Practical Photography - November 2015

PRACTICAL PHOTOGRAPHY NOVEMBER 2015

Sony A7R II Best CSC ever? Meet the pro spec 42MP contender

MASTER THE ART OF

Sigma 24-35mm full-frame zoom Unique focal range, widest aperture Plus Find the best value backpack

November 2015 ÂŁ4.99

CREATIVE EXPOSURE n Control contrast without using filters n Shoot into the light for stylish flare n Meter for dramatic silhouettes

New ways to shoot human body fine art MASTER THE ART OF CREATIVE EXPOSURE

Make light painting masterpieces at home Plus Transform portraits using Photoshop Layers

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DSLRs, CSCs, lenses, bags and accessories tested

Cover image by Miroslav Petrasko

Adoring the stars

by Nicholas Roemmelt

The story behind the world’s greatest shots

l “i’d been planning this panorama for several months before shooting it, and wanted to show the tremendous beauty from the top of Faltegartenkoepfl in Austria. After hiking to the very top during sunset I used the Star Walk and PhotoPills apps, which predicted that there would be a perfect alignment of the Milky Way just before the moon set. I took 12 upright shots with a Novoflex Panorama head on a Canon 1D X, and then to add an extra eye-catcher to the scene I placed myself next to the cross with my torch light switched on, and used remote triggers to take the shot. In post-processing I stitched the upright panoramas using PTGui Pro.”

Canon 1D X | 14mm | 25sec | f/2.8 | ISO 6400

Nicholas Roemmelt is a dentist and freelance photographer from Tyrol, Austria. He loves to shoot landscapes, starscapes and wildlife. nicholas-roemmeltphotography.com

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COMPLETE GUIDE

MASTER THE ART OF

Discover the secrets behind some of the most eye-catching techniques used by photographers

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Shoot for versatility

Exposure explained

Control contrast

Paint with flash

Explore the benefits of working in RAW p32

Learn more about ISO, aperture and shutter speed p34

Use split RAW for detail, and backlighting for drama p36

Illuminate large subjects with a handheld flashgun p42

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Jarrod Castaing

CREATIVE EXPOSURE

Learn great new photo skills...

human New ways to shoot the

Take an innovative approach to figure studies, and achieve stylishly subtle results. Tim Berry presents three exciting projects for you to try.

F Igor Burba

Tim Berry PP’s gear editor has been a professional photographer for several years and has a master’s degree in freelance photography.

He’s also lectured at undergraduate level.

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or thousands of years, capturing the human form has infiltrated every avenue of the arts. Figure studies have never dipped in popularity, as they evoke an appreciation of the body’s staggering complexity and beauty, and the human body has been the subject of some of the most stunning photos of all time. If you want to create images that are guaranteed to captivate and absorb your audience, this really is the perfect subject.

But as enchanting and engaging as we find the human form, it also tends to be an uncomfortable subject to shoot, as most of us find working with nudity unfamiliar at best, and daunting

at worst. And even if you’re comfortable with it all, it’s not easy to find a willing subject to pose for you.

The good news is, shooting the human body doesn’t necessarily mean working out of your comfort zone. In fact, over the next few pages we look at three accessible creative projects designed to help you get started in photographic figure studies.

They all enable you to focus on smaller details of the body, and they can all be shot without full nudity if desired. You also don’t need specialist lighting or expensive kit, just your camera and a kit lens.

Once you’ve worked through the projects, you should have taken some stunning portfolio-ready images, and be armed with the confidence to shoot more human body images in the future.

Capture mesmerising fine art figures...

Photograph detailed close-ups p56

Capture the body’s gentle curves p58

Create eye-catching abstracts p60

Zoom in to focus on pattern and texture.

Use high-contrast lighting for dramatic results.

Compose well-balanced symmetrical images.

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Subscribe to from just £29 & get a Nest Explorer bag

worth £45 Subscribe to Practical Photography today and we’ll send you this superb Nest shoulder bag!

