedexperimentingwithproducing unusualfor soft-focus effectsby smearingVaselineon a filter. As I discovered, it’s very r o o d n I
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cleanthe tryagain,or at the endfilterand ofyourday’s shooting. That’sabout all you need in terms of accessories, withthe exceptionof a tripod, which willkeep your camera steadywhenyou’re preparing the compositionand focusing on the scene.
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The first thing you need todo is to finda suitablescene.Ideally, thelocation youchoose should have somewell-defined shapes and areas of strong shadows and bright highlights,such as woodland. However, thiscolourful fieldof poppiescaughtmy eye andI hoped tobe able touse theVaselineto createa strongabstract effectbased around the bold reds. I mountedmy DSLRon a tripod,to ensure images were shake-free,and usedSigma's excellent 70-200mm f/2.8 lensto crop fairly tightly on the poppy field.
APPLYINGVASELINE: As you’ll discover, getting a desired effect requires lots of trial anderrorwhenit comes to smearing thefilter. Start off by applying a thinline ofVaseline acrossthe central part of thefilter, andapply further smearsuntilyou’ve covered thewholesurface. Takea few shots,rotate thefilterso thesmears arediagonaland shoot again.Apply thicker smears of Vaselineto create randompatterns, andthen wipethe filter clean andtry again!
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Withthe camera supported on a sturdytripod, it's important to 'lock' the With everything prepared,it's timeto apply the Vaseline. Rather thanscoop focus beforesmearing thefilter with Vaseline – the AF systemwill struggleto bigwedges from the tub, gently smear relatively thinlines of Vaseline across focusonceit' s been applied.Todo this,focus on the scenenorm ally andthen the frame. Here,you cansee how just a singlesmea r affects thescene.I looked switch thelensfro m AFto manualfocus,so when you press theshutter button throughtheview finder the whole time I was applyingthe Vaseline, tosee how it lateron, totak e a shot,it won'taff ectthefocu sing. wasaffecting the overall scene.
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Finalimage My favourite image wasone taken towards the endof my session. After refiningmy composition,angling the cameradown towards a smallerarea ofthe field (to makethe poppies largerin the frame), I carefully applied very thinsmears to the filter.
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Once I'dapplied theVaseline acrossthe filter, I fired offa few frames, As well as horizontal smears, I also rotated thefilter so as to make the choosing a variety ofapertures from f/5.6to f/13,so that I could seehow the smearsrun diagonallyand then vertically– this made a big difference tothe results varied(in truth,it made littledifference). Aftera few frames, I used my result. I also tried a variety of smear patterns, such as criss-crossedlinesand finger to apply more Vaseline, tosee if a thicker layer would improve theeffect. wavy lines to see what effect it hadon thescene. It's worth tryingthis,as it's However, I found that using toomuchof it ledto toosofta result. impossible to predict whatworks best.
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STEWARTBYWATER: One technique that is quick, easy and really good fun, is totry and shoot a scale model so that, at first glance, it might trick the viewer intothinking that it is the real thing. It doesn't really matterwhat you chooseas your miniatureobject, as long as you set it and shoot it in such a waythatit looks in scale with its surroundings. I decided toshoot a model car, as I already havea few at home. Theyare also ideal for a quickshoot, as you don'tneedto build any sets or scout around for a good location – you canliterallytake them out tothe streetoutside your house and shoot them from the pavement. Just about anymodel carcould be used, but if you want the result to look more realistic, it obviouslymakes sense to find a model that is well-detailed and correctly proportioned. This often means choosing a larger model, rather than something matchboxsized. This also helps when it comes tomaking it looklarge in the frame. There are several factors to watch out for, as it is easy tooverlooka small detail in the frame that may betraythe true size ofyour car, such as large-grained pavements (it will be obvious that the caris very close to the surface, and therefore a miniature); traffic bollards and lamp posts, and other vehicles(whether passingor stationary). Another thing tobe aware ofis capturing your own reflection or shadowin the shot. As you will be shooting from very close tothe model, it's actually quite difficult tokeep these out of the shot. If you are usinga wide-angle lens (recommended), you want to shoot at its minimum focusing distance. Although notessential, I'drecommend taking a friend along for this sort of shot, as when shooting from ground level, it is difficult to watch out for oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. They could also keep an eye on your kit bag, tomake sure nobody makes off with it! Finally, it is worth wearing scruffy clothes for this sort of shot, as you will inevitably end up getting dirty when you're lying on the ground.
Essentialkit HOODMANRIGHT -ANGLEVIEWER: If you’reshootingwith your cameraat ground-level (orat any angle from which looking throughthe viewfinder is difficult), a right-angleviewercan makea huge difference. Notonlydoes it make composing certain shots much easier (and therefore moreenjoyable), but it also relieves strainon theneck, whilstallowingyouto keep your head in a more natural position (and off theground). I used theHoodman right-angle viewer, which is availablefrom Newpro UK foraround £99. For further information,or to see other products from Hoodman, visit theNewproUK websiteat: www.newprouk.co.uk.
TIMEREQUIR ED 20 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT CANONEOS5DWITH CANON17-40MM ZOOMHOODMAN ANGLEVIEWER
ALSO USED TOY CAR
Techniquewatch
DEPTH-OF-FIELD: The areain focus is key tomaking this picturelook believable; toomuch or too littlewillbetraythe real size ofthe model and diminish theeffect.As you will be shooting at a veryshortdistancefrom the subject,the depth-of-field willbe minimal anyway. If it is too shallow and too much ofthe car fallsout offocus, theresult will automatically looklike a macro shot.Inversely, this shallowfocus technique canbe used to make real-life sceneslook likemodels. Ifyou use too small anaperture, the depth-of-fieldwillextend back toofarand leavethe surroundings in sharp focus,only exposingthefactthatthisis a verysmallarea you are photographing.Due to these tiny margins it is important to bracket your shots at variousapertures, asyouma y not beable tosee exactly where thefocus falls off on the LCDscreen.
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Having chosen your miniature subject,the first thing you'll needto do is finda suitableloca tion.If thebuil dingsare too bigor too close, theywill dwarfyou r subject,but too smallor faraway, andthe y will bevirtually unidentifiable in the shot, andthereforenot worth including at all.Once you have placed your subject,it's timeto assume the shootingposition.
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Setyour camerato aperture-priority modeand start withan aperture of around f/5.6. This shouldbe enough tokeepmostof thecarin focus, while blurringthe immediate background,from thetarmac to the buildings behind. Keeping the aperture fairly wide will blur the areain frontof thecartoo , which willhelp to hideany textures thatmay diminishthe effect.
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Wear old
If you k clothe s! shooti now that yo to kneeng a subject tu’re going to b l o r lie on t hat will req e wearin h u e g g taking some scruf round, it isire you a rug o r dustbfy old clothes worth in liner o with yor u
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Finalimage Using a wide-angle zoom allows meto fill a largeport ion ofthe frame withmy subject,whileincludingsome of the large houses in the background
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toadd a se nseof aleion . Wh iletitit’ ’ss obviousafter clo se inssc pect tha a model car, atfirstglan ceit isnot so apparent.When shooting, it is vital to getdown to pavementlevel. This ‘real-life’ viewpoint makesthe car seemlargerthan itis, as whenI shot from only slightly above the car, it instantly appeared smaller.
