Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2018 i PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine

BRITTANY “THE lighthouse at Ponte Du Raz, Brittany requires a long focal length and high vantage point to get close. Dawn light hit the lighthouse for just a few minutes.” MA NGESTA? CLIFFS “ON an immensely windy day on the coast here, my tripod was on the floor to stop my DSLR blowing over. A 6-stop ND filter paints the waves with a long shutter speed.” LANDS END “IT‘S a misconception that fast exposures are needed to capture waves, but for this big X - shaped explosion, I shot at 1/640 sec to combat severe wind.”…

We often think of twilight as the most atmospheric part of the day. But after dark can also be a terrific time to head out with the camera, especially in an urban setting. Coloured lights from shop windows, passing traffic and neon signs can make for a marvellous backdrop when shooting portraits. So, in this project we’ll explore a few ideas and techniques to create unique portraits after dark. You don’t need any fancy lighting kit for this, there will be plenty of spots of ambient light that can be used. But, if you do bring along your own lighting you will have the freedom to shoot almost anywhere. We’ll begin by looking at how to use the lights around us, then go on to explain how to supplement the…

The so-called ‘Brenizer’ method is named after wedding photographer Ryan Brenizer. You’ll probably have seen images in this style before, but not known the name of them – think photos with heavily blurred areas that are contrasted with sharply focused ones. In practice, final images are created by shooting several frames of a scene with one lens, and then stitching them together in editing software to create a panorama. So, what’s so special about this approach? For conventional landscape panoramas, most of the time you photograph horizontally or vertically. However, for Brenizer method panoramas (which are popular with portraits) you shoot around the subject’s surroundings as much as you cover them. This emphasises the amount of background blur and depth of field at a given field of view. The technique…

The matte effect is bang on trend, giving style and dimension to the right images. Follow these simple steps to transform your photos. You can start with a Raw image and edit it in Lightroom. Or you could add the matte effect to a final shot that’s already been corrected for everything else. We’ll use a shot straight from the camera, starting out by tweaking the Tone Curve of our image (this forms the basis of creating the effect). Our main aim is to reduce the black levels in the image, muting them down and also adding a little haze. After the basic effect has been generated, the exposure settings need a tweak in the Basic tab and the last step is to get grainy. This effect is well-suited to…

44-year-old Guy was born and brought up in Dorset, where he still lives today. After school he studied nature conservation before taking a degree in photography at Salisbury College in Wiltshire. He began work as a professional landscape and nature photographer in 1998, when he started supplying images to stock libraries. Since then, his photographs have been published in magazines, books and calendars around the world and he has built up a library of over 250,000 images. His work is represented by international agencies including Getty, Alamy and NaturePL. He currently runs around 35 photography workshops per year in diverse locations including Slovenia, the Scottish Islands, southern Iceland and Costa Rica, as well as Dorset’s ‘Jurassic Coast.’ Next issue: Chris Packham, the BBC presenter and naturalist photographer…

Get critiqued! Email photos to EOSSOS@futurenet.com with the subject ‘Rate My Photo’ Lane #4 TIM BOURKE, COLORA DO, USA SAYS … I recently upgraded to the EOS-1D X Mark II, and I’ve been itching to try the 400mm f/2.8 with this new body, so I rented one. I typically shoot youth and high school action photos at the weekends, but I have never photographed a Track & Field event. I positioned myself on the first turn on south side of the track with an unobstructed view of the lane, taking full advantage of having the bright sun at my back and the big lens. I only shot one photo on the first hurdle, and then two photos on the second hurdle, resulting in this photo. BRIAN SAYS … A superb…

£160/$225 When you think versatility, a barren plateau in South Africa probably isn’t the first thing that springs to mind. Nevertheless, this is the region from which the Karoo takes its name. ‘Ultimate Travel Tripod Kit’, which completes the title, is nearer the mark. As such, it has the now favoured design of swing-up legs for a reduced folded height of just 48cm, yet achieves a towering maximum operating height of 190cm, literally standing head and shoulders above most travel tripods. This is mostly thanks to a novel extending centre column design, with additional benefits that we’ll come to in a moment. The four-section legs have identical diameters to those of the two Benro tripods and, again, one leg can be detached for use as a monopod. An additional trick,…

