SONY A1 REVIEW

Is this the world’s most powerful all-round mirrorless camera yet?

FRE E
ITAL
DIG
Practical advice for enthusiasts and pros GUIDE

www.digitalcameraworld.com Issue 242

SHOOT LIKE A PRO

50
PHOTO
EXPERT GUIDE
Shoot better
SEASCAPES
Soak up our top tips
for coastal scenes

TIPS
What does it take to
be a world-leading
Why upgrade
YOUR GEAR?
Essential advice for
new kit investments

photographer?

GET CREATIVE NIK COLLECTION 4 GROUP TEST

Woodland shots WORK WITH A
SECOND SHOOTER BEST BUDGET
with a difference CLEAN UP YOUR PHOTOS MACRO LENSES
Capture magical scenes IN PHOTOSHOP Get close and sharp for less
 WELCOME

Skill and creativity are vital, but a new camera can
open up exciting new image possibilities
It’s a common saying that the
best camera is the one that’s
with you. Obviously in the
pro photo industry, skill and
creativity are vital, but a new
camera can open up exciting
new image possibilities as it
provides new tech and features.
Navigating an expensive
camera purchase in today’s market is confusing,
especially if you don’t know what you need, or how
your current kit might fit into any future upgrades.
That’s why, from p22, we’ve put together an extensive
guide to camera types, formats, sensor sizes and lens
systems, with pro case studies and even an upgrade
roadmap to help you with your decision.
Speaking of pro photographers, we’ve also got 50
tips to share with you from ten of the world’s most
popular and prolific content creators (p36). From
finding your niche to travelling the world, discover a
© Emmett Sparling
myriad of bitesize ways to improve your photography
and produce your most dynamic, sellable work yet.
The Sony A1 headlines this month’s review section,
and we ask: will it be the first mirrorless camera to
challenge flagship DSLRs? Our expert tester finds out
whether the performance matches the specs – and
price – of this mighty mirrorless camera on p104.
Plus, in the group test on p96 we’ve leaned in close to
bring you the best affordable macro lens.
Digital Photographer is made for pros by pro
photographer, but our latest interview features
someone a bit different. On p74, explorer, astronaut
and entrepreneur Richard Garriott is sharing the story
behind shooting at the deepest point on earth, and
how photography can help us to inspire young people
and save the world. No small topics! I hope you enjoy
the conversation, and until next time, happy shooting.
Lauren Scott, Editor
lauren.scott@futurenet.com

GET IN TOUCH Ask a question, share your thoughts or showcase your photos…

@DPhotographer Tweet www.facebook.com/ Instagram: Email: Website:

your opinions or images DigitalPhotographerUK @dphotographermag team@dphotographer.co.uk Get news, tips and reviews at
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Technique Editor Peter Fenech
Senior Art Editor Warren Brown
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Product photography Bath Photo Studio
Contributors
Jürg Homberger, Neil Burnell, Claire Gillo, Jord Hammond, Angela
Nicholson, Matthew Richards, Verity Milligan, Richard Garriott, Clive
Booth, Claire Pulman, Christina Davies

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for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press.
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and extensive guide to kit upgrades. who has taken photos in space and been sharing photo knowledge on a ȒɎǝƺȸƬǝƏȇǕƺɀȒȸɖȵƳƏɎƺɀɎȒɎǝƺȅِÁǝǣɀȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺǣɀǔɖǼǼɵǣȇƳƺȵƺȇƳƺȇɎƏȇƳȇȒɎƏǔˡǼǣƏɎƺƳ
You’ll also find his steps for shooting the deepest point of the sea, Richard brilliant new learning platform called
in any way with the companies mentioned herein.

woodland scenes (p50) and bold
landscapes (p56), plus social media
tips (p62) and lens reviews (p110).
Website:
www.digitalcameraworld.com
talks about his photo experiences,
and shares how the medium can be
used to inform and inspire the future.
Website:
www.richardgarriott.com
Creator Circuit. Discover his pro tips
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NEIL CLAIRE GILLO ANGELA

BURNELL Freelance shooter NICHOLSON
Neil is an award- and journalist Our gear guru
winning landscape Claire investigates Angela is with us
photographer several topics for again for another
from the south- us this month. round of camera
west of England. She joins Neil tests. This month,
He has a unique Burnell (see left) she takes the
and graphic style and runs a myriad in Devon, and has also put together Sony A1 – a mega mirrorless monster
of popular workshops. We take to the two career guides for you to glean with a 50MP sensor and burst rate
Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne
coast for this month’s shoot like a pro insight from. On p64, discover how to of 30 frames per second – out for a company quoted on the Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford
feature, and Neil takes us through his work successfully with or as a second performance review. Will this be the London Stock Exchange !ǝǣƺǔˡȇƏȇƬǣƏǼȒǔˡƬƺȸ Rachel Addison
(symbol: FUTR)
advice and essential kit for shooting shooter at events, and on p70, find body to knock flagship DSLRs off their www.futureplc.com Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244

seascapes. Soak in his tips from p14. her tips for buying second-hand gear. perch? Find out her verdict on p104.
Website: Website: Website: We are committed to only using magazine
paper which is derived from responsibly
www.neilburnell.com www.clairegillo.com www.angelanicholson.com managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free
manufacture. The paper in this magazine was
sourced and produced from sustainable
managed forests, conforming to strict
4 environmental and socioeconomic standards.
The manufacturing paper mill and printer hold
full FSC and PEFC certification and accreditation.
Contents
Regulars
10 News
Keep up to date with the latest industry
announcements and exciting releases

12 Story Behind the Still

Jürg Homberger talks exposure blending as he
captures a night sky shot in Switzerland

74 Interview
Entrepreneur and explorer Richard Garriott is
in the hot seat, sharing experiences from outer
space and the deepest part of the ocean

82 The Gallery
Escape with our pick of winning images from the
© Patchareeporn Sakoolchai/ Moment via Getty Images

latest Travel Photographer of the Year contest

88 Shot of the month

Get involved with our growing Instagram
community and discover our latest fave image

Practical skills
22 Upgrade your kit
Ready to take the plunge and invest in a
new camera? Hold fire until you’ve read our
22
How and
Ho
How and why
w to
upgrade your gear
essential guide!

36 Pro photo tips

Content creators in different visual fields share
their short and sweet (but expert) advice. Don’t
miss their 50 top tips

50 Creative project
Shoot and edit an ethereal and enchanted
woodland scene with a fairytale theme using
complex lighting and layering techniques
50
© Peter Fenech

Capture a
fairytale
56 Shooting bright colours woodland
In many parts of the world, landscapes are in
full bloom. Learn how to manage exposure and
colour for scenes with bright hues

Editing skills
58 Photoshop tutorial
Use the Marquee, Clone stamp and Spot
healing brush tool to clean up your images
58 36
© Jord Hammond

© Karl Shakur

60 Lightroom tutorial Clean up

Learn how to use the colour grading feature to
Pro tips from the
your photos world’s top creators
add mood and enhance the colour contrast

6
SUBSCRIBE TODAY!
AND GET A FREE BAG WORTH £70 0
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TURN TO PAGE 48 TO FIND OUT HOW

Pro advice
P d i

© Richard Garriott/Canon
74
Interview
14 Shoot like a pro: seascapes
We head to the Devon coast in the UK to
capture coastal scenes with landscape pro
Neil Burnell. Discover his secrets to success

114
Pro column
62 Print and share
Re-energise your community with our five
simple steps to kick-start your social
media engagement

© Verity Milligan
64 Work with a second shooter
Claire Gillo chats to two pros in the industry
about working with another photographer, and
there’s five things you need to know…

70 Career advice
What’s the deal when it comes to buying
second-hand camera gear? We find out for you
© bantersnapszadrf3c

64
Why work with a
and answer more of your burning questions

114 Pro column

second shooter? Verity Milligan mulls over how social media has
shaped and boosted her photographic career

New kit & reviews

14 96 Group test: macro lenses
© Claudia Gaupp

82 Why not try an own-brand lens for close-up

© Neil Burnell

Shoot like photography? We test four affordable and

a pro Gallery indie optics for performance and image quality

104 Sony A1
It might be the most advanced mirrorless on
the market right now, but do the pro specs
match the real-life shooting experience? Angela
Nicholson takes a look at the powerhouse model

108 Nik Collection 4

DxO has added some significant upgrades
to its most popular plugins. It looks like an
excellent software bundle that simplifies
making complex editing adjustments

110 Lenses
This month it’s time to test the Canon RF
85mm f2 IS Macro STM and Fujifilm XF
70-300mm f4-5.6 R LM OIS WR optics
Image by Phil Barker

Group test:

96 independent
macro lenses
112 Accessories
Discover 10 more fun, functional or practically
essential bits of gear to add to your arsenal

7
 Gifts & giveaways Free e-book to download
101 Dream Travel
Locations
We all have a wish list of places we’d like to visit around the world
d
with our camera, whether it’s beautiful beaches, majestic
mountains, stunning cities, or a combination of all these. 101
Dream Travel Locations is the ultimate companion for anyone
looking to plan their next photography trip when travel is open!

To claim your free e-book, head to

https://bit.ly/DP242-book
You’ll need to enter your details, and then we can email you
a link to directly view and/or download your free e-books.

Bonus 13-page photo guide

How to shoot in
the golden hours
Sunrise and sunset are famously popular times for landscape
photographers to make images, but the popularity of dawn and
dusk means similar images are captured by photographers
at the same locations each day. Although it’s sometimes a
challenge to produce original material, we’re on hand to show
you how. Learn to overcome the main difficulties posed by
strong, directional lighting, and to explore methods of using
these features to generate unique, captivating images. Inside
this guide you’ll find tips on creative composition, exposing for
atmosphere, taking control of colour and choosing your time.

Download the free guide at https://bit.ly/DP-242

Review test shots

We think test shots are
important when it
YOUR
comes to reviewing and
comparing the latest
FREE ASSETS
camera kit, but we are available to download
know it’s hard to tell the on pages where you
difference between test see this icon
images when they’re
printed as small versions
in the magazine. You can
DOWNLOAD THE
open, view and compare TEST SHOTS
ews anywhere you
test shots from our kit reviews https://bit.ly/DP-242
see the download icon (pictured on the right).

8
IN FOCUS

TRÈS CHIC:
NIKON GOES
RETRO WITH
THE Z FC
New Nikon Z system camera embraces the styling of decades past
Nikon has turned the retro
nostalgia up to maximum with
the official announcement of their
latest mirrorless camera, the Z fc. The new
body is fitted with a 20.9MP APS-C format
imaging sensor and draws much of its design
inspiration from the landmark 35mm Nikon
FM2, a camera loved by pros and enthusiasts
alik. This styling philosophy extends from
the inclusion of manual setting control dials
on the top plate, right down to the inscribed
Nikon logo and circular eyepiece for the EVF.
This manual control offers a far more tactile
experience than sorting through menus or
using digital scroll wheels to toggle through
shutter speed and ISO values. Somewhat
interestingly, the f/stop is displayed using a
minute top plate LCD screen which, while
unusual, makes up for the lack of direct
aperture ring control, since none of the
electronically controlled Z-system lenses
feature a physical ring on the barrel.
While outwardly the Z fc is very different
from every other Nikon camera, it does share
much of its internal tech with the Z50. This
camera features an identical resolution on
an APS-C sensor, an Expeed 6 processor
and an identical ISO range of 100-51,200,
expandable up to ISO 204,800.
While this is not the first time Nikon has
ventured down the retro route, the previous
offering – the Df – had a full-frame sensor,
making it far larger than the film models it
was emulating, and with a price prohibitive to
enthusiasts. On sale from 28 July 2021 the Z
fc is valued at £899/$957 body only.

MWC 2021 goes for hybrid structure

MWC Barcelona is back for 2021, albeit with a few differences
MWC (the Mobile World Congress)
was called off at the eleventh
hour in 2020 as Covid-19 started
to take its grip on the world. Usually held
in Barcelona in February, it is an event
where some of the biggest names in the
mobile phone industry launch new products,
introduce new technology and showcase the
future of the most popular product ranges.
While this year the event was postponed
until the summer, it took place as a hybrid
event. This meant that some exhibitors
attended in person, as did some on-site announcements at the conference centre developments), efforts were made to restart
visitors, however the vast majority of the are around cameraphone technology. While the ordinary atmosphere of excitement and
event was held online. it was anticipated there would be fewer innovation with some notable talks (Elon
MWC is of interest to many photographers product launches (Samsung revealed no new Musk provided the main keynote speeches).
as traditionally some of the biggest products and focused instead on software See www.mwcbarcelona.com.

10
 Canon RF 14-35mm f/4L IS USM finally released
Canon announces a new lens offering quality for less
After the usual tentative rumours
and ubiquitous leaks which
precede a major lens or camera
launch from the big manufacturers, Canon
has officially announced the RF 14-35mm
f/4L IS USM. This professional optic shares
much of the form and function of the RF15-
35mm f/2.8L IS USM but comes with a
slightly slower f/4 maximum aperture and
significantly lower price tag.
The new lens is Canon’s broadest ever
zoom range for a full-frame autofocus
model, yet even so it accepts standard 77mm
circular filters, making it more practical than
other 14mm full-frame DSLR lenses, which
often require special filter attachments.
Furthermore, the lens has a minimum
focusing distance of 20.1cm/7.9in across
the entire focal range, allowing the user to
fill the frame with foreground interest, in a
landscape scene, for example.
The 14-35mm is weather-sealed for
optimum performance in all conditions
and features 16 elements in 12 groups,
including three aspherical and three ultra-
low dispersion elements. It is available
from August for £1,749/$1,699/AU$2,253
(approx). Visit www.canon.co.uk for more.

Astronomy POTY showcases stellar images In other news

Shortlisted images from global contest revealed
The best images of space captured over the past year have been revealed in the shortlist results
from the Astronomy Photographer of The Year 2021. Now in its 13th year, APOTY attracted over
4,500 entries from 75 different countries around the world. From this awe-inspiring pool of images
the judges, who included Steve Marsh, Art Editor of BBC Sky at Night Magazine and Jon Culshaw, renowned
comedian and keen amateur astronomer, will decide on the final winners. These images will then be
announced to the world via a digital awards ceremony on 16 September 2021.
A selection of these shots will also be arranged on display at National Maritime Museum in Greenwich,
London, in a dedicated Astronomy Photographer of The Year exhibition. As is customary with such contests,
a book comprising the winning
and shortlisted entries will
also be put together, which will
become available to purchase
after the ceremony.
This year’s shortlist includes
a spectacular shot of an
incremental sunrise over
Shanghai, a long exposure
of the moon passing over
Parisian rooftops and a 250º
panorama of the Aurora
Borealis. Visit www.rmg.co.uk
for more information about the
competition results and how you
© Sirui
More snippets of photography
news from around the world
WEX ADDS LEICA TO PORTFOLIO
Photographic retailer Wex has added Leica
to its range. Over 100 Leica products will
be stocked at launch and new customers
can receive a free introductory workshop
with one of Wex’s in-store experts. “We
are thrilled to be working with Leica and
bolstering our premium offering,” says Paul
Wareham, Marketing Director. Established
in 1997, Wex has become one of the UK’s
largest photographic retailers.
NIKKOR Z 28MM F/2.8 SE LENS
Alongside the Z fc, Nikon has unveiled
the Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 SE (Special
Edition), a compact prime lens styled
to be aligned with the retro Z fc body.
Nikon is actually offering the optic as
an alternative ‘kit’ lens for that camera,
completing the look and handling
experience. The lens sacrifices a
larger maximum aperture to gain a
size and weight advantage and this is
a full-frame (FX) format lens, so can
be used with cameras like the Z 7II.
The Nikkor Z 28mm f/2.8 adds around

$300/£300 to the price of the Z fc.

can see the images for yourself.

11
YOUR IMAGES

STORY
BEHIND
THE STILL
Photographer’s name: Jürg Homberger
Website: Photocrowd: Jürg Homberger
@homj_photography
Image location: Zermatt, Switzerland
Type of commission: Personal
Shot details: Nikon D850, Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8,
20secs, f/2.8, ISO 6,400

About the shot: Low light and night photography are

known for their unique challenges. Since photography is
the science of light, then it’s not unexpected that there
will be difficulties when you don’t have much light to
work with! For this stunning shot, Jürg was working with
some seriously impressive subject matter, but had to
find the perfect framing in the near total darkness.
“As almost always in the dark, it was difficult to
select the ideal image fragment. To find the desired
composition I first took some pictures with the highest
ISO, until I found the desired section (of the scene).”
“With this shot I simply realised a long desired image
goal – the Matterhorn [in the frame] with the Milky Way.
I wanted to show my viewers the beauty of the view and
particularly the tranquillity of this location in the middle
of the night.”
As is common with landscape imagery which
incorporates the night sky, some level of exposure
blending was necessary. “I shot the sky and foreground
with different settings, then developed both in Lightroom
and blended them in Photoshop,” Jürg recalls. This
process has enabled him to create a low light shot,
which maintains the ‘dark’ atmosphere, but prevents the
deepest shadows from turning featureless black.

Right
Under a starry sky
Jürg Homberger combines landscape
photography with astrophotography elements,
All images ©Jürg Homberger

balancing the exposure of both the sky and

foreground for optimal detail

12
13
 LIKE A PR
T
SHOO

Minimalist
seascapes
Claire Gillo shadows photographer Neil Burnell for a minimalist
seascape photo shoot along the idyllic South Devon coastline
14
 MINIMALIST SEASCAPES

Neil Burnell
Neil is an award-winning pro
from Devon, UK. He has a
unique style and his eye for
perfection has led to great
success. Neil runs a varied and
popular range of workshops
in the South West of England
on seascapes, woodland and
close up photography.
www.neilburnell.com
@neiljburnell

Beep beep beep beep… unfamiliar with. When I arrive in

urgh it’s 4.15am and my
alarm is ringing in my
ears! This is the second time in
my life I have been woken up at
an ungodly hour to go and meet
fine art photographer Neil Burnell
for a photo shoot. The first time
was a few years previously when
we were shooting butterflies in
early June, however this time we
are focusing on seascapes with a
minimalist approach. Like all pro
seascape photographers, Neil has
looked at the light and tide times
and worked out that a 5.30am
start is optimum.
Neil and I live just around the
corner from each other on the
Inset © Claire Gillo
Babbacombe, which is on the far
side of Torquay, it’s 5.20am. I’m
pleased to see that Neil is early
too so I can stop panicking that
I’ve driven to the wrong location,
Although I want to be my normal
chatty self, my brain hasn’t quite
switched into gear and I can only
seem to piece together a few
words. Neil is friendly and starts
talking and walking at a brisk
pace. I try to keep up, however
I’m not sure if he has noticed my
limited ability at this time.
For the first image, we
head around the path to find
a lone tree that Neil has shot
previously. Neil wouldn’t normally

idyllic South Devon coastline. We photograph this tree in the

both have a passion for nature,
the sea and photography, yet
both have different approaches
to the subject (and admittedly
Main image © Neil Burnell
middle of summer, as firstly you
have to get up at even earlier
to capture it in the right light,
however the main disadvantage is

Neil is far better than I), so I was
excited to see how he crafts his
seascapes and to get his secrets.
Despite only living a 30 minute
drive from each other, Neil has
M
the tree has too many leaves. Neil
also points out the foliage coming
in over the path merges into the
top leaving little separation. “I
definitely prefer autumn and

suggested winter,” Neil confesses. “For this

we meet in type of photography it is easier
a location to get a more effective shot with
that the bare branches.” We talk about
I am fixing it in post-production and
Neil’s thoughts on manipulating
his images. “I don’t mind
Photoshopping it,” he says. “I’d
rather get a more pleasing
composition so I will clone out
distractions when necessary.”
From his kit bag Neil pulls out
his mirrorless Nikon Z 7II and
attaches a wide-angle 14-30mm
lens. “I’m shooting around 16mm
to get this shot,” he tells me.“I
want to smooth out the water so
I’m going to use a filter.” Before