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An ultrawide-angle zoom (inthis case a Canon 17-40mm f/4L)gives more Myfirst attempt, using a 90mm macro lens, didn't quite work. I took it with believable results. Once again,I gotdownas lowas I could,with thecamera thecameraalmost resting on thesurface ofthe pavement. The macrolens virtually resting on thepavement,and shot from as close tothe car as thelens made thecar lookquiterealistic, butthe depth-of-field was so shallow (because focus would allow. I zoomedin slightly to make thecar filla good portionof the I hadto shoot socloseto thecar) that thebuildingsin thebackground were frame, whilstincluding a fair amount of background detailto addscale. unidentifiable, so theimagehad no real senseof scale.
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118 Floatingstill-life
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Nostrings attached! r o o d t u O
I recently stumbled across a film I had MATTYGRAHAM: watched at the movies when I was a child: Memoirs Of An Invisible Man. It always made me chuckle when the star, Chevy Chase, unwrapped his bandages and all the viewer could see was a hat, specs and coat 'floating' in mid air. The movie got me thinking of how to recreate a similar effect in a photo. Without Hollywood special effects,I chose touse thin fishing line and a boom stand tosuspendmy breakfast crockery as if an invisible waiter was serving it up. The trick with this technique is to use as few wires as possible and a solid background as, when you come to removing the wires in Photoshop, the plainer the backdrop, the easier it is to clone accurately. You don't have to copy my idea as the creative possibilities around your ownhome are endless!
TIMEREQUIRE D 45 MINUTES
EQUIPMEN T NEEDED CANON EOS 5D WITH 50MM F/1.8 LENS
ALSO USED FISHINGLINE, STICKY TAPE,BOOM STAND, PROPS & TRIPOD
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SETTING UP: I chose to position my set-up in the garden. Thisis a great location, but remember that objects that aresuspended by thefishing linesmay swingin the wind, sotry and shelter your propsto keep them still.
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I started byplaci ng myboom stand (you could also use a tripod) into position.Because I was shootingon a verysunn y day, I had toplaceit to the rightof theframeso thatits shadow was not visible in the image.
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CLONINGTOOL: TheCloning Tool is one of themost effective weaponsin the Photoshop armory. Users canselect how hard they want the cloning brush to be and alsoits opacity. You canevenclone fromseparateimages so,for example, if you have a portrait where oneof your model’s eyes is closed, youcan graft themin froman additionalimage.
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Nextup, I cut some fishing line from thespoo l The teapot was in the rightposition, but there andwra pped it around the teapot.I then raised wasa problem!The fishing wirecouldn't theteapotinto its 'floating' position above the support theweight of the teapot and snapped. tableand tied theother end to the boom stand The solutionwas to cut a new stripand 'double using a secureknot. up' the wire tomakeit muchstro nger.
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Next, I added a cup and spoon tofit inwith thebreakfasttheme.I found themug kept falling forward, so used sticky tape tofix the fishing line tothe back ofthe mugso it balanced in a more natural, upright position.
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Finalimage There wehaveit, breakfast served up by an invisiblewaiter. Chevy would be proud!
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I took a testshotand reviewed it on myLCD With theshotcap tured, I opened the imagein I selected theCloning Tool and,after zooming screen. Theshot wasgood, but thebackground Photoshop ready to clone out thefishing lines. in closer to the image, began tocloneout the wascluttered. Thesolutionwas to raise thetripod I then made a duplicatelayer (Ctrl&J)to work on lines thatwere holding up my props. It'simportant up toget ridof thebrown fence and just include the justin case I madea mistakeand needed to start to take your timewith thisstep and clonecarefully. grass as the background. over using the srcinal layer. I thenflattened and saved myfile.
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DIY shadows
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Makeyourownlightingmasks r o o d t u O
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DANIEL LEZANO:Whoevercoined thephrase'the
camera never lies' really didn't have a clue. The fact is, deceptionhaslong been a staple diet of TIMEREQUIRE D thephotographer, with all sorts of tricks being ONE HOUR employed tofool viewers into believing that an image is EQUIPMENT CANON EOS 550D WITH something it isn't. Nowadays,we would automatically think CANON EF 17-40MM of thevariouspost-processingalterationsthatarepossible, F/4L USM LENS but the truth is that there have always been lots of ways of ALSO USED faking a scene at theshooting stage. For instance, fitting a CARDBOARD MASK, filter to your lens effectively takes thescene onestep SCALPEL, ELINCHROM D-LITE IT KIT & further away from reality, as does selectinga very slow LIGHTING STAND shutter speed toblur moving waterintoa milky mist. In this photo project, we'll be looking at how making your owncardboard mask to place in front of a studioflash head can allow youto create a lighting effect that gives theillusion of a venetian window blind. It's a very simpletechniqueto try andthe results can look effective when done properly, adding an air of mood and mystery to your portraits.
Techniquewatch HARD AND SOFT SHADOWSYou : canvary how hard or howsoftthe shadows fall on the scene by your choice of lightingattachment andthe position ofthe mask. Usinga softbox will give a softer, moreindistinct effect,while using a spill will give a more focused anddirect light that produces a harder shadow. You’llfind you can also increasethe hardness ofthe shadows by moving the mask towardsthe subject, or soften shadows bymoving it towards the light. Thechoice is yours.
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'Here'soneI madeearlier ...': Creatingyourlightingmask The easiestwayto makea mask is tocut it out from the side ofa cardboardbox.You’ll need it tobe as large as possibleto ensurethe light reaching the subjectpassesthrough theopenings youcut, rather thanaroundthe side ofthe mask.Tomakethis venetian blind mask, I drew straight lines at regular intervals,then cutthem using a scalpeland cutting mat(you canalso usescissors) to give a rectangular
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maskwith several similarlysized It’s important to ensurethe edgesapertures. of theapertures are cut as smoothandstraight as possibleas any major imperfections mayshow up on the shadows cast.Once you’vemadeyour mask, fixit toa lighting pole usingsellotape. Tryto tape it toone sectionof the stand, asthis makes it easier toraise andlower the stand, whichyou’llneedto do topositionthe areas of light and shadow on thesubject.
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1 (or by trial anderror bychangingthe aperture 2 andthe area whereyou willposition your
3 shadows butnow theresultwas tooharsh, so
setting with thecamerain manualand theshutter speed set to theflashsync). Myset-up gavea exposure of 1/160sec at f/16 (ISO100).
themask wasmoved awayfrom thesubject.Take care when movingthe mask, asif theanglechanges, the shadow linesmay become uneven.
Work outexposure using a flash meter
Place yourmask between the studioflashhead
subject. Take a shot andreviewthe result. In this shot theshadows werehardly visible, so themask wasmoved closerto thesubject.
