Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i N-Photo: the Nikon magazine

1 MANUAL MODE Astrid says… I like to have full control over my camera settings so I always shoot in Manual Mode. Although there’s no hard and fast rule, I’ll very often start at 1/1000 sec and f/5, then set my ISO accordingly. On a relatively bright day like today, this is a great starting point to work from. 2 AREA-AF MODES Astrid says… I will switch between AF-S and AF-C depending on whether I’m shooting static or moving subjects. My go-to Area-AF Modes are Single-Point and Group-Area AF. I also use burst shooting, but favour Continuous Low so I don’t fill up my storage with hundreds of unwanted shots. 3 THE HISTOGRAM Astrid says… The RGB histogram in Live View is a quick and accurate way to check your exposure mid-shoot. It’s…

Astrid says… We often think about focal length and distance in relation to the subject, but angle is equally as important. If you photograph standing up all day, you’re probably not getting the best out of your subjects. I tend to shoot into the subject’s shoulder, but will play around with different angles – and if the situation calls for it, I’ve no problem lying down! Getting low can also remove unwanted distractions. If roads encroach on a composition, you’re often able to make use of the undulating ground by getting low and using it to obscure the offending track.…

Battle of Giants KAI KOLODZIEJ In a small river near Vienna, a dice snake captures a brown trout. Kai used an Outex underwater housing to shoot in the river, lighting this unexpected scene of aquatic combat with two video lights. Camera: Nikon D850 Lens: Sigma Fisheye 15mm f/2.8 Exposure: 1/250 sec, f/8, ISO320 Mystic UWE HASUBEK Dalmatian pelicans on a mystical morning at Lake Kerkini, in northern Greece. Uwe travelled to this beauty spot during the winter of 2018 and 2019, shooting both from the shore and on boats. He achieved this shot’s otherworldly feel through a combination of fill flash and multiple exposure. Camera: Nikon Z 9 Lens: Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 Exposure: 1/8 sec, f/5, ISO640 Singer CHRISTIAN-DIETRICH MORAWITZ A great reed warbler sings amongst the reeds. Shooting from…

This is nature, and locations and views change as the weather and conditions affect the environment At 170 feet, Scale Force at Crummock Water is the Lake District’s highest single-drop waterfall. It’s at the end of a moss filled chasm, and there are two other small drops, each of about 20ft. Hidden away, in a deep treelined gorge on the way to Red Pike, Scale Force was described by William Wordsworth as “a fine chasm, with a lofty, though but slender, fall of water”. Scale Force has been featured in the BBC TV series Secret Britain and is visited by hikers, walkers and definitely by photographers – including me, many times! It is one of my favourite spots. At about an hour’s walk from Buttermere, it isn’t too strenuous: I…

On the edge of Whinlatter Forest is Spout Force, a stunning little waterfall that feeds into Blaze Beck. The waterfall itself is gorgeous to photograph, with a drop of around 40ft into a roofless cave. Following the path to the viewpoint won’t give you the best view of the falls; instead, turn off the marked path and stay next to the beck. At the cascades you will have to walk in the river, so wellies are advised. Clamber over the rocks, and the waterfall will be in front of you. The place I love the most, though, is on the path as you walk to the waterfall. The beck runs through the Darling How Plantation then reaches the Whinlatter Pass and under Scawgill Bridge – a little bridge with three…

When you take a photograph, the shutter generally opens for a mere fraction of a second. But when you shoot in extremely low light conditions, such as at night or while using a strong ND filter, the exposure time required can extend to several seconds – or even minutes – long. Your Nikon’s built-in shutter speeds typically range from either 1/4000 or 1/8000 sec at the faster end, to as slow as 30 secs. But what if you need to shoot slower than this? You need to engage Bulb or Time mode. These enable you to close the shutter manually after a delay of your choosing. Bulb mode is so called because, back in the mechanical days of photography, the shutter could be held open manually by squeezing an air-filled…

1 Complete the initial edit Open the two images in Camera Raw. Press Cmd/Ctrl+A to select both images; while selected, edits will affect both images. Proceed with your preferred edit – we made use of the Color Mixer and Color Grading panels to boost the cool hues and create a cinematic look. 2 Create an illusion Open both images into a Photoshop document. Reduce the opacity of the top layer (with the jumping figure) and reposition with the Move tool so the shots are aligned. Add a layer mask to the top layer and use a soft, black brush to paint away the wire. 3 Make a selection and fill it Create a merged copy of all visible layers by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E, then create a new layer. Use the Polygonal Lasso tool to…

