OUTDOOR
INDOOR
LIGHTING
CREATIVE
PHOTOSHOP
50
PHOTO PR0JECTS SIMP SIMPLE LE STEP TEPS TO BETTER BETTER PICTURES! N E W L EA R N S K I L L S P H O T O H 0 O T A N D S I N G A MA Z Y O U R S O N I MA G E R & C S C ! D S L
50PhotoProjects Prdced b DigitalSLR Photogr Prdced Photography aphy at: 6 Sa Sa Crt Crt,, Cg Cget et Pa Par, r, Peterbrgh,Cambs Peterb rgh,Cambs PE7 8GX P: 017 01733 33 567401.Fax01733352650 em: eqiries@digitalslrpht.cm o: .digitalslrpht.cm
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Welcome
Editr D l daiel_lea@deis.c.
...
Art Edit Editr r l M
“Digital photography has made it far easier for more people to take better quality pictures. The advent of affordable and highly versatile digital SLRs and Compact System Cameras offers the winning combination of high-resolution sensors and interchangeable lenses, allowing photographers more versatility and quality than ever before. However, while the latest technology helps make the actual capture of images easier than ever, it can’t offer you ideas and inspiration on what to photograph. While being technically procient is important, it’s nothing without creativity and the ability to turn your skills and imagination into great images. The easiest way to do his is to try out a variety of techniques, learn from your mistakes and build on your successes. Our 50 Our 50 Photo Projects guide Projects guide has been produced for photographers looking to test their skills shooting a variety of subjects with the aim of producing brilliant images. All 50 of our projects have been designed as stepby-step guides to make them easy to follow and as you’ll discover, you don’t need expensive equipment to shoot stunning images like those produced in this guide. With themes covering Outdoor, Indoor, Lighting and Creative, you’ve no shortage of photo techniques to try and we’ve also a selection of Photoshop tutorials to help you create great images in post-production too. We hope 50 hope 50 Photo Projects proves Projects proves exciting and inspirational and helps improve your photography. All the best!” Daniel lezano, eDitor
Meet eet ourt ur team eam ofe of experts xperts All our experts are team members or regular contributors to Digital SLR Photography magazine. For more expert advice and inspiration, pick up the latest issue available on the second Tuesday of every month. For further information visit the magazine’s website at www.digitalslrphoto.com
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Publiing&Making DIGITAL L PRoDuCT PRoDuCTIon Ion MAnAGER nickyBaker DIGITA DharMesh DharMes h Mistry BookAzInEMAnAGER PRoDuCTIon n DIRECToR roBinryanPRoDuCTIo roBinryan MDoF ADvE ADvERTIS RTISInG InG JulianlloyD-evans JulianlloyD-ev ansMDoF nEwSTRADE ADE DIRECToR DaviD Da viD Barker BarkernEwSTR PuBLISHInGDIRECToR JohnGarewalPuBLISHInGDIRECToR JohnGarewal TECHnoLoGy LoGy ian westwooD MD TECHno CHIEFoPERATInGoFFICER Brett reynolDs reynolDsCHIEFoPERATInGoFFICER GRouPFInAnCE DIRECToR ian leGGett leGGettGRouPFInAnCE JaMestye CHIEFEXECuTIvE CHAIRMAn felix Dennis DennisCHAIRMAn Allrightsi thelicesedmaterialbelgt FelixDeis,Hal ixDeis,Hal rDeis Pblis Pblishigad higad mat bereprdce bereprdced,hetheri d,hetheri hler part,ithttheirprir rittecset. Digital Digit al SLRPhotogr SLRPhotography aphyisa isa regis registeredtrade teredtrademar. mar. Thepublisher makesevery efforttoesure themagazie’scotet iscorrect.All materialpublishedi 50Photo Projects tsad adDigital Digital SLR Photography iscopyrightad uauthorised reproductiois forbidde. Theeditorsad publishersofthis magaziegiveo warraties,guarateesor assuracesad makeo represetatios regardigay goodsor servicesadvertisedi thiseditio. no resposibilityca beacceptedfor imagesor correspodecelostor damagedi postor trasit. Frlicesigct Frlice sigctactHaahHeage actHaahHeage +44(0)2079076134 r email haah_heage@deis.c. c. Frsdicat icatictac ictactAj tAj Dsa Dsaj-Hal j-Halai ai +44(0)2079076132 r email Aj_Dsaj-Halai@deis.c. The‘Magb’bradisa The‘Magb ’bradisa trademarfDeis PblishigLtd.30 ishigLtd.30 Cle CleeladSt,Ldw1T eladSt,Ldw1T 4JD.CmparegisterediEglad.Allmaterial© Dei 4JD.Cmparegist Deis s PblishigLtd,licesedbFelde shigLtd,licesedbFelde 200 2009,ad 9,ad matbe reprdc dcedi edi hlerpart ith ithtthe tthe csetf thepblis thepblishers hers..
Daniellezano
caroline caroline wilkinson wilkinson
rosshoDDinott
lee frost frost
Editor Editor Lezano Lezano is passiona passionate te aboutphotograph aboutphotographyy and an author author of severalbooks.He severalbooks.He has beentaking picturesfor picturesfor over over 25 years years and particular particularly ly enjoys enjoys shootingportrai shootingportraits ts and still-li l-lifes. fes.
An avid enthusias enthusiastt photogr photographer apher forseveral forseveral years, years, Carolineuses Carolineuses her in-depth in-depth knowledg knowledgee of Photosho Photoshop p and creativeskillsin creativeskillsin post-pro post-producti duction on to add extra extra impact impact and polish sh to pictures pictures..
A regular regular contribu contributorto torto Digital SLR Photography Photography,, Ross Ross is an awardaward-winn winningnature ingnature photographer,specialising photographer,specialising in nature and macro photography photography.. www.rosshoddinott.co.uk
A professional professional photographer photographer and writer writer forover twodecades, with with 20booksto hisname, hisname, Lee isone ofthe bestbest-kno knownnames wnnames in the UK photogr photographybusines aphybusiness. s. www.leefrost.co.uk
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Contents 50 photo projects: simple steps to better pictures! 42 Waterfalls
12 silhouettes
26 traffictrails
3 Editor’spage
85 Lightingprojects
A warm welcome to ourpractical guide totaking your best everimages
Find out how touse a variety ofarticial light sources to capture brilliant photos
7 Outdoorprojects
86 liGht trails
Head outside and try out these brilliant ideas covering a rangeof subjects
90 usinG flash Gels 92 addinG shadows 94 studio self-portraits
08 ethereal seascapes
96 hiGh-key portraits
12 silhouettes in landscapes
98 fruit on a liGhtbox
14 star trails
100paintinG with liGht
18 mistylandscapes 20 poetry in motion 22 shoot cobwebs
103 Creativeprojects
26 traffictrails
Takeyour photo skills that little bit further by trying out our creative ideas
28 beautiful butterflies
104 freeze your subjects
32 reflections
108 headless portraits
34 water refraction
110 plastic fantastic
38 movement in landscapes
114 vaseline streaks
42 shoot waterfalls
116 illusion of scale
44 levitation effects
118 floatinG in air
48 Garden birds
120 venetianblind effect
52 shootyour car
122 coatinG objects
55 Indoorprojects We showyou how to shoot stunning images from the comfort of your home
124 create a calendar
138 Blendingmodes
127 Photoshopprojects
56 diffuseddayliGht portrait
Improve, enhance and alter your photos withour amazingPhotoshopeffects
60 fun refractioneffects
128cross-process effect
62 capturethe beautyof a rose
130 use a diGital nd Graduate filter
64 bathtimeportraits
132 pop art portraits
68 spaGhetti still-life
134 duotone your mono imaGes
70freeze a water droplet
136 remove a distractinG backdrop
74 smoke trails
138 boost with blendinG modes
76splashinG foodshots
140flipa face
80 fine-art silhouettes
142mimic miniaturisation
82 scanner still-lifes
144create your ownart poster
56 daylightportraits
34 Waterrefraction
70 Waterdroplet
48 gardenBirds
98 fruitstill-life
14 8 P AG ES O F EX P E R T P HO T O AD V I CE
104 FROZENSTILLLIFES
THE IDEAL COMPANION FOR YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA
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Outdoorprojects 7
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Step-by-steptutorials
OUTDOOR PROJECTS
L i g h t i n g
OUR GUIDES HELP YOU TAKE STUNNING IMAGES OF LANDSCAPES, NATURE, CLOSE-UPS AND MORE!
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Create'mistywater'seascapes MARKBAUER: Coastallandscapes areamongthemostpopular subjects forphotographers andit’s easy toseewhy. However, translating thatatmosphereintoa goodphotographcanbe challenging.Onewayto addmoodandcreatean ethereallookistouse a longexposure toblur water. There’s no ideal shutter speed, as it depends on personal taste as well as thesize and speed of the waves, but the longer the exposure, the more the water will smooth out, until you reach a point where it appears to be completelystill. I like to have some sense of movement in the scene, but how much depends on the conditions and thecomposition. Keeping things simple often works best, with just a single, strong element in the foreground with plenty of space around it to show the movement of the water. Once you have a composition that works, it’s best to stick with it and keep shooting as the light changes so you get a nice variety of shots.
TIMEREQUIRED 45 MINUTES EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 5D MKII 24-105MM F/4 LENS TRIPOD, LEE 1.2ND (FOUR-STOP) FILTER, LEE 0.9ND (THREE-STOP) GRAD & REMOTE RELEASE
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Techniquewatch
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CALCULATING LONGEXPOSURES:
SETTING UP: Whenshooting nearthe shoreline, there is alwaysthe possibility that a wavemay wash around thetripodlegs, causing movement andruining theexposure.Jam thetripodlegsas far as you canintothe sand or shingle, to keep everything as stable as possible. Oncethe camera is securely locked ontothe tripod, slip theND andND grad filters onto theholder.
Essentialkit g n i t h g i L
TRIPOD: With long exposures, a tripod is essential. Not just any tripod, but the sturdiest you can manage to carry, as it has to remain rock steady during exposures of up to several minutes. You’ll also need a remote release. Without one, you will not be able to lock the shutter open without moving the camera. NEUTRAL DENSITY (ND) FILTERS: These are also useful and are not to be confused with ND graduated filters. ND filters are ‘solid’ rather than split into a dark half and clear half, allowing you to extend shutter speeds by reducing the amount of light entering the lens. They come in different strengths – typically one, two and three stops – although you can also get NDs of ten-stops or more! I find these extreme filters less suitable for colour work as they have quite strong colour casts.
When shooting in lowlight, you’ll often findthatexposure times gobeyond 30 seconds, the longest shutterspeed on mostdigital cameras. It’s tempting to raisethe ISOand use exposuresof 30 seconds or less, butyou’ll get better results if you stick at thelowest ISO rating and shootlongerexposures. To do this, you need to switch to‘Bulb’ mode). You canthen lock the shutter openforas longas you needto get the correct exposure. To calculate exposure in aperture-prioritymode, increasethe ISOuntil you get a meterreading. Then usethisto work outthe shutter speed at thelowest ISO rating. For example, if the correctexposureis 30 seconds at f/11at ISO 800,it willbe 60secondsat f/11 at ISO400,120 seconds at ISO 200and 240 seconds at ISO 100. You also have to take into account thefactthatif you are shootingat dusk, lightlevels will dropduring this four-minute exposure, so you will need to addmoretime. Don’t underestimate this – adding just onestopwill take your exposure time up to eight minutes in this example! Obviously, the reverse applies if you areshootingat dawn.
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Conditions were perfect,as low tidecoincided withsunset, and had revealed a number of interesting rocks on theforeshore. I decided to include this one in the foreground, asit I liked itstextural quality, and the waythe waves were washingaroundit. Unfortunately, a shutter speed of 1/4sec didn’t quite do the trick, as althoughthe breaking wave hascreated a nice pattern in the foreground, themiddle distance lookssomewhat static and, if I'm honest,this makes theshot look rather uninteresting.
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A slight changein composition placed therock on an intersection of thirds, while the changein anglemeantit waspointing intothe picture, towards thedistantheadland. Thelight had alsochanged for the better, with thesetting sun lighting the clouds from below. I needed toslowthe exposure down a little, soI fitted a four-stop ND filter, aswell asa two-stophard grad, to stop the skyfrom overexposing. A shutter speed of six secondscreated a niceswirl around the foregroundrock, but the wave is distracting.
Etherealseascapes 11
50 PHOTO PROJECTS
S t ay
cl o s e to T a ke c ar e n o yo ur ki t t o u na t t e n d t! e d ve y ou . T h l ea s wi r l i n r t ri p e s tr o o d g s ea n g w s o ve r . D in d s a e as i t a l c c an k no d o n ot ig c k i t nd am e r a s il y a h ap a p n y d s al t w m a rr i a at e g e m ak e ! r
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Finalimage The longer exposure has reduced the wave trails in the foreground and smoothed the water in the middle distance and background to reveal the reflections of the sky. There is still some movement in the foreground, and the wave patterns around the rock are still visible.
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I decided to lengthenthe exposure slightly, to further softenthe movement ofthe water, soI waited for the light levels todropand took a 15 second exposure at f/11 (still using thefour-stop ND).I alsotweaked the compositionagain, to leavea littlemorespaceto theleftof therock, to include theswirl ofthe waves in myshot. The longer exposure smoothsout thedistracting wave in the middle distance, but hascauseda confusing pattern of ‘wave trails’ to appear in theforeground.
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A few minuteslater, and the light levels haddroppedagain, so I increased myexposuretime to30 seconds. Whenshooting in Raw format, I like to exposemy shots 'to the right’. Thisminimises noise andcaptures moretonal information, and as there’s space to theright of the histogram, I knew thatthere wasroom to push the exposure further before thelight faded completely. For myfinalshot, I set the exposure for two minutesat f/11– two stopsmorethan thisshot, which would reducethe underexposureseen here.
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12 Scenicsilhouettes
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ROSSHODDINOTT: As photographers, we are always striving for the ‘correct’ exposure, aren’t we? However, it could beargued that there is nosuch thing; asit greatly depends on the subject,the situation, and the effect the photographer wants to achieve. For example, a silhouette can create a truly eye-catching image even though, technically-speaking, it is the result of a poor exposure… A silhouette is when the subject is recorded as a black outline, without colour or detail, against a lighter background – in other words, thesubject is grosslyunderexposed. It is the most extreme form of backlighting but, when combined with the right sceneor subject,the resultscan be stunning – particularly when the subject is contrasted against an interesting or colourful sky. Despite the lack of detail and colour, silhouettes can convey much about the subject and they prove that there really is no such thingas a ‘correctexposure’. One of the great things aboutshooting silhouettes is that they are easilyachieved and you need very little in termsof kit. I visited Dartmoor’s windswept landscape to show you how to shoot perfect silhouettes…
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30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D300, 24-85MM ZOOM LENS & TRIPOD
ALSO USED SPOT METERING & AE-L
Techniquewatch
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METERING: Your camera’s multi-zonemeter is designedto renderthe subject as a mid-tone. Whilstthisis perfect forthe vast majority of situations, it will rarely producethe resultsyou arelooking for whenshooting subjectsthatare considerablylighter or darker in tone. A silhouetted subject cancreate problemsformetering systems. Although highlysophisticated, the camera’sexposure system cannot predictthe effect youare tryingto achieve.Therefore,if thescene is dominatedby a black,silhouetted subject,the camera will attemptto renderit as a mid-tone byselecting a longer exposure– resultingin overexposure. Alternatively, if the sceneis dominated bysky andis very light, thecamerais likelyto underexpose theframe. Thankfully, avoiding thistype of exposure problem is simple by switchingyour camera’sspot meteringmode. This meteringmode is selectedeither via a dedicated button, or through the camera’smenu system.It calculates theoverallexposure from just a small portionof theframe – usuallya centralcircle. Point thespotmetering circleat a brightareaof theframe and pressthe shutterreleasebutton halfway totakea reading.These are theexposuresettings youwant to employ to takeyour silhouette. Pressing theauto- exposure lock (AE-L) button, ‘lock’ thesettings, compose yourimage and releasethe shutter. Theresult shouldbe thatyour subject is underexposed andappears as a pureblack silhouette.
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When shooting silhouettes, a lowviewpoint oftenworksbest – helpingyou to set your subject starklyagainsta brightsky. Therefore, don’t be afraidto get your kneesdamp anddirtyto selecta lowangle. In this instance, I splayed the legs on mytripodwide-open, enabling me to shoot from a lowperspective.
Treescreate a graphic, simpleoutline – perfect forsilhouettes. It is easiestto take silhouettesin mornings andevenings, when thesun is lower in thesky, so I arrived at mylocationearly. Two treestogether on a hillside caughtmy eye. Using thelong endof a standardzoom,I cropped in tightly to them, butthe camera’s Matrix multi-zonemeter attempted to record themas a mid-tone, resultingin a disappointing, washed-outshot.
S ee k a s tr o n g ou t l i n e !
I n s il h o u s ub j ec t et t e s , w e s tr t o b iv e s o s el e m o f f or t he c t s u e d ev o d et a b j ec t s id r ec o i l o r ai n g n i s a w c ol o i t h u r ; b a s tr o o ut l a ni m a l s a le n in e g, . nd t re e l e p , b ui l s m a P eo di n ke g oo g s d c ho i c e s ,
To ensure that the lovely colours of the sunrise were recordedfaithfully, and thatthe trees were thrown into puresilhouette, I switchedthe camera's metering mode to 'spot'(Thisis often illustrated bya dot, as seen in thepicture above). On myNikonD300,I selected this modeby turning a dial, just abovethe monitor. If youareunsure how to selectspotmetering, check theinstruction manual. If your camera lacks a spot mode, use partial metering instead.
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Finalimage Byzooming ina littlefromthe lastframe,I feelthat I’ve struck theright balance in terms of composition. Placing the treesright-of-centre creates a stronger image than it wouldhave iftheyhad been central. Spotmetering has enabled me to capture the right exposure in-camera – all I had to do post-capture wasintensify the sky’scolour very slightlyby clicking Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation and adjusting the saturationslider to +10.
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I removed thecamerafrom thetripod, viathe quick releaseplate, andthen pointed thespot-metering circleat a bright area of thesky. I pressed the shutter release buttonhalfwaydown,to take myspot meter reading,and then locked these settingsby usingthe auto-exposurelock (AE-L) button. I replaced thecameraon thetripodand quicklycheckedthatthe composition hadn't changed. Then, usingthe new, locked settings, I took another picture.
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Although theexposure was nowcorrect, I wasfeelingless happywith the composition. It looked a little cramped andI wondered whether I hadcropped intoo close totrees. The joy ofusing a zoomlensis being ableto quicklychange composition withoutevenhaving to move.I zoomedout to leavemore space around thetrees, allowing me to capture more of thesunrise. However, hadI now gonetoo far toward the opposite extreme?
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Startrails
Shootingstars JOHN PATRICK: Star trails are rewardingsubjects that can addan element of magic toa landscapeshot,revealing thescene in a way that isn’t visible to the eye. They allow you toextend theday’s potentialshootingtime,and to get outwith your camera – especially if you work through theweek and can’t getoutdoors during the daylighthours in winter. If there’s any‘secret’ to the technique, it’s getting the exposure right, but that’s simple whenshootingdigitally...
50 PHOTO PROJECTS
TIME REQUIRED ONE HOUR
EQUIPMENT USED CANON EOS 5D 17-40MM F/4 LENS TRIPOD & REMOTE
ALSO USED ADOBE PHOTOSHOP
50 PHOTO PROJECTS
Startrails
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ou t of th T he g lo e ci t y w m u rb l ig h t p o f ro a n a re ll u t i o as i s k n m il e n a nd s a wa c an ow n b e s a s n ot b e y o n a c le ee n m r n ig o b u h s t o a t . T h f ro s ho w u p vi o t he is h c le a r l y t e y e m ig o n a n ak e d b ut w l on g e xp o s u r e il l
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Essentialkit STURDY TRIPOD AND A REMOTE RELEASE
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1the daylight hours. Mid-day isa goodtimeto dothisfora coupleof reasons. FIND THELOCATION If youcan, it helps to findyour locationin advance,in
Oneis that it'softendead-timein thelandscapephotographer's daywhenthe lightis tooharshforshooting.Theother isthat, with the sun tothesouth, shadows will point north towards wherethe stars willbe circlingroundPolaris later. Pre-visualisingthat will helpyou createa goodcomposition. You'llneedto ensurethatyou'rea decentway from major lightpollution too.
You'll need to keep theshutter open forthe long exposure and the bestwayto dothatis tousea remotereleasewitha lock to hold theshutter open. This helps avoidinadvertently knocking or movingthe camera. A sturdy tripodis important tooand a wide-angle lens is handy as it helps you get plenty of skyin theshot.Otherthan that, star trails don't need any particularly specialistkit.Don'tforgetplenty of warm clothing though. Even if you're used to being outin cold weather, standing aroundfor half an hour or more in thedark in sub-zero temperatures can bring a whole newlevel of chilliness, so pack a few extra layers to keep you comfortable.
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2nightwitha half-moon isa good
3SCENE You canmeter thescene
choiceif possible) andset up the cameraon the tripod. Ifit'stoodark to seeproperly throughthe viewfinder, you can takea few shotswith a high ISO andwide aperture,gradually making adjustments to fine-tune the composition.Autofocusis unlikelyto workin verylowlight, soyou'll needto focus manually – either byusing the distance scale or byplacinga torch somewherein thesceneto focus on.
beforetakingthe finalshot bytaking testshots ata high ISOandwide aperture.I'm using ISO 1600 andf/4 here. Setthe camerato manual and start withan exposure timeof around 20 seconds. Takea shotand check the histogram,then simply alter the exposuretime andre-take test shots until thehistogram lookscorrect.After a bitof experimentationI findthat one stop underexposedworks best.
SETTING UPPick your night (a
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Finalimage I've given the finalimagea little bitof curves adjustment, a colour balance on the cool side of daylight andapplied some Unsharp Maskin Photoshop.
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SETTINGSFORTHE FINAL SHOT Whenyou're happywith the exposure, set thecamera to 'Bulb'.SelectISO 100and seta wide-ishaperture. I tend to use f/5.6.Now you can use the exposure time fromstep 3 toworkoutthetime neededfor thefinal shot, compensating forthe changein ISOand aperture by increasingthe time. For instance, if youneeded a 30 secondexposurein step 3: 30secs x 2 (for a one-stop changefrom f/4 tof/5.6) x 16(for thechange from ISO 1600to ISO 100)givesa 16-minute exposure.
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TAKETHESHOT Turnall lights out,notethe timeand lockthe shutter open withthe remoterelease. Getout somecoffee andchocolate, have a break for a whileandenjoy staringat thestars. Justdon't dowhatI didanddiscoverat this pointthatthecoffee's backdowntheroad, stillin the car!If you needto puta lighton at anypointto read thetime,be careful notto illuminate theforeground at all,as it willshow up in thefinal shot(unlessyou'redeliberately attempting lightpainting,but that'sanother topic).
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Dawnmist
50 PHOTO PROJECTS
Shootamistylandscape r o o d t u O
TIMEREQUIRED
MARKBAUER: Late winter/early spring is an excellent time for shooting atmospheric landscapes, especially if you're prepared to get up early. As one season slips into another, it often brings interesting weather with it, and at this time of year, misty morningsare common, often combined with a touchof frost. Foggy scenes convey a sense of romance and mystery, and add an element that can lift otherwise bland scenes out of the ordinary. With the right technique and careful planning, it's possible to capture dramatic, atmospheric scenics.
1-2 HOURS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS-1DS MKII 70-200MM LENS MANFROTTO TRIPOD
ALSO USED REMOTE RELEASE
Essentialkit Techniquewatch
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PERFECTMETERING: Mist andfog tendto fool thecamerainto underexposure,so be prepared toadd at leasta stop over themetered reading using exposure compensation. If shooting Raw, you’ll record the maximum amount of tonal information by exposing ‘to the right’ (pushing the exposure as farintothe highlights as youcan without actually ‘clipping’ the highlights.)You’llneedto do some work in the Raw converter on exposure, brightness and contrast, but the end result will be a better image.
✘ Normalexposure:The meter
✔ Expose‘totheright’: Around +1
willassumethat whatever it's reading from is a mid-tone, and underexpose the mistso that it records as grey ratherthan white.
stop compensation would be enough to keepthe mist looking white. I’ve added a little more, following the ‘expose to the right’ theory.
KITFORMIST: Using a tripodis good practice for shooting landscapes, but essential if you’reheading out for pre-dawnmisty pictures, as exposurescan belong. A medium telezoomis probably themostuseful lens as itsfocal length compresses perspective and enhancesthe misty effect. A set of Neutral Density graduated filters will be necessary in pre-dawnshots, as thesky willbe much brighter than theland, which hasno directlightfalling on it.
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CHOOSEYOURDAY: Fog and mistare formed whenmild, moistair passes over cold ground – thelower layersof theair get cooleddownrapidly to thetemperature atwhichfog or mist forms. Keepan eye on theforecast and look outfor cold, clear nightswitha light south-westerly wind, as this gives a high chanceof mist or fog. Even if theconditionsseem right,however, an atmospheric sunrise isn'tguaranteed– often, forexample, you can geta thick fog rather than mist – so persistenceis important. Be prepared tomake multiple visits to yourfavouritelocations.
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BEWELLPREPARED: Mistoftenforms at thebottom of valleys, where the ground is colder, sothe hills abovea valley are a goodplaceto be, as this enables you toshoot from above a layerof mist,withhillsrisingout ofit. Being near water also helps, as this helpsto cool any airmovingover it. Research suitablelocations well in advanceand arrive a good halfan hourbefore sunrise, as the pre-dawn lightcan bemagical.For this shoot, I setup overlookingthe west Wiltshire Downs, withmistlyingat thebottom ofthe hills.Also, besureto wrap upwarm– gloves,a hatanda thickfleece are essential!
