Picturesque February 2017
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Welcome
Welcome
“Photography is an art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everyting to do with the way you see them” In this issue, we have everything you need to get started. From the best editing tips to portable printers (with zero
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ink technology!!) Rather than arguing over which phone is the best, we have done that for you, skip to page x to find out. We have been speaking to bla bla to see why we’re so fascinated with pictures. What are the essentials you need for an artisic day out? We have gathered everything to make your shooting that much easier! We’ve also been looking at whether we should still be shooting our artistic images in RAW? apps and everything we need Also, is camera film making a comeback? Rachel Clarke, Editor / @rachelclarke96
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Contents 22
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hot stuff 22
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What’s new? The most recent releases and latest news!
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Instant Check out these ways of having your photos printed instantly
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Review Our look at the latest X
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Drones What can the latest drone do now?
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Contents
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Features Try this Check out these cool tips and tricks
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how? 30
Find out how to adjust or fix your images
DIY Make your own camera
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RAW Should we shoot in RAW?
Best Apps Find out which are the best editing apps out there
Fix it
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Expert opinions Shoot it like the professionals
Social Learn how to advertise as a freelance
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What’s new?
Snapchat have finally put their glasses on sale for anyone to buy. They were
originally very hard to get hold of a pair. The case is also a charging dock which takes 90
minutes to charge. Although you can take up 100 snaps on one battery. The user can also see
the glasses battery status by tapping on the side twice.
Instagram have released a new feature where you can post up to 10 photos
at one time. The user clicks the ‘multiple photos’ button to add more photos.
Whatsapp have added a new feature called ‘status’, for the apps eighth
anniversairy. It is very similar to Snapchat and Instagram’s ‘stories’ section.
Exolens Pro by Zeiss for iPhone 7 There are plenty of clip-on lenses for the iPhone so why is this one so different? The iPhone has an excellent camera and an improved built-in lens and is taken serious by some professional photographers but sometimes you need that bit more to spice
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up your photos. Exolens provides the mount and Zeiss supplies the lenses. This means the mount can be bought separate to the lenses. The mounting panel looks a little awkward but works really well and is a snug fit. It also has a ‘cold
shoe’ mount (to attach a light or a microphone to it. Along with a tri-pod socket for long exposures. Wide-angle lens, telephoto lens and a macro lenses are available.
Kit: Panasonic Lumix LX100 “To capture this photo, I used a tri-pod for my camera and aligned the view to the same angle as the camera.” Leo, 29.
Kit: Panasonic DMC-Fz18 “Although the tree is very thin, I wanted to create a silhoutte effect. I did this by shooting against the light.” Lucy, 22.
Kit: Canon PowerShot G7 X II “I adjusted the aperture f/16 and used a lens with a longer focal range to create this DOP.” David, 30.
Kit: Sony Dslr-A200 (50mm lens) “I used my 50mm lens to create this sharp and defined look, I also increased the warmth.” Shannon, 23.
Kit: Nikon D3100 “I was able to capture so much of this area by adjusting my camera lens to 10mm. The ISO was set at 400 despite it being a sunny day. I did this let less light into the sensor to create darker shadows.” James, 23.
Kit: Sony Slt-A57 “To give the ‘never ending’ look, I adjusted the tri-pod to waist height. This allowed for the line-of-sight to be tricked. I set the aperture to f/11 and ISO100 so a clear and ungrainy picture wadn’t produced.” Alex, 25.
Expert opinions February 2017
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Welcome
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If you have another camera, try using your smart phone to create an inception selfie.
Also...
There are plenty of pre-set filters but why shnot try using a pair of sunglasses to create an awersome effect. You don’t have to cover the whole lens to get a good result!
1. Take a close-up image of a feature (often the eyes). 2. Find a good background, preferably flat with one solid colour. 3. You may want to edit the image slightly to give it more depth. Try increasing the contrast and decrease the shadow tone. 4. Place your camera on a tri-pod and find a good angle (not for only yourself but the phone too!!) 5. If you can, get somebody else to hold the close-up image to your face. 6. when you have achieved the right picture, you may want to crop it. This way the viewer is more focused on the intended object.
Use a balloon to create an aerial image. All you need is a helium balloon, a camera (or smartphone), a long piece of string and a camera mount (you may have to get crafty to create
Try getting hold of a real photo frame and snap a picture of an object within it. This will have the most effect if you are shooting a specific object within your focus range. Try starting this project in restaurants or cafes. February 2017
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shooting film Glen Mckenna’s focus is black and white film photography. He bellieves it is easier to create your message via black and white images. Glen often uses a Leica camera or a Hasselblad camera.
