Digital Photography The Complete Guide 2nd Edition - 2018

The ultimate guide for digital photographers
BDM’s
Digital
Photography
The Complete Guide
SECOND EDITION
“Master
your digital
photography
skills”
learn
Over
exciting new creative

shooting techniques
570
PhotograPhy
guiDes
Control
your camera for better photos tiPs &
teChniques
DetaileD
guides covering many aspects of photography
100% INDEPENDENT
BDM’s
Digital
Photography
The Complete Guide
SECOND EDITION
P
hotography is an amazing, creative medium which has made some incredible
technological advances in the past few years. You only have to look at photography
from just twenty years ago to see how far it has come in such a short time. Who would
have thought that the film cameras we took for granted just a short time ago would give way
to the complex digital marvels that we enjoy now? Digital technology has given everyone
the ability to take and share photos in ways that can boggle the mind. Yet, at its heart, the
nature of photography has not really changed. All the technical skills required to take good
photos are still as essential as they always were. It may be true that cameras today can take
good photos with little input from the user, save pushing the shutter button. If you want to
truly enjoy photography and be creative, then you need to take control of your camera and
make it do what you want, rather than letting it decide for itself. If you want to brush up on
your knowledge or take it a step further, then read on. n
Contents
DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY - THE COMPLETE GUIDE
Photography gear guide

12 Sony RX0
13 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
14 Nikon D850
15 Hasselblad HD6-400c MS
16 Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM
17 Nikon SB-5000
18 Pixapro CITI600
19 Lowepro Pro Runner X450 II
20 Benro Slim
21 Gitzo GK1555T-82TQD Series 1
22 Memory cards
23 Nodal Ninja NN6
24 Cokin Gradual ND Kit
25 Canon PIXMA PRO-100S
Explore and learn

32 - 33 The exposure triangle
34 - 39 Shutter speed
40 - 45 Aperture and depth of field
46 - 47 ISO and image noise
48 - 51 Focusing
52 - 57 Focal length and zoom
58 - 61 Exposure and metering
62 - 65 Metering modes
66 - 69 Flash techniques
70 - 71 White balance
72 - 73 Understanding hyperfocal distance
74 - 75 Shooting modes
76 - 77 File types and image compression
78 - 85 Composing your photos
86 - 89 The inverse-square law
4 BDM’s Digital Photography - The Complete Guide

CONTENTS
Creative projects
92 - 101 Assignment: Torquay Academy
music festival
102 - 111 The drama and power of silhouettes
112 - 121 Liquid flow photography
122 - 127 Pet and animal portraits
128 - 129 Dawn photography
130 - 131 Shallow depth of field
132 - 133 Wildlife at the zoo
134 - 139 Outdoor portraiture
140 - 141 The fisheye lens
142 - 143 Misty water effect
144 - 145 Glossary
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BDM’s Digital Photography - The Complete Guide 5

Hunting the sunrise
Three local photographers, Stuart, Simon
and Chris, await the rising of the sun, down at the
seafront. Sunrise goes through some particular
phases, each with its own quality of light. Pre-dawn
is usually cooler in tone, with lower dynamic range
and soft shadows but the clouds will normally
start lighting up before the sun actually gets to the
horizon. The minutes before sunrise are generally
more orange/yellow in tone and shadows become
more obvious. Then, once the sun is a couple of
degrees above the horizon, you get long shadows
that reveal detail in the landscape, crisp highlights
and a marked increase in contrast.

INSPIRATIONAL IMAGES
Colours of spring
With winter behind us and the promise of spring
and summer to come, life begins to emerge from
its cold slumber. The simplest image of flowers
beginning to bud is a favourite of ours. A small
grass verge by the side of a main road contained a
tiny patch of flowers. We returned with a camera
and macro lens to capture this tiny oasis of colour.
At f/2.8, the background is a blur of green which
compliments the purple of the flowers.

Daytime long exposure

The use of a 10-stop neutral density filter during
the day can result in some amazing images. Instead
of shutter durations of fractions of seconds, you
can achieve exposures that are minutes long.
This moorland scene was shot with a 10-stop
ND, the lowest ISO the camera was capable of
and an aperture of f/22. The shutter was open for
240s which gave the clouds plenty of time to pass
through the frame of the composition to make what
would have been dense fluffy clouds more wispy
and conveying a sense of movement.

PHOTOGRAPHY
GEAR GUIDE
Our quick guide to some very desirable camera gear
T
he number of cameras and 12 Sony RX0
photographic accessories on the
market today is simply staggering 13 Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III
and can be extremely off-putting for those
who are looking to upgrade their gear. This 14 Nikon D850
is particularly true for those who may have
had an older camera for some time and are 15 Hasselblad HD6-400c MS
not familiar with the specifications of the
current range of cameras. If you are thinking 16 Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM
of upgrading your gear simply because you
fancy a new camera or you are looking to 17 Nikon SB-5000
expand your creative abilities with a more
advanced camera, lenses and accessories, 18 Pixapro CITI600
then these next few pages are worth a read.
We’ve picked out a few items that are of
19 Lowepro Pro Runner X450 II
great interest to us. Some may be brand
new or not even released yet, some may
20 Benro Slim
be currently available items that are still
21 Gitzo GK1555T-82TQD Series 1
sought after because they are still the best
at what they do and are worth considering 22 Memory cards
as an important addition to your gear bag.
There is an old adage that a new camera will 23 Nodal Ninja NN6
not make you a better photographer and
whilst that is true, it may just offer you a new 24 Cokin Gradual ND Kit
feature that you use on your next shoot and
develop into your signature look. Something 25 Canon PIXMA PRO-100S
as simple as getting your flash off your
camera to be used remotely or just buying a
reflector to use on your next portrait shoot
may be the springboard to brand new creative “Something as simple as getting your flash off your
photographic possibilities. n camera to be used remotely or just buying a reflector to
use on your next portrait shoot may be the springboard
to brand new creative photographic possibilities.”

PHOTOGRAPHY GEAR GUIDE

Sony RX0
The new ultra-compact action camera
F Specification at a glance
or some time now, if you wanted to record
sports and thrill seeking action on the
land, sea and in the air, your primary Sensor 15.3MP
choice was going to be the GoPro range of Max image size 4800 x 3200 pixels
action cameras. Light, robust and capable of Waterproof 10m (33ft)
taking 12MP stills and 4K video, they could go
Lens 24mm Zeiss F4
where most DSLRs would fear to tread. More
recently, other manufacturers have been Screen 1.5” LCD
bringing out their own action cams and Sony Size 59 x 40 x 30mm
has released their offering, the RX0. Weight 110g
For such a tiny device, it does pack a lot of
Storage MicroSD card
tech within its robust housing. First up is the 1.0
CMOS image sensor. It delivers 15.3MP stills and ISO range Stills 125-25600
up to 4K video, although you will need to tether Video 125-12800
to an external recording device via HDMI for full
Video 4K via HDMI
4K video capture. This could be seen as a major
disadvantage to users who can shoot 4K on a Max fps 1000 frames per second
GoPro HERO6 without any additional hardware. Price £780/$699/€799
It does have the advantage of the larger sensor
which should make it better in low-light situations.
Bigger sensors normally equate to better
low-light performance. It has a very compact
form factor too, since it doesn’t have the lens
protruding from the front of the device like other
action cams. It is waterproofed up to 10m and
there is an optional dive housing if you’re keen to
go deeper.
The Sony is packed with features that include a
960fps slow motion option at near HD quality as
well as stills capability and clean video capture;
but the main thing that might be a sticking point
for people looking to adopt a new action cam
system is the price. At the moment, the list price
is quoted as around £800. This is double what you
could pay for a new GoPro HERO6 and you would
be forgiven for thinking that, despite its additional
features, it is not twice as good as the GoPro. n
The RX0 is rated to 10m on

its own but if you feel the
need to go deeper, then
there is the optional dive
housing to consider.

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

Great image quality and AF in an attractive retro body
F Specification at a glance
irst of all, you should get a prize from
Olympus for being able to remember
the full model name. For simplicity we Sensor 16.1MP
shall refer to it from here onwards as the Lens mount Micro Four Thirds
E-M10 Mk3. It is the latest incarnation of the Max image size 4608 x 3456 pixels
M10 range of mirrorless cameras. Over the
Image stabilisation 5-axis sensor-shift
past few years, smartphone cameras have
been snapping at the heels of the compact Viewfinder OLED 2.36 M-dot
camera market; it is now more likely that Screen 3.0” tilt and touch
a casual photographer is happy to shoot Autofocus 121-point contrast AF
general stills and selfies on their smartphone
ISO 100-25600
than on a dedicated camera. If you are looking
for a little more control over your photos but Video 4K 30p
don’t want to jump up to a DSLR, then the GPS Via smartphone data
compact camera is a good bridge between the
Size 121.5 x 83.6 x 49.5mm
two. A lot of manufacturers have produced
a number of mirrorless cameras that users Weight 362g
of smartphones would feel at home with Sequential shooting 8.6fps
and include touchscreen control, wireless Price body only £530/$550/€649
connectivity, sharing and so on.
The E-M10 Mk3 uses a touchscreen menu
driven interface that makes access to simple
features and advanced options much easier
and intuitive. Its 16MP files are clean and crisp
and it has a range of art filters to keep you
occupied should you need them. You can go full
auto if you want or take control with the usual
PASM shooting modes you would be familiar
with on a DSLR. There are also more advanced
features such as exposure bracketing, HDR,
perspective correction and double-exposure.
The 5-axis image stabilisation is also very adept
at reducing camera shake when shooting in low
light and lower shutter speeds. It can smooth
out your video capture too.
A notable update to this camera design is
the inclusion of 4K video capture at 25fps. It’s
standard HD video capture mode lets you shoot
at 50fps for much silkier footage than 25fps.
Whether it’s more creative control over your
photography or you have the need to dabble
in videography, the E-M10 Mk3 is a great little
performer and should be good enough to keep
your smartphone tucked away for calls only. n
“A notable update to this

camera design is the inclusion
of 4K video capture at 25fps.”

Nikon D850
Amazing performance from the new DSLR benchmark
U
ntil recently, if you wanted a great all round
full-frame camera packed with features and
boasting fantastic image quality, with dynamic
range second-to-none, then you didn’t have to look far.
Nikon’s 36.3MP D810 was beloved by professionals
and amateurs alike, and regarded as one of the best
DSLRs around. Now, Nikon brings you the D850, which is Specification at a glance
billed as the successor to the D810 and builds upon the
Sensor 45.7MP CMOS
success of an already great camera, with a number of
important performance and technical updates. Max image size 8,256 x 5,504 pixels
First, the D850’s CMOS sensor gets a big upgrade to Image processor EXPEED 5
45.7MP, compared to the D810 which had a 36.3MP sensor.
Max ISO 102,400
Now you can produce image files measuring 8,256 x 5,504
pixels. This puts it very close to the resolution you can AF points 153, 99 cross-type
capture with Canon 5DS with its 50.6MP sensor. Just like Video 2160p at 30/25/24p
its forebears the D810 and the older D800E, the D850 does 8K time-lapse
not use an anti-aliasing filter present in a lot of cameras for
Image stabilisation Electronic VR
even greater detail resolving power. Be aware though, that if
you shoot scenes with lots of fine detail, you do run the risk Touchscreen 3.2” touch and tilt
of getting moiré patterns. GPS Yes
The D850 boasts a touch and tilt 3.2” screen that lets Connectivity USB 3.0/HDMI/Bluetooth
you navigate the menu system and also touch and focus
Continuous shooting Up to 7fps
your shots. Not only that, you can use DX lenses made
for cropped sensor Nikons on the full-frame FX D850. Price body only £3499/$3296/€3799
The camera can detect the use of a DX lens and crops the
images accordingly to the DX format. This isn’t too much
of an issue since you’ll still be capturing images that are
almost 20MP in size. The D850 has an extended ISO range
that tops out at 102,400 but also has an ISO 32 minimum.
Videographers will be happy to see the inclusion of a
4K/30fps video capture mode with electronic vibration
reduction to smooth out your footage. Full HD video
can be captured at a useful 60fps. 8K
time-lapse movies are also possible if
you still feel UHD isn’t detailed enough
for you.
The autofocus capabilities of the
D850 have been ramped up too, with
its 153 point AF system that until
now, had been used in the top of the
range D5, so good news for sports
photographers too. The new AF
system can even focus in extremely
low light conditions using its centre
AF point. At -4 EV this is not far away
from total darkness.
Given the quality of the D810, the
D850 had a lot to live up to. So far,
it would seem that it has exceeded
most people’s expectations and we
imagine it is set to become the new
darling of pro and enthusiast DSLR
users everywhere. n

Hasselblad H6D-400c MS
Image quality at the leading edge of technology
H Specification at a glance
asselblad is a Swedish based manufacturer of
photographic equipment and image scanners. If
Sensor 100MP CMOS
you are a keen photographer, you no doubt will
know the name and immediately associate them with Sensor size 5.34 x 4.0cm
their classic range of medium format cameras produced Max resolution 23200 x 17400 pixels
since World War II. You may also be aware that their
ISO 64 - 12800
popularity soared after NASA used modified versions
of their cameras on the Apollo missions to land on the Storage CFast, SD (UHS-I)
moon. Many of the iconic images we see of the moon Touch display 3” 920K pixels
missions were taken with Hasselblads. Min shutter 60 minutes
They are renowned for pushing the limits on what is
Max shutter 1/2000s
possible with high resolution medium format equipment
and the H6D-400c MS is at the leading edge of Viewfinder 2.36MP EVF
photographic technology. It uses multi-shot technology Video 1080p/2160P
to physically move the camera’s sensor up to 1 pixel at Dimensions 153 x 131 x 205mm
a time over a number of exposures, with an electronic
Weight 2180g
actuator that enables the camera to capture an increased
amount of colour and image data. Once merged using the Sync speed All shutter speeds
supplied processing software, you can create images up Connectivity USB 3.0/Mini HDMI
to 400MP in size, with incredible amounts of detail. There
Price (approx.) £37,000/$48,000/€42,250
is a downside to all this awesome capability though. Since
you are shooting multiple exposures, your subject must be Rental £TBC/$TBC/€399 per day
completely static in a stable and controlled environment.
You also need to be aware that each 16-bit Tiff file it
creates weighs in at an incredible 2.4GB. Still, at the rate
technology advances, it probably won’t be too long before
this technology becomes more accessible.
At its heart lies the 100MP sensor. Measuring 53.4mm
x 40mm, the sensor has a wide ISO range, 16-bit colour
images and an impressive 15 stops of dynamic range.
Couple this with its ability to shoot both HD and UHD video
and you have a device that is unlike any other. Now though
is the point you take a deep breath and read down the list
of specifications until you get to the price; this might be the
time to start buying more lottery tickets. n

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM
A full-frame prime lens perfect for portrait work
I Specification at a glance
f you love portrait work, reportage, shooting
weddings or just need a medium telephoto lens with
Focal length 85mm
great low light performance, then Canon’s addition
to their prime lineup is definitely worth a look. Whether Maximum aperture f/1.4
you are an enthusiast or seasoned pro, shooting around Minimum aperture f/22
this focal length is regarded as the ‘sweet spot’ for
Size 88.6 x 105.4mm
natural looking portraits. Couple that with its maximum
aperture of f/1.4 and you can achieve some beautiful Weight 950p
background blur. This new lens sits in the range between Image stabiliser 4-stops
its cheaper sibling, the EF 85mm f/1.8, and its highly Lens construction 14 elements in 10 groups
regarded (and more expensive) EF 85mm f/1.2. What
Diaphragm blades 9
does set this lens apart though, is the fact that it boasts
4-stops of image stabilisation (IS). The other two lenses Closest focus 0.85m
do not have IS, so you can now capture hand held shots AF actuator Ring USM
in low light conditions, that would normally require Weather sealing Dust/moisture
the use of a tripod. This is an excellent addition as it
Price £1569/$1599/€1800
keeps you more mobile, which is a boon for wedding
and reportage photographers. Just as a side note,
full-frame EF lenses like this are compatible with APS-C
cropped sensor camera bodies in the Canon range. Due
to the crop factor though, if you use this 85mm lens on
something like a 7DMK2, the lens behaves as if it were an
135mm lens.
You can’t fail to notice the red ring that runs around the
barrel of the lens near the front element. This indicates that
it is an L series lens. L series lenses have superior optical
components and they are fully weather sealed against dust
and moisture. The superior quality comes at a superior
price, as you might imagine, but you get top image quality
from these lenses. Although the EF 85mm f/1.4 is lighter
and cheaper than its f/1.2 cousin, it still commands quite a
steep price tag, but once in your gear bag, you have a lens
that many lust after for its top notch image quality. n
The 85mm f/1.4 also

has two 85mm siblings,
from the expensive f/1.2
version (above) and the
cheaper f/1.8 lens.

Nikon SB-5000
A professional radio-controlled Speedlight
W
e’ve said it a number of times, and many photographers would
agree, that one of the things that can set your shots apart
from the crowd, is how you control light in your scene. Not
just the available light but also how you bring both on and off camera
lighting to bear as well.
If you are an available light shooter and are thinking of making the
transition to using flash lighting, then the Nikon SB-5000 is designed to
give you maximum performance in a wide range of demanding situations.
While there are certainly cheaper alternatives out there, the SB-5000 is
a fully-featured and powerful battery operated flash that gives you the
ability to control the lighting in your scene; if the situation demands it. The
SB-5000 is the new flagship flash unit and is Nikon’s first Speedlight with
radio control built in. Bear in mind though, that you will need compatible
cameras to make the most of the radio control features on offer. It also
features a shoe-mounted cooling system that allows you to shoot up to 100
consecutive full-power flashes. It is powerful too, with a guide number of
34.5m (113ft) at ISO 100. Remarkably, all this power comes in a form factor
that is smaller than its predecessors.
With a suitably equipped camera using the WR-A10 remote adapter and
WR-R10 remote controller, you can wirelessly control six groups of flashes
at a distance of about 30m. Even as a single hot-shoe flash, the SB-5000 is
a great performer, offering all the functionality you would expect. The zoom
24-200mm zoom head, the 14mm diffusion panel, tilt and rotate flash head
and full sync modes give you maximum versatility for all your shooting
needs. n
Specification at a glance
Guide number 34.5 at ISO 100 FX format
Output 1/1 to 1/256
Flash mode i-TTL
Recycle time Up to 1.8s
Functions Auto FP high-speed sync
Slow sync
Red-eye reduction
AF assist
Modelling illumination
Bounce head Down 7°
Up 90°
Rotate 180°
Battery life Up to 190 flashes
Size 73 x 137 x 104mm
Weight 420g
Price £480/$599/€530
The WR-A10 (above right)

and the WR-R10 (right)
allow you the control of up to
six groups of flashes.

Pixapro CITI600
A mighty go anywhere battery powered flash
F
irst things first. The CITI600 is something of a chameleon.
The flash unit itself is a Godox AD600 and in the USA it is
known by another name, the Flashpoint XPLOR 600. Once
you have that straight in your mind, you can turn to the flash and
its capabilities. This is a self-contained high powered flash unit.
Units of this type are referred to as monoblocs. It even comes with
a 10W modelling lamp to let you gauge where shadows will fall on
your subject before you take the shot. Battery power is supplied
by a hefty 8700mAh lithium power pack. This does make the unit
fairly heavy overall but that’s the price you pay for true portable
power that can last you for a day’s worth of shooting. With a guide
number of 87m at ISO100, there is plenty of power for the most
demanding lighting conditions. At close range, you can even use
the flash to correctly light a deliberately unexposed scene. Fashion
photographers use this technique of overpowering the sun for
some memorable images.
Flash settings can be easily access and changed via the user-
friendly LCD screen located on the side of the unit along with a number
of control buttons and dials. At full power, the unit has a flash duration
of 1/220s but if you drop it down, you can achieve action freezing flash
durations of 1/10000. Used as an outdoor portable unit, the wireless
capabilities mean you can work with it at distances of up to 100m
with radio triggers and link multiple units together for more complex
lighting scenarios.
There are two versions available. One is the TTL version compatible
with Nikon and Canon cameras and there is also a full manual version
where you are required to set the power yourself. This manual unit is
cheaper and certainly an option if you are looking for this much power
at a more wallet friendly price. n
Guide number 87 at ISO 100
Max power 600Ws
Power range 1/1 - 1/256
Battery life 500 full power flashes
Recharge time 4 hours from empty
Recycle time 0.01 - 2.5 seconds
Flash duration 1/220s - 1/10000s
Sync mode Up to 1/8000s
Wireless system 2.4GHz radio transceiver
Range 100m
Mount Bowens S-mount
Metering Supports full TTL
Size 220 x 245 x 125mm
Weight 2.7kg
Price £599/$749/€590
Although the battery pack is

something of a beast, it will
keep you shooting for up to
500 photos.

Lowepro Pro Runner X450 II

Take it all with you with this pro backpack design
O
ver time, as your camera gear list grows, you might be
faced with the possibility of how to transport your precious
equipment. Eventually, you are going to be looking at
getting a camera bag. For a typical day out where you might only
need one camera body and a couple of lenses, you are well catered
for if you want a simple and small backpack to keep your gear
in. Once you step up to the next level and you need to transport
more gear, then you need something that can accommodate your
equipment in as versatile a manner as possible and still be portable
enough to be useful.
With that in mind, here is another product with an incomprehensible
model name. The Lowepro LP36876 Pro Runner RL X450 AW II (which
we’ll just call the Pro Runner II) is a camera bag with a difference.
The Pro Runner II is made by Lowe who are one of the best know
manufactures of camera bags and backpacks. It is a backpack that
can convert to a roller case for those times, at an airport for instance,
where you can pull it behind you like an normal piece of luggage. These
days, there’s every chance that you’ll need not only your camera
gear, flashes and accessories but your digital workflow equipment
too. Luckily, the Pro Runner has been designed to accommodate not
only two cameras, up to 7 lenses and a tripod but your laptop as well.
This is like having a studio on two wheels that can fit into the luggage
compartment of an airliner. n
Material 680D nylon
Style Backpack and roller case
Features 3D mesh padding
Contoured shoulder straps
Waist belt
Weather cover
Internal size 31 x 16 x 43.3cm
External size 35 x 22.9 x 52.5cm
Weight 4.36kg
Fits 2 DSLRs (one with lens attached)
5-6 lenses (one up to 300mm)
15” laptop
Smartphone
Tripod
Accessories
Price £235/$299/€228
“The Pro Runner has been designed to

accommodate not only two cameras,
up to 7 lenses and a tripod but your
laptop as well.”

