Digital Photo Jan 2011

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11 9 N 7 E M W IN L S ES O S F O V N ID S EO

Britain’s best-selling photography mag!

PANAS LUM ONIC GF2 OUR VIX ER INSIDEDICT !

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ISSUE 138 JANUARY 2011 £4.99

LR DG-S P R G OU BI

REVEALED INSIDE!

CREATIVE

TESTE INSID

N CAMEW LEAR ERA ?

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USE TH HOW T THA E SETTINO TR G MAT EALLY S T IT’S E ER ASY!

TECHNIQUES The FOUR PROJECTS that will turn you into a real photographer – fast!

STUART STEVENSON

DO IT BETTER!

LOW-LIGHT IMAGES Stunning twilight & night shots are yours for the taking – we reveal how to set up your camera

CAPTURE LIGHT SPHERES

STUNNING SILHOUETTES MADE EASY

Discover how these amazing shots are made

Get it right first time with our clear and simple advice

PLUS TESTED CANON G12 VS NIKON P7000

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LO FO EA FU W R SY LL LI FA I O G N D F H T EA T A S IM S A TIC G ES !

WHAT YOU NEED D-SLR/CSC PLUS PHOTOSHOP/ELEMENTS WHAT YOU’LL LEARN HOW TO CREATE GREAT LOWLIGHT PICS

W MAK E EAS E IT Y YOU FOR LEARTO N

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STUART STEVENSON

Discover the secrets of creative photography and master exposure with four hands-on shooting projects you can do with your D-SLR! We make it easy...

FINAL IMAGE Light spheres make for an eye-catching addition to a lowlight scene.

KE MA ZING A AM LIGHT LOW ITH W ERS LAY

Create your own

Light Spheres 42

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WHAT YOU NEED A D-SLR OR CSC, TRIPOD & TORCH WHAT YOU’LL LEARN HOW TO CREATE A UNIQUE LOWLIGHT SHOT

VI LESDEO ON SON T CD!HE

Shooting a lowlight scene and the light spheres separately allows plenty of control over where they appear in the shot.

Get a totally unique lowlight shot with nothing more than your camera, a tripod and a torch...

TECHNIQUE BY PHIL HALL

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THANKS TO THE LONGER-than-usual exposures, one of the best things about shooting lowlight images is the opportunity it gives you to try out great new techniques. And that’s exactly what you’ll be able to do with this fabulous lowlight project.

By incorporating striking ‘light spheres’ into a lowlight scene like the shot above, you can create a really unique image that

will get people scratching their heads trying to work out how it was done.

Over the next few pages, we’ll reveal exactly how our light spheres are created in-camera and then incorporated into the scene using Photoshop. And the best bit is, it’s incredibly easy to achieve great results – all you’ll need is a tripod, a torch and some string, along with your camera. Just turn over the page to find out how.

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RN W A E L L NE AL ILLS SK

Photoshop Masterclass

» Your expert guide to the tips, tools & techniques that really matter...

Adjustment Brush MAKE LOCALISED RAW ADJUSTMENTS IN MINUTES ILY.DNG START IMAGE EM

TWO VIDEO LESSO ON THNS E CD!

FINAL IMAGE This final image has been created by making four individual adjustments using Adobe’s indispensable Adjustment Brush, located in Camera Raw.

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WHAT YOU NEED PHOTOSHOP CS4 OR CS5 WHAT YOU’LL LEARN HOW TO EDIT WITH THE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH

The Adjustment Brush offers localised control of many imaging variables in Camera Raw. We study it in detail…

you’re a regular RAW user as it’s a real godsend for day-to-day image processing.

TECHNIQUE BY MICHAEL TOPHAM

The Basic tab that’s displayed each time a RAW file is opened is replaced by ten sliders when the Adjustment Brush is selected. The typical way of working is to set the brush size and feather first before brushing over the area you wish to edit, tweaking the sliders afterwards for the desired effect.

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EFORE THE DAYS of Photoshop CS4 and CS5 we were very much restricted to making global adjustments to RAW files in Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Any changes made were applied to images in their entirety and with no way of choosing the precise areas we’d like to adjust, Adobe decided it was about time to revamp the Camera Raw

interface. This was done in Camera Raw 5 with the innovative Adjustment Brush tool. Designed to revolutionise the way we edit non-destructively, the Adjustment Brush offers speedy, precise and accurate control over localised adjustments.

