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Why you need prime lenses
5 accessories
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Welcome Give us a tip! Welcome to the latest installment of Digital SLR Plus – a completely free slice of extra content that you won’t find in the main magazine. This month, we’re letting our readers join in with the fun. In the main magazine we’ve brought 27 learner tips to the table and, as you can see on this page, we asked our Facebook community to send in their favourite learner tips too. Once you’ve gorged on bite-size tips, there’s even more advice to help you improve your photos. We’ll explain why you should invest in a 50mm prime lens, we’ll share the top five accessories that will make a real difference to your landscape photography and you can read a review on a special photo workshop that’s just for the fairer sex. If you like what you’ve seen, take advantage of the subscription deal on the last page. You could save money and a trip to the shops as the magazine will be delivered to your doorstep. Easy eh!
Matty Graham, Editor mattygraham@bright-publishing.com
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After serving up 27 tips in Issue 84, we asked our readers to share their favourite slice of photo advice
“For landscape photography, know your area. Get out and explore the countryside around you; expect to often come home without a great shot, but as long as you are having fun, it doesn’t matter!” John James Fowler
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H
PHOTOGRAPHY
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PAINTING with light, so get familiar with the different light available to you at differing times. It gives an image a completely new feel. If in bright sunshine, I always try and keep the sun at the right or left of me to avoid overexposure effects.” Nicky Brown
“When out in the country for a shoot, always look behind; many a good Jacky Quirke shot is behind you.”
“Practis
Prac
Pra Photography i Gage Hanson: “Create your own little pocket cheat sheet. ISO does this, white-balance does that, and so on. By creating your own cheat sheets it helps you remember important elements and use them in the field.”
Learn
Alan
Howe
“Learn about the fundamental aspects of photography early on such as depth-offield, ISO, aperture, shutter speeds and noise and how your camera works. If you can get the theory while you are learning this will help enormously.”
your camera. Realise that to get one great shot means taking many more that are not until you get to grips with the camera. Only show off your best work... Would you rather look at 100 of your best friend’s holiday shots or ten great ones?”
David Somerville “Don’t rush to spend money, learn to master the equipment you have and study the camera’s instructions. You’ll be amazed what it can do.”
Chris Raven
“Find a photographer you like and spend lots of time studying their work. Try to work out what it is you like about each photo. Do the same for your own photos, and other photos you see.”
beauty is
everywhere.”
&
Becky Hutchinson:
“If at first you don’t get it right, try, Maureen McHugh-Castro “Take lots of pictures and delete at least
90%
of them.”
se, ctise,
“Remember
try again! Oh and don’t underestimate how much a sturdy tripod can help improve your shots.”
Sara Cremer-Evans
actise! is all about having fun Chris Combe: “Learn the rules of composition, but be prepared to break them!”
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scott griffiths DIGITAL SLR Plus 3
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optic options
When to use
a 50mm prime lens If there’s one lens you should definitely own, it’s a 50mm prime lens. Here’s why you should bag a ‘nifty fifty’...
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ou’ve probably heard some photographers say that a 50mm prime lens is a must-have for any kitbag. They’re an absolute bargain as well, and you can get one for around £100. But you might be wondering what all the fuss is about and what you use them for. Take a look at this guide to see the top times when a 50mm prime lens is just what you need. If you’re convinced that you simply must have one, head over to the latest issue of the magazine for a full review of six options.
buy the right prime lens In our latest issue you can read how a gaggle of 50mm lenses got on when we pitted them against each other to find the winner.
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Use a 50mm prime lens when… 1
You want a shallow depth-of-field All 50mm prime lenses have a very wide maximum aperture, usually either f/1.8 or f/1.4. This is much wider than the f/3.5 maximum aperture of a kit lens, and it means that you can achieve a much shallower depth-of-field. Focus on your subject and most of the foreground and background will be blurred, making your subject stand out without any distractions. The apertures in these lenses are usually round too, which means the blurred areas are smooth and ‘creamy’ – this is what gives many photos a professional look.
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optic options
2
You want maximum image quality Prime lenses are called that for a reason – when it comes to image quality, they’re the best. There’s no zoom, which means that the glass is designed, optimised and fixed in place to produce the best possible image quality. Prime lenses resolve more detail than a kit lens, and cause fewer artefacts such as distortion and coloured fringing. With the prices of some 50mm prime lenses around £100, you won’t find a lens that gives you better images for your money.