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Finalimage I zoomed in slightlyfrom my initial composition, to remove the slightly distracting bandof colour at the top ofthe frameand keepthe shot as monochromatic as possible. I used a daylight White Balancepreset to keep the pre-dawncolourscool, andadded a touchof vibrance to enhance the bluetones. Keep shooting as the mist swirlsaroundand the light changes.
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or fo g? W ha t ’ s d if f f og ? W t he e r e n c e e ’r e h o f a ns w ee p y t o p b et w e r s ap r e n m is t a nd – T he y o nl y ’r e b ov i d t he c le d if f t he a ar e s t s i c e i f v is i b a r e l l n y c i l i t y s am i s l e e i s o ne o t he ss t ha f d s e! n 1,0 0 en – 0m , i t’ it y s f og ! C r e a t i v e
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CHECKYOUR COMPOSITION:Youneed to look for strong, bold shapes, as mist hides shapesand dilutes colours, makinga scenemonochrome. I like to lookfor overlappingand interlocking shapesthathelp adda senseof depth to thescene.Backlit scenes can also work well, as theshapesof hills are silhouetted in themist.Flare isn't toomuchof a problem withbacklit shots,as themist diffusesthe sunlight. For this shot, I selecteda hillrisingout of themist as themainfocalpoint, andarranged it accordingto therule-of-thirds. Behind theforegroundhill, thelayeringeffectleadsthe eye into thebackdrop.
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EXPOSURE& FILTRATION: Mist canfool the meter into underexposure, so as a starting point, set +1stop exposure compensation. Meter from theland andthe skyto check thedifference in brightness, to see if youneeda graduated filter and, if so, which strength.Takecarenot to over-filter thescene (e.g. if there's a four-stopdifferencein brightness,use a three-stop grad so that thesky remains a little lighterthanthe land andthereforelooksnatural).Forthese shots,I used a one-stop soft grad as,althoughthere wasn'ta huge range of contrast, I felt that thesky neededa little bitof help to addinterest.
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LEE FROST: It’s funny howsome photographic techniques come about purely by accident. For example, it’s said that solarisation wasdiscovered when American photographer Lee Miller (working as Man Ray’sassistant at the time), turned the darkroomlight on while a print was still in the developer, causing a partial reversal of the image tones. I can’t claim that my latest technique will achieve the same level of fame or popularity, but I discovered it under similar circumstances,while taking pictures on the Northumberland coast just before Christmas. I was planning toshoot a sequenceof images for a stitched panorama, soI levelled the camera and scanned the scene I wanted to record. Confident that everything was ready, I tripped the shutter to expose the first frame but, without thinking, I swung the camera to the right, ready to shoot the second frame before the exposure for the first had ended. Annoyed by my impatience, I waited for the image to appear on my camera’s preview screen so I could erase it. But when the image did appear, far from being a load ofold rubbish, as expected, it looked fantastic – an eye-catching abstract of coloured lines and streaks, more like a painting than a photograph. Surprised by my happy accident, I decided to try and repeat the effect, but this time doing it on purpose. Since then, I’ve produceda whole series of these images. Notonly arethey easy and fun, but the results look fantastic. Here’s a step-by-step guide so you can try it yourself.
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TIME REQUIRED TEN MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANONEOS-1DS MK III CANON 24-70MM F/2.8 0.6NDHARD GRAD & FILTER HOLDER TRIPOD & REMOTE
Essentialkit TRIPODHEAD: If youwantto produce smooth,consistent results usingthis technique,you need therighttype of tripod head. I’ve been using a Manfrotto410 Junior geared head forthe past few years. It is great forprecise adjustments, butnot so great when youwantto makebigger, fluid movementsof the camera. Fortunately, just before Christmas I replaced the geared head witha Manfrottoball head, which canbe unlocked on the horizontal axis,making it easy to panthe camera evenly. Pan & tiltheadsare evenbetter because they have arms to adjust the camera on each axis, so you canlockthe forward/ backwardtilt andthe vertical adjustment and simply move thecamera on the horizontal.
First finda suitable location.I live bythesea and favour coastalviews because therearedefinedlinesof colourin thescene, 1 created by thebeach,then thesea, thenthe sky. However, anyscenecontaining bands of colour is suitable. In thespring, fields of yellow oilseed rape againstblue skywould workbrilliantly. Thesame goesfor poppy fieldsin summer. Urban scenesat nightare e v i t a e r C
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wortha trytoo, asthe colourful lightswill record asstreaks. The importantthing isthatyouhaveclearlydefinedareas ofcolour that arewide enough to formstripsacrossyour shot. Rememberthough,that thisis an experiment andbreaking therules is allowed!
If you wantthe linesand streaksin theimage to bestraight (or asstraight Thestreaking is created by moving the cameraduring exposure, so the as possible), you need tomakesurethecamerais level and that it remains shutter speed youuse is important. Anything between 0.5secs to two 2 3 level when you pan acrossduring theexposure. I do this byfirstusing the secondsis ideal. To setthis, I setthe camera to aperture-priority modeand stop spirit level on mytripod, and thenusing a second spiritlevel,mounted on my hotshoe, which helps me to level the cameraitself.
thelensdownto f/16or f/22. In low light, sucha small aperturemay notbe necessary, whilein bright conditions I often need a NeutralDensityfilter.
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Finalimage The final stage, for me, is tocropthe imageto a square.I feelthat thesquareformat adds to the symmetry and makes the compositionmore balancedand ordered. By always keeping the horizon central,a consistent themeruns through eachimage,making them workwell together.
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Once you’re setup andready, do a few practiceruns without takingany pictures.Hold thetripod head or adjustment arm, position thecamera to theleft of thesceneyou want toshoot, then smoothly panfrom left toright. Whenyou’re happy youknowwhat you’re doing,try it forreal. Theresultsmay bea little jerky tobeginwith, but you’ll soongetthe hangof it.
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Back home, download theimages toyour computer. I shoot in Raw, so the first step is to process them using Adobe Camera Raw. I usuallyfind that adjustments to Clarity andVibrance addimpact, along with ToneCurve to boost contrast. Once openedin Photoshop, I selectthe sky, make further adjustments to levelsand curves, andthen do thesame tothe foreground.
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striving forthe it could be argu greatly depend effect the photographer silhouette can create a t technically-speaking, it i A silhouette is when t outline, without colour – in other words, the su most extreme form of b theright scene or subje particularlywhenthe su interesting or colourful colour, silhouettes can c prove that there really is One of the greatthing they are easily achieved visited Dartmoor’s wind shoot perfect silhouette
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Wild webwonders ROSSHODDINOTT: Ratherthan searchingthe webfor ideas, why not get outside with your digital camera andsearch fora real web? Spiders spin beautiful cobwebs of sticky silk, and their constructions are intricate, often symmetrical and look stunningclose up. Therefore, if you own a close-focusingzoom,close-upfilter, extension tube or – better still – a dedicated macro lens, you will be able to capture stunning, frame-filling images. Spiders live everywhere, so you shouldn’t struggleto finda suitable web to photograph. They're easiest to find– and look their most photogenic – when smothered in tiny waterdroplets. Therefore, early morning after a clear, still night is thebest time tolook. Alternatively, you could spray one with waterto create a similar effect by using a gardener’s spraybottle to create a fine mist that won’t damage theweb. In autumn andwinter, after a cold and frosty night, you might even find a frozen web, which is particularly photogenic and can make veryarty, abstract-looking images by using a shallow depth-of-field, together with careful focusing.
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TIME REQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D300, SIGMA 150MM,TRIPOD& REMOTE RELEASE
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ouettes TT: As photographers,we are always ‘correct’ exposure, aren’t we? However, ed thatthereis no suchthing;as it on thesubject, the situation, and the wants to achieve. For example, a uly eye-catching image even though, s theresult of a poor exposure… e subject is recorded as a black r detail, againsta lighter background ject is grossly underexposed. It is the cklighting but,whencombined with t, the results can be stunning– bjectis contrasted againstan ky. Despite the lack of detailand onvey much about the subject and they no such thing as a ‘correct exposure’. about shootingsilhouettes is that and you need very little in terms ofkit. I wept landscape to show you how to …
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Webpatterns
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e ! i t h c a r e b, o r a n y w e l H a n d t o k n o c k t h e t w a s i l y o ( i t ’s e
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t j o i n e d , y o u e f u l n o B e c a r s i t m i g h t b e e g ). I f y o u d o t h e l k e c s d o s o n a p r i k g b a n d g r o u n d i t h a t r d o n e w m a g e t h e w e t o t h e s a t d e l y p m a e n i c d r o g o t p h o
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1image quickly, including theentire webin theframe. I setan aperture off/8, I didn’thave tosearchlongbefore findinga dew-laden web. I composedthe
hopingthat thiswould create sufficient depth-of-field tokeep theweb sharp, while notrecordingtoo much backgrounddetail. However, I didn’t payenough attentionto thebackgroundand thewebdoesn’tstandout very well against thelightbackdrop.
A compact, fold-away reflectoris an essential close-up accessory.They are designedto bounce natural lightonto miniaturesubjectsin order to relieveugly shadows.A reflector willnormallycreate a more natural-looking formof illumination thanflash. However, I have often employed a reflector(orits blackcover)as a makeshiftbackground for small subjectsto create a simplebackdrop. In some situations, youcan even use a reflector’ssilver or white side in order to createhigh-key results.
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2 successor failure. By simply changingviewpoint, shootingangle,focal length 3 off/4,and placed myset-upat anangleto theweb. This wouldallow me to Thesubject’sbackdrop is often a majorcontributing factor to a photo’s
or aperture, youcan alter the background’s colour andappearance. To eliminate thewhite sky from the image-space, I selected a higher angle by extending the legsof my tripod.A grassybank nowcreated a more attractive, green background.I alsooptedfor a tightercomposition.
I wantedto createa more artylooking result. So,I selecteda larger aperture
recordjust partof theweb in focus. Focusing needs to be accurate whenworking with sucha shallow depth-of-field. I checked the image on theLCD monitor, zoomingin tocheck the subject's sharpness. Unfortunately, my focusingisn’t preciseenough and theimage is soft.
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4 allows thephotographer toprecisely direct the viewer’s eyeto a specific
5 subject better– thinkingit would contrast starklywith the glistening water
pointof focus. If yourcamera hasa preview button,use itto review the distribution of depth-of-field. Thistime I took an extrafew moments toensure my focusingwas accurate andreleased the shutterremotely to prevent any camera movement spoilingthe image.
droplets.The cover ofmy foldaway reflector isblack, soI held it around 40cm behind the weband usedthe self-timer to triggerthe shutter. Finally, I had the resultI wanted. If you’d prefera more colourful look, youcould tryusing brightly-coloured card to alter theappearanceof the background.
I tried again. Usinga shallowdepth-of-fieldat thislevel of magnification
Althoughhappywith the previous shot, I felta black backdrop would suitthe
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TIME REQUIRED PAUL WARD: Oneof themost stunningtechniques on 30 MINUTES which to practice your low-light photography skills is EQUIPMENT USED thecapturing of traffic trails. Notonly are there an CANON EOS-1DS MkIII abundance of vehicleson theroad, buton dark WITHCANON evenings fromlateautumn throughto springtime, you can 17-40MM F/4L ZOOM venture out just after EastEnders to give this techniquea go, & TRIPOD rather than waiting until thedead of night. Images of traffic trails work by combining a long shutter speed with the fast-moving lights caused by cars passing through the frame. Because of the low light and long exposure, the cars are invisible, leaving only the streaks of their headlights in theshot. The technique requires the smallest amount of kit, whichmakes it even more appealing. All you need is a digital camera and a tripod, although a remote release cable will make theprocess a lot easier. Readyto give this techniquea go, I grabbed my gear and headed out into the dark, taking a positionon an overpass of a busy Birmingham road.I recommend always arriving at your locationat least ten minutes before the sun goes down so you can take your time and find the best angle to shoot from, and also to take advantage of the sky’s blue tint that’s visible directly after the sungoes down. Because you’re shooting at night, it’s worth remembering a few important safety precautions. Always have permission to photograph if you are snapping from privately owned land.Remember to be as discreet as possible – you don’t want to advertise that expensive camera body to thieves. Finally, because you will be shooting in the vicinity of moving traffic – it may be anobviousone toconsider – be aware ofthe carsaround you. It may be a wise decision to wear a fluorescent bib, whichcan be bought from cycling shops such as Halfords.
WHITEBALANCE:Ifyou shoot in Raw, you can alter theWhite Balancein post-production after youhave uploaded yourimageson to yourcomputer. However, if youwant to try different White Balances while takingyourshot, thereare a couple of waysthis can be achieved.Either takea test shot, changing theWB in themenuas you go, orswitch toLiveViewand use theLCD monitor to judge howthe White Balance presetsaffect yourimage. Flashsetting
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I set upmy tripodto takea few quick testshotsat a highISO, toseehow the anglesand lights look, beforereturningthe ISOto 100and placing the camera on the tripod. I choose toshootthe imagein portraitformatto emphasise thelong winding streaks causedby the headlights,and alsoto include the tallbuildings bordering theroad.
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I setthe cameramode to manual. You canuse aperture-priority mode, but thestreetlights cantrick the camera’s metering system. My exposure of 1/10secat f/2.8 (ISO 100) isn’t long enough tocreateany traffictrails. Also, thewide aperture makes thestreetlights look bland – using a smaller aperture will givethe lights a pleasant starburst effect. Tensecondsatf/18
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I attemptto takeanother shot with a longer shutter speed. However, asI trigger the shutter button, my hand causessome vibration to thecamera, blurring theimage.To getaroundthis problem,I attachmy remoterelease, althoughif youdon’t have one, youcan simply setyour camera’s self-timer. Remember not to knock the tripod during the exposure.
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30secondsatf/18
I playaround withsome different shutter speeds to seehow they affect the image. Atten seconds the imageis too dark, losingdetail in the road. However, at 16seconds theimage is too light, with the light trails burning out. A shutter speed between these twopoints should giveme the correct exposure. You should experimentwith your shutter speeds,too.
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Finalimage Withexposure settingscorrect, everything falls intoplace to producea dynamic image.Why notgivethis techniquea shot?
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Close-upsofbutterflies TIMEREQUIRED 60 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D300 & 105MM MACRO LENS
ROSSHODDINOTT: Summerwouldn’tbe complete without thegraceful flight andvibrant colours of butterflies. They can be found in flower-richmeadowland, alongthe coastline, in woodedglades andin ourgardens. Although wildlife photographycan be tricky andfrustrating,butterflies are easy to locateand get close to, particularly when feeding. Larger species are often easier tophotograph, as you don't need toget so close to them toachieve frame-filling shots.Small Tortoiseshell,Peacockand RedAdmiral butterflies are perfectforhoning your skills. They're largeandcommon, andwill often settleon flowersor bask open-winged on walls long enoughfor you toshoot them. Insects are highlysensitive to movement, so move slowlyanddon't make any suddenor jerky movements. I recommendusing manual focus, as it is quieter. Youalsoavoid the risk of'hunting' as the lens tries tofocus,which wastes valuabletime. Macrolensesare best for this type of photography, providingexcellent imagequality anda goodworking distance.However, cheaper alternatives such as extensiontubesor close-up filterswill also get thejob done. Most people shoot butterflies from overhead, with their wings open flat; buttocreate striking, less conventional images, experimentwith other anglesanddepth-of-field. Try shooting them from eye-level or backlitto show thetransparency andmarkings of their wings. To give youa fewideas, I recently visitedsome nearbygardens where there were several migrant PaintedLady butterflies. All that's required now is a little patience andluck.
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GETTING PREPARED: When ‘stalking’ butterflies, you have no option but to keep your set-up simple. A tripod often proves impractical – being too fiddly and time-consuming to position, and greatly increasing the risk of disturbing your subject. However, presuming it's a fine, sunny day, there should be sufficient light to enable you to select a shutter speed upwards of 1/200sec – fast enough to freeze subject and camera movement. When working handheld, keep your elbows pushed in towards your chest to limit camera shake. If you do require the added stability of a support, consider using a monopod, which is easier to position and shouldn’t disturb the surrounding plants. Butterflies rarely feed or rest for long, so you will need to focus and compose your image quickly – something that gets easier with practice.
It isn’t reallyfairto suggest that a macro lens is an ‘essential’ pieceof kit when photographing butterflies. Budget alternatives, like close-up filters, are capable of very good results. Also, many modernzoomsoffer a ‘macro’ facility, which provides a highly useful reproduction ratio of up to 1:2 (half life-size), which is good enoughto fill theframe withlarger species. However, a dedicated macrois the best choice for wildlife close-ups.For flighty insects, a ‘tele-macro’, suchasa 90mmor 100mm,is a good choice. Notonly do they offer superbimagequalityup to 1:1(life-size), butthis type of focal length createsa morepractical camera-to-subject working distance, minimising therisk of disturbance and, therefore, maximising the photographer’s chances of success. A macro ofthislength is also relatively compact and lightweight, making sharp results possible when handheld – even without image-stabilising technology.
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1 minutes, observing their habits and which plants theypreferred. TheRed
2 your subject, as a messy backdrop willruin your image. With practice, it
Valerian wasa clearfavourite, so I stood nearby, cameraat theready. As the butterfly lands, approach it slowly, gradually moving the camerato your eye. Older insectscan looktatty,with faded colours,so onlysnap butterfliesin pristine condition. My firstefforts were disappointing,as I shotfrom toofar away, sothe butterfly is notlargeenough inthe frame. I neededto get closer.
becomes easierto letyour eye wander around theframewhileyoufocus and composeyour shot. A smallchangein shootingposition can eliminate distracting foliagefrom theframe.Alternatively, a wider aperture willthrowthe background out of focus. However, sometimes, there is nothingyou cando other thanwait until thebutterfly moves to a more photogenic position.
NOT CLOSE ENOUGH: I began by simply watchingthe butterfliesfor a few
BEAWAREOF YOURBACKGROUND: Be awareof whatis going on behind
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Finalimage Photographing butterflies is a challenge, asjustas you'reabout togetthe perfect shot, they fly away!Afternearlyan hour of chasingbutterflies around, I only managed a handful of imagesI was genuinely pleased with. Persevere and your patience should be rewarded too.
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DEPTH-OF-FIELD: This is crucial in close-up photography. Too much, and backgrounddetailwill be toodefined. Too little and thesubjectwon'tbe sharp throughout. A good general ruleis to setthe widest aperture thatwill still keep your subject acceptably sharp. Thisalso ensuresthat the shutterspeed is fast enough to freezesubjectand camera movement. In thisinstance,after reviewing a handful of test frames,I found thatf/7.1 generated sufficient depth-of-field, whilst throwing the vegetationbehindpleasantly outof focus.
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SHOOTING ANGLE:Generally, if a butterfly is resting or feeding withits wings openflat, photograph it from above.If itswings areclosed, shoot from oneside. Regardless ofwhetherthewings are open orclosed,tryand keepyour cameraparallel – if not,its wings willbegin driftingout of focus. However, remember that youdon’talwayshave to optfor conventional angles.Try shootingstraighton at eye-level or from a lowviewpoint, forinstance. Withthis shot, I combinedthe two approachesto createa more original-lookingresult.
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Shootabstractreflectionsinwater ROSSHODDINOTT ROSS HODDINOTT:: Setup Reflectio Reflections ns can be irresistible irresistible to photogr photographe aphers. rs. A still bodyof bodyof wate waterr actsas actsas a mirror mirr or,, perfectly perfectly reflectin reflecting g its surroundings. surroundings. Landscape Landscape photographers photographers often use reflections to create create symmetr symmetry,but y,but water water doesn doesn’t ’t need need to be still still for for reflectio reflections ns to be photogen photogenic. ic. A slight slight breeze breeze will create create gentle gentle ripp ripples les in smooth smooth water water,, distortingthe distortingthe colour colour and appeara appearance nce of reflecte reflected d subjects. subjects. Mundane Mundane subjects subjects can be distorte distorted d to the point point of abstra abstraction ction,, such such as a block block of flats flats,, a boat’ boat’s s mast mast or a bright brightly ly colou coloure red d buoy buoy. By excludin excluding g the subject subject and isolatin isolating g the reflectio reflections, ns, it’s it’s easy easy to take take some some unusual, unusual, artyimages. artyimages. When photogr photographi aphing ng water water and movemen movement, t, each shot shot is unique unique,, with with thelook of therippled therippled watercons waterconsta tantl ntly y changi changing.In ng.In order order to isolat isolate e thereflecti thereflections ons,, a telez telezoomis oomis a good good lens lens choice choice.. A 70-3 70-300m 00mm m lens lens is ideal ideal,, as itsfocal itsfocal length length rangewill rangewill allowyou allowyou to achie achieve ve a varie variety ty of diffe differe rent nt resul results.Shut ts.Shutterspee terspeed d is a key key consi consider derati ation on – too too slow slow andthe waterwill waterwill blur blur. For crisp crisp refle reflecti ctions ons,, a speed speed upwa upward rds s of 1/250 1/250se sec c is oftenrequ oftenrequir ired.As ed.As a resul result, t, you you can can norma normallywork llywork handh handheldwitho eldwithout ut any any grea greatt risk risk of shake shake.. I’drecommend I’drecommend using using a polarisi polarising ng filter filter. Thismight surprise surprise you, you, as this filter filter is oftenusedto oftenusedto reduc reduce e reflec reflectio tions ns,, butit can can also also enhan enhance ce their their colou colourr and intens intensity ity. Now Now allyou need need is a suitab suitable le body body ofwater ofwater and and a bree breezy zy day day – nottoo windy windy though though,, or thewater thewater will will be chopp choppy y.
TIMEREQ TIME REQUIRED UIRED 30 MINUTE MINUTES S
EQUIPMEN EQUIPMENT T NEEDED NEEDED NIKON D300 D300 AND 80-400MM TELEZOOM TELEZOOM WITH POLARISING POLARISING FILTER
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POLARISER: A polarising filter is designed to block light polarised in one
plane. By doing so, it can reduce or eliminate reflections and enhance contrast. They are constructed from a thin foil of polarising material, mounted between two circular pieces of glass. By rotating the filter in its mount, you can alter the filter’s angle of polarisation and the degree of polarised light that can reach the image sensor. Using a polariser is intuitive – simply look through the viewfinder and rotate the filter until you get your desired effect. Polarisers are one of the most useful filter types and their effect can’t be replicated on your computer later. Although designed to reduce reflections, applied correctly, they can also enhance them. By removing the reflective film or sheen on the water’s surface, the colours of reflections will be intensified. Apply the effect with care though – the filter will diminish the reflections if you’re not careful!
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POLARIS POLARISA ATION: TION: Theeffect Theeffect of a polarise polariserr has to be seen seen to be apprecia appreciated ted.. It canradically canradically alter alter a scene’ scene’s s appeara appearance nce,, and whileit caneliminate caneliminate or reducereflect reducereflections ions,, it canalso enhanc enhance e themby removi removing ng the reflecti reflective ve sheen sheen from from the water’ water’s s surface surface.. To ensureyou ensureyou achiev achieve e the right right effect,slowlyrotat effect,slowlyrotate e the filter filter whilelooking whilelooking throug through h theviewfinder theviewfinder.. You'll ou'll seethe reflecti reflectionsfade onsfade and intensi intensify fy.. Stop Stop at the point point where where thereflectionslook thereflectionslook strong strongest est.. These These twoimages twoimages helpto illustra illustrate te thecontrast thecontrasting ing effectsof effectsof thefilter. thefilter.
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SHUTTER SHUTTER SPEED: SPEED: Shutterspeed Shutterspeed is a keyconsider keyconsideratio ation n whenshooting whenshooting abstra abstract ct reflecti reflections ons.. Too slow slow and the ripples ripples will blur, whichis normally normally undesir undesirable able,, as thereflections– thereflections– and thebeautiful, thebeautiful, swirly swirly patter pattern n they they create– create– won’ won’tt be sowelldefined.A sowelldefined.A good good gene genera rall rule rule is toshoot toshoot upwar upwardsof dsof 1/25 1/250se 0sec. c. Don’ Don’tt worryif worryif you you need need toselect toselect a largeaper largeapertur ture e todo this this – ofte often n the the narr narrow ow depth-o depth-of-fi f-field eld thiscreates thiscreates will onlyadd to the ‘arty’effec ‘arty’effect. t. Howeve Howeverr, thisis subjecti subjective ve,, so experim experimentwith entwith the shutte shutterr speed speed until until youlike theeffect. theeffect.
Reflections
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se s r e r p pr A p o r o b o l l e ol l a b r a r i i s e m s ! ! s e r e r a b bs l i ig s o r h g t o h r b b a r t . Y o u s s r u o o r r u u d c a n n am e d m y o t ou s h e w w u r r o s t o a a d a ho u to p d j u o s o d p u us s o f b e s t t s s f o f e a w or t i im e r t h m w i il l l l l ld wa r h e a i i s r s , b u e e t h h ut b e at a t h t e l e t e h n n e e t o oo o s l lo g g e th t e x x h n p p e w o o o , r a n s s w e e u u d. I f d re r e ai i s f i t s e t b e e t h he I S ec e c o o m e SO t o m s O e s o c o om p m e p n e s n sa t a t e e
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COMPOSITION: COMPOSITION: Don’t
horizontal horizontal and vertical format format composit compositions ions.. It is possibleto possibleto achievevery achievevery different-lo different-looking oking results results of thesame subject subject by simply simply turningyour turningyour camera camera.. If you have have a polarisi polarising ng filter filter attached, attached, rememberthat switch switching ing format formats s will alter alter thedegreeof polarisa polarisation tion,, soyouwill need need toadjust toadjust the filter accordingly accordingly..