15
 LIKE A PR
T
SHOO
© Claire Gillo
Neil gets out his filters he pulls
Learn to use your histogram out his mobile phone. “I use
an app called Long Exposure
Neil uses the histogram graph on his camera’s LCD Calculator, so I can work out
screen to keep an eye on the exposure what filter I need for a 10 second
exposure.” After making his
As Neil’s camera is mirrorless, much of his composition and calculations, Neil attaches a
working out camera settings is done on his LCD screen. Neil has 6-stop filter to get the desired
set up his LCD screen to include the histogram graph. Using this silky water effect.
graph enables Neil to achieve a correct exposure and to ensure Like any outdoor photographer
that his highlights don’t blow, but also that the shadows in his who relies on the sun alone, Neil
image retain detail. If he wants the overall impact of his image to is constantly looking for the right
be lighter, he increases the exposure and lets the graph sit more light. “For minimalist seascapes
to the right and if he wants a moodier and darker tone he will you want to shoot into the light,”
decrease his exposure so the graph sits to the left. he tells me. “That is why this
location is best at sunrise.” Neil
goes on to talk about shooting
in the perfect conditions and the
importance of having that desired
separation between the sea and
subjects to achieve a minimalist
seascape. We had purposely
picked a flat grey day so Neil
could shoot using a diffused soft
light, and were probably the only
two people that morning praying
the sun wouldn’t come out.
After we’ve got the tree shot in
© Claire Gillo
the bag, we head back towards
the car and stop where the view
leads out to a jetty. On the end
A histogram graph shows the distribution of light in a scene
scene. As well as using a histogram of the jetty two fishermen, who
when you compose images live, you can also use it to review images in playback mode. have also braved the early start,
are contentedly throwing fishing
16
© Neil Burnell
rods into the water to try to
make a catch (unsuccessfully
may I add). “As the fishermen
are in the distance and small, I
can use them in my composition,”
Neil says. There is also a rather
big and daunting cruiseliner
looming on the horizon, which
Neil decides to avoid altogether
in his composition. Neil opts this
time to use his long 70-200mm
lens and sets the focal length to
120mm. “The light is great right
now,” he says. “There’s not much
difference here in the exposure
value between the sky and the
sea, and this is what I’m after as it
creates that feeling of space.”
We head closer to the jetty
to see if another angle on the
subject can be found. The light
is still working in our favour so
Neil sets up another portrait
orientation shot of the jetty and
fisherman but this time with rocks
in the foreground. “I need to take
two shots here,” Neil says. “One of
the rocks in the foreground and
another of the background. As the
rocks are close in my composition
I can’t get them sharp enough
whatever aperture I’m set at,”
he says. Neil then proceeds to
take one shot focusing on the
MINIMALIST SEASCAPES

ISO 60
f/13
64
© Neil Burnell

sec

ROCKS AND JETTY

17
 LIKE A PR
T
SHOO

“For minimalist
4 seascapes
7
shoot into the
light… it’s best
at sunrise”
5
6
background and one shot focusing
on the foreground, which he will
merge at the editing stage.
I can tell Neil is a perfectionist
and also passionate about his
photography. I ask him how he
x3 © Tommy Reynolds

would classify himself in the

industry and after a lengthy
discussion about the term ‘fine
art photography’ we agree that,
1 MANFROTTO
3 MMXPROC5 MONOPOD although it can be overused
these days, it’s probably the most
accurate way to describe Neil’s
practice. Neil is regarded highly in
the fine art photography industry,
2 and has prints for sale at a top
end independent art gallery, as
well as selling digital originals of
his work online to collectors. Neil
also runs workshops that for the
most part this year have been on
© Claire Gillo

a one-to-one basis to comply with

© Neil Burnell
Covid restrictions. Neil finds the
photographers booking onto his
courses range in their preferences
The shooting gear that Neil uses from woodlands, minimalist
seascapes to rugged coastline, so When we arrive on location

1 Nikon Z 7II
Neil is very happy with
his lightweight mirrorless
5 NIKKOR Z 14-30mm
f/4 S For wide-angle
shots such as the lone
tailors his courses accordingly.
We leave Babbacombe after an
hour and drive to the next location
Neil gets out his camera and
again opts to use his long zoom
70-200mm lens. “I’m going
Nikon Z 7II with its 45.7MP full tree image, Neil switches to called Shaldon, ten minutes away. to shoot slightly down on the
frame sensor. this more expansive lens. Here we hope to capture a small subject,” he tells me. “That way
lone lighthouse that sits out in the I’ll create the illusion that the

2 NIKKOR Z 24-70mm
f/2.8 S When shooting
seascapes, Neil packs a
6 NIKKOR Z 70-200mm
f/2.8 VR S Neil’s
minimalist seascapes require
sea. I quickly eat a banana to get
some energy and we head down
to the water hoping that the sun
background is blending into
mist. The trick with this type of
shot is to avoid anything else in
variety of Z lenses including a more narrow view, which is will stay in as it is threatening to the frame, and don’t go too high
his zoom 24-70mm. where his 70-200mm f/2.8 burn through the clouds. with your composition else you’ll
lens can be employed.

3 Zelda L Bracket
This L bracket enables
Neil to attach his camera 7 Nikon Cable release
Although Neil didn’t use
quickly in a landscape or his cable release on this shoot,
portrait orientation to his it is useful for shots when the
3 Legged tripod. timing is essential.

4 Kase Wolverine
Magnetic Circular
filters This easy and
Tripod – 3 Legged
Thing filters Neil uses a
lightweight and sturdy
effective filter system uses a 3 Legged Thing tripod that
magnetic ring that enables is easy to transport and
Neil to attach and detachBLOB? CHECK
agile toOUT
use. TOMMY’S KIT
filters quickly to his lens. *Not featured in image
AT WWW.AMAZON.CO.UK/SHOP/
© Claire Gillo

18 TOMMYREYNOLDS
 MINIMALIST SEASCAPES

ISO 30
f/13
31 sec

CALM AND PEACEFUL

Neil’s top tips

Get separation “Make sure you have
a level of separation between the
elements in your frame.”

Avoid harsh horizons “You want the

sea and sky to blend into one. This is
more likely to happen when you are
shooting into the light.”

Sturdy tripod “A sturdy tripod

is essential for shooting slow
exposure seascapes.”

Histogram “Use the histogram to

ensure you have the correct exposure
settings. Make sure you don’t blow
the highlights.”

Low ISO “If you need an extra stop of

light to increase your shutter speed
© Claire Gillo

setting, some cameras include low

ISO settings that go below ISO 64.”

19
 LIKE A PR
T
SHOO

ISO 8
f/7.1
64 secs
© Neil Burnell

LONE TREE

20
 MINIMALIST SEASCAPES

give the game away!” Neil goes a quick monochromatic moody

on to explain how he wants his
histogram for this image to sit
at the lighter end of the scale
without overexposing. We then
head further down the path to
see if we can capture another
angle on the subject, however
the sun at this point seems to
be ruining the soft light and has
created a harsh band of light on
the sea. We agree to move onto
the next location and pray the
clouds will come back over.
After following Neil in the car
again to the final location called
Dawlish (and losing him once at
some traffic lights), I breathe a
sigh of relief to find the conditions
have improved and the clouds
are thickening. We head down
to Dawlish Warren Spit where
the tide has dropped enough for
us to get a shot of the markers
leading out to sea. At this point
the horizon has darkened so
to avoid this distraction Neil
shot of the beach huts from a JETTY OUT AT SEA
slippery ledge down by the water,
and I remind him if he falls in I will ISO
f/9 90
capture it on camera. 31 sec
To finish the shoot, we head
back into Dawlish town and down
to a jetty on the beach. The tide
has dropped enough so we can
see the jetty but there is still
enough water surrounding it to
capture a creative composition.
Just as Neil had pressed the
button for the final image a
fisherman decides to stroll past in
front of his view. Neil and I both
laugh at the typical annoyance
and wait for him to disappear into
the distance. Neil shoots another
composition this time with the
fisherman as a small figure in
the background, and he says
he’ll decide later on his computer
whether he’ll keep him in or
remove him from the frame.
At 9.30am we have our shoot
wrapped up and I say goodbye to
© Neil Burnell

composes his image in a 16 by 9 Neil from the town. I have learnt

ratio crop and comes down with a lot, but am now understandably
his composition. Neil also grabs ready for a mid morning nap.

How
The Tommy
steps Neil
created
takes this
to set
dramatic
up his seascapes
look

11 Compose
Light

a few
main
sources
camera 55cm
PIXAPRO
keyangles
Before

with
light. He
Tommy
to hisbeauty
Neiluses
tripod dish
thesets
also
attaches

camera
a
he tries
his
out
as the
in his
up a bare
22 Fill

Tommy’s
light A
Manual
flash
RIKO400
mode
is mounted
exposure
with hiscamera
modeto
400Wsinring
Neil works
thenormally
and
to setting
aperture
manual
front of starts
provide between
fill lighting.
3
3 Calculate
Light
Next,often
users Neil uses
Calculator app
professional
modify
Confident
the shutter
modifiers
thethe
to work
results. Tommy
Long
studio
speed
lightExposure
outadds
for
whatan
hands.
bulb with Once
a CTOhappy, he locks
gel behind Hazel,his camera This
and f/8slightly
to f/11.reduces
His ISOthe contrast
is set low for of the filter he
optical needs
snoot toaachieve
with hisgobo
horizontal desired
and a
securely onto his tripod. maximum quality and minimum noise. long exposure setting.

4 4
Lens choice

wider focal Auto

Tommy
Focus
35mm f/1.4filter,
lengthfocus
Before
he focuses
lens for
usesNeil

setting and
that enables
attaches the
a Sigma
his shot
this portrait,
him then
a using the
to locks the
5 Filter Neil then attaches his
calculated filter onto the end of
his lens. His filters use a magnetic
6 Self-timer Finally, to take the shot
Neil uses the self-timer on his camera.
When using a wide-angle lens he has it
include the focus
studiocontrol by switching
surroundings, props the setting system so are quick and easy to attach set to the 5-second setting but with his
and Hazel’stofullmanual.
dress in the frame. and detach. long lens he increases it to 10 seconds.

21
TECHNIQUES

UPGRADE
22
YOUR KIT

Take a step up and unlock new image possibilities with the perfect kit
We all love the idea of upgrading our camera
kit. Even seasoned professional photographers
can be drawn to new equipment and get a
sense of excitement at the thought of the image
opportunities it might open up. However, as a
professional, we tend to look at an upgrade in a
far more practical sense than beginners.
Most of us start our photographic journey
with one camera and a single lens (or perhaps
a standard lens and one additional zoom optic,
in a kit). We often crave more gear, thinking this
will redefine our photography and enable us
to achieve all of the images we seek. We might
then accumulate new items as we progress,
sometimes duplicating particular focal length
ranges, or camera features, as we replace older
kit, which falls to the back of a dusty drawer.
Then, as we start taking on professional jobs, we
start to re-access our priorities.
As a full-time working pro it is with a certain
sense of irony that what we really dream of,
when we think about our ideal gear itinerary,
is being able to shoot everything with one
camera and one lens! It’s largely unattainable
of course, due to practical restrictions of not
having a backup if something goes wrong on a
job. However this simple setup would allow us to
focus on getting the essential shots, free of time-
UPGRADE YOUR KIT
Pictured
Tools for the job
For professional photographers
it is important to have the
correct equipment to allow the
capture of images which fulfill
highly specific client requests
consuming gear decisions and compatibility
issues. In the pro arena time is money, so
© Patchareeporn Sakoolchai/ Moment via Getty Images
simplicity can mean streamlined assignments,
greater job turnover and more revenue.
So while it is sometimes unavoidable that
we should need to upgrade from time to
time, or bolster our kit bag with new items, it’s
important to make sensible, informed decisions.
Sometimes a sideways move is best, while on
other occasions a big step up is the answer
to your problems. Here we’ve put together a
simple guide to help you find the ideal upgrade
route for you and your business. Use these
pages as a map to your perfect setup!
23
 TECHNIQUES
Route 1:
APS-C to APS-C
A bigger sensor isn’t always the answer
A larger sensor area will almost always have
advantages for potential image quality. We’ll
further explore the reasons later on, but it’s
safe to say that most photographers see a
move from an APS-C format camera to a
full-frame model as one to aspire to. This
is understandable, but we’d be missing out
on many desirable qualities if we were to
disregard buying another model with the
same sensor format, without consideration.
Total resolution and low light performance
are only one part of a much bigger picture
when it comes to buying a camera. The APS
(Advanced Photo System) was originally
devised in the film days, to offer additional
features to amateur photographers while
also allowing lens design to be more compact
and lightweight. There were several types,
including ‘H’, ‘C’ and ‘P’, and while APS-H
digital cameras did exist – notably the Canon
EOS 1D range – it has been APS-C (‘Classic’)
which has become a standard.
All images © Peter Fenech
24
The APS-C format allows for reduced
camera body dimensions and the smaller
image circle enables lenses to have a compact
design. This can be seen in wider aperture-
fitted optics, such as 70-20mm f/2.8 zooms.
On a full-frame camera such a lens can be a
weighty piece of kit and take up the most of
a pro-level camera rucksack, when mounted
on a pro body. Meanwhile a 50-150mm f/2.8
APS-C dedicated lens can achieve almost half
the weight and two-thirds the length, while
offering the same effective focal length range.
This in turn can enable ultra-fast focusing
systems, as less power is required to move the
smaller glass elements over a shorter travel
distance, within the lens barrel.
So while a move to full-frame can be
considered a big upward step, don’t forget
to check out the higher-end ‘cropped frame’
cameras in your manufacturer’s range. APS-C
is no longer considered a budget alternative to
full-frame. We examine the best options.
APS-C advantages
Reasons why sticking with a
smaller sensor may be just
what you need
PORTABILITY (MORE KIT/AGILITY)
As a simple matter of geometry, a smaller
sensor chip takes up less physical space within
a camera body and also requires smaller lenses.
This makes an APS-C setup more portable,
lightweight and therefore great for travel.
INCONSPICUITY
The smaller form factor makes APS-C or Micro
4/3 cameras ideal for street photography,
since they are less obviously professional. This
attracts less unwanted attention from potential
subjects and also thieves.
GREATER REACH
The biggest advantage of smaller than full-
frame sensors is the crop factor. This might be
a disadvantage at the wide end, but for wildlife
and sports photography it gives you greater
magnification from your telephoto lenses.
IMAGE PROPERTIES (DOF – FAMILIAR)
The change in depth of field and effective
focal lengths between APS-C/M43 and full-
frame is quite pronounced, often requiring
significant workflow adjustment. This can be an
unwelcome additional concern when on a time-
sensitive shoot.
SECOND
CAMERA
Another reason to stay
with one sensor format is that
in pro photography a second
body is essential and being
able to swap lenses without
compatibility issues is a huge
timesaver. Multiple formats
introduce complexity
and stress.
 UPGRADE YOUR KIT

Rangefinder style
Go small and stylish with a
retro-inspired design
While this design philosophy is not
specific to APS-C, it is where you
get the smallest camera dimensions,
while maintaining high specification.
Several manufacturers offer this
type of camera but Fujifilm has
arguably embraced it more than
any other and has created some
true professional options. They
might not be true ‘rangefinders’ but
the slim form body and minimalist
layout make them as collectable as
they are portable.

PRO
High specification/size balance
Reduced dimensions
Inconspicuous for street shooting

CON
Handling challenges
Smaller viewfinder

Left
Fujifilm X-E4
Brands such as Fujifilm have embraced the
APS-C format. The X-E4 is a pro performer,
made using the same sensor and processor
as its flagship X Series camera
Opposite left
Extra reach
APS-C sensors apply a crop to images,
which can be a great benefit when seeking
frame-filling shots of distant subjects. At
200mm the EFL was 320mm @ f/2.8

Upgrade
case study
Here’s an example of
a sideways camera
switch within the
Nikon APS-C format
This represents a switch
many photographers will
consider today – the move
from DSLR to mirrorless.
Here we have a popular
Nikon entry level DSLR,
with a similar specification
to many cameras in its
price bracket and a good NIKON Z50 NIKON D3500
mirrorless alternative. We’ve Still considered entry-level, the Z50 would make a suitable A representative entry-level DSLR camera, the D3500
backup body. It offers a lower resolution of 20.9MP but has a 24.2MP sensor, 5fps continuous shooting, Full HD
also provided some cameras
11fps and a top ISO of 51,200. The 100% viewfinder is a big video capability and a top sensitivity of ISO 25,600. A
users of similar models might advantage over the DSLR, as well as 4K video. * Also consider: suitable introduction to photography with which many
want to look at. Fujifilm X-T30, Canon EOS M50 Mark II, Sony A6400 users will have started their photographic journey.

25
TECHNIQUES

Route 2:
APS-C to full-frame
PRO
KIT LENSES
When buying a full-frame
camera there will often be
an opportunity to purchase a
Follow this common upgrade path to a larger bundle, with a 24-105mm pro
series lens, or similar. Unless you
sensor and even more advanced features already have these focal lengths,
this is often a great price to get
The switch from an APS-C format or Micro dynamic range over an APS-C body. In the such an optic, which will be a
4/3 camera to a full-frame model is often professional arena these are qualities which good everyday lens, for
seen as a standard route for enthusiasts and come into play regularly. Event and landscape pro use.
professionals when looking to upgrade. The photographers will undoubtedly encounter
physically larger sensor area allows pixels blown highlights and image grain during the
with a greater light capacity, enabling both course of a shooting session. On a one-off
improved low light performance and a wider basis these might be possible to correct in Below
Wide-angle
software, through exposure blending or noise advantage
reduction respectively, and are failings which Full-frame sensors
Upgrade analysis can be forgiven when weighed against the cost
savings of APS-C. When you are capturing
now enable some
of the widest
fields of view
A closer look at the pros and thousands of similar images however, the
commercially
cons of a switch in format benefits of superior out-of-camera tonality available, without
and detail become exponentially more critical. the use of fisheye
PROFESSIONAL FEATURES Beyond absolute image quality there are optics. This
Generally, because of the added cost of the other reasons to consider a switch. Now more makes them
larger sensor, full-frame cameras are aimed at an ideal choice
photographers with a pro budget. This means
than ever APS-C offers true professional for landscape,
these models tend to have more professional quality, with many pros remaining faithful interior and event
features and a more solid build quality too. to the format, so dynamic range and noise photographers
control are not the whole picture. For portrait
MAX FOV shooters, the shallower depth of field afforded Right
As lens technology improves we can now by full-frame enables the style of image many Shallow focus
access sub 14mm focal lengths on full-frame It is easier to
lenses, meaning these offer the widest of the buying public might call the ‘pro look’.
achieve super
possible field of view of any commercially The difference in focus depth when using the
shallow depth
available camera lenses. This is ideal for interior same lens on cameras of both formats is of field with a
and event photographers. surprising at first, and is often considered to full-frame sensor
be reason enough to switch. than on APS-C or
LOW LIGHT PERFORMANCE M43. This makes
Full-frame isn’t without drawbacks, so the
A larger sensor area means larger pixels, which it most suitable
allows superior noise performance in low light. choice to adopt it comes down to whether the for environmental
© Bessi

Higher resolutions are also possible without aforementioned image characteristics are a portrait
significantly compromising the signal-to-noise benefit to your photography or a hindrance. photography
ratio, creating a new breed of ‘all-rounder’
cameras, combining speed, resolution and
noise management.

SIZE AND WEIGHT

Larger bodies and larger lenses equal greater
weight and external dimensions. When
combined with an all-metal build you get some
very big and heavy camera setups. The EOS
1DX III and Nikon D6 are anything but travel
friendly, for example.

FILE SIZE
Greater data capture and higher pixel counts
result in increasingly large file output. With a
pro full-frame camera of over 30MP, you can
expect RAW files up to and exceeding 100MB
each, creating storage and archival challenges.

EFL REDUCTION
While landscape shooters might gain at the
wide end, users of telephoto optics will lose
out. The effective focal length of a lens will be
reduced when swapped from an APS-C body
© Peter Fenech

to a full-frame model, so teleconverters will be

required to compensate.

