Digital Photographer

Welcome to your latest issue of Digital Photographer, which is now bigger and hopefully better than ever! Our brand new section, Shoot Like a Pro, takes you behind the scenes with a top photographer, as they give their best tips and techniques for im

Peter is Digital Photographer’s expert writer and creator. This month he’s been looking at night photography, exploring the techniques required for working in low-light conditions. Turn to p22 get started. He’s also written a tutorial on working with

Fujifilm has announced a new midrange mirrorless camera that sits just one step below the flagship X-T4 in the Fujifilm range, and is designed to appeal to a broader range of photographers. The new Fujifilm X-S10 has premium build quality and feature

The German Society for Nature Photography (GDT) has announced the winning photographs from the European Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. Chosen from more than 19,000 entries from 38 countries, Jasper Doest from The Netherlands has won t

Sergey Gorshkov has been named this year’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year, winning the 56th annual competition with his magnificent image The Embrace, depicting an Amur tigress hugging a Manchurian fir in the Russian Far East. Wildlife Photographe

Nikon has launched the Z 6II and Z 7II, updates to its top-end Z-series mirrorless cameras, with more powerful processing, twin memory card slots, and enhanced autofocus and continuous shooting capabilities. They seem like they have been around for e

Some people say never work with animals or children, but for self-certified animal lover Alex Robins, they were always an obvious subject to shoot. Alex developed her passion for photography from the age of 16 after receiving a Canon compact camera f

Like a true pro, Alex manages the expectations of her clients at all stages of their journey. She sends interested customers a full product list and a session guide (pictured) when they make enquiries through her website, and asks them to fill in a s

Capture the backdrop As Alex sometimes has to remove leads and people at the processing stage, she’ll capture an empty background on the shoot to blend in later in Photoshop. Tweak the tones It’s important to create a recognisable and consistent aes

1 Telephoto lens It’s challenging to frame and focus on dogs in motion. Alex switches to a 70-200mm lens to quickly recompose without having to move, cleaning the lens before use. 2 Camera settings Alex uses Manual exposure mode. For moving targets

Darkness is one of the biggest challenges for a photographer to deal with – even when using a high-spec camera with mind-boggling low-light capabilities. The essence of photography is the capture of light, and when there isn’t much light to be found,

Near the end of a season, sunset times can change rapidly. Make sure you know when the sun is going to set, as not only will this have implications for your arrival and setup, but the colour and lighting for your first hour on site can be identified

When shooting at the boundary between two times of day, the lighting tends to change quickly. Therefore, when conducting a ‘live’ shoot, you want to be able to get straight to making images. Always visit your chosen location during the day, where pos

Long exposures can be expected as a matter of course, so a strong tripod is critical for sharp images. A zoom lens of around 17-85mm is a good all-round optic, useful for quickly changing compositions using the most common focal lengths. A 70-200mm

When you plan to arrive at a location just as most other people are leaving for the night, there is the potential to run into difficulties. Be certain you can access car parking facilities at the time you need to arrive, and always check the rules se

The irony of many genres of photography is that the most interesting and desirable aspects of a scene are often the properties that create the biggest challenges. In night photography, where ambient light is at a minimum, the deep contrast and low-ke

Judging fine focus can sometimes be challenging using a small optical viewfinder in the best light, so it is even more of an issue in the dark. The rear LCD screen enables you to zoom in on the live image and adjust manual focus, while referencing a

Reciprocity failure is a phenomenon by which the standard rules of exposure begin to break down in extreme low light. During the days of film photography this was caused by the physical properties of the film emulsion and the chemical reaction to the

One of the key skills for fine-art painters is recognising the characteristic colour balance of different types of lighting and environment. This enables the artist to create a realistic gradation of pigments on the canvas by mixing colours for diffe

One of the characteristic challenges of cityscape photography is the mixed colour temperatures of different light sources. Many office lights will have a strong yellow cast, as will traffic trails, while modern street lamps often have a much cooler c

When shooting bright lights in dark settings, there is a risk of clipping individual colour channels. While lost highlights can be easy to spot, loss of detail in just one channel is easily overlooked. Avoid this by looking at the live RGB histograms

After mastering the basics of working in low-light conditions and exploring different locations and challenges, it’s time to look at combining genres. Astrophotography is a niche sector, but it’s impossible not to explore when discussing night photog

Price: £269 / $216 A great place to start, it has great light-gathering specs and is capable of both stargazing and astrophotography. The bundle includes a smartphone holder for capturing pictures. What’s bad? It is for beginners, so it’s built for

What are the greatest challenges associated with photographing the night sky, and how do you overcome these? Undoubtedly weather, especially within the UK. The best way to plan a landscape astrophotography shoot is to read multiple weather forecasts

Moving light sources have always been a popular subject for after-dark photography, as long exposures reduce lights to colourful streaks and add energy to almost any scene. Part of the reason why light trails are so engaging is that the effects they

1 Adjust colour balance Use the Colour Balance Dialogue in Photoshop or the Temperature and Tint sliders in Lightroom or Camera Raw to make subtle, global changes. Here I also used the Split Toning function to target casts in highlight and shadow are