Luminosity masking is a technique that allows you to zero in on different parts of the tonal range – or different ranges of luminosity – in order to adjust and enhance areas of your photos. It’s especially useful for landscape editing, as landscapes often have an imbalance between bright areas like skies and darker areas like a foreground in shade. As such, we can target brighter pixels and claw back detail, then go on to boost shadows or different colour ranges in the scene. Here, for example, it allows us to pull back the overly bright sky, tone down the strong blues in the water and boost the greens in the grass. Best of all, these tonal adjustments can be made in a few seconds, without the need to paint…

1 Three-light set-up Our farmyard studio set-up consists of three lights, although only the key light on the right was required for some shots. We set up in a barn not far from the chicken coop and goat stables. This way, we could grab an animal and take a few shots, then let them wander off back to their friends. 2 Plain backdrop A roll of grey vinyl fixed to two light stands makes a simple, effective backdrop. Vinyl is sturdier than paper and is less likely to kink or crease – and it can be wiped clean after the shoot. In a pinch you could use a pop-up backdrop, a sheet of black velvet or any other plain material you like. 3 Side light Our first light here is…

A profile photo like this is a great way to capture a group of people or animals. We capture each subject individually – taking care to keep the camera angle and lighting consistent throughout – then combine the set of photos into a single frame that cleverly showcases the similarities and differences between each face. To shoot for this we use a single light, positioned to the side and behind the face, and angled back towards the camera so that it kisses the edges of the profile. This way, the near side of the subject is kept in deep shade, which not only makes for punchy, dramatic lighting, but also makes it much easier to combine the images in Photoshop afterwards without the viewer being able to spot the join.…

Life can unfold in unplanned ways. You never know when the photography bug will hit, and a few decisions that seem insignificant at the time suddenly change life’s trajectory. It wasn’t until I was in my late 30s that I picked up photography. It was never in my plans. The only reason it ever happened was a simple request from my wife to get a picture of a wave for our bedroom wall. We live on the north shore of O’ahu in Hawaii. Everyone in my family loves waves and anything to do with the ocean. She just wanted something cool for the wall above our bed. One day she came back from a local gallery with a photograph of a wave. When I saw it, my first thought was,…

Camera: Nikon Z 6II Lens: 70-200mm f/2.8 Exposure: 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO3200 MISSION: Get to grips with the Nikon Z 6II, while capturing India’s wildlife in its natural habitat PHOTOGRAPHER: Sridhar Sivaram LOCATION: Mumbai, India KIT USED: Nikon Z 6II, AF-S 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED VR INSTAGRAM: @srisiv1 Photographing animals in the wild requires a lot of patience, and a keen understanding of animal behaviour. Moments come and go in a split-second: if you’re not prepared, the chance of a lifetime is gone. Last year I entered the Wildlife Vets International Stories of Survival photo competition – and my image of a leopard colliding with a motorbike was the overall winner. I was subsequently presented with a Nikon Z 6II and a Z 24-70mm f/4 S, and was eager to…

1 Program mode Select the Program mode by turning the mode dial to P. This sets the aperture and shutter speed for you, based on the lens you’re using, the ISO setting and the metered light level. 2 Info display The viewfinder and rear screen show the shutter speed and aperture settings chosen by the camera. If this isn’t visible, half-press the shutter button to reactivate the meter. 3 Fast and wide If you want a faster shutter speed or a wider aperture, turn the rear command dial to the right. You’ll see the settings change on the rear screen (or in the viewfinder). 4 Slow and narrow If you want a slower shutter speed, or a narrower lens aperture, turn the wheel to the left. You’ll see a ‘P*’ symbol to indicate you’ve…

Q I have a Z 50mm f/1.8 S and an AF-P 70-300mm VR with an FTZ adapter for my Z 5. Would you recommend the Z 24-120mm or Z 24-200mm as an additional zoom? Ashwin Thillai A Naturally, the main advantage of the 24-200mm is its greater telephoto reach, although it comes at the expense of a narrowing of the aperture rating. It’s not an S-line lens, but the build quality is still very good, including weather-seals and ARNEO and fluorine coatings on the front element. The lens also features optical VR, which is more effective than relying solely on the Z 5’s in-body stabilization at longer focal lengths. The 24-120mm has a constant f/4 aperture and an additional control ring, plus a customizable L-Fn button, and features Nano Crystal Coat as…