“Developing for me is easy, as I have my own fully equipped darkroom. Although to develop negatives, only a darkbag & a space on the kitchen worktop is needed. This part of
the workflow is as an equally important step as the actual exposure itself. Experience should be gained with suitable developers knowing their limitations or advantages,
“Experience should be gained with suitable developers knowing their limitations or advantages”
care also must be taken with properly mixed solutions & an evironment setup for careful ambient, stable temperatures of all solutions used.” “There’s lots of inspiration
from both past & present day photographers. My most past poignant one, probably would have to Bresson, if nothing else to teach the budding photographer the lesson of
the ‘moment’ No discerning hopeful should be without his ‘The Decisive Moment’ publication! Present day inspirations can range from New Zealander Nikki Boon who I totally
associate with my own style of work to the likes of Joel Meyerowitz. Technical inspirations also from the likes of wizards like Urs Recher.”
“Equipment has been trial & error through the years, but I’ve mainly settled down with Leica & Hasselblad now. These give me the best of both worlds from ‘portability’ from the rangefinders to the quality of
medium format from the 500cm. I’ve also tended to shy away from telephoto lenses, I much prefer the consistency & quality of prime lenses - 35mm being most favoured & so aptly named - ‘The Story Telling’
focal distance, another important factor of my work.” “My favourite locations tend to be places of pronounced available light ie inside churches by window light & woodland locations with piercing light
shafts through the canopy. An image to me is all about control of available light. Handling the difference between highlight & shadows & how they relate to each other - is what can make or break a
picture!” “With regards to B&W, I always remember good mentoring words ‘Colour, if you need to show it & B&W for everything else’ I think our eyes associate with grayscale far more than how
February 2017
we interpret colour. The scale of black to white conveys tone which in turn expresses mood & emotion - a very important tool for the artist to get his/her message across.”
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Creating a dedicated instagram account what you want and to choose who will see it. 1. Create a plan Check out some other examples and choose a theme, for your intended audience. 2. Leave your account on private (for a short while) This will help establish the type of profile you’re after. It also allows you get it up to
3. Create a strong bio Your bio and username are the first things people see on your profile, keep it neat and tidy. Rmemeber to add your email and location (for potential clients) 4. Hashtag correctly
“A good hashtag is searched for often but not overused” If you hashtag too much, there’s a chance you will recieve spam comments from bots rather than humans. Try not to hashtag #photography etc. this is a very popular hashtag and your image will not ‘live’ long enough on the search for people to
see it. 5. Timing is key Find a pattern and stick to it otherwise your stats will drop. 6. 9 is the magic number Before you make your profile public, try and have 9 images already there, this way your profile looks full and more people will stay on it longer.
500px’s new directory If you’re already a member of 500px you’re probably aware of this exciting new website. 500px have created an expansive directory of users with the aim of connecting potential clients with professional photographers. There are 49,000 users, 11,000 of them with indexed
locations in 191 countries. It is currently free to join but it is rumoured they will start charging in April for extra services. When joining, you are asked to state your gear and, you must have at least one camera. The website could provide some great experience for
Top social networks for photographers
500px Facebook Google+ Twitter Flickr
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photographers. Especially those who are just starting out. Unlike before, you may not even meet the client you are working or editing for. This can give bigger opportunities especially world-wide prospects.
Keywords Rule of thirds SLR Shutter Speed Golden Rule Aperture Depth of field Focul length Digial imaging
Build your own 35mm SLR Camera
Single-lens reflex viewfinder
Build your own SLR for ÂŁ29. The Konstuktor kit, made by Lomography allows you to learn about camera mechanics in just a few steps. It is provided with everything you need to complete the build. The Konstruktor camera has a bulb mode, for long exposures, multiple exposure function and ground glass focusing. Fixed f/10 & 1/60 shutter speed
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0.5m - infinity focus distance
Creative hacks for your photos Photography equipment can be expensive, here are 8 ways you can get away with buying the pricey things.
Belt Sling
Suspend your camera in a strong or thick belt. This can help with stabilising your shots or video shots.
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Contents: Camera parts Detachable lens Stickers Screwdriver
Knifeblade
This one can be a little tricky. Tilt the glass of the lens with a knife leaning backwards and fowards. It creates some nice colours and wanted lens flare
2 Coffee hood 3 Lip balm This one might require a trip to your coffee shop but using a coffee hood around your lens will help reduce flare.
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Torch Flare
Grab hold of a small pocket sized torch and shine it onto the side of your lens.