Thenext shot gavefar more definedlinesof
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122 Inkjetpre-coats
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Coat your own! r o o d t u O
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LEE FROST:Backin the days when photographers did it by hand in the dark (printing that is!), I enjoyed coating heavy art paper witha liquidphotographicemulsion before printing black & white images onto it. It was a fiddly and messy process (aren’tmost things done in the dark?) but the results had a wonderful fine-art quality that made the effort worthwhile.Fortunately, youno longerneed a darkroomto experiment with hand-coating, because inkjet pre-coats are now available that allow you tomake a wide rangeof materials receptive to inkjetinks, allowingyou togo ahead and print photographson them. Paperis an obvious choice of material, but if you feel more ambitious, and your printer has a flat-feed, you can print images on fabrics,wood, metal and glass. To get you started, we’ll concentrateon usingpre-coats on paper, to show you not only howeasy this technique is, but alsohow effective it can be.
SETTINGUP:Find yourself a clear area to work in,away from anything expensive,with plentyof light,so you can see what you'redoing.Put down a wipe-clean mat or some newspaperto work on.You'll need a bowlto put your coating solution in,and a clean, wide brush to apply it to your paper surface.
TIMEREQUIR ED 1 HOUR
EQUIPMENT INKAIDINKJETPRECOA TS EPSON STYLUSPRO4800 PRINTER BRUSH & PAPER
Essential kit
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INKJETPRE-COA TS: Although there’s nothing to stopyou from printing photographs on ordinarypaper or card, the images usually endup looking flatand blurrybecause theink soaks into thesubstrate andspreadsout,a bitlike inkon blottingpaper. Similarly, if you print on a non-porous material such as plastic or metal, inkwill stay on the surfaceof the substrate and probablybe smearedby the printer. To prevent this,special pre-coats have beendeveloped thatmake both porous and non-porous materialsreceptiveto inkjet inks and allowyou to print high quality images on them without falling foul ofany ofthese problems. It’s a simpleconcept, but it works brilliantly, and has opened up all sortsof creative avenues for photographers.OttawaSpeciality Coatings Corporation wasthe firstto launch inkjet pre-coats, under the inkAID label(www.inkaid1.com). You canbuy a sample of inkAID pre-coa ts for £25.95pluspostage , fromArtvang o (wwwpack .artvang o.co. uk).The kit contains six 118ml bottles of: Clear Semi-Gloss, Clear Gloss, White Matte, Iridescent Gold,Clear Gloss Type II (with adhesive) and a separate adhesivepre-coat foruse with the ClearGloss pre-coat. Eachbottle contains enough pre-coat to prepare a dozen or more sheets ofA4 paper, with two coatson each sheet, so there’smorethan enoughto get you going. I foundthe WhiteMatteand Clear Semi-Gloss pre-coats to be the mostuseful for photographicprinting, so youcould bypass the sample pack and order individual bottles.
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The firststepis tochooseyourpape r. This is Nowit’s timeto apply the pre-coats.A clear, To apply the pre-coat, youjust paint it on, trying where youcan experiment. Try textured art wipe-clean work area is required, though any to avoid gettinghairs or other debris trapped in paper, watercolour paper, handmadepaper, colouredspillsand splashesare easy towipeup. The bottleof theemulsion, andalso making sure thatthe paper, etc. The yellowing endpapers from old books pre-coat should alsobe given a good shake before pre-coatingis applied evenly. Thatsaid, if you also workwellif you wantto create prints with a pouring a smallquantity into a clean plastic dish. intentionally want to see brush strokes andtexture in distinct vintagelook– as long as itwillfeedthro ugh This canall bedonein daylight,as thepre-coats the pre-coat, you can apply a thicker layer andbe your printer, it’sworth trying. aren’tlight-sensitive. more random with yourstrokes.
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d med If you’r ia could ue feeling rea media se coatings lly ambitious a r text, ha tworks by to create mix , you maps, ndwritten le printing on p edt illustra a tions oters or manu ges of r paint s ings! cripts,
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4brushingat 90°to the directionof thefirst coatif 5ready foruse. To print on thecoatedpaper, treat 6step, it is worth considering protecting the Once thoroughly dry, apply a second coat, ideally
you wantan evenfinish . Once two coats havebeen applied,and eachsheet is fully dried, place them between the pages ofa big book, weigheddownwith more books,or any otherflat , heavy object,and leave everything overnight.
Bythe nextmorni ng,the sheets will beflat and
Allowthe inks todry overnight; then, asa final
it likenormalinkjet paper. The printer settings delicate print surfacesby applyingtwo or three required willdependon theprinter youuse, the coats of print protection spray. I use Hahnemuehle material you’reprinting on and your selection of Protective Spray, but other sprays, suchas the pre-coat,but I find thatArchival Matt or WatercolourFrogjuice Aerosol from Fotospeedand Permajet Papermedia settings work fine. Inkjet Fixative willdo the samejob.
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e Prsonalised calendar
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CAROLINEWILKINS ON: As the end ofeach year approaches,we allface TIMEREQUIRE D thetricky task of 30 MINUTES choosinga calendarthatreflects EQUIPMENT NEEDED IMAGES & PHOTOSHOP ourtaste. Prettypicturesby photographers packtheshelves ALSO USED 5X7IN200GSM MATT in this seasonal format, butwhy PHOTO PAPER fork outcash for someone else’s images whenyour photographs could do just asgood a job! Although it’s a greatway to showcaseyourimages, your calendar will look better if you groupyour shots into themes such as family, flowers, wildlife or landscapes. There’s no rule to say you should stick to the conventional 12-month calendareither: if you’ve got too manyimages topickfrom, why not do a weekly or, if not enough images,a bi-monthly calendar. Thisstep-by-step guide willshow you how to designa desk-size version from scratch, butthe basic principle applies forany size of calendar– simply substitute the 5x7in dimensions for anA4, or even A3, format in step one. If it’s A4 you’reafter, we’ve helpfullyprovidedanA4 calendartemplate foryouon ourwebsite. You’llfindit at www.digitalslrphoto.com.
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Essentialadvice FINISHING TOUCH: You could either get your calendar printed at a professionalprintersor do it at home on high-qualityphotographicpaper(200gsm or more). Thereis no need to get a desk calendar ring-bound like you would withbigger calendars (though thiscan be easilydone at most print stores),a picture stand willdo thejob. You canbuysmallpicture stands/easels from most art stores, andthere is a great assortmentonline to suit all tastes from vintage antique to simple woodeneasels.Butfora really cost-effective alternative,turn a plasticCD case inside out(so it standsupright) andslot thesheets of paper behindits grooves;however,thislimitsyouto a vertical format calendar.
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idewhether youwanta vertical or horizontal format; if horizontal go 1template, which you canadapt foreachmonthof your calendar. Create a new2Dec to Image>Image Rotation>90 CW. Usingthe Paint Bucket Tool, fill your Havingselected your collectionof images, thefirststepis tocreate a
file(File>New)and selectthe size of thepaper you want to print on.In this case,Background Layer with thecolour youwant, unlessyouwant to leaveit white. I’musing5x7inphotopaperand therefore set thesedimensions under Width and I found it easier to judgewhereto placemy image anddiarydates on thepage Height, makingsureResolution is set at 300. Click OK. once I turnedthe Gridlineson (View>Show>Grid).