1. Rain Bonnets BY TONYNORTH This incredible fungi close-up is a blend of multiple exposures. A continuous LED panel was used to light the mushrooms from below, pulling them from the background. The image was sprayed with a mister to form the fine lashings of water and the scene was focus stacked to achieve front-to-back sharpness. The lighting, motion blur and subject combines to form this month’s deserved winner. Camera: Nikon D500 Lens: 105mm f/2.8 Exposure: 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO1000 2. Millipede BY GARYD03 Long and thin subjects are difficult to frame, but this photograph of a millipede has been cleverly balanced via the glassy reflection. You might assume that this tack-sharp subject was motionless, but the 1/250 sec shutter speed was necessary to freeze the moving critter. The arthropod…

A standard zoom lens covers most eventualities for day-to-day shooting, so it pays to have a good one. You can buy the vast majority of Nikon DSLRs and mirrorless cameras as a complete kit, which includes a standard zoom. In the DX format camp, there’s the compact and light AF-P DX 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR for DSLRs, whereas the Z DX 16-50mm f/3.5-6.3 VR is the kit lens for Z system mirrorless cameras. Shifting up to full-frame bodies, there’s the F-mount AF-S 24-120mm f/4 ED VR and the Z 24-70mm f/4 S. All four of these ‘kit’ standard zooms are solid performers, with quick and quiet autofocus systems. The DX format lenses include highly effective optical VR (Vibration Reduction), whereas the Z 24-70mm f/4 S relies on the in-body stabilizers of…

£979/$1067 Something old, something new, this lens combines a highly effective yet conventional ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system with a new-generation electromagnetically controlled diaphragm. This helps to maintain consistently accurate exposures in rapid continuous drive mode, especially paired with speedy bodies like the D500 and D7500. The zoom range is equivalent to 24-120mm in full-frame terms, which works out the same as with Nikon’s kit lens for the D750 and D780. However, while that one has a constant-aperture rating of f/4, the DX lens is up to a full f/stop faster at short zoom settings. High-spec glass includes four ED elements, along with Nano Crystal Coat for minimizing ghosting and flare. It has a four-stop stabilizer. Performance Levels of sharpness are exceptional at all but the longest zoom setting. However, lateral…

£1249/$1097 Building on the success of Nikon’s original AF-S 24-120mm VR, this second edition has a constant rather than variable aperture rating and an upgraded stabilizer. Even so, it’s been on sale for a decade now, and the 3.5-stop stabilizer is less effective than in most newer Nikon lenses. Available at a substantial discount with the D750 and D780 bodies, build quality is very good for a kit lens. As with the newer Z-mount FX lenses, it comes with weather-seals and a hood. Quality glass includes three aspherical elements and two ED elements, along with Nano Crystal Coat. Conventional internals include mechanical control for the diaphragm and a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system. As such, there are no compatibility issues with older Nikon DSLRs. Performance Sharpness holds up pretty well throughout…

As I write this, it’s Mental Health Awareness Week – and although I’m in no way qualified to provide anything other than a few surface-level observations, reading about well-being has reminded me just how wholesome photography can be. It’s no secret that creative activities can have a positive impact on mental health; and while I enjoy multiple creative hobbies, such as writing, drawing and music, I believe that photography ticks the most mood-boosting boxes. Let’s get physical Photography can be used to convey meaning, express feelings and immortalize special moments. This in and of itself is hugely beneficial, but that’s only the beginning. Physical and mental health are intrinsically linked, and many photo genres encourage photographers to get out and about. Whether you’re climbing mountains, walking through cities or simply…

Practice makes perfect, so they say – and this issue landscape photographer Carmen Norman extols the virtues of rephotographing the same location season after season, year after year, to record a scene that’s the same but different. Our Apprentice, meanwhile, heads into the New Forest to capture the famous wild(ish) ponies that freely roam the National Park under the tutelage of Astrid Harrisson. And in our interview, we speak with Christy Lee Rogers, who submerges models in pools for her otherworldly photo-art. In our Big Test, we put eight standard zooms through their paces, and discover that these versatile everyday lenses are anything but bog-standard. We also check out the remarkable Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift – designed for distortion-free architecture shots without the dreaded ‘leaning back’ effect, and compare…