400mm
4 of the mainadvantage mainadvantages s FOCAL FOCAL LENGTH: LENGTH: One
ofusing ofusing a telez telezoo oom m to captur capture e artyreflection artyreflections s is theversatilit theversatility y it offer offers. s. You can can quickl quickly y zoomin zoomin or out, out, alteringthe composition composition withoutthe withoutthe fuss fuss of changin changing g lens. lens. Thelong end end ofa zoomallo zoomallowsyou wsyou to highlightspecific details, coloursor coloursor patter patterns ns in the water. Theseshots show therangeof an 80-400mm. 80-400mm.
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Water Wa terrefraction refraction
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Shoota colourfulflower refractedin waterdroplets ROSS HODDINOTT: You could argue that photographing the refracted image
of a colourful flower through one or more waterdroplets hangingon a stem or branch is a bit of a cliché, and with some justification too. However, whilst it may not be the mostoriginal idea, there is no denying thatthe results can look eye-catching. Because it hasbeendone many times before, it is easy to overlook taking this type of shot. This is a mistake, though.There is nothingwrong with replicating an idea… so long as you do it well, and enjoy the challenge ofachievingthe final result.
TIME REQUIRED 45MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NIKON D300, 150MM MACRO LENS,REMOTE RELEASEANDTRIPOD
ALSO USED 2x WIMBERLEY PLAMPS, GERBERA FLOWER, ATOMISER SPRAY BOTTLE
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PLAMP FLEXIBLEARM:
SETTING-UP:Thistype ofimageis easy toshoot andshould take no more than an hour. You canset up in your gardenor indoors, using a small table as your base. A macro lens would bethe idealchoice,as they typically havea 1:1 reproduction ratio,but a reversing ring, close-uplens or extension tube would also work. A remoterelease would also be useful(or if youdon't have one, your DSLR'sself-timer would help), as would a small reflector. You'll needa nice, colourful flower to photograph, suchas a gerbera or sunflower. Theflowerand the object your droplets arehangingfrom needto be clamped into position,and the droplets should be suspended between 10-30cm in front of the flower, from a thinreed,grassor branch.Wimberley Plampsare usefulfor this, butbulldog clips or tape would also work. Lastly, to createyour droplets, use a water sprayer or atomiser. Spray repeatedlyuntil large droplets form and hangfrom your reed or branch. This can be a ratherfrustrating process, soit may takea few attemptsto get thedropletsjustright.
I used a basic table-top set-up andbought a large, redgerbera from thelocalflorist. Thebigger theflower, thebetter, as it will alsobe thebackdropfor the shot. My droplets were suspended from a freshgreen reed, from mypond. I attached two Plampsto thetable; one to holdthe reedin place, and the other to position theflower around20cm behind.The reed needs to be held horizontally, orthe water will run alongit, butthe advantageof using Plampsis that their flexible arms areeasyto adjust and position. I alignedthe flower and reedso thatthe flower head createda frame-filling backdrop.Next, I sprayedthe reed withan atomiser until a row of droplets formed. Having donethis,I moved mytripod into position– parallel to the droplets and flowerbehind.
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1refracted imageof theflower in everydrop. I decided to focus on a coupleof
2millimetres. Therefore,accurate focusing is critical, whichis why if your
dropletsthat wereside byside.Next,I prioritiseda large apertureof f/4 in order tothrowthe flowerbehind completely outof focus. I then focused on thedroplets and released the shutter. However, by focusing on the drop itself, rather thanthe reflection, the refracted flower images were out-of-focus.
eyesight allowsit, youshould always optfor theaddedprecision of manualfocus. I carefully altered mypointof focus, so that it wason therefracted image of the flower. However, depth-of-field was so narrow at f/4, thatnothing otherthan my point of focusis recordedas acceptably sharp.
Just bylookingat therow of droplets, I could see theperfectminiature
With close-up photography, depth-of-field is often just a matter of
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Finalimage Experiment with vertical and horizontal compositions and alter the shootingangle. Sometimesa shallow depth-of-field worksbest, and vice versa.I tried several approaches, but opted fora composition at a slight angleto thereed.I then focused on a single droplet, keeping the flower within it sharp,whilsteverythingelse driftedpleasantlyout of focus.
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In aperture-priority mode, I selecteda smaller f/number of f/14.I hoped this would generate enough depth-of-field to keep the droplets,refracted images and reed in acceptable focus. Theresulting slowershutter speed enhancedthe riskof camerashake,so even the tiniestvibrationcausedby pressing theshutter releasebutton would softenthe image. Therefore, the useof a remoterelease wasessential toensurea sharp result.
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The previousimage wasOK, butthe composition wasn't terribly exciting. I decidedthat isolating justtwo of thedroplets didn't createa strong enough visual impact, so I sprayed the reeds again, to createmore drops,and then focusedon a largergroup. I maintained thesettings forthe lastimage, usingf/14 with a corresponding shutterspeed of 1/4sec. Theresultwas more interesting, but I was certain thatI coulddo better.
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Shooting movement inascene ROSSHODDINOTT: Using a lengthy exposure to blur subjectmovement is a popular techniquethat can create theimpressionof motionandgive images more life and dynamism. It is particularlywell-suited to landscapes. This is a very subjectivetechnique, butI think it can transform a good imageinto an excellent one. However, achievingjust the right amount of blur involves experimentingwith a range of differentexposure times,so it cantakea while to get right,and is fairlyhit-and-miss. Watermovementis themost popularsubjectforthis technique, thoughit canworkwell with subjects includingclouds, people, flowersandgrasses. A golden field of wheat or barley can be highlyphotogenic as it gently sways in the breeze. On a breezy day, finda viewpointwhere you caninclude a staticsubjectto contrastwith themovement,such
TIME REQUIRED 45 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D700, 17-35MM WIDE-ANGLE LENS
ALSO USED TRIPOD, POLARISER & ND FILTER
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as a fence,treeor pylon. Now it’s time tobegin shooting movement inthe landscape.
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To generate the slowest possible shutter speedfor the available light, select the lens’s smallest aperture and lowest ISO sensitivity. This still maynot be slow enoughto create thedegree of subject movement you require. To lengthen your exposurefurther, you will need filters. NEUTRAL DENSITY(ND) filters are designed to absorblight to artificially lengthen exposures. They are availablein both screw-in and slot-invarieties anda range of densities. Themost commonstrengths areone,two andthree stops – while B+Woffer a ten-stop filter for generating exposures of extreme length. A two-stopND willsuffice in most situations. When using ND filters, compose andfocus your image beforeattaching thefilter, otherwisethe viewfinderimagewill be too dark. Your TTL metering will automatically adjust for the filter’s factor. POLARISING FILTERSalso absorblight – increasing theexposure time by around two stops – andcan be utilised as makeshift NDs.
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SETTING UP:When using a lengthy shutter speed to blur subject movement, a tripodis essential,or you’ll addyourown movement to that of the subject. This is a very different typeof ‘blur’, known as camera shake, which is almostalways undesirableas it can ruin a shot byblurring elements that ought to be sharply in focus.
1 landmark andI knew that thesurroundingfarmlandwas planted with corn. TheDaymark is a navigationalaid in South Devon.It is an attractive
I waitedfor a fine, breezy evening andvisited with theintention of blurring the crop. However, in program mode, the camera selected an exposure of 1/80sec at f/11 – too fast torecord anyobvious subject motion.
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2 mode, which will allow you to
3 enoughto record thewind
4 recordedan acceptabledegree of 5 that’s long enoughto make the
quickly set the slowest shutter speed availablefor theambient light. I also selected thecamera’s lowest ISO sensitivity, to help generate a long exposure. Although longer, the resultingexposureof 1/15sec at f/22 wasn’tslowenough to make any discernible difference.
movement,you’ll need touse filtration.Polarising filters havea filter factor of two stops, so I attached one. Notonly didit lengthen the exposureto 1/4sec at f/22,but it helpedto saturate thecolours.I opted fora low viewpoint, tohelp to emphasise the movement.
motion, I wondered how an even longer exposurewould alterthe image,so I attached a three-stop ND filter. The resulting exposurewas two seconds. However, the movement of thecrop wasnow too great. Thecorn in the foreground was completely blurred and looked messy.
Switch to shutter-priority
To achieve an exposure slow
Although the previous exposure
Thekey is totake an exposure
effect look intentional; yet without makingthe subject look unrecognisable. This will depend on thesubject andwind speed.Forthis image, I replacedthe three-stop ND with a two-stop ND filter. In this instance, an exposure of onesecond at f/22 created just therighteffect.
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Finalimage Using the same settings, I took a variety of shots, as no two 'motion' shots areever the same. I experimented withviewpoints and composition.I washappy with the results, but havingexperimented recently with black & white photography, I decidedthe image would work well convertedto mono.
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Shootmovingwater r o o d t u O
Techniquewatch
TIME REQUIRED LEE FROST: Although it has becomesomething of 30 MINUTES a cliché, using a slow shutter speed to record EQUIPMENT USED moving water as a graceful, milky blur is an CANONEOS-1DS MkIII undeniably effectivetechnique, which is why so WITH CANON manyphotographers, including myself, like to use it. From 17-40MMZOOM tumbling mountain streams to bubbling brooks and ALSO USED thundering waterfalls, wherever you find moving water, the ND FILTER,ND GRAD, same basic approach can be used tocaptureit and turn an TRIPOD, REMOTE RELEASE,LENSCLOTH ordinary scene into a creative image that’s full of atmosphere. Even better, moving water is best shot on an overcast day with soft light so there areno blinding highlights to contend with, caused by sunlight reflecting on the water. This makes it a perfect subject forthosedull, grey days photographers in the UK know so well!
SELECTASLOWSHUTTERSPEED: Thekeyto success when shooting movingwater is to usea shutter speed that’s slow enoughto blur thewater, so it records witha smooth, milky appearance, but not soslowthat areas where the water ismore concentratedstart to overexpose and burnout. This is a matterof trial anderror, butan exposure of onesecond usuallymakes a good starting point. Thegreat thing about digitalcaptureis that youcan check eachshotyoutake toseehowit looks, then shortenor lengthenthe exposure timeuntilyou get theperfect result. If tiny areas ofwaterburnout, don’t worry – when you downloadthe images and view them as full-sizefiles, chances are those highlight warnings willhavedisappeared.If not, it’s a simple jobto use the Clone Stamp toolin Photoshopto copy andpastewater from a different partof theimageoverthe overexposedareas.
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Because a slow shutter speed willbe used to blur the water movement, always mountyour camera on a sturdy tripod tokeep it nice andsteady. It’s also a good idea to attach a remotereleaseso youcantrip theshutter withouttouchingthe camera, which risks vibrations that could lead to your images being ruinedby shake.
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In dull weather, stoppingyour lens down to f/16 orf/22andsetting a low ISO may give you a shutter speed slow enoughto blur thewater. If not, usea Neutral Density (ND) filter toincreasethe exposure.A polarisingfiltercan also be used to increasethe exposure by two stops– so 1/4sec becomes one second, for example.
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Beforetaking a shot, check thelens or filter for water droplets.If you’re shooting closeto a waterfall splashesor spraymay geton thelens. In this case, drizzle wasthe culprit. Wipe thewater awaywith a clean microfibrecloth, otherwiseimage qualitywill suffer. Holdingan umbrella over the camera canhelp in rainy weather.
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Takeyourfirstshot andreviewit. I wasinitially attracted to this spout of water hitting a rock andcascading in alldirections. Shooting side-on proved to be a good angle anda shutter speed of onesecond offered enough blur. Theshotworked, butthere were many other optionsto explore.
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I decided to trya wider view,usingthe water spout in thepreviousstepas foreground interest, carrying the eyeup the ravine towardsthe distant peaks of theCuillin Ridge. It took a few attempts toget theshutter speed just right so no areas of the moving water were overexposed.
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Finalimage Here’s the end result, shot with an exposure of 1.3 seconds at f/22 (ISO 50), using a 0.9ND filter to increase the exposure and a 0.6ND hard graduate to hold detail in the sky. The dull weather and soft light worked well, perfectly revealing the subtle colours in the scene, while the blurred water captures the feel of the tumbling mountain stream.
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Levitationeffect
Ablastofashutterthat willblowyouaway! CAROLINEWILKINSON: DavidBlaine hasshown us he can do it, Derren Brown does it with large tablesand, come on, we all believed in the power of Mary Poppins’ umbrella. But is it truth or trickery? Quite frankly though, who cares? The levitation effect looks great and,evidently, always leaves people wondering how it was done. Using Photoshop to create the illusion is a skill of its own, usually done through compositing or removing objects that give a personheight. However, this time, I’mgoing to show you how to achieve theeffect entirely in-camera, relying on timing, patience, a veryfastshutter speed and a subject who is fit enoughto jump time and again!
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TIME REQUIRED 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D300 & SIGMA 18-200MMLENS
ALSO USED MODEL & UMBRELLA
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T hi n g s ar e lo o k i n g up !
T he e ff e l oo k s u ct w or k s b e p u m tt e r i f y ou u nfl a t t e a t t he b . r s ub j ec t ri n g e xp j um I t vo p r e s s re l l a i n i d g s a n y a nd n s c re a g iv e s io t he u m a t e br e l l a i mp i s t h t he r e s d w hi l e e c au n t s e o si o t f t he l ev i ha ta t i o n
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POSITION& SHUTTERSPEED!
I triedthistechnique ina field and onconcrete, but neitherworkedas well asbeing ontop ofa hill with 1 justsky as background. To capture theall-important
By standing parallel tothe model, soher feet weren’t atmy eye line,it was hardto tell thatshehad much 2 distance offthe ground.Havingchosento move to a hill,
height, trya contrasting backdrop behind thefeet,adding a shadowor standing someonenextto themodel to benchmark howhigh they areoff theground.
it allowedme topositionmyself below herfor an upward viewpoint that really helped mecapture thefull distance when shejumped.
There aretwo factors thatwill determinesuccess or failure: the shutter speed and thesubject’s position. Useas fast a shutterspeed as possibleto freezethe subjectin mid-air, ideally at thetop of thejump, when they arefurthest from the ground.Watch themodel’s feet too. If they’re pointeddown they will mask thedistance between foot andfloor which makes theshot so effective.
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I setmy camerato shutter-priority and 3 Continuous AF, which continually adjusts the focusona moving subjectto keepthe imagecrisp.I also set the camera toCH (continuoushigh shooting mode)to increase myshooting rate.Youcanalwaystry to predictthe timeto hit theshutter release,but I found iteasierto hold itdownfrom the moment sheleft theground.
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Thesuccessof theillusionrelies on the subjectlooking likethey'relevitating. 4 To getthis effectrequiresa fast shutter speed,soI set the ISO to640toletmeset theshutter to 1/8000sec.This frozemy subjectbut mytimingwasoffso I missed her atthepeakof her leap.I triedagain,and did better, buther feet pointeddown, obscuring howhigh shehad jumped.
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Finalimage Timing is everything with this technique. Just keep your subject jumping, don't stop shooting, and you will eventually get the shot you want. I tweaked the Hue and Saturation of this image to pump up the vivid colour.
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Photographour feathered friends ROSSHODDINOTT: If you havea garden, I expect
you also share it with a number ofbirds. The average UK garden is visited by a wide variety, with bluetits, great tits, chaffinches, robins, sparrows and blackbirds being the mostwidespread. Wildlifephotography is a very popular subject and, at one time or another, mostdigital photographers will be tempted to try snapping the birds in their backyard. Bird photography isn’t easy, though, andcan prove challenging and frustrating. However, with a little planning, patience and bribery – in the form ofwildbird food – it is possible to capture stunning bird images. You may even be able to do so from the comfort of your very own living room or kitchen.
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Essentialkit TELEPHOTO LENS:
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Gardenbirdsare small and evenif you can entice them within three metres of yourcamera, you’ll still need a focal lengthupwardsof 300mmto capture frame-filling shots. Thankfully, telezoomsare notas costlythesedays. Thelong endof a 70-300mm zoom shouldprove sufficient, particularlyin combinationwith a DSLR witha cropped type sensor– as itsfocallength willeffectivelybe increased by a factorof around 1.5x. Theonly problemto using budget telephotos is that they tend to have a relatively pedestrian maximum aperture,typically f/5.6. Consequently,shutter speeds areslower, makingit more difficult to freeze subject movement.In good daylight though,usinga lens witha slowermaximum aperture shouldn’t be a problem.
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1conceal your whereabouts. Most wild birds arequite timid andeasily
To capture visiting birds,you first needto decidehow youare goingto
2 can dothisin the formof foodor water. Ifyou already havea birdfeeder in
frightened away. While a hide is ideal,it is an added cost. Instead,try using a gardenshed or a householdwindow. Buycamouflagenettingfrom your local army surplus supplies or www.wildlifewatchingsupplies.co.uk and hang this acrossyour open door or windowto create a makeshifthide.Youcan then pokeyour lens through the netting, keeping yourself hidden.
your garden,just move it within a few metres of your ‘hide’.If not, buya feederfrom a local gardencentre andpositionit close toyour set-up. Only buyrecommendedwild bird seed andpeanuts.Within days, hours,or even minutes, birds will be visiting your ‘feeding station’. Keep feeders full, so that birds get in thehabitof visiting regularly.
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To enticebirds withinrange of your lens, you will need tobribethem. You
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3 didn’twantto photographthe birds on thefeeder. Instead,I introduced one
4 prioritisea fast shutter speed to freeze theirmovement. Shutter-priority is
or two propsnearby that visiting birds wouldhopefullyuse to rest on between feeds.You could tryanything, forexample, position a branch of colourful blossom adjacent toyour feeder, or maybe a clothes linewith pegs in orderto create an urban-looking shot. In this instance, I opted forthe handleof an old spade, positioned nextto the feeder.
themode best suitedto this type of photography. Ideally, a speed upwards of 1/400secis needed, otherwiseyour shots maysuffer from subject blur. Select themaximum aperture of your lens and, if necessary, increase theISO rating. Despite using a shutter speed of 1/250sec, my first fewimages suffered from subjectblur, so I raised theISO from 100 to200.
I wanted to capture some nice, natural-looking birdimages. Therefore, I
Gardenbirdsareflighty– theydon’tstay still long– soyouneedto
Gardenbirds
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5 shallow.This is usefulfor throwing background and foreground detail out
6 persevere. With my set-up complete,I investedseveralhours overthe
of focus andhelping to isolate your subject. However, such a limited depth-of-field means youneed to focus with pinpoint accuracy. Try tofocuson the bird’seyes – ifthese aren’tsharp,theimage willbe ruined. AFis the best andquickestmethod of focusing when shooting fast-moving small birds,so I setmy D300 to itscontinuous AF trackingmode.
courseof three days at my studio window shooting thevisiting birds. SometimesI hadto wait more than an hour before a bird woulduse theperch. Be prepared tospendlots of time andtakelots of framesbefore getting the shot youare after. You will have lots of ‘near misses’, butthe good shots more than make up forthem.
When using a telezoomwith a large aperture, depth-of-field will be very
Oneof thekey pointsto takinggood wildlife pictures is tobe patient and
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Capture interesting detailshots of your car STEWART BYWATER: A fun wayto makesome striking, colourful images is to shoot car close-ups. Cars make great subjects, as they have so many details and angles, and you can shoot them anywhere, from beautiful landscape locations to just outside your home. Bright sunshine will emphasise the colours of the bodywork, but don’t let cloudy conditions put you off. If it’s bright, the clouds will be reflected, adding interest to the shots. Either way, it’s easy to get great results with minimal effort.Do keep in mind that buildings or objects near your car will also be reflected in theglass or the bodywork though. I chose to shoot a Mini, as they're instantly recognisable, with lots of fantastic details and curves. Many thanks to Alex at Sycamore BMWin Peterborough, who was kind enough to lend me one. To seetheir excellent range of new and pre-owned cars, please visit: www.sycamorebmw.co.uk
Essentialkit TIME REQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 10D & 17-40MM F/4 L LENS, POLARISING FILTER
ALSO USED MINI COOPER
POLARISER: I used a circularpolarisingfilter onmy CanonEF 17-40mmf/4 lens.Rotatingthe filtermeantthatnot only were the detailson thecaraccentuated, I could also manipulate the reflections onthe glassand non-metallicpartsof thecar, such as thewindscreenand bodywork. However, polarisingfilters do not affect metallic reflections, so be aware ofyoursurroundings,as they willbe reflectedin any chromeor steelparts.Perhaps themost important benefit ofusinga polariser forthis technique, however, is that they reallyhelpto saturatethecoloursof a car, givingtheshots a reallyvivid lookandmaking them standout more.
THE SET UP: OnceI arrivedat the showroom,I hada lot ofcarstochoosefrom. I decidedon a red Mini,foritsstrong colour anddistinctive Union Flag roof.I asked Alex tomove the car ontoa grass verge,so that theshowroomand nearbycars wouldnot reflectin thebodywork. I also felt that a clean backgroundconsisting simply of the greengrassand cloudy bluesky wouldwork betterwith these shots thanthe showroom's exterior would.I turnedon thelights, as well as theorange warninglights, which I thought wouldadd a littlebit of extrainterestto some of theless colourful parts of thecar.
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As it was a fairlybright day, butslightly overcast,I set my ISOratingto 200. This wouldgiveme a fast enoughshutter speed,and keep thenoise levels relatively lowin theimages. I set theWhite Balance to'Daylight', although I changed it to'Cloudy'later on.I used aperture-priority with thelensat itswidest aperture, f/4, to limitthe depth-of-fieldfor a morearty effect.
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Onethingthat's very difficult when shooting such shinysurfaces as the chromedecals of a car, is tokeepyourown reflection outof theframe.To startwith, I used a tripod on self-timer mode tominimisethe reflection, butthe camera was still reflected. It also increased thetimefor each shot andtooka lot of the spontaneity outof it,so I decided toshoothandheld instead.
Once I'densured that my camera was correctly setup,and my memorycard wasin place andformatted, I attached a circular polarising filter tomy lens. This is a simpleprocess, as thepolariser simplyscrewsintothe filter threadat theend of thelens. Polariserscan be really usefulfor bringing outcoloursand clouddetails.Tobe honest, this onerarelyleaves mylens.
In my bidto shootthe carfrom some unusual angles, I found it necessary tolie on theground.I findshootingfroma lying-down positionmuch easier andmorecomfortable than crouching andstrainingmy neck. It also allows me tohold thecameramoresteadily. If you don't wantto get dirty, usea DSLR with LiveView or fit a right-angle viewfinderattachment.
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Finalimages Because I haduseda polarisingfilter,the colours andsaturationwere not consistentin allof myshots. However,shooting in Raw format enabled me toadjust thisbefore openingthe images in Photoshop.I alsoaddeda little contrast andtweaked the saturationwhere necessary. Finally, I usedthe Clone Stamp toolto remove thelampposts andanybitsofdirtordustfrom myshots.I decidedto leavethe reflections as theywere, but these could alsobe cloned out in Photoshopif desired.
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SHOOT BEAUTIFUL PORTRAITS, STILL-LIFES AND CLOSE-UPS IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME
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Staysimplewithdaylight
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DANIELLEZANO: Manyleading lifestyle portrait photographers use
TIME REQUIRED 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED CANON EOS 5D MKII WITH 50MM F/1.8
ALSO USED SILVER REFLECTOR & LASTOLITE DIFFUSER
nothing more than ambient daylight forthe vast majority of their portraitshoots. So, while we have thebenefits of bright, sunny days at ourdisposal,we shoulduse it to capture some simple yet effective portraits of family and friends. Thebest thing about shooting lifestyle portraitsis that you can do it with the minimum amount ofequipment – your DSLR or CSC with a kit lens is enough – although I’m using my favourite optic, the humble (and cheap!) 50mm lens. Dueto theunpredictable nature of daylight,lighting aids such as a reflector and a diffuser can come in handy too,but aren’t essential. Thekey thing to remember is that you want to capture a ‘clean’ image, in other words try tokeepthe subjectand the setting as simple as possible. I’ve opted for theclassic combination of having my subject, Bethany, wear a white top andjeans,andshot her lying on my diningroom's laminate flooring.
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SHOOTAT A SLANT: One compositional trickthatmost lifestyle photographersapplyto their imagesis to slant the camera so that theimages are capturedwith an uneven horizon. This simple technique adds a littleenergyinto the image andis very effective – just take care not to tiltthe camera toofar.
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r e wi t h f o cu Y o u ne ed s ! t o e nsu r e y ou p re c i s e a r f o s c u u s si i n ng a w id g iv e s l im e ap g i s i te d d t h r e, w -o f- fi el er t u mar gi n f or e rr ep d, l ea v es hi ch l oc k l it t l e t he f o or . S el e c t s i ng l cu s o n t h t AF , e e ye and e- p oi n r ec o m p os e g n i t h g i L
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My diningroom is quite small, so I’ve hadto clear it completely of furniture. 1 Asmy subject willbe lyingon the floor, I vacuumit toensureit’sas clean as possible. Dueto thecrampedspace, I open thepatio doors in caseI needto shoot fromthe patio. However, I’ll startby shooting fromwithin theroom and use the white wallsas a neutral backdrop. Using a wide aperture to give a shallow depth-of-field is ideal for this typeof shotand I’ll betryingout my 50mm’smaximum aperture of f/1.8, although I’ll take most of theimages at f/2.5-3.5 as it will improve sharpness.
Techniquewatch DIFFUSED DAYLIGHT: For flattering portraits, thelight shouldbe as diffused as possible to avoidyour model squinting in direct sunlight or having the light on theirface too harsh.In this instance, tryto repositionthem so they’re in the shade or use a diffuser to shade thescene (inset right). If neither of these work, you may need to wait until the sun’s position changes or shoot when the sky is more overcast. A silver reflector is handy even when shootingin non-directional light to fill in shadows.
My first shotis just a tester forcomposition andexposure. I’ve a pretty clear ideain myheadof the type ofshotI’m looking for, with Bethany 2 lying downwithher lower legs and feetbentbacktowardsher head. This
I placea silver reflector toBethany's rightjust out offrame and it makes a noticeable difference, bouncingback enough light to even out the 3 lightingon the face. Thelighting’s better, but the wall behind, while plain,
shot isn’t bad,but theside-lightingcauses herright side tobe too dark.
causes the whole scene to appeara little toocramped formy liking.