Benro Slim
A wallet friendly carbon fibre tripod
W
e would always recommend the use of a tripod. In fact,
if we may be so bold, the most essential purchase after
your camera and lens should be a tripod. There is a give
and take situation with tripods though, and that is stability versus
weight. A landscape photographer with a decent size DSLR and
large lens will demand a tripod that is rock solid and rigid. Any small
movement in the tripod during an exposure is going to ruin the
shot. That’s fine but the trade-off is that it is also going to be heavy.
Over the years, materials such as carbon fibre have become more
prevalent and they have found their way into tripod construction.
A more versatile lightweight option is to get a tripod made from the
much lighter, but still very strong, carbon fibre.
A company called Benro has created a tripod that is light and portable
and surprisingly cheap. The Benro Slim is a no frills carbon fibre unit
with a ball head included in the price. A lot of the trappings of more
expensive tripods have been left off this design, to bring you a pared
down tripod that isn’t too basic. It can support a DSLR and lens up to
4kg but watch out for longer heavier lenses where it might struggle due
to its more lightweight design. It is easy to use, the ball head controls
are big and chunky, and the legs can be extended with simple twist
motions on the leg friction locks.
If you are on a budget, and need to travel light, then the Slim is a
worthy tripod. It may not be as versatile as its larger, heavier and more
expensive cousins but at this price point, you’ll have a great travel
tripod waiting to accompany you on your next adventure. n
Material Carbon fibre
Max load 4kg
Max height 146cm
Closed length 51cm
Leg sections 4
Weight 1kg
Price £110/$120/€97

Gitzo GK1555T-82TQD Series 1

When you demand the best
A
fter you’ve spent several minutes just pronouncing the Gitzo’s
model number, you can settle down and marvel at this flagship
tripods specifications, and its price. This is not a tripod for the
hobbyist photographer, unless you have a large disposable income
that you would like disposed of very rapidly. At this price point, you are
paying for a lot of engineering that makes the Gitzo one of the highest
quality and stable tripods out there. Add to that the brand-name
kudos and you have a Rolls Royce among tripods (at Rolls Royce prices
of course).
At this price you would expect some great features. First the Gitzo
weights just 1.4kg thanks to its carbon fibre construction. Fully extended,
it reaches a height of 148.5cm and can support a maximum payload
of 10kg, equivalent to a large DSLR with a big zoom lens attached. The
ball head is engineered to be smooth and precise and thanks to the
180° folding mechanism that lets the legs fold back on themselves, it
fits snugly between the legs making an easy to carry package for such a
tall tripod. If you are looking for a taller tripod, then Gitzo does offer the
GK2545T-82QD Series 2 that fully extends to 165.5cm and can support
up to 12kg. n
Leg sections 5
Max height 148.5cm/58.5”
Min height 35.5cm/14.0”
Weight 1.42kg/3.1lbs
Payload 10kg/22lbs
Price £850/$1000/€980
The folding mechanism

means the tripod can be
folded down into an easy to
manage configuration.

Memory cards
SanDisk Extreme Pro SDXC UHS-I
Class 10
I
f you are a pro shooter or even just an enthusiast who is keen to
maximise the speed of their image capture between camera and This has a minimum sustained sequential write speed of least 10 MB/s.
card, then you can’t go wrong with a SanDisk memory card. They
have become one of the leading brand names when it comes to digital Other Classes
storage. Their product is reliable and backed up with a lifetime limited There are also 2, 4 and 6 class ratings which indicate their minimum
warranty. Their Extreme Pro range of SD cards are also fast. When we write speed in MB/s.
say fast, it means that the card can have data written to its solid state
memory very quickly. Fast, in this case means at around 95MB per U1 rating
second. You might wonder why the speed is so important and what Recommended for 1080p video recording and has a minimum write
scenario you would find yourself shooting in to be worrying whether speed of at least 10 MB/s.
your card is fast enough. Well, for 95 per cent of the time, you probably
wouldn’t need to worry, unless you find yourself in a situation where U3 rating
you’re shooting bursts of images in Raw format, or shooting high If you are shooting 4K video, the faster U3 cards offer a minimum write
resolution video. We can give you a simple example where the speed of speed of 30MB/s.
the card hindered a shoot though.
We were shooting a portrait using a technique known as the Brenizer UHS-I
Method. This involves not only shooting the subject at close range with This stands for Ultra High Speed Phase-I. This is the first iteration of
a 50mm lens or longer at its minimum aperture, but also capturing the ultra high speed cards with a theoretical bus speed of 104MB/s.
entire scene around them by shooting something in the order of 30-60
overlapping frames that can be stitched together later to create a wide UHS-II
angle shot with an apparent depth of field matching an f/0.5 lens. It does The second iteration of the Ultra High Speed Phase for SD cards. This
require those 60 frames to be captured in rapid succession, to not only offers theoretical bus speeds up to 312MB/s.
make sure light levels don’t change but that your subject does not move
too much in the period of time it takes to capture all those shots. We started UHS-III
the sequence and it became apparent very quickly that the card couldn’t Released in 2017, the third iteration of the SD specification allows bus
handle the data being fed to it from the camera’s processor and it felt like speeds up to 624MB/s and is perfect for huge amounts of data such as
an eternity waiting for the meagre few shots it could manage to be written shooting 8K video.
to the card. It was an old SanDisk Ultra II card and it just wasn’t able to
handle the Raw file data coming from the Canon 5D Mark III. We swapped it Video speed
out for a SanDisk Extreme 16GB card with a write speed of 60MB/s and the You may notice newer cards with V6, V10, V30, V60 and V90 ratings
next attempt went much more smoothly with the card happily handling the on them. This is a rating that guarantees minimum levels of video
flurry of shots. capture performance.
The same can be said for sports shooters where they might be shooting
a continuous burst of shots, tracking the action, hoping to pick out the
one shot from the sequence that perfectly captures the moment. Use a
slow card and you are going to struggle to write the data quickly enough
and cause a data log jam that may lead to missed shots. At 95MB/s the
SanDisk Extreme Pro is not
the fastest card, there are
cards that can handle write
speeds up to 300MB/s,
but it does represent great
value for money. There are
also a number a storage size
options from 32GB up to
512GB, although be prepared
to spend acres of cash if
you go for the latter. A quick
glance at the Internet and
you may also see that there
are many designations and
ratings for memory cards that
can be a bit confusing. To help
out, here are some of the main
ratings to look out for. n

Nodal Ninja NN6

See the big picture with panoramic hardware
I
f you are serious about shooting ultra-wide panoramas or even
360° pans for VR immersion, trying to shoot hand-held, or even
with a standard tripod, is not going to yield very good results. If
you shoot in this way, your images will suffer from parallax shifting.
Parallax shift is the difference in position of objects in a scene
relative to each other depending on how they are viewed. This
shifting is not helpful when stitching multiple images together and
can cause severe misalignment, ruining the image.
This is where panoramic hardware such as the Nodal Ninja comes in.
It gets its name from the term ‘nodal point’ which is the point around
which your camera must rotate in order to eliminate parallax shifting.
It is usually right near the front of the main glass element on the front
of your camera’s lens. The latest version of the range is the NN6. It has
been developed by Fanotec, who have been manufacturing panoramic
hardware for more than 10 years.
The NN6 is made from robust machined parts that are strong enough
to support a DSLR and telephoto lens. Using the NN6 you can accurately
level out your camera so your shots are perfectly aligned. The rails to
which you attach the camera allow the required adjustments, so you
can position your lens at the nodal point for optimum image capture.
You can also adjust the number of clicks per revolution the base rotator
requires to make a full 360° or partial rotation. The NN6 is also going
to be compatible with a motorised rotator due to be announced by
Fanotec, to transform it into a completely automatic pan and tilt head. n
Level Amateur - Pro
Lenses 8mm - 200m+
Cameras DSLRs
Use General, landscape,
Panoramas, Gigapixel
Weight 920g
Lower rail 200mm “The NN6 is made from
Upper rail 190mm
Detent options 90° (4 stops) - 5° (72 stops)
robust machined parts
Price £443/$359/€509 that are strong enough
to support a DSLR and
telephoto lens.”

Cokin Gradual ND Kit
Shoot more creatively with filters for your camera
T Specification at a glance
he more you grow in experience as a photographer, the more
demanding lighting conditions you may possibly encounter
in your search for more interesting and varied images. You Material CR-39 Organic Glass
may also demand more in-camera control of how light is falling Includes GND2 - 1 f-stop
on your sensor, to give you more balanced exposures at the point GND4 - 2 f-stops
of capture and minimise the amount of shots lost to incorrect
GND8 - 3 f-stops
exposure thus reducing the amount of post-processing you have
to do with your images once you are back at your computer. This 1x filter-holder
is where filters come into play. They vary in size and type but all Holder size P series
have one function, to modify the light levels falling on your sensor. Dimensions 84 x 84mm
This can be as simple as affecting exposure of the entire image, or
Lenses Up to 82mm diameter
a part of it. It could also be altering the colour of the light captured
with coloured special effects filters. Adaptor ring Sold separately
The most often used filter is the graduated Neutral Density (ND) Price £62/$00/€00
filter. It is an optically neutral sheet of organic glass that is dark at
the top and fades to transparent near the middle. Using this, you
can make over bright skies darker to match the exposure of the
usually darker foreground better. There are many manufacturers great for landscapes with uncluttered horizon lines such as the sea. The
of photographic filters and Cokin is one of the most well-known. other is a soft grad that blends more smoothly from top to bottom. This
They are a French manufacturer who introduced their creative filter one is perfect for horizon lines that have more going on in them such as
system in 1978. The choice of filters today is vast but they also provide mountains and trees.
starter kits of specific filter types and the Gradual ND Kit is perfect The beauty of the system is that once you have the holder, you can build
for landscape photographers who need an affordable entry into up your collection of filter types for even more creative control of your
filter systems. The kit comes with a P-series filter holder and three photography. n
ND grads of various strengths. You will need to purchase adaptor
rings depending on the diameter of the lenses you use. The adaptor
screws into your lens and the filter holder screws into that. Then you
can slide your ND filters into place in the holder. Two filters are hard
grads, meaning that they transition to clear quite sharply. These are
The P series filter holder is

a great all round system. It
can accommodate lenses
up to 82mm in diameter.

Canon PIXMA PRO-100S

A professional A3+ printer with amazing long lasting colour
I Specification at a glance
f you are one of those photographers who loves to print and
frame their work, rather than keep the shots buried deep within
one of your hard drives, never to see the light of day, then it’s Technology Thermal inkjet
worth considering the PIXMA PRO-100S for top quality prints. With Maximum resolution 4,800 x 1,200dpi
a maximum of 4800 pixels, this thermal inkjet from Canon uses Maximum paper size A3+
an 8-ink colour system including three monochrome inks for deep,
Number of colours 8
saturated colours with a quoted 30 year permanence. This printer
is fast too, it can a print an A3+ photo, with a border, in about 90 Photo durability 30 years
seconds. The PIXMA PRO-100S is wireless and printing can be done Standard interfaces USB, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless
from either your desktop computer or mobile devices using the Optional interfaces None
Canon PRINT app.
Dimensions 215 x 689 x 385mm
If you are a Photoshop and Lightroom user, you can take a lot of the
guesswork out of your printing and colour settings and produce more Weight 19.7kg
accurate images by using the Print Studio Pro plugin. This way you can Price £345/$75/€480
print directly from your preferred pro editing software. A large number
of media and specialist paper types made by Canon and other paper
manufacturers is supported by the printer, as well as a CD printing
option that lets you print directly onto compatible disks. Thankfully,
although it uses an 8 colour individual cartridge system, when one runs
out, you only have to replace the empty one. People are reporting that
as printers go, it is quite thirsty, and although you get a great printer
that produces high quality prints at a reasonable price, the ink costs will
probably have you using it for those special print requirements only. n

Cross polarisation
A great technique that converts the cheapest
clear plastic items into kaleidoscopic things
of beauty. The examples shown here were
photographed in front of a normal household
television displaying a pure white screen. The
camera catching the shot has a circular polariser
attached and as the polariser is rotated, the light
from the television, which also has a polarising film
built into it, turns black and the plastic displays a
rainbow of colours.

Morning dew
There is nothing quite like a crisp, sunny
morning to go out and capture some interesting
images. In this case, it was a morning macro
photo expedition with one camera and one lens
only. A 100mm macro was the lens of choice. It
could capture objects at a ratio of 1:1, allowing
very good closeups of objects caught in the
morning sun. The close focusing lens meant
that a part of a barbed wire fence covered in dew
laden cobwebs was able to fill the frame so all
the detail is brought to life.

Long exposure sunrise
With the aid of a 10-stop neutral density filter,
you can slow down your shutter speeds to soften
moving elements in your shots such as water and
clouds. On a crisp morning, down at the seafront,
screwing a ‘big stopper’ to the front of the lens
meant that a normal exposure of about 1/30s could
be extended up to about 30s. The sea became flat
and mirror-like and the clouds soft and less well
defined. The flags, flapping on their poles were
reduced to ghostly shadows.

Rose
Another macro shot. This was taken indoors
in a more controlled environment. A full-frame
100mm macro lens, when combined with a crop-
sensor camera actually behaves as if it were a
160mm macro. This means it can resolve images
at a ratio of about 1.6:1, bringing the detail even
closer for amazing views of everyday objects. The
small drops of water on rose petals are the focus
of attention in this shot. Safe to say, a tripod is a
must have accessory to avoid camera shake.

EXPLORE
AND LEARN
The fundamental knowledge that will improve your photography
T
here are several kinds of photographers. 32 - 33 The exposure triangle
There are professional photographers
who have studied at college and honed 34 - 39 Shutter speed
their technical skills over time, perhaps
developing a signature look that sets 40 - 45 Aperture and depth of field
their work apart. There are accomplished
photographers who have just picked up a 46 - 47 ISO and image noise
camera and learned to use it using a trial and
error method and developed a more hands-on 48 - 51 Focusing
approach to their craft.
Then there are enthusiasts who may have 52 - 57 Focal length and zoom
stepped up to a more advanced camera and
are beginning to explore the new creative 58 - 61 Exposure and metering
possibilities they offer; and there are those who
have been happy taking snaps on full automatic 62 - 65 Metering modes
but now want to ramp up their game and take
the next step. Whether you are any of these, 66 - 69 Flash techniques
or none of them, the fact remains that in order
to take better photos, a good grasp of the
70 - 71 White balance
fundamentals of photography is going to pay
dividends in the long run. Many can be put off
72 - 73 Understanding hyperfocal distance
by all the technical hocus-pocus, but there’s
74 - 75 Shooting modes
really nothing to fear. Whether you just want
to brush up on your theory, understand a little 76 - 77 File types and image compression
more about how light works, or just improve
your composition, this next section has what 78 - 85 Composing your photos
you need. We cover a range of photographic
principles, with some examples thrown in for 86 - 89 The inverse-square law
good measure, to get you fired up and learning. n

EXPLORE AND LEARN

The exposure triangle
The holy trinity for photographers
I
f you are keen to express your creativity and speed 1/3200 of a second (this was to keep the
learn more about the nature of photography, flower’s motion frozen as it was a windy day), all
then you will need to be daring and take your well and good.
camera out of fully automatic mode and explore
the skills required for shooting in manual mode. Making changes
When you shoot fully manual, you have to be If you decide however, that you need greater
aware of the interplay between each of your depth of field, you might change your camera’s
camera’s main settings of ISO, Aperture and aperture to f/8, making the diameter of the
Shutter Speed. aperture smaller, blocking more light but
increasing depth of field. If you take the shot
Connect them up now, your image will have more depth of field but
The exposure triangle is a popular visual method it will be very underexposed. What happened?
to connect the three main variables of aperture, Now that you are in manual mode, you have
shutter speed and ISO sensitivity that govern the currently altered only one side of the exposure
final look of your image. Photography is a balancing triangle. You would need to alter at least one
act of these three elements when you capture an of the other two in order to bring your image
image. Once you have your camera ready and have back to its proper exposure. You decide to
a set of variables in place to give you a balanced keep the ISO at 1000, so the shutter speed will
shot, as soon as you adjust one of the three, at least have to alter. If you increase the duration that
one of the others has to be adjusted as well, in order the shutter is open, you can allow the camera
to maintain the desired effect you are after in the to gather light for an extended period of time.
shot. You are not only altering the exposure but In this case, because we changed from f/4
also the quality and appearance of the image. to f/8, which is 2-stops, we need to allow for
2-stops more light gathering from the shutter
An example speed we use. 1/3200 of a second would need
We’ll try and sum it up in a theoretical example. to become 1/800 of a second to allow for the
If you are shooting a subject such as a flower in a 2-stop alteration you made to the aperture
shaded wood, with your camera in manual mode with the ISO remaining unchanged. A basic rule
(this is important to keep in mind), you will need of thumb to keep in your mind is that a 1-stop
to balance your ISO, aperture and shutter speed alteration is equal to either a halving or doubling
to give you a well exposed image. The parameters of a particular parameter. In this case the 2-stop
you choose are down to your personal choice of alteration to our theoretical shutter duration
course. In our theoretical example the settings means 1/3200 of a second slows to 1/1600 and
were as follows: ISO 1000, aperture f/4 and shutter then slows a second time to 1/800. n

THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

Shutter speed
The shutter of your camera is simply a mechanical barrier
“The wider the range of

available shutter speeds, the
greater the creative versatility
of the camera.”

SHUTTER SPEED
AVOIDING CAMERA SHAKE

When shooting hand-held and wishing to avoid camera shake, as a rule of thumb you can safely use a
shutter speed roughly equivalent to the reciprocal of the focal length you are using. For example if you’re
using a 100mm focal length then you can take a sharp hand-held shot at a
shutter speed of 1/100th of a second or faster. If you’re using a 35mm
focal length then 1/35th of a
second is safe, and so on.
T
he shutter of your camera is simply Here’s an example shot taken hand-
a mechanical barrier that prevents held at a focal length of 100mm
light from entering the camera until and a shutter speed of 1/100th of
it is needed, controlling when and for how a second. As you can see it’s sharp
long light is allowed in to expose the sensor. and shake free.
The latest digital cameras have high-speed
electro-mechanical shutters capable
of timing exposures with an accuracy
measured in fractions of a millisecond.
Along with the aperture setting and the
sensitivity control, shutter speed is one of
the three ways that photographic exposure
is adjusted. When a picture is taken, the
shutter is opened for a precisely measured
amount of time allowing light to pass through.
The duration of the exposure is set either Here’s the same hand-held shot but
automatically by the camera’s light meter or this time with a shutter speed of
manually by the photographer. The wider the 1/10th of a second. At this speed and
range of available shutter speeds, the greater focal length it’s much more difficult
the creative versatility of the camera. to hold the camera steady. As you
Modern digital SLR cameras have a very can see, the result is quite blurred.
wide range of shutter speeds available,
usually ranging from 30 seconds to as high
as 1/8,000th of a second, and most also
have a ‘B’ setting, in which the shutter stays
open for as long as the shutter release is held
down. The ‘B’ is from bulb. Very old cameras Many modern cameras include technology which can reduce the effects of camera shake at low shutter
commonly used an air-bulb attachment as a speeds. Many compact cameras use electronic processing to counteract movement, which does work but
remote shutter release. produces relatively poor image quality. Among digital SLR and CSC manufacturers there are two types
Shutter speed can be manually adjusted in of image stabilisation in common use. Canon, Nikon and Panasonic favour optical stabilisation, where
either full manual exposure mode or in shutter elements within the camera lens are moved to counteract camera shake. Other brands including Pentax
priority mode, the latter usually denoted by an and Sony employ a system which moves the camera’s sensor to achieve the same effect.
‘S’ or ‘Tv’ on the exposure mode dial. Shutter There is no clear advantage between moving-lens and moving-sensor systems. Modern image
priority is a semi-automatic exposure mode stabilisation systems of both types can provide around three or four stops of additional stability, however
in which the photographer sets the desired the sensor-shift method has an advantage for SLR users because the non-stabilised lenses are usually
shutter speed, and the camera’s exposure considerably lighter and are often also cheaper to buy, since the complex anti-shake system is built into the
system adjusts the aperture accordingly to camera body. It also means that photographers using older predigital lenses can still have the advantage of
produce the correct exposure. image stabilisation.
In automatic and program exposure modes
the camera will set both the shutter speed and
aperture automatically. Under normal daylight This example shot was
conditions, the shutter speed will usually be taken with a focal length of
set to between 1/125th and 1/1000th of a 100mm at 1/10th of a second
second, since this is fast enough to freeze as before, but this time the
most movement and to reduce the effects of image stabilisation (in this
camera shake. However in low light conditions case a sensor-shift system) is
the camera may set a slower shutter speed, switched on. It has detected
and with this comes an increased risk of the vibration and corrected
movement blur caused by camera shake. Most it by moving the sensor to
cameras will display some sort of warning if compensate, resulting in a
this occurs. n much sharper shot.

MOTION BLUR
Any movement in the frame during the exposure you can freeze even very fast-moving objects, as this
will be captured in the picture, resulting in motion next sequence of photos will show. They were taken at
blur. Anti-shake systems can do nothing to correct shutter speeds ranging from a fairly slow 1/50th of a
this; the only solution is to use a shutter speed fast second up to 1/4000th of a second.
enough to effectively freeze the action and eliminate As you can see, at 1/4000th of a second the blades
any sense of motion. With a fast enough shutter speed of a desk fan can almost be frozen in place.
1/50th
“The solution for motion blur is to use a shutter
speed fast enough to freeze the action.”
THE MISTY WATER EFFECT

1/200th One of the most effective uses of long shutter speed
is photographing flowing water. It’s a beautiful if slightly
over-used effect, but it is very easy to achieve. Any moving
body of water, flowing stream or waterfall will do, as long
as it has moving and splashing water. This scene is a local
beach in Torquay.
If you just point the camera and shoot on automatic,

you’ll end up with something like this (below). It looks
nice enough, but it’s a bit dull. This example was shot on
at a shutter speed of 1/20th of a second and an aperture
of f/4.
1/1000th
1/4000th
Fixing the camera on a tripod eliminates camera shake.

You now need to get the slowest shutter speed you can.
The image at the top of the page was taken from a similar
position as the previous shot, but with an aperture of f/22
to get a shutter speed of 8 seconds.

SHUTTER SPEED
CAPTURING MOVEMENT
CAR LIGHTS AT NIGHT

Another interesting effect achieved using
long shutter speeds is streaking car lights at
night. The camera was set up on a tripod, using
manual focus and full manual exposure, with a
cable shutter release. Starting with an aperture
of about f/4, you will need to dial in your settings
to get a balanced exposure. If your exposure
Freezing the action with a fast shutter speed produces a nice sharp image, but sometimes you might want to allow duration is still too short, stop your aperture
a controlled amount of movement blur to show that the subject was in motion. There are a number of ways to down to f/5.6 or smaller until you get a longer
accomplish this. exposure duration that renders car lights as long
streaks. Generally, a shutter speed of around 4
In this first example, the seconds is a good starting point.
camera was fixed on a tripod, When shooting near heavy traffic at night
with a shutter speed of 1/250th it’s obviously important to stay safe. Wear
of a second, while the subjects something bright and reflective, and don’t get
cycled past in front of the lens. too close to the road. Also, never use a flash when
The tripod ensures that the taking photos of traffic. You could dazzle a driver
background is sharp and the and cause an accident.
fast shutter speed has frozen
the movement. The result
is sharp but looks slightly
unnatural, as though they were
somehow balancing there
without moving.
With the camera still

mounted on the tripod, the
shutter speed was set to 1/10th
of a second, and another
subject came past. This time
the background is still sharp,
but the slow shutter speed has
resulted in lots of movement
blur, making the subject almost
unrecognisable.
FIREWORKS
One way to take good fireworks photos is to set
In order to capture the feeling of movement (top image), the best technique is to use a slow shutter speed, but to pan the your camera on a tripod some distance from the
camera (move it side-to-side) to follow the moving subject as you press the shutter. It is a technique that requires practice, display, with the zoom set to a very wide angle. Set a
since you need to be able to keep the camera moving smoothly as the exposure is taken, and avoid up-and-down movement shutter speed of 2 seconds and as wide an aperture
as you press the shutter. It may take several tries to get it right, but when it works the results are very effective, with the as you can manage. Getting the framing exactly
subject stationary against a movement-blurred background. This shot was taken hand-held at a shutter speed of 1/10th right is simply a matter of luck, timing, and then
of a second. Some recent cameras have a setting on the image stabilisation system to correct vertical movement but not cropping the photo later.
horizontal, which helps with this kind of shot.