26
 UPGRADE YOUR KIT

Upgrade
case study
A common upward
move within a
DSLR system
While most new
cameras are mirrorless
there are some great
pro DSLRs still available.
The following upgrade
is one which was
standard for enthusiast
photographers CANON EOS 7D MARK II CANON EOS 1DX MARK III
turning pro for many A representative semi pro APS-C DSLR, the EOS 7D Mark II was The EOS 1DX Mark III has a pixel count of 20.1MP but a
built mainly for sports and wildlife devotees, with an impressive blistering max frame rate of 20fps (16fps mechanical
years. Similar steps
frame rate of 10fps at 20.2MP. It is equipped with 65 cross-type AF shutter) and 191 AF points. It features a top native ISO
are available within points and a top ISO of 16,000. It also features a tough body and setting of 102,400, with ridiculous extended settings.
mirrorless systems. built-in flash, for wireless speedlight control. * Also consider: Nikon D6, Sony A9 II, Panasonic Lumix S1H

27
TECHNIQUES
Route 3:
Full-frame to medium format
Once seen as the ultimate in quality and pro
reputation, is medium format still king?
Travel back ten years and medium format
cameras were the gold at the end of the
rainbow for many. Big, high resolution and
prohibitively expensive to all but a few,
names like Hasselblad and Phase One were
synonymous with high-end fashion and
magazine photography. A camera body, digital
back and a set of quality proprietary lenses
would set you back between £30-40,000. At
the time though, the large sensor was the only
way to access pixel counts north of 30MP, so
for advertising photography purposes, there
was no competition.
Now not only are medium format cameras
far more portable and accessibly priced, but
there are other, more mainstream options on
the market. The likes of the Sony ARIV, Canon
EOS R5, and Nikon Z7II mirrorless cameras
have brought ultra
high-resolution
photography
28
to the full-frame playground. Indeed some of
these options actually exceed the resolution
of medium format offerings, so it is clear to
see that the once untouchable system has its
work cut out to stay at the top.
As we’ve already seen though, pixels aren’t
everything, and if you really want a MF model,
there are some excellent options. The Fujifilm
GFX System for example, has worked from
the other direction and brought full-frame
portability to the MF market. Its range of
mirrorless cameras are no heavier than a pro
DSLR and come in at a similar price.
Of course for every advantage there is a
potential disadvantage. While some medium
format cameras are filling the space previously
occupied by flagship full-frame SLR models,
such as Nikon’s single digital (D3, D4, D5, D6)
range and Canon’s 1D series (EOS 1D and 1Ds
Mark I, II, III etc), there are differences in the
marketing of the two formats. Let’s take a look.
Modular
vs compact
Choose between absolute
quality and practicality
Medium format comes in
various shapes and sizes.
Notably, the likes of the
Hasselblad H6D-400c MS follow
a modular concept. This has
interchangeable sensor units
(Backs) and viewfinders and
offers the greatest sensor sizes
and resolutions, at a premium
price. Compact medium format,
like the Fujifilm GFX Series,
use slightly smaller sensors,
but provide near DSLR style
operation. The total resolution is
lower but portability and price
are more manageable.
 UPGRADE YOUR KIT

Is medium
format worth it?
A larger sensor brings
both costs and benefits
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS
Images shot on medium format have signature
aspects, notably creamy shallow depth of field,
Below which is perfect for portraits. This now extends
Build quality to video, with many MF cameras offering
Due to the already motion capture.
inflated unit cost,
medium format RESOLUTION
cameras often Bigger sensors mean more space for pixels.
deliver a superior Currently the largest full-frame resolutions are
build, compared between 50 and 60MP, while MF offers 100MP
to enthusiast level and more, providing vast data capture.
full-frame cameras,
making them NOISE AND DYNAMIC RANGE
suitable for working The size of the photosites are also greater on
in tough conditions MF sensors, allowing greater light capture and
slower photon saturation. This means a greater
Left signal to noise ratio and wider dynamic ranges,
Sensor area despite resolution.
The larger sensor
applies a negative LIMITED SPEED
crop factor to focal With greater data capture comes slower
length. For this in-camera processing. It can take several
Fujifilm camera it is seconds for images to be written to the card
0.79x while for the and frame rates are lower than full-frame
Hasselblad H6D- or APS-C mirrorless cameras. This could be
400c it is 0.64x unhelpful on busy shoots where speed is key.
approximately
SHALLOW FOCUS
Opposite This can also be a hindrance. When you need
Room to deep DOF, it’s necessary to stop down to at
breathe least f/16 and carefully monitor background
MF gives a sharpness. Objects only millimetres apart can
frame with more exhibit differential focusing.
© All images Peter Fenech

environmental
context, even at COMPUTING POWER
1:1 magnification. The step up in image data can be overwhelming
Images can feel at first and may require investment in higher
less ‘boxed in’, with spec computers for image editing. Larger
greater space capacity storage options will also be necessary.
around the edges

Upgrade
case study
Take the ultimate
step up and switch
to medium format
Medium format is likely
not for everyone, but for
landscape and portrait
photographers these
cameras can still offer a
unique prospect. Here Fujifilm GFX100s Sony A7R IV
we examine a full-frame The GFX100s costs less than some full-frame DSLRs and has a The A7R IV is one of Sony’s leading pro mirrorless cameras
mirrorless camera which compact design to rival the Sony for portability. However it has and has a high resolution 61MP full-frame sensor. This rivals
has a representative a 102MP MF sensor, which provides more detail and cropping medium format for detail, but the camera also features
specification for working capability. Build is on a par with the Sony and the Fuji also 10fps shooting, 4K video and a lightweight (665g) but solid
professionals and a retains 4K video with F-Log, while only gaining 235g of weight. build quality. It will be a camera of choice for studio and
potential upgrade step. * Also consider: Fujifilm GFX 50R, X1D II 50C MARK II event photographers.

29
 TECHNIQUES
© Peter Fenech
Lenses and
accessories
Upgrade your glass and peripherals to build the
perfect system for your photographic needs
It’s often said that lenses form the most
important part of a camera system. There
is definitely truth in this, as professional
photography can take you to some
unexpected places creatively, and it’s a bonus
to have a wide range of optics available. It’s
even more of a consideration though when
taking into account any upgrades or system
shifts you might make, as your photo career
progresses. As we’ve alluded to already
there are some advantages to sticking with
one sensor format, not least the ability to
continue using all of your existing lenses.
This represents the most difficult aspect of
upgrading your main camera and can become
quite a traumatic experience if you don’t
plan ahead.
It is helpful if you invest in some full-frame
lenses early, even if you have an APS-C
camera, with the exception of a wide-angle
lens, which will probably have to be crop-
frame specific. This will mean that by the
time you come to upgrade your camera body
you’ll already have some ‘standard’ optics to
30
REMEMBER
MEMORY
If anything about an upgrade
will frustrate you it’s a change
in memory card format. SD is a
standard choice, but some high-end
cameras, especially with advanced
video features, may use XQD or
CFexpress. Cameras with both
slots will allow you to organically
accumulate a collection of
the newer type.
hit the ground running. For example a good
range would be a 10-20mm APS-C lens (EF-
S, DX, DC, DiII etc, in Canon, Nikon, Sigma
and Tamron nomenclature respectively), a
24-70mm f/2.8 and a 70-200mm f/2.8. This
way, you’ll only have to invest in a full-frame
replacement for the wide-angle, upon
your upgrade.
Unhelpfully, sensor formats are no longer
the only reason you might find yourself
shifting lens mounts. The advent of mirrorless
cameras has introduced a second mount to
many pre-existing DSLR maker’s systems.
Nikon now has both the F Mount for their
DSLR cameras and the Z Mount for their
mirrorless options. Meanwhile Canon
introduced the mirrorless RF Mount to run
alongside the EF Mount. If, like many, your
upgrade will take you in a mirrorless direction,
then you have to decide if you will keep your
DSLR gear or exchange like-for-like with
mirrorless specific items. In the case of the
former, a lens adaptor will be needed, so make
sure you leave some budget for that.
Money saving
accessories
Minimise the hidden costs of
camera and lens upgrades
UNIVERSAL QR PLATES
Heavier cameras might mean you need a
new tripod to support it, which can result
in quick release plate incompatibility.
Universal plates can make seamless
switching between tripods a reality.
THIRD-PARTY RADIO TRIGGERS
High-end wireless triggers can be very
expensive, but there is another benefit to
universal, third-party models – they allow
any flash to be adapted to almost any
camera brand.
DNG CONVERTER
A free must-have application for
photographers, DNG Converter allows you
to seamlessly work new RAW files, from
a new camera, into your editing process,
without software upgrades.
STEPPING RINGS
New lens? There’s a chance the filter
thread will be a different size, which can
be costly. A step-up ring will enable you to
use a 82mm filter on a 77mm filter thread
for example.
LENS ADAPTORS
A fully electric model will be a significant
investment but will allow you to avoid
replacing all of your existing optics like-for-
like if you switch systems or go mirrorless.
 UPGRADE YOUR KIT

Pro lens features

What bells and whistles do you
really get with a pro optic?

OPTICAL TECHNOLOGY
Pro glass has coatings which decrease
chromatic aberration, flare and water or
particulate adhesion, the latter enabling easier
cleaning. Look for labels like N, ULD, and SIC.

WEATHER-SEALING
If you’ve got a weather-sealed camera you need
a protected lens to make the most of it. Look
for sealing around the mount and control rings.

Image circle
explained
The relationship between sensor
size and lens dimensions
Lenses project a circular image into a CONSTANT
camera body and this has to be wide APERTURE
enough to cover the entire sensor area. While budget
This is why a full-frame compatible lens and enthusiast
lenses have
can be used on an APS-C body, but the variable
inverse is not possible – there is excess apertures (like
image coverage in the first instance f/3.5-5.6)
but an APS-C optic can’t project a pro optics
have constant
big enough circle to prevent corner
settings at all
vignetting. The advantage of APS-C focal lengths
cameras is therefore smaller diameter and focusing
optics, with particular gains in wide distances.
aperture models. Furthermore, where
full-frame lenses are used, corner to
corner sharpness is more stable.

INTERNAL
FOCUSING
Pro lenses feature sonic
motors for autofocus
and advanced internal
designs, without a
rotating front element.
This is a big advantage
for filter users.
CUSTOMISABLE
CONTROLS
High-end
lenses allow
reprogramming
of rings and
x2 © Peter Fenech

additional function
buttons, for a
bespoke handling
experience.

31
32
TECHNIQUES

UPGRADE
ROADMAP
Build the perfect system for your photographic needs. First, what’s most important to you?

HIGH HIGH
VIDEO
RESOLUTION FPS PORTABILITY
CAPABILITY
RATE

IS SHALLOW
DO YOU NEED DOF A KEY
NO QUICK/SILENT FEATURE
AUTOFOCUS? FOR YOU?

YES
 NO

WILL THIS BE
YOUR MAIN
CAMERA
(INCLUDING DO YOU
STUDIO MAINLY
WORK)? SHOOT
IN THE
STUDIO?
YES DO YOU
SHOOT
REGULARLY
IN LOW
LIGHT? YES
YES
IS SPEED
STILL A
PREFERENCE?

DO YOU
ALREADY
OWN
FULL-FRAME
LENSES
DO YOU PREFER
CONVENTIONAL
NO DSLR MIRRORLESS
STYLE HANDLING
NO AND OPERATION? YES
YES

HIGH COMPACT MIRRORLESS

RANGEFINDER PERFORMANCE
FULL-FRAME
MEDIUM MEDIUM
STYLE MIRRORLESS
APS-C FORMAT FORMAT

33
UPGRADE YOUR KIT
TECHNIQUES

10 things to check
before you upgrade
Take these simple steps for a
stress free upgrade experience

1 Check card types New technology

often requires new storage. Be sure
your camera of choice supports existing
memory cards.

2 Confirm hot shoe voltage If

using an older flash make sure it is
compatible with the power output of the
shoe on your new camera.

3 Lens controls If you plan to adapt

an older lens, you might not be able
to control aperture electronically so an
aperture ring would be necessary.

4 Integral flash Pro cameras often

don’t have built-in flash, which could
be a problem for controlling wireless
speedlights, if you lack triggers.

5 RAW support (ACR version) New

cameras always introduce new RAW
file versions. Make sure you have the latest
software support to open your files.

6 Battery type Picking a camera which

accepts the same batteries as your
current model will save time and money
going forward.

7 Native aspect ratio Different

sensor formats output varying frame
shapes. If you prefer squarer images
(without cropping) medium format might
be for you.

8 Sensor dimensions There is some

exact dimension variance between
brands. Check what crop factor this will
get with a potential new camera.

9 AF sensitivity (max f/stop) A

camera may boast “AF sensitivity
down to -5EV” but this may only be with
a lens of f/2.8 or larger.
© delihayatn Sakoolchai/ E+ via Getty Images

10 Stabilisation New cameras often

have In-body Image Stabilisation.
If so, check how this will work alongside
lens IS in current optics.

34
TECHNIQUES

What is
Creator Circuit?
This epic website is a learning
platform for content creators
that contains hundreds of
video tutorials from the
internet’s leading instructors on
photography, videography, social
media, and business. The videos
are short-form, and the idea is
that Creator Circuit offers expert
advice in a one-stop shop, in a
far more digestible way than
you’d find on YouTube alone.

www.creatorcircuit.com
@creatorcircuit

Jacob Riglin Meghan O’Rourke Chelsea Yamase Ása Steinars Renee Hahnel
With more than a million Meghan is a travel and Chelsea is a South Ása is an adventure Renee is a photographer,
Instagram followers, Jacob lifestyle model and social African-based creative. content creator from blogger, and author
has built creative photo media influencer living She is supported by Iceland with a tight based in Seattle. You’ll
and video campaigns for in the Pacific Northwest. brands including Canon- bond to nature and its usually find her hiking up
global brands such as With consistency, Meghan USA and is excited by forces. Ása specialises in a mountain or exploring
Aston Martin, Montblanc has turned her passion self-improvement, outdoor photography, videography, some faraway place for
and Uber. into a full-time job. adventure, and creativity. modelling and marketing. her brand Renee Roaming.

@jacob @meghanorourkee @chelseakauai @asasteinars @reneeroaming

36
 50 PRO TIPS

pro
photo
tips
Discover surefire and savvy advice from the pros at
Creator Circuit on everything from lifestyle to landscapes
Image © Sam Newton
Edited by Lauren Scott

T
he term content creator is now almost
as ubiquitous as the term photographer.
No longer are we defined by a one word
definition that conjures up images of
darkrooms and tripod carrying. Rather, we’re
explorers of the world, using our lens and social
platforms to share stories and images of life
around us. In this feature you’ll discover the
advice from ten pro content creators in their
respective fields – from modelling to drone flying
to planning out your landscape locations. There’s
nothing quite like finding out how the pros
hone their craft, boost their career skills and
collaborate with others first-hand. So sit back,
and enjoy 50 expert tips from the world’s leading
social media movers and shakers and content
creators, who have all shared their advice on a
new education platform called Creator Circuit.

Sam Newton Karl Shakur Josiah Gordon Brendin Kelly Emmett Sparling
Sam is a filmmaker and Karl is a pro visual artist Josiah grew up travelling Brendin is a Canadian- Emmett is one of the
entrepreneur who has based in LA. He has and his work has brought born photographer and founders of Creator
spent the last five years travelled across the globe him to distant corners of filmmaker with a passion Circuit. He has experience
building Move To Create. with a camera, specialising the globe while working for the outdoors, shooting with portraits, lifestyle,
He has worked with Visit in travel, lifestyle and with clients such as for some of the most and product shoots, as
Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways, aerial photography, as well Mercedes, American prominent brands in the well as the adventure
and Omega Watches. as influencer work. Express and Corona. outdoor lifestyle industry. content he shares daily.

@samnewton @karl_shakur @josiahwg @brendinkelly @emmett_sparling

37
 TECHNIQUES
x3 © Emmett Sparling

EMMETT SPARLING BREAKS

DOWN HIS PILLARS OF
CONTENT CREATION TO
HELP YOU STAND OUT IN THE
VAST SEA OF SOCIAL MEDIA

1 Communicate your plan Ensure everyone on your

team knows the goal of the project and also make
sure that they have the skills necessary to do their job.

2 Find an epic location Put yourself somewhere

that makes it easy to take great photos and film
awesome videos. That could be somewhere you’ve been
before and know how to shoot really well, or a stunning
place that you’ve researched more extensively.

3 Have a plan Having a plan is key in order to ensure

that things run smoothly. This could be a shot list or
a detailed itinerary. It’s something that communicates
the time frame and objectives to your team so your
shoot can go smoothly.

4 Give yourself time Allow yourself enough time to

be able to get everything you want so you’re not too
stressed and you can focus on the shoot at hand.

5 Shoot with intention Always go into a trip with

set intentions for yourself and your team. Having a
clear intention before you start shooting will guide your
creative process and lead to more thought-out content.

38
 50 PRO TIPS

JOSIAH GORDON
ON TAKING
SPLIT-LEVEL WATER
IMAGES, PLUS GEAR
AND EXPOSURE FOR
UNDERWATER
PHOTOGRAPHY

6 Use a dome port To take

a proper over-under shot
(pictured left) you need a dome
port – essentially a bubble for your
lens. This expands the surface area
and allows you to capture a larger
area exposed to the water level.

7 Merge two shots If you don’t

have a dome port, take a photo
beneath the surface and get the
surface of the water in the top half
of the frame. Next, take a photo
above the surface and get the
surface of the water right on the
bottom half of the frame. Merge the
two images in Photoshop.

8 Get the exposure right The

top half of your photo is going
to be incredibly overexposed, and
the bottom half of your photo is
going to be properly exposed. It’s a
x2 © Josiah Gordon

lot easier to shoot darker, and bring

up your highlights rather than trying
to bring down your highlights.

39
 TECHNIQUES

SAM NEWTON TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF FINDING YOUR NICHE AND
WORKING ON PROJECTS YOU ENJOY

9 Find your niche Whether you’re a

photographer or videographer, work out
your specialty in your industry to ensure that
your brand stands the test of time.
10 Establish boundaries Define what
your creative business does. Clearly
establishing your niche will land you higher
11 Define your vision It is important to
find your niche. Successful creators tend
to have a clear and definable vision, as they
paying clients, giving you a sense of purpose. are experts in their field.

12 Become a master It’s easy to say yes

to every project that comes your way.
While this might work in the short term, it isn’t
a long-term business model. If you specialise
in one thing, you’ll eventually become a master
at that one thing and be hired for it.
© Sam Newton
13 Be consistent Have a portfolio of
work that is consistent with your brand.
Ensure that your brand is specific, concise and
understandable, giving every potential client a
clear picture of who you are, and what kind of
work you produce.
14 Become self-aware Take a few months
to try things on the side or in your spare
time. You could shadow creatives in the fields
you’re interested in. What are your strengths?
What do you enjoy? What excites you? What
do you want to be doing in five years?

40
 50 PRO TIPS

BRENDIN KELLY
TAKES US THROUGH
SHOOTING PORTRAITS
IN THE OUTDOORS
WITH DIFFERENT FOCAL
LENGTHS WITH
MEGHAN O’ROURKE

15 Use soft light Aim to use soft light to

front, side, or backlight your subject. It’s
more flattering than harsh, bright light such
as midday sun, unless you have something to
compensate for that with a reflector or diffuser.

24MM 35MM 70MM

16 Capture bokeh Shoot with a wide
aperture lens or a high focal length
(or both). Use the narrow depth of field to
create a blurry background while keeping your
subject pin sharp.

17 Find leading lines When you’re outside,

find a trail, a pathway, a log – anything
that can create a leading line back to your
viewer to draw them in.

18 Frame your subject If (as in this

example) the mountains dip down and
converge at a point, you can put your subject
there and the lines from the mountains will
draw your eye into the subject.

19 Create shapes If you don’t have many

leading lines in your scene, have your
model create shapes with their body. They
could make a triangle with their arms or kick
one leg out to create this.
100MM 135MM 200MM

20 Coach your model Ask your subject

to lean up against something, try
playing with their hair, and swap between
sitting and standing. Be confident and know
what you want.

21 Try different focal lengths When

you’re shooting with anything less
than a 50mm lens, avoid having your subject
close to the edge of the frame to avoid
distortion. Higher focal lengths compress the
background to give a dreamy effect.
x7 © Brendin Kelly

22 Tell a story Plan ahead to create a

narrative that you want to tell. Props
are ideal and can take your portrait photos to
a more interesting level.

41
TECHNIQUES

JACOB RIGLIN SHARES

SOME OF THE METHODS
HE USES WHEN
PLANNING OUT A TRIP

23 Use several platforms My go-to

places for researching any sort of
trip are Instagram, Google Maps and
Pinterest. I can use these to see what’s
already been shot, so I can work out how to
approach it differently.

24 Customised maps For a trip which

is two or three weeks long, I typically
start with Google Maps and make a custom
map. I then fill it with all the locations that
I want to go to with a picture of each one
attached to it.