Astrid says… Knowing your subject is a huge part of animal photography: the more you know, the quicker you react. Being informed also helps you stay safe. If you see lots of big piles of poo, you’ll know not to stand by it, as a stallion could appear to defend his territory; and if you come across a mother and baby, you have to be equally as cautious. The more you learn, the more you’ll see, like rugged manes with burrs in them or stallions with battle scars. Narrative is key as well: know to look out for lead mares keeping herd members in line, for example.…

1 SPOT REMOVAL TOOLS Astrid says… The first thing I do when I have imported an image into Photoshop is to zoom right into a duplicate layer and set about removing dust, flies and ‘eye-bogies’. I tend to use a combination of the Clone Stamp (press S) or Spot Healing Brush (J). 2 DON’T BE DESTRUCTIVE Astrid says… I use a non-destructive method of burning. Duplicate the image and set the new layer’s blending mode to Multiply. Add a layer mask and invert it (Cmd/Ctrl+I), before using a white brush to selectively reveal the darker Multiply layer. Control the intensity by reducing the layer’s opacity. 3 SELECTIVE SHARPENING Astrid says… Flatten and duplicate the layer once you’ve finished. Select Filter>Other>High Pass and change the blending mode to Soft Light. Add a layer mask…

A favourite with photographers, Ashness Jetty is on the east side of Derwentwater. Opposite the jetty is Catbells, and the sun sets just behind this small fell, making Ashness Jetty very popular in the evenings when there is a good sky and a promising sunset. The long jetty leads you out into the water, and the Keswick launch stops there on its tour around the lake. It’s not only photographers, but swimmers, kayakers and paddle boarders who make the most of this spot. Parking is just 100 metres from the jetty, so it is very accessible. It’s easy to take all your camera gear, a selection of lenses and filters, and a big sturdy tripod for those long exposures. There are a number of ways to approach creating an image…

The landscape will change for many reasons. They might be reasons you expect, or they might take you completely by surprise and leave you wondering how you will photograph it. Sometimes it might just be that the conditions are completely different from an image you have seen or from the last time you were there – weather conditions and seasons being the obvious reasons – but water levels, light and colour can also change the landscape dramatically. A place can look totally different in different seasons and in changing light. Woodhouse Island on Crummock Water is such a place. Parking on the main road at Crummock, on the edge of Rannerdale Knotts, you simply have to go down a couple of steps and walk through a gate; and there you…

Toy photography allows you to let your imagination run wild! You can photograph subjects and scenes you would never normally be able to capture (without a big budget). In this tutorial, we’ve created a Star Wars-themed diorama and employed a few useful post-production tips to create authentic-looking special effects that wouldn’t look out of place on the silver screen. You might assume you’d need to set up a specialist home studio to capture a cinematic scene like ours, but we set it up on a kitchen table, and used a pair of Lume Cube continuous LED lights (£80 each) to illuminate our tiny subjects. And if you don’t want to invest in any lighting, you can still achieve fantastic results by using the torch on a smartphone, covered with a…

1 Find the correct blue hue Create a new layer between the main image and laser sword layers. Use the Paint Bucket tool to fill the layer with a solid blue colour that’s a similar hue to the blue blade. Then head to the Blending Mode dropdown menu and select Color Dodge. 2 Paint in ambient lighting Click the Add Layer Mask icon and invert the mask (Cmd/Ctrl+I). Set the layer Opacity to 48%, then use a soft white brush to paint areas that the lightsaber would illuminate. Repeat this step at 20% Opacity, and paint areas that are further away to represent drop-off. 3 Form a Gradient Map Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer under the blue layers. Click the gradient in the Properties panel; in the Gradient Editor, select dark, bright…

Whether you’re shooting portraits, arty still-lifes or packshots, a broad array of backgrounds is a must for any studio photographer. But for most of us, a permanent studio space isn’t possible, and even if we can take over the lounge for an occasional photo session, we won’t have the storage space for dozens of photo backdrops. The good news is that if you have the right image-editing skills and can make an accurate cutout, you can place your subjects on any background. On this issue’s download, there are no fewer than 48 photographic backdrops to choose between. As well as adding a creative new look to a subject, they are easy to customize and fast to swap out if you change your mind, or to get a range of different…

1 Positioning animals It helps to have another person to get the animal into position and keep them calm so that you can concentrate on focusing and composing the shot. Lots of animals suit a side-on or three-quarters angle to the face: the profiles are often more striking than a straight-on view. 2 Calm on the farm Get the animals calm before you shoot, and turn off beeps on the flash or camera. Use food to entice animals into position and to reward them afterwards. We scattered chicken feed over the floor of the studio, then removed it in Photoshop afterwards. 3 Reflectors as barriers The large pop-up reflector on the left here bounces some light into the shadows on this side, which helps to balance out the contrast. It also served as…