The Adjustment Brush is one of the more useful tools inside Camera Raw and once you get familiar with it, you’ll use it a lot if

Adjustment Brush explained When you load a RAW file into Photoshop, it’ll automatically open the Adobe Camera Raw interface and the Basic tab will greet you on the far right-hand side.

To quickly change to the Adjustment Brush, you’ll need to get into the habit of using its keyboard shortcut which is the letter K. This will reveal a new list of 10 sliders. To make all the functions clearer to understand, we’ve added brief descriptions for each.

If you make a mistake, the Erase option restores original detail and new adjustments in multiple areas of the image can be made. New adjustments are marked by a pin, which you can see displayed on the screen and provided the right pin is selected, alterations to any adjustment can be carried out in the future.

Before we start this month’s technique, take a look at the first Adjustment Brush video on the CD to learn some vital shortcuts.

How is it used?

“ It offers precise and accurate control over localised adjustments... ”

NEW To apply an additional Adjustment Brush adjustment, ensure New is selected first.

Its shortcut is (N).

ADD

ERASE

To edit or change any previous adjustment, you’ll need to be selected on the Add option.

To undo part of the adjustment, click Erase in the Adjustment Brush options and paint over the adjustment with the relevant settings.

EXPOSURE Drag the slider right to increase the exposure and drag it left to decrease the exposure in the brushed area.

BRIGHTNESS Used to adjust the brightness of the brushed area. To the right increases brightness, to the left decreases the brightness.

CONTRAST Great for lightening the bright areas and making dark areas even darker.

SATURATION Great for boosting the vividness and purity of colours.

CLARITY Increases local contrast and can be used to soften hard outline edges.

SHARPNESS Enhances edge definition to bring out more detail. Drag the slider to the right to sharpen details, drag the slider to the left to blur details.

COLOR Used to apply a tint of colour to the adjusted area. Select the hue by clicking the sample box.

DENSITY Controls the amount of transparency in the stroke.

FLOW Controls the rate of application of the adjustment.

SHOW MASK Toggles visibility of the mask overlay in the image preview.

AUTO MASK This option confines your brush strokes to areas of similar color.

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SHOW PINS

FEATHER

CLEAR ALL

Untick this option to hide the pins.

Controls the hardness of the brush stroke.

To remove all adjustments, click here.

TURN OVER FOR MORE ADJUSTMENT BRUSH TIPS DIGITAL PHOTO

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D-SLR & RE SOFTWA ADVICE!

» Your problems solved by our photo experts » Visit our website www.photoanswers.co.uk for even more photographic help & advice!

Photo Answers is not only the name of our website, it’s also the place to come to for help if you have a photographic issue that needs sorting!

MEET THE EXPERTS JON ADAMS

Editor Jon has a wealth of knowledge to share on all aspects of digital photography and Photoshop.

PHIL HALL

Technical Editor Phil runs DP’s Gear section, so he knows exactly what kit you need and how to take great photos.

MICHAEL TOPHAM

Technical Writer Michael’s extensive camera and software skills mean he’s able to answer all your imaging queries.

PHOTOSHOP SKILLS

How do I hand tint a portrait?

Q

I’ve taken some portraits of my girlfriend and turned them into black & white using Elements. To complete the old-fashioned look, is it possible to apply some retro hand-tinting as well, as this is something I’d like to try?

David Blakeney

A

It’s always a good idea to send in your pictures with this sort of query David, but we’ll use our shot of Daniella to show you how it can be done. Digital hand tinting is quite straightforward in Elements or Photoshop, but you need to avoid overworking

the image or you can end up with what looks like a regular colour image. And if you end up with a realistic-looking colour pic, you may as well save some time and avoid converting to mono and repainting in the first place!

After you’ve made your mono conversion (hit Ctrl+Shift+U for a rough but very fast black & white rendition), adding the colour tinting is done by picking the colour and brushing it into a separate Layer. Here’s how it’s done...