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My next shot is perfectand all I need todo is applyminimal post-production. I’veboosted the contrastin Curvesand croppedthe image slightlyto give me the result I set outto shoot. Giveit a try– you’ll be surprised just howeasy it is to shoot a great lifestyle portrait at home.
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I shiftBethany and myposition sothatI’m now shootingintothe room from the patioratherthanfrom the side.I close theblinds in the backdrop so to darken the background. Theempty space created behind her is an improvement over the originalset-up but my viewpoint is toohigh.
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I crouch down andthe lower viewpoint is far betterbut the multi-zone meter has bleachedout Bethanyslightly due to the dark background causing it to overexpose the scene. This is easily taken care of by dialling in some negative exposure compensation. I find -2/3EV is ideal.
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Fun with refraction r o o d t u O
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ROSS HODDINOTT: Refraction is the directional shift or ‘bending’ of light rays as they TIME REQUIRED leave one density andenter 45 MINUTES another – it is the reasonwhy yourlegs EQUIPMENT USED look shorter underwater when viewed NIKON D300 & from above thesurface. Theway in SIGMA 150MM whichwater refracts and reflects its MACRO LENS surroundings, and nearby objects, ALSO USED offers endless creative potentialfor SWEETS, CD CASE, PAPER & SYRINGE photographers. Water droplets act like tiny ‘lenses’ reflectingperfect, miniature, reversed images within them. Photographed in close-up,usingeithera macro lens or close-up attachment, you can capturethis striking effect. Colourful flowers look particularly goodwhen photographedthrough a water droplet – creating an ‘image withinan image’. You could trytaking pictures outside after rainfall or a dewy night when foliage is dripping.However, this gives youlittle control over theimagereflectedwithinyour droplet, andyou also have to consider wind movement. Instead, why notarrange a simple, table-topset-up indoors andcreate your own refraction photos?By doing so, you can decide exactly what will be reflectedwithinyourdroplets. You canhaveall sorts of funusing differentsubjects; for example, you could usetext, flowers, a flag, a
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1I decidedto photographthe refractedimageof somecolourfulsweets. I wantedto createa fun,colourfulimage.So after muchdeliberating,
To doso,I neededsome glassor clearplastictoplace mydropletson – I opted forthe lidof a CDcase.Tocreate andpositionmy reflectivedroplets, I decidedto usea syringe, buta dropper or water spraywouldalso work.
To achieve enough depth-of-fieldto keep both the droplet andrefracted image in acceptable focus,you will needto select a small aperture. This willresult in a slow shutter speed, making the useof a tripod essential to keep the camerashake-free and to allow youto accurately select your point of focus. Capturing frame-filling imagesof tiny waterdropletsrequires shooting at a relatively highlevelof magnification – when even the tiniest movement seemsgreatly exaggerated. Using a remote release is preferable to physicallyreleasing the shutterwith your finger, which can createslightvibrations thatcan softenthe final image. If you don’t have a remoterelease,use your camera’s self-timer facility.
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2white card into a cylindricalshape,placing it aroundthe sweets, tohelp reflect 3maximisedepth-of-field.I composed my shotand carefully focusedon the I arranged thesweets on a black surface. I thenrolled-up andtapeda sheet of
light evenlyand tocreate a makeshift‘stand’on which toplacethe CDlid. Using thesyringe,I carefully created a seriesof tiny droplets onthe CD case – eachdrop creating a refractedimageof thesweets below.
Using a tripod,I positionedmy cameradirectly overhead,keeping itparallel to
refractedimagewithinthe droplets – notthe droplets'surfaces. I started witha large aperture off/4,but thedepth-of-fieldwas toonarrowand everythingother thanthe reflected imageswas outof focus.
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W it h t hi s t y e o f i m an u a f op m e , u i t i s i m c s o n ag i ts e l f , n ll y po r t a n t h o t o t t o n d ro s ur e r ef r a c t e d p l e i ma t , a s t he f g a c e e t h o t o p re d e f t A h e F i c t y ou m a w at e r r d e s y st e m y s t g si r e d p oi n g l e t o f f ru oc u s
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4shutterspeedwas two seconds, soa tripod andremote releaseproved
5plasticcase beforeI began shooting, tiny marks were obviousacross the
essential. Theresult hadfar more impact– thedropletswerein focus,and the sweetsbehind madea colourful background.However, dustand scratches onthe plasticwerealso nowvisible becauseof thesmalleraperture.
image.Using a combinationof Photoshop's Clone tool andHealingBrush, I carefully cleanedthe image.I thenadjustedthe Levelsto increase contrast, uppingthe saturationslightly too, in Hue/Saturation, toadd impact.
I changedthe aperture tof/22 toincreasedepth-of-field.The resulting
Thenext stepwasto tidyup myimage.Even though I hadwipedover the
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DANIELLEZANO: If you've never tried photographing a flower, I'd suggest you give it a go. As a photographer who has concentrated mainly on portraiture, the enjoyment I found from composing my first ever flower still-life came as nothing short of a revelation. It's an incredibly rewarding form of photography, which allows you to practise your skills with composition and lighting, as well as testing your creativity by trying to find different angles and viewpoints to shoot from. The sheer variety of beautiful flowers available will give you endless options for your still-life. My personal favourite is the gerbera, butit is run a close second by the elegant beauty of the rose. However, I find thegerbera to be a far easier flower tophotograph,as its shapeallows you tocapture it from all sortsof angles and crops. In my view, the rose is a much harder proposition; it is more fragile and the folds of its petals can mean that not everyone you findis a suitablesubject for photography. In the past, when I've bought roses, I've specifically headed to a good florist and delved through their selection for the perfect subject. For this step-by-step however, I snipped roses from a neighbour's garden (with permission of course!) to show that it is possible tofind a suitable subject even among ordinary flowers from the garden.
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TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 500D & 100MM MACRO LENS MANFROTTO 055MF4 TRIPOD WITH RC322 HEAD & REFLECTOR
ALSO USED PINK GARDEN ROSE
Essentialkit MACRO LENS & TRIPOD: Because we’re trying to fill the frame with a very small subject, a macro lens is pretty much an essential bit of kit. It will allow you to focus within a few centimetres from your subject and exclude the background from the frame, so that the entire image is filled with your flower. Now it’s fair to say that you can get away with shooting handheld here, especially if your camera or lens has an image stabilisation facility, but I’d highly recommend that you do use a tripod. Using one will allow you to fine-tune your compositions, ensure your focusing is absolutely precise (this is absolutely critical with macro photography) and also let you shoot a series of identical shots at different aperture settings so that you can later choose the one that you prefer.
THE SET-UP:The great thing about close-up flower photography is you don't need an elaborateset-up. Thearea close to the French doors in my diningroom providedall the light I needed for theshoot. The rosewas balancedin a half-filled plastic water bottleto holdit in position,while my camerawith macro lensis set upon a tripod.I find that shootinga flower indoors offerstwo key advantages: wind blowing the flower isn't an issue andshootingin the shade provides a far gentlerlight.Finally,it's worth keepinga silver reflector on hand should youneed to bounce some light back into the scene. e v i t a e r C
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FOCUS PROBLEMS I setaperture-priority modeand, foroptimumquality, a low ISOof 100.One thingI haven'tsetyetis theautofocus.I leave it at multi-point, justto demonstrate whathappens. With all AF points active,the camera focuseson the closestpartof thesubject, whichis on the farleftof the frame.Switching tosingle-pointAF and settingthe AF point over the area I want tofocus sorts this out. Another option is touse manualfocus.
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FINE-TUNE THE COMPOSITION Withfocusing solved, take a shotand check the histogram. You should findthat unless thefloweris very light or dark, your exposures arecorrect.Now concentrate on the composition.Make small adjustmentsto thetripodhead, raise or lower the legsand move the flower until you'rehappy with howit's framed.LiveViewproves very useful, as youcan monitorchanges more easily thanif using theviewfinder.
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Finalimage Theadvantage of buyingfrom a florist is thatyour subject will have fewer imperfections. This gardenrose hada few discoloured areas, but they were easilycleaned up with the Healing Brush tool in Photoshop. After 15 minutes of photography and five minutes of Photoshop, I've a beautiful still-life ofa flower toadd to my colourful collection!
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USE A REFLECTOR IF REQUIRED I waspleasedwith thecompositionof the image, butnotso happythatthe side ofthe flower closestto thewindowwas much brighter than the rightside. I balanced this outby restingmy reflector on the tripodleg closestto theflower. The lightit bounces back is subtle,but I'm happy withthe differenceit makes to the image.
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APERTURESETTINGSOnce you'rehappy with the composition and lighting, take a series of exposures at one-stop intervals from maximum to minimum aperture to give youa complete set, from minimal depth-of-field toas muchas possible in focus. To minimise shake in thelongerexposures, use the self-timer or a remoterelease to firethe shutter.
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Howtotakeaperfectbath-timeportrait ROSSHODDINOTT: Whilst some photographers might have access to a studio, or own a home studio set-up and lights, the majority of us don't. So what can wedo when we're stuck at home on a cold, wet winter day, to create studio-like results? Well, have you ever considered using your bath? No, not for a relaxing soak, but toreflect light. A white tub will act likea large reflector – reflecting light entering through an adjacent window (or a burst of flash), evenly around a subject placed in the bath. It will also form a clean, white backdrop – helping create attractive, high-key results. To put this theory to the test, I decided to take some fresh portraits of my two-year old daughter; but would she stay still long enough for me to take a good picture?
TIME REQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D300 & 105MM MACRO LENS
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t o b e t h e w l ig h v e t a i t s. I n n W i n d h o t e p r o r t c a n o f o u r p o r t n a l
l i g i g h t i n g y f e s s i o W i n d o w o f l e a t m a n y p r o e a r b y i t, y a w t c p e r f e e r e a r e a g r h e r s w h o s w r e s o r t f a c t, t h i t p h o t o g r a p s h a s a l a s t p o r t r a t r o d u c i n g fl a o n l y i n
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ofusing a bathas a makeshift ‘reflector’ is thesize ofthe subjects that youcan shoot.Theymustn’t exceed theheight ofthe tub, so selectan object which isn’t toobig. Due tothetypeor size ofthe subjects youwill be shooting, a focal lengthin theregion of 100-150mm is ideallysuited. A macrolens is ideal,due to its close focusing ability. To photographmy daughter, I used a Sigma 105mm macro. This is a popularlens withportrait photographers,as it allows youto takepicturesfrom a comfortable distance away fromyour sitter, while its f/2.8 maximum aperture creates a brightviewfinderimage.
HISTOGRAMS: Regularly check yourimage’s histogram
to ensure exposureis accurate. Whilst photographingmy daughter in thebath,I relied on thehistogram to ensure that thebright, whitebath tubwasn’t fooling mymetering into underexposure– something whichwould have been indicatedby peaks to theleft of thegraph.
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I'mnot a portraitphotographer anddon'thave access to a proper studio, so when I take pictures indoors, I have to improvise.I wanted to take some freshshotsof mydaughter butthe initial results were disappointing. When simplytaking shots of herin ourlounge at home, dark, unflatteringshadows formedunderneath hereyes, mouth andchin.
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With thehelpof a few chocolatebuttons, mydaughtersat in the bath. Althoughconfused by thelack of water, she happily smiled while I began taking pictures.The light entering throughthe windowbounced aroundthe bath, creating a more flattering light source. Thetub formeda clean, simple backdrop, but hereyes lacked a catchlight– vital forcreating depth and life.
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Finalimage When shooting portraits, you often have to shoot a large sequence of images before you get the light, composition and pose just right. After many chocolate buttons, I’d managed to take a couple of shots I was really happy with – nicely lit portraits, taken with the simplest of set-ups. Finally, don’t overlook the possibility of converting your image to black & white. In Photoshop, one of the best methods is Image>Adjustments>Channel Mixer. Check the Monochrome box and try to keep the combined total for channels to 100.
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To create a catchlight, I employed a small burst of fill-flash.I used my Nikon D300’s built-in unit, with a flashexposure compensationof -2stops, to ensurethe burst didn’toverwhelm theambient light.Not only didthe burst create a catchlight, butit bounced more light aroundthe bath tub. However, this time my focusing letme down – theeyes are notcritically sharp.
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I selected thelens’s largest apertureof f2/8 to throw thetub outof focus,so it wasunrecognisable, andto give a fast enoughshutter speed toallowme to workhandheld. However, the resulting depth-of-field was narrow, making accurate focusing critical. It is essentialthat eyes are sharp,so I tried again, takingextra care to ensure theeye closest tome wassharply focused.
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ROSS HODDINOTT: I possess a complete lack of culinary skills…just ask TIMEREQUIRED 45 MINUTES mypoor wife! I’mhopeless EQUIPMENT NEEDED inthe kitchen, which is why it is NIKON D300, SIGMA saferfor everyoneconcerned if I 105MM, TRIPOD photograph food rather than ALSO USED prepare it for eating! Opening a tin SPOON, DISH, ofbeans or soupis just about my TWEEZERS AND TIN OF ALPHABET SOUP limit. My little girls love alphabet spaghettiand it was watching my older daughtermaking words with theletters that got me thinking about thepicture potential. I decided to raid the cupboard and have funspellingout specific words using thealphabetsoup.This is a fun shot totry and it couldn’t be easier or cheaper todo. You can buy a couple ofsmall tins for under a pound atyour local supermarket,and then all that is required are a few everyday household bits and pieces. I used a small still-life tableto arrange my set-up, although a simple tabletop set-up in your kitchenor livingroom would do thejob equally well. Rather than usingflash, the soft natural light from an adjacent window is ideally suited to this type of still-life image. Time tostart spelling…
GETTING STARTED: I used a white products table as my base, but anytableor kitchen surface willworkwell. Keepsome kitchen towel nearby too: alphabet soup is messystuffand easy to get on your hands when you are picking out and arranging yourletters with tweezers. You don’t want to transfer tomato saucefrom your hand to your valuable camera gear!
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Firstly, I opened thetinof soup andpoured thecontents into a flat, white dish. Using tweezers,I began picking out theletters I required. In this instance, I thoughtit aptto spell out PHOTODIY. However, even with tweezers, you haveto begentle not todamageor breaktheletters,but aftera few minutes, I soonfound theletters I needed formy chosen phrase.
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I thoughtit wouldbe funto havemy words ona spoonas itwould help the letters stand outand the spoon would addvisual interest.Again using tweezers,I arranged theletters. However, while the ideawas good, in practice the letters all slidtogetheras themetal is scooped,distorting their shape and making the words tricky to read.
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Carefully, I moved theletters backonto the dish. To ensure PHOTODIY stood outI left a small gap around the words.I then held the spoon in position, just abovethe dish,usinga clamp. I focusedon the spoon,butto ensure thewordsin the backgroundwere still distinguishable, I selected an aperture of f/11 to providesufficient depth-of-field.
I wasn’t happy with either of my previousefforts,so I decided todispense withthe spoon – insteadof creating interest,it wasproving a distraction. Thistime, I croppedin tighter, filling the frame withthe alphabetspaghetti. Thewindowlight providedamplelighting andI used a tripod toensuremy pictureremained shake-free at an exposure of 1/4secat f/11.
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Finalimage I decidedthe alphabet spaghetti would look bettershot in a vertical composition. The format change meantI hadto rearrange the surrounding letters, leavinga larger gap around PHOTO DIY.
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Makea splash! r o o d t u O
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whether in large quantities or a tiny droplet.H 2O seems to be irresistible to photographers: theycan 'suspend' it by using a fast shutter speed or render it as a milky blur with a lengthy exposure, capture reflections off its surface or use it toadd the feeling ofmotionto an image. There is an infinite number of ways to shoot it, so it's no wonder that water features in so many of our images. Onepicture that many photographers want to take is a close-up of a droplet splashinginto water. Yes, it is a bit of a cliché, but done well it creates a very striking image. You don’t need much room; a simple tabletop set-up in your kitchen or livingroom will suffice. And you only need a basic set-up: a digital camera; close-up filter or macrolens; a single flashgun and a handful of everyday bits and bobs. Withinhalfan houror so, you can be set up and ready to begintaking beautiful images of sculptured water droplets.
TIMEREQUIRED 30 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D300, SIGMA 105MM LENS, TRIPOD, REMOTE RELEASE, SPEEDLIGHT SB-800 FLASH & FLASH CORD
ALSO USED CONTAINER, PLASTIC BAG, PENCIL & TOWEL
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! i n g d r y h t y r e y v r Kee p e to kee p yo u r g roe n a r ic sd.
e lec t o r t a n t I t ’ s i m p n t d a m a ge to we l h a nd y a t e to v a re p g a me r a i n to t h kee p n yo u r c I t ’s wo r s to w i pe do w eeded a l l t i me nd le n s w he n n bod y a
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Beforeyou begin taking pictures, youneed toarrange your set-up. You will
into.I used a painttray butanylarge,shallowcontainerwill do. I placed this ona still-life table,but a simple tabletop set-upwould do fine.Next,suspenda bag– partially fullof water – 30-60cm directly overhead.
FLASHGUN: An off-camera flash is required for this technique. You need a flashgun that can be used via a wireless transmitter or TTL flash cord. The flashgun then needs to be positioned so that it illuminates the surface being reflected in the water – in other words, you direct the flash burst at the water droplet’s background. Adjust power output and move the flashgun to different positions to alter the final result.
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2 water tray. Next, it's timeto consider lighting. You needto illuminate what I positionmy tripod-mounted Nikon D300so it's shootingdown into the
3 speed. I rarely use flashmyself, butit's fairly straightforward.I setit to its
you seereflectedin the water through the viewfinder – notthewater itself. I placed a sheetof whitecardat theendof thetray tocreatea simplebackground andangled my flashgun towards the card.
Manual modeand dialled in 1/16thpowerto generate a fast enough speed to freezethe droplets. This isa goodstarting pointso I recommendyou usethe sameand make adjustmentsafter reviewing results.
Nowthe technical bit.It's thepulse of the flashgun thatdictates your shutter
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Finalimage After 30 minutes, I hadtaken some nice imagesbut they lackedcolour, so I altered White Balance from Auto to its Tungsten WB preset. Deliberatingmismatching WBin this way gavemy final image a bluehue.
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I madea tinyhole inthebagusinga pin tocreatea constantdrip and helda pencilin the water atthe pointwhere the droplets werefallingso thatI could focus manually. I setan aperture of f/8 to generate enough depth-of-field to keep the dropletsharp butrenderany ripples attractively outof focus. I setthe flash sync speed to1/200secand set a low ISO rating of200 foo optimumquality.
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Time togetstarted. Good timing anda huge sliceof luck are required,so take lots ofshots – hundredspossibly – togetwhatyou are after. Itis an unpredictable technique andevery image is different. Expect lotsof ‘near misses’, suchas water ripplesbut no droplet. I found a remoterelease helped my timing, releasing the shutteras thedroplet hitthe water.
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Shootsome smoke trails SAILESHPATEL: Aneasy way to create stunning, abstract TIMEREQUIRED imageswith a mystical 45 MINUTES air is toshoot some smoke trails. EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 10D WITH I've used incense sticks forthis 100MM MACRO LENS, technique, as they are relatively CANON SPEEDLITE 430EX safe for indoor use andprovide FLASHGUN, WIRELESS just the right viscosity of smoke FLASH TRIGGER for this sort of result. As the ALSO USED BLACK FABRIC & CARD, smoke always rises in a slightly INCENSE STICKS, SHEET different way, there's an infinite OF GLASS, STUDIO TABLE variety of shapesand patterns to shoot. Onceyou've capturedyour smoke trail shots, there's also a wealth of options for adjusting them to create some truly magical results. Each trail canbe coloured, flipped, dodged, burnedor distorted in post-production to create other shapes. There is literally no limit to the potential of this technique. However, it is important to ensure that the incense sticks are used responsibly, as they can cause fires. Make sure that once they are lit, you stay with them at all times.
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I cover a studiotablewith a black cloth, addinga sheetof glass (aceramic dishwill also suffice) to reduce any riskof fire. I then stick theincensestick to theglasswith Blu-Tack. I mountmy flashgun behindthe incense,with a piece of black card stuck to thefar side of it,to prevent thelightspilling outontothe background. I set up mycamera (and wireless flash trigger)on a tripod,and open windows to ensurethatthe room is properly ventilated.
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I set mycamera toManual mode andswitch the lens to manualfocus, pre-focusingfor thearea just abovethe incense.I set a shutter speed of 1/200sec– my camera'sfastest flashsync speed – andan apertureof f/14, togive me sufficient depth-of-field. I also set mycamerato record the images in Raw format, asthis willnot onlyprovide thebestqualityimages possible,it willalso allow me toenrichthe blacksin theconversionprocess.
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Once I’mready to startshooting,I carefully light theincense, makingsurethat thestickis stuck securely andin no dangerof falling onto theblack fabric. For comfort'ssake, I usea remote releaseto fire theshutter. Once I havetaken between 30 and 40 shots,I make sure that theincenseis completely extinguishedand then review theimages on myLCD screen. I'm mainlylooking to check that no light from theflashgunhas hitthe background.
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Once I amsatisfiedwith theresults, I uploadthe images to my computer. In Adobe's Camera Raw converter, I usethe Blackssliderto darkenthe background beforeopening thefile.I then usethe Eraser tool in Photoshop to clean up any unwanted smoke spread. Next,I invertthe image(Image> Adjustments>Invert). This will change the smoke trailsto a hazy black andthe background to a crisp, pure white– makingthe imagestandout more.
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To addfurther interestto theshotand give it a real impact, I decideto add somecolour. In Photoshop's Hue/Saturation palette,I tick the Colorize and Preview boxes, beforemoving thesliders around until I'mhappy. I choosethis rich redcolour, anda saturation of 75per cent.I then savethe image under a new filename. Next,I open a different image andrepeat stepsthree andfour, butI decideto colourthe secondsmoketrail witha rich blue.
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With both shots open, I copy theblueone (Select>Select All;Edit>Copy) andpaste it onto thered image(Edit>Paste). I reduce theopacityof the blueimage andmoveit arounduntilit looks good. To align theimages, I use the FreeTransform tool (Ctrl+T).I then return theopacity ofthe blue layer to 100% andchange theLayer Blending Mode from Normalto Multiply. Finally, I flatten theimage(Layer>Flatten Image) andsave as a new fileagain.
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Finalimage Aftera few final tweaks to the Curves, Saturation and Contrast,I'm very happy withmy finalimage. Itis a very colourful abstract that couldlookgreatas a canvas print on anywall.
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Shoot fruit! STEWART BYWATER: Inspiration for an image can
come fromanywhere,and I got the ideafor this shot when I saw a billboard advertising a particular brand of alcoholic drink. The technique I used is a great one to try, as it allows you to produce a varied series of images, simply by making very minor adjustments. I decided to backlight the fruit togiveit a slight glow, and totry and capture the bubbles as theyrose tothe top,to create a more dynamic image.
TIMEREQUIRED 20 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 10D 100MM F/2.8 MACRO TRIPOD & REMOTE STUDIOFLASH LIGHTS
ALSO USED COFFEE JAR, LEMON & LIME, SPARKLING WATER & ICE CUBES
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LIGHTING: I useda studiotable for myshots, but ifyou don’t
have one, anytable wouldwork,with a white sheet,or some thick paper placedoverit. For thebackground, a sheet of white card works just fine (though for more unusual results, you could also try colouredbackgrounds). I used two Interfit studioflash lights, although any basic studioflash or continuous lighting system is suitable Onelight wasaimedat thewhitebackground, tomake surethatit lookedwhite inthe shot, ratherthana dull grey colour. This wouldalso bouncethe light back onto the subject, givingthe fruit a translucentglow. The other light was positioned over thejar, to light thesubject.I then carefully adjusted the positionof the lightsand thejar, to minimise the reflections that appeared on thefront of thejar.
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Once I’dgot allmy ingredients together, I cleaned thejar witha soft tea towel (beingcarefulnot to leaveany fibreson theglass). I filled thejar with ice, sliced thefruitand slid them into position (trying notto rubthem toomuchon theglassin theprocess), andplaced thejar on thestudio table.I used anold coffee jar, as itsflat sideswouldhelp me to control thereflections.
e an! Mak e sur e t hor oug hl y ou c lean t he g lass y Use v er y bef or e y ou st ar t sh or jar hot w at er t oot ing . and t hen u o w ash it , le , t o r emov e se a sof t c lot h or sh t it d r y am an y d ri ed w at er mar m y ks
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I setmy camera up on a tripod,attacheda remote releaseand plugged the lights in (I used Pocket Wizards to triggerthem,but a sync lead would have workedjustas well).I turnedthe lights on andmadesurethey werepositioned to light thesubject nicely, whilstminimising thereflections on thejar. I then checked myfocus, andlocked it by switching thelensto MF mode.
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I set mycamera’s WhiteBalance toFlash(setit to Tungstenif you’re shooting with lamps), andthe exposure mode to Manual. I set theshutter speed to sync at 1/125secand then took a flash exposure reading andadjusted thepower of thelightto give me a workingaperture off/10, which would providesufficient depth-of-field. A test shotconfirmed a good exposure.
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Finalimage This wasone of my favourite imagesfromthe shoot, as I liked the position of the fruit, the translucent effect, caused by the backlighting,and the wayin which the bubbles have been capturedas they riseto thetop.
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The nextstepwasto pour the sparklingwaterontothe ice. When thejar wasnearly full, I took several shots. Oncesatisfied,I adjusted the composition by moving the tripodslightly.I thenrefocusedand shota few more frames, toget a good variety of images.Shooting straight after thewater waspouredgavethe best results, as there were more bubbles in theshots.
