SPECIAL 15-PAGE GUIDE TO THE OLYMPUS PEN SYSTEM
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TWO BIG TESTS!
CANON EOS M M for magnificent, mediocre or must-have? The truth is inside
Sony A99 First st full-frame SLT tested
STROBIST TIPS
USING FLASH OUTDOORS Add extra snap to your location people images
ESSENTIAL TECHNIQUE
MISTY MOODS Take T a e up the challenge of shooting in bad weather GROUP REVIEW
MACRO LENSES, PART 2
Want to take great close-ups on a budget? Seven sub-£500 models for your shortlist AP-02-001 (COVER)hbljcrp.indd 1
COMPARISON TEST
GETTING ONLINE
We test ten website providers that can put the ‘wow’ into your photography 4/1/13 14:17:00
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www.advancedphotographer.co.uk On Twitter? Follow us at www.twitter.com/AdvancedPhotog 78 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER January 2013
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© JOHN OWEN
Welcome WILL CHEUNG FRPS, EDITOR Will has been taking pictures since he was 10 years old. His passion for the medium is more intense than ever with a preference for rich black & white images.
Welcome to the issue and Happy New Year to you. The odds are that the weather won’t be that great over the coming weeks, which is hardly a surprise given that we are in the depths of winter. Now you can either stay indoors and find things to shoot, or you can embrace the seasonal cold and get out for some exciting photographs. Bad weather can undoubtedly make life challenging and even difficult, but prepare for it and you can have great fun with the camera. We celebrate the potential of the season with the misty images of Tony Gill, plus we have all the technical advice you need to deal with the conditions. Our second Inspire interview features the themed portrait work of Darren Athersmith. If you want to stay indoors, check out Darren’s portfolio for inspiration. He uses a lot of flash in his images but if you’re a newcomer to using flash on location, we have plenty of advice for you. In fact I spent a fun day in London shooting images for the feature. If you’re put off portraits because you run out of ideas when it comes to posing, our Art of Posing feature will help too. It’s full of step-by-step advice. In Photo Kit we review the first full-frame from Sony for a few years, the A99, and the first CSC from Canon, the EOS M. Canon has been very slow coming to the CSC party but expectations for the M are high. Read our review for our verdict to see whether or not Canon has delivered. See you next month.
Will Cheung FRPS, Editor
The contributors involved in this issue...
WANT TO SUBSCRIBE? Turn to page 94 to see our fantastic offer...
DARREN ATHERSMITH
TONY GILL
LYNNE MAXWELL
Bad weather produces great photo opportunities – unless you happen to be a keen people photographer who likes shooting outdoors. This is why he scouts around for indoor locations for his very stylised and impressive people images. See www.darrenathersmith.com
Tony has diverse interests when it comes to photography, but he does enjoy landscapes especially when the conditions are right. He is a fan of mist and fog, so check out his portfolio for inspiration on how you can make the most of them. See www.tonygillimages.com
Lynne is a regular contributor to Advanced. She writes the Inspire interviews each month, so she did the words for the features on Tony Gill and Darren Athersmith. She is an experienced journalist and editor, working on gardening and photography magazines.
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Subscribe
to Advanced Photographer
Contents
18 CAPTURE: Enjoy the cold weather
50 RAW MASTERCLASS: Adding mood in Lightroom 4
The cover story... Tony Gill’s image was commended in last year’s Landscape Photographer of the Year contest. “I had just invested in my new EOS 5D Mark II and as I rushed up the neighbouring hill I promptly fell over, cradling my new acquisition like a baby. Camera saved, I quickly stood up, composed myself and took the shot.” Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm f/4, 10secs at f/13 WWW.TONYGILLIMAGES.COM
SEE PAGE 94 FOR DETAILS
Inspiration, technique, opinion 6 UPFRONT The latest launches, the best books and all the gossip from the photography world – everything you need to know, in fact. 10 SEASONS OF MIST: INSPIRATION He watches the weather forecast like a hawk, and as soon as mist looks likely, Tony Gill heads for the hills to capture timeless, ethereal landscapes.