Some camera modes are more useful than others – it depends on how much control you want to have over settings. In the past couple of issues, we looked at the importance of shutter speed and aperture selection. When you change the shutter speed, the aperture has to change as well for the overall exposure to be right; equally, when you change the aperture, the shutter speed must also adjust. The exposure mode you use dictates how particular pairings of shutter speed and aperture are chosen. The exposure modes on a typical Nikon DSLR or mirrorless can be broken into three types. The first group offers traditional modes known as the ‘PASM’ modes (Program, Aperture, Shutter, Manual). Each enables you to specify the shutter speed or aperture you use, giving…

The Program mode on your Nikon automatically sets both the shutter speed and aperture, based on the light levels measured by the camera’s exposure meter. But it does this ‘intelligently’, adapting the program to different focal lengths and shooting conditions. Pmode In P mode, the camera isn’t set up for any specific kind of photography, so it chooses combinations of shutter speed and aperture that are designed to provide a good compromise between sharpness (higher shutter speeds) and depth of field (smaller lens apertures). Often, this is all you need. Shutter speed: 1/200 sec Aperture: f/5.6 Sports mode If you select the Sports mode, you’re telling the camera you’re shooting fast-moving subjects. It adapts the exposure to favour faster shutter speeds over smaller apertures. You’ll get less depth of field,…

It’s important to learn that the exact choice of exposure mode isn’t crucial – in many situations you can use any of the four PASM modes and get an identical combination of shutter speed and aperture. Use the exercise below to try a mode you haven’t used before! 1 CHOOSE A SUITABLE SUBJECT Find something to take a close-up of. We’ve used a frog in our example, but a favourite ornament from your mantelpiece might be an easier option. 2 SELECT PAND USE FLEXIBLE PROGRAM Set the exposure mode dial to P. Use the rear command dial to set the widest aperture available with your lens. Take a picture. 3 USE A MODE AND SET THE APERTURE Repeat using Aperture Priority mode – again, using the rear command dial so you’re…

1 Control icons In addition to enabling you to start and save your project and exporting your final image, there are options for Raw editing, viewing a histogram, creating images for exposure bracketing and much more. 2 Image preview The image is displayed in the main window with all the presets and additional options applied. You can instantly switch between a before-and-after view by simply right-clicking on the image. 3 Display icons Control how the main image preview is displayed. As well as the degree of zoom, you can determine whether processing is carried out in real time and on a smaller image preview, for quicker calculations. 4 Processing presets To keep things manageable, the 139 presets are subdivided into groups, ranging from subtle Natural, Landscape and Portrait treatments to…

Q Call me old-fashioned, but I want to upgrade from my D7000 to a full-frame DSLR. What would you recommend? Graham Chivers A Matthew recommends… The Nikon D750 is one of my all-time favourite cameras. It packs a lot of top-notch technology into a full-frame camera body, along with extensive yet intuitive controls for creative shooting. Nikon D750 STILL AVAILABLE NEW, THE NIKON D750 IS ALSO A GREAT SECOND-HAND BUY RELEASED: 2014 PRICE NEW: £1179/$1496 SECONDHAND PRICE: ‘Excellent’ £790/$990 ‘Good’ £690/$890 The D750 packs a 24.3MP image sensor and EXPEED 4 processor, which combine to deliver spectacular full-frame image quality. Indeed, picture quality remains excellent, even at very high ISO settings, enabling handheld shooting in low light. Meanwhile, the 6.5fps frame rate and 51-point autofocus system, with 11 AF points available at…

Ideal for architectural photography and more besides, the Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift is a wide-angle lens that gives arguably the more important half of the functionality of full tilt-shift or ‘perspective control’ lenses like the Nikon PC-E 24mm f/3.5D ED. And it does so for about half the price. But what’s the big deal with ‘shift’ anyway? For the uninitiated, a shift lens delivers an oversized image circle, much larger than the surface area of the host camera’s image sensor. A mechanical mechanism enables you to shift the front section of the lens up and down, thus changing the axis of the optical path. A key advantage for architectural photographers is that you can level the camera to avoid tall buildings looking like they’re converging towards the top, then…