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Thefinal step wasto transfer my images to my computer. In Photoshop, I adjusted the contrast by creating an ‘S curve’ in theCurvestool. To make the bubblesstandout more, I thenappliedsome UnsharpMask, adjusting the amountsof sharpness and radiusto getthe optimalresult. I tweaked the Colour Balance slightlyas well, to makethe colourslook ‘punchy'.
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Plantsilhouettes
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Createwindowlit fine-artsilhouettes IANFARRELL: Silhouettes are graphic images that not only look great but are easy TIME REQUIRED to produce too. All you need 15 MINUTES is a plain background that’s lit more EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D700 & 50MM brightly than the subject in front of it. F/1.4 STANDARD LENS As for what to shoot, some subjects ALSO USED work better than others, so SHEET OF WHITE experimentation is key, but it’s worth PAPER, GRASSES, seeking out objects with some THISTLES, transparency or fine detail in them. DANDELIONS, ETC After some trial and error, I found long grasses to be particularly suitable. They’re around all through the summer, and grow in large numbers. Thesource of your bright background can be as simple or as complicated as you like. If you have studio lighting, a softbox makes a great white background. Alternatively, light a sheet of paper from the rear with a flashgun, or even just tape a piece of tracing or photocopier paper to a window for a simple but effective solution. We used the paper-on-windowapproach for the photographs you see here. It’s such a simple approach that the whole thingwas done and dusted in 15 minutes!
SETTING UP: A piece of ordinary A3 copierpaper tapedto a south-facing window on a sunny day willmakea great background forour silhouette image. Tracing paper works well under cloudier conditions. Our subjectis then placed in front of the paper.
Techniquewatch WATCHYOUR TONE!This type of imageis just begging forsometoning to reallyset it off. Thereare so many waysof doingthis.A great optionis to use the split-toningfeaturein Photoshop’s CS3’s Camera Raw conversionplug-in.
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Setting your camera toan auto exposuremode,or metering in manual,straight fromthe paper, won’t give youa good result: a camera’s metering aims to make things18% grey, notwhite. Instead,startat your meter’s indicatedexposure in manual mode andtake pictures while lengthening the shutter speed, watching thehistogram until you cansee proper whites at the right-hand side of thegraph.
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With your correct exposurelocked-in,using manual mode, bring in your subject, positioning it slightly away from thebackground.You'll want touse a shallow depth-of-field torender thepaperout of focus and, therefore, devoid of any distracting detail. You may be able tohold the grass stemwithonehandand your camera with theother, butwe’d highlyrecommenda clamp or vase tomake this step mucheasier!
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TWEAKINGTHE RESULT:Inspect the results of your effortson your computer – if it’snotquite theeffectyouhoped for, you cantweakthingswitha simple Levels adjustment.In Adobe Photoshop or Elements, choose Image>Adjustments>Levelsand pullthe right-hand marker inwards tomake the background whiter. Thentweakthe left-hand marker to deepen the blacks somewhatuntil you’re happy with the effect.
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EXTENDINGYOURCANVAS: Sometimes graphiccompositions like this can benefitfrom some extra white inthe composition– knownin the trade as ‘negativespace’. Aneasyway todo this is withthe croptool. Drawround the whole ofthe canvas with it, then usea drag handleto extendthe box beyondthe existingimage.Hit returnand new spacewillbe addedand filledwiththe backgroundcolour – which in thiscase should be white.
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Finalimage A semi-silhouetted approach works well forthis stem of grass.This was achieved bynot movingthe black point in Photoshop's Levels adjustmentscreen too much.
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Scanningobjects
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Scan a flowerwithease r o o d t u O
LEE FROST: Few photographers realise it, butthe humble flatbed scanneris not only good at scanning flat artwork – you can also use it as a large-format digital scanning camera, to ‘photograph’ 3D objects and produce images of astounding quality. Even a budget-priced scanner like the Epson Perfection V500 model used here is capable of results way beyond a top-end digital SLR. I've been experimentingwith this techniquefor some time now, scanning natural objects such as flowers, seeds, heads andleaves to create beautiful fine-art images. In this techniqueI'll show you how it’s done, and explain how theoriginalscannedimage is just thebeginning of a creative adventure.
TIMEREQUIRED 1 HOUR
EQUIPMENT NEEDED EPSON PERFECTION V500 SCANNER
ALSO USED BOXFILE, GERBERA & PHOTOSHOP CS3
Essentialkit FLATBED SCANNER:
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1 microfibre cloth toremove as much dust as youcan.Thiswill reduce the The first step is to give theplaten (the glass plate) a good clean with a
amountof spotting youhave to do to clean-up thescan. When you’ve done that, take your chosen object (flowers,leavesand other natural subjects areideal) and place it on theplaten. Takecare notto scratch theplaten with sharp objects.
Flatbed scanners are often seen as a cheap alternative to a dedicated film scanner. However, while most may not be able to scan film originals as well as a proper film scanner, they’re far more versatile for general use and every photographer should own one! The good news is that you won’t need to break the bank to buy one. The Epson Perfection V500 is a budget option and boasts a resolution of 6400dpi – which means pin-sharp prints measuring 24x20in or more at 300dpi are easily achievable. The V500 is also the first CCD scanner to use LEDs as a light source so instead of hanging around for ages while it warms up, just one second after flicking the ‘On’ switch you’ll be ready to scan.
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2need to make your ownD.I.Y. hood to cover it.I usean old boxfile sprayed
3 anyadjustments to contrast, exposureand colour balance,then set the
insidewithmatt black paint.By cutting the lidoffI was leftwitha blackbox 4in deep, which I placed over theobject. Notonly does it contain thelightfrom the scanner, butit also creates a plain black background.
outputsizeof thescan– I chose16x12in at 300dpi.Whenyou’reall done, click on SCANandsit backandwaitforthescannerto doits job – thisusuallytakesa coupleof minutesif theoutput size is reasonably large.
As thelid of thescannercan’t be lowered withthe object on theplaten,you
Open your scanner software andcreatea preview scanof theobject. Make
4in Photoshop andenlargeit to 100%. Notonly
5 imagination andcreativityto good use. Make a
6converted theoriginal colourscanto black &
does this show just how impressivethe image quality is,but it willalso highlight any dust spots and blemishes that can be removed using theHealing Brushtool or Clone Stamp tool.
copy so you'vean unaltered original andthentry thingslike boosting contrast, converting it to black & white, toningit or addingfiltereffectssucha Diffuse Glow or some GaussianBlur.
whiteusing Image>Adjustments>Black& Whitein PhotoshopCS3 thenexperimentedwith Levels and Curves before adding Diffuse Glow and Gaussian Blurto an adjustment layer. Easy!
When thescanning is complete, open theimage
Once theimageis 'clean', it’s time to putyour
For theimage shown in this step-by-step, I
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Finalimage A beautiful image of a flower captured withoutthe use ofa camera.Isn’t the digital age amazing!
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n r a i n te re f g re a se Add e x t n i n g a s hee t o u re sc ree n, t hed t n n x a a c te s e a g y b c re a te e n a i n i m a p a pe r toe i t w i t h t he m t he te x t u re sc re c t fe n f i f e b o e co m he o p ac i t y p y w i t h t h ad j u s t t t i l yo u ’ re h a p l a ye r u n
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SWITCH ON YOUR FLASHGUN, STUDIOFLASH OR YOUR FLASHLIGHT FOR IMAGINATIVE RESULTS
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Give it a swirl! HELEN SOTIRIADIS: Capturing light trails is
usually an outdoor, night-time activity but it's just as much funtrying indoors, and also often far more achievable. All you need is a dark roomin yourhome and a strongLED torch for paintingshapes andto illuminate the prop, which is being added to improve thecomposition. Most people trythis techniquewithout objects andjust spell words or drawa simple shape,suchas a heart or starin the air, buthaving somethingto draw patterns around – especially if it’s reflective like a glass – can make the image look less humdrum andmuch more impressive.
TIME REQUIRED 45 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED CANON EOS 40D WITH CANON EF 50MM F/1.4 LENS
ALSO USED MANFROTTO 190XPROB TRIPOD, A REMOTE RELEASE & LED TORCH
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Findingthe right LED torch for this technique canbe tricky;too large andyour light trails couldmerge together, toosmall andyou could struggle illuminating the prop.Tryto findone that’s compact and lightweightso it’s easy to manoeuvreand gives off a strong, highly-defined light beam. Ideallyopt forone withmultiple bulbs(the torch used herehasnine) asit will provide moreinteresting swirls, enriching a potentially bland composition. The colour ofthelightis also worth considering, too.
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Finalimage This shot required verylittle post-production. I created an exposure adjustment layerin Photoshop (Layer>New Adjustment Layer>Exposure), increasing gamma todarkenany hints oflight on the black backgroundand base. Finally,I used theHealing Brush Tool toclean upbitsof strayduston the reflective surface andthe glass itself.
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I used a water-filled fluted glass for thisshot to createrefractions of light. As thelight accentuates fingerprintsand dust, make sure the glass is clean, and after fillingit, wipe the outside and the insideabove the water level to avoidstraydroplets.I used a very strong LEDtorch, with a cool blue light, but to be more creative cover thetorch with coloured cellophane.
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The set-up for this imageis simpleand costs almost nothing.Benda large sheet of black constructionpaper so it leans against a cardboard box, steadied bythe weight ofa few books. I used a sheet of dark,tintedglassbut you could use a second pieceof cardas a base.The cameramustbe completelystill for theduration ofthe shot, so mountit onto a tripod.
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Whilethe room is stilllit, compose the scene andfocuson theglass. If youused autofocusrather thanmanual focus, turnit offbeforeyou switch thelights offor thecamera will try unsuccessfullyto refocusin the dark. Set the camerato manual mode to allowyou tovarythe shutter speed and setthe aperture to f/22. Turn offthe lights and start shooting!
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4 illuminateit andto think about thetypesof shapes youwant to create. My
5illuminatethe glass from theside with the torch andcreate enoughlight
first few attempts weretoo high, toosparse or toolow (creating an undesirable reflection in thebase) or just thewrongshape. It took a few attempts,but finally I started gettingresultsI waspleased with.
trails. This techniqueis all about trial anderror, so trydifferent shapesand prolong the shutter speed.I found tenseconds wasidealas it allowed plentyof timeto light the glass andto createpleasingswirls.
Rememberto spend a few seconds shining light onthe sideof the propto
Initially, I used a five-second exposure butI didn't have enoughtime to
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DANIELLEZANO: Getting to usejust one flashgun proves a daunting prospect formany, so howdoes the thought of using two grab you? This technique deals TIME REQUIRED with showing you how tolight a subject with one 30 MINUTES flashgun, while a second flash is used to illuminate the EQUIPMENT USED background. This technique is useful when youwant to highlight CANON EOS 500D & detailin the scene or, asshown here,youwant touse flash gels SPEEDLITE 580EX to light it in a completely different colour. While this may sound ALSO USED difficult,it’s actually quite easy to achieve. You need to use your COLOURED GELS camera’s integralflash (ora hotshoe-mounted flashgun) to illuminate your subject, which is pretty straightforward as the exposureis taken care of automatically by the camera thanks to the wonders of TTL flash. A second flashgun is triggered automatically by the main flash to illuminate the background, so you’ve little to do other than ensure that the remote flash is set up correctly, which as the panel on the right reveals, is pretty easy to do. Flashgels are small sheetsof coloured plastic that are placed over the flash head to colour the flash output. The flash gel is heldin place over the headvia Velcro oran elastic band and with a number of kits available with a choice of colours, it’s an inexpensive andeasy way to add creative flash effects to your images. Largerflash gelkits are available forstudioflashheads too, so the technique used here can easilybe applied to studioflash set-ups as well as flashguns. Using flash gels to illuminate a background is equally suitedto both indoor andoutdoor locations. Plain backdrops as well as textured surfaces are suitable, although the latter does provide additional visualinterest. It’s also worth bearing in mind that you can usemore than one flashgunfor the background, so feel free to mixcolour gels.
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Here’s our subject photographed using onlyour hotshoe-mountedflashgun. She’s well exposed butthe backgroundis drab and dark.
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We’veset up a remoteflashgun behind her, whichfiresto lightthe wall in the background but the effect isn’t particularly attractive.
Remoteflashgunset-up
WAYSTOTRIGGER A REMOTE FLASHGUN: Dependingon thetypes offlashgun and accessories youare using, there area number of ways of triggering your remote‘gelled’ flash. If you have a dedicated flashgun with a slavefunction, you can usethe Master/ Slave facility to triggerit whenyou release the shutter. You’ll needto refer to your camera/flashgun instructions as this varies according to the camera/flash brand and mode. Alternatively, youcan fit a slave cell tothe bottom ofany flashgun, which is then triggered by the output fromthe camera’s built-in or hotshoe-mountedflashgun (depending on whichyou areusing).
SETTING UPTHE EXPOSUREON THE REMOTE FLASHGUN:If you’re usinga dedicated Master/Slaveflash systemto trigger the offcamera flashgun, then you caneither setup its outputto bebasedon a TTLexposureor manual power setting.While selecting TTL is normally the bestchoice,we’d actually recommend you setthe flash tomanual for this technique, as theresultswill be more consistent.If you are using a slaveflash,you shouldset theflashgun tomanual toallowyou toset a specific power setting. With theflashin manual, you canset the remote flash tofire atfixedpower settingssuch as fullpower (1/1),half power(1/2),quarter power(1/4) andso on.Takesometestshots andadjust thepower settingsto suitthe scene. Adjustpower if you wanta strongeror weaker effector if you switchcolour gels,as some absorb morelight than others.
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We’vefitteda Lumiquest redgel and the colour addsinterest, but,with theremoteflash setto TTL, itsoutputisn’t asstrong aswe’d like.
Settingthe remoteflash to manual power provides a farstronger output, althoughthe full-power (1/1)setting is fartoo strong.
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Wetry variousmanual power settings to see whichprovides thebest result and findthat for the half-power settingworks best.
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Finalimage While the redgel is attractive, it proves overpowering, so we tryvarious colours and findgreen works the best.
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STEWARTBYWATER: A technique that I’ve wanted to try for quite a long time is totake a photograph where the subject’s shadow appears to be different from the subject that has cast it. I’veseen this done a number of times, and often wondered how it was executed. There are several ways in which it could be done, most involving very clever lighting techniques and an understanding of scale and trajectory. This seemed somewhat over-complicated, so I tried to think of a simpler way of doing it. In the end, I decidedto shoot two exposures using a white paper studio backdrop, with one light placed in front of it and one light behind. For the 'shadow' exposure I would place the subject behind the paper, as it was thin enough tolet his shadow show through, yet thick enough so that it would not be completely transparent. For the portrait image, I placed him in front of the paper. I would later merge the two in Photoshop. However, it's worth pointing out that if youhad two people of roughly the same build, who would project a similar silhouette, you could get the result with a single shot. SETTING UP:Small childrencan getboredvery quickly if they’rejust standing around waiting, so I decided topractise thistechnique before my subject arrived. I placed one studiolight behind thewhite paper background,pointing roughlyat where I wantedthe ‘devil’shadowto appear. I then set a stool betweenthetwofor the subject tostand on.I placeda second studioflashhead – thistime witha softboxattached – off tothe side where I wantedthe ‘angel’to stand. I thenaskedtwo colleagues to stand in placeand tooka seriesof testshots until I washappy with my exposure. Thebacklight wason fullpower, while the lightat thefront, fitted with a softbox, wasset to around1/3 power. Next, I switched myDSLRto manual exposure mode, settingthe shutter toits maximum flash sync speedof 1/60sec and an aperture of f/22.
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Oncemy subject had arrived, I showedhim my test shots, sothathe would understand whatwe were trying toachieve. I thengot him to stand in position, and asked his father tostand in the ‘devil’ positionbehindthe screen.This would help me with my composition,and also makethe ‘angel’ easierto cutoutin Photoshop later. I thentook some shots of the‘angel’ from various heights and reviewed them on my camera.
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Having captured a goodshotof the childsmiling, I asked him toputonthe devil horns and hold the trident, andto standon the chair behind thepaper background. His mother wasalso there tomakesure he didn’t fallor injure himself. I checked the firstshoton my camera’s LCD screen, andmadesure that everything was exactlyright,such as the angle ofthe windmill/tridentand the position of his hands, etc. I then took the ‘devil’shot.
TIME REQUIRED ONE HOUR
EQUIPMENT CANON EOS 10D WITH 17-40MM LENS, TWO INTERFIT STUDIOFLASH HEADS, POCKETWIZARDS, LASTOLITE WHITE STUDIO BACKGROUND PAPER ROLL
ALSO USED DEVIL PROPS & WINDMILL
Essentialkit STUDIOFLASHLIGHTS While thistechniquecould be achieved without studioflash, theydo make it a loteasier. The mainreasonfor this is that you canadjusteach light’spowerto findthe perfect balancebetween theforeground subjectand back-light. Thelightscan alsobe easily moved into various positions until youget thebest results. Studioflashis alsoa great option in situations where subjects, suchas children, might movearound a lot, aswith many newer DSLRs,they cansync up to 1/250sec, allowingusersto capture their subjects sharply.
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Finalimage Thisshotcan bedone in-camera.But if you’re lucky enough to have almost identical subjects to hand, you’dbe better off combining two shots. Either way, it’s great fun and willleave you with a reallyfun image.
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Once I hadthe necessary images, I transferred them to mycomputer. After spending a short time selectingtwo ideal frames – oneof theshadow, the other of thesubject – I openedthemboth up in Photoshop. I then used Image>Adjustments>Levels (Ctrl+L) and moved the whiteslider to the left until thebackground wasalmost pure white. Then,usingthe Magic Wand,I set the Tolerance to ten(pixels)and clickedon thewhitebackgroundto make a selection. I thenuse Select>Inverseto select the subject.
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Using Edit>Copy(Ctrl+C)I made a copy ofthe subject selectionand then closedthe fileand moved onto theshadow image. I used Levels here asI did on theotherimageto achieve a clear whitebackground, then, using Edit>Paste (Ctrl+V) I placedthe copiedselectionontothe shadowshot. You can move the subject byholding theCtrl key andmoving themouse and, using Edit>Free Transform (Ctrl+T), resize thesubject bydraggingany of thecorner pointswhile holding theShiftkey to ensurescalingis proportional.
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94 Self-portrait
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CAROLINEWILKINSON: Studio photography can be an expensive, and daunting, TIMEREQUIRED 60 MINUTES area of photography to test EQUIPMENT NEEDED drive, but often the simplest set-ups NIKON D300, 50MM prove to be the best. Here, I’ll show you LENS & MANFROTTO howto create an attractive hair light 055B TRIPOD using a table lamp, but you can alsouse ALSO USED wireless flashguns or a studioflashkit. TWOHOUSEHOLD LAMPS& A HANDHELD A hair light is a flattering technique DIFFUSER forportraits, created by a strong directional lightbehind the subject’s head, which produces a soft luminous highlight around the hair. If your subject has short hair, directingthe light source at the middleof the head cancreate a subtlehalo effect. Whereas,for subjects with long or curly hair, a more dramatic effect can be achieved bypositioning thelight at thebase ofthe head so itdiffuses through more of the hair. It's also worth experimenting with the position ofthe main light,in this casea second table lamp, tocontrolwhere the shadows fall on the face. A reflectorwill also help with this. I chose to do this technique as a self-portrait. Unfortunately the one person most photographers shoot the least is themselves, but self-portraits are an ideal way to test lighting and creative techniques. Plus it’s easier than you might think!
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Essentialkit:Diffuser In thesamewaya reflector can fillin shadowsor add warmth to a subject’s face, a diffuser can soften the strong effectsof artificial light – producing a more flattering result. Whetheryou can get your hands on a diffuser, oran equally effective alternative, such as grease-proof paper, it’s worthbearingin mind that notonlywillit reduce the amount of light thatreaches the camera,but willoften alter the White Balance too. Normallythis won’t pose a problemif you’re shootingin Raw, as the colour temperature can be easily resetonce you havethe images on your computer, butif notthe White Balanceneeds tobe changedin-camera to compensate for the lighting conditions.
SET-UP: I decided touse a black backdrop for this shot to make theeffect ofthe hair light standout asmuch as possible.I positioned my main light source,a tungstendesk lamp, off to thesideand highup.If thislight istoo harsh, consider usinga diffuser (ora homemade equivalent) to soften it.
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HAIRLIGHTI set a standard table lamp, without itsshade, between the backdrop andthe stool – ensuring thelightwas directly behindmy head and far enoughawayfromthe backdrop so notto illuminateit. For optimum highlights, makesure the bulbis level withyour head. Use a fan,or havea friendflapa magazine, to liftthe hair andadd drama to theimage.
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EXPOSURE Although I wasshootinga head andshoulders portrait,I framed it so therewas plenty of room to crop later in Photoshop. I then set thecamerato aperture-priority modeat f/2.8to geta shallow depth-of-field. Having a largemirror placedbeside thecameramay help you togaugehow thecompositionlooks before it’s taken,but I took a few test shots first toassess theframingand focusing.
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WHITE BALANCE Although a diffuser canbathe a subject in softer, more flatteringlight,it canalsoalterthe colourtemperature.As I shot in Raw,the WhiteBalancecan be easily changed later in Photoshop’s AdobeCamera Raw. I therefore took a photoof me holdinga whitepieceof paper, which I could later useto set theWhiteBalanceon mycomputer.
INTERVAL SETTING The interval timer is a hiddengem on theNikonD300. I used it instead ofthe self-timer as it allowed me to shoot continuous frames at set intervals. A remotetrigger would havesimilar benefits, butthe interval timer also adjusts theexposure,focusand metering beforeeachshot. Thereis a lotof trial and error involved in this technique, so be patient andtakelots of shots.
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Finalimage Using thefan added much needed interest to the image. I left the colours as they were as I liked how thewarmth of the glowcomplemented thesoftlighting and shallow depth-of-field. However, for a different look you could try convertingit to mono.
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96 High-keyportrait
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Bright and beautifulportraits r o o d t u O
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PAUL WARD: High-key portraitsrefer toshots leaningheavilytowards TIME REQUIRED 45 MINUTES thehighlights,limiting EQUIPMENT USED anyshadows, fora bright, 70-200MM LENS, light-looking portrait.It's a JESSOPS PORTAFLASH populartechnique,adopted by KIT & SILVER REFLECTOR manyhigh-street studios, possiblybecause it's soeasyto shoot and,if needed,topost-process,togetpolished, professional-lookingresults. As a minimum, use two light sources; one to illuminate the subject's face andanother to overexpose the background. A home budget studio kit is perfect but, although it's a little trickier, youcould try standing your subject in front of a sun-drenched window and illuminating the face with a flashgun. However, luckily, the price of studioflash hastumbled in recent yearsandit’s now possible to buya studioflash kit (with two flashes, brolly and softbox) for under £200 if you shop around. I used the Jessops Portaflash kit forthese shots. It’s also important to get the backdropright: although it’s preferable to use a flat, white surface like a wall or a white roll of background paper, you can also get byusing just a white bedsheet as long as it's pulled tight to reduceany shadows causedby wrinkles or creases.
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Myfirst job was toarrange thelights around mymodel,Sophie. I used one studioflash andsoftboxto light thewhitewall.By overexposing the background,it prevents the light illuminating the subject fromcreatingshadows on thewall.My second head,fittedwith a brolly, wasplaced to thefront right of Sophie. Finally, I rested a reflectoron herknees to bounce light under herchin.
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You’llneedto fire offa coupleof testshotsto fine-tuneyour settings. I opted to startwith an exposure of 1/125sec atf/11(ISO 200), butmy first attempt is a tadon thedark side,losingthat bright high-key effect. Thisis due to slightunderexposure, which I can correct byusinga wider aperture.
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I lookagainat mysettings andselect an aperture of f/8. Unfortunately, this timethe image is too bright andthe model’sface hasburnt outin places, leading to unsightlywhiteareas on herskin.I maybe ableto rescue some of thedetail in Photoshop, but areas that are toowhiteare beyondrepair.
REFLECTOR: As well as thestudioflash kit,I also madeuseof a large reflector. If youdon’t have a reflectorto hand, youcan improvise by using a rollof tinfoil,or if you’re really stuck, a large mirror. Thatsaid, reflectors areso cheap now thatyoucanpickone up forless than £20. Choose onethat comes witha silver finish,or betterstill,one witha silver andgold reversible sleeve forextra lighting options.
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With a new apertureof f/9,I’vefinallygot the correct settings, butthis time thereflector has slippedand failedto bounce thelightin theright direction.Youcansee from this image what a difference the reflectormakes.
With thereflector correctlyplaced andthe camera settingsspot on,I'm at last happywith mylighting.Whileeverythingis workingwell,I ask Sophieto tryout some different posesand angles andcapturea numberof shots.
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OnceI’ve uploaded the correctlyexposedimage to mycomputer, I usethe Levels slider to increasethe brightnessof theskin tone. Lastly, I adjust the Saturation sliderto decreasethe colour slightly before saving my file.
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Finalimage In underan hour you can produce a quality, high-key shotthat brings striking impact to your portraits.
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98
Fruitstill-life
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Look at fruitsalad withfresh eyes! r o o d t u O
ROSSHODDINOTT:Ourhomes are full ofpotential pictures, you just need tolookat everyday objectswitha fresh, creativeeye. Small objectsarethe easiestto illuminate creatively, allowing you plenty ofcontrol overthe type oflighting– natural orartificial – andalsoits direction. Oneof myfavouriteforms of lightis backlighting. Translucentsubjects,like coloured plastics, glass and leaveslookparticularlyattractiveand eye-catchingwhenbacklit.The easiestway tocreatethis type of lightingindoors is touse a lightbox.Manydigitalconvertswill already have onefrom their daysof viewing slides. However, if you don’t own one, they are relatively cheap tobuy ormake. Allyouhaveto donow is finda suitablesubject toshoot. Foodis a particularlygood still-life subject,especially fruit, withitsbright colours andvarietyof textures.I wasmaking thefamily a fruitsalad oneeveningwheninspirationstruck.