54 LIGHTING ACADEMY: SEE PAGE 62 Feathering FOR DETAILS explained
18 FREEZING FRAMES: CAPTURE Come rain or fog, get out with your camera. Challenging conditions are the perfect time to grab some unusual shots – just make sure you and your camera don’t end up resembling drowned rats.
24 THE ART OF POSING Directing a model isn’t about instructions to put an arm here and a leg there. It’s all about putting your sitter at their ease. So take a deep breath, and relax…
29 EXPOSED Editor Cheung has never been one to let anything come between him and his photography. And it’s been that way since he had his first photograph published back in a cold 1970s winter. 30 SETTING THE SCENE: INSPIRATION Is he a landscaper? A portrait snapper? A wedding photographer? No, he’s Darren Athersmith and his photography draws on all
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Contents
82 SONY A99 Full frame with SLT
97
COMPARISON TEST: Macro lenses for under £500
30
INSPIRE: Portraits on location
Photo Kit: the latest gear tested these talents to produce strikingly styled shoots of models in the Lake District.
40 ON-LOCATION FLASH: CAPTURE Get outdoors with your flashgun, experiment with it on- and off-camera and create some flashy shots. It’s never been easier.
50 RAW MASTERCLASS Sometimes you’re in the right place at the right time for a perfect photo, but the light doesn’t quite play ball. Thankfully, shooting in Raw can lighten the mood.
54 LIGHTING ACADEMY Studio flash lighting expert Adam Duckworth explains how to feather the light.
61 COMPENDIUM Find out all you’ll need to know about the Olympus PEN system in these 15 pages.
76 NEXT MONTH It’s all here in black & white – shooting mono landscapes, creating on-trend fashion shoots, building your own home studio and a test of Canon’s entry-level, fullframe EOS 6D. Plus read the free supplement and start working smarter now.
130 AND FINALLY Put yourself behind his camera, would you have pressed the shutter release, asks editor Cheung, in the aftermath of freelancer R Umar Abbasi’s controversial shot of a man falling to his death.
82 CAMERA TEST: SONY A99 The first full-frame DSLR from Sony in several years, it uses Sony’s SLT technology and boasts the first tilting LCD on a full-frame digital SLR – is the A99 worth the £2300 price tag though?
88 CAMERA TEST: CANON EOS M At last, it’s here: Canon’s first CSC. Editor Cheung sighed with relief at its arrival and promptly popped it in his kitbag for a thorough test.
97 COMPARISON SON TEST: MACRO O wo LENSES Part two
Cheap(ish) doesn’t just mean cheerful though.
106 GROUP TEST: WEBSITE PROVIDERS Don’t know your HTML from your URL? Never fear, help is here. We surveyed ten website providers to help you find the right service for your site.
112 LENS TEST: TAMRON SP 70-200MM F/2.8 DI VC USD ItIt’ss a popular focal length range, so the competition is hot. Does this image-stabilised, f/2.8 zoom have what it takes to compete with the likes of Canon, Nikon and Sigma?
of our close lookk att the latest close-up up optics. And they’re y’re al alll priced at under £500.
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INSPIRATION
Super structures
It’s always the season of mists and a fruitful time for photography, as far as Tony Gill is concerned WORDS LYNNE MAXWELL PICTURES TONY GILL
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INSPIRATION
Super structures
TONY GILL If landscape means rolling chalk downs at first light, then Tony Gill is, he says, a landscape photographer. But he’s not keen on labels. “It would be foolish of me to think that it isn’t my first love. It’s everywhere and beautifully fashioned, but landscape is an umbrella term for a myriad of different styles that crossover from one speciality to another: low light, coast and seascapes, long exposures, urban, travel and so on, and I like to try as many of these as possible,” he says. And having lived in Dorset for much of his life he’s spoilt for choice when it comes to locations. “It’s full of variety and beauty in equal measure and has a world heritage coastline to boot. The downside is that it’s become a bit of a Mecca for photographers and the most popular spots have been shot to death. The trick is to work harder to try and capture something unique each time, and as every day is different it’s an achievable challenge. “I know photographers here who never venture beyond the county boundaries, but I do like to explore further afield. Sometimes I’ll even drive through the night if it means arriving somewhere before dawn.” But there’s plenty to keep Tony closer to home, and not just those landscapes with star billing, like Lulworth Cove and Corfe Castle. “I never have any qualms about heading for iconic locations. I know the likes of Corfe have become overfamiliar to the point of cliché, but there is a very good reason for that: they are worth capturing and always do themselves justice in front of the camera. I’ve made repeat trips to these sorts of places for this very reason.”