£329/$297 Tipping the scales at just 135g and measuring a mere 32mm when retracted, this Z-mount DX lens looks and feels impossibly small. Indeed, the optical path is dwarfed by the relatively big diameter of the Z-mount flange. Extended for use, the overall length is still only 55-60mm, depending on the zoom setting. The only minus point is the f/6.3 aperture rating at long zoom settings. The design includes four aspherical elements and one ED (Extra-low Dispersion) element. New-generation optical VR has 4.5-stop effectiveness, beating that of every other stabilized Nikon standard zoom. Build quality feels pretty good: although the mounting plate is plastic, it’s durable. Performance Sharpness is excellent, even when you shoot wide-open at the shortest zoom setting. Levels of sharpness drop off a little towards the long…

£1049/$997 Although it has a retractable design, this full-frame Z-mount lens is much larger than the DX format Z 16-50mm. It has a similar actual rather than ‘effective’ zoom range, but a faster aperture rating, which remains constant throughout the zoom range. The upmarket build includes an aspherical ED element, three further aspherical elements and one additional ED element. Nano Crystal Coat is employed to fend off ghosting and flare, and there’s a fluorine coating on the front element to repel moisture and grease. The stepping motor autofocus system works with speedy precision in almost complete silence, and the customizable focus ring is a useful addition. As usual with full-frame Z-mount wide-angle and standard lenses, there’s no optical VR. Performance This was the first Z-mount lens we ever tested, and…

£2099/$2097 Measuring 155mm in length, this is one of the biggest standard zoom lenses on the market. You’d be forgiven for assuming it had an internal zoom mechanism, but it extends even further at both ends of the zoom range. To be fair, though, the competing Z-mount lens is only about an inch shorter. Completely redesigned a few years ago, this latest edition adds four-stop stabilization whereas the previous incarnation had none. It also gains a new optical design, incorporating four ED elements, an HRI (High Refractive Index) element, Nano Crystal Coat, and fluorine coatings. The nine-blade diaphragm offers electromagnetic control. Performance The lens is capable of magnificent results, but proved uninspiring in our lab tests. It loses out to the new full-frame Z-mount standard zooms for sharpness, and has…

THE APPRENTICE NAME: Danniella Edginton CAMERA: Nikon D500 New Forest local Danniella knows the National Park like the back of her D500 – speaking of which, she’s a competent photographer too. She picked up a DSLR for the first time in 2015, and was soon taking it along to various motorbike racing events with her father. When she’s not trackside, she’s out and about photographing wildlife – and with her knowledge of the locale, she’s the perfect candidate for Astrid’s equine apprentice. THE PRO NAME: Astrid Harrisson CAMERA: Nikon D850 Astrid is an award-winning contemporary photographer who specializes in horses. She graduated from the Surrey Institute of Art & Design in 2002 and has been a full-time pro since 2006. But it was an impromptu gift – a horse photography…

Just a short drive out of the Lake District, Allonby is a beach on the Solway Firth. It is a wide, sandy beach with a big tidal range – which, of course, changes the beach dramatically with every turn of the tide. There are some photogenic groynes and oyster beds that also seem to have changed over time. I try not to be disappointed when I visit a location and I find it has changed, but I can’t help feeling a little bit gutted when I visit Allonby Beach now. There’s an area about a mile outside of town that is not visited too often, and is usually very quiet. If I get there in the evening, I rarely see anyone else. This part of the beach has a few…

1 Set up a cinematic backdrop Set up your diorama in front of a laptop or television screen, with a still from the movie scene you’re trying to replicate (displayed full-screen). This will be your background. We used tying wire to elevate one of the figures. Once the wire is removed in post, the figure will appear to be jumping. 2 Sculpt the light Flash can be overpowering when you shoot close-ups, so we opted to use a pair of Lume Cube LED continuous lights. The key light was placed to the left and on a slightly higher power setting to the fill light on the right. Hotspots add to the toy-like charm; just make sure they don’t obscure faces. 3 Set your exposure There’s no need to worry about shutter speed and…

The polarizer isn’t just a landscape photography essential: it’s the multitool of filters. Its ability to block polarized light from a specific direction reduces glare from sunlight, and boosts both contrast and colour saturation. This results in the punchier skies most people associate with polarizers, but also the ability to cut through reflections in water. If that wasn’t enough, a polarizing filter’s light-blocking properties allow it to double as a handy one-or two-stop neutral-density filter. Polarizers are available to suit a variety of systems and budgets. We used NiSi’s new V7 Holder with True Color NC CPL (£199/$199), which can also house three 100mm filters, in addition to the polarizer. CPL stands for circular polarizer; although our NiSi filter is quite literally a circular object, the name actually derives from…