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I returned from the localgrocers with an assortment of fruit including apples, pears, an orange,a lemon and a lime, grapesand a pomegranate. I wanted to highlight their shape and form, therefore I carefullycut each oneintothin slicesto create a photogenic, translucent crosssection of each fruit, readyto arrange on my lightbox.
Techniquewatch OPTIMISE DEPTH-OF-FIELD: Whenyou’retaking close-ups from overhead,optimise depth-of-fieldby keepingthe camera’s sensorplane– markedon thecamerabody – parallel to thesubject. Bydoing so,you will keep allobjects of similarheight in focus.If thecamera isat anangleto thesubject, areasof it willdrift out-of-focus, spoilingthe crisp,fresh lookof thefruitand lesseningthe impact of theshot.
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EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D700, SIGMA 150MM MACRO LENS & TRIPOD
ALSO USED LIGHTBOX& VARIOUS TYPESOF FRUITS
Essentialkit LIGHTBOX: Backlighting small translucent objects indoorsis easywiththe help ofa lightbox. They areavailablein a variety of sizes, but A4 size orlargeris probably themost versatile and useful.The lightboxcan be placed ona tabletop oron the floor, then,with the help ofa tripod, positionyour camera overhead. A lightboxcan also create strikingsilhouettes of small, solid objects.
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I placedslices of apple,pearand grape on thelightbox. I took timeto arrange them so they created a pleasing composition. I tried to fillthe image space with the fruit, avoiding largeempty spaces thatmight prove distracting. When happy, I took myfirst shot. However, backlighting can oftenfool TTLmetering into slightunderexposureand theimageis toodark.
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I checked thehistogram,whichconfirmedthe photo wasunderexposed, so I appliedpositive (+) exposurecompensationof 2/3EV. Thisremedied the problem and the subsequent imagewas exposed correctly. However, the image lacks colourand impact. This type of shot evolvesas yougo along. Experimentationis thekey, so I decided totry some different fruits.
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In orderto addsomeneededcolour, I switched tocitrus fruits,using a slice eachof orange, lemonand lime.I liked the contrasting coloursand sizesof the fruit.I arranged them sothattheir edgesmet and thebacklighting really emphasised their form andtransparency. However, thewhite gaps between the fruit were distractingand didn't make the best composition, so I decided I needed to fill the entireframe withcolour.
I scooped outthe insides ofsomekiwi fruit and then carefully placed the juicyresults around my fruit slices.I decided to make a slice of apple my keyfocal point, as thishad themost interesting and recognisable outline. I used theslices of citrus fruit to balancethe composition. However, I feltI needed toadd a splash ofred tocontrastwith thegreens and yellowsthat dominated theimage forextrapunch.
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Finalimage I carefully removed thebrightred seeds of a pomegranate and used themto replace the kiwi fruit. This added the colourcontrast andimpactthe previousshots had lacked. A vertical composition workedbest.The result– a simple butstriking still-lifetakenin the comfort of indoors. And, the left-over fruit made fora delicious fruit salad!
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100 10 0 Paintingwithlight
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Paint aint a subjec subjectt with withto torrchligh chlightt r o o d t u O
DANIEL DANIEL LEZANO: LEZANO: Paintin ainting g by light light involv involves es using using a long long expos exposur ure e and illumi illuminat nating ing your your subjec subjectt with with a torc torch h (or (or any other other light light sourc source e for for that that matter matter). ). It’s It’s a simple simple techn techniqu ique e that that can be used used to light light a varie variety ty of subjec subjects,but ts,but workspartic worksparticular ularly ly well well with with stillstill-lif lifes es.. Theidea is that that you you must must shoot shoot the subjec subjectt in compl complet ete e darkne darkness, ss, so that that the only only light light that that illumi illuminat nates es your your subjec subjectt comesfrom comesfrom the torc torch. h. For this this stepstep-by by-st -step ep,, a bowl bowl of apples apples was was used used to illust illustra rate te the techniq technique ue.. Thekey thing thing is prepar preparati ation on – setup your your equipm equipment ent corr correct ectly ly and you’l you’lll quickl quickly y masterthis masterthis techn techniqu ique. e. As you you can can see see from from the the shot shots s belo below w, you you only only need need mini minima mall kit kit togive togive it a go, go, so it's it's some someth thin ing g that that you you shou should ld be able able totry when when you you next next havea havea bit bit ofspare ofspare time time in the the even evening ing.. One One usef useful ul bit bit of advi advice– ce– \ set set up near near a ligh lightt swit switch ch soyou don'thav don'thave e tomove tomove arou around nd too too much much in the the dark dark!!
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20 MINUTE MINUTES S
EQUIPMENT EQUIPMENT NEEDED NIKON D60 WITH WITH 18-55MM 18-55MM LENS LENS MANFROTTO 190X TRIPOD TRIPOD & TORCH TORCH
ALSO ALSO USED USED FRUI FRUIT T & BOWL BOWL
Essential Essen tialkit kit
PAINTING AINTINGWITHLIGHT WITHLIGHT
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Sohow exact exactly ly doyou paint paint withlight?It's pretty pretty simple simple really really.. During During the exposu exposure re yousimplybathe your your subjectwith subjectwith light, light, moving moving the beam beam around around at differ different ent angles angles and spee speeds ds.. Ifyou hold hold the beam beam over over a certain certain area area for for a prolong prolonged ed period,it period,it willappearlighter willappearlighter than areas areas withminimal exposure exposure,, while changing the angle angle also also create creates s different differenteffe effects. cts. It'sall It's all about about trial trial and error error, and everyimage is different different,, but but it'sgoo it'sgood d funand produces produces greatresu great results. lts.
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TRIPOD: A tripod is an absolutely essential accessory, as you'll be taking long exposur exposures, es, running into seconds. Any tripod that offers a stable platform is suitable, but if you want to have your camer camera a pointing downwards, as I had, one with a centre column that an be positioned horizontally is ideal. I used the Manfrotto 190XProB, which features an ingenious centre column that can be switched from vertical to horizontal without having to remove it. Any modest digital camera kit is suitable – I used a Nikon D60 with an 18-55mm lens.
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The The firstthin firstthing g you you needto needto dois tosetup yourcam yourcamer era a secu secure relyon lyon a tripo tripod. d. For For thisshot, thisshot, I neededmy neededmy camer camera a to point point direct directly ly down, down, which which waseasy waseasy with theManfrot theManfrotto to,, as thecentrecolum thecentrecolumn n canbe sethorizont sethorizontallywith allywith ease.Set ease.Set Manua Manuall expos exposuremode uremode,, an apertu apertureof reof f/8 or f/11for optimumsharp optimumsharpne ness ss anda start starting ing exposuretime exposuretime of between between fourand eightseconds.
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Compos Compose e theimageusing theimageusing theviewfinde theviewfinderr (or (or LiveVi LiveView ew)) andfocus andfocus on the subjec subject. t. Once Once you’v you’ve e focus focused,switc ed,switch h thelensfrom AF to manualfocu manualfocus, s, becaus because e when when youswitch youswitch offthe room room lights,yourcame lights,yourcamerawon’tbe rawon’tbe ableto focus focus in thedark.So long long as you you don’t don’t zoom zoom thelensor move move thecamera(or thecamera(or subject subject), ), theimage theimage shouldstaycorr shouldstaycorrect ectly ly focus focused ed – butcheckthis regula regularly! rly!
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Finalimage This wasmy fa This favou vourit rite e fro from m the 20or soimag soimagesI esI sh shot ot.. Very little lit tle Pho Photos toshopwork hopwork was needed,other need ed,other thanto cro crop p the image ima ge int into o a squ squareformatand areformatand to adju adjust st the Le Level vels s sli slightl ghtly y.
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Switchoffthe Switchoffthe room room light light andget into into positio position. n. Pres Press s theshutte theshutterr buttonand buttonand move move thetorch thetorch in rando random m direct direction ions s andangles andangles to paint paint your your subjec subjectt with light. light. Once Once theexposur theexposure e hasended, hasended, check check thepreviewand thepreviewand adjustthe adjustthe expos exposur ure e by changi changing ng theshutte theshutterr speed speed in full full stops(i.e.halv stops(i.e.halve e or doubleit) doubleit) depend dependingon ingon whethe whetherr theimageis toodark or light light for for your your liking. liking.
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By changi changing ng theangles theangles from from which which youlightthe subjec subject, t, andthe amoun amountt of time time you you spend spend lightingdiff lightingdiffer erentarea entareas, s, you’llbe you’llbe ableto produc produce e very very differentresults differentresults.. Experiment Experiment with fastrandom torch torch movement movements s or more contro controlledpath lledpaths s of light. light. You’ll ou’ll also also findthata normaltorchgive normaltorchgives s a warm, warm, orang orange e cast, cast, while while anLED torch torch gives gives a bright brighter er andwhiter andwhiter effe effect,so ct,so tryboth!
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THE ID IDEAL EAL COMPANI ANIO ON FO FOR R YOUR DIGITAL CAM CAMERA ERA
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Creativeprojects 10 103 3
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Step-by-step Ste p-by-steptutorials tutorials
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IMPRO IMP ROVE VE YOUR OUR PHOTO SKILL SKILLS S WHILE WHILE CAPT CAPTURI URING NG INVENT INVENTIVE IVE AN AND D IMAGINA GINATIVE TIVE IMAGE IMAGES S
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104 10 4 Frozen Frozen still-life
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Crea Cr eate tea a win winte tery rycl closeose-up up ROSS HODDINOTT: Our win winte ters rs ar are e gr growi owing ng inc incre reasi asingl ngly y mil mild, d, mak making ingit it mor more e and
more dif more difficu ficult lt to ca captu pture re gr grea eatt win winte tery ry ima image ges. s. Ev Even en whe when n the there re is a har hard d fr frost ost,, the there re is no gua guara rant ntee ee yo you u wil willl be abl able e to ca captu pture re the thegli glist steni ening ng win winterwonde terwonderla rland nd out outsid side, e, as you yo u ma may y be wor workin king g or doi doing ng the thesch school ool run run.. How Howev ever er,, ra rathe therr tha than n ge getti tting ng fru frustr strat ated ed at th the e la lack ck of op oppor portu tuni niti ties es toshoo toshoott cl clos ose-u e-ups ps offro offrost st an and d ic ice,why e,why no nott cr crea eate te yo your ur ow own n by freezing free zing object objects s in your yourfridg fridge-fr e-freezer eezer. You coul could d fre freeze eze pra practic ctically ally anyt anything hing,, but fea feather thers s and leave lea ves s wor work k par partic ticula ularly rlywel well. l. Oth Other er tha than n you yourr ca camer mera a set set-up -up,, all allyo you u nee need d is yo your ur cho chosen sen subjec sub ject, t, a lar large ge (f (free reezab zable le)) Pyr Pyrex ex dis dish, h, som some e wa wate terr, a fe few w spa spare re min minut utes es and a lit little tle cr creat eativi ivity… ty…
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TIME REQ REQUIRED UIRED 30 MINU MINUTES TES
EQUIPMENT EQUI PMENT USED NIKON D300WITH NIKON SIGMA150MM MAC MACRO RO TRIPOD TRIPO D & REMOTE
ALSO ALS O USE USED D PRE-FROZEN LEAF
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ROSS ROSS HODDIN strivin striving g for the it coul could d be argu argu greatly greatly depend effect the photographer photographer silhou silhouet ette te can can creat create eat technically-speaki technically-speaking, ng, it i A silhou silhouet ette te is when when t outline outline,, without without colour colour – in othe otherr wor words, ds, the the su most most extr extreme eme form form of b theright theright scene scene or subje subje particul particularly arlywhen whenthe the su interesting interesting or colourful colour colour,, silhouet silhouettes tes can c prov prove e that that there there real really ly is One One of the greatthin greatthing g they they are easily easily achieve achieved d visited visited Dartmoor’ Dartmoor’s s wind shoot shoot perfect perfect silhouet silhouette te
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Frozenstill-life
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ouettes TT: As photographers,we are always ‘correct’ exposure, aren’t we? However, ed thatthereis no suchthing;as it on thesubject, the situation, and the wants to achieve. For example, a uly eye-catching image even though, s theresult of a poor exposure… e subject is recorded as a black r detail, againsta lighter background ject is grossly underexposed. It is the cklighting but,whencombined with t, the results can be stunning– bjectis contrasted againstan ky. Despite the lack of detailand onvey much about the subject and they no such thing as a ‘correct exposure’. about shootingsilhouettes is that and you need very little in terms ofkit. I wept landscape to show you how to …
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106 Frozenstill-life
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SETTINGUP (ABOVE&RIGHT): Positioningyour cameraabove thefrozen leaf enables you to shoot iton the groundfrom a sturdy position,whiletaking full advantage of the naturallight. Thebright, reflective ice fooled my TTL meteringsystem into underexposingthe image, so I had todial ina +1stop exposure compensationto getmy result.
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-o f- f ie l d W he n s ho g y ou st r shu ot i n t te r sp e at ic , fl at sub j ec as l on ed i s i m g as y ma ts , o Inst ea l – d , ap e u hav e a st ur d t er i a y s r t p ri o r t . r i t y . F o r t h ur e sho ul d b e y up po i s sho t, ou r mo de r a y o t e d ep u o t h nl y -o f- fi e ld , so f / ne ed 11 i s i de al
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1tofreeze, beingsomething that you mightfind naturallyfrozen ina puddle, or
First, you'll needto find a suitable subject. Leavesare themost obvious subject
theedgeof a lake atthistime ofyear. A mapleleafcaught myeye, thanksto its colourand interesting shape. However, youmay wellhaveother ideas, andjust aboutanything willwork, from a featherto a pine cone.
2 flatso thatit freezesevenly. Carefullyplace yoursubjectcentrally in thewater Poursomewaterintoyourdishand placeit inthe freezer– ensuringit islying
– ifit freezestoo nearthe edge,it willrestrict your composition.Oncethe water’s frozen, adda littlewarmwater andrefreeze.Thiswill help create cracks andair bubbles inthe ice, addinginterestto your final shot.
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Finalimage Icethawsquickly under direct sunlight, so work quickly. With the exposure now correct, try different compositions. I tried horizontal and vertical formats, andwent in close to isolate specificdetailas well as including the leaf in its entirety. After muchexperimenting, I settled onthisshot. The endresult isa creative, winteryclose-up that you could takeat any timeof year!
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Once thewaterhas frozen, youcan begin snapping. You could shoot it indoors,using a lightbox tobacklightit; butI optedto takeit outside,so I could usethe softnessand warmthof thenatural light. Using a tripod, I positioned mycamera overhead,composed myshot andreleasedthe shutter. However, the brightly-lit ice fooled my metering system into underexposure.
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To rectifythe problem,I knew I neededto apply a degree of exposure compensation. As withmostDSLRs,my camerahas a dedicated exposure compensation facility. Using this, I selected a compensation of +1stop.I took anotherphotoand, havingstudiedthe result(andcorresponding histogram)on mycamera’sLCD,I knew that theexposurewas nowcorrect.
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DANIELLEZANO: There are numerous reasons for taking pictures, but sometimesyou shoulddo it just because it’s fun. With thisin mind, I decided torecreate an image I’d seen in a magazine that showeda headless body holding a head under one arm. It was quite a high-end image,so there was plentyof Photoshop involved to make it appearrealistic,but I wanted to shoot a far more attainable image for anyone wanting to recreate a similar shot without having to spend ages in post-production. While this image does include a littlePhotoshop work,the emphasis is on careful composition and lighting to give the impression that there’s only one personin the frame, andthat they’re holding their own head!
TIME REQUIRED TEN MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED NIKON D700 WITH 50MM LENS, MANFROTTO 055MF4 TRIPOD WITH RC322 HEAD, BOWENS TWIN HEAD STUDIOFLASH
Studioflash lightingoutfit I could have used ambient light coming through the garage door andwindows to light mysubjects. But, I wanted to prevent as much light as possible from landing on the‘head’ model’s shoulders, so I neededmore control over the light’s direction. For this reason, I used two studioflash heads,one with a small softboxfor a relatively wide,even spreadof light,and the other with a small spill, which provided a narrowfocus of light.
SETTINGUP:There wasno glamorous locationfor thisportrait shoot, just the inside of a garage! Thesubjects, Hayley(the headless torso) and Katie (the head) wereplaceda metre or sofromthe whitegarage wall, with Hayley standing and Katiesat on top ofa couple of sofacushions.Both had been asked towearblack, asthis wouldhelpwithmergingthe two figures together togivethe impressionof a floating head. The windowsof the garagehad tobe blocked off with parcel paper tominimiseambient light. For this imageto work,I had toilluminateHayley'sneck and torso with oneflashhead and Katie's head with theother. I fitted the softbox tothe 500W studioflashand, with it at Hayley'shead height, tilted it upwards slightly to reduce theamountof lightreaching Katie'shead. I fitted a spill to the 250W flashand placed this low and closeto Katie, so that the lightwas concentratedon herhead, withas little lighting as possible on her shoulders. A snootor spotlightwould havebeena better option, but I lacked both. You can see the optimum position of the lights on theimage on the right.
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Thebest way to calculate the exposure is to use a handheld flash meter, taking readings from the neck of the 'torso' and theface ofthe 'head', adjusting the power of each studioflashlight so that bothhave the same exposure. For those without a flash meter, the simplest way is, with your camera setto manual exposure mode, put theshutter speed to theflash sync speed, choose a small aperture (in thiscase f/8) andtake a picture, then review the imageon the LCD. Thisfirst test shot wasgrossly overexposed.
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FINE-TUNETHE EXPOSURETo adjust theexposure, youcan openor close downthe aperture, changethe ISO rating and/or adjust thepower of the studioflash(do thisby changing the power valuesand/or moving it closer or further awayfromthe subject). I kept ISO320,set the apertureto f/16, then loweredthe power ofboth flashheads, taking careto keep the ratioof both the same. A couplemoretest shotsand minor adjustments tothe power gavea decent exposure, which I confirmedby checkingthe histogram.
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Withthe lighting and exposure sorted, it was time to positionthe models sothatthe imagewas as realistic as possible. Thekey area I had tokeep aneye on was gettingthe head'sheight correct sothatthe arms looked natural andnot stretched out.It was also important to have thehands positioned sothattheyappear to beholding up the head,as well asalso covering up as much ofthe neck areaas possible. I asked Hayley to keep her chin up sothather neck is stretched out. OnceI was happywith the set-up, I fired off a few different images, gettingHayleyto adjust herhands to findthe best position.
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TIMEFOR PHOTOSHOP Work is needed to removethe visible necklineand detail fromthe T-shirt. For theneckline, using thePolygonalLasso Tool, I makea selection around the necklinearea. NowI select the Paint Brush Tool and, while holding downthe Altkey, click on anareaof black,which selectsthat colour, andbegin topaint outthe skin. To mergethe dress and T-shirtdetaiI,I go to Layer>New Adjustment Layer>SelectiveColor, creating a newlayerand preservingthe original image. I select Blacks in the drop-down menu, then move theBlack slider until all thedetail hasmerged. Finally, using theErase Tool, I delete any areas where wanteddetail has been lost, suchas the faceand arms, restoring detail still preservedon thelayer beneath.
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Finalimage Andthere wehave it!An image thatappearsto show a headless torso holding a head.Why not try something similar withmembers of your family come Halloween!
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Makeplasticfantastic! DANIEL LEZANO: Cross-polarisation is a
great technique totry athome asit'sa relatively simple oneto do. The idea is to 'sandwich' plastic objects between polarising material, to reveal stresspatterns withinthe plastic as a kaleidoscopic feastof wonderful colours. It's a great way of creating extraordinary images of very ordinary subjects – in this case some clear plastic cutlery that I picked up at the local supermarket for £1! As you'll need to shoot in a darkened room,it's a technique you can try in the comfort ofyour own home atnight.
TIMEREQUIRED 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 400D 100MM MACRO LENS MANFROTTO TRIPOD LIGHTBOX, POLARISING GEL & POLARISING FILTER
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TRIPOD, LIGHTBOX & CLOTH!
I used a macro lens to get in really close to small areas of my subject, but the tele-end of a standard zoom would be suitable too. You’ll need to use a tripod, as exposures will run into seconds, so a remote release is useful too, though I used the self-timer and mirror lock-up facility of my Canon EOS 400D to minimise shake. A lightbox provides all the light you’ll need and, apart from the polarisers, you’re almost there. One extra bit of kit I’d recommend is a lens cloth and/or blower brush. Smears and dust will be obvious at such magnification! Use aperture-priority mode, start at f/8 for optimum sharpness, but feel free to change the aperture, to vary depth-of-field. Multi-zone metering will work here, but apply exposure compensation if needed.
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Li ve
Vi e w is a I f y ou r b ig he l p m ak e s D SL R h as a L ! i e w o b j ec t s ur e t o u se i t i ve V f ac i w he n li t y o n a l ig , t o c om a d h j us t g p tb o o s i t i o n f x. I t m ak e in t ha n l oo k i n g g e s t hr o a r q ui c k e r a n s c ha n d e as i e ug h t he r v ie w fi n d e r
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Cross-polarisationis all aboutrevealing stress fractures in plastic, so colours willplay a very strongpart in thesuccess ofthe final image. However, equally important is theshape of thesubject youchoose,whichwill addextra interestto thecomposition.Choosing subjects with very definedoutlinesreally works – for this step-by-step,I decided to shoot a cutlery set.
CROSS-POLARISATION This technique involves placing a plastic subjectbetween two polarisers. Theeasiest way to do thisis to have a circular polarising filter attachedto your lensand thenhave anotherpolariserresting on a lightbox, withthe plastic object(s) on top. You canuse anotherscrew-in polarising filter on thelightbox,but it limits thesize ofthe subjectyoucan use.A better alternative isto buya sheet of polarising gel, which covers the whole lightbox surface. They’re a littlepricy in theUK,but we’ve beentold by readers of an internet firm in the Far East (www.3dlens. com) thatoffers a good quality, affordable option.
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It's worth jotting down a listof set-ups beforeyou start andadd to it as you go along – as you'lldiscover, once youstart, you'll be changing the arrangement ofobjects, zooming in andout (or raising thetripodup anddown) asyou think up new anglesto try. Start offwith a simplecompositionlike this andbe more creativeas you getthe hang of things.
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Once you'veset up thecomposition, lookthroughthe viewfinder(or better still use LiveView) androtatethe ringof thecircularpolarising filter. As if by magic, you'll seethe background changefromwhiteto black andcolours transform your plasticsubjects. Stop turning thering once you'vea solid black background andthe most intense colours andshootaway!
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Finalimage Theimageon theopening spreadis myfavourite,but this one runs it a close second. Thewholeshoot only took30 minutes toset upand shoot and I managed several imagesI'm happy with. Do it yourself andI'm sure you'll have similar success.
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As I wentthroughmy list ofshots,I startedto concentrate more on the fork and theknife,as their distinctshapesmade themfar more photogenic than the spoon.As well as shootingfrom directly abovethe lightbox, I then triedloweringthe tripod andshooting from an angle. I also triedusing a wide aperture to reducedepth-of-field tovary my effects.
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Despitetryingto keepthe cutlery as clean as possible, therewas no way of preventing dust and fluff, floating throughthe air, from settling on it.It's worth doinga quick cleanevery coupleof minutesas it'sa far quickeroption thanhavingto removedust and debris in Photoshop. Theproblem is accentuated whenyou start shootingmacro close-ups suchas this.
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Vaselineblur
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DANIEL LEZANO: Photoshop has allowed all sortsof weird and TIME REQUIRED wonderful effectsto be 30 MINUTES applied to images in postEQUIPMENT NEEDED production,but I still prefer to get as CANON EOS 400D SIGMA 70-200MMLENS close as possibleto thefinal image MANFROTTO TRIPOD in-camera. Much of this is because UV FILTER, LENS CLOTH I’mnot particularly good with ALSO USED Photoshop to be honest, butmainly POT OF VASELINE because I actually find it fun (as well as occasionallyfrustrating), to go ‘old-school’ and use more traditional photographictechniques to givethe resultsI’m looking for. I’ve recently startedexperimentingwith producing unusual soft-focus effectsby smearingVaselineon a filter. As I discovered, it’s very easyto try, sowhynot giveit a goandsee how you get on.
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Essentialkit FILTER,VASELINE &CLOTH: This is a very affordable technique.A tub of Vaseline won’t break thebank, but you’ll needa UVor skylight filterto screw onto thefront of your lens. I cannotover-emphasise how important it is that you applyVaselineto thefilter and not tothe front elementof your lens, as it could permanently damagethe optics.Youshould also keepa clean lens cloth handy, forwipingaway Vaseline when youwant to cleanthe filterand tryagain,or at the end ofyourday’s shooting. That’sabout all you need in terms of accessories, withthe exceptionof a tripod, which willkeep your camera steadywhen you’re preparing the compositionand focusing on the scene.
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The first thing you need todo is to finda suitablescene.Ideally, thelocation youchoose should have somewell-defined shapes and areas of strong shadows and bright highlights,such as woodland. However, thiscolourful fieldof poppiescaughtmy eye andI hoped tobe able touse theVaselineto createa strongabstract effectbased around the bold reds. I mountedmy DSLRon a tripod,to ensure images were shake-free,and usedSigma's excellent 70-200mm f/2.8 lensto crop fairly tightly on the poppy field.
APPLYING VASELINE: As you’ll discover, getting a desired effect requires lots of trial anderrorwhenit comes to smearing thefilter. Start off by applying a thinline ofVaseline acrossthe central part of thefilter, andapply further smearsuntilyou’ve covered thewholesurface. Takea few shots,rotate thefilterso thesmears arediagonaland shoot again.Apply thicker smears of Vaselineto create randompatterns, andthen wipethe filter clean andtry again!