£180/$199 The GlobeTrotter is the biggest and most heavy-duty in MeFOTO’s ‘Classic’ range of tripods. It’s available in a range of bright colours (as well as black) and there’s also a carbon option that sheds 400g in weight. The aluminium kit tips the scales at a moderate 2.1kg, yet has the largest overall load rating in the group, at 12kg. The tripod folds down to just 41cm, making it the second-smallest in the group. That’s thanks to the combination of five-section legs that swing upwards for stowage. Despite the thinnest leg sections having a diameter of just 15mm, the tripod remains impressively rigid even at its maximum height of 165cm, and feels worthy of its hefty load rating. Following current fashion, one of the legs can be removed and used…

Peter Travers Editor • 5D Mark III peter.travers@futurenet.com “I had a great day out shooting with David Clapp and our Apprentice around the north Devon coast this month, finished off with a great sunset seascape.” Page 8 Lauren Scott Freelance writer • 7D Mark II lauren.scott@futurenet.com “I’ve been having fun freelancing for the magazine this issue, and enjoyed mastering the Brenizer technique for some creative panoramic portraits.” Page 56 Rod Lawton Head of testing • 6D rod.lawton@futurenet.com “This month we get to take a proper look at Canon’s new TS-E lenses. Perspective control lenses sound complicated, but they can do great things!” Page 100 James Paterson Technique writer • 5D Mark IV james.paterson@futurenet.com “What surprised me most when shooting portraits after dark was just how good modern LED streetlights can…

MANUAL MODE JESS was a confident young photographer and often used Aperture Priority (Av) or Manual mode on her Canon 6D. “You fully take control of your exposures when in Manual. This enables you to set the aperture and shutter speed to get the results you want, rather than letting your camera dictate what it thinks should be bright and dark in the shot. This is extra important when photographing dark land masses against brighter skies,” says David. WHITE BALANCE DAVID suggested Jess set the white balance to the Daylight setting, for consistent and accurate colours during the day in Devon: “Auto White Balance is okay, but changeable coastal weather can result in a set of wildly different shots. So I set WB to Daylight for consistency; shoot in Raw…

WIN! £ 1500 TOTAL PRIZE VALUE To celebrate Light & Land’s 25th anniversary, enter our incredible competition to win the trip of a lifetime by photographing Venice over four nights in January 2019 – a great prize worth £1500. Venice’s great wealth has led to some of Europe’s finest architecture, from the Byzantine, Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance periods. Nowhere else can you see such a remarkable medley of architectural styles, and this, along with the city’s 410 bridges, will present a never-ending series of opportunities to the photographic eye. Literature, painting and, latterly, the movies have all contributed to embedding the city’s mythical nature into our minds. For early risers amongst our party, a fine dawn across the Piazza San Marco offers a fabulous photo opportunity. Nothing could be more…

What’s the best way to shoot portraits in daylight? Use a long focal length and wide aperture to blur the backgrounds so the subject stands out? Or use some fill flash and underexpose the background for extra contrast and drama? If you use a wide aperture for a shallow depth of field to blur the background behind your subject in even lighting, you may have to accept annoying shadows on their faces, and the backdrop will be much the same brightness as your subject as well (see right). If you use flash you can fill in shadows on faces. But with your camera’s maximum flash sync speed of around 1/200 sec, you’ll need to shoot at an aperture of around f/9 or more if you want to underexpose and darken…

Mention the words Photoshop and portrait in the same sentence and most people would think of skin smoothing, body shaping and extreme beauty enhancements. But improving portraits isn’t all about heavy retouching. Most of the time, a few simple edits are all that’s required to bring out the best in your people photos. In this tutorial, we’ll explain a few key portrait edits. Most, if not all of these techniques can be used on every portrait you shoot. We’ll begin here with a quick tidy over the face to tone down any funky marks. With little ones like this we’re more likely to find bogeys and food than pimples and wrinkles, but the same principles apply whatever the age of our subject. Once done, we’ll use a simple trick to…