About your gift “The Nest Explorer 100L is a lightweight shoulder bag that has ample space to hold a DSLR with lens attached, plus three extra lenses and a flashgun. It also has several small compartments inside, offering space to hold extra items such as memory cards, batteries and personal items, and even has a space for a 10in digital device. With its strong padded strap and durable, water-resistant materials, this stylish bag is ideal for everyday use. It’s also available in three different eye-catching colours. Don’t miss out – place your subscription order today!

Tim Berry, Gear Editor

Roomy protection for a range of camera gear

Option 1 Delivery to your door every issue

Option 2 iPad edition for instant access

Option 3 Delivery to your door plus instant access

Six-monthly Direct Debit: £29 every six months for 6 issues plus Nest bag worth £45

Six-monthly Direct Debit: £29 every six months for 6 issues plus Nest bag worth £45

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Annual Direct Debit: £54 for 13 issues plus Nest bag worth £45

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Sorry, no gift outside the UK

Overseas annual credit/debit card payment: £34 for 13 issues.

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Overseas annual credit/debit card payment: £75 for 13 issues.

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Call 01858 438884 Quote JBA A TERMS & CONDITIONS: Subscriptions will start with the next available issue. Offer closes on 28/10/15. After your first Direct Debit payment your subscription will continue at the price you paid on this offer every 6/13 issues thereafter unless you are notified otherwise. You will not receive a renewal reminder and the Direct Debit payments will continue to be taken unless you tell us otherwise. Please allow up to 28 working days to receive your gift. We cannot offer a choice of bag colour and no cash alternative is available. If the offer is oversubscribed we may send you an alternative gift of equal or greater value. This offer cannot be used with any other. Cost from landlines for 01 numbers per minute are (approximately) 2p to 10p. Cost from mobiles per minute (approximately) 10p to 40p. Costs vary depending on the geographical location in the UK. You may get free calls to some numbers as part of your call package – please check with your network provider. Order lines open 8am-9.30pm (Mon-Fri), 8am-4pm (Sat). Calls may be monitored for training purposes.

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Holds a DSLR with kit lens, plus three additional lenses and extras.

External waterproof cover included Quick and easy to use for added protection in the rain.

Easy online sign up greatmagazines.co.uk/pp PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY.COM 63

Basic Skills

Editing Suite

Extend your images for a more balanced result

What you’ll learn

Jochen Schlenker

Wish you’d framed an image differently? Tim Berry shows you how to seamlessly rescue a poor composition using Photoshop’s easy-to-use Content-Aware Scale tool. l a well-considered composition is one of the most important elements of a successful image, though if we’re honest we all get it wrong from time to time. The good news is that with the right digital editing skills, it’s possible to give your poorlyframed shots more balance and impact with just a couple of clicks.

When it comes to recomposing in Photoshop, it’s fair to say that most of us are comfortable using the Crop Tool to exclude an ugly or unnecessary part of an image. But what if you want to extend the frame and actually add in new image information? If we take the autumn image to the right, there isn’t enough negative space, especially on the left-hand side of the tree, so I want to make the image wider. The obvious approach would be to increase Canvas Size in Photoshop, then stretch the image outwards, though of course this would mean everything looking wider and flatter, which

After

How to change canvas size How to crop your image How to use the Content-Aware Scale tool to expand your shot Software Photoshop Do it in 10 mins

Before

1

Expand your canvas

Left Using Photoshop’s Content-Aware Scale tool it’s possible to expand part or all of your image without stretching the key elements within the frame.

isn’t ideal. This is where the Content-Aware Scale tool comes into its own. It allows you to stretch the frame area, but ensures key areas of detail are kept in the correct proportion. In this image, for example, the

Open your image using File>Open, and go to View>Fit on Screen.