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Withthe camera supported on a sturdytripod, it's important to 'lock' the focus beforesmearing thefilter with Vaseline – the AF systemwill struggleto focusonceit's been applied.Todo this,focus on the scenenormally andthen switch thelensfrom AFto manualfocus,so when you press theshutter button lateron, totake a shot,it won'taffectthefocusing.
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With everything prepared,it's timeto apply the Vaseline. Rather thanscoop bigwedges from the tub, gently smear relatively thinlines of Vaseline across the frame. Here,you cansee how just a singlesmear affects thescene.I looked throughtheviewfinder the whole time I was applyingthe Vaseline, tosee how it wasaffecting the overall scene.
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Finalimage My favourite image wasone taken towards the endof my session. After refiningmy composition,angling the cameradown towards a smallerarea ofthe field (to makethe poppies largerin the frame), I carefully applied very thinsmears to the filter.
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Once I'dapplied theVaseline acrossthe filter, I fired offa few frames, choosing a variety ofapertures from f/5.6to f/13,so that I could seehow the results varied(in truth,it made littledifference). Aftera few frames, I used my finger to apply more Vaseline, tosee if a thicker layer would improve theeffect. However, I found that using toomuchof it ledto toosofta result.
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As well as horizontal smears, I also rotated thefilter so as to make the smearsrun diagonallyand then vertically– this made a big difference tothe result. I also tried a variety of smear patterns, such as criss-crossedlinesand wavy lines to see what effect it hadon thescene. It's worth tryingthis,as it's impossible to predict whatworks best.
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STEWART BYWATER: One technique that is quick, easy and really good fun, is totry and shoot a scale model so that, at first glance, it might trick the viewer intothinking that it is the real thing. It doesn't really matterwhat you chooseas your miniatureobject, as long as you set it and shoot it in such a waythatit looks in scale with its surroundings. I decided toshoot a model car, as I already havea few at home. Theyare also ideal for a quickshoot, as you don'tneedto build any sets or scout around for a good location – you canliterallytake them out to the streetoutside your house and shoot them from the pavement. Just about anymodel carcould be used, but if you want the result to look more realistic, it obviouslymakes sense to find a model that is well-detailed and correctly proportioned. This often means choosing a larger model, rather than something matchboxsized. This also helps when it comes tomaking it looklarge in the frame. There are several factors to watch out for, as it is easy to overlooka small detail in the frame that may betraythe true size ofyour car, such as large-grained pavements (it will be obvious that the caris very close to the surface, and therefore a miniature); traffic bollards and lamp posts, and other vehicles(whether passingor stationary). Another thing tobe aware ofis capturing your own reflection or shadowin the shot. As you will be shooting from very close to the model, it's actually quite difficult tokeep these out of the shot. If you are usinga wide-angle lens (recommended), you want to shoot at its minimum focusing distance. Although notessential, I'drecommend taking a friend along for this sort of shot, as when shooting from ground level, it is difficult to watch out for oncoming vehicles and pedestrians. They could also keep an eye on your kit bag, tomake sure nobody makes off with it! Finally, it is worth wearing scruffy clothes for this sort of shot, as you will inevitably end up getting dirty when you're lying on the ground.
Essentialkit HOODMANRIGHT-ANGLEVIEWER: If you’reshootingwith your cameraat ground-level (orat any angle from which looking throughthe viewfinder is difficult), a right-angleviewercan makea huge difference. Notonlydoes it make composing certain shots much easier (and therefore moreenjoyable), but it also relieves strainon theneck, whilstallowingyouto keep your head in a more natural position (and off theground). I used theHoodman right-angle viewer, which is availablefrom Newpro UK foraround £99. For further information,or to see other products from Hoodman, visit theNewproUK websiteat: www.newprouk.co.uk.
TIME REQUIRED 20 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT CANONEOS5DWITH CANON17-40MM ZOOMHOODMAN ANGLEVIEWER
ALSO USED TOY CAR
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DEPTH-OF-FIELD:The areain focus is key tomaking this picturelook believable; toomuch or too littlewillbetraythe real size ofthe model and diminish theeffect.As you will be shooting at a veryshortdistancefrom the subject,the depth-of-field willbe minimal anyway. If it is too shallow and too much ofthe car fallsout offocus, theresult will automatically looklike a macro shot. Inversely, this shallow focus technique canbe used to make real-life sceneslook likemodels. Ifyou use too small anaperture, the depth-of-field will extend back toofarand leavethe surroundings in sharp focus, exposingthefactthatthisis only a verysmallarea you are photographing.Due to these tiny margins it is important to bracket your shots at variousapertures, asyoumay not beable tosee exactly where thefocus falls off on the LCDscreen.
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Having chosen your miniature subject,the first thing you'll needto do is finda suitablelocation.If thebuildingsare too bigor too close, theywill dwarfyour subject,but too smallor faraway, andthey will bevirtually unidentifiable in the shot, andthereforenot worth including at all.Once you have placed your subject,it's timeto assume the shootingposition.
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Setyour camerato aperture-priority modeand start withan aperture of around f/5.6. This shouldbe enough tokeepmostof thecarin focus, while blurringthe immediate background,from thetarmac to the buildings behind. Keeping the aperture fairly wide will blur the areain frontof thecartoo, which willhelp to hideany textures thatmay diminishthe effect.
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Finalimage Using a wide-angle zoom allows meto fill a largeportion ofthe frame withmy subject,whileincludingsome of the large houses in the background toadd a senseof scale. While it’s obviousafter close inspection that it’s a model car, atfirstglanceit isnot so apparent.When shooting, it is vital to getdown to pavementlevel. This ‘real-life’ viewpoint makesthe car seemlargerthan itis, as whenI shot from only slightly above the car, it instantly appeared smaller.
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Myfirst attempt, using a 90mm macro lens, didn't quite work. I took it with thecameraalmost resting on thesurface ofthe pavement. The macrolens made thecar lookquiterealistic, butthe depth-of-field was so shallow (because I hadto shoot socloseto thecar) that thebuildingsin thebackground were unidentifiable, so theimagehad no real senseof scale.
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An ultrawide-angle zoom (inthis case a Canon 17-40mm f/4L)gives more believable results. Once again,I gotdownas lowas I could,with thecamera virtually resting on thepavement,and shot from as close tothe car as thelens focus would allow. I zoomedin slightly to make thecar filla good portionof the frame, whilstincluding a fair amount of background detailto addscale.
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MATTY GRAHAM: I recently stumbled across a film I had watched at the movies when I was a child: Memoirs Of An Invisible Man. It always made me chuckle when the star, Chevy Chase, unwrapped his bandages and all the viewer could see was a hat, specs and coat 'floating' in mid air. The movie got me thinking of how to recreate a similar effect in a photo. Without Hollywood special effects,I chose touse thin fishing line and a boom stand tosuspendmy breakfast crockery as if an invisible waiter was serving it up. The trick with this technique is to use as few wires as possible and a solid background as, when you come to removing the wires in Photoshop, the plainer the backdrop, the easier it is to clone accurately. You don't have to copy my idea as the creative possibilities around your ownhome are endless!
TIME REQUIRED 45 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 5D WITH 50MM F/1.8 LENS
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SETTING UP: I chose to position my set-up in the garden. Thisis a great location, but remember that objects that aresuspended by thefishing linesmay swingin the wind, sotry and shelter your propsto keep them still.
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I started byplacing myboom stand (you could also use a tripod) into position.Because I was shootingon a verysunny day, I had toplaceit to the rightof theframeso thatits shadow was not visible in the image.
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Nextup, I cut some fishing line from thespool andwrapped it around the teapot.I then raised theteapotinto its 'floating' position above the tableand tied theother end to the boom stand using a secureknot.
CLONINGTOOL: TheCloning Tool is one of themost effective weaponsin the Photoshop armory. Users canselect how hard they want the cloning brush to be and alsoits opacity. You canevenclone from separate images so,for example, if you have a portrait where oneof your model’s eyes is closed, youcan graft themin froman additional image.
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The teapot was in the rightposition, but there wasa problem!The fishing wirecouldn't support theweight of the teapot and snapped. The solutionwas to cut a new stripand 'double up' the wire tomakeit muchstronger.
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Next, I added a cup and spoon tofit inwith thebreakfasttheme.I found themug kept falling forward, so used sticky tape tofix the fishing line tothe back ofthe mugso it balanced in a more natural, upright position.
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Finalimage There wehaveit, breakfast served up by an invisiblewaiter. Chevy would be proud!
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I took a testshotand reviewed it on myLCD screen. Theshot wasgood, but thebackground wascluttered. Thesolutionwas to raise thetripod up toget ridof thebrown fence and just include the grass as the background.
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With theshotcaptured, I opened the imagein Photoshop ready to clone out thefishing lines. I then made a duplicatelayer (Ctrl&J)to work on justin case I madea mistakeand needed to start over using the original layer.
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I selected theCloning Tool and,after zooming in closer to the image, began tocloneout the lines thatwere holding up my props. It'simportant to take your timewith thisstep and clonecarefully. I thenflattened and saved myfile.
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DANIEL LEZANO: Whoever coined the phrase 'the
camera never lies' really didn'thave a clue. The fact is,deceptionhaslong been a staple diet of TIME REQUIRED thephotographer, with allsorts of tricks being ONE HOUR employed to fool viewers into believing that an image is EQUIPMENT CANON EOS 550D WITH something it isn't. Nowadays, we would automatically think CANON EF 17-40MM of the various post-processing alterationsthatare possible, F/4L USM LENS but the truth is that there have always been lots of ways of ALSO USED faking a scene at theshooting stage. For instance, fitting a CARDBOARD MASK, filter to your lens effectively takes thescene onestep SCALPEL, ELINCHROM D-LITE IT KIT & further away from reality, as does selectinga very slow LIGHTING STAND shutter speed to blur moving waterinto a milky mist. In this photo project, we'll be looking at how making your owncardboard mask to place in front of a studioflash head can allow youto create a lighting effect that gives theillusion of a venetian window blind.It's a very simpletechniqueto tryandthe results can look effective when done properly, adding an air of mood and mystery to your portraits.
Techniquewatch HARD AND SOFT SHADOWS: You canvary how hard or howsoftthe shadows fall on the scene by your choice of lightingattachment andthe position ofthe mask. Usinga softbox will give a softer, moreindistinct effect,while using a spill will give a more focused anddirect light that produces a harder shadow. You’llfind you can also increasethe hardness ofthe shadows by moving the mask towardsthe subject, or soften shadows bymoving it towards the light. Thechoice is yours.
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'Here'soneImadeearlier...': Creatingyourlightingmask The easiestwayto makea mask is tocut it out from the side ofa cardboardbox.You’ll need it tobe as large as possibleto ensurethe light reaching the subjectpassesthrough theopenings youcut, rather thanaroundthe side ofthe mask.Tomakethis venetian blind mask, I drew straight lines at regular intervals,then cutthem using a scalpeland cutting mat(you canalso usescissors) to give a rectangular maskwith several similarlysized apertures. It’s important to ensurethe edges of theapertures are cut as smoothandstraight as possibleas any major imperfections mayshow up on the shadows cast.Once you’vemadeyour mask, fixit toa lighting pole usingsellotape. Tryto tape it toone sectionof the stand, asthis makes it easier toraise andlower the stand, whichyou’llneedto do topositionthe areas of light and shadow on thesubject.
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setting with thecamerain manualand theshutter speed set to theflashsync). Myset-up gavea exposure of 1/160sec at f/16 (ISO100).
subject. Take a shot andreviewthe result. In this shot theshadows werehardly visible, so themask wasmoved closerto thesubject.
themask wasmoved awayfrom thesubject.Take care when movingthe mask, asif theanglechanges, the shadow linesmay become uneven.
Work outexposure using a flash meter
Place yourmask between the studioflashhead
Thenext shot gavefar more definedlinesof
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LEE FROST: Backin the days when photographers did it by hand in the dark (printing that is!), I enjoyed coating heavy art paper with a liquidphotographic emulsion before printing black & white images onto it. It was a fiddly and messy process (aren’tmost things done in the dark?) but the results had a wonderful fine-art quality that made the effort worthwhile. Fortunately, you no longerneed a darkroomto experiment with hand-coating, because inkjet pre-coats are now available that allow you tomake a wide rangeof materials receptive to inkjetinks, allowingyou togo ahead and print photographson them. Paper is an obvious choice of material, but if you feel more ambitious, and your printer has a flat-feed, you can print images on fabrics,wood, metal and glass. To get you started, we’ll concentrate on using pre-coats on paper, to show you not only howeasy this technique is, but alsohow effective it can be.
SETTINGUP: Find yourself a clear area to work in,away from anything expensive,with plentyof light,so you can see what you'redoing.Put down a wipe-clean mat or some newspaperto work on.You'll need a bowlto put your coating solution in,and a clean, wide brush to apply it to your paper surface.
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INKJET PRE-COATS: Although there’s nothing to stopyou from printing photographs on ordinarypaper or card, the images usually endup looking flatand blurrybecause theink soaks into thesubstrate andspreadsout,a bitlike inkon blottingpaper. Similarly, if you print on a non-porous material such as plastic or metal, inkwill stay on the surfaceof the substrate and probablybe smearedby the printer. To prevent this,special pre-coats have beendeveloped thatmake both porous and non-porous materialsreceptiveto inkjet inks and allowyou to print high quality images on them without falling foul ofany ofthese problems. It’s a simpleconcept, but it works brilliantly, and has opened up all sortsof creative avenues for photographers.OttawaSpeciality Coatings Corporation wasthe firstto launch inkjet pre-coats, under the inkAID label(www.inkaid1.com). You canbuy a sample pack of inkAID pre-coats for £25.95plus postage, from Artvango (www.artvango.co. uk).The kit contains six 118ml bottles of: Clear Semi-Gloss, Clear Gloss, White Matte, Iridescent Gold,Clear Gloss Type II (with adhesive) and a separate adhesivepre-coat foruse with the ClearGloss pre-coat. Eachbottle contains enough pre-coat to prepare a dozen or more sheets ofA4 paper, with two coatson each sheet, so there’smorethan enoughto get you going. I foundthe WhiteMatteand Clear Semi-Gloss pre-coats to be the mostuseful for photographicprinting, so youcould bypass the sample pack and order individual bottles.
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The firststepis tochooseyourpaper. This is where youcan experiment. Try textured art paper, watercolour paper, handmade paper, coloured paper, etc. The yellowing endpapers from old books also workwellif you wantto create prints with a distinct vintagelook– as long as itwillfeedthrough your printer, it’sworth trying.
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Nowit’s timeto apply the pre-coats.A clear, wipe-clean work area is required, though any spillsand splashesare easy towipeup. The bottleof pre-coat should alsobe given a good shake before pouring a smallquantity into a clean plastic dish. This canall bedonein daylight,as thepre-coats aren’tlight-sensitive.
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To apply the pre-coat, youjust paint it on, trying to avoid gettinghairs or other debris trapped in theemulsion, andalso making sure thatthe pre-coatingis applied evenly. Thatsaid, if you intentionally want to see brush strokes andtexture in the pre-coat, you can apply a thicker layer andbe more random with yourstrokes.
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d me d I f y ou ’ r e f ia e e l i c ou n r ea l d g u se ll y a c m i t i o o m ed b g i a s u at i n or k s b t o c re a t e m s, y ou t ex t , h a rt w y p ri n i - an d w g o n xe d m ap l et t ti n s , i ll ri t t e n p ag e s e us t r a t i on s o r rs o r m an u s c r i o f p ai n pt s , t i n g s !
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4brushingat 90°to the directionof thefirst coatif 5ready foruse. To print on thecoatedpaper, treat
6step, it is worth considering protecting the
you wantan evenfinish. Once two coats havebeen applied,and eachsheet is fully dried, place them between the pages ofa big book, weigheddownwith more books,or any otherflat, heavy object,and leave everything overnight.
delicate print surfacesby applyingtwo or three coats of print protection spray. I use Hahnemuehle Protective Spray, but other sprays, suchas the Frogjuice Aerosol from Fotospeedand Permajet Inkjet Fixative willdo the samejob.
Once thoroughly dry, apply a second coat, ideally
Bythe nextmorning,the sheets will beflat and
it likenormalinkjet paper. The printer settings required willdependon theprinter youuse, the material you’reprinting on and your selection of pre-coat,but I find thatArchival Matt or Watercolour Papermedia settings work fine.
Allowthe inks todry overnight; then, asa final
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124 Personalisedcalendar
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CAROLINEWILKINSON: As the end ofeach year approaches, we all face TIME REQUIRED 30 MINUTES thetricky task of choosing a calendar thatreflects EQUIPMENT NEEDED IMAGES & PHOTOSHOP our taste. Prettypictures by photographers packthe shelves ALSO USED 5X7IN 200GSM MATT in this seasonal format, butwhy PHOTO PAPER fork outcash for someone else’s images whenyour photographs could do just asgood a job! Although it’s a greatway toshowcaseyour images, your calendar will look better if you group your shots into themes such as family, flowers, wildlife or landscapes. There’s no rule to say you should stick tothe conventional 12-month calendareither: if you’ve got too manyimages topickfrom, why not do a weekly or, if not enough images, a bi-monthly calendar. This step-by-step guide will show you how todesigna desk-size version from scratch, butthe basic principle applies forany size of calendar – simply substitute the 5x7in dimensions for an A4, or even A3, format in step one. If it’s A4 you’reafter, we’ve helpfullyprovided an A4 calendar template for youon our website. You’llfind it at www.digitalslrphoto.com.
FINISHINGTOUCH:You could either get your calendar printed at a professionalprintersor do it at home on high-qualityphotographicpaper(200gsm or more). Thereis no need to get a desk calendar ring-bound like you would withbigger calendars (though thiscan be easilydone at most print stores),a picture stand willdo the job. You canbuy small picture stands/easels from most art stores, andthere is a great assortmentonline to suit all tastes from vintage antique to simple woodeneasels. But for a really cost-effective alternative,turn a plasticCD case inside out(so it standsupright) andslot thesheets of paper behindits grooves;however, this limits youto a vertical format calendar.
1template, which you canadapt foreachmonthof your calendar. Create a new
2to Image>Image Rotation>90 CW. Usingthe Paint Bucket Tool, fill your
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Havingselected your collectionof images, thefirststepis tocreate a
file(File>New)and selectthe size of thepaper you want to print on.In this case, I’musing5x7inphotopaperand therefore set thesedimensions under Width and Height, makingsureResolution is set at 300. Click OK.
Decidewhether youwanta vertical or horizontal format; if horizontal go
Background Layer with thecolour youwant, unlessyouwant to leaveit white. I found it easier to judgewhereto placemy image anddiarydates on thepage once I turnedthe Gridlineson (View>Show>Grid).
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3guide:try to leavean equal amountof spaceon two sides ofthe text boxfor
4Background Layer anduse theMoveTool to resize it. For thebestresults,
framing.Note:It looks better tohaveat least onegrid boxspace betweenthe edge of thepageand thetext. Selectthe font type,sizeand colourof your text andtypein themonth, days anddates youwant.
positionthebox intheoppositethirdof the pageto the textbox.This will bethe templatefor your image box, which youcan later adjustto fit theshape of your photo. Save the document as template.psd.
Next,createa text boxwith theHorizontal TypeTool.Use thegrid lines asa
Nowcreate a new layer (Layer>New), fillit witha contrastingcolourto your
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Nowyou’re finished.Keepthetemplatefile fornextyearor useit tocreate a seriesof themedcalendarsas giftsto familyand friends. For a professionaltouch, youcouldadd a coverto your calendar byrepeatingthestepsand adding a title, butleave outthe dates.Also,whynot trychoosinga backgroundcolourthatcomplements each image.
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5on to your calendardocument. Then resize theimageto fit into theimage
6selectOutside to create a border. Once you’rehappy withthe first month's
box, holdingdown Shift,to keep theimage proportionate. If it’s a portrait-format imageuse thetop andbottom of the(grey)box as theboundary. Useyour judgementhereand thegrid boxesto frameyourphoto.
page, flatten the image(Layer>FlattenImage) and resavethe file e.g January. TIFF. Now, re-open thetemplate fileand repeat steps5 and6 foreachmonth, rememberingto changethe month anddates in thecalendar.
Open your first image in Photoshopand drag it – using theMove Tool –
Click on your photolayerand go to Edit>Stroke andchangewidth,colourand
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OUR EASY TO FOLLOW PHOTOSHOP STEP-BY-STEPS WILL HELP YOU TRANSFORM YOUR IMAGES
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Cross-processing inPhotoshop
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DANIEL LEZANO: Photoshop has allowed us to create all sorts of wonderful effects, but many TIME REQUIRED 15 MINUTES photographers whogrewup in EQUIPMENT NEEDED the film age still hanker for some ofthe NIKON D700 old favourites. The portrait enthusiasts 105MM F/2.8 LENS among you may remember ALSO USED cross-processing, which involved PHOTOSHOP CS3 developing a filmin the'wrong' chemistry, (i.e. running a slide filmthrough chemicals meant for negatives, or developing print films in slide film chemistry). This would lead to some adventurous and very unusual results,such as particularly punchycolours or pale and tinted skin tones in your image. This technique was popular with fashion and ‘lifestyle’photographers in the ’90s and many digital photographers now successfully mimic the effect. Cross-processing film was always unpredictable and results varied according to filmbrands and filmtype – slide films gave verydifferent results to cross-processed printfilms. Outlined here is a simple, yet effective, technique for recreating the cross-processed look digitally in Photoshop. It makes useof the Curves adjustment, which means you’ll need the full version of Photoshop, or a Curves plug-in for AdobeElements.
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Choose a portrait image you like,but oneyou feel wouldbenefit from more visual impact. Select Window>Layers to reveal the Layers palette. Select the half white/half black icon that allows you to createa newAdjustmentLayer and choose Curves from thedrop-down menu. Note a newlayer calledCurves 1 appears above the Background Layer (original image).
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Select Red and dragthe top right ofthe curve a littleto the left. Thenclick two pointsaround a third ofthe way fromthe top and bottomand dragthemto create a gentle S curve (i.e. drag thetop point slightly to theleft andthe bottom point to theright). This gives deepershadows andbrighter highlights in theRed channel – check thePreviewbutton to seethe effect.
A Curves box appears, which displays a histogram of theimage, with a straight diagonalline running from bottom left (pure black) to top right (purehighlight). Above thehistogram is an optiontab calledChannel that will currentlyread RGB. You’ll usethe Channel tabto selectthe individual channels in thefollowingorder: Red, Blue, then Green.
Once you’ve adjusted theRed channel, click on theChannel drop-down menu andselect theBlue channel. Pull thetop right endof thecurve downwards to remove some blue fromthe highlights. When you’ve done this, pullup the bottomof the curve byno morethanhalf a square, tomake the shadowsin theblue channel a bitmore solid.The line shouldremain straight.
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C ol o u
r ex p e C ro r i m s s - p r o e nt s c e s s u np r e i n d g i c fi l m o ft ta b s w or k l e g av i n l t s , s en g o n r es u e v er y o a fr a i d c ol o t o e t he y ou u r c h w he n ’ r e x p t we e an n a ri m k s t o e n e l s , d ’ t t w s ee w ha y ou b on t e ff it h l e ec t s o c r c ha n cu r ne
Finalimage Compare this picture to the original and theeffect speaks foritself: an image that holds farmore visual impactthanks tothe extra colourand contrast.
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You cannow click on theChannel taband selectGreen. With theGreen channel you need to selecttwo pointsas you did with theRed channel, and drag them tocreate another gentle S curve. However, there is no need todrag the top endof thecurve. You canthen fine-tune theadjustmentsto your satisfaction. Once you arehappy with theresulting image, click OK.
While our main step-by-stepmimicsthe effects of cross-processing print film in slide chemistry, many film photographersfavoured experimentingwith processing slide film in print (C-41) chemistry. This produced extremelyhigh contrast images, with near-bleached white skintones, bright red lips and very strong colours. It's a relativelyeasy effect to mimic by making adjustments to the Hue/ Saturation and Brightness/Contrast controls in Photoshop. 1) Open the image and select Window>Layers to reveal the Layers palette. Select a new Adjustment Layer and choose Hue/Saturation from the drop-downmenu. Boost the saturationand adjust the hueto your liking (but makesurethatyou don't overdo the effect!).
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You should now have an effect that’s reminiscent of a cross-processed film, with more solid,boldcolours andskin tones takingon a yellow/greentinge. However, you can alsocreate other adjustment layers to further enhance your image – in particular the Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast layers, which canbe selected to complete theeffect to your liking.
2) Now select a new Adjustment Layer for Brightness/Contrast and increase the contrast (and brightness if youso wish). You'll findthat youstart to lose detail in the highlights and shadows and the colours become far more punchy. Again, don't overdo it.
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130 NDgrads&Photoshop
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MARKBAUER: One of the main technical challenges in landscape photography is controlling the contrast in a scene so that you can accurately record detail in both the land andthe sky. Often the sky is a lot brighter than the land, and the contrast in the scene is beyond what the camera's sensorcan record, resulting in either a well-exposed sky and underexposed foreground, or the opposite. The usual way around this is to use a Neutral Density (ND) graduated filter. These filters are brilliantly simple – theyare dark at the top and clear at the bottom and all you do is position the dark half overthe brighter area of the picture, reducing the contrast between the light and dark areas and therefore enabling you to capture detail in both the foreground and the sky. The only problem is that the dividing line between the dark and light areas ofan ND grad is a straight line, and not all landscapes have a straight horizon – often the horizon is broken byan object such as a tree, a hill or a building,and the filter can cause an unnatural-looking darkening of the topof these objects. However, help is at hand as, most of the time, post-processing will rescue the shot. Here I explain howto use an ND Grad and remove its effect from specific areas.