01 HISTOGRAM This undulating graph represents the shadows, midtones and highlights in your photo. The width indicates the spread of shadows on the left, midtones in the middle and highlights towards the right, while the height of the graph represents the strength of particular tones. 02 BOOST THE BRIGHTNESS Drag the Brightness slider right to begin to lighten underexposed shadows, though be careful not to clip correctly exposed highlights. 03 BEFORE/AFTER COMPARISON This icon displays a before and after version of your image, to help you discern the effect of your postproduction adjustments. Click on the adjacent fly-out icon to change the layout and stack your photo comparisons horizontally, vertically or even split them down the middle. 04 SHOW SHADOW/HIGHLIGHTS WARNING Click here to turn on a clipping warning. Underexposed…

PhotoPlus EXPERT BRIAN WORLEY CANON PRO Brian is a freelance photographer and photo tutor, based in Oxfordshire. He has unrivalled EOS DSLR knowledge, after working for Canon for over 15 years, and is on hand to answer all your EOS and photographic queries "Can you suggest a suitable flash to use with my EOS 80D? My old Nissin unit has unfortunately stopped working"Kev Jackson, Hull BRIAN SAYS… The lowest priced flash in Canon’s range, is the Speedlite 430EX III-RT at around £250. There are a good range of Canon compatible flashes from other brands. I have had some experience with the Yongnuo, and Sigma models. Typically, these are cheaper than the Canon offerings. Your EOS 80D can be configured so that the built-in flash will control an off-camera flash. I’d…

Head of testing rod.lawton@futurenet.com EVERY photographer needs a tripod, but how much should you spend and what can you expect to get for your money? That’s the question we aim to answer with this month’s Super Test of eight tripods at around the £250/$300 price point. This is what we think you should set aside to get a good quality tripod without breaking the bank! Find out which is best inside… HOW WE TEST Lens tests are carried out with Imatest suite, with specially designed charts and data analysis to test lens performance We test cameras in laboratory conditions using DxO Analyzer hardware and software to check dynamic range and image noise…

£213/$260 Benro has been designing increasingly innovative, exotic and diverse tripods over recent years, but this isn’t one of them. The idea behind the Mach3 is to keep things simple, combining a conventional feature set with high-grade materials. As such, the legs don’t swing up for compact storage, which is a fundamental difference from the Benro Travel Angel, also on test. The Mach3 TMA28AHD2A kit comes with a 3-way head, but a TMA28AB2 kit is also available, with Benro’s B2 ball head. Although very traditional, the Mach3 isn’t entirely devoid of clever tricks. One of the legs can be unscrewed and used in conjunction with the centre column as a monopod. However, the 3-way head makes the conversion less than ideal. Smart extras include interchangeable rubber pads and metal spikes…

£229/$299 Manfrotto’s highly popular 190-series tripods are now split into 190 and ‘190go!’ categories. The latter uses twist locks for the leg sections, whereas the current 190 range has redesigned ‘Quick Power Lock’ levers. Choices include three-section and four-section aluminium legs, with XPRO heads of either 3-way or ball design. Carbon fibre alternatives are only available for the 190Go! series. In this price bracket, the four-section 190XPRO4 ball head kit (MK190XPRO4-BHQ2) is our top choice. It’s a full-sized tripod that reaches a lofty operating height of 175cm, yet shrinks to a fairly modest folded height of 57cm. That’s despite the tripod lacking swing-up legs. In this latest version, the 90-degree pivot facility is quicker and easier to operate, enabling you to swap to horizontal boom mode in just a few…

£199/$279 We’ve been impressed by the quality, performance and affordability of Novo carbon fibre tripods in the past. The T5 undercuts the T10 that we’ve previously reviewed in price, weight and load capacity, and it’s a little shorter as well. It’s actually the most lightweight kit in this group, at just 1.43kg, but still has a confidently respectable maximum load rating of 10kg for both the legs and the head. With four rather than five sections per leg, it doesn’t fold down particularly small, at 47cm, but it manages a decent maximum operating height of 161cm. The carbon legs are resistant to flexing and vibration, even when they’re fully extended and utilizing the bottom sections that only have a 14mm diameter. Simple but effective, the ball head has a rather…