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3guide:try to leavean equal amountof spaceon two sides ofthe text boxfor 4Background Layer anduse theMoveTool to resize it. For thebestresults, Next,createa text boxwith theHorizontal TypeTool.Use thegrid lines asa
framing.Note:It looks better tohaveat least onegrid boxspace betweenthe edge of thepageand thetext. Selectthe font type,sizeand colourof your text andtypein themonth, days anddates youwant.
Nowcreate a new layer (Layer>New), fillit witha contrastingcolourto your
positionthebox intheoppo sitethi rdof the pageto the textbox.Thi s will bethe templatefor your image box, which youcan later adjustto fit theshape of your photo. Save the document as template.psd.
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Nowyou’re finished.Keepthetemplatefile fornextyearoruseit tocreate a seriesof themedcalendarsas giftstofamilyand friends. For a professionaltouch, youcouldadd h t a coverto your calendar byrepeatingthestepsandadding a title, butleave outthe dates.Also,whynottrychoosinga backgroundcolourthatcomplements each image.
in g
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5on to your calendardocument. Then resize theimageto fit into theimage 6selectOutside to create a border. Once you’rehappy withthe first month's Open your first image in Photoshopand drag it – using theMove Tool –
Click on your photolayerand go to Edit>Stroke andchangewidth,colourand
box, holdingdown Shift,to keep theimage proportionate. If it’s a portrait-format page, flatten the image(Layer>FlattenImage)and resavethe file e.g January. imageuse thetop andbottom of the(grey)box as theboundary. Useyour TIFF. Now, re-open thetemplate fileand repeat steps5 and6 foreachmonth, judgementhereand thegrid boxesto frameyourphoto. rememberingto changethe month anddates in thecalendar.
P h o t o s h o p
THE IDEALCOMPANION FOR YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA
!
ON SALE NOW
Orderyourprintordigitalcopydirectfrommagbooks.com orcall08448440053 MagBookscoverarangeoftopics,fromITtoMotoring,andFitnesstoLifestyle
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PHOTOSHOP PROJECTS OUR EASY TO FOLLOW PHOTOSHOP STEP-BY-STEPS WILL HELP YOU TRANSFORM YOUR IMAGES
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128 Cross-processeffect
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Cross-processing inPhotoshop
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DANIEL LEZANO:Photoshop has allowed us to create all sorts of wonderful effects, but many TIMEREQUIRED 15 MINUTE S photographers whogrewup in EQUIPMENT NEEDED the film age still hanker for some ofthe NIKON D700 oldfavourites.Theportrait enthusiasts 105MMF/2.8LENS among youmayremember ALSO USED cross-processing,whichinvolved PHOTOSHOPCS3 developing a filmin the'wrong'chemistry, (i.e. running a slide filmthrough chemicals meant for negatives, or developing print films in slide film chemistry). This would lead to some adventurous and very unusual results,such as particularly punchycolours or pale and tinted skin tones in your image. This technique was popular with fashion and ‘lifestyle’photographers in the’90sand manydigital photographers nowsuccessfullymimic theeffect.Cross-processing filmwas always unpredictable and results varied according to filmbrands and filmtype – slidefilmsgave verydifferent resultsto cross-processed printfilms. Outlined here is a simple, yet effective, technique for recreating the cross-processed look digitally in Photoshop. It makes useof the Curves adjustment, which means you’ll need the full version of Photoshop, or a Curves plug-in for AdobeElements.
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Choose a portrait image you like,but oneyou feel wouldbene fit from more A Curves box appears, which displays a histogram of theimage, with a visual impact. Select Window>Layers to reveal the Layers palette. Select the straight diagonalline running from bottom left (pure black) to top right half white/half black icon that allows you to createa newAdju stmentLaye r and(purehighl ight). Above thehist ogram is an optiontab calledChann el that will choose Curves from thedrop- down menu. Note a newlaye r calledCurv es 1 currentlyread RGB. You’ll usethe Channel tabto selectthe individual appears above the Background Layer (original image). channels in thefoll owingorde r: Red, Blue, then Green.
Select Red and dragthe top right ofthe curve a littleto the left. Thenclic k two Once you’ve adjusted theRed channel, click on theChann el drop-down pointsaro und a third ofthe way fromthe top and bottomand dragthemto menu andselec t theBlue channel. Pull thetop right endof thecurve create a gentle S curve (i.e. drag thetop point slightly to theleft andthe bottom downwards to remove some blue fromthe highlights. When you’ve done this, point to theright ). This gives deepershadows andbrigh ter highlights in theRed pullup the bottomof the curve byno morethanhal f a square, tomak e the channel – check thePrev iewbutt on to seethe effect. shadowsin theblue channel a bitmore solid.The line shouldrema in straight.
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xperim Crossents unpredprocessing fi workin ictable resu lms often g g o n the c lts, so wh ave very afraid en o l t o o tweaks experime ur channels you’re nt , to see what e with your chdon’t be ffects o a ccur nnel
Finalimage Compare this picture to the original and theeffect speaks foritself: an image that holds farmore visual impactthanks tothe extra colourand contrast.
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You cannow click on theChann el taband selectGreen . With theGreen channel you need to selecttwo pointsas you did with theRed channel, and drag them tocreate another gentle S curve. However, there is no need todrag the top endof thecurve . You canthen fine-tune theadjus tmentsto your satisfaction. Once you arehapp y with theresu lting image, click OK.
While our main step-by-stepmimicsthe effects of cross-processing print film in slide chemistry, many film photographersfavoured experimentingwith processing slide film in print (C-41) chemistry. Thisproducedextremelyhighcontrast images, withnear-bleached white skintones, bright red lips and very strong colours. It's a relativelyeasy effect to mimic by making adjustments to the Hue/ Saturationand Brightness/Contrast controls in Photoshop. 1) Open the image and select Window>Layers to reveal the Layers palette. Select a new Adjustment Layer and choose Hue/Saturation from the drop-downmenu. Boost the saturationand adjust the hueto your liking (but makesurethatyou don't overdo the effect!).
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You should now have an effect that’s reminiscent of a cross-processed film, with more solid,boldcolou rs andskin tones takingon a yellow/greentinge . However, you can alsocreate other adjustment layers to further enhance your image – in particular the Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast layers, which canbe selected to complete theeffe ct to your liking.
Adjustment Layer forand Brightness/Contrast increase the contrast (and brightness if youso wish). You'll findthat youstart to lose detail in the highlights and shadows and the colours become far more punchy. Again, don't overdo it.