A portable studio allows you to capture subjects in all sorts of places, and with a clarity that only comes from flash lighting. The mobile studio plays a key role in the history of photography. In the mid-19th century, ‘ambulant photographers’ would travel from town to town. Later the practice was embraced by a host of famous photographers. Perhaps the most captivating examples come from Irving Penn, who travelled the world with his Rolleiflex camera and north-light studio, photographing mud-masked men in New Guinea and hippies in San Francisco. Whether you want to capture animals, people or any kind of subject, a mobile studio can work wonders. It might seem complicated at first, but in a sense it is a great simplifier. By using plain backdrops and sculpting the light…

1 Low key anywhere You can create a moody, low-key lighting setup almost anywhere, even in a field during daylight. (A low-key shot is dominated by dark areas and shadows.) Set the flash to full power and bring the light in as close as possible to the subject. Here the light was almost touching the sheep’s nose; fortunately, he didn’t seem to mind… 2 Underexpose daylight At this range and power, the flash is far brighter than the natural daylight when it goes off; so if you expose for the flash, the surrounding daylight actually has minimal impact on our image. For a good stock exposure setting, use Manual mode and set the exposure to 1/200 sec, f/11, ISO100.…

CHRISTY LEE ROGERS Profile Born and raised in Kailua, Hawaii, Christy Lee Rogers is a fine-art photographer whose unique style of work is represented by galleries around the world. Her works have been exhibited globally, including Paris, London, Mexico City, Shanghai, São Paulo and Los Angeles. Christy has been featured in many international titles, including Vogue, Art China, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle Decoration, Global Times and The Independent. In 2019, she was named Open Photographer of the Year at the Sony World Photography Awards. Christy is a two-time finalist in the Contemporary Talents Award from the Fondation François Schneider in France. In 2019 she was commissioned by Apple to create underwater images with the iPhone 11 Pro. www.christyleerogers.com The photography of Christy Lee Rogers is almost impossible to categorize. At first…

1. Nikon Z 8 rumours: is it actually real? What do we know? Rumours about a Nikon Z 8 have been buzzing around for a couple of years. Here’s the theory: Sony has a 61MP full-frame sensor, and Nikon has a history of using Sony sensors in its cameras. Nikon does not currently have a 61MP full-frame camera, and there appears to be space for a high-resolution model between the Z 7 II and the Z 9… https://bit.ly/3FSrRM1 2. Nikon has designed a 360º camera (again) Clearly not put off by the failure of the KeyMission, it looks like Nikon could be launching another 360º camera. Whether you’re a content creator, a filmmaker or a lover of action sports, cameras with a 360° view provide a fun way of capturing…

1 Switch to M On most Nikons, you do this on the mode dial; on professional models there’s a mode button that you use in conjunction with the command dial. 2 Shutter speed Change the shutter speed with the rear command dial. As you do, the bars on the exposure indicator move to show that the exposure is changing. 3 Tweak aperture Use the front sub-command dial if your camera has one; on other models, hold down the EV compensation button and turn the rear command dial. 4 Use the indicator As you change the shutter speed or aperture, bars on either side of the exposure indicator’s zero point show under-or overexposure. 5 Zero the setting When the bars are ‘zeroed’, the exposure is indicated by the camera’s meter, but it’s up to you how…

Worth £53/$69! Free for N-Photo readers In the heyday of photography, all images were monochrome, and transforming images into black and white can still give images a timeless feel. A mono conversion is also useful for times when colour is a distraction. But if you just set your Nikon’s Picture Control to Monochrome, the results are likely to be disappointing. B&W Projects 5 makes transforming your colour images into monochrome masterpieces easy. There are dozens of ways in which you can process a B&W image, depending on the effect you want to achieve, and this clever program instantly produces 139 different conversions, each with a unique look. There are presets specifically designed to enhance landscapes, portraits and architecture, or you can apply artistic or surreal filters. You can simply pick…

