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10 FREE VIDEOs The definitive guide to SLR photography
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CALENDAR
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COMPOSITION Landscapes
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Portraits
Wildlife
Street
beautiful 2016 photo calendar 9 TIPS cards to print and keep GEAR BUYING GUIDE Photoshop ebook
Still-life
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E v e r y t h i n g y o u n e e d t o k n o w a b o u t p h o t o g r a p h y i n 1 5 6 pa g e s !
C OVER s t o r y
Master the art of
COMPOSITION 38
Discover tips and techniques to crack one of photography’s trickiest challenges, as five top pro photographers reveal the secrets they use to frame each image they shoot to perfection – from portraits to street photos, and from landscapes to still-life
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reader shootout Snowdonia landscapes
Two Digital Camera readers take up our Shootout challenge as they learn how to improve their landscape shots – in all kinds of weather… www.digitalcameraworld.com
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PHOTO PROJECTS 10 New ideas to try
Get inspired and find something new to try this month, as we explore 10 creative projects you can try yourself – including enhancing portraits with props
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MACRO 8 LENSES ON TEST
Macro lenses enable you to capture the miniature world that’s all around us. We test eight macro primes as we reveal the best choices for your SLR or CSC December 2015
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SECTION HEAD
Support line in here
Welcome to this special edition of Digital Camera
ThiS MONTH’S STAR CONTRIBUTORS…
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D
espite all the bells and whistles of modern-day cameras, there’s not much help on hand when it comes to composition. How you choose to frame your scene and what you choose to place in it is the most crucial skill a photographer can develop. It’s also one of the hardest skills to get to grips with – so, for this month’s main feature, we asked five of the world’s top photographers to talk us through their top composition tips. As you’ll see, this month’s issue also includes a stunning 2016 calendar featuring a dozen iconic images brought to you by our lovely new sister magazine Professional Photography. Check it out – it’s awesome! This month we’re also launching our brand-new Photo Club – which you’ll automatically be made a member of if you’re already subscriber. And if you’re not, there are some great offers, gifts and savings to be made. Turn to page 62 for more details.
ThE BIG INTERVIEW
LIGHTING GURU
This collector of the eccentric reviews his career in documentary photos
Scott takes up the challenge of a poor venue for a wedding shoot
Patrick Ward
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TURNING PRO CHARLIE WAITE
The leading photographer explains what makes his workshops succeed
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QUESTION MASTER ANDREW JAMES
Andrew solves reader queries about Lightroom and hand-held landscapes
Ben Brain Editor, Digital Camera
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SCOTT KELBY
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portfolio Tatsuo Suzuki
The photographer who’s not afraid to get in the face of his subjects
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Photoshop maestro James PAterson James shows you how to master Photoshop’s Focus Area tool
About the cover shot Willie Huang’s ‘Leading The Way’ won a Highly Commended award in the My USA category of 2015’s USA Landscape Photographer of the Year awards. See page 8 for our selection of winning and commended shots. www.usalandscape photographeroftheyear.com
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Willie says: “When I visited Mono Lake, California, I was surprised to find water so still it resembled a giant mirror. I spotted an outcrop of tufas and decided to hike towards it for a closer look. I instantly saw an S-shaped sandbar along the shore. The shape and the reflections of the tufas drew me to that scene.
“I chose a wide, but not too wide, focal length to highlight the curve of the sandbar while maintaining the size of the tufas in the background.” www.williehuang photography.com Canon 5D Mark II with EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II lens at 25mm; 0.6 sec, f/11, ISO 100
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HOTSHOTS Winning images from usa landscape photographer of the year 2015
ABOUT THE COMPETITION
www.grantordelheide.com
The brainchild of esteemed landscape photographer, Charlie Waite, the USA Landscape Photographer of the Year competition is designed to celebrate the diverse rural and urban views of the USA, with a top prize of $5,000.
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Grant Ordelheide
winner, my usa category “After several days of chasing lightning unsuccessfully in the Grand Canyon, a storm finally developed one evening. I watched its progress, then positioned myself along the rim in the right spot. I had hoped the strike would hit where it did, but obviously I had no control over that. Luck was definitely on my side.� Kit Canon EOS 5D Mark III with Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L USM lens at 32mm Exposure 1.3 sec at f/4, ISO 640
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HOTSHOTS
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DECEMBER 2015
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Photo projects 10 fresh and creative ideas to try – from light-painting to vertical panoramas…
How to avoid bright spots In order to avoid creating overexposed areas or ‘hotspots’ when light painting, keep the torch moving, and switch it off if you move around the scene. A head torch comes in handy too, enabling you to check camera settings without using up precious battery juice unnecessarily.