With prices ranging from a couple of hundred quid to several thousand, Canon has a DSLR to suit everyone, from the complete beginner to most demanding pro… What to look for CANON EOS DSLRs Canon splits its EOS lineup into entry-level, enthusiast and professional ranges; the 1300D and 200D are the most basic, the 750D, 760D and 800D for intermediates, the 77D, 80D and full-frame 6D Mk II for more advanced enthusiasts, while the 7D, full-frame 5D and 1D lines have pro-level features. With more expensive models, expect greater ease of use (thumb-operated scrollwheels replacing cursor keys), more robust build quality (weather-sealing and tough magnesium-alloy shells), more advanced functionality, and full-frame rather than APS-C image sensors. With over 150 lenses available for Canon DSLRs, picking the best for the job…

David Clapp David shows our new Apprentice how to capture those absolutely stunning costal scenes. Page 8 Helen Bartlett Family photographer, Helen, tells us what kit you must have to capture great portraits of kids. Page 76 David Noton Find out what Mr Noton is doing atop Porlock Hill in another one of his photo adventures. Page 42 Marcus Hawkins This month Marcus helps us to better understand the histogram and it’s many little nuances. Page 86 Guy Edwardes Guy talks the perks of the photography industry and how he built up a huge library of shots. Page 64 Brian Worley Canon savant Brian, drops knowledge like it’s going out of style. He answers your questions here. Page 91 Steve Jarratt A present provided the opportunity for Steve to capture…

1 All About Lighting Whenever approaching your shoot it’s important to follow one fundamental – light. But it’s not just about the golden hour, like in our shoot, wonderful lighting can be available throughout the day, just wait for it. 2 A Sense of Dimension Use lighting angles to give your boats and harbours a sense of dimension. Side lighting will help the viewer understand the size and length of a boat. Observe your surroundings carefully, there’s rarely a rush. 3 A Question of Glass A two lens setup should work perfectly well. A 24-70mm and 70-300mm will be your best friends when shooting harbours. A super wide 16-35mm comes into its own on rugged beaches, for dynamic photography and large foreground interest. 4 Step Forward – Zoom Out If…

01 Use Manual exposure If the light is consistent and you have time to set the shutter speed and aperture, use your camera’s Manual exposure mode. This locks the exposure setting in, so it makes a good choice for keeping a scene or subject correctly exposed, even when the background changes. 02 Use Auto ISO in Manual mode Your Canon camera’s Auto ISO function can be a real life-saver. Using this, you can freely adjust your exposure settings and the camera will automatically raise the ISO sensitivity at a preset shutter speed, so you don’t need to worry about camera shake when shooting handheld. It can also be used in Manual exposure mode, allowing you to set your preferred combination of aperture and shutter speed, with the Auto ISO function…

peter.travers@futurenet.com HELLO! This month, we’re getting a little bit dark, with two portrait tutorials that will compliment the rather dark and moody weather we’ve been having in the UK. Ontop of that, we also get ultra dark, as we head out into the night with a model in our local city centre to show you how to capture some creatively lit portraits at night time. We also took some time and headed out towards the glorious Durdle Door, to show you how to shoot some majestic coastal landscapes. We take our Canon DSLRs back inside and start sprucing up our snaps in Elements – we show you how to make those portraits glow with a few simple slider tweaks in Photoshop Elements. If that isn’t enough, we use Photoshop CC’s…

Sweeping coastlines and craggy cliffs make for dramatic photographic subjects. Many of the general landscape photo rules remain relevant for coastal shots, but seaside scenes benefit from more detailed planning. This is because coastal locations are constantly changing, both over the course of a day and across the seasons. For example, tides transform the mood and composition of shots, and spring flowers inject striking colours into otherwise drab cliff-faces. Arriving in the right place at the right time for that money shot is easier said than done. Online or OS maps will help you scout out potential new shooting grounds. Apps such as, The Photographer’s Ephemeris will help you to determine which direction the sunrise and sunset will fall at your chosen vantage point. Lighting is key for this type…

There are plenty of techniques for sharpening your photos, but few are as effective as High Pass sharpening. This method makes use of Photoshop’s High Pass Filter, which separates an image into high frequency and low frequency detail. It allows us to target the edges in an image – where light pixels meet darker pixels and apply contrast to them, resulting in crisper details. The High Pass technique is especially suitable for localized sharpening of specific areas of an image. If you think about it, when an image has out-of-focus, detail-less areas (as is often the case with macro photos) there’s really no need to apply universal sharpening to these areas, as all we end up doing is amplifying the image noise – not ideal at all. So for certain…