Shutter speed:
how it’s done
Be in full creative control of your shutter
K
nowing when to use your camera’s Camera shake notwithstanding, in scenes racing events. One was taken at a high shutter
shutter speeds to their greatest where there are no moving objects at all, the speed and it has almost frozen the action of
creative effect is something that is shutter speed is less important than in scenes horses, their riders and the dust and dirt being
easily learned but can often take time and where there is a lot of action going on. You thrown up. The other example has been taken
practice to master. You have an immense can choose to freeze the action as witnessed at a shutter speed that might be considered too
range of shutter speeds to play with, from by so many sports and action shots where slow. The slower shot uses a panning technique
the fastest shutter speeds of 1/8000s down the photographer has decided to use shutter to keep the horses roughly in the same place
to durations measured in minutes or even speeds in excess of 1/1000s or more. However, in the viewfinder as they gallop by. Now, all the
hours. That is a lot to take in, but once you there are times when slower shutter speeds fast moving background appears to streak by
start exploring the effect of shutter speed can be used to great effect in those same and the bodies and legs of the horses are a blur
on your images, you can start to exploit its high-speed scenarios. In our examples, notice of motion. This imparts a much better sense of
great potential. the difference between the two shots of horse speed and power. n

SHUTTER SPEED: HOW IT’S DONE

Using a very wide aperture and
precise focusing, emphasis can be
given to one subject to effectively
isolate it from its surroundings.
Aperture and
depth of field
With aperture you can control how
much of your picture is in focus
WIDE APERTURE
O
f the three main controls common to the lens. These cards were known as ‘stops’, and
nearly all cameras, shutter speed, focus this is still part of photographic terminology today.
and aperture, it is aperture adjustment On modern cameras the aperture is controlled by
that is the least well understood. This is because an arrangement of curved shutters inside the body
it not only helps to control exposure, but of the lens, which move to produce a continuously
also affects something called Depth of Field. variable aperture, however the aperture settings are
Understanding the effects of aperture size is a usually still referred to as ‘F-stops’.
vital skill for any keen photographer. Aperture adjustment is used in combination with
At least there’s nothing mysterious about the the shutter speed and ISO sensitivity to control
name. The aperture is literally a hole through which photographic exposure. However it is also the
light passes after it enters the lens. The diameter of primary means of controlling something called
this hole can be altered, allowing a greater or smaller depth of field, a concept that may need a bit of
amount of light to pass through on its way to the explanation.
sensor. In the early days of photography, aperture If you take a photo of a subject at a distance of
was adjusted by slotting cards with different sized about 3 metres with standard zoom lens, in good NARROW APERTURE
holes cut in them into the body of the camera behind light with the focal length set to about 30mm, as

APERTURE AND DEPTH OF FIELD
How aperture works

“Understanding Explaining exactly why altering the size of the lens and the lens and appears sharply focused on the sensor.
the effects of aperture alters the depth of field is a little complicated,

but a few simple diagrams should help to shed some light
Light from the red and blue spots also passes through
the aperture and lens, but light from the red spot focuses
aperture size on the matter. For a start, let’s clear up some popular
misconceptions about the difference between focus and
a short distance in front of the charged coupled device
(CCD), while light from the blue spot focuses a short
is a vital skill sharpness.

This is a highly simplified diagram of the arrangement
distance behind it. The light from these other spots still
hits the CCD, but due to light scattering it is unfocused
for any keen of lens, aperture and sensor inside a modern digital
camera. In this first diagram, three subjects at different
and spread over a wide area.
What this means is that the red and blue spots will appear
photographer.” distances from the camera lens are represented by
the red, green and blue dots. The lens is focused on the
as large blurred spots on the final image, while the green
spot will be sharp and in focus. The size of the blurred area of
green spot, so light from it passes through the aperture the red and blue spots is called the ‘circle of confusion.’
long as the lens is focused correctly the subject Film or CCD

should appear nice and sharp in the image.
However you’ll usually find that objects about
1.5m in front of the subject, and for about 4 Apparent
Aperture (wide) diameter of
or 5 metres behind the subject, also appear
sharp. This distance, from the closest point of blue ‘circle of
confusion’
acceptable sharpness to the most distant, is
known as the depth of field.
By altering the size of the aperture it is
possible to control the extent of this depth of
field, either reducing it so that only the main
subject is in sharp focus, or expanding it so that
an entire landscape can appear to be
just as sharp.
If you have an older camera to hand, take a look Apparent
at the lens. It will have a ring for controlling the diameter of
aperture setting, labelled with numbers usually red ‘circle of
from about F2 to about F22. The focus control confusion’
ring will have distances usually calibrated in feet
and metres, and alongside it you’ll usually find
Lens
lines marked with the same numbers as the
aperture ring, arranged in pairs either side of the
focal distance mark with the larger numbers
toward the outside. The purpose of this aperture
scale is to help estimate the depth of field at a The diagram below shows the same arrangement of paths, and as a result the ‘circles of confusion’ are much
particular distance for any given aperture setting; camera and subjects, and the coloured spots are the smaller. This makes the red and blue spots in the final
with the focus set to a particular distance, anything same distance from the lens, but this time the aperture image appear much sharper. They are still out of focus,
between the two lines for the selected aperture has been reduced to just a small hole. Again the lens is but the effect is not so noticeable. To make circles of
setting should be acceptably sharp. Some older focused on the green spot, and the red and blue spots confusion as large as in the first image, the red and blue
zoom lenses have a series of curved lines etched are out of focus. However the narrow aperture restricts spots would have to be much further away from the
into the lens barrel for the same purpose. For some the light scattering and the relative angles of the light green one.
reason this scale is missing from most modern
auto-focus, auto-aperture lenses, which is a shame Film or CCD
because it makes the whole concept of depth of
field much easier to understand. n
Aperture (narrow) Apparent
diameter of
blue ‘circle of
confusion’
Apparent
diameter of
red ‘circle of
confusion’
APERTURE RING
Lens

FOCAL LENGTH AND DEPTH OF FIELD
The focal length of your lens, in other words
how much you zoom in on your subject, also
has a large effect on depth of field. Short focal
lengths have much greater depth of field than
longer focal lengths. This is one reason why,
when taking a portrait shot, it’s a good idea to
step back a bit and zoom in rather than using a
wide angle lens up close.
In optics, particularly as it relates to film and
photography, depth of field (DOF) is the distance
between the nearest and farthest objects in a
scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image.
Although a lens can precisely focus at only one
distance at a time, the decrease in sharpness
is gradual on each side of the focused distance, ACCEPTABLY SHARP
F2.8
so that within the DOF, the unsharpness is
imperceptible under normal viewing conditions.
In some cases, it may be desirable to have
the entire image sharp, and a large DOF is
appropriate. In other cases, a small DOF may be
more effective, emphasizing the subject whilst
de-emphasising the foreground and background.
In cinematography, a large DOF is often called
deep focus, and a small DOF is often called
shallow focus.
In the examples shown here, at f2.8, the yellow
bottle of ink was the point of focus. It is the only
object in sharpest focus and the brown and blue
bottles either side are completely out of focus.
At f5.6 the area of acceptable focus has
increased so that the brown and blue bottles are ACCEPTABLY SHARP
F5.6
starting to come into focus.
Shooting at f1 brings the brown and blue
bottles into sharper focus and the green is less
blurred than before.
Stopping the camera down to its narrowest
aperture of f32 has all bottles looking reasonably
sharp, apart from the red bottle at each end. If
you were able to stop this lens down even more,
all the bottles would eventually be in focus.
“In optics, particularly ACCEPTABLY SHARP

F11
as it relates to film and
photography, depth
of field (DOF) is the
distance between the
nearest and farthest
objects in a scene that
appear acceptably
sharp in an image.”
F32
ACCEPTABLY SHARP

APERTURE AND DEPTH OF FIELD
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY
Practical uses Another situation in which depth of field is an taken using an aperture of f/16, to ensure that both
for depth of field important issue is landscape photography. Here it is

often important to maximise depth of field, so it is usual
the foreground and distant background are in focus. It
also uses something called Hyperfocal Distance, which
There are several situations where to use the smallest possible aperture. This shot was involves a bit of maths to calculate.
controlling depth of field is important. The most
common is portrait photography. Subjects
shot on an automatic camera using a medium
aperture usually have a lot of sharp foreground
and background detail, which can distract
attention away from the main subject.
As you can see in this example, which has

a large depth of field, the subject is in focus,
but so is the background, which draws the
viewer’s attention away from the subject.
By using a wider aperture, and moving
the subject further from the background,
only the subject is now in sharp focus.
A blurred background is much less
distracting, and concentrates your
attention on the subject, making the subject
really stand out from the background.

Aperture and depth of field:
how it’s done
Sharp or beautifully blurred, you decide
M
uch like learning when to use fast Alternatively, if you are shooting a landscape back sharpness as possible. Whilst these are
shutter speeds or slow ones, how you and you want as much of the scene in focus guidelines rather than hard and fast rules,
use aperture to control depth of field as possible, then a wider angle lens, typically they are a great place to start as you develop
in your shots is just as important a creative something in the range of 14-24mm, is your go to your skills as a photographer. Practice, and
choice as any in photography. Whilst it does guy for that situation. Correctly focusing the right the willingness to try different things, will
come down to personal preference, there are a distance into the scene and stopping down your result in better photos and you’ll have fun
couple of golden rules we’ve mentioned that are lens to about f/16 will ensure as much front to along the way. n
worth bearing in mind. A good portrait photo
with a cluttered background for instance, is
not going to work if the background is in sharp
focus along with your subject. The shot will be
confusing and that background will just be an
eyesore. That’s when setting your lens to its
maximum aperture to create shallow depth
of field will help massively. A good prime lens
around the 50-135mm focal length range with
a wide aperture of f/2.8 or even f/1.4 will blur
your background beautifully whilst drawing the
eye to your subject.
A 100mm lens at its closest focusing

distance to this crystal ball with an
aperture of f/4.5 is enough to render
the background completely out of
focus and therefore keeps the ball
as the main point of interest, since
it doesn’t have to fight with the busy
moorland background.

APERTURE AND DEPTH OF FIELD: HOW IT’S DONE
A 16-35mm wide-angle lens

on a full-frame camera was
used for this shot, taken in the
same area as the example
on the other page. This time,
focus was set about 10ft into
the scene with an aperture of
f/20 for maximum sharpness.

ISO and image noise
High ISO gives you faster shutter speeds in low light, but there’s a price to pay
A
nyone who has owned a digital camera electronic components, or as a by-product of
for a while will be familiar with the their normal operation. For instance, capacitors
concept of image noise. It’s that grainy generate a small amount of noise as they
distortion that spoils pictures shot in low light charge and discharge. Electronic components Approx. 1/10th of a millimeter
conditions with high ISO settings. What is can also be affected by environmental noise,
image noise, where does it come from and what such as the electrical fields that constantly
can be done to prevent it? surround us.
All electronic devices generate noise. The Circuit noise can be minimised by superior
Actual microscope photograph of the
background hiss of a radio, the sound of an over- manufacturing and rigorous quality control. surface of a Nikon CCD, showing the Bayer
amplified electric guitar, or the interference on Unfortunately some cheaper camera brands, mask filter and microlenses
a badly tuned television, all of these things are or even budget models from better-known
electronic noise, and so is the noise seen in a brands, may use components of lower quality, thousand photons (individual light ‘particles’)
digital photograph. which is why these types of camera generally during an exposure, so the level of the electrical
This noise comes from a variety of sources. produce noisier images than the more signal produced by the cell can be affected
Some of it is generated by imperfections in the expensive models. by random statistical fluctuations in photon
density. This is the main reason that physically
Sensor noise larger sensors are much better than smaller
The other main source of image noise is ones. The individual photocells are larger and
the sensor itself, and in most cases this is collect proportionately more light during the
unavoidable. The individual photocells on a exposure producing an inherently higher signal
digital camera sensor are incredibly small, to noise ratio.
especially with high-resolution compact The level of noise produced by the sensor
camera sensors. and other components in the camera is usually
Most compact camera sensors have over constant and at a fairly low level. When taking
10 million individual photocells crammed into photographs in good light the level of the signal
This is the main circuit board from a Canon EOS 5D an area of less than 30 square millimetres. vastly outweighs the level of noise; in other
MkIV digital SLR, showing the powerful DIGIC6 and These photocells are so small that in low light words the signal to noise ratio is very high,
DIGIC 6+ image processing chips. conditions they may only be collecting a few and consequently noise isn’t a problem. The

ISO AND IMAGE NOISE
Noise reduction
SIGNAL-NOISE Cameras reduce image noise by using
BRIGHT DAYLIGHT smoothing filters during image processing. The
KEY: most commonly used is called a Median filter.
This works by comparing each pixel to the ones
IMAGE SIGNAL surrounding it, and if it has a brightness that is
different from its neighbours then it is replaced by
CONSTANT NOISE LEVEL a new pixel with the average value of the nearby
AVERAGE INDOOR LIGHT
pixels. This eliminates noise effects, but also
reduces detail and contrast. Compare these next
two images. The first is unfiltered, the second has
SIGNAL STRENGTH
had a median filter applied. The second image

is “cleaner”, but as you can see the level of detail
DIM INDOOR OR has been greatly reduced.
NIGHT-TIME
Another type of noise reduction is called
BEFORE MEDIAN
LIGHT LEVEL
AFTER MEDIAN
200 ISO 4000 ISO
just produces more noise without improving the

image. This is why high ISO images are always more
“A higher sensitivity noisy than ones taken at lower settings.
Another type of sensor noise can also be a
increases the amount by problem when using exposures longer than a
couple of seconds. Sometimes the photocells that
which the signals make up the sensor may not all respond to light to
an equal degree, causing single pixels to appear
from the sensor very bright or very dark. The charge build-up
over a longer exposure makes this problem more
are amplified… noticeable. Since the pattern of these “dead” or
“hot” pixels is usually consistent from one frame to “pixel binning”, although this is less widely used
unfortunately the noise the next this type of noise is remedied by applying in recent digital cameras. In this process, the
a filter during image processing. Most modern signals from groups of four, nine or even 16
gets amplified as well.” cameras do this automatically but it can be a adjacent photocells are grouped together into a
problem on older models. Images taken on older “super pixel”. This has the effect of increasing the
cameras can show a lot of “hot” pixels, especially signal to noise ratio, but of course it also reduces
during long exposure photographs with no long the effective resolution of the image. It increases
problems start when shooting in low light, as the exposure noise reduction. Below is an example of the signal to noise ratio, but it also reduces the
level of the signal drops nearer to the constant how bad it can get. quality of the image.
noise level, producing a lower signal to noise ratio. The only effective remedy to image noise is
At extremely low light levels the signal may be to use larger, more sensitive photocells. Digital
entirely drowned out by the noise. SLRs have a major advantage in this area, since
This problem is made worse when shooting they have physically larger sensors. Compact
at higher ISO settings. When we set a higher camera sensor technology continues to improve,
sensitivity we are increasing the amount by which both in image processing and sensor design.
the signals from the sensor are amplified, and We will undoubtedly see further advances in the
unfortunately the noise gets amplified as well. If the future, but for now image noise is something we
signal to noise ratio was already very low then this just have to accept. n

Focusing
Getting the best out of your autofocus system
“Autofocus technology has improved immensely,

and these days even the most basic modern AF
systems are generally fast, accurate and reliable.”
W
ith only one or two exceptions, Although we now rely on autofocus for the in difficult situations.
all current digital cameras have vast majority of photographs, anyone who has There are two main types of autofocus system
automatic focusing. The first tried taking a photo in low light, with fast-moving in common use today. All compact cameras
autofocus systems were developed by Leica in subjects or using very long telephoto lenses will and most CSCs use something called contrast-
the 1970s. The first autofocus compact camera, have noticed that sometimes even the best AF detection AF, which samples the image from the
the Konica C35 AF, was introduced in 1977, and system can run into problems. We’ve all stood main picture taking sensor and detects sharp
the first autofocus 35mm SLR, the Pentax ME-F, there with the lens whirring in and out of focus, high contrast edges in the details of the scene.
was launched in 1981. Since that time autofocus trying to get a lock on our subject, and eventually Meanwhile all digital SLRs and Sony’s new SLT
technology has improved immensely, and these missed the shot. It’s very frustrating when this cameras use something called phase-detection
days even the most basic modern AF systems happens, but with a few simple tips you can help AF, which uses an array of separate dedicated
are generally fast, accurate and reliable. your camera to focus quickly and accurately even sensors usually mounted below and in front of the

FOCUSING
main imaging sensor. Phase detection is a more

complex system, but it is usually much faster, more
accurate and works better in low light. However
both systems require some detail in the scene to
’lock on’ to. Try it for yourself: point your camera at
a plain wall or a sheet of white paper and see if it will
focus on it. Even if you own a top-of-the-range DSLR
it won’t be able to focus on a featureless surface.
There are a couple of ways to help your
camera to focus quickly on a scene. Most digital
cameras have the option to select either single or
continuous autofocus. Your camera will normally
start to focus on the scene as soon as you half-
press the shutter button. In continuous focus
mode it will continue to update the focus if you
then move the camera, but in single AF mode it will

hold the same focus setting as long as you hold down
the button, until you actually take the shot. You can
use this to focus the camera on low detail targets
by finding an object in the scene that’s the same
distance away as your chosen subject, focusing on
that, and then holding the focus and reframing the
shot. Similarly you can use it in reverse to focus on
objects that aren’t in the centre of the frame.
Moving targets
Compact camera AF systems are usually
somewhat slower than those in DSLRs, which
means they can have a real problem focusing on
Different lenses have different minimum
focusing distances, but many modern moving subjects. The way around this is either to use
zoom telephoto lenses also have macro- continuous AF or, if your camera has this option, to
focusing capabilities for close-ups. use manual focus. If you can tell where your subject
is going to be, such as a car going round a tight
corner on a race track or a child on a swing, you can
pre-focus the camera on this point and wait to take
the picture at the right moment. This method takes
By carefully focusing on just one part of the scene, and
some practice and good reflexes, but it can produce
using limited depth of field, you can draw attention to it.
excellent results.
Close-ups
All cameras and lenses have a minimum focusing
distance, a closest point beyond which they cannot
focus. For many compact cameras this distance can
be very small, in some cases as little as 2cm (1in),
but for standard DSLR lenses the distances tend to
be longer. Most compact cameras have a ’macro’
setting, usually denoted by the symbol of a flower. To
get closer focusing with a DSLR or CSC, special close-
focus macro lenses have to be used.
Depth of field is greatly reduced at very close
focusing distances, and you may find that your AF
system doesn’t focus on the right part of the subject,
for example if you are trying to photograph the centre
of a flower, but the AF focuses on the petals, because
they’re closer. The best option is to use a tripod, and
manually set the focus to the closest distance. Move
the tripod until the front of the subject comes into
focus, then carefully manually adjust the focus point
to get the right part of the flower to look sharp. n

Focusing:
how it’s done
Choose your focusing method for the job in hand
A
long with unwanted camera
shake, one easy way to ruin
a shot is to incorrectly focus
on your subject. This can be down
to the camera’s autofocus system
being confused by other obscuring
objects in the scene and attempting
to lock on to that instead of your
subject; or just good old human error
in the way you might have set up your
autofocus options. We can speak from
embarrassing experience where a
number of portrait shots at an event
were taken when the lens’ autofocus
button was knocked onto manual and
we didn’t pay enough attention to the
fact that the focus confirmation light
wasn’t coming on. Luckily we noticed
during a quick review of the shots
taken, and could remedy the problem,
but could you imaging getting home
only to find all the shots being out of
focus? That’s a bit of a nightmare. Of
course, the nature of your subject and
their movement is key to deciding your
choice of focusing technique. n
A studio-based still life shot for example, is fine

with focus set to manual so you can determine your
point of focus and leave it here. Portrait shots with
the camera in portrait orientation mean you can
use a one-shot autofocus mode. You can lock focus
by pressing the shutter button halfway, recompose
the shot to how you want it and take the shot by fully
depressing the shutter button.

FOCUSING: HOW IT’S DONE
For moving targets, you need to use a

continuous-autofocus mode. You select an AF
point and with the shutter pressed halfway, keep
the AF point over the subject you want the camera
to attempt to keep focus lock on as it moves.
Tracking moving subjects can be quite tricky but
as always, with practice it is a great technique to
have at your disposal.

Focal length
and zoom
Understanding how focal length
works in composing shots
N
early all modern compact cameras have
zoom lenses, and most users of digital SLRs
or CSCs will also have at least a couple
of zooms in their kit. Focal length is one of your
primary tools for adjusting composition. Selecting
the right focal length for the scene allows the
photographer to control perspective, angle of view
and magnification, and can radically alter the mood
and style of the photo. Some focal lengths are more
suited to particular types of photo, and the properties
of wide-angle and telephoto lenses can be used to
produce particular effects. Understanding how focal
length works and how it affects your photos is a vital
photographic skill.