STEP-BY-STEP

SUBMIT A QUESTION VIA THE FORUMS ON WWW.PHOTOANSWERS.CO.UK Join in the online chat where you can swap ideas, talk about gear, and help other photo enthusiasts out with photo-related queries.

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Send your gear, camera or imaging queries and supporting pics to: dp@bauermedia.co.uk and put ‘Answers’ in the subject box.

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START CHECK COLOUR MODE. We used DANIELLA.jpg from the free CD, so open this (or your shot) into Elements or Photoshop, and make sure it’s in the right mode by going to Image ➔ Mode and ticking RGB Color. If your shot’s still in colour, you can convert quickly to mono by hitting Ctrl+Shift+U.

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PAINT IN THE SKIN TONES. Open the Layers palette and click on the Create a new Layer icon. Now click where it says Normal and choose the Color Blending Mode. Open the Swatches palette (Window ➔ Color Swatches) and pick a skin colour. Now using a soft-edged brush, paint over all the skin areas of the mono image.

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PHOTO ANSWERS

QUICK QUESTIONS

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HOW CAN I SCROLL THROUGH BLENDING MODES?

Q

When I used Elements 5, I could click on a Blending Mode and scroll down with the mouse wheel until I found one that worked. In Elements 8, I can’t seem to do this any more. I have been into Preferences and clicked Scroll on the mouse wheel. I can zoom in & out on the wheel but it won’t let me scroll through the Blending Modes – instead I have to click on each one individually which takes considerably more time.

Jon Allen

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HAND-TINTED IMAGE

HAND-COLOURED EFFECTS START IMAGE

We took the mono image on the left and hand-tinted it to produce the result above. We then had to tone down the skin colour to stop the result looking too much like a regular colour picture.

ADD THE LIPS. Create another new Layer and again change the Blending Mode to Color. Now choose a colour for the lips from the Swatches palette, and after reducing brush size with the square brackets keys, paint in the lips.

If the effect is too loud, tone it down using the Opacity slider in the Layers palette.

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On a PC, with a multi-layered document and something other than the Background Layer selected, try holding Shift and using the plus and minus keys on the keyboard to cycle through and apply the Blending Modes on offer.

The only thing to watch out for is if you’re using a tool that has its own Blending Modes – the Brush tool for instance. If this is the case, you’ll cycle through those instead, so choose something like the Move tool before highlighting the Layer you want to change the Blending Mode of.

FINISH PICK AN EYE COLOUR. Create another new Layer with a Color Blending Mode. Pick an eye colour and paint in, then on another Layer, paint the hair. Adjust Opacity to get the effect you’re after. If you wish to change any colours, click on the Layer, hit Ctrl+U and then move the Hue and Saturation.

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To see the effects of different Blending Modes quickly on a PC, select the Move tool, then hold Shift and hit the Plus and Minus keys to cycle through them one by one.

MORE EXPERT PHOTO ADVICE OVER THE PAGE

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Technique of the Month

Add your shots to a Photo Sphere Create a great 3D experience from your favourite shots using our exclusive template TECHNIQUE BY GAVIN HOEY

3D MAY BE A HOT TOPIC in the film and TV world at the moment, but creating the illusion of three dimensions is something we photographers have been doing for a long time. Light, shade, size and angle all help to convince the eyes of our audience that the flat piece of paper we display our pics on really is a 3D object.

In this month's quick and easy technique, we’re going to show you how to make a 3D ball of images. To help things along, you'll find on our free CD a one-of-a-kind Photoshop template we’ve created that’s ready for you to add your best photos to. Once you have this, making a 3D Photo Sphere is just a few mouse-clicks away…

VI LESDEO ON TSON CD!HE

THE START IMAGES The template FRAMES.PSD is on the free CD, along with the SPHERE-BACKGROUND.JPG file and FLORENCE 1-12.JPG files.

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTO SPHERE

START OPEN SOME PHOTOS. Open all the images that you’re going to use to make the sphere into Photoshop Elements. Now open FRAMES.PSD and ensure that the Background Layer is active. From the Project bin (bottom of the screen) drag and drop your favourite image into the centre frame.