25 Plan your route Planning a trip

should be a really fun process. If I
am on a road trip, I like to add gas stations,
supermarkets, hotels to my custom map. This
comes in so useful while you’re out on the
road and need to find utilities after a long
shoot or at crazy times of night.

26 Don’t overplan Be sure to add new

places to your custom map if you hear
about them from locals or other creatives
while you’re on the move. Allow some flexibility
in your schedule, as being open to experiences
can lead to some amazing photo opportunities.

27 Use specialist apps I use the

PhotoPills app on all my trips. It allows
me to see and plan where the sun is going
to be setting and rising in the future, and the
same for the moon. It also has an amazing
tool that shows you where the Milky Way is
going to be at any given point.

28 Creative ideas I like to use Instagram

to get inspiration for the country or
location that I’m travelling to. You can use the
saved folder on Instagram to build collections
of photos from different places.
glin
© Jacob Riglin

42

LEARN CHELSEA YAMASE’S RULES FOR EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATION ON JOBS
29 Assume best intentions Every shoot
is going to be at least a little stressful.
If you’re on a shoot with someone (whether
you’re the talent or the photographer) you
have to believe that they’re also trying their
best to create something great. This allows
you to create a space where you don’t start
blaming each other.
x3 © Chelsea Yamase
30 Balance positive and negative
feedback Always start with what’s
going well, and then transition to evolutionary
feedback. Always give context, and a short
why. For example, “Would you be open to
shooting a few more with a slightly darker
exposure? I have an easier time colour-grading
photos when they’re a little underexposed”.
50 PRO TIPS
31 Ask for what you need but ask for
feedback to give your team what
they need too Always be open to receiving
feedback, and try to receive it in good faith.
We all have our own visions in our heads for
what we want to make. However, new ideas
and perspectives can often produce amazing,
unexpected results.
43
 TECHNIQUES

RENEE HAHNEL LISTS

10 WAYS TO DIVERSIFY
YOUR INCOME AS A
PHOTOGRAPHER
32. IMAGE LICENSING AND
STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY
33. SELLING PHYSICAL PRINTS
34. SOCIAL CONTENT CREATION
FOR BRANDS
35. AFFILIATE MARKETING
36. PUBLISHING A BOOK
37. YOUTUBE ADVERTISING
38. PODCASTING
39. BLOGGING AND
GUEST BLOGGING
40. SPEAKING AT EVENTS
41. GET A PATREON ACCOUNT
x2 © Renee Hahnel

44
 50 PRO TIPS

*ASA CURRENTLY USES A

DJI MAVIC 2 PRO.

1 Use a Fast Memory Card Avoid waiting for

images to write when your fly time is limited.

2 Shoot in Manual Shoot RAW images in

Manual exposure mode, to fully control
the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. This way
you’ll also be able to take a long exposure,
useful for low light or waterfall filming.

4 Elevation is Important As you get

higher, the air gets thinner and the wind
gets stronger. If you ever find you are having
trouble bringing your drone back, the first
thing you want to do is lower the altitude.

PHOTOGRAPHER ÁSA
STEINARS ON CREATING
STUNNING CONTENT
WITH A DRONE

42 Tripod mode Switch the drone to

tripod mode to ensure you keep it as
still as possible when there is any wind.

43 Elevation is important As you get

higher, the air gets thinner and the
wind gets stronger. If you ever find you are
having trouble bringing your drone back, the
first thing you want to do is lower the altitude.

44 Go manual Shoot RAW images in

Manual exposure mode, to control
the shutter speed, aperture and ISO. This way
you’ll also be able to take a long exposure,
useful for low light or waterfall filming.

“Switch the drone

to tripod mode
to keep it as still
as possible when
there is any wind”
x2 © Ása Steinars

45
TECHNIQUES
KARL SHAKUR TAKES YOU ON A MOTION
PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE FOR BLURRED
SHOTS OF A MOTORBIKE
45 Set a slow shutter Your
shutter speed is going to be
low, between 1/50th of a second to
1/100th of a second. You’ll get a lot of
blurry shots, but eventually have one
or two keepers.
46 Use burst mode Set your
camera to a continuous
shooting mode to take multiple
photos within a short time frame. Fire
the shutter as your subject enters
the frame and pan them across while
holding the shutter down.
47 Check your pace Both the
subject of the photograph and
All images © Karl Shakur
the photographer have to be moving
at the same pace. That way, you get
a magical blurry background, but the
subject – which should be in the centre
of the frame – will stay tack sharp.
46
48 Camera settings Get settings
dialled in before your subject
starts to move, as there will be a lot of
chaos when they do! Set your camera’s
lowest ISO and a narrow aperture such
as f/16 to ensure a slower shutter.
49 Get dynamic Always try to find
something a little bit different
that will set your images apart. Shooting
into the sun so that your subject is backlit
will create a magical glow, but you can
also try shooting really low to the ground
to get a more dynamic perspective.
50 Experiment with focal
lengths I used a Canon 5D
Mark IV and a Canon 14mm f/2.8
lens, but then switched over to the
Canon EF16-35mm f/2.8L III USM.
You’re looking for dramatic angles and
dynamic framing.
 50 PRO TIPS

KARL SHOWS US HOW TO USE PHOTOSHOP FOR MOTION BLUR ADJUSTMENTS

Duplicate the layer Once you’ve opened
up your shot in Photoshop, the first step is to
duplicate your layer so that you don’t affect
your original image. We want a very non-
destructive workflow when editing.
Go to filters Go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur.
The distance and angle of motion blur that
you ideally want to use can vary, but I find
that something around 500px of blur really
works well for me.
Create a layer mask Add a layer mask to
your top layer. Then hit the brush and start
painting in different parts of your image. In this
shot I want to showcase the face so I reduced
the brush size and clicked over the face.

“We want a
very non-
destructive
workflow
when editing”

47
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49
SHOOTING SKILLS

Create an
ethereal
woodland
scene
Shoot a landscape with a fairytale theme using
complex lighting and layering techniques
Difficulty level: Advanced
Time taken: 2 hour

Landscape photography is one
of those genres which is often
seen as a literal endeavour, where
the photographer’s aim is to create a
relatively accurate picture of a location.
While the Instagram generation has
certainly encouraged further experimental
approaches to image compositing and
colour effects, many photographers still
prefer to follow the ‘what you see is what
you get’ path to shooting a scene.
There are other in-camera options to
consider however if you’re uneasy using
extreme software manipulation, and
when combined with post-processing
techniques these can produce stunningly
atmospheric effects.
For this scene the aim was to create an
enchanted forest appearance, conjuring
memories of fairytales or cinematic dream
sequences. The styling of the shot is part
in-camera work and part refined software
adjustment. For the second stage to work
the image needs to be taken in suitable
conditions. We want a misty feel, so ideally
there will be some mist or fog in the starter
images, or at least the light should be low
contrast. This makes processing more
seamless and allows for more realism in
the final image. The key is to keep things
as simple as possible. You don’t need lots
of kit – some creative thinking will allow
complex lighting in the final scene, with
only a single off-camera speedlight.

What you’ll need Ethereal midnight

Advanced use of white
Camera with RAW capability balance, exposure, flash
Tripod light blending and software
compositing produces
Speedlight
images which simulate
Radio triggers the characteristics of an
Garden lamps enchanted nighttime location
All images © Peter Fenech

50
51
SHOOTING SKILLS

Shooting 1 2

steps
1 Find a scene Look for a scene
where there is some kind of path
leading into the distance, as this
helps demonstrate the depth in
the landscape. Seek out pockets
of existing fog or mist and avoid
dappled sunlight, which can spoil
the night effect.

2 Meter exposure In Aperture

Priority Mode take a meter
reading of the scene, using
Evaluative Metering mode. Select
an aperture which keeps the shutter
speed below the maximum flash
sync speed, then switch to manual
to lock settings and prevent them 3 4
from changing between shots.

3 Underexpose We need to create

a dark, moody feel to the shot.
Keeping the shutter speed constant,
use aperture to cut the light, while
preventing shadow detail from
being lost. Observe the histogram
to ensure this – prevent the graph
from touching the left wall.

4 Set White Balance To sell the

nighttime effect we’re going to
introduce some blues and cyans.
This is a well-established Hollywood
effect – using the ‘wrong’ white
balance. We chose Tungsten to start
with, which gave the scene a strong
blue-ish cast. We can adjust this
later in software.

5 Illuminate lamps These

solar-powered garden lamps
aren’t very powerful, so the light
5 6

doesn’t show at these exposure

settings. We placed a lamp in one
position, backlit it with flash,
then moved the lamp and took
another exposure, repeating this
in multiple locations throughout
the scene.

6 Alter flash position With all

of the lamp exposures shot,
now add flash lighting to various
parts of the landscape. We took
multiple images with the foreground
tree illuminated from various
directions, for cinematic styling.
We also lit the areas where the
lamps appeared, to create a wider
apparent glow.

52
 FAIRYTALE WOODLAND SCENE

ZOOM LENS MAKESHIFT GEL

We used a 24-70mm Use a CTO gel or coloured
zoom, which allowed us material to vary the light
to compress the trees colour, for extra drama.
in our forest scene.

FLASH WITH
RADIO TRIGGERS
Used to create dramatic
PROPS lighting, radio triggers are
Adding some best for wooded locations,
lights introduces which can interfere with
the enchanted feel line-of-sight devices.
by providing extra
contrast and glow.

TRIPOD

The setup
Since we will be merging
exposures, a tripod is essential
for maintaining composition.

Vary colour
Add chromatic depth
with extra contrast
The overall colour theme
of the image should be
blueish/green – so-called
‘cool’ colours – to simulate
nighttime lighting. To add
some interest and draw
the eye, make the lights
warmer in some cases.
You can do this with a CTO
gel, but we used an orange
carrier bag cutting (taking
care it didn’t melt!). This
made several of the lamps
appear to have a yellow
glow, which complements
the global toning.

53
SHOOTING SKILLS

Edit the shot 1 2

1 Sync RAW processing Start by adjusting

the contrast and exposure of your base
images. In RAW editor, select multiple images
and synchronise adjustments. Set the Black
and White points and apply lens corrections.

2 Reveal lamps Open each file containing

a light in a different position as a layer in
Photoshop (or similar). Add a black mask
to each (hold Option while clicking the layer
mask icon) and paint in the duplicated lamps
from the layer below, creating a composite.

3 Blend flash exposures Flatten your

composite lamp image and drag in the
other images, with varying flash positions, as
layers. Again, create black masks and paint
with white to reveal highlights selectively.

4 Enhance the fog In Lightroom or using

the Camera Raw Filter, on a duplicated
background layer, use the Adjustment Brush
(K) with negative Clarity and Dehaze to soften 3 4
distant trees. Remove the effect from closer
branches using Auto Mask.

5 White balance micro adjustments

Further enhance the contrast of the lamps
by increasing the Temperature around these,
using the Radial Filter. This will make them
glow a little more clearly. If there is too much
blue in the highlights use the Tone Curve to
selectively add some yellow/magenta.

6 Special effects Add dust/insects around

the lights. In Photoshop open Brush
settings. Check Shape Dynamics, Scattering
and Transfer. Set Spacing, Size Jitter, Scatter
(Both Axes), Count Jitter and Opacity Jitter to
maximum. Brush around lamps with light yellow.
Right
Few tools, big effect
By blending layers we can light an entire
landscape with a single speedlight. A black
mask on each layer allows ‘impossible’ lighting
of selective areas with handheld flash

5 6

54
 FAIRYTALE WOODLAND SCENE

BEFORE

AFTER

55
SHOOTING SKILLS

SHOOT
COLOURFUL
LANDSCAPES
Manage exposure and colour when capturing
scenes with bright, dominant hues
As spring progresses and starts to detail can be compromised, requiring a keen
move into summer the landscape eye and some workflow adaptation.
becomes awash with strong colours. You can apply the following process to any
This creates some deep contrast which, scene with strong, dominant colour. The aim
combined with the intensity of the sunlight, is to balance this dominance with accuracy of
produces the style of scenic we associate the other colours present.
with the summer months. Vegetation plays
a big part in the process, and is the element
which provides the diversity of colour across Inset
Incorrect balance
different locations. This offers tremendous Without correction the expanse of yellow crop has
possibilities for dramatic, eye-catching tricked the camera’s Auto white balance system
landscape shots, but also introduces some into overcompensating with too much blue, creating
unique challenges for the digital photographer. unrealistic sky toning
Oil seed rape is one such crop, which
produces a noticeable transformation in the BEFORE
landscape. The member of the Brassicaceae
family is well-known for its bright yellow
flowers, which form a patchwork of colour
when viewed from above, and a sea of
luminescent crop when shot from ground level.
Love it or loathe it, there is no denying it is an
energetic feature, calling to be photographed.
The challenge in shooting this crop is
accurately rendering the delicate yellow
in-camera and ensuring all tones are kept
in-range, with no clipping in single channels.
Even if the histogram shows no highlight loss,

1 Set camera height Align the camera to

either exaggerate the depth of scene and
the carpet of bright colour, or compress the
landscape for a patchwork look. We chose the
latter here due to the topography.
2 Zoom in To compress the scene elements
try using a focal length above 50mm.
This helps to eliminate gaps in the colour or
bare space in the foreground, which act as a
distraction. Try multiple compositions.
3 Set Preset WB Initially, use a WB Preset
such as Daylight. This gives you a starting
point for global colour accuracy, avoiding
noticeable overall biases which might detract
from the impact of the natural colour.

56

4 Meter from coloured area With brightly
coloured subjects you can lose detail in a
single colour channel. Under and overexposure
can also alter the appearance of colour. Meter
from the key areas and check RGB histograms.
5 Adjust exposure Use exposure
compensation to adjust brightness,
keeping an eye on the live RGB histograms.
Ensure no clipping is occurring in any
channels, but also prevent ‘muddy’ colours.
AFTER
Naturalistic palette
A custom white balance allows the frame
to be filled with the brightly coloured oil
seed, which retains its natural vibrance.
The cool sky offers contrast
6 Use custom Kelvin setting Using the
Kelvin value of the selected WB preset as a
guide, adjust the colour balance of the image,
ensuring the main colours are faithful. Shoot
RAW, so you can make local adjustments later.
57
 EDITING SKILLS: PHOTOSHOP
Cleaning up
PHOTOSHOP
your photos
TUTORIAL Create distraction-free compositions with advanced retouching
Meet the editing pro
Jord Hammond is a travel
photographer and storyteller
from the UK. His clients
include Adobe, Canon, Visit
Dubai and Hong Kong
Tourism Board. He has nearly
760,000 followers on Instagram and runs
regular workshops and online courses.
Head to www.jordhammond.com for more.
1 Clean up gateway Use the Marquee tool
(M) to make a rough selection of the right-
hand side of the gate. Then right-click to copy
it and flip horizontally. Then move it across to
the other side.
All images © Jord Hammond
4 Remove the leaves I feel that some of
the leaves are a little distracting, so I’ll
remove some using the Spot Healing Brush
Tool (my preferred tool for removing smaller
items from any image in a heartbeat).
58
Whilst I don’t tend to clean up
my photos to the point of them
looking unrealistic, I do like to take
out distracting elements to allow for a more
aesthetically pleasing photo, thus guiding
the viewer through the composition with
ease. Photoshop and other similar software
applications have many advanced tools for
selectively removing or redistributing detail
within an image and, when used carefully,
these can transform a messy scene into a
clean, visually appealing masterpiece.
Let’s take a look.
2 Extend the staircase This helps to
dramatise the scene and remove the
distracting path at the bottom. Use the
Marquee tool to select around the stairs and
stretch downwards while holding shift.
5 Clean up left-hand-side wall I wanted
a more solid section of green on the left-
hand side of the image as a replacement for
the darker walls. Just as we did in Steps 1 and
2, I used the Marquee tool to clean up the wall.
Inset Main
Temple in Bali,
Indonesia
Temple in Bali,
Indonesia
I found this location for my I’ve now tidied up the image
drone one early morning. A lot enough so that it still looks
of elements were distracting, realistic but is easier to view
but I had the final edited and understand, as well as
image in my head being more symmetrical
What you’ll be using
Marquee tool
Clone stamp tool
Spot healing brush tool
3 Clone stamp that log. Select the Clone
Stamp tool and reduce the hardness of
your brush for softer edges. Then, select an
area of the green wall which would cover the
log as well, and stamp away.
6 Refine the patch Using a layer mask,
refine the edges of the duplicated detail,
to make it blend with the surrounding texture.
Use a large soft brush and paint black on a
white mask to erase the hard edges.
BEFORE
59
EDITING SKILLS: LIGHTROOM
LIGHTROOM
TUTORIAL
Balancing warmer
and cooler tones
Add depth to your images with colour contrast
In this tutorial, I am going to teach
you how to use the colour grading
feature to add some mood into the
photo and add colour contrast, which I love
doing in my photos. I will introduce some
KEY TIP
MASTERING COLOUR GRADING
People often ask how I edit my photos
to have such depth, and this is the trick.
Bringing cool tones into a warm image
helps to create depth and makes the
image much more pleasing to the eye.
What you’ll be using
Temperature Shadows
Tint Calibration tab
Colour Grading Highlights
3 Cool the shadows Next, I have cooled the
shadows down. For the shadows, I have
gone for a slightly warmer blue than that of
the midtones to add more colour contrast. In
nature there are many colour combinations so
mixing tones like this adds realism.
60
cooler tones into the orange sky to bring
depth to the photo. I often find with sunset
photos, having one colour in the sky without
any contrast doesn’t draw the viewer’s eye to
the photo and it can look quite flat.
1 Lower the white balance I lowered the
white balance from 5,200K to 4,400K which
gives the photo a cooler feel. The photo has
a bright orange sky and whilst I am able to
keep many of those oranges, lowering the
temperature means it isn’t so intense.
4 Cool the highlights I have cooled the
highlights, opting for a blue that differs
from my choices for the shadows as highlights,
so as to create a smooth transition of cooler
tones throughout the scene. Just one blue
would, for myself, be too unrealistic.
Inset Main
Selong Belenak, Selong Belenak,
Lombok Lombok
I came here to shoot the I’ve brought a lot more depth to
buffalos on the beach the sky which in turn highlights
at sunset, but ended up the subject more. I’m really
photographing the local pleased with how this turned
kids watching the sunset out and feel it is now print-ready
2 Cool the midtones Now I introduce
cooler midtones. This is where we will
start getting the colour contrast we need for
the effect as these higher Kelvin colours will
contrast with the sunlight. I also increased the
luminance slightly to brighten the midtones.
5 Warming the warmer tones I have now
moved over to calibration where I have
created a warmer image. This helps me to
achieve my signature look. The Calibration
tab can be a powerful colour control tool for
advanced editing and refined adjustments.
 BEFORE

All images © Jord Hammond

AFTER

61
PRINT & SHARE

WAYS TO BOOST
5 SOCIAL MEDIA
Social platforms a bit quiet? Re-energise your community
Gaining a following on social media can feel like an uphill
struggle sometimes. We don’t all have to feel as if we
Conclusion
It often feels like social
media has had the ‘social’
need to make growing our Instagram account our main
element somewhat stripped
priority – it is the breadth of your aim for growth of followers
which will dictate your strategy and motivation to push these
away. Engaging with your
numbers into the tens of thousands – but a continued upward followers stimulates engagement
trend can serve as a creative impetus and marketing medium. from their side of the platform
For example, if you have a niche photographic business, you and any additional interest you
might want to use social media to advertise your services in a can generate can increase
local area, in which case encouraging engagement is a good idea. potential commercial
It won’t necessarily bring you instant fortunes, but the upside of opportunities.
using platforms like IG in this way is that you don’t need 500K
followers to make a market impact. Sometimes a few simple steps
can kick-start regular interaction with potential clients in your
region, which can create a snowball effect.

Ask questions
One of the best ways to
encourage people to interact
with your posts (and therefore
push the algorithm on whichever
platform you are using to show
your posts to more people) is
to directly ask questions. Make
these relevant and pick topics
which you know people will
want to voice their opinion on
(like if they have photographed
a location before, if they like
a certain camera etc). Get a
conversation flowing.

Constructive comments
Return the favour and
comment on other people’s
posts, to start a reverse
conversation, which might
attract people to explore
your profile. Respond to polls,
answer questions, react to
stories and share posts by
other users. It’s important
to make your comments
meaningful – avoid the
standard “amazing” or “great
pic” type comment, which
doesn’t encourage anything
more than a like or emoji
response as a minimum.