FOCAL LENGTH AND ZOOM
LENSES AND FOCAL LENGTH
“Selecting the right focal length for

the scene allows the photographer to
control perspective, angle of view 300MM TELEPHOTO
and magnification.”
There are basically two types of lens: one manufacturer to the next, but are
those with fixed focal lengths, also typically around 22.5 x 15 mm. A frame
known as prime lenses; and those with of 35mm film measures 36 x 24mm,
variable focal length, or zoom lenses. which means that the edges are 1.6x
They both have their own advantages and longer, so the focal length of the lens
disadvantages. Prime lenses are usually would need to be 1.6x greater to produce
smaller and lighter than zooms, and also the same image size and magnification.
generally have much faster maximum This is usually referred to as the
apertures than a zoom lens at equivalent ‘conversion factor’ or ‘crop factor’. It
focal length. The optical quality of prime means that a typical 18-55mm DSLR
lenses is also usually a little higher than zoom lens is roughly equivalent to the 50-200MM ZOOM
the equivalent zoom lens. Zoom lenses popular 28-80mm zoom lens often used
however are much more convenient, on 35mm systems.
allowing the photographer to cover a wide Compact camera sensors are even
range of focal lengths with just one or smaller still. Because there are several
two lenses, rather than carrying around different sizes of sensor in common use
a bulky collection of prime lenses. There it is more usual for compact camera
are some fast zoom lenses, but they tend zoom lenses to be rated in terms of their
to be extremely expensive. magnification power, such as 3x, 4x,
The focal length of a lens is an 10x etc. This relates to the difference
expression of its magnifying power, and between the minimum and maximum
is usually stated in millimetres. If you focal lengths. A lens with a range of focal
look on the front of your camera, usually length from 5.8mm to 17.4mm is called a
inscribed around the front of the lens 3x zoom, because 17.4 = 3 x 5.8.
you’ll find the focal length, or a range While in older prime lenses a 200mm
of values for zoom lenses. For a typical lens would literally be 20cm long,
DSLR kit lens this will usually be around modern optical systems use multiple
18-55mm. lens elements working in combination, 18-55MM KIT LENS
For digital cameras it is fairly usual to which means that the light path can be
see two figures quoted, both the actual shortened while still maintaining the
focal length and the ‘equivalent’ length. same effective magnification. As a result
The reason for quoting both is simply that quite powerful telephoto and zoom lenses
most people are more familiar with the can be relatively compact.
sizes of 35mm lenses, so they know that Wide-angle and telephoto are relative
28mm is wide angle and suitable terms. On a 35mm film SLR a 50mm
for panoramic shots, or that 200mm lens produces approximately the same
is a telephoto lens, suitable for perspective and magnification as the
long-range subjects. human eye, and has traditionally been the
Real and equivalent focal lengths are standard lens for this type of camera.
different because most digital camera Anything longer than 50mm is
sensors are a lot smaller than a frame considered a telephoto, while anything
of 35mm film, and are fitted much shorter is considered wide angle. Digital
closer to the lens than the film would be. SLRs tend to follow this rule too, although
Most consumer DSLRs use the APS-C considering the crop factor the mid-point
sensor format. Exact sizes vary from is approximately 35mm. n
14MM WIDE-ANGLE

MAGNIFICATION
The most obvious effect of altering focal length brought closer, but the angle of view being reduced
is the change in magnification. Anyone who has so that a smaller proportion of the scene fills the
ever used a zoom lens will be familiar with this frame of the sensor. If we look at a cropped-down
effect. If you want to take a photo of something section of the centre of the wide-angle 25mm 25mm
a long way away, you zoom in and the subject view we can see that it looks very similar to the
appears closer. 400mm view, although rather less sharp, because
This series of photos shows the effect of a wide- this cropped-down section of the frame obviously
angle zoom equivalent to 25mm, medium zoom of has far fewer pixels than the full-frame zoomed-in
100mm and a telephoto of 400mm, all taken from image. This is the way that digital zoom works on a
the same position. compact camera, and is why digital zoom should
What is happening here is not the subject being never be used as a substitute for optical zoom.
50mm
“A cropped-down section of the frame has far fewer ANGLE OF VIEW
pixels than the full-frame zoomed-in image.” Changing the angle of view can be used to produce
some interesting effects. If we move closer to the
subject while shortening the focal length we can see
that although the subject fills roughly the same area
of the final image, in a wide angle shot a lot more of the
background is included.
Take a look at this series of five pictures, each one
taken at approximately half the focal length of the
previous one. As the focal length is reduced more of
the background comes into view behind the subject,
while objects in the foreground appear much closer
to the camera, increasing the appearance of extreme
perspective. Watch out for unflattering distortion on
human subjects as you get closer to them and shorten
the focal length.
25mm zoom 100mm zoom
400mm zoom
100mm
200mm
As you can see, cropping the wide-angle image produces the 25mm cropped
400mm
same effect as zooming in, but greatly reduces quality.

FOCAL LENGTH AND ZOOM
DISTORTION
Telephoto lens Wide angle shot
DEPTH OF FIELD
Wide angle shot
The perspective-flattening of long lenses can also be used in other circumstances, such as drastically reducing depth
of field. You can use this to isolate a subject by blurring out the background, as in the shot above on the left.
Compare this with the same shot on the right, but taken with a wide angle lens from a much closer range. The relative size
Changing the angle of view is important to remember of the subject is the same in both shots, but due to the increased depth of field in the wide angle shot, the background,
when shooting portraits. If you use a short focal length although apparently more distant, looks sharper.
to take a facial portrait at close range the parts that are
closest to the camera will appear disproportionately
larger, distorting the facial features. The result is a
‘ballooning’ of the face as it appears to bulge outwards,
like a reflection in the back of a spoon: not such a flattering
look, as illustrated above.
Most portrait photographers prefer to step back a little
and zoom in. The most popular choice is a focal length of
about 80-100mm, since this gives a flattering, natural-
looking perspective.
Telephoto lens Wide lens
TELEPHOTO LENS
Careful focusing with a long telephoto lens can pick out individual subjects despite busy surroundings, such as focusing
on a student at a school music festival. A similar scene shot using a wide angle lens presents a very different image. The
examples we’ve used here are extremes intended to emphasise the effects we’re demonstrating, but in fact a lot of people
only ever use their zoom lenses at either maximum or minimum settings. Don’t do this out of habit; instead use the full range
Telephoto lens of the lens to explore all the different possibilities it offers. Focal length is one of your primary creative tools, so make good
use of it.

Focal length and zoom:
how it’s done
Use of focal length is a key tool to shot composition
W
hen buying new lenses, it We have two examples taken at opposite ends
is important to know what of the zoom range. One was shot with a 15mm
different ones are used for fisheye lens, covering a 180° field of view and the
and which are right for you. The focal other was shot with a 400mm telephoto lens on
length of a lens is actually measured a crop sensor body to create an effective focal
from the point of converging inside the length of 640mm.
lens to the sensor, not from the front of
the lens.
Ultra wide angle

Usually in the 14-24mm range, these
lenses are considered specialty devices
and do command some very high
prices. Ultra wide lenses are often used
in landscape, architectural and event
photography to get the maximum amount
of scene into a single photo, or when space
is restricted.
Wide angle
With focal lengths starting at 24-35mm,
these lenses are widely included as kit
lenses starting at 24mm with a zoom
range up to about 105mm. They are
often used by photojournalists
or people who want a good
‘walkabout’ lens.

FOCAL LENGTH AND ZOOM: HOW IT’S DONE
Standard
Within the range of 35-70mm, a lens will
reproduce the world roughly as our own eyes
see it. A 50mm lens is considered one of the best
focal lengths at which to shoot portraits because
they look more natural with less distortion than a
wide angle lens.
Medium telephoto
Between 70-105mm is the top of the zoom
range for kit lenses. This range is also equally
good for shooting portraits.
Telephoto
105-400mm covers the range of telephoto
lenses. Used for bringing distant objects closer
and flattening perspective. Above this range you
are into super telephoto lenses used by sports
and wildlife photographers reaching focal lengths
of up to 800mm. n

“Apart from camera shake, bad exposure probably ruins
more photos than any other single cause. The main
problem is over reliance on automatic metering.”
Exposure and metering

Accurate exposure is the key to good photography
U
nderstanding exposure and how it affects most common circumstances. However even the
your photographs is probably the single best automatic meter can be fooled, resulting in
most important technical skill you can poorly exposed photos. By overriding the camera’s
learn in photography. It’s certainly the one that automatic settings and adjusting exposure
most people get wrong, and apart from camera manually we can avoid these problems and take
shake, bad exposure probably ruins more photos much better photos.
than any other single cause. The main problem is Let’s take a look at a couple of examples. In this
over reliance on automatic metering. first scene we have a portrait of a brightly lit fair
Most modern cameras, even relatively cheap skinned model shot against a dark background.
compacts, have sophisticated built-in TTL multi- This was taken using a typical DSLR camera set on
zone evaluative exposure meters that measure automatic exposure. As you can see the camera has
light levels at dozens, in some cases hundreds, of badly over-exposed our model’s face, losing details OVER-EXPOSED UNDER-EXPOSED
points within the frame, instantly comparing the in the highlight areas.
results with a built-in library of exposure situations In this second example the same camera has The same usually reliable exposure meter took
and automatically adjusting the shutter speed been used to photograph the model, but this time both of these shots, so what went wrong? In order
and aperture to deal with problems such as back- standing in front of a brightly lit background. In this to understand what happened and accurately
lighting, close-ups or moving subjects. case the camera’s automatic exposure system correct it, it is necessary to know how light
In most cases these automatic exposure has seriously under-exposed the shot, leaving the meters operate, and the rules by which exposure
systems are very good, and can reliably cope with model’s face in deep shadow with little detail visible. is calculated.

EXPOSURE AND METERING
FIG 1. ORIGINAL SCENE FIG 2. THE LIGHT METER WILL AVERAGE THE SCENE FIG 3. THE AVERAGE RESULT WILL BE MID-TONE GREY
SMALL APERTURE LARGE APERTURE
Fade to grey average scene reflects 18% of the light falling on terminology. If you already know the basics, feel free
Take a look at the main picture above. What it. Look out of your window, and unless you live in to skip to the next page.
you see there is a nice scene of a moorland area in Antarctica the scene you see is reflecting exactly On all cameras, exposure is adjusted by altering
clear sunrise conditions, with a good tonal range, the same amount of light as the scene out of my two settings; aperture and shutter speed. Between
plenty of colour and some nice crisp sunlight. What window. That 18% reflection is exactly the same as them they control the amount of light that hits the
your camera’s light meter sees is very different as a mid-tone grey, midway between black and white. sensor when the shot is taken.
our example above shows. Try it out for yourself. Light meters are calibrated with this fact in Shutter speed is self-explanatory, it is simply
Find any nice, average snapshot scene, properly mind. When your camera takes a light reading, the amount of time that the sensor is exposed to
lit and with good contrast like our example FIG 1. the meter averages the scene and adjusts the light. This is usually controlled by an electrically
Start up your image editing software and open exposure to produce that mid-tone grey (or operated mechanical shutter in front of the sensor
your picture. Light meters only see in black and 12% luminance, but that’s another discussion that opens and closes very quickly for a precisely
white, so reduce the saturation of the shot to zero. altogether). If you point the camera at a black measured period of time, usually in the order of a
Your light meter doesn’t see detail, so set your stage curtain, it will try to make the black into a few hundredths of a second. Obviously a shutter
Gaussian blur filter FIG 2 to maximum diameter mid-tone grey, so it will over-expose. If you point it speed twice as long lets in twice as much light, one
and apply it a couple of times. Use the eyedropper at snow it will try to make the white into grey, so it half as long lets in half as much.
tool to measure the RGB colour value of the will under-expose. The aperture is literally just a hole through which
resulting tone. You should find that it averages light passes on its way to the sensor. The diameter
out to a mid-tone grey FIG 3 with an RGB value of Adjusting exposure of that hole can be adjusted to precisely calibrated
around 127,127,127. Let’s take a moment to explain how exposure sizes. A smaller hole lets in less light, and a larger
It’s an interesting and curious fact that any is controlled, and what is meant by some of the hole lets in more.

These calibrated aperture sizes, for largely increase the exposure by one stop, or one exposure
historical reasons, are called stops, or f-stops. An value (EV), making the picture brighter. Decreasing
aperture setting one stop larger lets in twice as the aperture to f/11 will reduce the exposure by one variations on the original system, but I’ll go with
much light. For reasons that are both historical EV, making the picture darker. the one that is easiest to understand.
and mathematical, the standard full-stop Similarly, changing the shutter speed whilst Starting with 18% grey as the mid-point, the
aperture settings that you are most likely to leaving the aperture alone will also change the system divides all the tones between black and
encounter go f/1, f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, exposure. Double the shutter speed to 1/400th at white into 11 zones, numbered 0-10. Zone 0 is
f/11, f/16 and f/22. The smaller numbers refer f/8 and you reduce the exposure by one stop, halve featureless black with no details visible, which
to larger apertures, and the larger numbers to the speed to 1/100th and you increase the exposure in your image editor would have an RGB value
smaller ones. Many cameras can set apertures in by one stop. of 0,0,0. Zone 10 is pure white with no details
increments of 1/3rd of a stop, but the whole-stop visible, and an RGB value of 255,255,255. The
numbers are the ones to remember. The Zone System mid-tone 18% grey is zone 5, and should have an
Let’s consider an example. With your camera set In 1939-40 the pioneering photographers Ansel RGB value of about 127,127,127.
to automatic exposure point it at a scene and take Adams and Fred Archer developed an exposure The zones represent exposure values, or EV.
a light reading. For the sake of argument, say the system based on this fact, a system that is still used The difference between one zone and the next
light meter sets an aperture of f/8 and 1/200th of today. It is called the Zone System, and is quite is equivalent to the difference between one
a second. You can produce the same exposure by possibly the most useful piece of photographic exposure setting and another one exactly one
increasing the aperture by one stop to f/5.6 and knowledge you’ll ever learn. There are several stop higher or lower.
halving the shutter speed to 1/400th of a second,
because this lets the same amount of light through
to the sensor. Similarly, reducing the aperture to
f/11 and setting the shutter speed to 1/100th of a “The difference between one zone and the next is equivalent
second will also produce the same exposure.
However by altering one setting without altering to the difference between one exposure setting and another
the other you will change the exposure. In our
example, changing the aperture to f/5.6 but leaving
one exactly one stop higher or lower.”
the shutter speed at 1/200th of a second will

EXPOSURE AND METERING
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
If we relate the tone scale of the Zone System Zone 0 Pure black, no details or texture visible.
scale to real world objects we can use it to help
Zone 1 Black tone but no texture. This is normally as black as you want to get in a picture.
produce accurately exposed photos. The zones are
roughly equivalent to the following scene elements Zone 2 First hint of texture and detail, very deep shadow.
(adapted from Adams’ descriptions).
Zone 3 Dark materials, details visible.
Zone 4 Dark foliage. Dark stone. Landscape shadow. Shadow on portraits in sunlight.
Zone 5 Clear north sky. Dark skin. Grey stone. Weathered wood. 18% mid grey.
Zone 6 Average Caucasian skin value. Light stone. Shadows in sunlit snow.
Zone 7 Very light skin. Light grey objects. Snow with side lighting.
Zone 8 White with texture. Snow in shade. Highlights on Caucasian skin.
Zone 9 Glaring white surfaces. Snow in flat sunlight. White without texture.
Zone 10 Light sources, reflections of sunlight on metal. Pure white.
Let’s go back to the two troublesome portraits For the over-exposed portrait against the dark range will encourage you to approach these
from the first page. If we use the spot meter to take background, we can use a similar approach. Spot concepts in a creative way, and to use them to
a reading from the subject’s face, we know that the metering the background gives an exposure setting produce better pictures. Controlling exposure
light meter will give a reading that would make the of 1/3rd sec at f/5.6 to render it as zone 5 mid-grey. is the primary creative tool of the photographer,
face mid-tone grey, which is zone 5. However from By reducing that exposure by four stops to 1/3rd at and learning how to use it will make the difference
the zone chart we know that average Caucasian skin f/8 we can make the background come out as what it between mere snapshots and artistic photographs.
should be zone 6, so we need to increase the spot should be, zone 2 deep shadow, leaving the model’s This system has been used by professional
metered exposure by one stop, in this case from face also correctly exposed. photographers for over 70 years. Used properly, it
1/640th at f/5.6 to 1/640th at f/2.8. In the resulting The zone exposure system can help with difficult can help to improve your photography immensely,
shot the background details are all burned out, but exposures, but it is helpful in another way. Learning probably more than any other single technique. n
the subject is correctly exposed. to think of images in terms of tone and dynamic
“The zone system can

help with difficult
exposures. Learning
to think of images
in terms of tone
and dynamic range
will encourage you
to approach these
concepts creatively.”

Metering modes
Methods you can use to measure light in a scene
N
early all digital cameras, from top-of-the-
range DSLRs to the humblest budget
point-and-shoot compacts, have multiple
light metering options. Knowing how and when
to use these different metering modes can make
a dramatic difference to the quality of your
photography; unfortunately most people don’t
understand what the different modes are for, how
they work or how to use them.
Depending on your camera you’ll find metering
options either in the menu or with their own separate
control. In cameras with a fully-automatic setting,
this will usually disable the metering options,
automatically selecting multi-zone metering as the
best option for day-to-day scenes and snapshots.
The most common light metering modes are
found on nearly all digital cameras. They are spot
metering, centre-weighted metering and multi-zone
metering. The symbols used for these modes are
just about universal. Multi-zone metering is shown
by a rectangle filled with a centre spot surrounded
by a pattern of shapes; centre-weighted metering
is usually shown as a centre spot with shapes
above and below it; whilst spot metering is usually a
rectangle with just a centre spot.

METERING MODES
Evaluative metering Centre-weighted

Sometimes know by proprietary names such as ‘matrix’, ‘multi-segment’ Until the invention of multi-zone metering in the 1980s centre-weighted
or ‘esp’ metering, this is the most commonly used metering mode and is metering was the standard option on most cameras. In this mode the
usually the default mode in fully-automatic operation. In this mode the camera measures light from across the scene but pays more attention
camera takes multiple light readings from many different parts of the scene, to the readings towards the centre of the frame, so bright light sources at
and compares the results with a range of pre-programmed patterns in order the edges of the frame will have less effect on the exposure reading. It is a
to set the exposure, to give the best results. The actual number of segments useful mode for shooting in the early morning or late evening when the sun
varies widely, with simple systems measuring just a handful of segments, is likely to be in the frame; it’s also good for conventional portraits since it
whilst more sophisticated systems may take thousands of measurements. will meter for the subject’s face whilst ignoring background details.
In most common lighting situations this mode can be relied upon to produce
averagely good exposures; more advanced systems can also cope with
unusual lighting, such as strong back-lighting or very high contrast scenes.
Spot metering Partial metering

Spot metering is the most accurate mode, and is the best option for This mode is most effective when your background in the scene is much
complicated or unusual lighting situations but also the hardest to use, brighter than your actual subject. This is referred to as backlighting. Partial
requiring some skill and knowledge before it can be used effectively. In spot metering, like Spot metering, covers a small area in the centre of the frame.
metering mode the camera only takes a light reading from the centre of In this case it is about 10 per cent of the entire frame. This area is metered to
the frame in an area comprising about 3 per cent of the entire frame. Spot obtain a standard exposure.
metering is usually used in conjunction with another little-used camera Some cameras have two extra spot metering options, highlight and shadow
function, auto exposure lock (usually abbreviated AEL), and also with metering. In these modes, the meter is calibrated for zones eight and two
exposure compensation. The way to use this combination of features is to on the zone system chart. In highlight metering mode, taking a spot meter
select the area of your picture from which you wish to take your light meter reading from the most brightly lit parts of a scene will result in a correct
reading, centre this area in the viewfinder and either press your AEL button exposure, so that highlights are bright but with detail visible. Likewise using
to lock the exposure or hold the shutter button while reframing the shot, then the shadow metering on the darker areas of the scene will produce dark
press the shutter release button fully to take your picture. shadows but with visible detail.

Metering modes:
how it’s done
Modern cameras give you choice when it comes to metering your scene
H
aving talked about metering and the various options shot. Hopefully, this will give you an idea of the different
available, we thought it would be wise to show them ways your camera can approach how it measures the light
in action with a simple practical demonstration. in the scene you’re about to shoot and what kind of results
In most cases, you could happily leave your camera in you can expect.
evaluative mode, where it measures the entire scene to We’ve set up our example scene and have the camera
work out an average for it but it’s good to know that you set to all its defaults. We’re going to use Aperture Priority
have the other metering alternatives. They say: its good and compose the scene so the subject is in the centre of the
to have them and not need them rather than need them frame with the strong backlight around them. The centre
and not have them. We chose a particularly tricky backlit AF point falls directly on our subject. There is no exposure
scene, which is the usual bane of digital cameras, with a lot compensation being used, we are going with whatever the
of contrast between the brightest and darkest parts of the camera decides, based on its metering mode. n
Evaluative Metering Centre Weighted

Here, the camera has assessed all the lighting information in the scene and The camera is taking another average of the scene but its main metering
has made its best guess at an average exposure. decisions are focused on the centre of the image.

METERING MODES: HOW IT’S DONE
Spot Metering Partial Metering

This time, the camera is not averaging the entire scene but taking its Partial metering, as we’ve already mentioned, uses a larger centre spot from
information from the small spot in the centre of the frame. which it takes information about the scene.
Spot Meter Highlights Spot Meter Shadows

This time we’ve deliberately spot metered the brightest part of the scene and For comparison, the darkest areas were also spot metered and the shot was
then recomposed the shot to match the others. taken once it had been recomposed like the highlights version.