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130 NDgrads&Photoshop
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Controlyour contrast r o o d t u O
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MARKBAUER:One of the main technical challenges in landscape photography is controlling the contrast in a scene so that you canaccurately record detail in both the land andthe sky. Often the sky is a lot brighter than the land, and the contrast in the scene is beyond what the camera's sensorcan record, resulting in eithera well-exposed sky and underexposed foreground,or the opposite. The usualway around this is touse a Neutral Density (ND) graduated filter. These filters are brilliantly simple – theyare dark at the top and clear at the bottom and all you do is position the dark half overthe brighter area of the picture, reducing the contrast between the light and dark areas and therefore enabling you to capture detail in both the foreground and the sky. The only problem is that the dividing line between the dark and light areas ofan ND grad is a straight line, and not all landscapes have a straight horizon – often the horizon is broken byan object such as a tree, a hill or a building,and the filter can cause an unnatural-looking darkening of the topof these objects. However, help is at hand as, most of the time, post-processing will rescue the shot. Here I explain howto use an ND Grad and remove its effect from specific areas.
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EQUIPMENTNEEDED CANON EOS 5D MKII, 24-105MM F/4L LENS & MANFROTTO 055CLB TRIPOD
ALSO USED REMOTE RELEASE & LEE 0.9 ND GRAD FILTER
Techniquewatch HARDANDSOFTGRADFIL TERS: Neutraldensity graduated filters come in two varieties: hard and soft. Hard gradshavea very obvious and sudden transitionfrom the darkto clear areas, whereas softgrads have a muchmore gradualtransition. Hard gradsare more useful in situationswhere the horizon line is fairly straight and doesn’t have any large objects breaking it. Softgrads on theother hand are a better option whenyou have an unevenhorizon. Also,opt for a hard grad if you intend to shoot a scene with a straight horizon at sunset or sunrise,as the horizon line will be thebrightest part of thescene, andsoftgrads won’t hold backenoughlight. So what do you do when you’re shooting a scene at sunrise/sunset, which has a largeobject such as a treeor building breaking the horizon? Here’s my wayaroundthis.
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Arriving at Portland in Dorset just beforedawn, I took a spot meter reading from theforegroundrocksand thesky, which revealed a differencein brightness of aroundfourstops. Although this fallswithinthe dynamic rangeof thesensor, shadowdetail hasbeencompromised a little, andlifting this in post-processingcouldreveal noise in theimage.
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With a four-stopdifferencebetweenthe rocks andthe sky, I chosea Using thehardgradfilterhas resulted in a much more even exposure, three-stop ND grad filter, asit would leavethe skya littlebit lighter than the butthere is a problem. The tophalf of thelighthouse, wherethe filter has foreground. Thenext choicewas to use a soft or hard grad (seepanel). Soft grads cutintoit, is a bittoo dark. The effect is fairlysubtle,but it's definitelythere, aren't always thebestchoice for seascapes, as thebrightest part of thescene is and doesn't look natural. Fortunately, this common problem can be easily often acrossthe horizon line, so I decidedon a hard grad. sorted outwith a spot of post-processing work.
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Finalimage This is the final result, which has good detail and colour in both the sky and foreground, and a naturallooking lighthouse with no darker section at the top.
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Usingthe MagneticLasso Tool in Photoshop, I selected thedarkertop half ofthe lighthouse,so that I couldwor k onthe problemare a without affectingany otherpartof theimage.I decidednot toappl y any featheringto theselection, as thiscould leave a 'halo' around thelighthouseonce I'd finished lightening the selection.
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There arevariousways of lightening or darkeningimages, suchas Curvesand Levels,but forthis selection I decidedto usethe Dodge Tool, as I couldpaint the effecton gradually andbuil d itup inthe areasthat needed itmore. I set theExposure valueto 10%, whichenab ledme towor k gradually on lightening the selection.
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CAROLINEWILKINSON: Whensomeone says Andy Warhol, probably oneof thefirst images to popintotheir head is a colourful montage of TIMEREQUIRE D 15MINUTES Marilyn Monroe or a Campbell’ssoup can. Warhol is oneof themost recognised artists of the1950’s EQUIPMENT ADOBEPHOT OSHOPCS4 popart movement and we’re still replicating hisstyle60 years later, with a lot more ease since theintroductionof Photoshop. When it comesto picking an imagefor a Photoshopped popart image, it’s best to pick a shot with good contrast because you’ll be, in effect, using theshadows as a blackoutline for your colours, and without good shadow detail to define theface, your subject may look like they’rewithout a nose or mouth. If you’re unsure, check theimage by turning it black& white andthen clicking toplay with thesliderto judge if enoughdetail is retained. Image>Adjustment>Threshold You shouldalso try to pick an image with a backgroundthat contrasts with thesubject to make it easier to extract with theMagicWand Tool. Some shots work better than others, but it’s a case oftrial and error. So whatare you waiting for, giveyour shots a new lease of life withthisgraphicPhotoshop technique.
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Openthe image and drag the Background Layer onto the newlayer iconto duplicate the layer. Now adda new coloured layer between thetwo layersby clicking Layer>NewLayer, then Edit>FillLayer andpick a colour. Drag thislayer between thetwo and clickthe top layer.
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Add a touch of blur bygoin g to Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blurand settingthe slider to 1px. Drag thetop layer onto the New
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Layer iconto duplicate.Select the Paint BucketTool and hit X tosel ect a white foregroundand click theface.(X changes the foreground colour from black to white).
icon on the Layers palette). Choose a colourto use asa skintone, then select the Paint Bucket Tool, hitX, and fillthe layerwith black to maskthe colour.
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BE A WAND WIZARD!If youstruggle selectingthe wholebackground, increaseor decreasethe Tolerance level of your wand slightlyand hold Shift while making multiple selections.
Usethe Magic Wand Tool to select the background and hit delete to showthe colouredbackground behind. Go to Select>Deselect, then Image> Adjustments> Desaturateand Image>Adjustments> Threshold, adjusting the slider to retain facial details. Select thetop layer’s blending modeto Multiply. Click thesecond layer and createa Solid adjustment layer (thesplit circle
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Hold Altand click between thesecondand thirdlayer. Now select the Select theCropT ooland hold downShiftwhiledra gging from top left to BrushTool and hitX tochoos e a whitefor eground colour and paintover bottom rightto createa squareimage.Move thesquareuntil you’re theskin area. Createanother Solidcolour adjustment layer, choose a second happy withthe crop. Double clickto complete. Select all layers except the colour, clip thelayer below and repeatfor eachcolour. Background Layer by holding Shift and clicking on eachlayer.
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Transform. In the options at thetop, change the percentages to 50%for width and height, and move the imageto the top left of thepictu re. Selectthe Move Tool, hold Alt, drag the shotto the top right,makin g a copy of theimage . Repeat three times and position the boxeson thepage .
colours, scroll down the Layers palette to select the rightlayer, then choosea colourand usethe Paint Bucket Tool on thesquar e. For otherfeatures you want tochang e the colour of, double click on the corresponding layer’s coloured box tobri ngup the colour picker.