62

Choose your audience
Who you interact with is more important than you might first
imagine. If just gaining a few extra followers is your aim then
by all means comment on any and all posts, but focusing your
interactions will gain a more profitable audience. Comment on
posts which catch your eye first, reshare content which interests
you and seek out users you can have a meaningful conversation
with, for constructive networking.
BOOST SOCIAL MEDIA
Vary your content
While it helps to have a brand or ‘voice’ online, to stand out from your
competition, it is also a good idea to experiment with other types of
content. This is easy on Instagram, as you have Reels, Stories and IGTV to
play with. However you can also try adding longer form content to Twitter
and Facebook, while branching out to YouTube and Tik Tok, then sharing
this with your main social platform. Generate extra interest.
Insider info
People often want to stay on your page if they feel
they are part of a group or community. Use Stories
to give behind the scenes details of your shoots and
make your followers feel as if they are along for the
ride. An additional benefit is that by showing how you
work, you might also encourage business enquiries.
63
GO PRO

5
THINGS
YOU NEED
TO KNOW
ABOUT
WORKING
WITH A
SECOND
SHOOTER
Claire Gillo chats to two pros in the industry
and shares their top tips for working with
another photographer

S
ome special moments can never
be recreated again, which is where
having a second photographer on
the job is vital. If you’re shooting a
large wedding it is impossible to be in the
same place at the same time. For example,
most couples require getting-ready shots of
both the bride and groom, and if they are
not located near one another it can be a
logistical nightmare. Having an extra pair of
eyes on the guests and their reactions is vital
if you want to capture the full picture and
happenings of the day.
We’ve consulted the advice of two pros, for
their advice when it comes to working with
a second shooter or being a second shooter.
Claire Pulman and Christina Davies know
a thing or two about the logistics and have
answered all of our in depth questions about
the subject. Claire, who is originally from
County Durham, North East, relocated to the
south of the UK a number of years ago. “If I’m
not out photographing a wedding or travelling
then you will probably find me out on a
Sussex beach photographing landscapes,”
she tells us. Christina is a Wedding, Family
and Commercial photographer based in
Preston, Lancashire and loves capturing her
clients’ stories. “I’m so thankful that I get to
run the business full-time and do what I love.”
So whether you’re an established pro
looking to hire a second shooter or you’re just
starting out and want to get into the industry
as a second shooter then you can’t afford
to miss these pros’ tips. Although weddings
are the obvious place to hire or be hired
in as a second shooter (as Christina and
Claire mainly do) this is not always the case.
There are many types of jobs such as large
business events or festivals where you can
be working alongside another or a number of
photographers so the same rules apply.

64
WORKING WITH A SECOND SHOOTER

© bantersnapszadrf3c

65
 GO PRO
© Scott Graham
Above
Consider any
legal elements
Creating a formal
contract before
employing a second
shooter can help to avoid
difficulties later on
Left
Choose someone
with a similar style
It’s generally advisable to
choose a second shooter
who has a similar visual
style and outlook on
photography as you do
Right
Communication
is the key
Make sure you have a
plan of who is going to
shoot what, and when,
to ensure that the whole
event gets covered
© Getulio Moraes
66
1
Get your paperwork in order
Whether you are employing the second
or being hired in as a second shooter you
need to have your paperwork in order. You
should never take on a job or hire someone
without having an appropriate contract that
both parties are happy with; the contract is a
legal binding document that is there to protect
both photographers and ensure you have
all grounds and logistics covered. Christina
says, “The biggest admin issue I can think of
would be deciding on what permissions to
give in your contract. Do you let them use all
the images? Some of them or none of them?
This is up to each photographer and what they
feel comfortable with. I’ve shot weddings as
a second where I have not had permission
to use an image and others where I have
used one or two with permission – I’m okay
with that. It’s all down to your contract with
the client and your contract with the second
shooter. Think about the permissions you are
asking the couple and what you are asking
from the second shooter,” she advises.
You also need to think about any liability
concerns and ensure this is covered. Claire
says she always makes sure her second
shooter has their own insurance.
Make a checklist before each shoot and as
a bare minimum discuss with your second
shooter (or as a second) on equipment use,
insurance, copy and reproduction rights and
the delivery of images.
2
Finding your second
When selecting a second shooter
to work with it is important to bring
someone into the frame who shoots in the
same style as you do. “I like to work with
second shooters who I can train so they
get used to my style and adapt it to their
own,” Claire says. However she stresses the
importance of ensuring they are ready before
chucking them in the deep end, and when
photographing an event together you also
need to have trust and be fully prepared
beforehand. “Set your expectations,” Claire
states, “and talk to them about your style, and
also how you would like photos to be captured.”
Christina has a similar method when it
comes to employing a second shooter and
also likes to be prepared. Looking through
their portfolio and chatting over a brew are
some of the first things she does to ensure
they have a good rapport. “I like doing this as
we all know how geeky us photographers are
when it comes to talking about bodies and
lenses! My husband gets bored hearing about
it so it’s nice to have those chats with people
who are like-minded – especially over cake!”
Christina continues. “The other thing I would
say is make sure they are informed about the
timings or events of the day. They can and will
do a better job if they know what’s happening
rather than coming in blind to it all.”
 WORKING WITH A SECOND SHOOTER

3 4
Being a second shooter
Being a second shooter means you
need to ensure you are capturing
what the primary photographer wants –
after all this is their gig and they have the
responsibility to deliver great results to their
client. Christina’s advice for second shooters is
to be honest with your abilities. “We’re all still
learning every day no matter how long we’ve
been doing this,” she says. Christina started
her wedding photography career by second
shooting and found it was great to learn from
others. “Don’t be afraid to ask questions,” she
advises. “I still do this now from time to time
when someone does something I don’t do, like
a mirrored ring shot for example.” She also
expresses the importance of being helpful to
lighten the main photographer’s work load.
“Ask what they want from you and what you
can take off their plate. Be open to just being
the assistant at times and holding kit, flowers
or even grabbing the main photographer a
drink on a hot day. Lastly, enjoy it! It can be a
long day but a wonderful one as well. If you
love doing weddings, as I do, everyone will
have a creative adventure with your camera
capturing those moments for the couple and
there’s no better feeling as a photographer.”
Don’t both photograph the
same thing
When you’re on the job it is
important that you plan with your second
shooter how you are going to approach the
assignment. The key to a successful wedding
with two photographers is all in the planning
and communication.
Claire says, “You need to be able to
communicate, as it’s not about one individual
capturing everything, it’s about working
together to achieve different shots. There’s
no point trying to both capture the same
image. You need to be comfortable with the
second shooter and be able to ask them to
photograph certain parts of the day where you
cannot be. If I’m doing group shots I’ll ask my
second shooter to capture people standing
round etc so we have a variety.”
“Make sure they are
informed about the
timings or events of
the day to capture”
5
Where’s the work?
Much of the photography business
comes down to who you know
and making good contacts. Many of the
photographers Christina and Claire work
with have established relationships making it
easier to secure work in the future. Of course
when you are just starting out making these
contacts can be tricky, however really there
is no other way then to get into the industry
then by networking, applying for jobs and
asking around as much as possible. And you
never know when you might get a lucky break
– Claire found herself answering a Facebook
advert, and when she met the photographer
they took her on because she supports
Newcastle United!
Facebook is a great resource for advertising
for a second shooter or looking for work
yourself. There are a few Facebook groups
from ‘Second Shooters UK’, ‘Second shooters/
Photography assistants UK’, to ‘Wedding UK –
Last Minute Photographers/Assistant/Second
Shooter’, where you can look for or advertise
for second shooters. Christina also uses the
Facebook groups to secure work and find
shooters where she can as well as using her
established contacts.

Claire
Pulman’s
quick tips
for being
a second shooter…
Sort out a contract Talk to the
main photographer, and have a
contract before the day.

Planning ahead Ask them for

their expectations and ask them
to go through the day and the
timings for you, so you know
exactly what is happening.

Communicate well You need

© Claire Pullman’s

to be able to communicate as
it’s not about one individual
capturing everything, it’s about
working together to achieve
different shots.

Find out more about Claire at

www.clairepulmanphotography.
co.uk and follow on social media
@clairepulmanphotography

67
GO PRO

Pro case study

Christina Davies of
Fish 2 Photography
continues to reveal
her second shooter
experiences
When would you work with a second
shooter on a job and why?
I mainly use second shooters for weddings. I
may use an assistant from time to time on
other shoots but it’s not something I would
usually use outside of the wedding arena. I
like having a second shooter as it gives you a
different perspective on the wedding day and
it helps cover every part of the day, relieving
some of the pressure to be everywhere at
once. I also enjoy having someone to work
with and chat about photography – it’s nice
to have someone to bounce ideas off and
to work with.

How do you select a second shooter to Above

Party time
work with? Do you often work with the There are many great
same photographer/s or does it vary? opportunities to get
I usually use the same second shooters. They great shots later on in the
are other professional photographers and I evening at the party stage

also second for them when and if I can. It’s

Left
great to have that friendship and ability to Avoiding
collaborate on a regular basis with someone. disturbances
Having two perspectives
How does it logistically work on a job on the ceremony means
you won’t miss anything,
having two photographers? What do you
and there is less need to
need to look out for? move around
I like to inform the second shooter beforehand
of all the plans and timings for the day. They Below

x 3 © Christina Davies
In the moment
need to be as informed as I am. I obviously Weddings are basically
direct where I’d like them to be or ask them to non-stop action from
capture specific things, but once you have a start to finish so being
relationship established with a second shooter in the right space at the
right time is vital
this becomes easier and more instinctive for
you both. When choosing a second shooter
I always look at their work and chat to them
to see how we get along – I’ve learnt that
this is key. I’ve had a bad experience with a
second shooter before who admittedly, had
a great eye for composition, but was missing
simple camera knowledge, which is hard in a
fast-paced environment like a wedding. If we’d
have chatted more before the day I could
have helped or answered questions to help.
I’ve second shot for people who have told
me nothing about the wedding bar, the time
I needed to arrive and the address… I didn’t
even have the bride’s name. That was so
hard as I was completely relying on my own
knowledge of a wedding to know what they
wanted and where they wanted me. Whenever
I asked I’d get told “oh wherever” – I think I’m
too much of a planner for that!

Find out more about Christina at

www.fish2.co.uk
or follow her @fish2photo

68
 With
2 FRE
eBookE
s

Next issue
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projects to hone your photo skills

Issue 243 is on sale

17 August 2021

FLOWER
POWER
Learn how to get bloomin’
great floral shots in
your home, garden and
wildflower fields

NEW inside:
• Enjoy photography – without annoying your family
• Discover how to get epic photos on your next citybreak
• Nikon Z 7II and Canon EOS R6 go head to head in our group test

Available at www.magazinesdirect.com
© Andy Small

69
 GO PRO

Career advice
This issue Claire Gillo answers more of your burning questions
and shares her top tips for being professional on a budget

Money issues Lights on a budget

I work part-time as a photographer and Having used three Nissin Di700A flash units
I’m struggling to upgrade my lenses, more and more I am realising that I need with the Air 1 trigger system for the past few
as the high-end professional ones additional lighting (flash if possible) to help years we can confidently say that this setup
are just so expensive. How do other me on some of my shoots. I only have a is more than enough for a variety of scenarios.
photographers afford it? I think I’m £300/$300 budget for two lights, as I don’t As a side note, you may want to also purchase
going to have to remortgage my house! make a huge amount of profit from my a budget softbox such as an Interfit Strobies
Thomas Stockport photography business yet. Any ideas? Speedlite Softbox which in the 80x80cm size
Amy Valentine retails around £45.
Thomas, when you’re a professional
The Nissin
photographer you still have to make Amy, the good news is you can definitely get
Di700A with
budgetary choices and often even the something decent for your budget. There are the Air 1 trigger
most established pros still can’t afford many affordable speedlights out there that system is
the best lenses. Don’t despair as you are fit a budget price yet still deliver professional perfect for those
not alone. Obviously taking out a loan results. The biggest disadvantage with using on a budget
or remortgaging your house is a more speedlights is the recycle time of the power,
drastic option if you desperately want or however if you set your ISO higher on your
need those top-end lenses, however there camera and flashlight at a weaker setting this
are other ways to go about things. can help that issue to a degree.
Have you looked at the second-hand When it comes to shopping for a budget
market? There are many amazing high- speedlight, as a starting point we recommend
quality and more affordable lenses on the you look at the Yongnuo YN-660 (around £65),
used market if you would rather keep your Nissin Di700A (around £170), Neewer TT560
spending budget lower. We recommend (around £40) and Nissin i40 (around £160).
when buying second-hand to only do
so from trusted resources such as MPB
(www.mpb.com – see next page), Park
Cameras (www.parkcameras.com) and
Wex Photo Video (www.wexphotovideo.
Balancing the books
com). Although places like eBay have I’ve just started shooting paid commissions, side of your photography business. For
endless amounts of products, you don’t but I’m not very business-minded or example ShootQ (www.shootq.com), Táve
always get a guarantee with them when organised with the admin side of my (www.shootproof.com), Studio Ninja (www.
buying second-hand so be cautious online. business. Are there any tools out there to studioninja.co) and PIXIFI (www.pixifi.com),
Another option is to make do with what help photographers like me? to name only a few, have all been designed
you have. After all, it is the photographer Kate Parkins s specifically in mind. If
with photographers specific
who takes a good image and not the you want a program
kit. Often we become fixated on getting When you run na that just looks at the
the best kit, however by spending time small photography
graphy numbers side of your
num
refining our style and building our brand business you u have business, many use
busi
we can make more advances for our to wear many y QuickBooks (www.
Quic
business than simply upgrading our kit. hats. Not onlyy do quickbooks.intuit.
quic
Who knows… in the future you may be you have to take
ake com/uk) which starts
com
able to afford those lenses. great photographs,
raphs, £1.20 per month.
at £1
you also need d We suggest that you
W
to keep on top
op work out what your
of the admin:: budget is and your
budg
contracts, bookings
ookings exact needs before
exac
and finances.. you subscribe to any
Although someme service. Often a free
serv
photographers rs slot trial is available, so
right into doing these things easily, for others before committing, take a service for a test
it can be more of a growing role that gets drive first to see if it works for you.
A great photographer can still do a fantastic
© Claire Gillo

job using budgetary kit like this image that was

easier as they learn what’s needed. Services like Studio Ninja have been created to
captured with a 50mm lens that cost under £200 There are many paid services out there help photographers keep on top of jobs and the
that can help you with the administrative admin side of their business

70

Why should I buy second-hand?
Andrew Unwin from MPB shares his top tips for buying used
photography equipment and answers some of our key questions
Tell us a bit more about
yourself and MPB
MPB is the world’s
largest online platform
to buy, sell and trade
used photography and
videography equipment,
including camera bodies, lenses, filters and
accessories. MPB is a destination for all levels
of photographer, whether you are someone
who has just discovered your passion for
visual storytelling or you’re already a pro.
I’m the Head of Operations & Strategy
which means I oversee our Brighton-based
operation, which services the UK. My role
ranges from managing our Product Specialists
who inspect and grade all of the kit we
purchase from customers, right up to the
dispatch team who beautifully pack our orders
in fully recycled packaging.
Find out more about MPB at www.mpb.com or follow or @mpbcom
What are the advantages of purchasing
second-hand kit?
At MPB, we have kit for those who want to try
something new, hone their skills, or pursue
their passion — and it won’t cost the earth.
Every piece of kit is inspected carefully by
our product specialists and comes with a six-
month warranty to give our customers peace
of mind that buying used kit doesn’t have to
mean sacrificing on quality or reliability.
As well as buying, can you also sell your
unwanted photography kit at MPB?
Yes! Our unique platform means that we
can offer the right price for every piece of kit
based on make, model, condition and market,
across a huge selection of camera bodies,
lenses, filters and accessories.
Selling your kit is really easy to do. First,
get your online quote by filling in the form.
CAREER ADVICE
Left
Rigorous checks
All used kit is tested as it comes in to
ensure it is in full working condition
Below
Ship-shape shooting
Here a camera sensor is cleaned
from dirt and dust
Below left
Peace of mind
Every piece of kit is inspected by
MPB’s product specialists and
comes with a six-month warranty
Below middle
Eco-friendly thinking
MPB uses fully recycled packaging for
sending out all goods to customers
x4 © MPB
Then pack up your kit, and MPB will pay for
an insured collection. When we receive your
items, we check them, confirm the quote and
send the money direct to your bank account.
What should customers be aware of when
buying second-hand?
We use five condition ratings at MPB:
like new (looks brand new, unused and no
cosmetic wear and tear), excellent (minimal
signs of wear, otherwise pristine), good (fair
amount of use, but well-kept), well used (may
have significant signs of wear and tear),
heavily used (significant signs of wear and
tear, still works a treat). We check over kit to
confirm its actual condition, so don’t worry
if you’re not sure which one to choose when
you sell it to us. You can also buy kit in these
condition ratings, which gives peace of mind
and great value for money to suit all budgets.
71
INTERVIEW

Richard Garriott
Richard Allen Garriott de
Cayeux is a founding father
of the video game and
commercial spaceflight
industry. He is the current
President of the Explorers
Club, and has travelled from
pole to pole, orbited the Earth
in the International Space
Station, and most recently
travelled to the deepest point
in the ocean – diving Mariana
Trench’s Challenger Deep in
early 2021.