Discover the expressive power and beauty of black-and-white photography with B&W Projects 6 Professional. This latest version creates masterful works of art from your images and is the perfect tool for high-end monochrome images. Features include: 184 image presets, with new Light FX and Street Photos categories • Fantastic new light effects: Light Bokeh, Light Frames and Light Spots • SmartMask filter for intelligent, automatic masking of effects and newly developed Soft Skin filter for stunningly beautiful portraits • Standalone app & plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop Go to www.projects-software.com/projects-family/black-white and save 68% with the code NPHOTO-BLACK…

Lab tests explained Sharpness A chart with multiple sharp boundaries is photographed, the extent of blur at the centre, mid and edges showing how many line widths per picture height the lens can resolve. Simply put, the bigger the numbers the sharper the lens. Fringing Chromatic aberration is visible as purple or green fringing around high-contrast boundaries, caused by different wavelengths being focused on different areas of the sensor. The larger the number, the worse the score. Distortion A lens that bulges towards the edges of the frame produces barrel distortion, shown as a negative score. Pincushion distortion produces a positive score. A score of zero indicates no distortion. Our awards in a nutshell The best performance, design and value A product that gives you more for your money The…

While everyone who’s spent any time taking photos will recommend the best tripods, and probably fall over themselves to argue the merits of one brand or another, the humble ball head does get forgotten about. Ball heads are one of two common head designs: the other is the three-way head, which offers more precision with small movements, but is typically larger and more expensive. Ball heads operate on a very simple principle. The camera is mounted on a ball that can move freely in a socket, but can be locked firmly in position with a locking knob. Some have separate panning axes to make panoramas or panning shots easier, and some have a friction control so you can move the camera against a fixed resistance. A good ball head can…

£949/$997 Bucking the trend of typical ‘trinity’ standard zooms that combine a 24-70mm range with a constant f/2.8 aperture, this new Nikon gives you a different option. You lose a noticeable chunk of wide-angle coverage but gain a little at the long end, while retaining that all-important fast aperture rating throughout. Better still, it’s much less than two-thirds the weight of the Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S – and costs less than half as much to buy. Although this isn’t an S-line lens, it’s smartly turned out, with a dependable, weather-sealed construction. Quality glass includes three aspherical elements, one ED element and one Super-ED element. Autofocus is quick and virtually silent. You don’t get the additional customizable control ring, L-Fn button or OLED display of Nikon’s top zooms, but that’s no…

£1149/$1097 Many DSLR photographers love the 5x zoom range and constant-aperture design of the AF-S 24-120mm lens on test, and this Z-mount lens represents a complete makeover of that design for mirrorless Nikons. Typical of S-line lenses, it has high-end design and build quality. The optical path includes three ED (Extra-low Dispersion) elements, one aspherical ED element, and three further aspherical elements. Everything’s wrapped up in a robust, weather-sealed casing. Handling benefits from a customizable L-Fn button, and a customizable ‘de-clicked’ control ring that sits just behind it. At the rear, there’s an A-M switch for quick and easy selection of autofocus or manual focus, something that’s omitted in some Z-mount lenses. Performance As usual in Z-mount lenses, autofocus is fast, virtually silent and consistently accurate, while focus breathing is…

£2299/$2297 There’s a lot to be said for using one of Nikon’s less expensive Z-mount standard zooms on a mirrorless body, but this top-end f/2.8 lens is hard to resist. The optical design includes four aspherical elements and two ED elements, plus dual Nano Crystal and ARNEO coatings, which virtually banish ghosting and flare. Keep-clean fluorine coatings are added front and back. There’s an electromagnetically controlled diaphragm, and dual autofocus stepping motors to boost speed and accuracy. Customizable extras include an additional control ring, an L-Fn (Lens Function) button and an OLED display. The last of these can show aperture setting, zoom position or focus distance, complete with depth of field indication. Handling is a dream. Performance All of Nikon’s FX format Z-mount standard zooms deliver spectacular performance, but this…

The Nikon Z 24-70mm f/2.8 S is undoubtedly the best standard zoom lens in this group, with phenomenal performance and image quality in all respects. Handling is fabulous too. Even so, there’s no denying it’s pretty weighty at 805g. The smaller, retractable Z 24-70mm f/4 S weighs just 500g and is better suited to everyday shooting. It’s less than half the price on its own, and is even better value as part of a kit. Meanwhile, the Z 28-75mm f/2.8 is exceptional value for a fast and constant f/2.8 zoom; and there’s no beating the Z 24-120mm f/4 S if you prefer a bigger zoom range at the expense of an f-stop in speed. In the DX mirrorless sector, the Z DX 16-50mm VR is the only current standard zoom,…