“A Wessex morning. This was taken overlooking one of my favourite locations, Colmers Hill, near Bridport. If mist is forecast anywhere locally chances are you’ll find it here. I combined two Lee filters for five stops of difference and it was just about enough.” Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm at 24mm, 1/6 sec at f/16, ISO 100
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INSPIRATION
Misty moods
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INSPIRATION
Misty moods 1
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But a lesser known Dorset landmark, Colmer’s Hill, is a personal favourite. “It has even become a bit of an obsession,” confesses Tony. “A nearby camera club jokes that it’s going to ban me from visiting there in future. When I do revisit somewhere I try to look for a new take on things and misty scenes fit the bill perfectly as they always differ from day to day. “With misty panoramas I like to find a good elevation – the higher the better – as this will increase your shooting angles and therefore potential shots. Next, I’ll scout for suitable compositions – are there recognisable features such as trees, the line of a hillside or buildings that will help to anchor the shot? Just as a jetty or rock acts as a focal point in a seascape, so a church tower or lone tree will help immensely in a sea of mist. “A medium telephoto such as a 70200mm is superb for finding forms that work and also versatile if that church or tree is some distance away. A lot of photography, and landscape in particular, is concerned with simplifying the world around us and mist can be key to this process. Above all I
1 “Heaven’s Hill – My most successful image, which has done well in salons and was also commended in this year’s Landscape Photographer of the Year. I had just invested in my new EOS 5D Mark II and as I rushed up the neighbouring hill I promptly fell over, cradling my new acquisition like a baby. Camera saved, I quickly stood up, composed myself and took the shot.” Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm at
105mm, 10secs at f/13, ISO 100 2 “Autumn valley light – The distant hills have been quarried over the years and on a misty morning will appear as island hilltops above the Brit and Simene rivers. I love how the cool dawn colours to the left give way to the orange blushes of sunlight from the right.” Canon EOS
5D Mark II, 24-105mm at 75mm, 1/8 sec , f/13, ISO 100
enjoy how mist transforms the everyday into the enigmatic and changes familiar features into new ethereal forms.” Tony finds that the best lighting for his misty scenes falls into three distinct scenarios, which he describes as: “First, the pre-dawn inkiness where colour and shape dominate, secondly the first rays of the rising sun casting spectacular long shadows through the mist and, finally, those contre-jour shots for high key/high contrast
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INSPIRATION
Super structures “Glamour and Grime shoot with girls from a local hairdressers, who suggested this theme. I found a derelict and burned-out bar and the girls adopted the mean and moody look, as if I was intruding in their place. A red gel on an off-camera Nikon SB800 Speedlight added atmosphere.” Nikon D3s, 24-70mm f/2.8 lens at 27mm, 1/80sec at f/5.6, ISO 400
Darren Athersmith themes his portraits for extra impact WORDS LYNNE MAXWELL PICTURES DARREN ATHERSMITH
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INSPIRATION
Super structures
DARREN ATHERSMITH On his main website Darren describes himself as a wedding and portrait photographer. And when he’s not working as an engineering manager that’s exactly what he is. “It reflects the type of photographer I see myself as and it’s the type of photography I love. I see a wedding as an opportunity to capture all of the beauty, emotions and events of a couple’s biggest day and I get great pleasure seeing the reactions from them when they visit and view their images for the first time. That’s what drives me to produce the best photographs I can.” His other website focuses on images of the Lake District, where he has lived all his life, being born in Barrow-in-Furness 46 years ago and now living 15 minutes’ drive from Coniston Water. He says: “I started out photographing the wonderful landscape all around me. Obviously it is a great inspiration and I now
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INSPIRATION
Styling shoots
1 “Bridal shoot at The Grange Hotel in the Lake District, with a local wedding dress boutique and hair by Amy, a hairdresser in the opening spread. Natural light shots are a bit of a signature of mine.” Nikon D3S, 70-200mm f/2.8
lens at 160mm, 1/80sec +1.0EV at f/3.5, ISO 640 2 “From a shoot with Bespoke Corsetry promoting its handcrafted corsets. This was arranged following a burlesque-themed shoot I staged in an old theatre. A single Speedlight to the left provided rim light to give separation from the background.” Nikon D3S, 70-200mm
f/2.8 lens at 90mm, 1/200sec at f/4.5, ISO 400 3 “Ballet by the lake. A low angle using the jetty posts as a lead-in worked well in the beautiful autumn light.” Nikon D3S, 70-200mm
f/2.8 lens at 160mm, 1/2500sec at f/2.8, ISO 200