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You’re on the streets If you like street photography, then you’ll love a 50mm prime lens. Because the focal length is fixed, you don’t need to worry about setting the zoom before taking a shot, which is great when you’re in a hurry to take a shot of a passing moment. The focal length captures a scene close to how we see it naturally too, so if you see something you want to capture, you can just lift the camera and press the shutter button, and the chances are it’ll turn out how you imagined it. The wide maximum aperture of a 50mm prime lens also means you can easily blur the foreground and background to pick out your subject from a crowded street.
TOP TIP
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The light levels are low It’s not just a shallow depth-of-field that the wide maximum aperture of a 50mm prime lens is good for. A wide aperture also lets in much more light, and this means you can carry on shooting when light levels are so low that shooting with lenses that have smaller apertures would be impossible. Even if it’s just dim rather than dark, there’s still an advantage because you can achieve fast enough shutter speeds to avoid blurring without increasing the camera’s ISO sensitivity – this means your images are less grainy.
prime lenses also save on weight, saving you any more back-ache from heavy zooms.
“not only does it offer great image quality, but it’s small and lightweight for carrying around” 4
You only want to carry one lens Sometimes you don’t want to carry extra lenses with you but you want to be prepared for anything, so which lens should you pick? Well, if you have a 50mm prime lens, it should be that. Not only does it offer great image quality, but it’s small and lightweight for carrying around, and it’s extremely versatile – 50mm is a great focal length for capturing almost anything. You can even turn the lens round and hold it back to front over the lens mount for a makeshift macro lens – try it! Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag
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You’re taking portraits Usually with portraits, you want a background that’s distraction free so your subject is the main focus, and with 50mm prime lenses, this is easy to achieve. By opening the aperture to its widest setting of f/1.8 or f/1.4, the background will be almost completely blurred, making your subject stand out. The aperture opens so wide that if you focus on your subject’s eyes, the rest of your subject’s face might not be in focus. This is a good thing, because it’ll mean you can’t help but look at the eyes in the final image, making for a captivating picture. It’s almost impossible to get the same effect with most other lenses. DIGITAL SLR Plus 5
ACCESSORIES
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Top landscape accessories Ready to head outdoors and shoot some wonderful locations? Packing the right kit will make a huge difference to your images, so here’s what we reckon you should invest your hard-earned money in
Learn more Landscape tips If you’re interested in improving your landscape images, don’t miss our Back To Basics feature in the magazine. It could change your photography, forever!
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ACCESSORIES
f you were inspired by our Back To Basics landscapes in Issue 84, you’re probably chomping at the bit to get outside, drive off to a beautiful location and fill up that memory card with some spectacular frames. However, before you walk out the door, take a look at your kitbag and ask yourself: do you have the right tools for the job? Although you can still bag good images with just your camera, buying a few choice accessories will massively improve your chances of capturing landscapes worth hanging over the mantelpiece. So, to get you on the right track, here’s a shortlist of the top accessories you’ll want to add to your wish list.
wide-angle lens As we explained in the feature, although your kit lens will give decent results, if you want to really make the most of your location, you may wish to consider buying a wide-angle lens. These optics, typically with focal lengths of around 10-20mm, cost around £350 – although you could save money and search for a second-hand version from sites like Camera Jungle. Wide-angle lenses stretch the perspective of a scene and include more of what you can see in front of you so if landscape photography is something you’re really interested in, a wide-angle optic could be your number one tool.
Grad filters When shooting landscapes, the camera can struggle to balance bright skies with darker foregrounds so a grad filter will solve this issue. These filters, which have a graduated tint across the glass, come in circular and square versions and also come in different strengths. Cokin and Kood offer value-formoney filters.
TRIPOD As we explained in the feature, the best landscape images come when you shoot during the golden hour. However, light levels can be lower which means shutter speeds will be longer. If you hand-hold the camera, a slow shutter speed will lead to shake and blur. Use a tripod and the camera will remain still, resulting in sharp shots. Tripods don’t have to cost a lot of money; brands to look out for include Velbon, Manfrotto, Hama and Calumet. £50 should be more than enough for a starter tripod.
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CAMERA BAG Although this accessory won’t improve your images, it will make your day out with the camera a better experience. Chances are you’ll be shooting in a rural or coastal location, so a good-quality bag will protect your cherished camera from the elements – plus, it will also carry your lunch, too. A camera rucksack is better if you plan to shoot a lot of landscapes, as it will hold more kit and is more ergonomic if you are walking distances, which is usually the case with landscape locations.
