Innehållsförteckning för No. 414 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…

Professional-level cityscape photography is about more than simply choosing a city in which to take pictures; it requires extensive planning and research to find the best possible image opportunities. In such a busy environment there are a few potential challenges, both practical and creative, that might disrupt the flow of your shoot. Start by spending time deciding which kind of images you want to take, and the style you would like to apply, before heading out on your shoot. This will allow you to mentally prepare your compositions, and select the gear required. Understanding your intent, and adhering to an ordered photographic process from start to finish, is key to minimising the time spent setting up your shots when you arrive. Due to the complex topography and environmental features of…

Timing is everything in outdoor based photographic shoots. We are at the mercy of the elements for favourable lighting and weather conditions, and it’s extremely important to be able to adapt to conditions that can change quickly and unexpectedly. Just as with landscape imaging, sunrise and sunset are the preferred times among cityscape photographers, as these provide warmer, softer light with lower global contrast. This makes keeping tones within the dynamic range of your camera easier to achieve, and helps to prevent ugly bright spots and blocked-up shadow areas. This does introduce some challenges particular to the genre, however. Lower ambient light will require you to use longer exposures, which can be difficult when working on crowded street corners and busy pavements. If you’re able to use a tripod, you…

1 BASIC EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENTS Starting with the Basic panel, I open up the Shadows to +100, crash Blacks considerably to -61, and blow up Highlights to +100 as I want to leave no details in the sky. Then I boost Contrast to +62. 2 SELECTIVE SATURATION In the HSL panel, I desaturate all the colours I don’t want, reducing Green, Aqua and Blue to -76, Purple to -69, and Magenta to -67. For a warm undertone I boost Yellow +31, Orange +32 and Red to +33. 3 PERFORM A SECOND DEVELOPMENT I enable Profile Correction, and click on Auto Upright. I reduce Blacks to -100, boost the Exposure to +0.60 and brighten the Shadows to +85. Now I go crazy with the Contras, boosting it to +100. 4 CREATE A…

To find out how you can get Photography Week delivered straight to your device every week for just a few pennies, simply search for Photography Week on any of the platforms below AVAILABLE ON YOUR DEVICE NOW! https://apple.co/2RjoI0a http://bit.ly/2txbB2B http://bit.ly/36kQ7TC *Available for a limited time only. Standard subscription offer varies across platforms/devices – please refer to specific store for the most up-to-date offer…

20 MINS If you’ve ever dismissed working with artificial light because you don’t have the space or the funds to invest in expensive lighting equipment, here’s a neat little project that anybody can do at home – all you need is a ring, a torch, a tripod and a book. This tried-and-tested method combines the circular shadow cast by a ring and the folds of an old book to create an impression of a heart. It’s a popular image that’s sure to do well on Instagram of Facebook, or wow family and friends as the basis for homemade greeting cards. We’d recommend using a hardback book, because the pages are more likely to remain open under their own weight when splayed out. If you want to go the extra mile,…

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 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…

Panasonic has confirmed the imminent arrival of the Lumix S5, releasing the above teaser image and announcing that an online launch for the new full-frame mirrorless camera will take place on September 2. The teaser image doesn’t give us much to go on, but earlier leaks have suggested that the camera is likely to be significantly smaller and lighter than the Panasonic S1. This is good news for those who’ve previously coveted the Lumix S1’s video skills, which include the ability to shoot 4K/60p video and in-body image stabilization (IBIS), but would rather have those in a body that doesn’t weight over 1kg. Other leaks suggest the S5 will include a 24.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor, a vari-angle touchscreen and dual native ISO. The latter is particularly helpful in low-light situations,…

As city environments are inherently busy, it can be tricky to compose images well. Firstly, it is a challenge to find subjects within the cacophony of activity on a city street and intelligently apply the photographic techniques that you have practised over the years. Secondly, once you’ve found a subject, you’ll need to arrange a picture that’s clean and unobstructed by extraneous detail. Cranes, scaffolding, tarpaulins, traffic cones and road signs are all examples of objects that are common to urban scenes, but only serve as distracting elements in a cityscape shot. Try to avoid them if you can, as they ruin the dramatic theme of an image, mostly because viewers recognise these as temporary items that are not fixed aspects of the city scene, unlike a monument or building.…

1 WORK ON A TRIPOD It’s important that you use a tripod for cityscape photography. When using a tripod it doesn’t matter what shutter speed you use – you can go for several minutes of exposure if your scene requires it. 2 SET YOUR ISO Start by setting your camera’s sensitivity. When it comes to ISO everything is simple – it should be the lowest possible, and this could be 50, 100 or 200. Use Manual mode, and make sure you select raw format. 3 CHOOSE YOUR F-STOP If there are objects in the composition closer to your lens than five metres, select f/14 – enough to have the entire scene in focus. If not, set f/7.1 – usually the sharpest f-stop, and perfect for photographing large city vistas. 4…