look back over my older images and imagine how I could incorporate a model in it. I also look for old buildings that would make great settings for a shoot, but unfortunately
many of the old abandoned buildings in the area have now been demolished. Finding interesting buildings that are still in use where you can obtain permission to shoot is a problem, probably due to health and safety worries, which is a shame. But if you persevere there are reasonable people out there and I’ve shot in old theatres, old bars, art deco cafés, stately homes and hotels.” And this is what makes Darren’s images stand out – the way he creates a stage of the landscape or interior and sets his model in it. But what comes first, the idea or the location? “Sometimes I have an idea and then try to find a location to suit it, but usually I find a stunning, inspirational location and then plan a shoot around it. For example, I came across an old Victorian theatre, which had not been used since the 1970s, and was lucky enough to meet the owner and get a
look around. The building was absolutely awesome and I immediately thought of a Victorian theme so set about sourcing a model and Victorian costume. Planning a shoot takes time and the more planning you put in the better the results will be.” Darren continues: “I really enjoy setting up themed portraits, indoors or outside, making the most of the fantastic landscape I’m surrounded by. These personal projects allow me to practise and perfect techniques that I ultimately introduce into my wedding photography but which I wouldn’t attempt for the first time at a wedding.” He shoots about ten weddings a year, all that his perfectionism and full-time job allow. He says, “to earn a living solely from photography would be a dream come true.” One of his most recent location shoots was ballet themed, at the southern end of
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INSPIRATION
Styling shoots 1
1
Planning a shoot takes quite a lot of time and the more planning you put in the better the results will be
2
Coniston Water. It’s one he’d been planning for a while but highlighted the problems amateur, or even semi-pro photographers, can face in finding a model. “I thought I’d have dancers queuing up but got no takers from a notice on my Facebook page or from a local ballet school.” He finally put a casting call on Model Mayhem (a website where models and photographers can find each other) and found a model trained in classical ballet (Rachel). “Leading up to the shoot the weather was appalling and I thought we’d have to resort to plan B – shooting under cover on a local Victorian station – but the sun shone and Rachel was a star, producing the poses I wanted.” He says: “When I first ventured into portraits I thought finding models would be easy, but I quickly learned that wasn’t the case.” Having an 18-year-old daughter
3
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Part 27
There’s more to getting the most from a softbox than meets the eye. Feathering is just one technique to achieve the best results
STRAIGHT ON
WORDS & PICTURES ADAM DUCKWORTH
So you’ve bought your softbox and now you know exactly what to do with it, which is point it straight at your subject. That’s what many photographers do, and it’s easy to see why you’d think that was the only way to use a softbox. But it’s not. Last month we explained that you don’t always have to use both layers of diffusion material in your softbox, and similarly you don’t always have to point your light straight at your model. By pointing it slightly away from your subject, the quality and intensity of light changes not only on your model but also on the background. This technique is called feathering the light, and is a really useful weapon in a photographer’s arsenal. It would be easy to imagine that the light output from the flat front of a softbox would be totally even, from wherever you looked at it from. But it’s not. The very centre of the softbox is the brightest part, as it’s nearest to the flash tube. Manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure this central part is not excessively bright compared to the outer edges, but the laws of physics dictate it will be. By how much depends on how cleverly the softbox is designed. So that means the quality of light falls off towards the edges. Now imagine you were standing directly in front of a square softbox, and it’s pointing right at you. In this configuration, the light spills all over your face and is as soft as it can be. Now if you take a step to the side then look at the softbox from your new position, the square front diffuser now appears as a thinner strip. The light is harder and more contrasty, with a more pronounced fall-off. Step too far and the light virtually disappears. Many portrait photographers use this edge of the light beam in their photos. Using the light ‘up close and feathered’ gives a soft main light but some distinct fall-off to the shadow areas. It’s a lovely, classic look. It’s also a good way to reduce the shiny, specular highlights you can get on a subject’s face. By angling the softbox away
ABOVE The Calumet Illuma softbox series has a thinner profile than most. This is the £85 22x30in Small.