FILL THE FRAMES. Press Ctrl+T to open Free Transform and resize the photo so it fits under the frame. Click the tick once it’s the correct size and angle. Continue adding the rest of your photos one at a time using Free Transform to rotate and resize the images to fit the frames.

MAKE THE SPHERE. Go to Layer ➔Flatten Image. Now choose the Elliptical Marquee tool (M), hold Shift and drag a circular Selection from the top-left to the bottom-right corner.

Go to Filter ➔ Distort ➔Spherize and apply a setting of +100%. Once you've done this, press Ctrl+C.

FINISH FINAL EFFECT. Open SPHERE-BACKGROUND.JPG and go to Edit ➔ Paste. Move the sphere so it touches the white line.

Go to Edit ➔ Paste and then Image ➔ Rotate ➔ Flip Layer Vertical. Move the new sphere so it touches the white line. Drop the Layer Opacity to 30% and erase along the bottom.

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WHAT YOU NEED PHOTOSHOP OR ELEMENTS WHAT YOU’LL LEARN MAKE A 3D PHOTO SPHERE

“ With our Photoshop template, making a 3D Photo Sphere is just a few clicks away ”

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Gear

Enthusiast D-sLRs

what we tested The latest enthusiast-focused D-SLrs that offer a range of high-end features and advanced controls for photographers looking to upgrade.

Canon eOS 60D…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£815 Nikon D7000… . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .£1099 Pentax K-5…. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £1059

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ENTHUSIAST D-SLRS

GEAR

B GROIG TES UP T! W T E RE VE HE ENT BEST-BAL HUS U IASTY MOD ELS

If you’re thinking of upgrading to an enthusiast D-SLR, then there’s never been a better time. We put the latest three models from Canon, Nikon and Pentax to the test TEST BY PHIL HALL

ENTHUSIAST

D-SLR ROUND-UP WWW.PHOTOANSWERS.CO.UK

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GEAR

PANASONIC LUMIX GF2 » £599 (WITH 14-42MM LENS) » 12.1MP SENSOR » MICRO FOURTHIRDS » WWW.PANASONIC.CO.UK

The Micro FourThirds standard has grown in popularity in recent years, so what can the latest offering from Panasonic bring to the table? We take a look at the new GF2 to find out...

TEST BY MICHAEL TOPHAM

RENOWNED for being the first manufacturer to break into the Micro FourThirds market with the innovative G1 in 2008, Panasonic has always been at the forefront of developing Micro FourThirds cameras, producing no fewer than seven models in the last two years.

The G1, GH1, G10, G2 and more recently announced GH2 have all taken the shape of D-SLRs, whereas the GF series has been more about offering a Micro FourThirds feature set in a smaller,

pocket-friendly, compact body.

Fourteen months on from the release of the GF1, Panasonic’s latest compact system camera (or CSC) to date is the GF2, which combines an interchangeable lens design with a sensor that’s larger than those you’ll find in a compact and is equal in resolution terms to a few D-SLRs on the market.

The older GF1 impressed us in the past and gave us something to get excited about in 2009. If the GF2 is to do the same it needs to

turn the four-star overall verdict the GF1 received into a five-star result. Let’s start by checking out its hottest features and latest developments.

Features & Build At the heart of the GF2 is a 12.1Mp sensor that produces the same resolution as the GF1. This isn’t an issue, though, because the detail this size of sensor has produced in the past is exceptionally good, especially for prints up to A3 size.

The bigger talking point is that the GF2’s dimensions have shrunk and it’s now Panasonic’s smallest CSC ever made. It’s not as small as the NEX-5 produced by Sony, but it’s noticeably more petite beside its predecessor. With less room on the back of the camera for buttons, something radical had to be done if it was to maintain the functionality of the GF1. The GF2 has done away

with a mode dial on the top-plate and adopts a 3in, 460k-dot touch screen at the rear. Elsewhere, it inherits a high-performance Venus Engine FHD processor that’s more powerful than that on the GF1. This has enabled HD video to be upgraded from 720p to full HD (1920x1080) with movies recorded to SD/SDHC media in the AVCHD format. As an alternative, videos can also be created in the motion JPEG/HD, QVGA, WVGA and VGA recording formats.