Project 1
Shoot a starry selfie
Embrace the long nights and add a personal touch to your outdoor photos
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hours when finally the sky cleared. After quickly setting up my Canon EOS 5D Mk III and Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens on a tripod near a cliff, I climbed up to what’s known as the Windows section, then used a remote shutter release to take a long-exposure selfie. I had to stand still for the exposure time of 30 seconds. To balance the exposure of the foreground with the starry
sky, Manish used two torches. “I positioned one on the ground and adjusted the beam so that the light wasn’t too harsh on the rocks, and kept the other torch in my hand to show that I was light-painting. Obviously I couldn’t move during the long exposure, so I angled the torch away from the arch to avoid creating a hotspot.” www.manishmamtani.com
DEcEMBER 2015
Manish Mamtani
ew photographers enjoy shooting self-portraits. But why not follow nature photographer Manish Mamtani’s example and disguise yourself in the dark? “I was in the Arches National Park in Utah on a mission to shoot landscapes at night, but the clouds moved in,” reveals Manish. “I sat in the car for about two
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Cover Story
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portraits Trevor Yerbury uses composition to get to the heart of his portrait subjects
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revor’s portrait is of the late Sax Shaw, who was head of stained glass at Edinburgh College of Art. “Sax was a real character: a contemporary of Picasso, who he knew reasonably well, and somebody who lived and worked in Edinburgh for most of his life after a spell in Paris,” says Trevor. “We photographed Sax several times. This one was taken in his studio in natural daylight, using a 5x4 Linhoff.” Trevor says there’s a debate in portrait photography right now over whether you should go in cold, make a quick portrait and leave, or spend
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Cover Story 1
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Why this composition works 1 Not every portrait needs strong eye contact, but this one really benefits from the engagement with the viewer, and captures Sax’s intensity and mischievous spirit. If eye contact is important, always set the autofocus point carefully on the eyes, and try to avoid reflections from glasses. 2 Sax was a prodigious smoker of Gauloise, a brand associated with
European artists and bohemians, so the inclusion of the cigarette is entirely fitting. Trevor also uses the positions of the hand to carefully frame the face. 3 This is a fairly tight crop, but one that captures Sax’s rakish hat while giving the figure space to breathe within the frame. It also ensures that there are no background distractions to draw attention away from Sax’s steady gaze.
more time with the subject. “Our approach is to try to get to know more about the subject,” he asserts. “One of the great privileges of being a portrait photographer is that you get to spend time with people like Sax. We discourage photographers to just sit the subject down and start snapping away. You should try to spend an hour or longer engaging with them and watching them: their hand movements, their head movements, what they are doing with their body and so on. So you know there are certain nuances that you want to capture. The hands are important, particularly with men. We used the hands to frame and compose part of this portrait.” Such careful observation came in useful when photographing Sax. “Sax was a heavy smoker, so that had to be part of the frame,” says Trevor. “He was an intense but mischievous person. The idea here was to get his sense of mischief into the image, but also to keep it simple, using only daylight. “We tried a series of poses, then chose the ones we liked the most. We’ll select our favourite four or five images from a portrait session and pin prints up on the wall. Over Unless it’s for creative effect, the next weeks, we’ll avoid composing a portrait favour one over the so that the edge of the frame others until we’re left cuts through joints such as with just one or two the elbows, knees or ankle: images. This works it just looks awkward. better than making an instantaneous decision.”
TOP TIP
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Why this composition works 1 Whether Trevor is using natural or artificial light, the lighting needs to complement the face. Note the graphic shape of the face under the hood and the very even lighting, which evokes the traditions of classic portraiture 2 Strong eye contact creates powerful engagement with the viewer, while the catch light in the eyes is pleasing. 3 The clothes complement the background without clashing with it. The background brings out the serene facial expression, with no distractions allowed to intrude.
“We took this image during a workshop to show how you could separate black velvet from a black background by using a particular form of direct lighting,” says Trevor. “Choosing the right background for a portrait is important, and people don’t always give it enough consideration. You want your subjects to stand out, so we don’t tend to shoot our subjects against pale backgrounds without good reason. If you look at a lot of classic portraits, they’re often taken against a dark or moody background so the individual can jump out.” For the lighting, Trevor used Bowens strip lights and heads, angled so that they formed a pyramid. “I shot through the gap, which is how I got that ‘cat’s eyes’ look.”