30°
from the face, you can alter how specular and hard the highlights are. Using studio lights with their modelling lamps, you can see this in action as you move the softbox. You will have to re-meter or adjust exposure, as intensity changes, too. Using a feathered light from the edge of a softbox along with the light fall-off from the centre to the edge can work really well. If you were lighting a subject with a softbox from almost above and slightly in front, for example, if you point the box directly at the model’s face then you’re looking for trouble. The face would be bright but the body would be underexposed, and chances are there would be specular highlights on the forehead. By aiming the softbox towards the torso, the light is more even. The light in the centre is brighter than the edge but is pointing at the torso, and the light at the edge is closer to the face but less bright. So it all evens out. A huge advantage of feathering is to control the light on the background. By feathering the light either towards the background or totally away from it at 90°, the brightness of the background changes significantly. Feathering a softbox works best when it has a flush, front panel. If your softbox has a recessed front panel to control the spill, then the fall-off is more extreme. It still works but you have to be more precise with your aim. Just use the flash unit’s modelling lamp to check the effect.
45°
60°
90°
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LIGHTING A C A D E M Y FEATHERING TECHNIQUE It's perfectly natural to just aim the softbox straight at the subject. But rotating the softbox to either side to feather the light can make an enormous difference, both on the subject as well as the background. Just try it for yourself. Sit someone down, place a flash unit at 45° and aim a square softbox directly at them. Switch on the modelling lamp and rotate the light slowly towards the background, watching what's happening on the background as well as the subject. Not much happens to start with but as the light gets thinner from the subject's perspective, you will see the background become brighter and the light hitting the subject's face becomes more oblique. Of course, go too far and the subject drops into darkness, but come back a bit to that area of transition from light to darkness, and you get a lovely feathered light. Now, return the light to its starting position and this time rotate it towards your camera position, again watching the effect on the subject and the background. Because less light falls onto the background, it will get darker as the light comes round while you still get a soft lighting effect on the subject. At 90° to the subject – or even beyond – a white background can get very dark. There is one thing to watch when the light is feathered in this direction and that is light striking the camera lens and causing flare. To avoid this, make sure your lens is clean and that you have the appropriate lens hood in position. Better still, place a 'flag' between the camera position and the lighting unit so light no at all can reach the lens front. A flag can be a reflector panel at one extreme or just a small piece of black card held in place by something like a Wimberley Plamp. The technique is the same as that used by landscapers when faced with a strong, just out of shot sun. Indeed, if the camera is on a tripod you can just use your hand as landscapers do. Another benefit with feathering comes with shooting groups of people when you want an even effect. Using two lights fitted with softboxes at 45° to each side, aim each light to the opposite ends of the group, ie. the right side light is aimed at the far left person and vice versa. Remember, whichever way you feather light, the light intensity drops so adjust the exposure – or turn the power up if you want to maintain the same f/stop.