Flash techniques
A guide to some common uses of flash
F
lash is used mainly for taking photos
in low light conditions but few people
know how to use it properly. However
there are some simple techniques that
are possible, even with budget-priced
equipment, that can seriously improve your
photography; or if you don’t use it correctly,
can actually ruin a shot.
Direct Flash
Of all the flash techniques around, this is
not really a technique at all, this is the way
in which most flash photographs are taken.
The flash, either built-in or mounted on the
camera, is pointed directly at the subject when
the photo is taken. Although the subject is
brightly lit, the photograph is very harsh with
glaring reflections and hard-edged shadows.
It is very unflattering and gives your subjects
the startled rabbit in the headlights look, or
something akin to a police mugshot.
Bounce Flash
If you have a decent camera-mounted
flashgun for your DSLR or high-end compact,
it probably has what is called a ‘bounce and

FLASH TECHNIQUES
DIRECT FLASH
FILL FLASH BEFORE
BOUNCE FLASH
BROLLY FLASH FILL FLASH AFTER
tilt’ head. This means that the top part of the the flash off the camera altogether and mount it
flashgun, containing the flash tube, can be tilted on a separate stand with a diffuser of some type,
upward. If you’re thinking of buying a flashgun usually a brolly. These are quite cheap and come in
it’s best to get one that has this feature, a variety of sizes. A 90-100cm type is ideal for use
because it produces much better results than with a normal flashgun. The brolly itself is just that, Fill Flash
direct flash when shooting indoors. an umbrella coated with a reflective finish. Usually Fill flash is a simple but highly effective technique
By tilting the flash head upwards the light is the cover can be removed and reversed. One for coping with backlighting, where you are
reflected off the ceiling, which is often white or side will usually be white or silver, while the other photographing your subject against the light of
at least lightly coloured in most buildings. The side is gold coloured, because this gives a much the sun or a brightly lit background. A carefully
flash sensor, usually mounted on the non-tilting warmer and more flattering light for portraits. The measured level of flash is used to balance the
part of the gun, is still pointing at the subject brolly and flashgun can be attached to a normal ambient lighting and fill in the shadows. Back in
and can adjust the flash output accordingly. tripod using a simple adapter available from the good old days of manual-only cameras and
Reflecting the light diffuses it, removing most camera shops. The flashgun is positioned fixed-output flashguns it took multiple light readings
glare and softening the shadows. Since the pointing away from the subject so it fires into the and careful calculations to get the right exposure
illumination is from above the results look much brolly, and the diffused reflected light bounces to balance the flash light to the ambient light; these
more natural. Some flashguns have heads that back to illuminate your subject. By positioning the days tough, modern TTL exposure systems and
can swivel sideways as well, for use in portrait brolly off to one side and slightly above the height dedicated flashes can produce perfect fill-in flash
format or to bounce the flash off walls. of the subject’s head, you can cover a large area automatically in an instant. If you flash has enough
and use it for group shots. For tighter portraits, power, you can also underexpose your sunny
Light Modifiers the alternative to bouncing light off a brolly is to background by several stops whilst still being able to
Another good way to take flattering flash use a shoot through brolly which uses a white correctly light your subject. This is a technique used
photos, that can also be used outdoors or semitransparent material to diffuse the light from by fashion and wedding photographers and gives a
where bounce flash isn’t possible, is to take the flash. very dramatic result. n

This is a test shot taken
with settings to record
the scene with a degree of
underexposure. Now you
introduce your lights with
power settings that illuminate
your subject correctly, to create
a more moody scene with a hint
of fake sunlight.
Flash photography:
how it’s done
Light up your shots and get creative with your photography
W
e’ve always maintained that at a any photographer can create images that set shows how, with two flashes, one with a yellow gel
certain level, most people who like to them apart from the Uncle Phil’s of this world is over it to suggest sunlight, you can add amazing
take photos can shoot images similar by using light in ways he can’t. This is where the lighting creativity to a shot that might have
to the pros if they were in the same situation flash comes in and not just a flash mounted on otherwise been an Uncle Phil shot. The camera
with similar gear. An often quoted example is top of the camera. We’re talking about off-camera settings have been deliberately dialled down to
that of the wedding photographer who turns up flash. This is the key to great lighting in your shots. get a base exposure of the scene, that is a little
and is shooting the bride and groom in natural A camera mounted flash is possibly one of the underexposed, but the flash power on the two
light with a particular brand of camera and lens. most unflattering lighting solutions you can use units has been set to expose the subject correctly.
Uncle Phil, a guest from the bride’s side of the but as soon as you get the flash off camera with The left side provides a fill light to eliminate any
family, has the same gear and is standing next a wireless trigger and receiver system, you are harsh, deep shadows, whilst the right hand flash
to the photographer and snapping away too. looking at much more potential. Couple a softbox provides fake sunlight. You will amaze yourself at
The likelihood is strong that they are going to or brolly to diffuse your light and you can really the quality of shots you can achieve when you use
capture similar photos. One of the best ways that take some next level shots. Our example here flash in this way. n

FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY: HOW IT’S DONE
Being able to use additional

lighting in your shots, rather
than just relying on ambient
light, is a truly creative way
to raise your game when
it comes to photography.
Modern flash equipment
is easy to use and gives
impressive results.
x1 x1
1/4 power 1/4 power

White
balance
White may not be as white
as you think INCANDESCENT, WITH DAYLIGHT WHITE BALANCE INCANDESCENT LIGHT, INCANDESCENT WHITE BALANCE
W
hen you look at, for example, a sheet
of white paper, your brain adjusts what DAYLIGHT, WITH DAYLIGHT WHITE BALANCE
you see so that it matches what you
are expecting to see. However your digital camera
doesn’t have any expectations, and the colour that
it “sees” is the actual colour present in the scene.
‘White’ light visible to humans can actually
vary in colour from reddish orange to greenish-
blue. This variation is usually described as a
temperature range, with warm being the red end
and cold at the blue end, and is usually measured in
degrees Kelvin using a colour meter. Confusingly,
the higher the colour temperature, the cooler the
tone and vice versa.
We perceive various shades of white light
illuminating a scene as neutral, a clever trick
performed by our brains to maintain a sense
of normality. Digital cameras can perform the
same trick using a feature called automatic white
balance. The camera evaluates the scene through
the lens, analysing areas it guesses should be white
(highlights) and black (shadows). More expensive
cameras have a more reliable ambient white
balance sensor that measures the temperature of
general, focused light. However these automatic
systems can be fooled, so most cameras give you
the option of setting the white balance manually,
either from pre-sets that cover most normal DAYLIGHT, INCANDESCENT WHITE BALANCE
lighting conditions or by making an accurate
measurement of the prevailing lighting conditions.
In the example pictures on this page you’ll see
an image with ordinary incandescent light bulbs,
also called tungsten lighting. As you can see,
when the camera is set to the warm artificial light
white balance setting that suits this lighting, the
light areas of the scene are neutral. The same
scene looks very different when the camera’s
white balance is set to normal daylight colour
temperature. Now there is a distinct reddish-
orange cast. Light bulbs can shine with various
colour temperatures. Cheap traditional, low
wattage light bulbs tend to be the warmest in
colour, while low voltage halogen bulbs are cooler
in tone.
Another example is a typical noon day outdoor
scene where the ambient white light temperature
is cool. When the camera’s white balance setting
matches the cool tone of the brightness of the
sun, everything looks quite normal. On the other
hand, if the camera has been set for tungsten
artificial light, the scene appears to have a very

WHITE BALANCE
blue cast. Sunlight, like artificial light, can vary

quite considerably in colour temperature. Early
Know your camera
Nearly all digital cameras offer white balance
TYPICAL WHITE
morning and late afternoon daylight is warmer adjustments accessible either from a settings BALANCE VALUES
as cooler components of the light are filtered out menu or, typically on higher spec cameras, via an
because it has to shine through more atmosphere external button in conjunction with an LCD display.
and its pollutants as the sun is nearer the horizon. TUNGSTEN/ARTIFICIAL
Meanwhile, cloudy and overcast conditions deliver Manual white balance 2500-3000K
a cooler light because warmer components are Some cameras can let you calibrate the white I ndoor lighting using traditional non-fluorescent
filtered out by the cloud. balance setting manually. You simply hold a white light bulbs.
Our third example is lit with fluorescent card in front of the camera lens and press a white
lighting, and presents an even harder challenge balance calibration button. The camera adjusts its
for your digital camera. The visible spectrum of white balance setting until the card is reproduced
fluorescent light is not a nice smooth line, it’s full neutrally. Beware of this setting remaining on as
of peaks and troughs. Some fluorescent lights when you return to normal shooting conditions it may
have a green cast and others a pink cast. These spoil your pictures!
differences are visibly evident where strip lights
of different tone have been fitted side by side. Preset white balance
So-called daylight tone fluorescent lights are not All digital cameras offer a choice of white balance
equivalent to real daylight. Better digital cameras presets, and some cameras let you choose the
will have a number of presets for fluorescent setting via colour temperature values. Some really
light to help you match the white balance in these advanced cameras let you bracket white balance
conditions more accurately. In our example here, settings, or take a series of shots with settings above
the fluorescent light is a greenish yellow in tone. and below your standard setting. n FLUORESCENT
3500-5500K
I nclude strip lighting and modern compact
fluorescent lamps
“We perceive various shades of white light NORMAL DAYLIGHT

5500-6000K
illuminating a scene as neutral, a trick performed Typical mid-morning to mid-afternoon conditions at
sea level.
by our brains to maintain a sense of normality.” CLOUDY/OVERCAST
6000-8000K
Hazy or overcast conditions.
FLUORESCENT LIGHT, FLUORESCENT WHITE BALANCE
CLEAR BLUE SKY

10,000-15,000K
Exceptionally clear mid-summer or high altitude
conditions, especially snow scenes.
FLUORESCENT LIGHT, DAYLIGHT WHITE BALANCE

Understanding
hyperfocal distance
How to calculate the best depth of field
A
very important part of photography in the camera sensor. This area is known as the
general and landscape photography depth of field and it is this region that is deemed
in particular is to ensure that your to contain an area of acceptable sharpness. The
prime point of interest, your main elements key to hyperfocal distance is knowing the closest
are in sharp focus. Nothing ruins a shot more distance at which a lens can be focused while
than the image being fuzzy and blurry when keeping objects at infinity as acceptably sharp
you need it to be tack sharp. The problem as possible. Everything from half the hyperfocal
however, is that in many cases in landscape distance out to infinity will be in focus.
photography you have a foreground element A very basic rule of thumb is to compose your
as well as a distant object that you want to be scene and then focus roughly one third of the
in as sharp focus as possible at the same time. distance into the scene. This can be quick and
Shooting with a wide angle lens and setting a reasonably helpful, particularly where your scene
very narrow aperture of f/22 or even f/32 will has excluded the horizon or near foreground,
yield greater depth of field but you will also but rarely is it optimal to get the best out of the H = Hyperfocal distance
run into the optical phenomenon known as depth of field. You could use your camera’s live f2 = focal length x focal length
diffraction, which is a softening of the image view function to visually set focus on the most N = Aperture number (f-stop)
due to the bending of light rays as is passes distant object in your scene and then slowly adjust c = Circle of confusion
through the narrow aperture of your lens. This the focus closer whilst keeping an acceptably
means you will normally be operating around sharp background. Finally of course, there is the The result, in millimetres, will be the distance at
the f8 - f/16 mark when setting aperture. mathematical way to calculate the exact point. which you need to focus to attain greatest depth
You may find that the depth of field provided There is a bit of assumed knowledge when using of field. Thankfully there are plenty of on-line
at these apertures is not enough to render the mathematical formula. You will need to provide calculators and apps for your phone that can do
everything you need in sharp focus. the focal length of the lens you are using, the Circle all the heavy lifting for you. Just so we can say we
This is where the hyperfocal distance comes of Confusion value for a given sensor size, which understand the theory, let’s try out a couple of
into play. When you focus on an object, technically is the largest blurred spot that the human eye can examples as shown here. We’re using a full frame
speaking, only that point of focus is sharp. Beyond detect (usually a value of around 0.03 - 0.02) and camera with a Circle of Confusion value of .029 as
that focus point, extending both in front of and the f-stop you are using. If you have a calculator an average on a 16mm lens and a 50mm lens. Both
behind, is a plane of focus running parallel to you can do the following: are set at an aperture of f/16. n
This landscape image taken on

Dartmoor was shot on a wide
angle lens at f16. Using the
hyperfocal calculations shown,
the point of focus was only
0.5m away from the camera’s
position, but resulted in a very
sharp image.

UNDERSTANDING HYPERFOCAL DISTANCE
Example 1: 16mm lens at f/16 Example 2: 50mm lens at f/16
16mm x 16mm 50mm x 50mm

H= H=
f/16 x 0.029 f/16 x 0.029
= 551mm (0.551m) = 5387mm (5.387m)
Far Far
Limit Limit
Acceptably
Sharp
Hyperfocal
Point
5.387m
Acceptably
Sharp
Near
Hyperfocal Limit
Point
2.693m
0.551m
Near
Limit
Not
0.275m Sharp
Not
Sharp
Full frame
The near limit of acceptable Full frame
16mm lens at an sharpness is half of the 50mm lens at an
aperture of f/16 hyperfocal value, stretching aperture of f/16
out to infinity.
Please note: these images are not scale

and are for illustrative purposes only.

Shooting
modes
Choosing the best setting for the
correct shooting conditions
A
ll but the most basic budget compact cameras have a
selection of shooting modes, usually chosen by a dial
on the top or back of the camera. Easy-to-use, mainly
automatic cameras in the range will only have a few shooting
modes, while the more sophisticated cameras such as the
DSLR may have as many as a dozen, including manual exposure
options and user-programmable special settings.
As newer models appear in the range or older models are
updated, the shooting modes available will be revised and possibly
expanded. Shown on this spread are some of the most often used
modes selected from the mode dial on the top of the camera and in
some cases, from the menu screen on the back of the camera. n
Auto Auto (flash off) Programmed AE

The camera will analyse the scene and As in full auto mode but the flash will not be Programmed auto is recommended for
choose all the best settings. activated when shooting. shots where there may not be time to adjust
camera settings.
P
Shutter Priority Aperture Priority Manual Exposure
Shutter speed is manually selected to blur Aperture is manually selected to blur or The user can manually choose shutter
or freeze motion. Aperture is set by camera. bring background into focus. Camera speed and aperture.
chooses shutter speed.
S A M
SHOOTING MODES
Bulb Mode Effects Scene - Portrait

Allows you to take photos for as long as the Can be used to add filter effects to your Background details will be blurred to add a
shutter button is held down for exposures images when they have been shot. sense of depth to the composition.
longer than 30 seconds.
B EFFECTS
Scene - Landscape Scene - Child Scene - Sports

Landscapes taken during the day will have Skin kept soft and natural whilst clothes and For dynamic sports. Shutter speeds will be
front to back sharpness. Colours will be backgrounds are more saturated. Shutter high enough to freeze the action.
made more vivid. speeds will be faster to capture movement.
Scene - Close Up Scene - Night Portrait Scene - Night Landscape

For close up and macro shots of insects, Creates a natural balance between Will reduce noise and strong colours such as
flowers and other small objects. your foreground subject and low street lights and neon.
Backgrounds will be out of focus. light backgrounds.
Scene - Party/Indoor Scene - Beach/Snow Scene - Sunset

For indoor scenes and other social More accurately capture the brightness of Maintains the rich colours and hues of the
gatherings. Captures indoor areas like snow or sand in daylight. sunrise or sunset.
background lighting.
Scene - Dusk/Dawn Scene - Pet Portrait Scene - Candlelight

The cooler tones of dusk and dawn are Faster shutter speed is employed. No The deep orange and red tones of scenes
maintained. No flash is used. AF assist light is used so as not to scare lit by candlelight are enhanced. No flash
the animal. is used.

File types and
image compression
How is it possible to store so many images on such a tiny memory card?
I
f you’ve had a computer or a digital
camera for more than a couple
of days, you’ll have come across
JPEG images, usually denoted by the
file extension ‘.jpg’, and you may be
wondering exactly what it means.
The letters themselves stand for the
Joint Photographic Expert Group, a
body of scientists, programmers and
engineers from the imaging industry
who got together several years ago
to come up with a new standard for
file storage that would allow images
from different computer programs to
be interchangeable, so that a picture
from one computer could be viewed
on another without having to use file
conversion programs.
The JPEG standard also happens to be an we need to know is that it reduces the size
ideal format for storing pictures on a digital of the picture file by reducing the amount of
camera, because it uses something called information stored in it. JPEG compression
file compression. This is a technique that reduces file size by reducing picture quality,
allows a large number of images to be stored and for this reason it is called ‘lossy’ storage.
in a relatively small amount of memory by For most purposes this quality reduction is
squashing the files so they take up less room. imperceptible and fine for day-to-day use, but
For this reason JPEG has become the standard for maximum image quality there are other File compression uses complex
image file format for all digital cameras. types of image file which are uncompressed mathematical algorithms to
squeeze big image files into small
A full technical explanation of file and lose no quality, the most common one
spaces, but quality can suffer.
compression would fill a decent-sized being TIFF, which stands for ‘Tagged Image
textbook. It uses complex mathematical File Format’.
techniques that you simply don’t need to know Basically, the way JPEG compression works
unless you’re a software engineer working is like this. An average digital photograph
on a new digital camera. As consumers, all contains varying levels of detail. For example,

FILE TYPES AND IMAGE COMPRESSION
“For maximum image quality there are other

types of image file which are uncompressed and
lose no quality, the most common being TIFF.” COMPRESSION
SETTINGS
Even shooting at your camera’s lowest quality

setting will still produce acceptable results under
most circumstances. These three photos were
taken using a Canon DSLR using the Maximum,
Medium and Minimum quality settings. As you
can see the differences are very hard to spot.
MAXIMUM
MEDIUM
Large areas of low detail, such as the sky, can be

easily compressed, while detailed areas such as the
leaves and stone contain more information.
MINIMUM
The next picture is the same Minimum

quality shot as above, but resaved as a JPEG
using Adobe Photoshop using the Medium
compression setting. While the quality is a little
lower, the image is far from useless.
take an average holiday snap of a family on a in the menu that allows you to select image JPEG MEDIUM QUALITY
beach. While the main subject, the people in quality. What this option is doing is setting the
the foreground, contains a lot of detail, there level of file compression. If you select the lowest For comparison, this next image takes the
will also be large areas such as the sky, the quality, you will probably find that you can fit Minimum quality original and is then resaved
sand and the sea, which contain relatively about four times as many images onto your in Photoshop using the Minimum quality
little detail. In order to reduce the size of the memory card as you can at the highest setting, compression settings. Now more compression
file, some data from the lower detail areas can because the higher JPEG compression setting artefacts are visible in the image.
safely be lost without affecting the quality of makes the files one quarter as big, but reduces
the picture too much. The way this is done the quality of the picture to compensate. Most
is usually by reducing the number of tonal people will use the highest setting most of the
variations between areas of similar colour, so time, but unless you intend to print all your
you may notice artefacts that look like squares pictures at the largest size possible, you really
or stripes in highly compressed images. can get away with using a lower quality setting
Whatever make or model of digital camera and still have pictures to be proud of, plus you’ll JPEG MINIMUM QUALITY
you have, it will almost certainly have an option be able to take twice as many. n

Composing your photos
Simple guides to making a good picture great
T
he main difference between a well taken tool for this, since it lets you view a completely static vertically and horizontally, rather like a Noughts
snapshot and a truly artistic photograph image without the need to hold the camera steady. and Crosses (Tic Tac Toe for those in the USA)
is simply a matter of composition. By grid [3]. If you position the main elements of the
changing the focal length, the angle and the The Rule of Thirds image on these imaginary lines, or better yet on the
position of the camera, the photographer The most commonly used compositional intersections where the lines meet, you’ll find that
can change the relative positions and sizes of technique is called the Rule of Thirds, and it’s your image will look a lot more pleasing to the eye.
objects in the frame to produce a more visually really very simple. Let’s take a look at an example The Rule of Thirds works just as well in
pleasing effect. Learning to do this is mostly a landscape picture [1]. It’s a nice enough shot, vertical-format shots, and is useful in landscape
matter of practice and experimentation, but correctly exposed, in focus and nicely lit, but photography, since features on the horizon makes
there are a number of simple tips and now look at the next example [2]. Doesn’t that a natural dividing line [4].
rules-of-thumb that can help you to take feel better? It’s obviously the same scene, and Portraits can also benefit from Rule of Thirds
better pictures. taken from roughly the same position, but this composition. By positioning a subject’s eye at a
The first and most important thing to composition is much more appealing. The reason point where the imaginary lines intersect [5], will
remember is to take your time. Look at the scene it works is because the church is now positioned give your portrait balance and really help to draw the
in the viewfinder or on your monitor and try to see off-centre in the frame, in fact it is one third of the viewer’s attention into the picture.
it not as simply a view but instead to imagine it as a distance from the right to the left. This type of Most digital cameras feature an option to
finished print. Ask yourself if there’s any way that composition is known as the Rule of Thirds. superimpose the Rule of Thirds grid on the
it can be improved by maybe zooming in a little, The best way to apply the Rule of Thirds is to monitor screen to make this type of composition
or by moving the camera. A tripod is a very useful imagine the frame divided up into thirds both easier. Now you know why it is there. n

COMPOSING YOUR PHOTOS
4 5
“Look at the scene in

the viewfinder or on your
monitor and try to see it
not as simply a view but
instead to imagine it as a
finished print.”

ZOOM
Angle
You can use your camera’s zoom lens to improve becomes unclear what the subject of the shot is. By far the most common compositional mistake
composition. Below (left) is a photograph of a striking By moving a short distance and zooming in to is to take a photo from the wrong angle. If you see
evening scene, taken with a 16mm wide-angle lens. exclude the surrounding scenery, we can get a much something that you think might make a good photo,
Whilst it does capture a striking skyline with tighter composition (below right). Now there’s no don’t just point the camera and snap away. Pause for
interesting visual content, there’s too much going on in question about the subject of the photograph. The a moment and think about what you actually want to
the picture. The jetty in the foreground, the buildings shape of the building where it intersects the sky and see in the picture, and what would be the best way to
both sides of the river and the bridge are confusing, so it the river now conforms to the rule of thirds. capture it. Take this shot for example:
This display of fruit and veg outside a
greengrocers has some good elements. The light is
great, it has plenty of colour, and some interesting
“By moving a short distance and zooming in,
we can get a much tighter composition.”
shapes and textures. However shot from this

angle it is completely uninteresting, just a random
snapshot. However if we get down lower and in
closer, we find this view:
FRAMING
A less popular technique, but one which can because too much of the foreground is visible and
produce good results under the right circumstances, in sharp focus; it distracts from the subject of the
is framing. This is where you use objects in the picture. However, framing an image by zooming in so
foreground to frame and thus emphasise the that only a few leaves are visible and out of focus, the
main subject of the picture. It is difficult to do well, effect in the right image is a lot more successful.
because there is the risk that the foreground objects Thanks to the conventions reinforced by decades
will distract the viewer from the main subject. of Hollywood films, framed shots where most of
However if the framing objects are sufficiently the framing object is on the lower edge of the frame
nondescript and contrast from an eye-catching main tend to look sinister, like you were stalking the
subject then this compositional technique can work subject, while a frame of overhanging foliage tends It would have been better still to have the
very well. to be associated with romance, and is often used by strawberries in the shot as well, but here the
In the picture on the left the framing doesn’t work wedding photographers. contrast in shape and colour between the melons
and the pineapple stalks makes for a much more
striking image, and the slightly blurred price tag in
the background adds a nice finishing touch.
One of the best uses for this tip is when taking
photos of children or animals. If you kneel down
and shoot from their height you’ll get much better
results than if you stand up and just snap away,
because all you get then is photos of the tops of their
heads. The best wildlife photographers know that to
get a good picture of an animal you have to share its
environment, so make a bit of an effort and try to get
down closer to you subject’s head height. You may
risk getting your clothes dirty, but you’ll get a much
better shot.

When shooting children or animals,

capture the world from their perspective
by crouching down so that the camera is
level with their head height.
Perspective
Perspective is what gives us our perception of
three dimensions, and we can use this to achieve
a number of different effects. Most types of
perspective shots are achieved using wide-angle
lenses, since the exaggerated angle of view
emphasises the effect.
The most common type of perspective effect is
“one-point perspective”. By using a wide-angle lens,
groups of lines converging on a vanishing point
within the boundaries of the frame can add energy

to an otherwise fairly dull scene, giving a sense of
movement and drama. This effect works best for
photographs taken when within or surrounded by
buildings, but it can also work on roads, railway lines,
even rivers and beaches.
Photographs of buildings can be enlivened by using
“two point perspective”, photographing the building
from a low angle pointing upward so that the parallel
sides converge both upward and to the side, creating
two vanishing points which are usually outside of the
frame of the picture. This is also achieved by using
“The best wildlife photographers know a wide-angle lens to emphasise the effect, however
the main danger is that many wide-angle lenses,
that to get a good picture of an animal especially the zoom lenses on compact cameras,
produce what is known as barrel distortion, where
you have to share its environment.” parallel lines appear to curve. Better quality lenses
minimise this distortion. n

FOREGROUND, SUBJECT AND BACKGROUND
Squinting at your subject through the viewfinder of snapshot of the bridge, but that simply looks the same
your camera, it’s all too easy to overlook what else is in as the photographs that hundreds of visitors take of it
the frame. You’re concentrating so hard on getting your every year. It’s very pretty, but it’s also a little dull. By
subject not to blink when the flash goes off that you including some foreground detail, and positioning the
completely miss that tree in the background that looks camera to capture the background of the moorland
like it’s growing out of her head, or the discarded crisp and forest, the bridge is now one element of a much Balance
packet lying distractingly in the corner of the frame. more balanced shot, and one which shows the bridge in When your photograph has more than one
Along with your main subject, a photograph will usually its surroundings. subject you can achieve a better composition
have both a background and a foreground, and these are Similarly this photo of a familiar London landmark is if you give each subject equal weight in the
just as much a part of the image. The trick is to compose flat and boring, and doesn’t really show the building in composition, so that the subjects form a
the photograph in such a way that you strike a balance the context of the city around it. harmonious balance within the frame. As with
between these different elements. When done properly By choosing a completely different location we can many artistic techniques it’s largely a matter of
this adds life and interest to the picture, as well as making add foreground detail the shot, and instantly it becomes practice, experience and individual taste.
it seem more natural. more balanced and dynamic. Of course the improved Try to position your subjects so that they
Take this photo of a famous and much-photographed weather helps too, but that’s another thing to which are the same distance from the edges of the
Dartmoor landmark, the ancient clapper bridge at you should pay attention when you are setting up and frame, and also more-or-less symmetrically
Postbridge in Devon. It’s very easy to simply take a composing a photograph. balanced around either the centre of
the frame or some visible dividing line. A
diagonal composition works in most cases,
especially with portraits of couples. Perfectly
symmetrical arrangements where the subjects
are the same height within the frame tend to
look forced and unnatural.
In this first example, the two fish are
balanced by the stone jar in a diagonal
arrangement that makes for a pleasing and
harmonious composition. If you can’t see it, try
covering up the jar with your hand and see how
dull the fish look on their own.
In this second example, the photo was cropped

to balance the composition between the two
guys talking in the background and the horse in
the foreground. In this case the horse is closer
to the edge of the frame, but then it is much
bigger and closer to the camera, so it looks
more natural that way.