I photographed these beech trees in a forest at Compton Down in Dorset. It was a misty, murky morning and I decided to use my 8-15mm fisheye lens at the 15mm end. I mostly shoot with daylight white balance and when you’re shooting in low light you always get that blue-ish colour cast which adds to the mood and the coldness. It’s not obvious, but this image is a multiple-exposure made in-camera with four separate shots. It’s a technique I came across when experimenting one day and can be used to make a boring shot more interesting. In this case I selected a four-shot exposure, then between each press of the shutter I twisted the camera. It gives a twirling pattern, with every tree, but with a degree of separation…

Rein in overexposed highlights and underexposed shadows in Digital Photo Professional 4 PhotoPlus EXPERT PETER TRAVERS CANON EXPERT Peter’s been a passionate photographer for well over 20 years. He’s worked on PhotoPlus since the very first issue, back in 2007, and has been the magazine’s editor for the past six years. Marcus drops some knowledge on making the most out of the histogram graph PhotoPlus EXPERT MARCUS HAWKINS PHOTO EXPERT Marcus has been passionate about photography for 25 years. A former editor of our sister publication Digital Camera, he has written about photography for Canon and Jessops, and uses a Canon EOS 5D Mk III. Brian sorts your Canon quibbles with his extensive camera knowledge PhotoPlus EXPERT BRIAN WORLEY CAMERA EXPERT Brian has unrivalled EOS DSLR knowledge after working for…

£216/$224 This kit uses a slightly shorter configuration of four-section legs, compared with the more conventional Benro Mach3 tripod, and they’re connected to different joints at the top. You still get three lockable leg angles, but the joints enable the legs to swing upwards, so that the feet surround the head for stowage. The overall effect is that the folded height is reduced from 60cm to just 45cm, and the Travel Angel kit is also 230g lighter, at 2.19kg. However, the maximum operating height is also 6cm shorter, but still respectable at 161cm. As with the Mach3 kit, this Benro tripod is precision-engineered and beautifully turned out, combining sturdy aluminium leg sections with magnesium castings. Again, one of the legs is detachable for use as a monopod, combined with the…

£149/$179 With a noticeably taller folded height than other tripods on test, this one has three-section legs instead of four or even five sections, and omits a swing-up design to reduce the carrying size. The latter is also true of the four-section Manfrotto 190 kit, but the 290’s folded height is 12cm greater, despite both kits having an identical maximum operating height of 175cm. It’s not all bad news however. The flipside, so to speak, is that there are only six flip locks to operate in total, rather than the nine locks of a four-section tripod, or 12 locks for a set of five-section legs. You can therefore set the height of the tripod with relatively little fuss and bother. Like the other Manfrotto on test, this one has a…

£180/$250 When it comes to folding down small for compact carriage, the Sirui reigns supreme. It’s definitely designed to be as small as possible, not only featuring five-section legs with a swing-up facility, but also incorporating a two-section extending centre column. The result is a generally adequate maximum operating height of 150cm, and a particularly tiny folded height of 36cm. That’s only about half the folded height of the Manfrotto 290 kit. Despite its aluminium build, the Sirui is only just about 10g heavier than the featherweight Novo carbon kit. Build quality is magnificent and the Sirui feels solid and robust, despite its deceptively lightweight construction. It remains rigid and steady even at the maximum height, with all five leg sections fully extended and both sections of the centre column…

THE NO.1 MAGAZINE FOR CANON USERS! FREE VIDEOS! In the next Canon Skills chapter… ▪ Force perspective with a toy car for a film noir image ▪ Castle scenic shots ▪ Incredible infrared photos ▪ Photoshop CC, Elements and Lightroom tutorials PLUS ALL THIS… ▪ Canon EOS camera test: the new M50 compact system camera ▪ Interview: we talk Canon cameras and nature with the inspiration that is Chris Packham ▪ Super Test: portrait prime lenses ▪ The Apprentice: wicked wildlife ISSUE 140 ON SALE 29 may…