Duplicate your Background Layer by pressing Ctrl+J, and you’ll notice the new Layer appear in the Layers palette. Your original background Layer now won’t be altered. Press Ctrl+Alt+C to bring up Canvas Size, and change the image Width to around double its current dimensions. Set Canvas extension color to white and click OK.

Select the Zoom Tool from the Tools palette. Click on your image while holding Alt to zoom out so that you can see the whole canvas. Next, select the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools palette, and drag a box around the image area, excluding the white areas on both sides. If you make a mistake click once on the image to deselect, then redraw your rectangular selection.

sky and misty background are stretched, while the tree is completely left alone.

Not only is this useful little tool very intuitive, but it’s also exceptionally accurate.

Let’s get started...

3

Expand using Content-Aware Scale

Go to File>Edit>Content-Aware Scale, and you’ll see six nodal point appear around the selection. Click and drag on one of the two points that run horizontally through the middle of the image, and drag outwards. You’ll notice that the image will stretch, though areas with lots of detail are left unaffected. The more you stretch, the less natural the image will look, so don’t completely cover the white areas on either side.

5

Select and transform stretched areas

Inspect your image closely to find any small areas of detail that were stretched and now look unnatural, such as the branch on the left-hand side of this tree. Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools palette, and draw a selection around the problem area. With your top Layer selected, press Ctrl+J on the keyboard to duplicate the area onto a new Layer.

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2

Select the whole image area

4

Crop image down to size

Once you’re happy with the amount you’ve added in, press Return on the keyboard. You will now have a wider, natural-looking image, but you still need to get rid of the remaining areas of white canvas. To do this, simply select the Crop Tool from the Tools palette, and adjust the crop area by dragging the edges or corners. Again, press Return on your keyboard, then go to View>Fit on Screen.

6

Transform your problem area

With your new Layer selected, now press Ctrl+T, and drag the edge of the box inwards so the problem area appears less stretched. Press Return, then select the Eraser Tool from the Tools palette, and with a small, soft brush, soften the edges of the area you transformed so it blends seamlessly with the Layer below it. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for any other problem areas.

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Sony α7R II

Get Into Gear

Dust and moisture resistant design

With its massive 42.4MP resolution, the α7R II’s images can be printed up to A1 at 240dpi.

The double-layered structure of its interlocking panels and sealing around buttons and dials mean that the camera, while not fully weather-sealed, is rugged enough to withstand regular use.

excellent 5-axis image stabilisation system that can compensate for up to 4.5 stops of camera shake, helping to ensure sharp handheld shots when used at slower shutter speeds.

Improved autofocus system Thanks to its Fast Hybrid AF system and back-illuminated sensor, focusing is 40% faster than on the original α7R.

Time to sell your

DSLR?

It’s got some of the most impressive specifications we’ve ever seen, but can the α7R II go head-to-head with other pro options? Matthew Higgs finds out...

F

ew cameras generate the hype that has surrounded the release of the α7R II, but with such an eyewatering set of features this is hardly a surprise. The CSC boasts a huge 42.4MP resolution, 5-axis image stabilisation, 4K video recording, and a hybrid AF system featuring 399 phase-detect points, so obviously has its sights set firmly on the professional crown. With little sign of a replacement for the dated α99 DSLT, it’s a very worthy flagship.

Nikon and Canon have thus far only dipped their toes into the advanced CSC sector, but Sony has been fully committed, quickly dominating the top-end of the mirrorless

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market. The question is, will this hard-hitting release offer enough to give the leading DSLR manufacturers any real cause for concern?

Main features

At the core of the α7R II is a new 42.4MP full-frame Exmor R CMOS sensor that features a back-illuminated design for improved low light performance and data output speeds. Adding 6.2MP to the already respectable pixel count of the original α7R, this CSC carries the second highest resolution of any full-frame camera available. Only the 50.6MP Canon 5DS/R has more pixels, while Nikon’s D810 comes third with 36.3MP. With no optical low-pass filter there’s nothing to

Improving FE range When we reviewed the original α7R back in March 2014, one of our main criticisms was the limited first-party lens range available on launch.