LEADING LINES
EXAMPLE A
Implied movement
A photograph freezes a moment in time,
which is great if your subject is a stationary
object or person, but what if your subject is
moving? How can you capture movement in a
still image?
There is a technique involving a slow shutter
speed and panning the camera to follow the
movement, but it’s difficult to master and only
works about one time in ten anyway. Far easier
is freezing the action with a nice fast shutter
speed, and using a subtle compositional trick to
simulate movement.
The trick is very simple. Just position the
moving subject within the frame so that it
appears that it is moving into the middle of the
picture. For example, if you are photographing
a boat moving from the left to the right, position
it on the left of the frame so that it is moving
inward towards the centre, leaving room in the
frame into which the boat could move. The best
way to illustrate this effect is with a couple of
EXAMPLE B EXAMPLE C EXAMPLE D examples. Take a look at this shot:
Here the boat is positioned incorrectly, and

appears to be about to exit out of the picture.
There is a lot of empty space on the left of the
picture, and it looks awkward and unbalanced.
Closely related to perspective is the concept of In example A, the elevated angle allows the long
leading lines. When you look at a photograph for the curving line of a harbour wall to form a leading line
first time, your eye will naturally be drawn to certain drawing the viewer into the picture. Leading lines are
areas. It is possible to subtly lead the viewer’s eye most often used in landscape photography, because
around the image to areas of interest using the visual so many natural features make those appealing
cues of line and perspective. S-shapes. In example B the line of the path leads the
For some reason best known to anthropologists eye up past the hikers to the mountains beyond.
our eyes find broad “S” shapes very appealing, so any Leading lines don’t have to be S-shaped curves,
feature in a photograph that resembles this shape will straight lines can work as well. In example C, the
naturally tend to attract the viewer’s attention. The eye perspective of the walls, the ceiling decorations and
naturally tends to follow the S-shape into the picture, pillars draw you from the front of the shot down the
usually starting at the closest and/or lowest point and corridor to the exit. Use leading lines to emphasise
moving upward. Many features can be used to create a particular point in a photograph, or to highlight a In this shot, the boat is moving into the
leading lines, but favourites include rivers, streams, particular subject in a busy environment. picture, giving it better balance and a dynamic
footpaths, roads, hedgerows, or the line of surf on a In this studio portrait shot (example D), the feeling of speed and movement. If you look at
beach. In figure or portrait photography, the line of the position of the model’s hand and the line of her hair pictures by professional sports photographers,
limbs, hands, hair or items of clothing can also be used to combine in a leading line directing the viewer’s you’ll see this technique applied to everything
create leading lines that draw the eye into the photo. attention to her eyes. from sailing boats to football players. n

Composing your photos:
how it’s done
You know the rules, now you can use them or bend them
S
o after reading the theory of how to Rather than composing a portrait image using line and a perfect reflection in a body of water are
compose your shots, it’s time to get out the rule of thirds guide, you can push them far over often placed dead centre vertically to make the
there and start shooting with a fresh eye to one side, even cropping part of their face so only most of that mirror image in the water. Don’t forget
for composition. As we’ve said regarding most a portion of it remains. If a person is photographed to use foreground objects to create leading lines
rules and techniques, they are for guidance moving in a scene, you normally leave space in the that guide the viewer’s eye into the shot and also
and are a good place to start but can be open shot for them to ‘move into’. However, for shots taken bear in mind that the actual rule of thirds grid is not
to interpretation based on your creative of a runner, for example, why not place them so they limited to being perfectly square in your shot, you
preferences. Sometimes you can bend the rules, are about to exit the frame, rather than have space can actually imagine the grid at an angle so the lines
push the limits of composition and place the for them to run into. A landscape takes on a different run diagonally through your composition giving you
subject of your shots far off the intersecting feel if the horizon is pinned very near to the bottom some more creative options for subject placement.
lines of the imaginary rule of thirds grid. This can of the frame but the main subject still falls on one of This is the thing with rules, they show you how to
create a certain visual tension that actually works the vertical grid lines, allowing the sky to dominate make photos better, but a little experimentation now
in your favour. the shot. Landscape shots that have a strong horizon and again can make them special. n
Shots that have a very minimal

content, with one main point of
focus are prime examples of
employing the rule of thirds. This
couple on an empty beach create
a more pleasing visual alignment
when placed in the lower left
third of the shot.

COMPOSING YOUR PHOTOS: HOW IT’S DONE
This shot not only has the

benefit of a strong horizon
where the water meets the
beach, the top of the clouds
also align well to the rule of
thirds grid. The end of the
pier can fall along the right
vertical third of the grid.

The inverse-square law
Understand how light and distance work
D
on’t worry, this isn’t going to turn into
a maths class, or a lecture on physics.
It’s an old adage that photographers
work with light and understanding a little about 100% 25%
how light affects your scene is a useful thing
to know. In reality, you don’t have to be able
to carry a headful of fractions and do mental
1m 2m
arithmetic, just know that light has some
interesting properties as it travels from its
source, to your subject. This brings us to the
inverse-square law. This law applies not only
to light but any physical quantity, but for our
purposes it states that the intensity of a light
f/22 f/16
source is inversely proportional to the square
of the distance from that light source. Reading
that you may be tempted to flip over to the next
page, but bear with us.
The actual formula reads: intensity of light = 1/
distance2. So why is that worth worrying about?
Those who are new to using light sources such
as flashes and studio lights are likely to imagine
that if you place a subject next to a light source
and take a photo, then move the light twice the
distance from the subject and take another
shot, the light will be half as powerful. This is not
the case because of the way light falls off using
the inverse square law. To sum it up we have a
diagram that lays out the values and intensities
you will encounter as you move your subject away
from a light source. We have a theoretical light
source set at full power and a subject who starts
at 1m away from the light. If you use the formula
and take the distance of 1 and square it you get
1 (1 x 1 = 1 so 1/1 intensity). Move your subject to
2m and rather than the intensity being half power
the formula tells us otherwise (2 x 2 = 4 so 1/4
intensity). At double the distance from the light
source, the intensity is actually 1/4 the brightness
or 25 per cent. At 3m (3 x 3 = 9 so 1/9 intensity)
it is now 1/9 or 11 per cent (we’ve rounded up the
numbers) and so on. Whilst this is all well and
good, how does it help us in the real world? If you
look at the percentages, from 1m to 2m, there is a
75 per cent drop in intensity. From 3m to 6m there
is only an 8 per cent drop in intensity. Finally, from
6m to 8m - 10m, there is only a 2 per cent drop
in intensity. We’ve added an approximate set of
f-stops to show how you would alter your aperture
to get a good exposure as the light intensity
drops away the further your subject is from the
light source. Now we can put all this information
together for some lighting examples. n

THE INVERSE-SQUARE LAW
11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5%
3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m
f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4

Scenario 1
100% 25% 11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5% 1% 1%
Your subject is very close 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m
to the light source. If they
f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4
happen to move one step
away from the light, they
will be underexposed
by a fair margin and you
will have to alter your
settings to compensate.
Scenario 2
100% 25% 11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5% 1% 1%
Your subject is much
1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m
further away from the
light source. If they move f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4
a step in either direction
this time, because of the
much smaller fall off in
intensity this far out from
the light source, you will
most likely not have to
alter your settings at all.
Scenario 3
100% 25% 11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5% 1% 1%
You have two subjects 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m
a very short distance
from your light source, f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4
one of which is standing

closer to the light
than the other. The
one further from the
light source will be
underexposed by a
large margin due to the
rapid fall off in the first
few metres.

THE INVERSE-SQUARE LAW
Scenario 4
100% 25% 11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5% 1% 1%
You place your two 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m
subjects much further
f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4
from the light source.
At this greater distance
(assuming you use a
correct aperture for best
exposure) both subjects
will be fairly evenly lit
between f5.6 and f4.
Scenario 5
100% 25% 11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5% 1% 1%
When you require a
1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m
subject to be correctly
exposed and have a f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4
background much
darker, you can keep
your subject near
the light source and
move the background
further away.
Scenario 6
100% 25% 11% 6% 4% 3% 2% 1.5% 1% 1%
If you want both your 1m 2m 3m 4m 5m 6m 7m 8m 9m 10m
subject and your
background evenly lit, f/22 f/16 f/11 f/8 f/5.6 f/4
you can move them both

further away from your
light, but keep subject
and background
close together.

CREATIVE
PROJECTS
Unleash your creative side and learn
techniques used by the pros
N
ow you’re familiar with how photography that we covered in the
your camera works and how previous section, these methods
to use its many features, produce well-balanced, attractive
you’re ready to start learning the photographs that will really stand
creative techniques that professional out. What really differentiates a
photographers use to achieve talented photographer from one
great results time after time. By who’s merely a skilled technician
learning and trying out new ideas comes down to an eye for the creative
and techniques, you can turn your and a desire to learn and do more.
photographs from snapshots into Let us show you some interesting
works of art that you can be proud projects that we hope will inspire you
of. Once you are comfortable with to learn more and become passionate
the technical skills and principles of about your photography. n
92 - 101 Assignment: Torquay Academy music festival

102 - 111 The drama and power of silhouettes
112 - 121 Liquid flow photography
122 - 127 Pet and animal portraits
128 - 129 Dawn photography
130 - 131 Shallow depth of field
132 - 133 Wildlife at the zoo
134 - 139 Outdoor portraiture
140 - 141 The fisheye lens
142 - 143 Misty water effect

CREATIVE PROJECTS

Assignment: Torquay
Academy music festival
Teachers and pupils celebrate with music and activities
E
very year at Torquay Academy in Devon,
the sixth form students plan and stage
an outdoor event for the whole school
to enjoy. There is a full lineup of music on
their outdoor stage as well as a variety of
stalls selling food and drink and activities
for everyone present to get involved in. For
an entire afternoon, students, teachers and
parents can relax and enjoy the celebrations to
the backdrop of live music and the smoky waft
of food cooking on the barbecue. The event
was planned by the sixth form students as part
of their BTEC Level 3 music course and with
the guidance of their student leadership team,
created the school’s biggest festival so far. We
were approached by John Matthews from the
student leadership team to come along to the
event and capture the afternoon’s festivities
and also capture some more formal portraits
of the sixth form students involved with the
setting up of the event.

ASSIGNMENT: TORQUAY ACADEMY MUSIC FESTIVAL
“We were approached by

John Matthews from the
student leadership team
to come along to the
event and capture the
afternoon’s festivities.”

Important note Gearing up views to show the event and at 105mm, good for
We had worked with John before, shooting promo Since it was going to be a large scale outdoor framing small groups or single portrait shots of
images for him and his colleagues for their band event and we would be walking around and the participants. A flash was also mounted to
‘The Buzz’ and were happy to oblige. We did ask capturing details in the crowds, the first the hot shoe to provide a small amount of fill in
if it would be possible to use images captured on requirement was a camera teamed with a good flash, just to avoid dark shadows. It turned out
the day and turn it into an assignment feature for general purpose lens. Our favourite combination that the weather was bright but overcast, so very
this publication. It was confirmed by the school for this reportage style of work is a Canon 5DMK3 little flash power was needed. Since it is always
that there was no issue in using photographs of with our faithful old 24-105mm f/4 zoom lens. prudent to bring a backup camera in case of
the students and permission was given to do so. At 24mm it is capable of capturing wide enough emergency, we teamed an old 1DSMK3 with the
Parents of the students give written consent that
photos are able to be taken. If there are any students The Canon 24-105mm f/4 lens (below) is a great all round
whose photo is not permitted, then the school takes piece of kit. Team this lens with a Canon 5DMK3 (right),
which is still a good camera even though it is a few years
appropriate steps to make sure parents’ wishes are
old now, and you’ve got a great ‘walking around’ combo.
upheld. This is always an important consideration
for any photographer. When photographing minors,
access and permissions must always be officially
obtained and photos vetted and approved by the
school’s authorities.
The plan
The remit was simple enough: come along and
capture the event in detail, show the scale of the
celebration, the students and teachers interacting,
the live music on stage and plenty of shots of all
having a good time. There was also a requirement
for some portrait work of sixth form students, which
would be done indoors away from the crowds. It
would also require some flash lighting. This meant
we had to gear up appropriately to cover the variety
of shots needed.

excellent 70-200mm f/2.8 L telephoto zoom Portrait work As mentioned on the opposite page,
gear that is a number of years out of date
lens. This lens is perfect for taking shots at a That was the gear for the outdoor portion of
shouldn’t be disregarded as obsolete.
distance for more candid images of people. We the shoot taken care of. Then we had to turn our Both the Canon 1DSMK3 (below left) and
wanted to be able to pick out small moments attention to the gear needed for the portrait session the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom lens (below)
from a sea of faces. Using the telephoto at f/2.8 indoors. Since we already had the 5DMK3 and 24- are old timers by today’s standards but
for maximum background blur, allowed us to do 105mm lens, which is ideal for full length portraits they can still produce amazing images.
Remember, it’s the photographer, not the
this. There would be no flash on this camera, just or head shots, that was taken care of. We decided
gear, that gets the shot. All the best shiny
a high enough ISO to avoid camera shake when the lighting would be quite simple. A two flash setup new gear in the world can’t save you if you
shooting at the 200mm focal length. would be used. One flash would shoot through a don’t have a solid technique.

white brolly as the key light and for a little visual Festival day reactions was no problem, the 5DMK3 with the
interest, a second bare-bulb flash would be used We were met by John Matthews after we had 24-105mm lens and flash were perfect for the
to create a small highlight to one side. A number signed in at reception and been given a visitor pass. group shots and wide views taken from a small
of coloured gels were packed too, since we could He took us over to the outdoor stage and after the vantage point in the school courtyard. We were
use one to colour the output from the bare flash, various introductions to students, team leaders also given access to the stage where the students
rather than it just be white. So flashes, brolly and and a quick recap with the school principal about were performing their music. We shot various
light stands were packed. The flashes would be what they wanted, it was time to mingle and start wide shots of the whole event, plenty of students,
wirelessly triggered, so we didn’t have to worry capturing the shots; and let’s be honest, if you teachers and activities, as well as the on-stage
about cables. Two camera bodies and two lenses can’t get a bunch of students to grin and pose for action, stalls and a few detail shots of equipment
finished off the lineup for this particular shoot. the camera, then who can you? Getting student thrown in for good measure. The consistent
Two Canon 600 EX-RT flashes

would be used for the portrait
work. One would shoot through
a white brolly, and the other
would be bare-bulb through a
blue gel for a rim light. Luckily,
the flashes come with clip on gel
holders. You can source cheap
coloured gels or use brand name
versions that are already cut to
the correct size to fit the holder.

ambient light meant we could dial in settings absorbed by their smartphone or small groups At one point, we even tried a series of
that gave us an average shutter speed of around interacting. There are also the reactions from panoramas, by standing at an elevated point in
1/125s, aperture f/5 and ISO 160. The flash was those who spotted us and were happy to grin, wave the schoolyard and shooting a sequence of quick
on automatic E-TTL but with about -1 stop of flash and generally mess about for the camera. Since landscape orientation images from left to right
exposure compensation dialled in to make sure we weren’t using flash on this one, the aperture with a large amount of overlap between shots.
it didn’t overpower the shot. This just kept darker was opened up to f/2.8 and ISO was set to 640. Since people were moving around, it was difficult
shadows at bay. This delivered shutter speeds from 1/400s up to to know how well the shots might stitch together,
Then we switched to the 1DMK3 and the 70- about 1/1000. This was great for keeping camera but a couple actually worked well. We got two
200mm lens combo to look for some ‘moments’. shake at bay, even at the 200mm end of the focal pans of close to 180°, where the stitching was
These were just small cameos of single students length range. very good.


One thing
If you are speaking with the students and trying
to get them into a group for a shot and any of them
aren’t sure, or do not want their picture taken, then
do not take it. It’s a simple thing, don’t force the
issue. What you might find is that once their friends
are gathered for the shot, they relent and join the
group with their mates. If they do, great. Show the
students the shots you take, it’s actually great
feedback and worth the time it takes. They might
ask for a few more shots just to be sure.
Indoor portraits
Finally, it was time to get the sixth form student
portraits done. The two flashes were set up in one of
the music rooms, with instruments as a backdrop.
Rather than stand, the students would be able to sit
for their portrait. The key light was placed on a light
stand to camera right, above the student’s head,
aimed through the white translucent brolly. The rim
light flash, with a blue gel placed over the flash head,
was placed to camera left, behind the student, but
out of shot. The plan was to use settings that meant
the ambient light was underexposed by about 1
stop but the flashes lit the students for a correct
exposure. After a few test shots, the key flash was
manually set at 1/8 power and the blue rim light
flash was manually set at 1/4 power. The 5DMK3
1/8 power brolly flash.
1/4 power blue gelled flash.
Cross lit subject.
Some students
happily obliged to
be test subjects to
test the settings
before the sixth form
students arrived for
their portraits.

was using manual settings of aperture f/4, shutter

speed 1/125 and ISO 500. Setting it to all to manual,
meant that each shot would be consistent. Once we
had the exposure we wanted, we could shoot any
number of times knowing they would be the same.
Each student reacted differently as they entered
the room. Some were relaxed and the shots were
easy to capture. Some were a little more nervous,
so it was a case of keeping the mood light and easy
going. Showing the students the shots we were
taking meant we gained instant feedback and could
work towards getting shots they were happy with.
Wrapping up
With that, the day was over. The students gave a
hand lugging the gear back to the car. Then it was a
case of processing the shots and supplying a disk of
images for the school. Our job was done. n
We would like to thank Torquay Academy for

x1 x2 allowing us to use the photos taken on the day.
Visit: www.tqacademy.co.uk
1/4 power 1/8 power

The drama and
power of silhouettes
Strike the perfect balance of light and dark
L
et’s get that word out of the way first. as a solid shape. The interior of the shape is
Silhouette, what does it mean? It came totally black and featureless. Only the edge of
into being as a result of severe economic the object describes what the object actually
demands imposed upon the French people by is. The term silhouette was originally thought
their finance minister Étienne de Silhouette in to describe pieces of paper that were cut out
1759. His name became linked with anything and stuck to a contrasting coloured backing
that was thought to be done cheaply. In the sheet, although the actual name ’silhouette’
days before photography, making a portrait didn’t become a well-used term until the early
cheaply and quickly from paper became known 19th century. Portraits cut from black card,
as a silhouette. It is a term used to describe the became a very popular and quick alternative to
image of a person or object that is represented the portrait painting or portrait miniature.

THE DRAMA AND POWER OF SILHOUETTES
“It is a term used to describe

the image of a person or
object that is represented
as a solid shape. The interior
of the shape is totally black
and featureless”
Maintaining a good exposure for

the brightest parts of the image
can just about guarantee the rest
will fall into dark shadow with
little or no detail to be seen. A
little nudge in the right direction
with post-work will help.

The basics of backlighting
Bright light source or Meter the scene for the Don’t meter your
very bright scene. brightest part of the image, subject. If they are
but not the sun. correctly exposed, the
background will blow
out to white.
Subject is placed between light

source and camera.
Camera faces subject with light

source behind the subject.
From that original meaning, it has now become a

The pier is correctly exposed revealing too much
popular term to describe anything that appears as
detail. The sky is too bright for a successful silhouette.
a shape dark against a much brighter background.
The fields of architecture, moviemaking, fashion
and photography all use the word silhouette as a
descriptor for the form, shape and outline of an
object, person, building and so on. In photographic
terms at least, a silhouette is actually similar to
a black and white shot. A black and white image
relies on form, texture and composition since one
of the key ingredients, colour, has been removed.
Silhouettes are similar in the sense that they have
had most of their detail and texture removed. The
shot now relies on the composition, the form of the
subject and being able to convey a mood, or story
with the kind of presentation that is more akin to
shadow puppet theatre.
Basic ingredients
So what do you need to make a silhouette
happen? First, you’ll need your subject to be backlit.
Metering the sky so it is correctly exposed will drop
Backlighting is the term used to describe a lighting the foreground subject into a silhouette.
technique whereby a strong light source such as the
sun, flashgun or even just a bright window in a dark
room is positioned in such a way that it is directly
facing the camera, or is at a slight angle to it. The
subject is then placed between the camera and the
bright source of light. Because of the strength of
the backlight, the subject is reduced to a dark shape
since they are in shadow. Depending on the angle
of the backlight, you can create a highlight on the
edges of your subject which is known as rim-lighting
or kick-lighting.

Partial silhouettes are also

very effective. In this case,
rather that the light source
being directly behind the
subject, it is slightly off to
one side. This gives you
what is known as a rim light.
Embrace the dark

Although it might seem vaguely ironic, shooting
this technique requires you to throw away the
rulebook in a sense, to achieve the very specific
look that defines a silhouette. For a conventional
backlit portrait, you would use some additional
lighting from a flash or a reflector to make sure your
subject didn’t fall into completely dark shadow and
make sure detail is preserved. Now though, you
are going to reduce the subject to solid black or at
least as close as we can get to it without ruining the
rest of the shot. The basic premise here, is that you
are deliberately going to underexpose the shots
by a specific amount to correctly expose the very
brightest parts of the scene, which should then
render the subject totally dark.

Given the right conditions, even
night time shots can create
some cool silhouettes. With a
long enough exposure, a night
sky with stars and clouds can
still be brighter than an unlit
foreground object.