Use some lip balm (or vaseline) around the edge of your lens to create a nice outer glow effect.
4 Cello-lens Grab a small piece of cellophane and hold it the same way as your lens is facing, it should produce some cool lens flare.
7 Smartflare 8 Reflection This is very similar to the torch flare, only you use your smartphone torch. You could also try installing an app which produces different colours on the screen for another tone. February 2017
Clean up your smartphone screen (no fingerprint marks). Then hold the screen below the lens just slightly to create a reflection of a closeup object.
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Features
Instant Lomo’Instant Sanremo If you enjoy quirky filters, you will certainly love a lomography camera! Lomography is a style of pop photography. It is based around the manufacturer ‘Lomo’. The image below the camera is an example of the type of result you will find. The camera pictured is a Lomo’Instant Sanremo, it comes with three lenses. Fisheye, portrait and wide angle. It has four modes, a flash and double exposures. There a range of packs available to buy for the Lomo. Such as, prints with colour around the edge, some are multi coloured and some have patterns on them.
Top tips
1. Shoot while it is light outside. Instant cameras are generally darker, so providing as much light as possible will really help the exposure. 2. Put the shot down. As soon as the image has printed, make sure to put the shot face down. This reduces the risk of the colours bleeding.
3. Try not to focus on things closeup. You aren’t able to set focus points so it is really difficult to capture a close-up image, stick to the farther and simpler subjects. 4. Simple compositions. Get to know how your camera shoots. It may be off to one side slightly.
Polaroid ZIP printer The Polaroid Zip printer allows you to print 2x3 photos instantly from your smartphone (or devices with bluetooth 4.0 or NFC available). It is a pocket sized printer which uses zink zero ink technology. The paper is purchased seperately but that is what creates the magic! The printer holds up to 10 prints and prints each picture under 60 seconds. The Polaroid ZIP app is free to download on iOS and Android. The app holds a few options. ‘Quick Print’, ‘Edit Print’, ‘Collage’, ‘Name Card’ and ‘My ZIP’. Under the ‘My ZIP’ option, you are able to buy more paper or view the printers current status such as, the battery level, whether it needs more paper and when it was last connected to a device. February 2017
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Review
REVIEW: GO PRO HERO 5 BLACK
The GoPro Hero 5 Black is the newest edition to the GoPro family. It has a 2-inch touch display, unlike previous models, you’re able to review and play back your shots, change the settings and trim your footage. The action camera is very durable; it is waterproof to 10m (33ft) without a case. In this model they have simplified the ease of use. It is one-button control. This means you can press the button to turn the camera on and start recording automatically. It also has advanced video stabilisation, so you can capture handheld spectacular smooth video. There are 30+ mounts and accessories so you’re never limited on the amount of uses. They have also added a wireless feature, where you can auto upload photos and videos to the cloud, this means no more fiddling with tiny SD cards! (Subscription is needed for this feature to work) Now onto the specs, the camera is capable of shooting 4K video at 40fps. Along with 12MP photos, in single, burst and time lapse modes. The camera can also shoot images in a mode equivalent to RAW, WDR photo mode captures added details in the shadows and highlights of the image. It has stereo audio which will really boost up the playback during an exciting event. And last but not least, it has GPS functionality, it captures the location where your images and videos are taken, this can help when trying to organise photos into folders. RRP £349.99 Credit: paintimpact.com
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APPLE VS GOOGLE Display
Storage
battery
Despite Apple upgrading the brightness by 25%, the Pixel wins the race with 2560 x 1440 ppi compared to the iPhone’s
Unfortunately neither phones have an external storage option. Although Apple offer a 256gb inbuilt storage option whereas the Pixel offers
The iPhone offers a 2900mAh battery, compared to the Pixel which defeats
this with a 3,450 mAh battery. The Pixel also has the fast charging feature.
Neither of these phones offer a RAW mode in the camera app yet. There
are rumours for updates. Although there are apps on iOS and Android
1920 x 1080 ppi. The Pixel’s blacks are pitch black and the contrast is richer. Although they both draw with the 5.5” screen size.
Design
The Google Pixel is all of Google’s work. Some parts of the design are familiar and the argument is divided about the glass panel on the back and the back position of the fingerprint scanner.
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RAW?
And the large bezels aren’t favoured too much either, especially when Android has on-screen buttons. Apple haven’t changed the design much since 2014 aside from The Pixel the headphone removal. XL wins this race on paper with a 12.3MP And many Android users camera but say they will never move how about in to iPhone because it is reality? The too restricting. What do iPhone has a you think? Tweet us @ dual camera, picturesquephotography a wide-
software
And here comes the only and only debate between these phone. iOS VS Android. Most iPhone users love their iPhones purely because of the simplicity of the operating system.