DECEMBER 2015
TREVOR YERBURY Trevor comes from a long line of Scottish photographers dating back to the 1860s, and pioneered the informal style of wedding photography that dominates the genre today. He’s also an accomplished portrait photographer, and his work with Billy Connolly was featured on the BBC series The Bigger Picture. Trevor holds 14 Kodak European Gold awards, along with accolades from the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers and other industry bodies. Visit Trevor and Faye Yerbury at www. yerburystudio.com.
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Interview
PAT R I C K WA R D
One of the UK’s finest documentary photographers tells Geoff Harris about the passions that inspire his images > 86
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A biker practising his yoga in Kensington Gardens, London.
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DECEMBER 2015
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K IT Z O N E
MINI-TEST
Cameraphones We test the latest leading smartphones to see which comes out on top for camera quality
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Apple iPhone 6S
HTC One M9
LG G4
From £539/$649
£580/$648
£420/$552
At first glance, the iPhone 6S appears
The image sensors in previous HTC
Boasting a 5.5-inch display, the G4
almost identical to its predecessor the iPhone 6, but under the skin is a brandnew 12MP camera with optical image stabilisation and 4K video capability. The bump in megapixels sounds great, but the camera only resolves slightly more detail compared to the 8MP iPhone 6. The 6S doesn’t improve much on its predecessor’s already impressive dynamic range, colour accuracy and low noise levels. Apple is also sticking to a traditional 4:3 image aspect ratio. Screen quality is another area where little has changed. You get vibrant yet natural colour and good brightness, but the lowest resolution and pixel density by far of today’s flagship phones.
One models traded megapixels for larger individual photosites, giving increased sensitivity in low light. However, the One M9 uses a 20MP chip design to try and trump more pixel-packed rivals. Despite the high pixel count, the M9’s images are very soft, and plagued with noise and an unsightly amount of image smoothing. JPEG compression artefacts further blur colour boundaries, and there’s no optical image stabilisation. HTC’s camera app is responsive, though, and gives respectable manual control. Autofocusing is adequate, as is the 5.0-inch Full HD screen. In isolation, this looks great, but it lacks the wow factor of the Galaxy S6 or the LG G4’s displays.
is the longest and widest phone here: combined with its super-slim profile, it means it isn’t easy to hold in one hand. The payoff is the best screen quality of the bunch, thanks to stunning 1,440 x 2,560 resolution and superb brightness. It makes browsing photos a pleasure, and the images don’t let the side down. The 16MP main camera can record DNG raw files, but even JPEG shots pack respectable detail levels and punchy colour. The G4’s low-light abilities are also good, with a large f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilisation helping to minimise noise. Add in the removable 3000mAh battery and a Micro SD slot, and the G4 is a great all-rounder.
OVERALL
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OVERALL
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MINI-TEST
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Panasonic Lumix DMC-CM1
Samsung Galaxy S6
Sony Xperia Z3
From £499/$576
£399/$520
£649/$998 AT the heart of the CM1 is the 1-inch, 20MP sensor you get in Panasonic’s FZ1000 bridge camera, giving a maximum sensitivity of ISO 25,600, raw image capture and dynamic range far beyond what the competition can offer. A 28mm-equivalent Leica lens ensures top optical quality, while Panasonic’s camera app is the most comprehensive here. The CM1 feels more like a real camera than a cameraphone. Autofocus performance is excellent in all conditions, as is image quality. Quadcore processing power and a 4.7-inch Full HD screen ensures the CM1’s smartphone side is just as impressive.
OVERALL
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After a couple of mediocre Galaxy
SONY’s camera experience really
S-series phones, the S6 makes its mark with a new metal case style. There’s no Micro SD slot, but inside is a 16MP 1/2.6-inch image sensor that’s capable of resolving bags of detail while maintaining good colour accuracy. The sharp lens features a fast f/1.9 aperture and optical image stabilisation, reducing the need for high sensor sensitivities when shooting indoors. Just as well: its high-ISO shots can look somewhat soft and blotchy. With the same screen resolution as the LG G4 but squeezed into a smaller 5.1-inch panel, the S6’s display is the sharpest here. Its Super AMOLED screen technology is also extremely vibrant, although not particularly bright.
shows in the Xperia Z3, as it contains a 20MP, 1/2.3-inch Exmor RS sensor and a G lens, just as you’d find in a full-on Sony compact camera. This is also one of the few smartphones to have a proper two-stage shutter release button. The Z3’s camera app gives excellent manual control and a plethora of shooting options. You’ll need to choose the Manual mode to access the full sensor resolution as the default Superior Auto mode only records 8.3MP images. That said, the shots are very detailed. A 1,080 x 1,920 5.2-inch display isn’t quite in the same league as the LG G4’s screen, but the Z3 has an even bigger battery and a water-resistant body.
OVERALL
OVERALL
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