CLEANING CLOTH Shooting landscapes means that you’re always at the mercy of the weather, so it could be worth buying a microfibre cloth. Picked up for around a fiver, these must-have accessories solve a number of problems. Cloths can be used for wiping away drops of rain from the front of your lens, or if you are doing a long exposure, you could cover the whole camera with the cloth to protect it from the rain. What’s more, LCD screens often get smeary from the oils on our fingers, which can make it difficult to review images, but a quick wipe with the microfibre cloth will clean things up. DIGITAL SLR Plus 7
REVIEWS
Landscape learner Landscape-phobe Lisa Clatworthy spends two days learning to love the land
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ecently, I dusted off my wide-angle lens, laced up my walking shoes and headed for the hills with Cheryl Hamer of Women Behind the Lens. I was joining her weekend landscape course, one of several she offers for women only, hoping to encourage women to explore their potential in a friendly environment. The courses are borne out of her feeling that some women feel intimidated on mixed courses, overwhelmed by men with more kit and a more theoretical approach to learning. So Women Behind the Lens is all about a hands-on, try-and-see approach. Now before I tell you about the course, let’s get one thing straight. I might work on a photography magazine, but I’m a words person, not a photographer. I enjoy photography and take photos of food and nature, but I gave up taking landscapes a while ago because every one I take is boring. So this is the perfect chance to rectify the situation. Saturday morning I met Cheryl and the other participant at Lower Winskill Farm, near Settle in the Yorkshire Dales. All Cheryl’s courses are small. Usually she works with a maximum of four in a group, so you’re assured close attention every time. Over a cuppa, we chatted about our photography and what we hoped to gain from the weekend (for me, getting to grips with filters). Then we headed out on to the farm. We soon set up at our first location, cameras on tripods and filters to hand. I struggled at first to apply the rule of thirds, but Cheryl suggested sitting on a wall, which cured my problem. Trying to turn my theoretical filter knowledge into practical use was harder, but again a bit of prompting from Cheryl meant I soon had a few decent shots. We tackled another two locations before lunch – a mown field with a lone tree on the horizon (perfect for breaking the rule of thirds) and a view through trees down the valley. Over lunch we reviewed the morning’s photos, and then launched into my least favourite aspect of photography: Photoshop editing. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. It seems I have been doing things almost right, so with a little guidance, I was soon on my way. Using layer masks and Levels, I tweaked a few images from the morning’s shoot – I’ve even applied the knowledge again since. As the light improved late afternoon, we headed to Catrigg waterfall, where Cheryl challenged us to not only shoot a classic blurry water image from the bottom of the falls, but also shoot the falls from above. Bit of a
Our reviewer Lisa is Digital SLR’s Senior Sub-Editor. Along with beiung a whizz with words, Lisa knows her way around DSLRs and CSCs.
“i enjoy photography but i gave up taking landscapes a while ago because every one i take is boring. this is my chance to rectify this” 8 DIGITAL SLR Plus
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TOP TIP
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tripod challenge that one, but thankfully my Sigma wide-angle lens got it all in one frame. We rounded off the day at another lone tree. Rain was already threatening, but we got our tripods set up, ready for the light. So in the brief moments we were blessed, we each got a couple of shots, using our filters again to control the contrast. Sunday morning was an early start, but as it was chucking it with rain (technical term!), it was plan B – long exposures and playing with light in some disused limekilns. Cheryl explained the theory, and then we simply enjoyed ourselves, experimenting with shutter speeds and torches. I came away with my appetite whetted and a shutter release Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/DSLRMag
on my shopping list. After a pit stop for some breakfast, we headed back to base for more Photoshop work. Cheryl even demonstrated using a Raw file from the limekiln shoot to produce an HDR. For our final location, we battled the wind to capture shots for a panorama. Cheryl helped us set up our tripods, even supplying hotshoe bubble levels to avoid wonky horizons, and plan the shots. Holding my tripod firmly (against the gusting wind), I tried a dry run to get the overlap right, then shot my five images, before we bundled back into the car. I couldn’t wait to download, tweak my images and stitch them in Photoshop – I hadn’t
realised how easy it is. I was really rather chuffed with my moody weather panorama, as I was with my newfound landscape confidence and the whole course overall – it was certainly a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere, conducive to learning. Reviewing the weekend, Cheryl invited us to send her six of our final images for critique, promising further email advice and even a discount on a further course. She would happily stick around for another sunset shoot, but I had a long drive ahead of me, so I hopped in the car.
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