Innehållsförteckning för No. 391 från Photography Week

Welcome to the world’s No.1 weekly digital photography magazine. If you’re already a reader, thanks for your continued support and involvement; if you’re new to Photography Week, you’ve come to the right place! In addition to expert advice, brilliant tips and step-by-step tutorials, every issue features interactive galleries of the best new photos, how-to videos on essential shooting and editing techniques, and in-depth reviews of the latest camera kit. But that’s not the whole story. Photography Week is more than a magazine – it’s a community of like-minded people who are passionate about photography. To get involved, just follow any of the links below and share your shots and comments – your photo might even appear on our cover! JOIN THE PHOTOGRAPHY WEEK COMMUNITY AND START SHARING! FACEBOOK http://bit.ly/39py9lg TWITTER…

You don’t need lots of kit to take successful food photos, but it’s important to choose a quality camera and the right lenses for your subject. A full-frame body will give you a better depth of field, and handle noise more effectively in low light. In terms of optics, a macro lens will allow you to focus much closer to your subject and create intimate scenes. A 50mm f/1.8 lens is also a popular option, as the wide aperture makes it easy to blur backgrounds. This type of lens is very affordable across brands, and the light size and construction makes it easy to hand-hold. We’ll talk about the essentials of lighting, both natural and artificial, in more detail later, but as a kit overview, light modifiers and flashguns can…

The natural light of day fades in the afternoon. Using a flashgun with a large softbox attached is a great way of replicating the window-light look, for consistent and bright lighting and to allow you to keep shooting for longer. Flash also has the added benefit of reducing the chance of camera shake appearing in images, as the light from the flash will freeze your subject. As a general rule, your light will look most flattering when the light source is positioned at a 45-degree angle above your subject. You can move light stands around a tabletop to light food from the direction you want; coming in from the side or behind is usually effective. Be sure to take plenty of test shots. If the image is too bright, you’ll…

THROUGH THE LIGHT JASON BUCKLEY “This was taken at the Tate Modern in London during the summer, when the evening sunlight streams in through the windows of the Turbine Hall, offering amazing opportunities for shadow and silhouette photos.” http://bit.ly/2VHWVt3 OWL BE DARNED BARB D’ARPINO “This blue jay had watched the male burrowing owl feeding its owlets as the sun was rising on a beautiful day in Florida, and decided that it wanted in on the action – brave blue jay!” http://tiny.cc/yml68y SADHU MAN SERGIO CONCEIÇAO “This is a sadhu man in Varanasi, India, where I spent a few days. Sadhus are considered holy men in India – they live with few possessions and and without money, existing with only what is essential.” http://bit.ly/2VLeEzH DARTMOOR NATIONAL PARK, ENGLAND ROMAN POPELAR “This…

The Quick Selection Tool is arguably the handiest selection tool Photoshop has to offer. It snaps to the edges of subjects or areas as you paint over them, enabling you to isolate part of an image – a sky, a person, or anything else you can think of – in seconds, as long as there’s reasonably good contrast between the subject and their background. The tool isn’t perfect – sometimes it’ll pick up the wrong area or snap to the wrong edge in an image, especially if the area you want to isolate is against a backdrop that’s similar in colour or has lots of detail. However, the tool becomes smarter as you use it, learning more about the colours and tones you’re targeting or excluding as you paint. And,…

N-PHOTO N-Photo is a monthly magazine for Nikon photographers, and is packed with technique and Photoshop video lessons every month. http://bit.ly/3atHLfO https://apple.co/2TNE26T DIGITAL CAMERA WORLD A monthly magazine that aims to improve your photography with an inspirational mix of amazing images and how-to articles. http://bit.ly/2RER7g6 https://apple.co/2RBrZqG PHOTOPLUS PhotoPlus is a monthly magazine bit.ly/30FoOlQ for Canon photographers that features expert advice, tips and video tutorials on all things Canon. http://bit.ly/30FoOlQ https://apple.co/2vaIdzw PRACTICAL PHOTOSHOP Improve your Photoshop skills with the monthly guide to creating stunning images. Each issue comes with expert video lessons. http://bit.ly/2NJASNx https://apple.co/2tGYBam…

Vecnos, a startup venture spun out of and funded by Ricoh, has unveiled its first product: an ultra-compact 360-degree camera. This intriguing product has a proprietary four-lens optical system, with three lenses on the side and one on the top, which enables the camera to be ultra-slim and pen-shaped. Users of the Vecnos 360 camera will be able to enhance their images and videos, and share them on social media platforms including TikTok and Instagram, with the Vecnos app. Vecnos CEO Hidenao ‘Shu’ Ubukata said: “Enabled by advances in technology, combined with new social networking platforms, we are building a new generation of cameras, with our first product designed to reinvent the selfie for a younger consumer. Our objectives are to combine ease of use with advanced capabilities for shooting,…

A side from camera gear, food photography also requires you to acquire a whole host of non-photo-related accessories: props and backgrounds that will help you to stage attractive scenes. There’s no need to rush out and buy props straight away, though – keep an eye out for interesting wares you might find in markets and charity shops, including cutlery, crockery and tableware, such as napkins and cloths. As you progress with your images you’ll build up a stock of items, and you’ll learn to understand which props suit different types of foods and scenes. For example, while a whole cake might look magnificent when styled simply, a lone slice might need additional props, such as cake forks or a dusting of icing sugar, to add interest. If the food you’re…