128gb. Google offer free and unlimited storage for all sized pictures or videos.
Camera angle and telephoto lens. So suppodely this should give better results, although it is up for debate.
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Best Apps Sick of editing with adverts always in the way and not being about to find the right amount of contrast? Check our these four apps we have found to make your editing that much easier.
SKRWT The SKRWT app gives you the freedom to change the depth of your image. This gives the impression that it is in 3d. You can also mirror an image.
Snapseed Snapseed is one of the most popular editing apps on the market today! It has all the basic editing functions and allows you to edit the filters your own way. You can also add grain and wash to your images. It is easy to use and there Picturesque says £free / iOS / Android Picturesque
Tiny Planet FX Pro Tiny Planet FX Pro turns your images into tiny planets. You can also adjust the image to just how you want it. There is also an advance section which you can Picturesque says £4.79 iOS / Android
Picturesque says £free iOS / Android
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Photo Editor Pro You can’t go wrong with the Photo Editor Pro app. It has many features, such as the removal tool which we found works really well. It also has effects, frames, stickers, overylays and red eye removal. Picturesque says £free / iOS / Android
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Your guide to mobile photography shots Create a simple message When you are about to shoot your image, take all of the elements into consideration.
For example, sampled in the image to the left, it has lleading lines. Don’t try and
capture the whole scene, crop it before you capture it.
Create long exposures Install a camera app which allows you to adjust the shutter speed. By reducing
the shutter speed you will be able to create long exposures. The most common long
exposure shot is shown to the left. This a simple and quick way to get a long exposure.
Underexpose your skies If you are taking an image outside, always take two different versions of
the same image. Focus on the sky then the subject, you will notice a huge
difference. See how the sky is exposed perfectly in this image.
Use a tri-pod for night or sunset photography For better night or sunset pictures, use a tri-pod. Because a camera needs
light to take an image, it is harder for the camera to focus at night or dull times. By
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using a tri-pod you should recieve better and sharper results.
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Everyting you need
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Portable charg er Worst nightm are! Forgetting a ch arger or a power bank ruins the day. Buy a sim ple one for £5 to keep in your bag if you’re e ver caught short.
od olding r p i r nh it the Min er tha on o i-pod e h r Rat r phon mini t your you aces, a size as the f sur same uld do (the ne) wo tly! c pho perfe k tric
Time lapse Use this small rotating timer to create an awesome time lapse. Simply twist
the bottom part of it to the either 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes. RRP £14.99
Mini tri-pod Mini tri-pods are always a bonus to carry in your bag. They often come with a phone adapter too so you don’t need to go out of your way to buy one.
Water-proof case This is a holiday must have! Capture shots while you’re under water. Remember
to double check if the front side is compatible for using your touchscreen underwater.
Selfie light Check out this LED selfie light. It easily clips onto the top of your phone. It has 3 brightness modes and is powered
Lenses These lenses are a great little tool to create some funky images. They are often provided
with three; fish-eye lens, macro lens and a telephoto lens. They simply clip onto the top of your phone.
with standard batteries. Don’t forget, you could also use it with your back camera too for an extra light source.
RAW
Why RAW? M
ost cameras default to taking JPEG images. JPEG photos are compressed when created. They have the values of three colour channels with a precision of 8 bits. This is the equivalent of 256 values, from darkness to light. When the 3 channels are modified, they have 16.78 million possible colours. The human eye can differentiate between around 20 million colours, 8 bits seems to be more than adequate enough to view photos. RAW pictures store 10, 12 or 14 bits per colour channel, which are 1,024, 4,096 or 16,384 levels of colour
Raw is a file format. Most smart-phone camera apps don’t support shooting in RAW, yet. So is it really worth it?
(compared to the JPEGs version of 256). This means you can post edit the dark and light areas in detail, unlike JPEG. When the image is captured, no additional effect are added (such as, noise reduction, white balance or contrast). Whereas with JPEG the corrections and effects are burned into the image thus it is very limited with post editing. The disadvantage of RAW is the freedom of it. It is not easy to quickly share or send (to another printer). This is because they need to be processed with a RAW converter. Also, they are huge files so you need the extra storage! RAW image
RAW Apps
Android
Open Camera Manual Camera Camera FV-5
iOS
645 PRO MK Camera+ DxO One February 2017
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What is so special about the DJI Mavic?