For more info, visit:

www.richardgarriott.com

74

HIGH
AND
LOW
Richard Garriott has taken a Canon camera to space
and the deepest place on Earth. He shares the power
nfo
orm a
of photography to inform nd iinspire
and ns young people
Written by Lauren Scott
I
t’s not every day you get to sit in on a call with
an astronaut, but when there’s also an angle on
photography (and when said astronaut has taken
photos of the furthest reaches of space and the
deepest parts of the ocean) the prospect becomes
even more interesting.
Richard Garriott de Cayeux, at first glance, an
unlikely candidate for an interview slot in DP. As
a successful video game developer, entrepreneur,
explorer and author of several books including his own
rich memoir Explore/Create, Richard was the sixth
private astronaut to live aboard the International Space
Station. But it was onto the ISS that he snuck a Canon
IXUS camera into his pocket.
During his more recent 2021 expedition to the
deepest place in the ocean, The Mariana Trench,
Richard took a series of photographs using
the Canon EOS R to create records of the
extraordinary journey. He also put
together a sub-aquatic gallery of
work produced by
students
RICHARD GARRIOTT
of the Canon Young People Programme (YPP);
powerful imagery on the subject of plastics in the
ocean. These students – from some of the more
remote schools in West Cumbria, UK – were taught
photography skills by Canon Ambassador Clive Booth
[who we interviewed in issue 239]. Clive also taught
Richard how to get the best from his camera to create
captivating images while he was to be submerged in a
spherical vessel just a metre and a half long.
This is a cyclical story that seems complex, but the
message is clear. Give young people a voice, give back
and communicate the problems facing humanity and
planet earth. Not an easy task, but it’s clear within five
minutes of listening to Richard speak that he’s the
ideal candidate to empower and inspire young minds.
I had joined Richard in a live and recorded unboxing
session with Clive Booth and Heather MacRae, CEO
of the Ideas Foundation. “We are going to unbox the
items that I took from the school children, that I took
all the way to the Challenger Deep and then brought
back to England,” Richard says, as he starts to unpack
and explain the prints from the schools, doing what
he’s renowned for doing best:
storytelling.
You’d think that
75
INTERVIEW
Richard might have become involved with
the Canon YPP after they saw him using the
Canon IXUS on the International Space Station,
but it came organically through his expedition
to the Trench. “The fact that I had already
been using and smuggling Canons into space,
was entirely just a stroke of good fortune,” he
laughs. “It was really when Heather MacRae
and I began to talk about this expedition.
Heather was already looped into the YPP. And
then very quickly, the three of us – Heather,
myself and Clive – all got together to think of
how we could really push this up a notch.”
Young people today (and yes, this is a big
generalisation) are often put into two camps –
those who are so environmentally aware that
they’re labelled obnoxious or annoying, and
those who are on the whole, indifferent to the
plight of the world. The images that Richard
took down to the Trench were captured by
school children aged 10-13, and yet they seem
incredibly mature. “There were a few aspects
to their work,” Richard explains. “There was the
maturity of the composition and then there
was the writing that went with it. But then an
entire other step, which is the photography
itself. I’m a consumer grade photographer, and
I appreciate that good gear can help make
up for a lack of skill. But getting some great
“These pictures were taken seven miles
below the surface of the Pacific ocean”
76
advice as to how to actually
compose a good shot…
that’s where time with folks
like Clive is so important.”
Before heading down into
the Mariana Trench with
the Canon EOS R, Richard
was given a masterclass in photography
from Clive Booth and Nathan Dua, Education
Segment Manager for Canon UK and part of
the YPP. “Richard’s a really fast study, as you
can imagine,” adds Clive. “My livestream setup
means that I can share the back of a camera.
So virtually, I was able to show Richard how to
focus and set up the camera. And of course,
Nathan’s got a deep technical understanding.
For me, what was more interesting was that
Richard was going to create, in effect, the
deepest self-portrait ever taken.”
As well as the challenge of simply
manoeuvring and surviving in such a small
space, Richard also needed to overcome the
photographic challenges, including the lack
of any natural light and the irksome tendency
of sea water to filter out most colours. “The
environment that we were in had an incredibly
complicated lighting issue. We were in a
perfect sphere, made out of highly reflective
metal, with a bunch of scientific equipment
Above
See through
Richard had three
small porthole
windows to observe
and capture the
ocean floor on
board the vessel
and switches with lights inside of it.
“I’m sure anybody that’s worked with a
complicated camera knows that especially, if
you’re a relatively new user, you don’t want to
get lost in a bunch of menus to make a change,
when you’re in the middle of an expedition. So
we wanted to just make sure that I understood
all the configurations. Then with Clive, we sat
down and said, ‘Okay, let’s think about this
lighting environment. What is the end result
we want to achieve?’ We would do things like
turn down the lighting on the interior to make
it better for visual performance. And frankly,
the Canon EOS R could handle it either way.”
Richard’s lens choice was also significant.
He took the Canon 24-105mm lens to avoid
distortion with a super-wide angle. There’s one
or two pictures in particular where you really
get a feeling for that atmosphere because you
see the inside of the pressure hole in the vessel.
Something else that Clive and Richard talked
about was narrative and storytelling. “Because
what’s extraordinary about those pictures is
that when you look at them, you think, oh my
God, these were taken seven miles below the
surface of the Pacific ocean, the deepest place

Left
Creative ideas
Students on the Canon YPP were
asked to come up with thought-
provoking images around the
theme of plastics in the ocean
© Sellafield/Tom Martin
Above
Small submersible
The multi-million-dollar
submersible, the DSV Limiting
Factor is pictured in its launch and
recovery system
RICHARD GARRIOTT
Below
Signed, sealed, delivered
Richard took photography work
from young students to the trench
and is now sending each piece back
with a commemorative stamp
x3 © Richard Garriott/Canon
77
INTERVIEW

78
 RICHARD GARRIOTT

on earth. What we very specifically didn’t want At this point, Richard holds his Canon IXUS
to get was the, ‘Smile, say cheese,’ shot. And up to the camera, the last surprise prop to be
even some of the pictures I took of Victor, I think revealed during the session. “This is actually
also showed that very well,” Richard adds. the camera that I used on the ISS. You can even
When Richard says that he’s a consumer- see the official stickers that are still on it from
level photographer, he means that he’s never its use in space.” Richard had snuck it onboard
sold a photo. But it’s clear that he still has an the space station for his own use, as he could
appreciation for and knowledge of the artform. “I store it in his pocket and ensure he was never
love photography. I very much enjoy it. So, I do without an imaging device. “At the time it was
take high-quality camera gear with me on all the highest variable range of optical lens. It had
Left my expeditions. When you’re looking through the highest resolution sensor and megabytes of
Caption head
The Limiting Factor – a
the eyes of the camera, does it fundamentally storage for a photo. It was the perfect choice for
two-man vessel that change the experience? Absolutely, yes. And self-documenting my flight.”
is capable of diving to fortunately, in the case of the submarine, During the unboxing of items from Richard’s
full ocean depth – gets everything’s slow enough, you can switch Challenger Deep dive, the focus was rightly on
submerged into the
between these modes. That’s actually one of the the young people and their photography. But, I
ocean for its voyage
reasons why I enjoyed and had some success wonder what Richard thinks photographers can
with the portraits. We were drifting along the do – at any age – if they want to make a change
bottom, yes, and there were fascinating things in the world with their images.
Bottom left to see, but there were also spans of time where “Well, the old adage is ‘a picture tells a
Submerged selfie
we were transiting, where I could sit back and thousand words’ and the reason why we hear
Richard was given a
short course in self- say, ‘Okay, now I have time to really engage the that a lot is because it’s true. Using visual
portraiture and used a camera, think about the lighting, think about storytelling is an essential part of creating
Canon EOS R to take where we are, compose myself and what’s either understanding or persuasion. We have a
this ‘selfie’ while in the happening to the camera well, and take a few challenge right now on both of those sides, with
Mariana Trench
shots’. I think that the experience is completely the challenges of the current day we face. The
different through the camera.” evidence of climate change and the discussion
Bottom middle of things like it are
Beautiful briny not new. These are
By taking down the
stories, images and
Richard’s Canon kit in the trench subjects we’ve been
artork of young people 1. Canon EOS R talking about for most
into the trench with 2. Canon RF24-105mm F4 IS USM 2 of the generation. And
him, Richard wanted to yet, we don’t yet have
change the way that they a global consensus
look at the sea forever 1
either on the severity
of the problem or
the steps that are
Bottom right required to face that
Grand unveiling
challenge. That’s one
All of the precious items
that Richard took down great example of
into the Mariana Trench where taking cameras
with him were brought on expeditions can
back and shared in a live really help.
unboxing session

x4 © Richard Garriott/Canon

79
INTERVIEW

What’s it all about?

The Canon Young People
Programme (YPP)
The YPP was set up by camera
manufacturer Canon to empower a
new generation of storytellers and
harness the power of images and video
to change people’s lives. Canon uses
the United Nations 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) as a
framework, and around these themes it
gives young people the opportunity to
talk about the global issues that affect
their futures. The West Cumbria YPP
was held in partnership with Sellafield,
the Ideas Foundation and the National
Association of Teaching of English. In
this shoot, the young people were
shooting ideas around the 14th SDG,
which is Life Below Water.

The Ideas Foundation

The Ideas Foundation was set up in
2000, with a mission of making the
creative arts accessible to everyone.
No matter “where your parents
work, which university you went to or
whether you’ve ever met someone in
the industry before,” their ethos is that
good ideas (and a willingness to share
them) come first. The Ideas Foundation
asks big brands and agencies to give
them real creative projects and briefs,
which it can pass on to students aged
13-19 to tackle in the classroom, with
x2© Sellafield/Tom Martin

teaching support, or on their own

online. When the students have come
up with their ideas, they pitch them
to the right creative directors. On this
project in this article, working with
Canon on the YPP, students from
schools in West Cumbria were asked
to come up with visual communication “I’ll be doing another expedition into the surprising that Richard talks often about
around single use plastics. Antarctic, this upcoming January (2022). And, the idea of stem (which stands for science,
we’re already to the point where, in the technology, engineering and maths) learning
North Pole we’ve gone from just a decade or versus steam (the former subjects, plus the
two ago where we had permanent five year ice. arts) learning, and why it’s important to children
And we now are seeing a rapid acceleration of learn to hone all these skills. Richard himself is
the melting at the South Pole. A lot of us have an active participant in the scientific aspects
seen direct evidence of what’s happening in the of all his expeditions, but also documents his
North Pole, but I don’t even think personally, I’ve experiences using photography and film to bring
Above right seen direct evidence of what’s happening at the the stories to life when he returns home.
Giving the gift of the arts South Pole. I’ve not seen any photographers “When it was first announced that I’d be
The students here were given the UN Sustainable yet come back with that story. And I think it is making my own trip to space, I got a very nice
Development Goals of ‘climate change’ and ‘health’ to through photography that hopefully, the next big letter from one of my dad’s co-astronauts on
inform their approaches to image-making. Richard took
their prints with him onto the vessel and into the trench
bells will be rung by photographers going into his Skylab flight, Alan Bean, who flew with him,”
yet more rare, exceptional places and bringing he says. “The letter he sent me was especially
Opposite right back both understanding and persuasion about important, I thought, for this discussion. He said,
How to shoot like a pro what’s happening and what we need to be doing ‘Hey, I’m really happy that you’re going, because
Pro photographer Clive Booth gave students on the
Canon YPP training in photography, lighting, editing
about it.” I know you’ve wanted to go your whole life. But
and the power of language. They had an hour to come As the son of a NASA astronaut and a I’m also really happy you’re going because you
up with a communication about single use plastics professional artist and naturalist, it’s not are going.’ And he said, ‘Your father and I were

80
 RICHARD GARRIOTT

hired by NASA because we were either great test

pilots or super scientists, not because we were
good communicators. In fact, we are not.’
“And I would agree with that. They were very
logical guys who didn’t describe anything with
passion. Everything was nominal, everything was
manageable. And so in Alan’s letter to me, he
said, ‘Look, I know when you come back from
this trip, you will be able to share the joys and
concerns of that trip with people in a way that
your father and I were unable to.’
“I know all the first two generations of
astronauts, the test pilots and the scientists.
They’re not great communicators. So it is
essential that we send artists into space and
on all expeditions and into all fields of scientific
endeavour. We need artists to go to both help
the scientists themselves with visualisation and
true understanding, as well as to communicate
that back out to the general public.”

81
THE GALLERY

The Gallery
Travel Photographer of the Year awards 2020

82
 Sled ride
Overall winner
For the indigenous people of
the Far North, deer are wealth.
This includes food, housing,
clothing, and transportation.
And children, from a very young
age, know how to drive reindeer
on special sleds called narta
© Vladimir Alekseev

Travel Photographer of the Year awards 2020

The international Travel Photographer of the Year (TPOTY) awards were founded in 2003,
and are now the top global competition that celebrates the very best in travel imagery. The
2021 TPOTY awards are now open for entry, and amateur and professional photographers
from around the world have until 12 October to submit their images. Find out more about
the awards, the latest categories, prizes and terms of entry at www.tpoty.com

83
THE GALLERY

© Mohammad Rahman
© Alessandro Carboni
© Sergey Pesterev

Above
Snow storm
Category: Landscape and
earth elements
I took this series of images on
an early morning in the Park of
the Giara, located in the centre
of Sardinia. I was standing by
my tripod, my default position,
waiting for the big blizzard and
finally all the elements came
together. I was in the right place
at the right time

Right
Flying fish
Category: Nature, sealife,
wildlife
Anilao, Batangas, Philippines.
This photo was taken during a
blackwater dive late at night,
just below the surface as you
can see in the mirroring effect.
The white spots are created by
the salt foam/bubbles from
waves breaking on the surface
© Alex Zozulya

84
 Far left top
Bangladesh river
Category: Landscape and
earth elements
Bangladesh is a terrain characterised by
the presence of innumerable rivers that
criss-cross one another. The prominent
river islands are known as ‘char’

Far left middle

Lake Baikal
Category: Landscape and
earth elements
Lake Baikal is the oldest and
deepest lake on Earth. The water
is so transparent that individual
stones and various objects can be
seen at a depth of up 40 metres

Far left bottom

Humpback whale
Category: People of the world
© Marco Steiner

Humpback whales are inquisitive,

friendly and graceful. When they
move underwater sometimes it
seems like dancing and soaring

85
THE GALLERY

86
 Left
Green energy
Category: Travel
I had to exercise patience to
achieve this shot at a very busy
junction in Hanoi. I spent an hour
before a single bike drove past the
world’s longest mosaic mural

Below left
Flower market
Category: Colours of life
The Bengaluru flower market is
absolutely chaotic! Photographs
are hard to achieve, but I climbed
a couple of storeys to get this
bird’s eye view of the scrum below

Right top
© David Newton
Rocky outcrop
Category: Islands
An outcrop of rock, battered by
the waves, forms its own tiny
island just off the coast of Taiwan

Right middle
Botolan, Zambales
Category: Solitude
We were relaxing and observing
the tide when the sunrise lit up the
shore in a beautiful way

Right bottom
Stable mates
Category: People of the
© Paul Sansome

world
Abílio da Fonseca, or ‘Abílio
Carteirista’, now over 80, has
always been a farmer in Murtosa

© Mark Anthony
© Murtosa, Aveiro
© Emma Sheldrake
© Saptarshi Gayen

© Peter Walmsley

© Claudia Gaupp
© Harry Williams

87
YOUR IMAGES

SHOT
OF THE
MONTH
Photographer: William Patino
Location: Fiordland, New Zealand
www.williampatino.com

About the shot: The Kea – the world’s only alpine parrot – is William’s
favourite animal and has endangered status. William had tried for some time
to incorporate the bird in one of his landscapes.

Tag us @
dphotographermag
for a chance to
feature here
Every issue we’ll be sharing the best
images from our Instagram community.
Tag us on @dphotographermag for a
chance to appear as our Shot of the Month.

88
 RUNNER-UP

Photographer: Tamer Radwan

Location: Dubai, Business Bay
www.1x.com/tamerradwan

About the shot: An expansive

view behind Dubai city. The
shot was taken at sunset on
the last day of 2019, and it
shows the growing business
of UAE in mono form.

WIN! MICROSDXC
SAMSUNG
128GB EVO PLUS
WITH SD ADAPTER
Every issue one reader gallery entry wins
a Samsung 128GB EVO Plus memory
card with SD adapter. The card boasts
100MB/s & 90MB/s read and write
speeds respectively – perfect for
shooting and playing your 4K UHD
video without glitches. Find out
more at www.samsung.com/uk/
memory-cards

89
PHOTOCROWD COMPETITION

THE BEST OF BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

The winners of our latest contest with Photocrowd have been revealed
F
or our latest competition in association with Photocrowd,
we challenged you to submit your best beautiful garden
shots. After working through all the brilliant entries, the
winners have been selected.
Both crowd-voted and expert winners will win a licence to
Affinity Photo professional editing software. Congratulations
to all of the winners – as usual the standard of submitted
images was incredibly high, and it was really tough picking out
the best ones.
1ST PLACE WINNER
Holy Island Garden
Photographer: Tom Rogers
Our comment: How many gardens can you find on a picturesque island,
with a view of the sea, in the shadow of a castle? We love the composition
of this shot and the great colour depth, offered by the strong pinks and
oranges, contrasting against the cool, moody sky. A wonderful location,
perfectly immortalised in this simple and peaceful image. Well done.

WIN! Prizes from Affinity

The winners of our photography contests in association with
Photocrowd receive a fantastic piece of editing software
In our next competition, Sense of summer, we want images which capture the essence of the summer months. This might be bold
colour, amazing light and shadows in gorgeous monochrome or creative interpretations of seasonal activities. Why not use ourr
summer shooting feature from issue 240 for inspiration? Enter at www.photocrowd.com/digitalphotographer for a chance to o
win a licence to Affinity Photo editing software (worth £48.99 for Mac or Windows).
Affinity Photo is a huge toolset engineered for modern photography professionals. Whether you’re editing and retouching
images or creating full-blown multi-layered compositions, it has all the power and performance you’ll ever need. Speed, powerr
ur
and accuracy are at the heart of Affinity Photo’s workflow, with non-destructive editing, RAW processing and end-to-end colour
management as standard. Edits work in real time, so there’s no waiting to see results.
Expert and Crowd winners will be able to pick between Mac, Windows or iPad versions. The winners of Sense of summer will be
revealed in issue 243 of Digital Photographer, which goes on sale 17 August 2021.

90
 2ND PLACE
The Maze at Glendurgan
Photographer: Timothy D. Green
Our comment: Not all garden features are full
of mixed colours. Many aspects of classical
gardens are very monochromatic green, with
sculpted hedges and pathways. This shot makes
fantastic use of lens compression, producing an
abstract feel. The colour palette is nicely muted
and is very inviting. We want to try our hand at
this maze! Well spotted and captured.

3RD PLACE
Indoor Jungle
Photographer: Muhammad Al-Qatam
Our comment: This is rapidly becoming a must
shoot structure for photographers travelling
through Changi Airport. This means there are
many images taken here, making it tricky to
capture something new. The framing and exposure
choice set this shot apart, with the long exposure
emphasising the passage of time in this bustling
space. There is also a wonderfully subtle colour
gradient from left to right. An iconic garden image.

1ST PLACE CROWD-VOTED Tulip fields in Ukraine Photographer: Yaroslava Gromova

91
PHOTOCROWD COMPETITION

THE BEST OF MAGICAL MACRO

The winners of our latest contest with Photocrowd have been revealed

F
or our latest
competition in
association with
Photocrowd, we
challenged you to submit
your best macro and
close-up shots. After
working through all the
brilliant entries, the
winners have been
selected.
Both crowd-voted and
expert winners will win a
licence to Affinity Photo
professional editing
software. Congratulations
to all of the winners – as
usual the standard of
submitted images was
incredibly high, and it
was really tough picking
out the best.

1ST PLACE
WINNER
Way To The Light
Photographer: Victoria
Bykanova
Our comment: We love
the light in this shot.
Apparently so does this
insect and it’s watching
the animal interact with
its environment which
gives the image the
immersive feel. There is
lovely depth to the shot,
the framing is spot on
and the moment has
been perfectly chosen.
Well done!

92
2ND PLACE 3RD PLACE
Charlie’s Angels Gecko
Photographer: Madison Photographer: sim.sravanthi
Our comment: This is a fun image. It’s almost as if nature has been kind enough Our comment: We love the composition of this shot. The
to provide seating for this mantis trio. The lighting is ideal – it looks natural but subject is partially hidden, introducing the standard ‘reveal’
is powerful enough to add some sparkle to the surface of the mushrooms and framing tool and drawing the eye into the scene. The colours
some glints in the eyes of the subjects. Well thought through and executed. are also beautifully organic. Well seen.

1ST PLACE CROWD-VOTED Ant Photographer: Scifier

93

Kitintro
The expert and independent reviews of gear we’ve bagged this issue
104 Sony A1
It’s the most advanced mirrorless camera on the
market right now, but do the pro specs equate
to a happy shooting experience? Let’s see
whether the hype matches the performance
108 Nik Collection 4
DxO has added some significant upgrades to
its most popular plugins. It’s a software bundle
to simplify complex editing adjustments
Our ratings Product awards
Our team of trusted and expert Digital Photographer’s awards are given out
reviewers score gear thoroughly to when a product really catches our attention!
help you make better buying choices. Here’s our three most used accolades.
Don’t go there
Could be better
Solid performer
Excellent bit of kit
Best on the market
KIT INTRO
96
Macro
lenses
You don’t need to spend
a small fortune on own-
brand lenses for close-up
photography. We test four
of the best independent
optics for performance,
features and image
quality
110 Lenses
This month it’s time to take out the Canon RF
85mm f2 IS Macro STM and Fujifilm XF 70-
300mm f4-5.6 R LM OIS WR optics
112 Accessories
If you’ve read our kit feature from p22, you’ll
know how important pro accessories are. Here
are 10 fun and functional items to consider
adding to your gear collection
Lab testing
Some of our product reviews also
have in-depth lab data, graphs and
scores. This means that the kit has
been subjected to more rigorous
testing. Lens tests are carried out
using Imatest, and cameras are tested
in our laboratory using DxO Analyzer
hardware and software to check the
image noise and dynamic range.
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REVIEWS

READY
FOR YOUR
CLOSE-UP?
You don’t need to spend a small fortune on own-brand lenses for macro
photography. We’ve searched out the best of the independents
96

There’s something to be said for sticking
with own-brand lenses to match your camera
body. Sure enough, there are some very good
options from the likes of Canon, Nikon and Sony, but
you might end up spending more than you need to,
especially as there are some excellent macro lenses
on the market from independent manufacturers.
So what’s the big deal with macro lenses?
Sometimes the ‘macro’ badge is plastered onto
prime and zoom lenses that only give a magnification
factor of around a third to a half. For this group test,
we’re mostly focusing on macro primes that give
full 1.0x or 1:1 magnification. In a nutshell (or some
other suitably small object) that means that when
you use the lens at its shortest focus distance, it will
recreate the subject matter at full life-size on the
image sensor. As such, enormous enlargements of
tiny details are available when viewing the resulting
GROUP TEST
images on screen or in print. The Laowa lens on
test goes even further, delivering a 2.0x or 2:1
magnification factor.
The Sigma lens has an autofocus system
based on a linear stepping motor, whereas
the Tamron has a more traditional ring-
type ultrasonic system. Autofocus is more
basic in the Tokina lens, whereas the Laowa
has no autofocus system at all. It’s not a
deal-breaker though, as most photographers
prefer manual focusing for extreme close-
ups, where you tend to get a miniscule depth
All images shot by Phil barker
of field and accurate focusing is critical.
Macro lenses also tend to be ‘flat field’ optics,
with negligible field curvature. As such, if you
photograph a flat object head-on, it should
remain sharp from edge to edge across the
image frame.
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REVIEWS

Price: £469/$399

Laowa 100mm
F2.8 2:1 Ultra
Macro APO
Available in a wide range of
mount options, this Laowa
lens wins out for maximum
magnification factor but is
generally a fully manual affair

Below top
Supersized magnification
You get double the maximum
magnification factor,
compared with any of the
other lenses on test
Pictured
It’s a hands-on lens
In most mount options, the Far below
Laowa is a fully manual lens, The finer points
so you need to adjust the The Laowa can capture near-
aperture via the onboard microscopic levels of detail but
control ring, as well as depth of field becomes very
focusing manually shallow at 2.0x magnification

The mirrorless version of this lens was originally designed for full-frame Sony E-mount
cameras but is now also available in Canon RF and Nikon Z mount options. There are also very
similar options for Canon EF and Nikon F mount DSLRs, which have basically the same optical
layout but, whereas the mirrorless lenses all have 13 aperture blades, the EF and F mount
versions have nine and seven, respectively.
The standout feature of the Laowa lens is that it delivers an oversized 2.0x maximum
magnification at its shortest focus distance of 24.7cm. That’s twice the magnification of the
vast majority of macro primes on the market. Physically, the lens is relatively long at 155mm
for the mirrorless versions. However, it has an extending inner barrel that nears the front of
the outer barrel at shorter focus distances. The outright physical length therefore remains the
same, as opposed to the Tokina lens on test, which gets physically longer the closer you focus.
Focusing itself is a purely manual affair with the Laowa, as none of the mount options has
an autofocus system. Indeed, only the Canon EF version has any electronics at all, which
enable the aperture to be controlled from the camera body. A downside with the Nikon F
mount version when used on a DSLR is that the viewfinder image becomes relatively dark
when stopping down the aperture, but this isn’t a problem when using any of the versions on a
mirrorless camera, either natively or via a mount adapter.
Thanks to the long rotational travel of the manual focus ring, very fine and precise focusing
adjustments are available, ideal for macro photography. Image quality is very impressive with
excellent sharpness across the whole image frame, negligible colour fringing and only the
slightest hint of pincushion distortion.