Today, more than 18 months later, this has been quickly expanded from four to 11 full-frame (FE) lenses, covering a focal range of 16-240mm and featuring several fast-aperture primes. While some of these lenses are optically brilliant, there are still far more options available for Nikon and Canon users.

Sports and wildlife photographers in particular will feel ostracised by the total lack of a long telephoto designed with them in mind.

Third-party adapters can be bought separately, allowing the use of most other CSC and DSLR lenses, including Sony’s A-mount. The camera’s image stabilisation system will work with nearly all.

5-axis image stabilisation The α7R II has been fitted with an

Kit price £2599 Image resolution 42.4MP Video 4K

Lens options

4K video recording Capable of recording 30fps 4K video internally at a maximum 100MBps bit rate, the α7R II also allows uncompressed video output to an external recording device.

compromise this high resolution, helping to ensure that with a top-quality lens, detail capture is outstanding.

The camera has the same BIONZ X processor, but while the native ISO range remains at 100-25,600, expanded ISO now tops out at a huge 102,400. Burst shooting speeds have also seen a notable improvement, with an increase from 1.5fps with continuous AF on the α7R, to 5fps with subject tracking on the α7R II. This brings it up to speed with its high-resolution DSLR rivals.

According to Sony, the new shutter unit cuts vibration by 50%, helping to minimise camera shake. It’s also rated to last for a staggering 500,000 cycles, meaning its shutter mechanism should last substantially longer than those found on DSLRs. The camera also has a Silent Shooting mode that makes use of an electronic shutter for silent and vibration-free captures when needed.

One of the most head-turning specs of the α7R II is its new hybrid autofocus system.

With 399 phase detection points and 25 contrast detection points, it covers 45% of the frame, more than any other full-frame digital camera. Rated to -2EV, it can’t quite match the -3EV system found in Nikon’s D750 for low light performance, and while far from slow, falls short of some other CSC systems for speed. However, it comfortably holds its own against its high-resolution DSLR rivals and in our testing was reliably accurate.

It also represents a marked improvement over the α7R’s 25-point contrast-only system, which was not only 40% slower, but only

top tech

World’s first fullframe BI sensor Up until now the back-illuminated (BI) design has predominately been used by smaller sensors found in phones and compacts. These have a different structure to a standard sensor, placing their photoreceptors on top of wiring rather than beneath it. This enhances the light gathering capabilities. Combined with quicktransmission copper wiring, Sony claims the new BI sensor in the α7R II outputs data at a rate 3.5x faster than that found in the α7R.

rated to 0EV. The phase detection part of the system also works with A-Mount lenses used with an adapter, making the camera a good, if expensive, option for Sony users looking to switch over to E-Mount.

Alongside all the standard focus modes the camera has options for Direct Manual focus, Lock-on AF, and Smile detect. An AF illuminator is built in.

Other features and video

One of the main differences between the α7R II and other high-resolution options is its EVF. While there has been a long and passionate debate about their pros and cons over an optical viewfinder, the camera’s 0.5in XGA OLED EVF is one of the best we’ve

reviewed. With a stunning 2359k-dot resolution and the world’s highest viewfinder magnification at 0.78x, it’s a joy to use. The slight detachment from the subject owing to a digital display may take a bit of getting use to for some users, but the benefits of seeing a real-time emulation of the final exposure and plenty of shooting information quickly proves its value. Responsive and bright, it is what every EVF should be. Complementing this is a 3in rear display with tilt mechanism and improved 1229k-dot resolution.

As first found in the α 7 II, the α 7R II incorporates Sony’s impressive 5-axis image stabilisation system, allowing blur-free use of the camera without a tripod at shutter speeds 4.5 stops slower than would otherwise be

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