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TIME REQUIRED SHOOTING: 20 MINS PHOTOSHOP: 20 MINS
EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS 5D MKII, 24-105MM F/4L LENS & MANFROTTO 055CLB TRIPOD
ALSO USED REMOTE RELEASE & LEE 0.9 ND GRAD FILTER
Techniquewatch HARDAND SOFTGRADFILTERS: Neutraldensity graduated filters come in two varieties: hard and soft. Hard gradshavea very obvious and sudden transitionfrom the darkto clear areas, whereas softgrads have a muchmore gradualtransition. Hard gradsare more useful in situationswhere the horizon line is fairly straight and doesn’t have any large objects breaking it. Softgrads on theother hand are a better option whenyou have an unevenhorizon. Also,opt for a hard grad if you intend to shoot a scene with a straight horizon at sunset or sunrise,as the horizon line will be thebrightest part of thescene, andsoftgrads won’t hold backenoughlight. So what do you do when you’re shooting a scene at sunrise/sunset, which has a largeobject such as a treeor building breaking the horizon? Here’s my wayaroundthis.
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Arriving at Portland in Dorset just beforedawn, I took a spot meter reading from theforegroundrocksand thesky, which revealed a differencein brightness of aroundfourstops. Although this fallswithinthe dynamic rangeof thesensor, shadowdetail hasbeencompromised a little, andlifting this in post-processingcouldreveal noise in theimage.
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With a four-stopdifferencebetweenthe rocks andthe sky, I chosea three-stop ND grad filter, asit would leavethe skya littlebit lighter than the foreground. Thenext choicewas to use a soft or hard grad (seepanel). Soft grads aren't always thebestchoice for seascapes, as thebrightest part of thescene is often acrossthe horizon line, so I decidedon a hard grad.
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Using thehardgradfilterhas resulted in a much more even exposure, butthere is a problem. The tophalf of thelighthouse, wherethe filter has cutintoit, is a bittoo dark. The effect is fairlysubtle,but it's definitelythere, and doesn't look natural. Fortunately, this common problem can be easily sorted outwith a spot of post-processing work.
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Finalimage This is the final result, which has good detail and colour in both the sky and foreground, and a naturallooking lighthouse with no darker section at the top.
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Usingthe MagneticLasso Tool in Photoshop, I selected thedarkertop half ofthe lighthouse,so that I couldwork onthe problemarea without affectingany otherpartof theimage.I decidednot toapply any featheringto theselection, as thiscould leave a 'halo' around thelighthouseonce I'd finished lightening the selection.
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There arevariousways of lightening or darkeningimages, suchas Curvesand Levels,but forthis selection I decidedto usethe Dodge Tool, as I couldpaint the effecton gradually andbuild itup inthe areasthat needed itmore. I set theExposure valueto 10%, whichenabledme towork gradually on lightening the selection.
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132 Poparteffect
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CAROLINE WILKINSON:Whensomeone says Andy Warhol,probably oneof thefirst images to popintotheir head is a colourful montage of TIME REQUIRED 15MINUTES Marilyn Monroe or a Campbell’ssoup can. Warholis oneof themost recognised artists of the1950’s EQUIPMENT ADOBEPHOTOSHOPCS4 popart movement and we’re still replicating hisstyle60 years later, with a lotmore ease since theintroductionof Photoshop.When it comesto picking an imagefor a Photoshopped popart image, it’s best to pick a shot with good contrast because you’ll be, in effect, using theshadows as a blackoutline for your colours, and without good shadow detail to define theface, your subject may look like they’rewithout a nose or mouth.If you’re unsure,check theimage byturning it black& white andthen clicking Image>Adjustment>Threshold toplay with thesliderto judge if enoughdetail is retained. You shouldalso tryto pick an image with a backgroundthat contrasts with thesubject to make it easier to extractwith theMagicWand Tool. Some shots work better than others, but it’s a case oftrial and error. So whatare you waiting for, giveyour shots a new lease of life withthisgraphicPhotoshop technique.
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Openthe image and drag the Background Layer onto the newlayer iconto duplicate the layer. Now adda new coloured layer between thetwo layersby clicking Layer>New Layer, then Edit>FillLayer andpick a colour. Drag thislayer between thetwo and clickthe top layer.
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Add a touch of blur bygoing to Filter>Blur> Gaussian Blurand settingthe slider to 1px. Drag thetop layer onto the New Layer iconto duplicate.Select the Paint BucketTool and hit X toselect a white foregroundand click theface.(X changes the foreground colour from black to white).
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BEAWANDWIZARD! If youstruggle selectingthe wholebackground, increaseor decreasethe Tolerance level of your wand slightlyand hold Shift while making multiple selections.
Usethe Magic Wand Tool to select the background and hit delete to showthe coloured background behind. Go to Select>Deselect, then Image> Adjustments> Desaturateand Image>Adjustments> Threshold, adjusting the slider to retain facial details. Select thetop layer’s blending modeto Multiply. Click thesecond layer and createa Solid adjustment layer (thesplit circle icon on the Layers palette). Choose a colourto use asa skintone, then select the Paint Bucket Tool, hitX, and fillthe layerwith black to maskthe colour.
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Hold Altand click between thesecondand thirdlayer. Now select the BrushTool and hitX tochoose a whiteforeground colour and paintover theskin area. Createanother Solidcolour adjustment layer, choose a second colour, clip thelayer below and repeatfor eachcolour.
Select theCropTooland hold downShiftwhiledragging from top left to bottom rightto createa squareimage.Move thesquareuntil you’re happy withthe crop. Double clickto complete. Select all layers except the Background Layer by holding Shift and clicking on eachlayer.
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Transform. In the options at thetop, change the percentages to 50%for width and height, and move the imageto the top left of thepicture. Selectthe Move Tool, hold Alt, drag the shotto the top right,making a copy of theimage. Repeat three times and position the boxeson thepage.
colours, scroll down the Layers palette to select the rightlayer, then choosea colourand usethe Paint Bucket Tool on thesquare. For otherfeatures you want tochange the colour of, double click on the corresponding layer’s coloured box tobringup the colour picker.
HitCmd+T to
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134 Duotoning
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MATTHENRY: Duotoning, otherwise known as split-toning, dates back to the days of the chemical darkroom, but with digital processing, TIME REQUIRED separatelytoning shadows and highlights has 15MINUTES become much quicker and easier on the wallet. The EQUIPMENT ADOBEPHOTOSHOPCS4 treatment suits images with good tonal range; clear distinction between the shadows and highlights, so that thecoloursdon’t overlap. There are so many colour combinations you can try: red and yellow work well, as do green andblue, but the effect can also be changed depending on which colour you usefor highlights and which you use for shadows. For instance, red highlights and blue shadows give a contemporary, energising look, while red shadows and blue highlights can be more unsettling. There are no hard and fast rules though – keep mixing it up untilyou hit on something you like.
TOBLEND OR NOT TOBLEND? Althoughthereare different ways to achieve theduotone effectin Photoshop,Blending Options offer by farthe mostcontrol over results. You canbe selective, using the sliders to specify which tones receive the colour wash andthose thatdon’t:makingit easier to keep coloursseparateas is often thedangerwith other techniques. Blending Options aren’taccessiblefor Elements users but excellentresults canstill be achieved using Color Variationsand selecting shadowsand highlights separately.
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The first thing to do is convert our imageto mono. Elements users should duplicatethe Background Layer with Ctrl/Cmd+Jand run Enhance>Convert toBlack & White. Photoshop users shouldadd a Black & White adjustment layer usingthe button atthe layer palette base(or Layer>New Adjustment Layer).
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In both Adobe Elements and Photoshop, you have the option to choose one of thepresets (use the drop-down menuin Photoshop) or work with the colour sliders to producethe desired effect. Experiment freely witheach method until you reacha look that suits theparticular image in hand.
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Oncethe imageis converted toblack& white, in Photoshop, add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer and check the box that says Colorize. Beforewe go anyfurther, changethe layer‘sblending modefrom Normal to Color using thedrop-down menuto prevent the image being lightened or darkened.
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Drag theHue sliderto establishthe colour wash you’d likefor theshadows. Ignorethe fact that thecolour is applied to thewholetonal range for now. Selectthe Hue/Saturationlayer and select Layer>Layer Style>Blending Options. HoldAlt andclickthe whitetriangle on theThis Layer slider tosplit it into two parts.
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Changethe layer blending mode from Normal to Color andmovethe Hueslider to choose yourhighlight colour. Click Layer>Layer Style>Blending Options andsplitthe black triangle.Set therightside to 155and theleftto 80. Click OK to finish thePhotoshop work.
Elements usersdon’thave theluxury of blending options so weneed to useVariations. Goto Enhance>Adjust Color>Color Variations. Nowselect Shadows on theleftto start andclick therelevant picture buttonto addthe colourof your choice to the shadows.
Now, drag theleft-hand part of thetriangle along to the100 setting andthe right-hand partto 175.If you now clickthePreviewboxon andoff youcansee howthe highlight toneshave been excludedfromthe toning. Click OK then add another Hue/Saturationadjustment layer, checking the Colorize box again.
Clickas manytimesas you needto get the desired strength,and don’t be afraidto mix colourtones to get therighteffect.Use the subtract picture buttonif yougo toofar. Check the Highlight buttonwhenyou’re done andrepeat for the highlight tones. Click OK to finish.
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Finalimage Asyou can see,the Photoshop treatment has given the formerblack & white image a new and appealing atmosphere.
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136 Darkenbackgrounds
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CAROLINE WILKINSON: When shooting a portrait there isa lot we can doto TIME REQUIRED control keyelements such as 30 MINUTES poses, lighting and composition. But EQUIPMENT NEEDED PHOTOSHOP CS3 there are also many instances when you can’t control it all. For example, this bridal portraithad great lighting comingfrom thewindow butthe backdrop was cluttered and distracting – ruiningthe photograph. Often, you canadd blur in Photoshopto recreatea shallow depth-of-field, softening the imposing background. But in this case, it’s not enough and for this picture tobe a success thebackdrop needs to be simplified. Using a coloured layer to maskthe background is an effective way of transforming most images that have great light buta messy backdrop. If you have images with a similarproblem, then give this techniquea try!
Brushes&layers! This techniquerequires youto create a new‘black’ layer anduse thePaint Brush Toolto remove thecolour andreveal theimageunderneath.A fair amount oftrial and error isneededto get aneven result,butonewayis to keep a soft medium-sized,verylow-opacity brush movingand gradually strip awaythe colour. If youdo make a mistake,change thebrushMode to Darkenand goover theareas wherethe opacityis toothin.
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I tried toblur thebackground bymaskingoff the brideand applying the maximum lensblur to thebackground by using Filter>Blur>Lens Blurand setting the Radiusto 100%. I wanted a simpleimage that focused on the bride and lighting; thistechnique didn't do that.
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I madea second layer (Layer>New>Layer)and, withthe Paint Bucket Tool, coloured it black.I broughtthe opacity ofthe layer downto 56% so asto see the imageunderneath and, usingthe Clear brushmode and opacity of 62%, started to erase areas I wantedto reveal.
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It’s worth playing around withthe different brush modes, sizes and opacitiesto get the desiredeffect. I found that 62% was too harshto get a smoothfinish and I got a better result with thelayer’s opacity at 100%and by varyingthe brush opacity between 9 and 17%.
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OnceI was happywiththe detailI’d broughtforward, I felt that the graduation between the bride’s profile and theblack fill layer needed to be smoother, so I played withthe different blending options (Layer>LayerStyle). TheSatin blend gave me the smoothest finish.
EachBlend Optionhas a range ofBlend Modesto experimentwith.I was temptedto use Soft Lightas it boosted the bride’sglowand contrast, but in theendI opted for the Normal settingas it offered a less stark result with more natural skintones,which suited my image better.
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Finalimage Youmay find thatadding a blendingoption boosts theshadows, so it’s worth goingbackover areas ofthe subjectwith a lowopacity brush to recover thedetails. To make thisimage even simpler, I added a black & white adjustment layer ( Adjustments>Black& White) andusing theDarkenbrush mode,I wentover areas ofthe black layer where theopacity hadbeen reduced.
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Boost contrast withblending modes CAROLINE WILKINSON: Manipulatingcontrastand colour saturation is what TIME REQUIRED AdobePhotoshop excels at, TEN MINUTES butthesetwo propertiesare often EQUIPMENT NEEDED ADOBE PHOTOSHOP interlinked. Boostan image’s contrast OR ELEMENTS and you’ll noticethe colours may look oversaturated too. Whileadjusting the Levels or Curvesis the most common way to changecontrast and theHue/Saturation tool for adjusting colour, using blending modes in a multi-layered image canbe quicker and give you more creativeflexibility. Putsimply, blending modes determine howa top layer interacts, or ‘blends’ with thelayerunderneath. There are25 blending modes to pick from, each having a differenteffect,but there is also a group dedicatedto changing contrast, including SoftLight, HardLight, Linear Light,Hard Mixand, oneof themost used, Overlay. Each one handles light and darkdifferently – so it’s worth experimenting – and it's worth noting that you canadd them to anylayer: a duplicatelayer, an adjustment layer, a filllayeror a different image layer. If you arenew to working with multiple layersand blending modes, don’t be daunted, this maysound advanced butit’s not. In fact, this tutorial could be theencouragement you need to start using layersin all of your Photoshopand Elements editing. Let’ssee howit’sdone.
FindingLayerBlendModes Whileyou cango toLayer>Layer Style>Blending Options andfind the BlendMode drop-down menuunder General Blending,along withmany otheradvanced options that willlook veryconfusing toyou atthis stage, there’sa much quicker way.All the blend modescan be foundon a drop-downlist in the top-leftcornerof the Layerspalette, whichby defaultwill haveNormal blendmode selected.
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You need at least two layersfor this techniqueto work,as a blend 1 mode determines how a top layer interacts with thelayer underneath it.So, tobeginwith,I duplicate theBackgroundLayer, by clicking the
I want to boost thecontrast, so I runthrough thelist of blend modes 2 andfinally optfor Overlay, as it darkens theblacks andlightensthe highlights. If theeffect is toostrong,try reducing thetop layer's opacity. By
I need to separate thecontrastand saturation, so sticking with Overlay andat opacity 100%, I take thecolour outof thetop layer 3 using the command Image>Adjustments>Desaturate . It’s given methe
Bydesaturing theshot, I'velostthe colour inthe eye.Togive it back its impact,I haveuseda QuickMask and small brushto select theeyeon the 4 BackgroundLayer. Click theQuick Maskicon again to revealmarching ants.
layer and choosing Layer>Duplicate Layer or Ctrl+J.
boosting the contrast, however, I'veoversaturated the face, making it red.
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boost in contrast I want andmuted thecolours.I like it!
I then boost thecolour (Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation).
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fi x O ve r l a y i s a c om a nd b S cr e a t i o e i n n o f M s ep a nd m od r a t e n b le l y e s . U s ul t i p l y t o r es p d ar k e e t he c t i v e m e n o r l ig l y . h G w it h te n i ma t i f y o ve g r o r u re a e s , ou ’ r e d ea nd e r e x p l i n g o s e d p ho t o s
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Overall, I’mhappy withthe final image, butthoughtit was a bit soft, soI addeda High Passfilter toboostthe detail.I didthisby duplicating the Background Layer again, and makingit thetop layer, then adding a HighPassfilter (Filter>Other>HighPass) set to5 pixels and selecting theblending modeto Overlay. Experiment with different filtersand blending modes for various creative effects.
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140 Funface-flip
Createa fun'face-flip' r o o d t u O
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MAT GALLAGHER: It is often thought that themore symmetrical your face is, themore pleasing or beautiful you appear. This is why you’ll find that most models and film stars have very symmetrical features. Mostof us however, aren’t blessed withmirror perfect symmetry butwith thehelp of a little Photoshop work, wecansee whatwe’d looklikeif wewere.This technique is in essence, thedigital equivalent to standingat right angles to mirrored glass in a hall of mirrors, as it duplicates one side of your face onto theotherand can have some very bizarre effects. The first stage is to take a photo ofyour subject, or ofyourself if you want toflip a self-portrait. For best results, ensure that the lighting is even across theface, andnot just coming in from oneside. Make sure that you shoot theface straight on and from a level height, as any kind of angle will distort the effect. If however, you want to create some more whackyeffects, ignore these guidelines and have some fun! Formy image,I used a studio shot thatI’dtakenearlier in theweek. It was taken against a whitebackground and straight on to thecamera, thus makingthe process easy. It’s best to do any alterations and cloning work to theface before you do themirror flip, as any imperfections will appear twiceonce you’ve flipped it. The Healing Brush tool makes this quick andeasy, while the Paintbrushtool on a lowopacity and flow, with a sampled colour, can be used over larger areas. Oneof the great things about this techniqueis that, even on a seeminglyeven face, you can end up with two very different-looking images from the left and right sides. You can then pick theversionyou prefer or place them next to each other to show the difference. After a quick trial run, I choose touse theleft-hand-side of my model’s face as it gave a nicer result. If theimage is pretty straight to start with and sliced in carefully, thejoining process should be hassle-free with little adjustment needed. The main areas towatchthougharethe hairline and the neck– you may get a light ordarkline along the 'seam' too butthis can be easily removedwith some careful cloning or healing brush work. To check the 1 model's head is straight, select
Nowyour 2 image is straight, select
On your 3 Layers palette click theeye
Makesure 4 you have your newtop layer
theCrop tool from the tools palette, clickanddragto createa box, then lineup theedge of the box with the lineof thenose and thecentre of the lips. Ifthis line isn’tstraight, click anddrag outside of the box to rotateuntil it is.Now expand the edgesof the Cropto fit the rest of the image in anddouble click insidethe boxto accept.
symbol on the background, this should just leave Layer 1 showing. Click on Layer 1 so it is selected, andhit Ctrl+J once more to create a second copy of thelayer. This will show in the layers palette as Layer 1 Copy. Now goto Image> Rotate>Flip Layer Horizontal to create the mirror image whichwill create the other half of theface.
the Rectangular Marquee tool from thetools palette and (depending on which side of the face you want to use) click and drag from thetop left or top right corner, down to the bottom centre, sothe edgeof the selection goes through the centre ofthe noseand lips. Now press Ctrl+Jto paste the selection intoa duplicate layer.
selected in the layers palette. Now selectthe Move toolfrom the tools palette, then click and drag thelayer to align it with the other half of the face.Check that it lines up correctly by zooming in on details around the lipsor noseand fine-tuningthem. Once you’re happy,hit Ctrl+E to 'Merge down', combiningit with the layer below.
TIME REQUIRED 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES
EQUIPMENT USED ADOBE ELEMENTS
ALSO USED SYMMETRICAL PORTRAIT
Essentialkit PHOTO EDITINGSOFTWARE: Though you mayaspireto have the very latest version of Adobe Photoshop CS foryour image editing, youcan still achieve someimpressiveresults with more modest software packages. Thebasic adjustment tools that youneed to tweak your images haven’t changedthat muchover the years, and this tutorial along with many others wewill cover in themag can be followed with justabout anyphoto editing software. Wehave used Adobe Elements4.0 to createthe images and screen grabs here, toshow justhowsimple itis. If youdon’t currently have any photo editing software, or are looking to upgrade your current software, we recommend you look at Adobe Elements 9, which offers plenty of features at an affordable price.
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FINALIMAGE: Evenwith quite a symmetrical face, the results from the left and right sides canlook like two different people. As youcan see, unlessthe model has a symmetrical hairline,this canmake a bigdifference too.
us . .. o r F o r t he j us t fo m ak e b es t l oo r fu g n fi ni ? s ur e t h k i n sh e d t he h e i ma h t i n ad i s p e l ig g g e , i s e ve n c am oi n e r a t i n a g . I f, h ow h t a t nd e v e s tr a i g s om e t h i n t he r, y ou g m w d ip an p i n g t he or e o bs c u r e , t t t o c re a t e h ea d a nd r ai s i a lt e r y ng o r ri n g t he l ig h t
5 here, though hairand neck-lines mayneed some extra attention.Selectthe 6 occursalong the joint.Be patient withthe neckline,as shadows cast by the If your starting image waswell-lit, youshouldn’thave toomuch work to do
HealingBrush from thetools palette, thenhold Altand Click to select a sample point from a smooth area of skin, thenpaintover problem areas withsmall strokes, using a small to medium-sized,soft edged brush.
Workyourwaydownthe seamto removethe light or dark stripthat often
chin andlongerhair canprove problematic. Once youare happy, save your image under a new name, then tryusing thesame technique for theother side ofthe faceto makea set,or createa flip-face ofeachfamily member.
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Miniaturisation
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MATTY GRAHAM:How do you turna city TIME REQUIRED 20 MINUTES scene into a toy town? This increasingly EQUIPMENT NEEDED fashionable style of photography, using PHOTOSHOP (CS3+) shallow depth-of-field, selective focusing and saturated colours, is known as ‘tilt shift’ and is normally achieved through the use of dedicated lenses, butwe’re going to show you how to create the effect for yourself in Photoshop. Miniature scenes are usually viewed from above, which means that miniature photography works best on images shot from a high vantage point, like a bridge or building. Thanks to a combination of selective blur and saturation, you can bringa standard shot to life, and make it appear more like a child’s playset. If you’re new to Photoshop, it may take some trial and error to get the effect right, but once you do, you’ll be addicted!
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Openyourimage in Photoshop andselect the QuickMaskMode, whichis a circleicon on your Toolspalette. If youcan’t findit, just press Q on your keyboard instead.
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PHOTOSHOP’S BLUR FILTERS: You canfind several different filters in the Blur section, butthe most popular are Lens, Motion and Gaussianblur. These toolscan be used to smoothskinin a portrait, addmotion to a static subject, eliminatedust or fluff, soften print texture or give a shallow depth-of-fieldeffect.
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If you don't haveQuick Mask Mode,choose the Gradienttool optionby eitherpressing G on your keyboard,or selecting it from your Toolspalette. As before, drawyour lineacrossthe screenwhere you want theimageto remain sharp.
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You shouldnow seewhere you’ve applied your mask area. If it isn’t right, just goback andrepeat thelast step.If you’re happy with you mask area,press Q. The mask area willnow be surrounded by ‘marching ants’.
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Click Ctrl+D to remove the‘marching ants’ andyou're readyto adjustthe saturation.Go to Image>Adjustments>Hue/Saturation , orclick (Ctrl+U) to bring up theSaturationoption.
Select the BrushToolfrom yourToolspalette. Drawa horizontal line acrossthe screen, covering theareayou want to remainsharpin the image. Usea soft brush at85% opacity.
You need to boostthe Saturation bydragging themiddle sliderto theright. This step is down to personal taste, but we’d recommend changing the amount to around +40.
It’s time to apply theall-important blur tothe imagenow. Click on Filter>Blur>LensBlur and you willnow see theeffect applied to your imagein a preview panel. Tweak theblur options until you’re happyand then click OK !
Selectcurves(Ctrl+M) andmovethe curveline into a small S-shape.Be careful notto overdo this function asit mayspoilyour image. Save your image( File>Save).
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144 Postermontage
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Pickacolour,createaposter! r o o d t u O
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LEEFROST: While leading a photo TIME REQUIRED workshop on TWO HOURS the Northumberland EQUIPMENT NEEDED CANON EOS-1DS MkIII, coast recently, my group 24-70MM ZOOM and I had tofacethe ALSO USED inevitable dull day that’s PHOTOSHOP CS3 par forthe course when shooting landscapes in the UK.Luckily, we were on the Holy Island of Lindisfarne, which is packed with details that suit the soft light created by overcast weather, so I seteveryone the task of seeking out and shooting details in the fishermen's huts, old boats, lobster pots and piles of fish crates. No individual shot would be a masterpiece,but as a set of images they would gain collective visual strength. To prove this, I started shooting details in the steel hull of a yacht that hadbeen painted bright blue. I then started looking for other blue subjects scattered around the harbour and before I knew it, I’d created an eye-catching setof themed images. Back home, Raw files processed, all I had todo was decide whatto do with themand the idea of a colourful postercame to mind. Here’s a step-by-step to howI created it.
GETTING THESHOTS: To photograph images for this poster project, I usedone camera and one lens – my trusty 24-70mmstandard zoom,which has a decent close-focusing capability. Although I normally usea tripod forjustaboutevery shot, on this occasion I wantedto be able tomovearound quickly andfreely, so I decided to shoot handheld.As theweatherwas dulland light levelsrelativelylow compared to a sunnyday, I increased theISO to 400in order to maintain a reasonably fast shutter speedand prevent camera shake.
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Processthe Rawfilesthen make JPEG copiesof 1 yourselectedimages. Usingthe JPEGformat reducesthe size of each imageso that when you
Open thefirstimagein themontage and Double clickyour second image, thenusing 2 increase thesizeof thecanvasso it’s big enough 3 theMove Tool in Photoshop, drag and drop to addall other imagesin theset.My montage will theimage ontothe enlarged canvas. You canuse
combine a dozen or more of them theresulting file size doesn’t make your computer blow a gasket! I also reduced theimagesizeso each imagewas 25cm wideat 300dpi.
be three images wide by sixdeep,so 80x110cm shouldbe OK.Youcan always make thecanvas bigger ata later stage, or crop any excess canvas. I placed myfirst imagein thetop left corner.
Repeat stepthree, dragging, dropping and 4 positioning each image on thecanvas. If you need to make changes to any of theimages, open
With all images in place, crop anyexcess canvas Click on theType Toolicon in Photoshopthen drag thecursor acrossthe bottomborder of the 5 then go to Layer>FlattenImageto merge the 6 layers. Adda borderby extending thecanvasusing poster tocreate a text box. Next,add a title andyour
the Layers (Windows>Layers), click on the appropriatelayer anddo what needs to be done. Remember to savethe montage asyou go.
Image>Canvas Size andincreasing it evenly on all foursides. Select Image>Canvas againbut only extend thebottom edge so that you canadd text.
the MoveToolto position the imagenextto the firstone and the ArrowKeys to thenfine-tune the position ofthe image. I chose to leavea gap between each image.
name, thenexperiment with different typesizes and typefaces untilyou’re happy.Finally, choose the colourof thetext if you don’t want plain black.
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