98
 GROUP TEST

Price: £699/$799

Sigma 105mm
F2.8 DG DN
Macro Art
The latest in an impressive range
of Sigma macro lenses, this one
is for the Sony E and Leica L
mount mirrorless camera line-up

Below top
Sharp as you like
Sharpness across the entire
image frame is exceptional, with
Pictured negligible drop-off even when
Exotic handling shooting wide-open at f/2.8
characteristics
Handling benefits from an Far below
ultra-precise, electronically Straight and true
coupled focus ring, an There’s very negligible
aperture ring with a de-click pincushion distortion, of
option, a customisable virtually the same amount
AF-lock button and a focus as from the Laowa lens, with
range limiter similarly minimal colour fringing

Sigma makes some high-quality macro lenses, including the 105mm F2.8 EX DG OS HSM
Macro, which is one of our favourite budget options for Canon and Nikon DSLRs. It’s one
of the few remaining Sigma lenses on the market that predate the ‘Global Vision’ line-up,
launched in 2012. There’s also a high-performance 70mm F2.8 DG Macro Art, available for
both Canon DSLRs and Sony E-mount cameras. The latest and greatest, however, is this
105mm Art lens, which is available in Sony E mount and Leica L mount options, ideal for
Sony, Leica, Panasonic and Sigma full-frame mirrorless bodies.
The optical path is the most complex of any lens in the group, with 17 elements arranged
in 12 groups. The physical length of the lens remains fixed throughout the focus range,
which shrinks to 29.5cm to give full 1.0x magnification. Linear stepping motor-based
autofocus is fast and virtually silent, while the electronically coupled focus ring enables
extremely fine and precise adjustments. Further hands-on glee is delivered by an aperture
control ring, complete with a de-click switch, and a locking mechanism for when you want
to control the aperture from the host camera body. There’s a customisable autofocus-hold
button and a focus range limiter switch, which can lock out the long or short ends of the
range, either side of 50cm.
Along with exotic handling characteristics, the lens is immaculately turned out with
excellent build quality that includes a full set of weather-seals and a fluorine coating on the
front element. Image quality is similarly impressive in all respects and, if you want to go
extra-large on your macro magnification, 1.4x and 2.0x tele-converters are available for the
L-mount version of the lens, boosting maximum magnification to 1.4x or 2.0x respectively.

99
REVIEWS

PRICE: £645/$649

Tamron SP
90mm F2.8 Di
VC USD Macro
The latest in a long line of
highly impressive Tamron
90mm macro lenses,
with the bonus of hybrid
image stabilisation

Below top
Stopping down
improves sharpness
Wide-aperture sharpness could
be better but this isn’t really a
Pictured
concern for macro shooting. Shot
It comes complete
at f/11, this image is pin
pin-sharp
sharp
with stabilisation
Whereas many new
lenses for mirrorless Far below
cameras rely on in-body Colour quality
stabilisation, the Tamron Typical of Tamron lenses, colour
features a hybrid optical quality is very appealing and while this
stabiliser that’s useful macro shot is super-sharp, bokeh is
for extreme close-ups pleasantly smooth at wide apertures

Tamron’s perennially popular 90mm macro lenses stretch all the way back to 1979, when
they were the darlings of discerning 35mm film photographers. The latest ‘F017’ model has
a revised and refined optical layout, boasting two top-grade XLD (eXtra Low Dispersion)
elements, along with dual conventional and nano-structure coatings to keep ghosting and flare
to an absolute minimum.
Designed for Canon and Nikon DSLRs, the lens is full-frame compatible and has a
conventional ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system, which is quick and whisper-quiet. However,
manual focusing isn’t as fine and precise as in the other lenses on test. Compatibility with
Canon and Nikon mirrorless cameras is limited. The Canon-mount lens is only currently
compatible with EOS R and RP bodies, and only if it has a serial number of 009458 or higher,
or has firmware 3.0 or higher. There’s currently no firmware upgrade to enable compatibility
with Nikon’s Z-series cameras.
Back on the plus side, the lens features a hybrid image stabiliser or VC (Vibration
Compensation) system that counteracts x-y shift as well as the usual angular vibration. This
makes it much more effective for handheld shooting of extreme close-ups. Up-market build
quality includes weather-seals and a fluorine coating on the front element.
Sharpness is mostly excellent but drops off a little more than with the other lenses on test
at wide apertures, especially towards the edges and corners of the frame. To be fair though,
wide-aperture sharpness isn’t a major concern in macro photography, where you tend to use
narrow apertures to gain anything more than a miniscule depth of field. Colour fringing is very
minimal and there’s only the slightest hint of barrel distortion.

100
 GROUP TEST

PRICE: £399/$429

Tokina atx-i
100mm F2.8
FF Macro
It’s quite a new lens but some
might say ‘the more things
change, the more they stay
the same’

Below top
Time stands still
At f/11, mounted on a Canon EOS
5D Mark IV, there’s nothing to
choose between the Tokina and
Tamron lenses for sharpness
Pictured
Looks can be deceiving
The ‘new’ Tokina atx-i Far below
100mm looks more up-to- Fine-tuned focus
date than the old ATX-PRO The Tokina lens has a relatively long-
edition, but it’s basically throw focus ring, making highly
the same lens in terms of precise manual macro focusing
optics and mechanics easier than with the Tamron lens

The trusty Tokina ATX-PRO 100mm macro lens was originally launched back in 2006 but has
recently been replaced in 2019 by the atx-i edition. The ‘i’ stands for ‘interactive’ and, as such,
the new macro prime joins a number of wide-angle zooms in Tokina’s atx-i stable. However, it’s
hard to see the changes in the new lens being anything much more than cosmetic.
The most interactive thing about the new macro is that it has Tokina’s usual ‘One-touch
Clutch’ mechanism, whereby you can swap between autofocus and manual focus simply by
snapping the focus ring forwards or backwards. The old lens worked in the same way. Both
editions share exactly the same optical layout, with nine elements in eight groups, featuring
two aspherical glass elements and two Super-Low Dispersion glass elements. The new lens
is similarly short for a 100mm macro, with an inner barrel that extends forwards at closer
focus distances.
Surprisingly, Tokina hasn’t updated the autofocus system in the new lens. The Canon EF
mount option still has a fairly basic electric motor, which is fairly speedy but clearly audible.
The Nikon F mount version still has no internal autofocus motor at all, instead relying on a
screw-drive from camera bodies that feature an in-body motor. This means that autofocus is
impossible with Nikon D3xxx and D5xxx DSLRs as well as older entry-level bodies, and there’s
no autofocus when using the lens on Z-series mirrorless cameras via an FTZ mount adapter.
On the plus side, image quality is very good, with similar levels of sharpness to the Tamron
lens on test, although the Tokina retains better corner-to-corner sharpness at wide apertures.
Colour fringing towards the corners of the frame is slightly more noticeable, whereas there’s
similarly slight barrel distortion.

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 REVIEWS

www.venuslens.net www.sigma-imaging-uk.com www.tamron.co.uk www.tokinalens.com

Laowa 100mm F2.8 2:1 Sigma 105mm F2.8 DG Tamron SP 90mm F2.8 Tokina atx-i 100mm
Ultra Macro APO DN Macro Art Di VC USD Macro F2.8 FF Macro
Manufacturer FEATURES Manufacturer FEATURES Manufacturer FEATURES Manufacturer FEATURES
Venus Optics/ It works well as a Sigma This lens ticks every Tamron The impressive feature Tokina The One-touch
Laowa manual lens, with a Name box on the wish list Name list includes hybrid Name Clutch focus system
long-throw focus of features for a high- image stabilisation works well but
Name ring and depth of 105mm F2.8 DG end macro lens, and SP 90mm F2.8 Di and ring-type atx-i 100mm F2.8 autofocus could be
100mm F2.8 2:1 field markers DN Macro Art more besides VC USD Macro ultrasonic autofocus FF Macro much improved
Ultra Macro APO Price Price Price
Price £699/$799 £645/$649 £399/$429
£469/$399 BUILD Mount options BUILD QUALITY Mount options BUILD Mount options BUILD
Mount options QUALITY Sony FE, Leica L The solid Canon EF, Nikon F QUALITY Canon EF, Nikon F QUALITY
C EF/RF, N F/Z, S FE Solid and robust Elements/Groups construction boasts Elements/Groups Build quality is very Elements/Groups Typical of Tokina
and has a good- a full set of weather- good, featuring lenses, build
Elements/Groups quality finish 17/12 seals, plus a fluorine 14/11 weather-seals and a 9/8 quality feels very
12/10 but lacks any Max coating on the Max fluorine coating on Max solid but there are
Max magnification weather-seals magnification front element magnification the front element magnification no weather-seals
factor factor factor factor
2.0x 1.0x 1.0x 1.0x
Min focus HANDLING Min focus HANDLING Min focus HANDLING Min focus HANDLING
distance The lack of autofocus distance Handling benefits distance Handling benefits from distance Handling is very good
24.7cm isn’t a deal-breaker for 29.5cm from an ultra-precise 30cm the hybrid stabiliser 30cm overall, and the neat
macro photography manual focus ring but manual focusing is focus range limiter
Narrowest and handling is
Narrowest and a wide range of
Narrowest comparatively lacking
Narrowest works for long or
aperture good overall aperture control finery aperture in precision aperture short distances
f/22 f/22 f/32 f/32
Diaphragm Diaphragm Diaphragm Diaphragm
blades blades blades blades
QUALITY OF QUALITY OF QUALITY OF QUALITY OF
9 (C EF), 7 (N F), 13 9 9 9
RESULTS RESULTS RESULTS RESULTS
(C FR, N Z, S FE) Image quality is very Autofocus Image quality is Autofocus Sharpness is Autofocus The Tokina is sharper
Autofocus impressive, with Stepping motor immaculate for both Ultrasonic excellent at medium Electric motor than the Tamron at
None good edge-to-edge Focus limit macro and more (ring-type) to narrow apertures, (Canon only) wide apertures but
sharpness even at mainstream short with minimal colour colour fringing is
Focus limit switch switch Focus limit switch Focus limit switch
narrow apertures telephoto shooting fringing or distortion slightly worse
None Full/long/short Full/long/short Full/long/short
Image stabiliser Image stabiliser Image stabiliser Image stabiliser
None VALUE FOR None VALUE FOR Yes (hybrid) VALUE FOR None VALUE FOR
Filter size MONEY Filter size MONEY Filter size MONEY Filter size MONEY
67mm It lacks the 62mm It’s the priciest lens 62mm It’s rather pricier than 55mm It’s significantly
sophistication of in the group but still the Tokina lens but less expensive than
Dimensions Dimensions Dimensions Dimensions
electronics in most outstanding value has stabilisation and the Tamron lens
72x125-155mm, mount options but is 74x134mm for money, all 79x117mm more sophisticated 73x95-98mm on test, but is less
Weight still good value Weight things considered Weight autofocus Weight sophisticated overall
638-650g 715g 610g 515-525g

Overall Overall Overall Overall

The mirrorless version of this This is our favourite macro This lens is a great choice for The Tokina works well for macro
lens works particularly well, lens on the market. It’s just a Canon and Nikon DLSRs, photography but we’d have
where manual adjustments are shame it’s not available in more building on Tamron’s rich macro expected more updates in the
no problem. mount options. lens heritage. new version.

102
REVIEWS

Above
Familiar
design
Sony has given
the A1 the same
control layout
as the A9 II

Far left
Single grip
Unlike Canon and
Nikon’s flagship
DSLRs, the
mirrorless Sony
A1 is a single-
gripped camera
but there’s
an optional
battery grip

Left
Dust and
moisture-
resistant
All the joints are
weather-sealed
and the memory
card port door
has a sliding
cover and lock

104
Price: £6,500/$6,500
Sony A1
Technologically, it’s the most
advanced camera available, but
what’s the Sony A1 like to use?
Angela Nicholson finds out
The Sony A1 has a phenomenal list of
features that are designed to appeal
to professional content creators who
want to capture high-resolution images as well
as great-quality video. It has a new 50.1MP
full-frame Exmor RS sensor that’s paired with
dual Exmor XR processing engines to enable it
to shoot full-resolution images at up to 30fps
(frames per second) and there’s a maximum
video resolution of 8K which can be recorded
at up to 30p with 10-bit 4:2:0 colour.
While obtaining that 30fps shooting rate
means capturing JPGs, HEIF or compressed
RAW files, the A1 can shoot at that rate for up
to 155 full-frame compressed raw images or
165 JPGs. If you want uncompressed RAW files,
the A1 can still shoot at 20fps.
The A1’s excellent hybrid autofocus system
has 759 AF points covering approximately
92% of the imaging area. Sony’s Real-time
Eye AF system is also available and can be set
to detect and focus on human, animal or bird
eyes when shooting stills – it works brilliantly.
In video mode, the Real-time Eye AF can only
detect human eyes, but it’s fast and accurate
enough to be used when shooting sport.
The storage and processing demands of
8K video give it niche appeal but the A1 can
also produce great-quality 4K video and
there’s a good range of codecs, frame rates
up to 120fps and numerous profiles available.
However, the best results are produced when
the camera is set to use a Super 35 area of
the sensor (roughly equivalent to APS-C).
This mode incurs a 1.5x crop but the camera
The viewfinder gives an
excellent preview of the colour
and exposure of the image
can condense 5.8K’s worth of data into 4K
without pixel binning or line skipping so that
the footage has more detail and greater tonal
range than standard 4K video. It’s also possible
to record 16-bit RAW video from the A1 to an
external recorder such as the Atomos Ninja V.
Sony developed a new heat dissipating
structure for the A1 to ensure that it can
record 8K 30p or 4K 60p 10-bit 4:2:0 video
for more than 30 minutes at a time. I was able
to verify this by shooting 8K footage for 38
minutes before the camera turned itself off.
A few minutes later, it was able to record
for another 21 minutes before needing to
cool again.
While it looks almost identical to the Sony
A9 II, at 128.9 x 96.9 x 80.8mm (WxHxD),
the A1 is actually a little deeper. There’s only
just over 3mm in it, but the grip feels slightly
chunkier. Sony has improved the weather-
sealing of the A1 but I was concerned to see
a warning about a non-existent accessory
being incompatible with the camera while
shooting in heavy rain. I had the same issue
with the A7R IV, and both cameras continued
to function after the warning was cleared, but
it raises a doubt. I suspect it may be a little
water getting onto the contacts of the hot shoe.
Like the A9 II, the A1 has a pair of dials
stacked on the left side of the top plate for
setting the focus and drive modes. Annoyingly,
they both have a lock button that must be
pressed before they can be rotated; it’s not
possible to keep it unlocked. As the AF mode
lock button is on the dial itself, its position
changes depending
upon the selected
setting, so it delays
making a change.
The mode dial on
the right side of the
top-plate also has a lock
FEATURES
ALL THE PORTS
The A1 has all the ports you may wish for including
a full-size HDMI connection, wired LAN, USB-C,
3.5mm mic and 3.5mm headphone ports, plus a
Multi Interface Shoe.
CFEXPRESS TYPE A
Sony has given the A1 dual memory card slots which
are both compatible with SD-type media (UHS-II
compliant) and the new CFexpress Type A cards
which have yet to become widely available.
MAGNESIUM ALLOY CHASSIS
As well as the top, front, and rear covers, the A1’s
internal frame is made from magnesium alloy to
keep its weight down but make it durable.
FAST HYBRID AF
The A1 has a hybrid focusing system with 759 phase
detection points that can be selected using the Wide,
Zone, Centre, Flexible Spot, Expanded Flexible Spot
and Tracking AF area modes.
NP-FZ100 BATTERY
The A1 uses the Sony NP-FZ100 battery which has a
life of up to 530 shots when the screen is in use and
can be charged internally via USB-C.
5-AXIS STABILISATION
Sony claims up to 5.5EV shutter speed
compensation for the A1’s stabilisation, which
I achieved occasionally, but I got 4EV more
consistently. It’s worth activating the ‘Active
SteadyShot’ for hand-held video.
PLENTY OF PORTS
105
 REVIEWS
x4 © Angela Nicholson
TALKING POINT… Viewfinder options
Like the A7S III, the A1 has a 0.64-inch type
9.44-million-dot OLED viewfinder but its refresh
rate can be set to 240fps, twice that of the A7S
III. In addition, there’s a maximum magnification
of 0.9x. However, you can’t use all those high
settings at the same time. For example, to get the
highest resolution (which gives a superb preview)
the refresh rate has to be dropped to 60fps,
which is fine for landscapes but is not ideal for
fast-moving sport. And setting the highest refresh
rate results in the Display Quality and Viewfinder
Magnification dropping to ‘Standard’ and ‘Zoom
out’ respectively. This means that you have to
adjust the viewfinder settings according to your
subject and the shooting conditions. Consequently,
it’s worth assigning the viewfinder settings to the
customisable ‘My Menu’ section of the main menu.
Spectacle wearers may find it better to stick
with the ‘Zoom out’ magnification setting to
ensure they see the full scene.
KEEP UP WITH THE LATEST RELEASES ONLINE:
106
Above
Colour performance
The A1 delivers some of the
most pleasing colours that
we’ve seen from a Sony camera
Left
Fast AF
The A1’s AF system copes
brilliantly with all sorts of
subjects and is excellent
with fast-moving targets
Right
Wide dynamic range
You needn’t fear losing the
highlights or shadows too
readily with the A1, its dynamic
range is excellent and tonal
gradations look natural
@DPhotographer
that must be pressed, but oddly, the exposure
compensation dial at the far end of the right
side has an optional lock. It would be better if
all the locks could be made optional.
As you’d expect with a high-end camera,
the A1 has dual command dials for adjusting
exposure settings. Thankfully, Sony has got
over its aversion to utilising touch control and
its possible to make menu setting selections
with a tap on the A1’s screen.
Sony has also used the menu layout that
it debuted with the A7S III for the A1 and
it makes a significant improvement upon
previous incarnations. Helpfully, there are
two versions of the customisable function
menu, one for stills and the other for video. It’s
also good to see the option to have different
aperture, shutter speed, ISO, exposure
compensation, metering mode and picture
profile settings in stills or movie mode.
Thanks to its 50.1MP full-frame sensor,
the A1 captures images with plenty of detail.
Noise is also controlled very well throughout
the native sensitivity range (ISO 100-32,000).
While it’s worth avoiding the expansion
settings for aesthetics, they capture
enough information to be of use for news or
evidence gathering.
Although the quality of the image in the
viewfinder varies with its settings, it gives an
excellent preview of the colour and exposure
of the image. The A1’s auto white balance
(AWB) system also delivers attractive results
in a wider range of situations than some earlier
Sony cameras, but the presets for shade and
cloudy conditions result in excessively warm
images. If the AWB doesn’t deliver what you
want, it’s worth using the Kelvin settings.
www.facebook.com/DigitalPhotographerUK