Shooting silhouettes the decision making is yours alone and you can
Although the capture of silhouettes is fairly fine tune your shots to make sure they turn out as
straightforward, there are a few things to be proper silhouettes.
aware of to make sure you actually get what
you are hoping for. Modern cameras will always Hints and tips
do their best to meter the scene for the best To that end we have compiled a series of
overall exposure and if you use a camera in fully tips to get you on the path to capturing perfect
automatic mode, then you lose any input in the silhouettes. Over the next few pages we outline
decision making process when you take the shot. the main techniques that will help you shoot better
For the best control of the situation, you should silhouettes and understand a little more about how
consider shooting in fully manual mode. Now it all works. n

01
Time of day
We’ve mentioned before that the key to a good
silhouette is that your background is much brighter
than your subject. Unless you have a studio set up with
lights and backdrops, you will have to take it outside
and use ambient light for your captures. The time of
day can have a great effect on the mood of your shot.
Generally speaking, sunrise and sunset are perfect for
this kind of shot since it not only has a great mood and
colour, the sun is not so strong as to drive up shutter
speeds, exceeding your maximum shutter speed. It
is also much kinder on your own eyes and the delicate
metering sensors in your camera.
02
Metering mode
The way your camera evaluates the light in your
scene, dictates how it sets up the camera to take a
shot. By default, a camera uses evaluative metering
which as the name suggests, evaluates all the light in
the scene and compares that to a number of presets,
that are stored away in the camera’s electronic brain,
and finds the nearest match, which it uses to come up
with an average exposure. Generally, this will not get
your subjects looking as dark as you wish, since it is
trying hard to average the scene without too much lost
to either highlights or shadows. Now is the time to try
another metering method.
03
Spot metering
Since evaluative metering is too broad in the way
is senses light in your scene, you can switch to spot
metering. This is a much smaller area of around 5% of
the viewfinder that is used to determine the correct
exposure for the part of the scene that falls beneath this
tiny metering window. Now you can place the spot meter
area over the brightest highlights in your scene and use
those camera settings to correctly expose the brightest
areas. In doing this, the midtones and darkest areas will
be pushed to black. Beware of spot metering the sun
directly though, just meter for the brightest area of sky.

04
Exposure lock method

An alternative to the spot metering method is to use
exposure lock instead. This is usually found on DSLRs
and is denoted by an asterisk (*) on Canon cameras
(Nikons refer to it as AF-L). It is usually a button within
reach of your right hand. You compose your scene and
focus. You then move your camera to place the brightest
area of the scene in the centre of the viewfinder and
press the exposure lock button. Those settings are
locked in place, ready to be used when you take the shot.
You can recompose your shot back to its original state
and shoot with the settings you locked in a moment ago.
05
Manual shooting mode

You should not fear manual mode. Photography
is just a balancing act of aperture, shutter speed
and ISO. Your camera will have a monitor for you to
view your shots, so don’t be afraid to experiment in
manual mode. Start by keeping your ISO as low as
possible for better image quality, choose a decent
aperture of about f/8 to begin with and when you
compose your shot, as long as your shutter speed
is not so slow as to run the risk of camera shake, you
can start taking shots to see how they look.
06
Use the histogram

Although your camera will have a monitor screen that
allows you to view your shots, it’s always worth taking
a quick peek at your histogram too. The histogram
is a graphical representation of the spread of tones
throughout the image from solid black to brightest white.
The histogram of a decent silhouette image should have
a group of tall peaks down in the leftmost shadow areas
of the image and a much smaller spread of lighter tones
further to the right of the histogram. This is referred to
as ‘shooting to the left’. Your image is underexposed and
more peaks appear on the left of the histogram.

07 08
Compensate Good locations

If you’ve tried the methods above and you find that you A good silhouette is often characterised by its simplicity.
are still not getting images dark enough for your tastes, then When shooting, look for simple, uncluttered areas where your
you can also enlist the help of exposure compensation. A lot subjects will be able to stand out. A field or the beach are great
of cameras offer this function and it lets you tell the camera spots to try out some shots. Obviously, your chosen spot
to underexpose and overexpose, based on your input when should have the bright sky as the backdrop. Avoid too much
shooting in aperture priority or shutter speed priority modes. clutter as it can detract from the focus of your main subject.
You can dial in extra amounts of underexposure, usually up to That’s not say you shouldn’t experiment, far from it. Keeping
3-stops more, to make sure the shot is perfect. This is usually it simple is always a good place to start but feel free to create
done by pressing a button marked with +/- symbol and using your own vision of what a silhouette should be.
a dial to set the amount of underexposure required.
09
Subject matter
It may well be that you start your adventures in
silhouettes using people to pose for you in front of a bright
sky backdrop. Friends and family will no doubt be happy
to help you out in that regard but once you have your
eye in, take a look at other subjects. Pets are an obvious
jumping off point, but winter trees, your local pier at
sunrise and moorland mountain peaks are out there too.
You could also consider architecture, local landmarks,
bridges, the list goes on. Don’t limit yourself.

10 11
Exposure bracketing Shoot Raw

If you’re not sure of your settings and want to make sure you It’s no surprise that once again we’re mentioning shooting in
get a good number of exposure variations to work with, you Raw format. If your camera allows it, use it. Sometimes, even
can always use exposure bracketing. This is usually accessed the most diligent photographer makes mistakes or doesn’t
via the camera menu. It allows you to automatically take a shot quite hit the right exposure needed for that particular shot.
and then also take a number of increasingly underexposed and Since Raw images are unprocessed data readouts straight
overexposed shots in the same sequence. For example, you can from the camera sensor, you have much more image data to
tell the camera to take three shots: one will be based on your play with and you will be surprised how much you can extract
meter reading, one will be underexposed by up to 3-stops and from a shot you though was ruined by incorrect exposure. You
the third will be overexposed by up to 3-stops. You can set the also have maximum image quality to start with, since an image
values for the best spread of options. in jpeg format is already processed and compressed.
12
Post work
Once you have your shots, it’s time to get them on
the computer and process them. Processing in this
case requires you to make sure your blacks are as dark
as you need them to be and your brightest areas aren’t
blown out to complete overexposure. In Photoshop’s
Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) module for instance, you
can limit the amount of shadow brightening and boost
the amount of black in the image as well as increasing
contrast for perfect dark tones balanced against bright
skies and other backdrops. Boosting saturation and
adding colour casts can also enhance your images.

“The results are surreal and
there is an infinite amount of
variation each time you do it.”
Liquid flow
photography
Create amazing ink and paint sculptures
and abstract images
T
his project is a great indoor
photographic project. If the
weather outside is not playing ball
and you fancy trying something a little
different, then liquid flow is the way to go.
In essence, liquid flow is the capture of
the movement of paints, dyes and other
viscous liquids dropped, or injected, into
a small body of water. The results are
surreal and there is an infinite amount
of variation each time you do it. Every
liquid flow shot is unique. At its simplest,
you can shoot with a compact camera, a
strong single light source and a glass of
water if you wish. For this tutorial, we’re
going to show you a standard setup for
capturing these intricate liquid formations
using a camera, flash, a small fish tank,
small glass vase and a wineglass.

LIQUID FLOW PHOTOGRAPHY

The materials A small cheap aquarium was the first
First you’ll need a glass container of some container we used for the initial shots.
description to hold tap water. Everything from a Then we started to down size to a small
wine glass to a fish tank is fair game. It just needs square vase and then a wine glass.
to be clean, clear glass, so you can see the action
going on inside. Next, you’ll need some coloured
inks or dyes to drop into the water. Standard water
based inks are great and easy to source. The
downside is that when dropped into water, the
colours can be quite translucent and disperse very
quickly. That’s no problem if that’s what you’re
after but for more interesting liquid structures,
something like acrylic inks and paints are much
more dense and hold their shape for longer in the
water. Alternatively, you could even try adding
food colouring to single cream. When mixing either
the acrylics or the cream, you need it to be fairly
viscous but not so dense that when it hits the water,
it just clumps together. You may have to experiment
to get the right balance. What you are after is a
density of liquid that allows it to disperse into a tight
cloud without thinning out too much early on. If
you’re working in a fish tank, you might want to do
some test runs in a glass of water first. The delivery
method is down to personal preference. You can
just put your liquids into the water tank or you can
use a pipette for more droplet control. The other
option is to use a syringe in order to direct jets of
coloured liquid into the water. Like all the options, it
is best to experiment before moving to full-scale.
Camera and lens

The beauty if this kind of photography, is that
at its simplest, it doesn’t require anything too
special. You could set up a wineglass, light it
with an LED torch, then drop some ink into it and
capture it on a small compact camera. If you are
using a continuous light source such as a lamp or
torch, you may be working with shutter speeds
slow enough for your moving liquids to show up as
motion blurred images. You would need a tripod
to eliminate any chance of camera shake with a
large aperture and high ISO sensitivity to keep the
shutter speeds high enough to freeze the action.
We are going to use a Canon 5DMK3 and a trusty
24-105mm medium zoom lens on a tripod.
Light sources
As mentioned before, you can use a bright
LED torch or two to illuminate your setup. Here, a
pair of flashes controlled remotely by a wireless
trigger is being used. This way you can keep
things loose and move the lights about as you see
There are plenty of coloured fit. The flashes won’t have to be used at very high
liquids to choose from. Inks, power settings since they are right next to the
paints and dyes are perfect. If you tank of water. This is a very helpful situation since
want your liquids to be as dense at low power, the flash duration is very short. In
as possible though, consider
acrylics and even household
a completely dark room, this brief pulse is the
single cream with a few drops of only light that will be recorded in the shot, so the
food colouring in it. flashes effectively freeze anything they light up.
More on this later.
Syringes are perfect for

accurately delivering small
amounts of paint into your tank
but pipettes will do just as well.
Most coloured ink bottles come
with droppers built in anyway.

The basic setup is shown here, with the

white backdrop in place and one flash
positioned to bounce light off it.
Setting it up A strip of tape with a pen mark on it

Our fish tank was set up in the dining room on can be used as a constant drop zone
a large black sheet of card which could be curved area. You can place a ruler in the tank
up to create a black backdrop for the tank. We also aligned with this mark and pre-focus
had a sheet of white paper which we could place your camera on it.
on top to turn the backdrop white if needed. The

tank was filled with water and allowed to settle.
If you find that bubbles form on the glass, you’ll
need to brush these off or they will be visible in
the shot and very distracting. Next you’ll need to
place a piece of sticky tape across the centre of
the tank. Mark a line in the centre of the tape so
you always have a consistent drop zone for your
coloured liquids. The flashes were set up either
side of the tank on tiny cheap tripods. The camera
and lens were set up on the tripod in front of the
tank glass and the wireless trigger was attached
to the hot shoe. Our coloured liquids consisted of
acrylic paints which had been thinned down with a
little water and each colour was in its own syringe
to avoid contaminating each colour.

The EF 100mm f.2.8 macro and the EF 24-105mm f4 L Series were the two lenses used to capture the images you see here. The
24-105mm is a great all-rounder with a close enough focusing distance to make the tank shots possible. The EF 100mm macro
lens is perfect for getting in even closer, particularly if scaling down the size of tank you’re working with.
Camera settings
Now it is a case of getting the settings for the
camera and the lights correct. Set the flashes at
1/32 power. At this level, the flash duration would
be about 1/8000s which is more than enough to
freeze the action. Then set the camera to manual
focus so it doesn’t alter during the shoot. Place
a ruler in the tank of water in line with the drop
zone mark on the sticky tape and pre-focus the
camera on that. We used the white backdrop first,
with one flash pointed at the backdrop and the
other pointing at the drop zone area in the tank
itself. Curtains were drawn in the dining room to
lower the ambient light level. After a little trial and
error with a static object placed in the water as a
temporary target (a banana in this case as it’s all
we had), we arrived at settings of aperture f/9,
The Canon 5DMK3 was our

camera of choice for the shoot.
Although a few years old now, it
still is a firm favourite with pros
and enthusiasts alike.

ISO 250 and the shutter speed was up near the

flash sync speed at 1/160s. If a shot was taken
with the flashes turned off, it would capture a
shot that was totally black. This was perfect.
Only the 1/8000s pulse from the flashes would
be recorded whilst the shutter was open for that
1/160s duration. Take some test shots and look
out for unwanted reflections or any stray bubbles
in the tank.
Camera drive settings

This is purely optional but remember that
each time you inject more and more liquid into
your tank, the water will eventually be useless
to you and you will need to flush it out and start
again with fresh clean water. To give us the best
chance of capturing plenty of liquid flow as it
unfolded, the camera’s drive setting was
changed to Low Speed Continuous.
What this means is that when you
fully press the shutter release
button, the camera will keep taking
shots until you release the button.
On the 5DMK3, this meant we could
capture about three frames per
second and since the flashes were
only working at 1/32 power, they could be
relied upon to keep emitting pulses for each
frame that was shot.

First attempts
We used the red syringe first. It was
placed in the water at the drop zone and
gently injected into the water directly
downwards. At the same moment, the
shutter button was pressed and we
captured a continuous sequence of about
twelve shots that showed the red cloud
expanding outwards from the injection
point. A quick review of the shots on the
camera monitor screen showed it had
worked well. Now we could have some fun.
Low Speed Continuous

mode was used to shoot
a sequence, rather than
relying on capturing a
single shot.

Go with the flow

What followed next was a series of shots
with different colours being used in the tank
until the tank required flushing and setting
up again. On the second run, we removed the
white backdrop so it would be totally black
and proceeded to take more shots. We tried
injecting two colours at once for more variety
and built up a nice collection of images.

Two syringes are
injected into the water at
the same time to create
this fun dinosaur B
movie effect.

What was
becoming clear
though, was that
the tank was a pain to
reset every time the water
became too cloudy. Next, we
opted to use a smaller square glass
vase. We replaced the 24-105mm lens
with a 100mm macro so we could get in nice
and close to the action. We also decided to add some
props to the water for some visual interest. We tried a
bottle of nail varnish, a watch and a rubber dinosaur. The
liquids were injected downwards and it was eerie to see
how it slowly enveloped the props in shrouds of colour.
The dinosaur was particularly funny, since it looked for
all the world like a scene from a bad B movie horror film.
Last shots and processing

After these images, we downsized even more until we
were shooting a wine glass. After the session was done,
we loaded the shots onto the computer for a closer look.
Inevitably, there were the odd groups of bubbles and
particles suspended in the water but with some careful
processing to boost the blacks, contrast and saturation,
we could crop the images into a great little collection of
liquid art and surreal images.
The liquid flow photography is a great indoor tabletop
project to get your teeth into. No image is ever the same
and you can have some fun into the bargain. n

Pet and animal
portraits
Move over humans, it’s time to get our furry
friends ready for their close-ups
“Get the eyes nice

and sharp. Just
like humans, this
is a natural point
of focus.”
W
e love our pets. In fact for most people photography presents its own special problems. find out about your subject’s personality and
they are more than mere pets and Animals, as we all know, can be unpredictable, habits. Where does it snooze if the sun is out?
become more like family members, the lazy, aggressive, hyperactive and downright What is its favourite toy? Is it lazy, sleepy, or
recipients of love, affection and lavish attention. cute. If you’re thinking of trying pet photography, does it like to perch on a garden fence or hide
It is likely then that their owners, at some point, here are a few pointers to get you started. in the grass? Take time to chat with the owner
are going to want photographs of their furry and observe your subject to gain some insight.
friends (or scaly, feathery or otherwise). I have a Pet personality profile It’s also worth spending a little time getting to
dog, and the number of photos that include him You don’t need to sit the pet in question on a know the animal yourself. Cats, dogs, horses,
specifically outnumber those of all my other psychiatrist’s couch and ask it to tell you about they all have personality, and you need to
family members put together. However, pet its mother, but before you start snapping away, ensure they are comfortable being around you,

PET AND ANIMAL PORTRAITS
Both images you see on these

and you around them. Scaring a pet right at the although focusing on the snout of a dog or pages were shot outdoors with a
outset is not going to make for a particularly cat can also make for an interesting image in medium long lens and a shallow
happy or productive photo shoot. its own right. A good portrait focuses on the depth of field to keep shutter
subject and not the background. Yes, there speeds high enough to avoid the
Close quarters are times when shooting wide can create a

possibility of camera shake.
Think about getting in close to your subject. great environmental portrait, but make sure
If the pet is comfortable with you, and if it you get a good selection of close-ups. A macro
isn’t too skittish, fill the frame with the pet’s lens is perfect for capturing details of the Obviously if the animal is not content to keep still
face. Get the eyes nice and sharp. Just like pet, and shooting with a wide aperture keeps for more than a second, this can be a challenge.
humans, this is a natural point of focus, any background distractions out of focus. Keep snapping away; try using your camera’s

Now and again it is great to break away from
standard portrait shots of your subjects and get
a little more creative. Experiment with angles,
point of view and particularly shallow depth of
field to isolate key elements of your subject,
such as Chester’s tongue in this shot.

This image of Baggins was shot in a

darkened stable with a 50mm lens and
a wide aperture to keep background
distractions to a minimum. A flash was
used, but only after a series of tests to make
sure the animal was comfortable with it.

Dexter was photographed with a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L
lens. The aperture was set at f/2.8 and at the full focal length
of 200mm. This produces some lovely selective focus and
gives the benefit of a fast shutter speed to freeze the water.

Try to keep background distractions to a minimum.
Capture funny ‘moments’.
Keep the eyes nice and sharp.
continuous autofocus to track the animal as it Try pre-focusing your camera and just holding it tungsten bulbs, uses three daylight-balanced
moves. If it’s proving too difficult, let the animal at ground level so you can look up at the pet. It’s energy saving bulbs. They are housed in a
play a while, and try again. Pets have very short worth a try just for a new angle on things. 22” reflector that I can cover with a diffuser
attention spans, so keep it fun, break it up a bit to soften the light if need be. You can also try
if you have to and always reward and fuss them Lighting placing your subject near a window to use the
when they do well.  When meeting a new animal, bring a flash natural light. If I am using flash with a willing
and, with the owner’s permission, while greeting subject then I invariably use cross-lighting,
On the level or playing with the pet, fire a couple of test avoiding shooting a flash directly at them.
 Your average dog is a couple of feet tall, cats flashes away from them to see their reaction. In
even smaller. The average adult human is about 5’ daylight particularly, they never seem to mind Be patient and carry on!
7”. If you photograph a pet while you’re standing the flash at all. If they do mind, then stick with  As they say, “memory is cheap, but memories
up, all you’re going to see is the top of their head natural light and use a white or silver reflector if are priceless”. Pets are challenging subjects so
and their backs, not what you want for a portrait. you need to fill in any shadow areas. Indoors, a you’re just going to have to stay sharp and keep
Get down to their eye level, and see the world from bright continuous light may be preferable. I have shooting. The more you shoot, the greater your
their perspective. If you are able, get lower still. a photoflood light that, rather than using old chances of hitting that perfect shot! n

Dawn photography
Early morning mist makes for a beautiful sunrise
P
hotographers have a phrase, the “golden this good. You have to be really committed to your
hour”, which refers to the first and last art to go above and beyond!
hours of light in the day, but particularly As for the technical aspects of the shot, the
the special light one only sees at dawn. To capture photographer has used a medium wide focal
a shot like the one on this page requires not length of approximately 24mm, and a small
only precise control of exposure, but also the aperture to keep a large portion of the scene in
dedication and patience to wake up while it’s focus. The fog itself provides the main challenge.
still dark and get set up to take the photo before By careful use of metering the photographer has
the sun rises. Since that beautiful morning mist captured the soft colours and diffused light of the
depends on the weather conditions, you might very early foggy morning, giving the picture an
have to try several mornings in a row to get a shot ethereal and other-worldly look. n

DAWN PHOTOGRAPHY
“That beautiful morning

mist depends on the
weather conditions, you
might have to try several
mornings in a row to get a Mastering exposure metering allows you to cope with
almost any lighting conditions, and opens up a whole
shot this good.” world of creative possibilities. A beautiful shot like this is
only possible with very precise metering and exposure.

Shallow depth of field
Isolate your subject using narrow depth of field
C
areful control of depth of field
by adjusting aperture and focal
length is one of the most striking
creative techniques available to the
photographer, and you don’t need any
special equipment to do it, just your
camera and a zoom lens.
For this lovely butterfly image, the
photographer has used a 100mm,
fast macro lens with a large maximum
aperture of f2.8. This has resulted in a
narrow depth of field but by carefully
focusing on the creature’s body the effect
of this narrow plane of focus is to isolate
the insect against what could otherwise
be a very busy and distracting leafy
woodland background.
One consideration to bear in mind
is that when working with very shallow
depth of field, precise focusing is
essential. The slightest movement and
your subject will shift out of focus, so a
good tripod is recommended to eliminate
those shot-spoiling effects. n
The Canon EF 100mm

f/2.8 L series macro
lens. Perfect for
macro shots at 100%
magnification, with the
added bonus of image
stabilisation for more
opportunities to shoot
handheld. You can
shoot as close as 30cm
and the f/2.8 aperture
enables you to create
beautiful background
blur in your shots.

SHALLOW DEPTH OF FIELD
“Large focal length lenses will demand

higher shutter speeds and a good tripod.”
If the background of your outdoor photo is

distracting, you can blur it out by using a wider
aperture to create a narrow depth of field.

Wildlife at
the zoo
You don’t need to travel the world to
find wildlife pictures
W
hilst the top wildlife
photographers jet off to exotic
locations to capture their
photos, for those of us of more modest
means, zoos and wildlife parks can provide
many opportunities to photograph
animals in more controlled and easily
accessible locations. Most wildlife parks
try to ensure that their animals are kept
in surroundings that closely match their
natural environment. Zoos and parks will
usually actively encourage photography,
and often build their enclosures to provide
an unobstructed view of the animals, so by
careful use of a telephoto lens it should be
possible to exclude anything from the shot
that might give away the fact that it was “A wide aperture has
not shot in the wild.
Since like most zoo animals the primates reduced the depth
are accustomed to visitors, they are quite
happy to pose for their photo, giving the of field so that the
photographer time to compose the shot.
A wide aperture has reduced the depth of background is out of
focus, providing a fast
field so that the background is a little softer,
using a higher ISO setting also helps to
provide a nice fast shutter speed to freeze
any unexpected movements or chance of shutter speed to
camera shake.
A long telephoto zoom lens magnifies the
freeze any unexpected
view, allowing the photographer to crop out
the surroundings and concentrate on the
movements.”
animals themselves. n
A Canon EF 100-400mm
f/4 L image stabilised
lens is a good choice
for wildlife. It is both
versatile and affordable.

WILDLIFE AT THE ZOO
Seeing a Marmoset in the wild is beyond most of us. This is

where one of Canon’s powerful zoom lenses comes into its
own at the zoo, for a close up view of a lovely creature.

Outdoor portraiture
Swap the studio for the great outdoors
P
ortraits are infinitely variable in their iceberg. On-camera flash is not ideal,
content, style, composition and unless you can bounce the light off a wall
location. Trying to pin down a simple or ceiling, the results have a tendency
set of ground rules on how to take a good to look like the good old ‘rabbit in the
portrait is tricky in the sense that everyone headlights’.
eventually develops their own style and way of If you are shooting outdoors in the
doing things. After all, a golden rule I’ve heard open though, you can’t just bounce
mentioned time and again is: ‘take the shots your flash off the stratosphere or off
that YOU like’. It is quite easy to get started and a passing aircraft and direct flash
use available light for your portraits but I’ve doesn’t give you much creative scope.
always held the opinion that if an experienced What to do? Off-camera lighting
photographer and an enthusiast were taking is the way to take your shots to
shots side by side of the same subject with the next level. Just one light, and
the same camera and lens on a sunny day, a diffuser such as a white shoot-
the shots are likely to be more similar than through brolly, opens up creative
different. possibilities. Add a second
One of the things that can set your portraits light to the mix and things get
apart from the herd is how you control light. interesting. Getting your lights off
More specifically, it’s how you use and augment the camera and working remotely
additional lights to create portraits that, as is relatively easy to do and can be
you develop as a photographer, become your done on a budget at first, working
signature. Sticking a flash on your camera and up to more complex, and more
shooting away is the very tip of the lighting expensive, wireless systems.