HitCmd+T to
To changethe
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Basic skills for duotones r o o d t u O
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MATTHENRY: Duotoning, otherwiseknown as split-toning, dates back to thedays of the chemicaldarkroom,but withdigital processing, TIMEREQUIRE D separatelytoning shadowsandhighlightshas 15MINUTES become much quicker andeasier on thewallet. The EQUIPMENT treatment suits images with good tonalrange; clear ADOBEPHOT OSHOPCS4 distinction betweentheshadows andhighlights, so that thecoloursdon’t overlap. There are so many colour combinations you can try: red andyellow work well, as do green andblue, but theeffect can also be changed depending on which colour you usefor highlights andwhich you use for shadows. For instance, redhighlightsandblueshadows givea contemporary, energising look, while red shadows andblue highlights can be more unsettling. There are no hard and fast rules though – keep mixing it up untilyou hit on something you like.
TOBLEND OR NOT TOBLEND? Althoughthereare different ways to achieve theduotone effectin Photoshop,Blending Options offer by farthe mostcontrol over results. You canbe selective, using the sliders to specify which tones receive the colour wash andthose thatdon’t:makingit easier to keep coloursseparateas is often thedangerwith other techniques. Blending Options aren’taccessiblefor Elements users but excellentresults canstill be achieved using Color Variationsand selecting shadowsandhighlights separately.
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The first thing to do is convert our imageto mono. Elementsusers should duplicatethe BackgroundLayer with Ctrl/Cmd+Jand runEnhance>Convert toBlac k & White . Photoshopusers shouldadd a Black & Whiteadjustment layer usingthe button atthe layer palette base(or Layer>New AdjustmentLayer).
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In both Adobe Elements and Photoshop, you have the option to choose one of thepresets (use the drop-down menuin Photoshop) or work with the colour sliders to producethe desired effect. Experiment freely witheach method until you reacha look that suits theparticular image in hand.
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Oncethe imageis converted toblack& white, in Photoshop, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and check the box that says Colorize. Beforewe go anyfurther, changethe layer‘sblending modefrom Normal to Color using thedrop-down menuto prevent the image being lightened or darkened.
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Drag theHue sliderto establishthe colour wash you’d likefor theshadows. Ignorethe fact that thecolour is applied to thewholetonal range for now. Selectthe Hue/Saturationlayer and selectLayer>Layer Style>Blending Options . HoldAlt andclickthe whitetriangle on theThis Layer slider tosplit it into two parts.
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Changethe layer blending mode from Normal to Color andmovethe Hueslider to choose Layer>Layer yourhighlightcolour. Click Style>BlendingOptions andsplitthe black triangle.Set therightside to 155and theleftto 80. ClickOK to finish thePhotoshop work.
Elements usersdon’thave theluxury of blending options so weneed to useVariations. Goto Enhance>Adjust Color>Color Variations . Nowselect Shadows on theleftto start andclick therelevant picture buttonto addthe colourof your choice to the shadows.
Now, drag theleft-hand part of thetriangle along to the100 setting andthe right-hand partto 175.If you now clickthePre viewboxon andoff youcansee howthe highlight toneshave OK been excludedfromthe toning. Clic k then add another Hue/Saturationadjustment layer, checking the Colorize box again.
Clickas manytim esas you needto get the desired strength,and don’t be afraidto mix colourtones to get therighteffect.Use the subtract picture buttonif yougo toofar. Check the Highlight buttonwhenyou’re done andrepeat for OK to finish. the highlight tones. Click
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Finalimage Asyou can see,the Photoshop treatment has given the formerblack & white image a new and appealing atmosphere.
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CAROLINE WILKINSON: When shooting a portrait there isa lot we can doto TIMEREQUIRED control keyelements such as 30 MINUTES poses, lighting and composition. But EQUIPMENT NEEDED PHOT OSHOPCS3 there are also many instances when you can’t control it all. For example, this bridal portraithad great lighting comingfrom thewindow butthe backdrop was cluttered and distracting – ruiningthe photograph.Often,you canadd blur in Photoshopto recreatea shallow depth-of-field,softeningtheimposing background. But in this case, it’s not enough and for this picture tobe a success thebackdrop needs to be simplified.Using a coloured layer to maskthe background is an effective way oftransforming most images that have great light buta messy backdrop. If you have images with a similarproblem,then give this techniquea try!
Brushes&layers! This techniquerequires youto create a new‘black’ layer anduse thePaint Brush Toolto remove thecolour andreveal theimageunderneath.A fair amount oftrial and error isneededto get aneven result,butonewayis to keep a soft medium-sized,verylow-opacity brush movingand gradually strip awaythe colour. If youdo make a mistake,change thebrushMode to Darkenand goover theareas wherethe opacityis toothin.
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I tried toblur thebac kground bymask ingoff the brideand applying the maximum lensblur to thebackground by using Filter>Blur>Lens Blurand setting the Radiusto 100%. I wanted a simpleimag e that focused on the bride and lighting; thistechnique didn't do that.
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I madea second layer (Layer>New>Layer)and, withthe Paint Bucket It’s worth playing around withthe different brush modes, sizes and Tool, coloured it black.I broughtthe opacity ofthe layer downto 56% so opacitiesto get the desiredeffect. I found that 62% was too harshto get a asto see the imageunderneath and, usingthe Clear brushmode and opacity smoothfinis h and I got a better result with thelay er’s opacity at 100%and by of 62%, started to erase areas I wantedto reveal. varyingthe brush opacity between 9 and 17%.
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OnceI was happywiththe detailI’d broughtforward, I felt that the EachBlen d Optionhas a range ofBlen d Modesto experimentwith.I was graduation between the bride’s profile and theblack fill layer needed to be temptedto use Soft Lightas it boosted the bride’sglowand contrast, but in smoother, so I played withthe different blending options (Layer>LayerStyle).theendI opted for the Normal settingas it offered a less stark result with more TheSatin blend gave me the smoothest finish. natural skintones,which suited my image better.
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ple Pick a s range anubject that has opacity d concentrate a good tonal o f t h e highligh on bringing th especia t e create ally the whites o s back to 100% fe n image , high in c yes, so you ontrast
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theshadows, so it’s worth goingbackove r areas ofthe subjectwith a lowopacity brush to recover thedetails. To make thisimage even simpler, I added a black & white adjustment layer (Adjustments>Black& Whit )e andusing theDarkenbrush mode,I wentover areas ofthe black layer where theopacity hadbeen reduced.
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Boost contrast with blending modes CAROLINE WILKINSON: Manipulatingcontrastand colour saturationis what TIMEREQUIRED AdobePhotoshop excels at, TENMINUTE S butthesetwo propertiesare often EQUIPMENT NEEDED ADOBEPHOT OSHOP interlinked.Boostan image’scontrast OR ELEME NTS and you’ll noticethe colours may lookoversaturated too. Whileadjusting the Levels or Curvesis the most common way to changecontrast and theHue/Saturation tool for adjusting colour, using blending modes in a multi-layered image canbe quicker and give you more creativeflexibility. Putsimply, blending modes determine howa top layer interacts, or ‘blends’ with thelayerunderneath. There are25 blending modes to pick from, each having a differenteffect,but there is also a group dedicatedto changing contrast, including SoftLight, HardLight, Linear Light,Hard Mixand, oneof themost used, Overlay. Each one handles light and darkdifferently – so it’s worth experimenting – and it's worth noting that you canadd them to anylayer: a duplicatelayer, an adjustment layer, a filllayeror a different image layer. If you arenew to working with multiple layersand blending modes, don’t be daunted,this maysound advanced butit’s not. In fact, this tutorial could be theencouragement you need to start using layersin all of your Photoshopand Elements editing. Let’ssee howit’sdone.