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Photo Kit CANON EOS M
Canon EOS M
Canon has been conspicuous by its absence from the CSC market. Until now. The EOS M is Canon’s answer to the interchangeable lens, mirrorless, compact camera
WORDS & PICTURES WILL CHEUNG
KEY FEATURES STREET PRICE £550 WITH 18-55mm 18 MEGAPIXELS 31-POINT AF SYSTEM ISO 100-25,600 3in MONITOR WWW.CANON.CO.UK
MONITOR The touch screen gives rapid access to a broad selection of muchused features – exposure, ISO, exposure compensation, for example. The downside is it can’t be switched off so you can unintentionally change settings.
ART FILTERS The EOS has a collection of JPEG creative filters. These can be applied during shooting or in playback. When filters are used during shooting you get a preview and it takes a short while for the image to be processed.
ADAPTOR Canon EOS users can fit their EF and EF-S lenses to the EOS M using the EF-EOS M adaptor. You can see the many contacts that enable AF and AE functionality to be retained. The adaptor has an integral tripod mount.
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Photo Kit
CANON EOS M
T
HE COMPACT SYSTEM CAMERA (CSC) is an exciting phenomenon and it’s easy to appreciate why: you get all the creative flexibility of interchangeable lenses but in a compact form. Whether you currently use an APS-C or fullframe DSLR, the weight- and size-saving benefits are significant and worthwhile. Of course that is not to say that APS-C/full-frame users are shopping in their cameras for a CSC – although no doubt that has happened. But many keen photographers are buying one as a compact alternative when there’s the need to travel light without wishing to sacrifice creativity and controllability. In that situation, the ideal solution is to have a CSC that integrates nicely with a current DSLR system so that existing lenses can be used. Nikon has managed that with its 1-series and the £260 FT1 adaptor means existing Nikkor lenses can be used, although you get a massive crop factor of 2.7x. Sony users have the option of the £156 LA-EA1 adaptor and here the crop factor is 1.5x. So far Pentax is the only maker that has come up with a CSC, the K-01, that will accept existing lenses without an adaptor. I’ve gone round the houses a little, but some context will hopefully help because one of the selling points of the Canon EOS M to the legions of EOS owners out there is that their existing EF-S and EF lenses can be used via the £129 EF-EOS M adaptor. The crop factor here is 1.6x so the benefit is greater for long lens users. Naturally, EOS M fit lenses will also be available and so far two have been introduced alongside the M: the EF-M 22mm f/2 and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. Lens compatibility is important, but what about the EOS M’s main features? Well, there is a long and impressive list of specification. The sensor is an 18-megapixel CMOS sensor measuring 22.3x14.9mm or 5184x3456 pixels, ie. big enough for a 17x11.5in print at 300ppi without interpolation. The sensor works with the DIGIC 5 processor – in fact the sensor and processor are the same as those in the EOS 650 DSLR. Basically, without diving into the minutiae of the camera’s specification, the EOS M has a list of features that isn’t untypical of a good, mid-range DSLR. But there is one serious difference. The EOS M is monitor only and there is no electronic viewfinder; there is not even the option of adding an EVF. The lack of an EVF is a contradiction. On one hand, Canon has catered for existing EOS DSLR users, who will prefer an eye-level finder, yet the EOS M’s monitor is more appropriate to buyers upgrading from a compact or phone.
ANATOMY OF...
Canon EOS M FROM THE TOP Not really much to see here. The collar around the shutter release 1 has options for movie or camera mode and the green A setting is Scene Intelligent Auto where you delegate the camera to choose the right settings to capture the scene. In the camera mode, you have the choice of Basic or Creative Zone mode. The EOS M does not have an integral flash, but there is a hotshoe 2 and the Speedlite 90EX flashgun is supplied as standard. Of course, other guns or triggers can be used. The L and R 3 denote the left and right channels of the internal stereo microphone so you won’t get much stereo separation.