OUTDOOR PORTRAITURE

The Canon 600EX-RT, a
powerful flash that can be
controlled by the ST-E3-RT. The AlienBees AB1600.
A wireless controller that A cost-effective lighting
can work with multiple solution where more power
groups of flashes, up to 16 is needed than a standard
units at once. Speedlite. Controlled
wirelessly by the Cybersync
transmitter/receiver combo.
We’ve shot a wireless 2 flash setup using they are better known, a handy person who is not had arranged a couple of venues which had
Canon 600EX-RT Speedlites mounted on light in the shot! They can hold the flash up and move some interesting shapes and textures and
stands with shoot through brollies and my ST-E3- around at your command. They are much easier some tunnels with graffiti. Knowing we were
RT wireless controller a number of times. If time to move around than a light stand. working late afternoon going into dusk and with
is short you can dispense with putting the flashes For our example here, it was actually a the possibility of needing to be fairly mobile,
on stands and simply asked for the help of a commission by a local Torquay rock band who we took our trusty Canon Speedlites, powered
V.A.L. or two (voice-activated light stand) or, as wanted to update their group photography. We by rechargeable batteries and triggered
Underexposing your background and then lighting your

subjects correctly in the foreground produces a dramatic
effect. Certainly in the case of the boys from the band this
was a look that suited them.

OUTDOOR PORTRAITURE
wirelessly using a Canon ST-E3-RT transmitter. however, are exactly the same. enough and camera shake or motion blur could
The flashguns could be controlled easily and For each of the setups involving the musicians, have been a factor. However, because we wanted
at a fair distance if needed. If we required the first thing we did was meter the scene to get their surroundings darker anyway for the flash
more lighting firepower (as in a previous shoot an idea of the light levels. For one setup, we were output to be more apparent, we could make some
pictured above), then my more powerful in a tunnel and the readings came out at about adjustments. In manual mode, the shutter speed
AlienBee monoblocs would be preferable. The Aperture f/6.3 with a shutter speed of about was adjusted to 1/100th of a second. The boys
principles involved in the setup and shooting, 1/15th at ISO 100. The shutter speed was not fast were sitting in the first shots so this was fine.

1/2 power
background was darker but obviously so were

the subjects. The next step then was to add light
to the subjects themselves.
Given that the boys were in a rock band, soft
dreamy lighting was not exactly the look they
needed. So we created a very simple cross-light
scheme. Assuming your subject is standing at
the 12 o’clock position and the camera is at the
6 o’clock position, one light was set to shoot
through a brolly at 1/2 power from camera right
at about 4 o’clock proving the main key light on
the right side of their faces and the other was
shooting at 1/4 power at the 11 o’clock position to
provide some fill light and lessen deep shadows
on their left side. As the lights were on stands,
they were easy to move around to get the right
mix of highlight and shadow. So the shoot went
on in this fashion as we tried different ideas.
We moved to another spot on a bridge with
an industrial area as a background for more
group shots. The scene was underexposed as in
When shooting portraits, your choice of lens is very

important. It is generally held that a lens with a focal length
of about 50mm to 135mm is regarded as the optimum
for portrait work. When working on a portrait shoot, we
always default to our favourite mid-range wide angle zoom
lens, the Canon EF 24-105mm F/4 L IS. It covers most of the
preferred portrait focal lengths with the option to zoom
out wide if you should need it. It has great quality optics too.
When working with groups and individuals in one shoot,
this is a useful lens to have. It is often sold with Canon full-
frame cameras as the main kit lens.

OUTDOOR PORTRAITURE
Stepping back to show how the

lights are set for this group shot.
The light on the right provides
the key light whilst the light
shooting through the brolly on the
1/2 power left is providing fill. As an added
bonus, the sunset behind them
1/2 power contributed to give us a great
orange rim light as well.
the previous example by about 1.5 stops. The

lighting was set up similarly to the previous
location now with the three guys in a row with
the unmodified key light to camera right, set
just above head height, angled directly at their
faces at 1/2 power. The brolly on the left was at
1/2 power just to make sure the shadows were
eliminated from the boys’ faces on the left side.
We were shooting at sunset, and by this point
the sun was out and provided an extra light
source for us with a great orange rim light. This
combination of underexposing the background
and artificially lighting your subjects creates
a dramatic and some would say surreal look
to the shots. More group shots taken under a
railway bridge with a grungy stone backdrop
were used in this setup again but at slightly
closer range with both lights at 1/8 power at
the same distance both camera left and camera drop the aperture to f/4 and halve the distance your histograms.
right for even lighting. of both flashes to the subject. It is always a Don’t shoot away without checking the
As you move from one lighting setup to balancing act between camera settings and flash results of any changes you make to your
another, you need to keep an eye on exposure power but the more you do it, the easier and settings. The beauty of digital is that you can
settings. In the final shots it was getting fairly more intuitive it becomes. Keep checking your keep shooting and keep experimenting until
dark, so we had to up the camera ISO to 200, shot previews on your camera’s LCD and look at your shots are in the bag. n

“It’s important to choose the right
lens for the job, but top quality DSLR
lenses are very expensive.”
The fisheye lens

The right lens for the job
D
igital SLR systems offer the The girl’s head is much larger than the rest
greatest versatility of any of her, with her feet looking tiny in relation
photographic system, and to the rest of her body.
represent the best compromise between The kind of lens that can do this is
quality and portability. The best CSC called a fisheye. Whereas most lenses
systems are still some way behind, but are are trying hard to eliminate distortion,
catching up fast. the fisheye uses it to its advantage to give
There are lenses and other accessories you an unparalleled angle of view that can
available to suit every type of photography, encompass 180°.
both amateur and professional. It is worth In the case of the example lens shown
being aware that top quality DSLR lenses here, the Canon 8-15mm fisheye can
command top prices. actually create a fully circular 360° image
This shot is using a very specialist lens to at the 8mm end of the zoom range up to a
get this funny close up portrait image. The 180° corner to corner image when zoomed
extreme nature of the distortion and the wide to 15mm. Just be prepared to shell out well
field of view this lens gives you is apparent. over £800 for the privilege. n
The Canon EF 8-15mm f/4 L USM

series fisheye lens. You can
choose between a full frame
image or circular fisheye image
by using the zoom. Although it
is a full-frame lens, if you use
it on an APS-C cropped sensor
body, it acts like a 12-24mm wide
angle zoom which is ideal for
landscape photography.

THE FISHEYE LENS
Portraiture with a difference. Taken with a

15mm fisheye lens from above head height
to create what looks like a caricature.

“It’s best to take this sort of photo on a day that’s
bright, but not too sunny, because it’s easy
to burn out highlights on a longer exposure.”
Misty water effect

Fast flowing water looks great with a slow shutter speed
T
his mist-like waterfall effect is very exposure. A calm day is best, because you don’t
popular and looks great when it’s want any trees or plants waving about in the
done right. It looks challenging, but wind and being blurred too.
in fact it’s very easy to set up. All you need Set up your camera using a good solid tripod
is a tripod and any camera with manual on solid ground, and set the shutter speed to
shutter speed control. one second. Trigger the shutter using a cable
The hardest part is finding a stream or release, a remote control or the two-second
river that has a nice photogenic waterfall or timer, so as to avoid any camera shake. You
some rapids. Use your common sense and may need to experiment with different shutter
always exercise caution around fast-moving speeds, depending on how fast the water is
water; it may be deeper than it looks, with moving, but somewhere between half a second
strong currents. and two seconds should produce the effect
It’s best to take this sort of photo on a day you’re looking for.
that’s bright, but not too sunny, because For longer exposures you may have to invest in
it’s easy to burn out highlights on a longer a neutral-density filter to avoid over-exposure. n
The Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8

L II USM series wide angle
zoom lens. Top notch, fast
optics make for a great
landscape lens. It delivers
amazing image quality
throughout its zoom range
and it’s maximum aperture
of f/2.8 allows for hand-held
shooting in low light.

MISTY WATER EFFECT
Careful control of shutter speed can produce some

beautiful effects. This huge Icelandic waterfall takes
on a soft, almost mystical quality when photographed
at a shutter speed of several seconds. Be sure to use a
tripod though!

Glossary
A list of some general terms
Aperture as the size of the internal memory buffer. You’ll typically get Electronic viewfinder
Behind the lens of your camera is a movable circular iris about three frames per second from a standard digital Some cameras have a viewfinder containing a miniature
which opens and closes to control the amount of light camera in burst mode. LCD monitor showing you what the camera sees. This
falling on the sensor. This is usually controlled by the usually uses less battery power than the LCD screen on the
camera’s light meter, although some cameras have a Centre-weighted metering back of the camera, but can be a strain on the eye and
manual aperture control. Altering the aperture also This is when the camera takes an average light reading difficult to focus.
changes the depth of field. from the whole frame, but pays more attention to the
centre of the image where the subject normally is. This has Exposure
Aperture priority been largely superseded by multi-pattern metering, which When you take a picture, the light meter in the camera
This is one of the semi-manual exposure options found on is better able to cope with unusual situations. determines how long the shutter should be open for and
some cameras. The user sets the aperture according to how wide the aperture should be, thus obtaining the
the depth of field they require, and the metering system CCD correct exposure. If a picture is too dark, it is
sets the shutter speed to obtain the correct exposure. Stands for Charge Coupled Device. This is the light sensor underexposed, whereas if it goes the other way and is too
behind the lens of your camera that records the image light, it is overexposed.
Artefacts when you take a photograph. It consists of a grid of millions
When an image is stored in your camera’s memory it has to of tiny light sensors, one for each pixel of the image. The External flash
be compressed to fit, usually into a JPEG file, and in the size of a CCD is measured in megapixels, and the higher the This means that the camera has a connection, usually a hot
process some information is inevitably lost. When the megapixel rating, the better the shoe, that enables you to use a flashgun other than the one
image is uncompressed for viewing, noise creeps in and image quality. built into the camera. This allows a lot more creative
appears as angular blocks in the image, which are known freedom and control over lighting, because the flash can be
as artefacts. Chromatic aberration positioned further away from the camera. This feature is
Coloured fringes that appear around objects, often toward only usually available on more expensive or professional-
Autofocus the edges of the frame. Caused by light rays of different quality cameras.
Almost all digital cameras have automatic focusing. There wavelengths coming to focus at different distances from
are essentially two types; contrast detection, used in the lens. EXIF
compact cameras and most CSCs, uses the camera’s main The Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) format is used by
sensor and works by detecting the borders between Circular Polariser nearly all digital cameras that output pictures as JPEGs. It
high-contrast areas and trying to make them as sharp as A filter that is placed in front of the camera lens in order to enables information, such as the GPS co-ordinates, date
possible. Phase detection AF is used in digital SLRs and darken blue skies, manage reflections, or suppress glare. and time the shot was taken, plus exposure and other
some CSCs, and uses a separate sensor. It is usually faster camera information, to be stored in the image file alongside
and works better in low light. CMOS the normal picture information.
Stands for Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. A
AE lock chip-manufacturing technology used to produce the Fixed focus
Stands for Auto-Exposure Lock, a function found on most sensors in an increasingly large proportion of digital Cheaper cameras have fixed-focus lenses, which means
advanced digital cameras. This enables you to take a light cameras. Cheaper but with better tolerance than other they cannot be adjusted. Instead they rely on a very narrow
meter reading from a particular part of the image and then methods. aperture to make everything appear in focus, from a few
hold that setting while you compose the image. feet in front of the camera out to infinity. They are fine for
Depth of field snapshots at average distance in good light, but are not so
Back lighting When you focus your camera on a subject, some detail good for creative photographs where focus can be used to
Backlighting occurs when your subject is brightly lit from behind and in front of the chosen subject will also be in produce unusual effects.
behind, such as somebody standing in front of a sunlit focus. The distance between the nearest and furthest
window. Unless you adjust the exposure to compensate for in-focus objects is known as the depth of field. It is changed Focal length
this, your subject will appear as a dark silhouette against by altering the size of the aperture; the smaller the In brief, this term describes the magnifying power of the
the bright background. aperture, the larger the depth of field. camera’s lens. The longer the focal length, the greater the
magnification. Conversely, the smaller the focal length, the
Barrel distortion Digital zoom more wide-angle the lens. Most digital camera zoom lenses
Barrel distortion occurs when a lens, usually wide-angle, Some cameras give you the option of zooming in on the can vary between short and long focal lengths.
distorts an image so that it appears slightly spherical. If you centre part of an image by expanding it in the camera.
take a seascape with a wide-angle setting and notice that Although the zoomed area looks bigger, it still contains the f-number
the horizon seems to curve, this is barrel distortion. It’s same number of pixels as it did originally, so it will appear This is the number which describes the ratio of the
most noticeable when there are straight lines near the edge blocky and will lack resolution. Not to be confused with aperture of a camera’s lens to its focal length. Generally, a
of the frame. In digital images barrel distortion can be optical zoom, which is far superior. higher quality lens will have a smaller f-number, which
corrected in image-editing software. bizarrely means a wider maximum aperture, and thus
Dynamic range more light entering the lens. See also ‘Depth of field’ for
Bokeh The difference between the lightest and darkest areas of an more information about focusing.
The visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a image. If a camera can simultaneously capture shadow
photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular and highlight detail then it has good dynamic range. Few Forced perspective
lens. cameras can do both. This is a technique which employs optical illusion to make
an object appear farther away, closer, larger or smaller
Bracketing DPI than it actually is.
Bracketing shots is where a photographer takes the same Stands for Dots Per Inch. The sharpness of an image
shot three times or more, each at different exposures. This produced by a printer is defined by how many dots of ink HDR
increases the chance of getting an ideally exposed image. per inch of printed paper its print head can produce. A A rather over-used technique whereby several shots at
Also, it’s possible to combine the shots in software to figure of 1,200dpi or higher is usually required for different exposures are combined to produce one image
increase the light and shade within the image, which is how photographic-quality results, although most modern capturing a very wide range of contrast, or dynamic range.
HDR works. printers are capable of this. Useful for high-contrast lighting and night-time shots, but
can be over-used by art students who’ve just discovered it.
Burst mode Effective pixels
Many cameras offer a burst mode, which means they can Although your digital camera may claim to have 13.6 million Histogram
take several images in rapid succession, just as you’d get pixels on its CCD, some of that number will not be used for A histogram is a graph of brightness.
with a motor-wind on a traditional film camera. The number taking the picture. Usually, some pixels around the edge of It ranges from black through grey to white along the
of shots that can be taken is limited by the speed of the the sensor are painted black to provide a colour balance, horizontal axis, while values in the vertical axis represent
camera’s image capture and processing systems, as well while others fall outside the range of the lens. the number of pixels at the appropriate brightness. It

GLOSSARY
provides a means of checking the exposure of an image. If with exposure and depth of field. Essential for creative selects an appropriate aperture setting and shutter speed
too many pixels are present at the left-hand side of the photography. in an attempt to get the best exposure and performance
histogram, the image is underexposed, while if it’s out of the lens.
weighted to the right, then it’s likely to be overexposed. Megapixel
Megapixels are a measure of the size and resolution of the Raw
Hyperfocal Distance pictures that a digital camera can produce. Mega means Raw mode is found on most high-end digital cameras. It is
This is the distance between a camera lens and the closest one million, and in this case a million pixels, or more an option which stores the uncompressed raw data from
object which is in focus when the lens is focused at infinity. accurately a million individual light sensors on the camera’s the sensor, which can then be processed on a computer
CCD. The more megapixels, the better. using software such as Adobe Camera Raw, Bibble etc.
Infrared Raw files contain more information than JPEGs, and take
Infrared (IR) light is the part of the EM spectrum that Memory card up more memory. Raw is actually not an acronym and so
people encounter most in everyday life. It is invisible to Most digital cameras store your pictures on removable shouldn’t be all capitals; it should really be written simply
human eyes, but people can feel it as heat. cards full of computer memory. They come in a variety of as “raw”.
sizes and there are several different types, including
Interpolation CompactFlash, SD and MicroSD cards as well as Sony’s Resolution
Some cameras and image-editing software can increase own Memory Stick format. The more pixels there are in an image, the larger that image
the size of a digital image by adding extra pixels in between will be. This is the resolution of the picture, and is usually
the original ones. They take an average of the pixels around Metering system expressed as two numbers representing the height and
the new one and attempt to match the colour and This is how the camera measures the amount of light being width of the image in pixels, such as 3,872 x 2,592.
brightness to create a seamless image. Some systems give reflected by whatever you are trying to photograph, to Multiplying these two figures gives you the effective
better results than others. determine the correct exposure for that particular scene. megapixels, in this case 10.03MP.
There are many different types, including spot metering,
ISO multi-pattern metering and centre-weighted metering. Shutter
Stands for International Standards Organisation. In The shutter is a device behind the lens of the camera which
conventional photography, the ISO number is a measure of Monobloc is normally closed, but opens for an instant when a picture
the light sensitivity of photographic film, and this has been A monobloc is a self-contained flash unit usually found in a is taken to allow light into the camera and onto the CCD.
carried over into digital photography as a way of expressing photographic studio. The length of time the shutter is open for is determined by
the light sensitivity of the CCD. the metering system, and is known as the shutter speed.
Multi-pattern metering
JPEG This is a sophisticated means of determining the correct Shutter priority
This file type stands for Joint Photographic Expert Group, exposure of a photograph. The camera takes light readings This is a semi-manual mode that enables the photographer
and is the most commonly used system of image from several different areas of the frame and compares to specify a shutter speed while the camera’s metering
compression. Using a sliding scale between file size and them to its pre-programmed data. system sets the aperture for the correct exposure.
picture quality, it enables digital cameras and computers
to squash a large picture into a small amount of memory. Night-time mode SLR
Be careful when compressing files, though, because too A program exposure mode that compensates for low light Stands for Single-Lens Reflex. A mirror or prism reflects
much compression will reduce the quality by setting the aperture to maximum. This lets the most the light coming in through the lens to the viewfinder, so
of your image. available light into the camera and gives the fastest when you look through it you see exactly what the camera
possible shutter speed under the circumstances. can see.
Landscape mode
A program exposure option found on many mid-priced Optical zoom Spot metering
cameras, this function automatically selects the best With recent advances in lens manufacturing technology, Found on the more expensive cameras, this metering
exposure settings for taking landscape photographs, many digital cameras now have small but powerful optical mode enables the photographer to take a light reading
usually a longer shutter speed and the narrowest possible zoom lenses. This means they can be adjusted to magnify from a small area in the middle of the frame, usually
aperture to maximise depth of field. It can also refer to the image (zoom in) or to capture a wide-angle shot (zoom marked in the viewfinder. This is the best way of dealing
holding the camera horizontally, which is usually preferred out). Because the image uses the full capabilities of the with difficult lighting conditions such as backlighting, and
for landscape shots. CCD this is preferable to digital zoom. is normally used in conjunction with auto-exposure lock.
LCD Pixel Time lapse

Stands for Liquid Crystal Diode, a display technology first Short for Picture Element. If you enlarge a picture on your We’ve all seen films of flowers opening at incredible speed,
developed in the 1970s, and in widespread use today. Most computer, you will see that it is made up of tiny squares of a or the sun and clouds racing across the sky. This super-fast
cameras have an LCD monitor screen mounted on the particular colour and brightness called pixels. A pixel is the motion technique is called time-lapse photography,
back for viewing photographs. Some also have an LCD basic building block of a digital photograph, and there can whereby a stationary camera takes several successive
electronic viewfinder, and some DSLRs also have a be several million of them in an image. The higher the pixel shots at time intervals of a few seconds, minutes or even
separate LCD data display panel. count, the better the quality of the photograph. hours. The images are then played back rapidly, giving the
impression of continuous motion.
L-ion Portrait mode
Stands for Lithium Ion. This is the latest kind of This is a program exposure mode that optimises the VGA
rechargeable battery, superior even to Ni-MH. It can hold camera for taking classical portrait shots, widening the Stands for Video Graphics Array, and refers to an image
more power, and does not suffer from ‘memory effect’, aperture to minimise the depth of field. This ensures that size of 640 x 480 pixels. This was once the standard size of
where a partially charged battery, when recharged, will only the subject is in focus, while the shutter speed is a computer monitor output, but these days even mobile
only register the additional charge rather than its full increased to minimise camera shake. phones have larger displays. VGA is still sometimes found
capacity. However, L-Ion batteries are quite expensive. as an image size mode, particularly in the video recording
Processor modes of some cheaper cameras.
Macro mode All digital cameras have an image processor, which takes
Refers to a lens that can focus closer than its designated the data from the sensor and turns it into the finished JPEG White balance
focal length, but these days it is used to describe any image that you see on the screen. A faster processor Most modern digital cameras automatically adjust the
facility for taking extreme close-ups. means larger resolution images can be processed more colour balance of the picture to compensate for any tints in
quickly, improving the camera’s performance. the ambient light, such as sunlight, fluorescent strip lights
Manual mode or normal light bulbs. This is called a white balance, and
Found on higher-end cameras, this is for experienced Program exposure means you can take a picture indoors without that orange
photographers only. It gives you full control over both Found on most digital cameras, program exposure is an tint you get with a film camera.
aperture and shutter speed, enabling you to experiment automatic setting where the camera’s metering system

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Digital
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The Complete Guide next level, we are here to help you become the best
SECOND EDITION photographer you know you can be.
Delve deeper Fresh insights Get inspired

This guide has been compiled with By providing concise and detailed When you’re ready, we have a
photographers in mind who want to explanations of the main technical collection of projects that we hope
learn more, do more and take better aspects of photography, you can will fire up your creativity and get
photos than ever before. Within these flourish as a photographer and you excited about trying new things
pages are many tips and guides on become more confident and creative. and exploring new photographic
equipment, essential core concepts, All the main areas are covered techniques. From aqueous motion
techniques and becoming a more including use of aperture, metering, photography to event coverage
creative, more rounded photographer. shutter speed and flash lighting. We and even the power of silhouettes,
You can hone your abilities and then also delve into some of the more it’s all here. Take a fresh look at your
go have some fun on larger and more advanced ideas behind hyperfocal photography. Get inspired, grab a
creative projects. distance and the inverse-square law. camera and get out there and shoot.

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BDM’s Digital Photography - The Complete Guide 5

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Daytime long exposure

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The RX0 is rated to 10m on

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Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III

“A notable update to this

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The 85mm f/1.4 also

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The WR-A10 (above right)

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Although the battery pack is

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Lowepro Pro Runner X450 II

“The Pro Runner has been designed to

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Gitzo GK1555T-82TQD Series 1

The folding mechanism

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Nodal Ninja NN6

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The P series filter holder is

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Canon PIXMA PRO-100S

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“The wider the range of

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AVOIDING CAMERA SHAKE

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THE MISTY WATER EFFECT

If you just point the camera and shoot on automatic,

Fixing the camera on a tripod eliminates camera shake.

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CAR LIGHTS AT NIGHT

With the camera still

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How aperture works

“A notable update to this

“The Pro Runner has been designed to

“The wider the range of

“Autofocus technology has improved immensely,

“Selecting the right focal length for

Zone 8 White with texture. Snow in shade. Highlights on Caucasian skin.

Zone 10 Light sources, reflections of sunlight on metal. Pure white.

“The zone system can

“We perceive various shades of white light NORMAL DAYLIGHT