Finding LayerBlendModes Whileyou cango toLayer>Layer Style>Blend ing Options andfind the BlendModedrop-down menuunderGeneral Blending,alongwithmanyotheradvanced options that willlookveryconfusing toyou atthis stage, there’sa muchquicker way.Allthe blend modescan be foundon a drop-downlist in the top-leftcornerofthe Layerspalette, whichby defaultwillhaveNormal blendmodeselected.
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You need at least two layersfor this techniqueto work,as a blend I want to boost thecontr ast, so I runthrou gh thelist of blend modes 1 2 mode determines how a top layer interacts with thelaye r underneath andfinall y optfor Overlay, as it darkens theblack s andlight ensthe it.So, tobeginwith,I duplicate theBackg roundLaye r, by clicking the highlights. If theeffe ct is toostrong,try reducing thetop layer's opacity. By layer and choosing Layer>Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J.
boosting the contrast, however, I'veoversaturated the face, making it red.
I need to separate thecontr astand saturation, so sticking with 3 Overlay andat opacity 100%, I take thecolou r outof thetop layer using the commandImage>Adjustments>Desaturate . It’s given methe
Bydesaturing theshot, I'velostthe colour inthe eye.Togiv e it back its 4 impact,I haveuseda QuickMask and small brushto select theeyeon the BackgroundLayer. Click theQuick Maskicon again to revealmarching ants.
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boost in contrast I want andmute d thecolou rs.I like it!
I then boost thecol ourImage>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation ( ).
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Overla and Sc y is a combina separa reen blend m tion of Multip respec tely to darkenodes. Use the ly with ovtively. Great if or lighten im m ag er or un y derexp ou’re dealing es, osed ph otos
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Overall, I’mhappy withthe final image, buttho ughtit was a bit soft, soI addeda High Passfilter toboostthe detail.I didthisby duplicating the Background Layer again, and makingit thetop layer, then adding a HighPassfilter (Filter>Other>HighPass)set to5 pixels and selecting theblending modeto Overlay. Experiment with different filtersand blending modes for various creative effects.
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MAT GALLAGHER: It is often thought that themore symmetrical your face is, themore pleasing or beautifulyou appear. This is why you’ll find that most models and film stars have very symmetrical features.Mostof us however, aren’tblessed withmirror perfect symmetry butwith thehelp of a little Photoshop work, wecansee whatwe’d looklikeif wewere.This technique is in essence, thedigitalequivalent to standingat right angles to mirrored glass in a hall of mirrors, as it duplicates one side of your face onto theotherand can have some very bizarre effects. The first stage is to take a photo ofyour subject, or ofyourself if you want toflip a self-portrait. For bestresults,ensure that thelightingis even across theface, andnot just coming in from oneside. Make sure that you shoot theface straight on and from a level height, as any kind of angle will distort the effect. If however, you want to create some more whackyeffects, ignore these guidelines and have some fun! Formy image,I used a studio shot thatI’dtakenearlier in theweek. It was taken against a whitebackground and straight on to thecamera, thus makingthe process easy. It’s best to do any alterations and cloning work to theface before you do themirror flip, as any imperfections will appear twiceonce you’ve flippedit. The Healing Brush tool makes this quick andeasy, while the Paintbrushtool on a lowopacity and flow, with a sampled colour, can be used over larger areas. Oneof the great things about this techniqueis that, even on a seeminglyevenface, you can endup with two very different-looking images from the left and right sides. You can then pick theversionyou prefer or place them next to each other to show the difference. After a quick trial run, I choose to use theleft-hand-side of my model’s face as it gave a nicer result. If theimage is pretty straight to start with and sliced in carefully, thejoining process shouldbe hassle-free with little adjustment needed. The main areas towatchthougharethe hairline and the neck– you may get a light ordarkline along the 'seam' too butthis can be easily removedwith some carefulcloning or healing brush work. To check the 1 model's head is straight, select
Nowyour 2 image is straight,select
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the tools palette, cl ickanddragto createa box, then lineup theedge of the box with the lineof thenos e and thecen tre of the lips. Ifthis line isn’tstraight, click anddrag outside of the box to rotateuntil it is.Now expand the edgesof the Cropto fit the rest of the image in anddouble click insidethe boxto accept.
Marq uee tool fro m thetools palette and (dependingon which side of the face you want to use) click and drag from thetop left or top right corner, down to the bottom centre, sothe edgeof the selection goes through the centre ofthe noseand lips. Now press Ctrl+Jto paste the selection intoa duplicatelayer.
On your 3 Layers palette click theeye
Makesure 4 you have your newtop layer
symbol on the background,this should just leave Layer 1 showing. Click on Layer 1 so it is selected, andhit Ctrl+J once more to create a second
selected in the layers palette. Now selectthe Move toolfrom the tools palette, then click and drag thelaye r to align it with the other half of the
co py of thelaye Thi s wil l show inr. the layers palette as Layer 1 Copy. Now goto Image> Rotate>Flip Layer Horizontal to create the mirror image whichwill create the other half of theface .
fac t it linee.Check s up corrtha ectly by zooming in on details around the lipsor noseand fine-tuningthem. Once you’re happy,hit Ctrl+E to 'Merge down', combiningit with the layer below.
TIMEREQUIRE D 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES
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Essentia l kit PHOTO EDITINGSOFTWARE: Though you mayaspireto have the very latest version of Adobe Photoshop CS foryour image editing, youcan still achieve someimpressiveresults with more modest software packages. Thebasic adjustment tools that youneed to tweak your images haven’t changedthat muchover the years, and this tutorial along with many others wewill cover in themag can be followed with justabout anyphoto editing software. Wehave used Adobe Elements4.0 to createthe images and screen grabs here, toshow justhowsim ple itis. If youdon’t currently have any photo editing software, or are looking to upgrade your current software, we recommend you look at Adobe Elements 9, which offers plenty of features at an affordable price.
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s...or ju For the st for f make s best looking un? the hea ure the light finished ima camer d is pointinging is even an ge, a . s I t f r , a howeve ight at d somet FINALIMAGE: Evenwith quite a symmetrical face, the results from the left and right sides canlook like two t r h , h i y dip.ping ng more ob ou want to e different people. As youcan see, unlessthe model has a symmetrical hairline,this canmake a bigdifference too sc cre the hea d and aure, try raisin ate g ltering the lighor t
5 here, though hairand neck-lines mayneed some extra attention.Selectthe 6 occursalong the joint.Be patient withthe neckline,as shadows cast by the If your starting image waswell-lit, youshouldn’thave toomuch work to do
Workyourwaydownthe seamto removethe light or dark striptha t often
HealingBrush from thetools palette, thenhold Altand Click to select a sample chin andlongerhair canprove problematic. Once youare happy, save your point from a smooth area of skin, thenpaintover problem areas withsmall image under a new name, then tryusin g thesam e technique for theoth er side strokes, using a small to medium-sized,soft edged brush. ofthe faceto makea set,or createa flip-face ofeachfam ily member.