3
2
1
FROM THE FRONT The front is dominated by the lens mount and imaging sensor 1 . An integrated EOS cleaning system helps to keep the sensor clean. The EOS M has a completely new mount, the EF-M 2 and the lens release button 3 is a little fiddly to use when changing lenses one-handed. This is the AF illuminator 4 which throws out a beam of red light to help AF in the dark. It can be turned off. The EOS M is quite a square-bodied camera and this raised area 5 helps to give a more secure finger grip.
4
3
1 5 2
FROM THE BACK The three-inch capacitive touch-sensitive screen 1 is good to use – except that you can’t turn off its touch functionality. Pushing the INFO button 2 scrolls through four display options from showing everything to the minimalism of a single AF point. The MENU button 3 works in conjunction with the serratededge rotating dial to scroll across as well as up and down the options. Or use the touch screen. Both methods are quick. I use the exposure lock 4 far more than the movie record button 5 so I’d prefer these the other way around.
AT A GLANCE SPECS STREET PRICES Canon EOS M with 18-55mm and Speedlite 90EX £550; EOS M with 22mm, EF-EOS M adaptor and Speedlite 90EX £700 SENSOR 22.3x14.9mm CMOS 18 megapixels with integrated cleaning system IMAGE PROCESSOR DIGIC 5 IMAGE DIMENSIONS 5184x3456 pixels STORAGE SD/SDHC/SDXC cards ISO RANGE 100-12,800 (expandable to 25,600). In movie mode the limit is ISO 6400.
5 3 1 4 2
METERING PATTERNS Evaluative, centreweighted, partial, spot AUTOFOCUS Hybrid CMOS AF system 31 focus points, and phase detection built onto the imaging sensor. Single and servo. Face detection and tracking modes, FlexiZoneMulti, FlexiZone-Single and manual selection of AF points. Manual focusing SHUTTER SPEED RANGE 30secs-1/4000sec, flash sync at 1/200sec SIZE (WXHXD) 109x66x32mm WEIGHT 298g (body only)
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WEBSITE TEMPLATE PROVIDERS
WEBSITE TEMPLATE PROVIDERS A personalised site populated with your images is the perfect way to show off your skills. You might even end up selling some shots. Web template services let you do this without getting too tangled in the world wide web. We look at ten to see what they’re like WORDS IAN FYFE
The Internet has any number of options to show off your images. You might use Facebook or Flickr, join a photographic online community or sign up to 500px. Of course, the other way is to have your own website to showcase your images, get feedback from other photographers, and market your pictures or services. The problem is that building a website from scratch means you either need to know what you’re doing, or be willing to pay someone to do it for you. Luckily, there are possibilities in between, and one of the easiest options is to use a template service that lets you
build a customised site without web programming knowledge. Such services vary in what they offer, and finding one that suits depends on what you want out of it. To simply show off your images, there are templates for simple galleries, but if you want to have a blog and sell your pictures, others incorporate these aspects. Most offer a free trial, letting you use the service for a limited period so that you can see whether it meets your needs. It’s not a good idea to commit to any service if they don’t offer this trial, since useability and final results vary
wildly, and you don’t want to throw money at something that’s difficult to use or doesn’t do what you want. Aspects to think about when choosing a service include the options for customisation and how unique you want your site to look, how easy it is to use, how well it shows off your brilliant images, whether it has a blog, and what selling options it gives. The overall quality of the final site is, of course, essential too, since it’s representing you to the world. It’s also likely that you’ll want to connect your site with social media, so you can build up followings on Twitter, Facebook and so on. This is one of the best ways to get your images out into the world, and is arguably one of the most important aspects of a website if it is to make any impact. We’ve taken a look at ten services offering website templates for photographers, using them to build a simple site and judging them on the criteria above. Each service was used to set up a customised website, complete with gallery and sales service. Of course, judgements on useability and the final results are partly down to personal taste. While our conclusions provide an overview, each of these services offers a non-committal trial period, so try them out for yourself.