When framing a shot, consider how you’re using repetitive elements, leading lines, negative space and the classic rule of thirds. The composition needs to suit the subject – its shape, size, texture – and the mood you want to convey. For example, placing elements in the centre of the frame can create a sense of simplicity, harmony and balance. Some frames can be completely pared down to include just one element (such as the eggs on the right), whereas more complicated lifestyle images might need to juxtapose many different dishes, foods, plates and props. As well as deciding where to place the main subject, consider the amount of space around each item, and the purpose of your shot. Leave negative space in the frame if you know your image is…

It’s important to fine-tune the focus of your food photographs, taking control over where the focal point is rather than letting autofocus functions make the decision for you. Your approach to focusing will depend partly on the angle you’re shooting at in relation to the dishes. When looking directly down on a ‘flatlay’ table, it’s easy to get the whole table sharp because the focal plane is flat – choose an aperture of around f/5.6 here to ensure sharpness across the scene. When you’re shooting at a 3/4 angle to dishes with a shallow aperture, parts of the dish will become blurred, so consider where you want the emphasis and visual attention to be – usually this will be the front of a dish, interesting foreground elements, or on an…

1 APPLY LENS CORRECTIONS Remove any obvious distortion by going to Filter > Lens Correction and applying the right profile for your lens. If there’s no matching profile, use the Custom tab to transform the image perspective. 2 MAKE EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENTS Pay attention to the image’s histogram as you make adjustments with a Curves adjustment layer. If you’re opting for a low-key or high-key shot, keep this in mind as you make overall changes. 3 BOOST THE COLOURS Increase the colour saturation to make dishes brighter and bolder, but don’t overdo it. Use the Vibrance slider, which increases the intensity of muted tones more than those that are already strong. 4 REMOVE DISTRACTIONS Use the Healing Brush or Clone Stamp tool to remove unwanted elements such as dust spots, or…

The Underwater Photographer of the Year competition has announced the winners of its 2020 contest, with French photographer Greg Lecoeur landing the overall prize for his captivating image of crab-eater seals swimming beneath the iceberg on which they’ve made their home. Lecoeur says of his image, entitled Frozen Mobile Home: “As they swing and rotate slowly through polar currents, icebergs fertilize the oceans by carrying nutrients from land that spark blooms of phytoplankton, fundamental to the carbon cycle. During an expedition in the Antarctica Peninsula with filmmaker Florian Fisher and freediver Guillaume Nery, we explored and documented the hidden face of this iceberg where crab-eater seals have taken up residence.” This year’s contest attracted some 5,500 entries from photographers in 70 countries. Click the link to see all the winning…

Food photography has surged in popularity in recent years. Many restaurants now actually encourage diners to take shots, as a picture of a dish on Instagram that looks good enough to eat can open the door to potential new customers. However, in this feature we’re going to focus on the higher end of food photography, and look at how you can serve up more professional result swhen shooting images for a blog or commercial client. To start taking quality food shots, ditch the smartphone and work with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, which will have a larger image sensor for better noise handling and cleaner pictures, a wide range of interchangeable lenses, and better optics for sharper shots. You may raise a few eyebrows if you decide to pull out…

Like framing, the shooting angle is a key compositional element to consider. Get it wrong and the image will look and feel ‘off’. There are three main camera angles, with slight variations of each, but what suits one dish won’t necessarily work for another. Before you start shooting, walk around your subject and think about which camera angle will help to bring out its best features. Is it a flat or textured dish? Are you shooting for a commercial client, where it’s important to show the side details of the dish as well as the top? Work on a tripod, using Live View for easy comparison, and lower the tripod’s central column to experiment with height. Focal length also has a bearing on the best angle to choose, so vary…

1 SET UP YOUR FLASHGUN Mount your flashgun on a light stand, and extend it so that it’s pointing down at the food at a 45-degree angle. Put a radio trigger on the flashgun for remote control, attach the flashgun to the light stand, and begin with the flash power at 1/16th. 2 SOFTEN THE LIGHT Bare flash looks harsh, so use a large softbox to replicate the feel of window light: this will spread out the flash light and make shadows appear softer. Dedicated flash heads are ideal for food shots, as they have a built-in modelling light. 3 CAMERA SETTINGS Select Manual mode and dial in the lowest native ISO value, a shutter speed of 1/200sec and your desired aperture, usually around f/3.5. It’s worth switching off the…

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30 MINS Photographers specialising in street and travel are constantly on the move, and are often required to work quickly in order to capture fleeting moments. In these environments, conventional tripods often aren’t ideal: they can be cumbersome to transport, and take time to set up; and on top of this, subjects tend to behave differently around them, and they aren’t welcome at all in some public spaces, such as museums and some large cities. This is a nuisance, as slow shutter speeds can be great for street photography in particular, as they enable you to blur people and traffic to convey the fast pace of urban life. If you want to replicate this dynamic style of photography discreetly, you have a few options: rely on image stabilisation and steady…

www.fujifilm.co.uk £1,769/$1,799 If you’re a Fujifilm X-series camera user, you simply can’t get a zoom that offers you a wider view than the Fujinon XF 8-16mm f/2.8 R LM WR. So you can understand how people could fall in love with a lens that’s this big, and this expensive. The main competition for this lens comes in the shape of the more affordable Fujinon XF 10-24mm f/4 R OIS, which is about half the weight and which, unlike the XF 8-16mm, has built-in stabilisation. The difference between 8mm and 10mm sounds slight, but in practice the XF 8-16mm’s coverage is noticeably greater, and this makes this lens a stronger option for subjects such as interiors and architecture. Another wide (and more affordable) option is the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero D.…