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MATTY GRAHAM: How do you turna city TIMEREQUIRE D 20MINUTES scene into a toy town? This increasingly EQUIPMEN T NEEDED fashionablestyleof photography, using PHOTOSHOP(CS3+) shallowdepth-of-field,selective focusing and saturated colours, is known as ‘tilt shift’ and is normally achieved through the use of dedicated lenses, butwe’re going to show you how to create the effect for yourself in Photoshop. Miniature scenes are usually viewed from above, which means that miniature photography works best on images shot from a high vantage point, like a bridge or building. Thanks to a combination of selective blur and saturation, you can bringa standard shot to life, and make it appear more like a child’s playset. If you’re new to Photoshop, it may take some trial and error to get the effect right, but once you do, you’ll be addicted!
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Openyourimage in Photoshop andselect the QuickMaskMode , whichis a circleico n on your Toolspalette. If youcan’t findit, just press Q on your keyboard instead.
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PHOTOSHOP’SBLUR FILTERS: You canfind several different filters in the Blur section, butthe most popular are Lens, Motion and Gaussianblur. These toolscan be used to smoothskinin a portrait, addmotion to a static subject, eliminatedust or fluff, soften print texture or give a shallow depth-of-fieldeffect.
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If you don't haveQuick Mask Mode,choose the You shouldnow seewhere you’ve applied Gradienttool optionby eitherpressing G on your your mask area. If it isn’t right, just goback keyboard,or selecting it from your Toolspalette. As andrepeat thelast step.If you’re happy with you before, drawyour lineacrossthe screenwhere you mask area,press Q. The mask area willnow be surrounded by ‘marching ants’. want theimageto remain sharp.
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Click Ctrl+D to remove the‘marching ants’ andyou're readyto adjustthe saturation.Go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation , orclic k (Ctrl+U) to bring up theSaturationoption.
Select the BrushToolfromyourToolspalette. Drawa horizontal line acrossthe screen, covering theareayou want to remainsharpin the image. Usea soft brush at85% opacity.
It’s time to apply theall-important blur tothe Filter>Blur>LensBlur imagenow. Click on and you willnow see theeffect applied to your imagein a preview panel. Tweak theblur options until you’re OK! happyand then click
You need to boostthe Saturation bydragging Selectcurves(Ctrl+M) andmovethe curveline themiddle sliderto theright. This step is down into a small S-shape.Be careful notto overdo to personal taste, but we’d recommend changing the this function asit mayspoilyour image. Save your amount to around +40. image(File>Save ).
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Pick a colour, createa poster! r o o d t u O
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LEEFROST: While leading a photo TIMEREQUIR ED workshopon TWO HOURS the Northumberland EQUIPMENTNEEDED CANONEOS-1D S MkIII, coast recently, my group 24-70MM ZOOM and I had tofacethe ALSO USED inevitable dulldaythat’s PHOTOSHOP CS3 par forthe course when shooting landscapes in the UK.Luckily, we were on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, which is packed with details that suit the soft light created by overcast weather, so I seteveryone the task of seeking out and shooting details in the fishermen's huts, old boats, lobster pots and piles of fishcrates. No individual shot would be a masterpiece,but as a set of images they would gain collective visualstrength. To prove this, I started shooting details in the steel hull of a yacht that hadbeen painted bright blue. I then started looking for other blue subjects scattered around the harbour and before I knew it, I’d created an eye-catching setof themed images. Back home, Raw files processed, allI had todo was decide whatto do with themand the idea of a colourful postercame to mind. Here’s a step-by-step to howI created it.
GETTING THESHOTS: To photograph images for this poster project, I usedone camera and one lens – my trusty 24-70mmstandard zoom,which has a decent close-focusing capability. Although I normally usea tripod forjustaboutevery shot, on this occasion I wantedto be able tomovearound quickly andfreely, so I decided to shoot handheld.As theweatherwas dulland light levelsrelativelylow compared to a sunnyday, I increased theISO to 400in order to maintain a reasonably fast shutter speedand prevent camera shake.
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Processthe Rawfilesthen make JPEG copiesof Open thefirstimagein themontage and Double clickyour second image, thenusing 1 yourselectedimages.Usingthe JPEGformat 2 increase thesizeof thecanvasso it’s big enough 3 theMove Tool in Photoshop, drag and drop reducesthe size of each imageso that when you to addall other imagesin theset.My montage will theimage ontothe enlarged canvas. You canuse
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combine a dozen or more of them theresulting file size doesn’t make your computer blow a gasket! I also reduced theimagesizeso each imagewas 25cm wideat 300dpi.
be three images wide by sixdeep,so 80x110cm shouldbe OK.Youcan always make thecanvas bigger ata later stage, or crop any excess canvas. I placed myfirst imagein thetop left corner.
the MoveToolto position the imagenextto the firstone and the ArrowKeys to thenfine- tune the position ofthe image. I chose to leavea gap between each image.
Repeat stepthree,dragging, dropping and With all images in place, crop anyexcess canvas k on theType Toolicon in Photoshopthen drag thecursor acrossthe bottomborder of the 4 positioning each image on thecanvas. If you 5 then go to Layer>FlattenImageto merge the 6Clic need to make changes to any of theimages, open layers. Adda borderby extending thecanvasusing poster tocreate a text box. Next,add a title andyour the Layers (Windows>Layers), click on the appropriatelayer anddo what needs to be done. Remember to savethe montage asyou go.
Image>Canvas Size andincreasing it evenly on all foursides.Select Image>Canvas againbut only extend thebottom edge so that you canadd text.
name, thenexperiment with different typesizes and typefaces untilyou’rehappy.Finally, choose the colourof thetext if you don’t want plain black.
50 PHOTO PROJECTS
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I n d o o r
L ig h t in g
C r e a t iv e
P h o t o s h o p
! R RA L O A F E DEION CAM I E N L TH PA ITA M IG COR D U YO
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SIMPLE STEPS TO BETTER PICTURES WITHYOUR DSLR & CSC
Headoutsidedayornight 15greatoutdoor projects, rangingfrom nature andlandscapes toshootingtraffictrails
Expandyourcreativeskills Ourselectionofimaginativeprojectswill help developyourimaginationaswellasphotoskills
OUTDOOR
INDOOR
Takestunningshotsindoors Yourhome isanidealplacetocapture a variety ofbrilliantimages,fromstill-lifes toportraits
Photoshop perfection! Addstunningeffectsinpost-productionwith easethanks oursimplestep-by-stepguides
LIGHTING
Gettogripswithlighting A selectionoftechniques totryusingflashguns, studioflash andmoreunusuallightsources
Improveyourportraits Whether you’reusingdaylight, flash or studioflash,we’velots oftechniquestotry!
CREATIVE
PHOTOSHOP