100%
Tech specs
Megapixels (effective) 50.1MP
Max resolution 8,640x5,760
Sensor information
Full-frame (35.9 x 24.0mm) Exmor
RS CMOS
Shutter speed
Mechanical Shutter: 1/8,000
to 30 sec, Bulb
Electronic Shutter: 1/32,000
to 30 sec
ISO sensitivity
Stills: ISO 100-32,000 (expandable to
ISO 50 to ISO 102,400)
Video: ISO 100-32,000 (auto
ISO 100-12,800)
Exposure modes
Auto (iAuto), program, aperture priority,
shutter priority, manual, plus Flexible
Exp. Mode and Slow & Quick Motion
for video
Metering options
Multi-segment, Centre-weighted, Spot,
Spot Standard/Large, Entire Screen
Avg., Highlight
Flash modes
Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync.,
Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction (on/off
selectable), Wireless, Hi-speed sync
Connectivity
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB-C, micro USB,
HDMI, LAN, PC, 3.5mm mic,
3.5mm headphone
Weight
737g with battery and memory card
Dimensions
128.9 x 96.9 x 80.8mm
Batteries
NP-FZ100 rechargeable Li-ion battery
Storage
Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I/II) &
CFexpress Type A slots
LCD
3-inch 1,440,000-dot tilting
touchscreen
Viewfinder
0.64-inch 9,437,184-dot EVF with 100%
coverage and up to 0.9x magnification
SONY A1
The storage and processing demands of
FEATURES
Sony has given the A1 a
feature set to appeal to
8K video give it niche appeal but the A1
serious photographers
and videographers can also produce great-quality 4K video
BUILD QUALITY 1 3 2 4
A niggle about the
weatherproofing aside, the
A1 has a solid build and
feels pretty durable
HANDLING
It has Sony’s best menu
system to date but some
things are still harder than
they should be
QUALITY OF
RESULTS
There’s little to question
about the still and video
quality from the A1 – it
delivers superb results
VALUE FOR MONEY
New technology that
combines speed,
resolution and versatility
does not come cheap
Overall 1 TOUCHSCREEN 2 JOYSTICK
Sony has set the benchmark Like the A7S III, the A1 has more The joystick is well positioned for
by which the Canon EOS extensive touch-control than shifting the AF point around the frame
R3 and Nikon Z 9 will be Sony’s older A7-series cameras. when you look in the viewfinder.
measured. It’s also the
first mirrorless camera to
challenge flagship DSLRs. 3 NEW MENU 4 TILTING SCREEN
Sony has used the The 3-inch 1.44-dot tilting screen
menu layout introduced seems a bit ‘mid-range’ for the
with the A7S III. flagship A1.
107
REVIEWS
Price: £133/$149
OPERATING SYSTEM: Mac/Windows
Nik Collection 4 by DxO
DxO has made some significant upgrades to its most popular plugins and added an
interesting collection of ‘meta-presets’. Angela Nicholson takes a closer look
Nik Collection 4 is a suite of eight
Photoshop, Lightroom and DxO
PhotoLab plugins which includes
Silver Efex Pro 3, Analog Efex Pro 2, Color Efex
Pro 4, Dfine 2, HDR Efex Pro 2, Sharpener Pro
3, Viveza 3 and Perspective Efex. The most
widely known, Silver Efex Pro, enables speedy
conversion of colour images to monochrome,
replicating the look of different film emulsions
in the process. It has been upgraded from
version 2 to 3 in Nik Collection 4 and gains
the excellent ClearView control for pulling
detail and contrast out of haze. Similarly,
Viveza, which is designed for making colour
and tone adjustments, is upgraded to version
3. The other plugins are unchanged, but they
remain useful. Color Efex Pro 4 has a range
of colour correction and creative filter effects
108
Above
New look
While the key elements are in the same places, Silver
Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3 have a cleaner, more modern
appearance. The one-click presets are on the left and the
adjustment controls are on the right
that can be layered together while Analog Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3, however, is in how the
Efex Pro 2 enables images to be transformed Control Points are used and the level of control
using effects from old cameras, lenses and that’s available over the area that’s targeted
film. Dfine 2 enables global and local noise for adjustment. As before, the Control Points
reduction, HDR Efex Pro 2 creates high draw on U Point Technology which enables an
dynamic range images from individual or a area of an image to be selected for adjustment
series of images, Sharpener Pro 3 enables based upon its colour and tone. You just click
global and local image sharpening and on the point of interest in the image and the
Perspective Efex has distortion and horizon- software makes the selection. Previously, and
levelling tools from DxO’s Viewpoint 3 software. with the other Nik Collection 4 plugins, the
For Nik Collection 4, Viveza and Silver Efex selected area was edited by changing the
have revamped interfaces to make them look size of the targeted area and/or adding other
cleaner, as well as easier to use. As before, the ‘negative’ Control Points around the target area
available presets, filters and favourites are in to counter the applied adjustment. However,
a column on the left of the screen while the Silver Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3 have a new
controls are in the panel on the right, with a level of control that’s easy to use but enables
large preview at the centre of the screen. The you to refine the selection. After clicking on
most significant changes made with Silver the image, you can tailor the selection using

Above left
Nik Selective tool
DxO has added Meta-
presets to the bottom
of the Nik Selective tool.
Click on the arrow to the makes it easier to use
right of ‘Meta-presets’ in
the panel to reveal the Chrominance controls
options available, then
click on one to apply it to selection before making
your image
Above top Above below
Refine the Plugin effects
selection applied by default
Activating the The plugin effects in Nik
monochrome mask Collection 4 are applied as
a layer by default, so you
the Luminance and can adjust their impact.
It’s also possible to apply
as you refine the them as a Smart Object
so that you can edit the
any adjustments adjustments
Below
Non-destructive
editing in
Lightroom Classic
Non-destructive editing
in Lightroom Classic was
added with Nik Collection
3, making use of the Tiff
Multipage file format. Just
tick the ‘Save and edit later’
box before hitting ‘Save’
Meta-presets
These one-click Photoshop
actions are good, but there’s
more work needed
Meta-presets are another significant
introduction made with Nik Collection 4.
These are a collection of ten Photoshop
actions that use two Nik Collection
plugins to give images a particular look.
They can be applied with a single click
in the Nik Collection Selective Tool, but
there are no previews available and
some of the names (Adoxical, Kalopsia
and Sprezzatura) give no clues to the
likely end result. However, if the Silver
Efex Pro icon is present, the image will
be made black and white.
Unlike the effects applied with the
plugins, the meta-presets aren’t applied
as a layer, but if you create a duplicate
layer before applying the preset, you
get the usual Photoshop layer controls,
which means you can adjust the
opacity or apply a mask if you wish.
DxO has introduced the meta-presets
as an experiment. If they prove popular
there are likely to be more and it may
be possible to create your own at some
point in the future.

the Luminance and Chrominance sliders in
Color Selectivity in the control panel on the
right. Activating the mask view switches the
image to monochrome, with the selected
area in white, making it easier to understand
what’s selected as you tweak the controls.
Once you’re happy with the selection, turn off
the mask view and use the sliding controls
beneath the control point sliders in the panel
to adjust aspects such as brightness, contrast
and saturation or tone of the selected area.
While DxO has relocated the sliders for
adjusting areas selected using a Control Point
to the column on the right of the screen in
Silver Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3, they are still
on the Control Point itself in the other plugins
and they overlay the image. This makes the
preview cleaner in Silver Efex Pro 3 and
Viveza 3, and it’s good to keep the controls
altogether, but it would be helpful if the
controls available for adjustment were made
more distinct from the global adjustments.
In a further development of Control Points
for Silver Efex Pro 3 and Viveza 3, they can be Summary
saved with a preset for reuse on other images. Ease of use
Previously only the global adjustments were Value for money
saved. In addition, with Silver Efex Pro 3 and Features
Viveza 3, when the preset is applied to other Quality of results
images, the Control Points can be moved and
adjusted to deliver the effect that you want. Overall
Although the enhancements made with Nik
Collection 4 are very good, they introduce Nik Collection 4 is an excellent software
more differences between the plugins. It bundle that simplifies making complex
seems likely that they will be rolled out to the adjustments, and Silver Efex Pro and Viveza
other software, but that may not be until Nik have had a nice upgrade, but they’re now
Collection 5 comes along. different from the other plugins.

109
REVIEWS

DOWNLOAD
TEST SHOTS
https://bit.ly/DP-242

PRICE:
£619 ($599)
FOCUS DISTANCE:
35cm
Canon WEIGHT:
500g
RF 85mm f2 IS Macro STM
Is this prime lens an affordable macro option for users of the Canon
C R system?
t ?
Left
Build and handling Contrast heaven
The Canon RF 85mm f2 IS Macro STM is a The sharpness and contrasty rendering of detail
compact lens and is pleasingly lightweight by the Canon RF glass give images a punchy look –
for a full-frame-compatible f/2 optic, of this perfect for flower and portrait shots
focal length. As is common for RF lenses, Below left
there is a handy control ring, forward of the All rounder
easily accessible focus ring. This is a logical The RF 85mm f2 IS Macro STM has a useful focal
length covering flowers, street photography, travel,
layout for this type of optic and both rings are portraiture and even some wildlife subjects
comfortable to operate, without taking your
eye from the viewfinder.
The focus ring itself is a little on the ‘loose’ Technical specs
side – we’d prefer more resistance, though
you do need to turn it quite extensively to alter Manufacturer Canon
the focus position, so it shouldn’t be easy to Model RF 85mm f2 IS Macro STM
accidentally nudge focus. The barrel has a Web www.canon.com
nice texture and provides a good grip, while Elements/construction 12 elements in 11 groups
build quality is in line with other models in its Angle of view 28º 30’ (diagonal)
price bracket. Max aperture f/2
Min aperture f/29
Performance Min focus distance 0.35m
Autofocus is quick and accurate – that STM Mount Canon RF
does its work smoothly, which is perfect Filter size 67mm
for insect photography and when switching Length 90.5mm
from near to far focus positions, so don’t Diameter 78mm
be put off by the lack of USM. It’s also very Weight 500g
quiet. Optically the glass performs splendidly.
BUILD QUALITY
Images are sharp, with lovely contrast, from
IMAGE QUALITY
centre to edges. The bokeh is also attractive,
which is great as this will also find its way into VALUE FOR MONEY
the kit of many portrait photographers. FEATURES

Verdict Overall
The main issue with the RF 85mm f2 IS Macro
Images by Peter Fenech

STM is that it isn’t a true macro lens – it Excellent image quality

only manages 1:2 (half life-size). There is no Size and weight
weather sealing either, but for the money IS effectiveness
you get a fantastic portrait lens, with a useful Not true macro
close-up capability. No weather sealing

110
 LENSES
PRICE:
£729/ $799
FOCUS DISTANCE:
0.83cm
WEIGHT:
580g

Fujifilm
XF 70-300mm f4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
This zoom lens combines a wide focal range with surprising image quality
Left
Build and handling Long and steady
The first thing you notice about the Fujifilm The lens has an effective image stabilisation system,
XF 70-300mm f4-5.6 R LM OIS WR is how which allows handheld shots, even in lower light
lightweight it is. There are many 70-300mm conditions, such as this overcast day.
lenses on the market, but not all of them have Below left
weather-sealing like this one does – denoted Great portability
by the WR. The balance of construction quality The large zoom range and overall effective maximum
focal length makes the lens ideal for distant subjects or
and weight seems perfectly judged, meaning for filling the frame, while allowing easy recomposition
you can shoot with confidence in the elements,
but still save your back, after a day of shooting.
The zoom and focus rings have enjoyable Technical specs
resistance and are easy to grip. The setup was
quite front-heavy when paired with the Fujifilm Manufacturer Fujifilm
X-E4, but on an X-T4 or larger the weight Model XF 70-300mm f4-5.6 R LM OIS WR
distribution is likely more stable. Web www.fujifilm.com
Elements/construction 17 elements in 12 groups
Performance Angle of view 22.9°-5.4°
Sharpness is really good for a lens of this Max aperture f/4-5.6
type, especially in the centre of the frame. Min aperture f/22
More surprising is that this continues through Min focus distance 83cm
the zoom range, with excellent detail even at Mount Fujifilm X
300mm. Resolution falls off at the corners, but Filter size 67mm
it’s still not a bad performance. Autofocus is Length 132.5mm
speedy too, and while it can hunt occasionally, Diameter 75mm
in good light it is smooth and accurate. The Weight 580g
Linear Motor is quiet too, making the lens
BUILD QUALITY
ideal for wildlife and sporting events. The
IMAGE QUALITY
variable aperture can limit use in low light, but
the OIS system is effective, allowing sharp VALUE FOR MONEY
handheld images in most conditions. FEATURES

Verdict Overall
While it is an enthusiast lens, this 70-300mm
Images by Peter Fenech

is far from a budget performer. It blends Image quality

portability with excellent range and superior Portability
sharpness. When paired with the compatible Internal focusing
XF 2x TC WR teleconverter you get a 914mm Teleconverter compatibility
f/11 lens, which provides excellent value. Imbalanced on small bodies

111
REVIEWS

ACCESS RIES
A collection of ten fun-yet-functional
products out there for photographers
Above

SMALLRIG ARTICULATING
ARM WITH DOUBLE BALL
Website: www.smallrig.com
Price: £44/$42
This articulating arm has a 1/4-20 screw at either end to enable it to be
mounted on a camera cage and hold an accessory such as a field monitor, light
or microphone. A large handle makes it easy to simultaneously tighten or loosen
the two ball heads so the accessory can be positioned at the perfect angle.

Left

Above 3 LEGGED
PEAK DESIGN THING ROXIE
Website:
UNIVERSAL HEAD
D www.3leggedthing.com
ADAPTER Price: £90/$100
Website: www.peakdesign.com
m
Price: £222/$30 3 Legged Thing designed this
L-bracket specifically for the
We love the Peak Design Travel Tripod,
od, Canon EOS R5 and R6 and
but not everyone gets on with the thanks to its clever design,
low-profile ball head. This adapter you can still tilt the vari-angle
swaps in quickly and easily to enable
le screen to give a good view. The
any standard ball head or three-way y Roxie fits neatly and securely on
head to be attached to the legs – with the camera and is compatible with
or without the centre column. Arca Swiss style tripod heads.

Left

PHOTOPILLS
Website: www.photopills.com
Price: £10/$10
There are lots of apps that help with
finding the hyperlocal distance of
your lens, calculating the depth of
field at a specific aperture or working
Above
out exposure use with an ND filter,
H&Y REVORING but PhotoPills brings it all together.
Website: www.handyfilters.com It tells you key times like sunset, the
Price: £34/$35 golden hour and blue hour wherever
you are. It can even use augmented
If you use circular filters on a variety of lenses on a regular basis, a RevoRing reality to enable you to visualise the
from H&Y makes a smart alternative to regular step-up rings. It’s available sun, moon and Milky Way position
in a few sizes and each RevoRing is compatible with a range of lens filter and their path across the sky on your
thread sizes. Its spring-loaded design keeps the adapter firmly in place. phone as you move it around.

112
 ACCESSORIES

Above

SAMSUNG
UNG X5 THUNDERBOLT 3
Above
PORTABLE
E SSD
ATOMOS POWERED DOCKING Website: www.samsung.comom
STATION (USB 3.0) Price: Around £166/$200 for 500GB
00GB
Website: www.atomos.com
Price: £59/$75 Available in 500GB, 1TB or 2TB capacity, this portable
able solid state storage
device has a NVMe SSD and a Thunderbolt 3 interface to enable read/write
This low-profile docking station is ideally suited for offloading speeds of up to 2,800/2,100MB/s which means it can be used d as a working
video recorded to an SSD in an external monitor recorder drive for editing video as well as for storage. In addition, Samsung’s Dynamic
like the Atomos Ninja V to a computer. The drive slots Thermal Guard and a heat sink help it maintain a safe operating temperature.
in neatly and easily and the USB-C
SB-C 3.1 connector
ensures the files transfer quickly.
kly.

Left

“It’s on DJI’s WANDRD

recommended PRVKE LITE
Website:
memory card list www.wandrd.com
Price: £209/$267
for the new Air
Designed with mirrorless
A2S drone” cameras in mind, the Prvke
Lite backpack has a capacity of
between 11 and 16L depending on
how far the top is rolled down. It
has a built-in camera cube that can
hold a full-frame camera and up to four
lenses, a dedicated laptop sleeve and is
made from smart, wipe-clean tarpaulin.

Right

JOBY BEAMO RING LIGHT 12”

Website: www.joby.com
Price: £25/$30
Take your vlogging and Zoom calls
up a notch with this easy-to-use
USB-A-powered ring light that has
Above ten brightness levels and three

SANDISK EXTREME PRO colour temperatures. It has a

1/4-20 bush for mounting it on
MICROSDXC UHS-I CARD a tripod and comes with a cold
Website: shop.westerndigital.com shoe adapter for mounting a
Price: £15/$22 camera or smartphone
within the ring.
Write speeds of up to 90MB/s and read speeds up to
170MB/s help put the SanDisk Extreme Pro microSDXC
UHS-I Card on DJI’s recommended memory card list for
the new Air A2S drone. It’s ideal for recording 4K while the
supplied adapter makes it easy to transfer the footage to
your computer after your flight.

113
PRO COLUMN

PRO BIO

THE GAME OF LIKES

Verity is a landscape and
commercial photographer
based in Birmingham, UK.
She’s also an ambassador
for Zeiss lenses, and a
Like or hate social media, my creative life would workshop leader with
Light and Land.
not be the same without it, says Verity Milligan
All images © Verity Milligan
www.veritymilligan
photography.com

I
think you’d struggle to find a creative who
doesn’t occasionally have a love/hate
relationship with social media, and I’m no
exception. However, the irony is not lost on
me that without social media my life would
look very different indeed. Seemingly by
luck, or accident, my photographic career
was catapulted to a different stratosphere by
various social media platforms, notably Twitter,
and I’ve spent the years since feeling equally
grateful and bewildered by the opportunities
that befell me from merely sharing my work
without any real expectation.
For me, success has always been a doubled-
edged sword as with achievement comes
expectation, internal and external. I find it
extremely difficult not to place emphasis
on the number of likes or shares an image
receives, and it’s easy to fall into the trap of
thinking success equates with quality. I’m
sure there are some who transcend this, but
it takes a stronger disposition than mine.
I’ve found that over the years, especially on
Instagram, I’ve been somewhat conditioned
to share photos that I know will do well, and I
don’t feel I’m alone in falling into this routine.
I’ve recently pondered on whether this has
indeed influenced me and the impact this has
inevitably had on my creativity. The outcome
has been a reluctance to share imagery on
the platform.
However, Instagram has now made it
possible not only to hide the like count of
your posts, but also to hide the like count of
everyone else’s posts too. It means the end of
the popularity contest, placing emphasis back
on the image, encouraging people to engage
and really ‘see’ the photo.
As a pro photographer it feels like a game
changer. Although I’m ostensibly a landscape
photographer, I’ve never been comfortable as
a ‘one-trick pony’ and have always dabbled
in different genres, from cityscapes to macro.
Without the pressure to stay on-theme for
the sake of likes, Instagram has once again
become a place of creative freedom, a place
to experiment and connect in a deeper way
than before. I’ll always be grateful that social
media opened the gateway to a creative life,
but I’m also hopeful that the next chapter will
be less about popular opinion and more about
creative freedom and community.

114
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023