T
he DJI Mavic is a small and powerful drone, being one of DJI’s most advanced drone and camera. Despite being 1/6th of the Phantom 4, the battery lasts for 27 minutes and has a maximum flying range of up to 8 miles (13km). The Mavic uses FlightAutonomy technology to sense obstacles up to 15m (49ft) away. FlightAutonomy is made up of seven components; 5 cameras (forward and downward dual vision sensors and the main camera), dual-band satellite positioning, 2 ultrasonic range finders and redundant
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sensors. This allows the drone to bypass them or brake to hover; thus it is more difficult to cause an accident. It uses satellite positioning to hover in an unobstructed outdoor area. Without this, the drone will not be able to position and could become prone to drifting. Although, it has forward and downward vision sensors, it is can hover precisely indoors or where GPS isn’t. The camera is a 12-megapixel with Adobe DNG RAW (ready to shoot). The user can also
February 2017
flip the camera 90 degrees for portrait orientated shots (just the same as your phone). The 4K camera has a ½.3 inch CMOS image sensor (often found in professional sports cameras). It shoots 4K at 30fps, 1080P video at 96fps. The camera has a feature called ‘ActiveTrack’. It has been trained to detect and recognise a limited amount of common subjects
such as, people, bike riders, vehicles and animals. When you have found your subject, you can create different kinds of shots (depending on the mode you are in). Trace, Profile or Spotlight are the three modes. When the Mavic is tracking the subject, you can select where you want them in the frame. All it takes to take a selfie when the Mavic is hovering in front of you is a simple wave.
“Photography is the only language that What do you can be understood anywhere in the see in your photographs? world”
Photographs are very powerful, but because we see them almost every day we often lose touch with those that are giving an important message. The image above has three elements, the boy, the wall and the hole in the wall. Even though we can only see the boy’s eyes and nose, we can tell he looks sad because he is looking up, into the light. The
boy is very close to the wall, this suggests that he is in a small area. To some people small areas can be a scary place. The light shining through the hole onto the boy shows that he is in darkness. The way the hole was ripped also gives it a negative impact because it was messily created. It is a very simple image but our brains can unravel these elements into emotion and feeling.
Photography is never really accurate as the photographer shapes and interprets what he capturing into something he wants, rather than what the perceptive eye wants. Although, what is in the image was real and did happen, that’s the beauty in photography. No two images are the same, so if you try to shoot the same image as David Bailey with the same kit, it’s not
possible because you will interpret the view differently to anyone else. This is where psychology comes in; the distinctiveness of a photo can make the viewer feel anxious, fear, comfort, familiarity or the object matter etc. So next time you take your picture, have a look and work out what made you take and why you took it that way. It may be able to help somebody else.
IMAGE ALAYSIS
Name: Pexels Location: Las Vegas Kit: Apple iPhone 6s Exposure: f/2.2, 1/15s, ISO 320
During the shot, the petals were the main focus point. The saturation and contrast have been adjusted which gives it a warmer and bright feeling.
Fix it! Original This is the original photo, shot outside London Euston Station. Firstly, you will need to have an understanding
Brightness and Contrast
of each editing process. We are going to start with ‘fine tune’ option.
Highlights
Highlights adjust the brightness of the light parts of the image. We have decreased it to -12. This
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is because the sky was a ‘white wash’ sky so unfortunately it was overexposed.
As you can see above, we haven’t adjusted the brightness. This is because the image is bright enough, doing so will have a bad
Warmth
We have increased the ‘warmth’ to +14. You can make it cooler or warmer. We decided to make
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affect on the highlights. We adjusted the contrast to 50%, by doing this we have made the image more defined.
it warmer because it gives the colours a nicer tone. It also gives it a friendly feel.
Saturation Next, we adjusted the Saturation to 85%. This is a high increase, we don’t reccommend this normally, but because
there’s nobody in the image it works quite well. The tones are a lot more colourful.
Straightening
And last but not least, we are straightening the image. To straighten it we lined the end of the ground
with the white guide lines. As you can see above, the image stands out more and seems sharper.
YOUR PICTURES I took this photo because I wanted to capture the silhouette of the tree with the sunset in
the background to show the beauty of autumn. Rebecca Pritchard / @ beccss__x
I captured this photo in the middle of Paris. I found the dusk setting was a really nice scene to shoot.
The lights also caught my attention as I could expose the image accordingly. I decided to frame is this
I captured this photograph amongst crowds of people in an attempt to capture the buzz of London in addition to its tourist attractions. The symmetry and
centrality of the cathedral allowed for the successful aesthetic. Shannon Challis-Smith /