For autofocus, the GF2 uses a contrast-detect AF system and has a variety of modes to choose from including 1 Area Spot, 23 Area, Face Detection, AF tracking and Manual Focus. All the usual shooting modes you expect to find on a CSC are featured and as well as the M, A, S, P modes, there’s Intelligent Auto (iA) mode, which automatically works out the best

KNOWLEDGE

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PANASONIC LUMIX GF2

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GF2 lens kit combinations

Pop-up flash

D-Pad & Quick Menu

Panasonic’s GF2 is available in three kit combinations. The cheapest option is to buy the body with a 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, which comes to £599. If you prefer a fixed focal-length it can be bought with the 14mm f/2.5 pancake lens for around £630, and if you’d like it with both you’ll need to save up in the region of £730 for the GF2 twin lens kit.

The top-plate on the GF2 has seen quite a few modifications in comparison with the GF1. The pop-up flash features a re-modelled mechanism and pops up in the blink of an eye when the Open button is depressed. It’s possible to tilt the flash unit back with the finger which is handy when you want to achieve a subtle bounce flash effect.

Hit the Menu/Set button in the centre of the D-pad and it’ll display the GF2’s bright and clearly laid-out menu system that’s broken down into six categories.

The Q Menu button beneath is handy for making speedy changes to important camera settings such as Metering, AF Mode, Picture Settings, Motion Picture Settings and Image Quality.

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PANASONIC LUMIX GF2

settings for your situation. To add to this, Panasonic has developed a more expressive set of My Color modes featuring a total of eight new presets including Retro, Pure, Elegant, Cinema and Silhouette.

Looking back at the 100-3200 ISO range on the GF1, this is another area that’s seen improvement on the GF2, with the ISO spanning a broad 100-6400.

Featuring the Micro FourThirds lens mount, you’ll need to be aware of the 2x focal length multiplication when considering a lens. The 14mm f/2.5 Lumix G lens

supplied with our test model is available in kit form with the GF2 and is equal to a 28mm f/2.5 lens in traditional 35mm film terms.

Performance & Handling We were somewhat sceptical about how it would feel in the hand with its diminutive proportions, but the GF2 retains the feel of a large-sized compact and can be slipped in a pocket with relative ease, albeit with a bit of a bulge where the lens protrudes!

The aluminium body gives the GF2 a rock-solid feel when it’s

GEAR

“ The aluminum body gives the GF2 a rock-solid feel when held... ” held, but you’ll need to be aware that the ultra-smooth finish doesn’t offer much in the way of grip. As a precaution, we tended to use it with the shoulder strap.

Introducing the new touch screen has been of great benefit.

Freeing up room on the top-plate, Shooting Modes are quick to select from the top-left of the screen and it takes a matter of seconds to change Metering modes and AF modes using the Q Menu on-screen button. The idea of tapping the screen to fire

the shutter is a nice touch and it’s incredibly responsive to use in combination with Continuous AF, but our preferred method was to use the shutter button up top.

Further benefits of the touch screen are that it can be tapped once to isolate and resize the AF point and it’s superb for cycling through and zooming into images when you’re in playback mode.

Like the GF1 it retains the movie record button on the top-plate and also adopts a dedicated iA button to employ Panasonic’s Intelligent Auto mode. Our favourite control, however, is the command dial at the rear. In Aperture and Shutter priority modes it’s awesome for making quick exposure changes and in Manual mode it can be depressed to instantly switch between Shutter Speed and Aperture – a smart and well-received feature.

In our tests we found there was little

AT A GLANCE PANASONIC GF2 Street price: £599 (with 14-42mm zoom lens) Resolution: 12.1Mp (4000x3000) Lens mount: Micro FourThirds Focusing: 23-area AF, AF Tracking, Face Detection & Manual Continuous shooting: 3.2fps Write times: 2.0secs (RAW), 1.5secs (JPEG) ISO range: 100-6400 Anti-shake: Lens-based Shutter range: 60secs-1/4000sec Monitor: 3.0in, 460k dots Live View: Yes HD video: Full HD (1920x1080) Storage: SD/SDHC/SDXC Weight (body only): 265g Dimensions: 112.8x67.8x32.8mm Visit: www.panasonic.co.uk

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