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WEBSITE TEMPLATE PROVIDERS
Amazing Internet CONTACT WWW.AMAZINGINTERNET.COM PACKAGES BRONZE (£60/ YEAR), SILVER (£180/YEAR), GOLD (£300/YEAR) FREE TRIAL 30 DAYS MAX UPLOAD LIMIT 50 IMAGES MAX FILE SIZE 2MB SUPPORT EMAIL, PHONE, ONLINE GUIDES
With Amazing Internet’s step-by-step setup process, you have a functioning website within minutes. Options are simple – you select a template style from a choice of ten, choose a colour scheme, and a layout for your galleries. These can be changed later, although personalisation doesn’t get more elaborate than that; the templates and colour schemes can’t be customised further. This saves time with setting up, but means you can’t give it your own look. The admin interface is easy to understand and navigate, and it guides you at every point. It also mirrors your site, so you can navigate as you would on the web page, with editing options on each page. You can have up to ten static pages, and these are simple to edit. Although there’s a news page, this is just a single page, and can’t be used as a blog. These pages are best for small amounts of peripheral content, but the site is centred around the galleries and sales sections.
The downfall of the system is the uploading process. Each image has to be uploaded individually, which is time consuming. What’s more, there’s no integration of the galleries and sales sections – pictures need to be uploaded to both sections separately. This is a shame, because the finished website presents images nicely, and the sales system is simple to set up while offering great control – for the end user, it’s streamlined and works well. If uploading images were easier, Amazing Internet’s service would be a fantastic, simple option for showcasing images and selling some without investing much time or effort. As it is, it’s best if you only have a few images. The Bronze package with fewer image uploads is less of a financial commitment too.
HOW IT RATES FEATURES
18/25
Limited customisation
HANDLING
22/25
Simple, but image uploading could be improved
PERFORMANCE
23/25
Smooth sales system, smart overall finish
VALUE FOR MONEY
20/25
Limited in comparison to similarly priced alternatives
OVERALL
83/100
Good in part, but could be improved
Big Black Bag CONTACT WWW.BIGBLACKBAG.COM PACKAGES BASIC (£66/YEAR), PREMIERE (£108/YEAR), PRO PROOFING (£168/YEAR), PRO UNLIMITED (£222/YEAR) FREE TRIAL 14 DAYS MAX UPLOAD LIMIT NONE MAX FILE SIZE NONE SUPPORT PHONE, LIVE CHAT, VIDEO TUTORIALS, GUIDES
You couldn’t really ask for a more selfexplanatory admin interface than Big Black Bag’s. That’s not to say there aren’t many options, just that they’re presented in an incredibly straightforward way. The templates are blank canvases divided into blocked areas, and colours and fonts are completely customisable. The result, regardless of the template, is a simplistic base design with areas of block colour and text – the minimalist style is ideal for showcasing photographs. The advantage of the simplistic design is clear in galleries: it doesn’t detract from your photographs at all. Creating galleries is just a matter of uploading images to folders, and you can fine-tune colours, thumbnail views and slide-show options. The e-commerce set-up lets you specify prices for each image, and once this is done, an ‘add to cart’ option appears in the galleries. A neat overlay that lets the customer order – a seamless and professional-looking system. For event
photographers, there’s a proofing system for passwordprotected galleries where clients can browse, mark favourites and buy them. It’s easy to set up and use. Social media is built into the templates, with buttons for the most common social networks, as well as an icon that you can link to an external blog. You can also customise the mobile version of the site with a different logo, colours and fonts, as well as excluding specific material. There’s little that Big Black Bag doesn’t offer, and I found it instantly intuitive to use. Prices for the full functionality are fairly high, so if you’re not selling your photos, this might be a problem. But if you’re happy with the minimalist design, then the high-quality finish and simple commercial integration make for a winning combination.
HOW IT RATES FEATURES
23/25
Not much lacking
HANDLING
25/25
Very intuitive and simple
PERFORMANCE
25/25
Polished and professional-looking results
VALUE FOR MONEY
24/25
Expensive, but reasonable for what you get
OVERALL
97/100
A great and simple system for showing off your photos and selling them
February 2013 ADVANCED PHOTOGRAPHER 107
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