Many of the difficulties of cityscape photography are because of its variability. From one street to the next, or even from one frame to another, there can be significant shifts in exposure, colour balance and detail frequency. In older cities in particular, where there has been continuous development for centuries, you’ll find buildings of many different styles next to each other on a street, from ancient textured stone structures to contemporary glass skyscrapers. This places a pressure on you to manage the extremes of reflectivity, colour temperature and physical height all at once. Meanwhile, you still have to find a successful composition, with an engaging narrative and clean alignment. As our pros describe here, addressing these hurdles is based around choosing the right time to shoot, selecting your angle and…

KARINA JOAQUÍN ALONSO ARELLANO RAMÍREZ “I shot this during a fashion photography workshop. I used a single monolight to light the subject, and I was a little concerned about not being able to separate her dress from the background, but I really liked the final result.” http://tiny.cc/g8qizy HELLEBORE JANE DIBNAH “I photographed this hellebore in my garden using my Canon EOS 7D Mark II and EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM lens.” https://bit.ly/30iSMxy GREAT BLUE HERON WAYNE MAY “I took this photo during an early morning walk along a quiet stretch of Fort Walton Beach in Florida. This blue heron landed nearby and stood quietly, searching for its next meal. It spotted a fish, made its way towards the water, and in an instant it snatched the fish out of the…

As much as it’s about skill, perseverance and downright nerve, skateboarding is also about creativity – which is something we photographers can relate to. Both pursuits rely on spontaneity as much as technique; perhaps this is why the best skate photography has a visual poetry to it that most other action sports can’t match. Or maybe it’s because the motion of a talented skateboarder in full flow is so visually appealing, especially when you combine several frames for a sequence photograph like ours. Photographers have always wrestled with the challenge of conveying a sense of motion within a still image. There are lots of tricks of the trade – motion blur, rear-curtain flash, panning blur. But one technique is ideal for skate photography… As a flick through any skateboarding magazine…

Cities represent some of the most energetic, exciting, dynamic and varied environments for photography. When captured well, cityscapes have a unique ability to hold our attention and spark an insatiable wanderlust. Whether it’s brightly coloured buildings, stunning architectural feats, mesmerising neon signage, or the motion of traffic and the people who inhabit the city, urban images possess so much potential subject matter that it can be difficult to know where to begin. It’s this array of possibilities that forms the greatest challenge for the cityscape photographer. It’s the job of image-makers to find the perfect subject in a chaotic world, reducing a scene down to its fundamental elements, and constructing a narrative from those that remain. In a busy location it can be somewhat overwhelming, with hundreds of potential frames…

While cityscapes contain endless potential subject matter, it might be easy to assume that the contrast, colour and layered compositions mean you don’t need any advanced editing work at the computer. However, it’s busy scenes that create the need for a thorough understanding of software techniques in order to balance colour contrasts, manage extreme tonal differences between foreground and sky, and bring out texture and detail in the key areas. Here, Serge Ramelli gives us an insight into one of the most popular cityscape Lightroom and Photoshop processing techniques on Instagram and beyond.…

RAW FLEXIBILITY Always shoot in raw format, as this will give you the greatest flexibility to extract tonal and colour information from difficult scenes. AUTO ISO If you have to shoot handheld use Auto ISO to ensure your shutter speed does not drop unexpectedly, causing blur. SPOT METERING Cityscapes featuring high-contrast lighting benefit from the added control that Spot Metering mode offers, helping to prevent lost highlights and shadows. CUSTOM WB Take a white balance reading using a neutral target if you’d like to capture accurate colour in-camera. SHOOT CONTINUOUS Burst mode allows sequences with minute stepped changes in composition, which increases the chances of capturing the perfect frame. SHOOT BOTH ORIENTATIONS It’s helpful to capture both landscape and portrait-format frames to see which best suits your scene. FAVOUR HDR…

The Milky Way – the central mass of the galaxy that contains our solar system – is an enduringly popular subject for amateur and professional astrophotographers alike, and the travel and photography blog Capture the Atlas recently revealed the 25 stunning images chosen to feature in its annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest. The contest has no ‘winning’ images, with each of the 25 photos accorded equal status, and selected based on “the quality of the image, the story behind the shot, and overall the inspiration that the photograph can draw”. As always, this year’s selection features images shot at locations around the world, juxtaposed with mountains, glaciers and other suitably dramatic landscapes. Click the link to see all 25 selected images at Capture the Atlas. The website…

www.sony.co.uk £4,699/$4,499 To understand the Sony Alpha 9 II, you need to understand that there’s pro shooting and then there’s pro shooting – and this latest Sony flagship full-frame mirrorless camera caters firmly to the latter category of photographer. The A9 II is not the highest-resolution camera you can get; but it’s designed for speed, not resolution. Its two rivals in the pro sports camera stakes aren’t mirrorless models but DSLRs: the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III and the Nikon D6. All professional photography has its own challenges and requirements. Yet no matter how frenzied a wedding might be, it will never torture your camera’s autofocus the way that photographing Olympic swimmers in action does – and while you might need a decent burst mode to photograph a dance troupe…