We all lead busy, fast-paced lives attached to our phones, and the seemingly endless deluge of emails, texts, images and adverts that bombard our lives, added to the demands of work and family, can leave us feeling that there is no time left in the d

When you are being patient and staying still for any length of time the cold will nag at your body until you give in and go home. Be prepared and always keep warm. Probably the most important piece of kit, it shelters you and the camera from the sun,

For mindful photography you don’t need to travel, there are no good or bad locations, there’s no such thing as good or bad light, there is only where you are and the opportunities gifted to you. If you take away the expectation and pressure of having

The changing weather can reveal beauty in subjects that might otherwise be plain. It can reflect your own moods or emotions. I find that I see more when the weather matches my emotions, allowing me to amplify my mood and receive something truly beaut

There is no such thing as an ideal location to practise mindful photography, but starting at home is as good a place as any. Our homes have so many overlooked and unappreciated areas of beauty that aren’t noticed, and you will be amazed how much you

Every second of every day we are presented with visual gifts, we just don’t notice them because of the demands on our time. Allowing yourself time to notice the beauty that surrounds you is a wonderful gift. The key is to browse the place you are in,

Mindful photography is showing what you experience in a very authentic way. People often interpret this as not allowing creativity, but the beauty we see is created by someone or something, so I encourage you to use your skills to match experience wi

A mindful approach to any technique is to understand what you need to do, learn it and practice it. Worrying about the technique or trying to guess the exposure doesn’t allow you to stay connected to the subject. I always use the same workflow for ev

Working out the correct exposure is simple. I use the free Lee Filters app, but there are others available for a small fee. Take the exposure from step 4, dial the shutter speed into your app, apply the filter you’re using – in our case a ten-stop –

I’ve mentioned the benefits of a beginner’s mind, but using your technical experience helps a lot in being able to translate what you feel and see into what you produce at the printing stage. Using simple techniques, such as under or overexposure, en

I shoot mainly in black and white – I only shoot colour on my iPhone. Colour distracts me, I find it irritating as sometimes colour overrides content. That said, I do see colour, but I always translate it into tones of grey. I have my camera set to t

WHAT TO ASK YOURSELF Does the image reflect your feelings? Be truthful, don’t hide from your emotions, don’t start by saying the light was wrong, etc. Does the image reflect how you felt at that time in that place when you pressed the shutter – yes

Nikon has just launched the Z 6II and Z 7II, marking a new era for two of its hugely popular models. Nikon unveiled its first full-frame mirrorless cameras two years ago, with the launch of the Z 6 and Z 7 to much critical acclaim, but now it has mad

Difficulty level: Intermediate Time taken: 3 hours We’ve all seen coloured light used in portraiture to create dramatic and stunning images. The world of coloured light is used to add dimension and tell stories. Colour can be used in any situation,

It is often the case in photography that we end up building a system of flash equipment that uses just one brand. We might start with a single flashgun, and because camera manufacturers often advocate the use of their own-brand flashes, we continue t

Photographers have the power to control time by using both the settings on their camera and additional kit such as filters. By slowing down time and artificially extending the exposure, you can introduce movement into frames and transform everyday sc

When I see a nice sky, I love to capture it and add it to my library. Sometimes when travelling I witness spectacular landscapes, but I don’t always get a great sky or light, and it really takes all the magic out of the moment. So here is a great way

I always love to try new techniques and improve my editing skills, and here I will show you a fun but fairly simple method for transforming your photo from a basic daylight shot into a sunset/night image. We will be using local tools in Lightroom, an

Both physical print display and online showcasing have their relative advantages and disadvantages and it is not possible to say that one is better than the other. Each option provides a slightly different viewer experience and as long as we understa

In the modern world the internet is by far the best platform for showing your work to the world. There is an endless source of potential custom, both globally and on a local level, catering for almost any market you wish to serve with your photograph

Tell us a bit about yourself and your journey in photography/blogging. I picked up photography purely by chance as an artistic medium. I was 18 years old, graduating high school and really wanted a digital camera to capture my memories. My uncle boug

Be first – this usually means that you can’t be best, because there isn’t always enough time to go into depth, so there’s often a trade-off. If it’s a hot topic, whether it’s a piece of breaking news or the first hands-on verdict of something, you’ll

I want to improve my shooting skills and am keen to undertake some online training. However, with there being so many courses out there, I’m unsure which is the best. Can you give me any recommendations for where to look? George Hall This is a grea

I’m a wedding photographer who started my business a couple of years ago. The COVID crisis has put a spanner in the works, but with some savings and other bits of photography I’m hanging on in. My aim over the next few years is to grow my business, b

What course did you do? I did a three-year BA (Hons) in Media Arts at Plymouth University (although we were based in Exeter). Did you enjoy studying and your time on the course? I really enjoyed the course, particularly once I’d decided to special

Andrew Paynter is a photographer and director based in Oakland, California, who is interested in exploring character and the creative process as a whole. He has shot work for a sweep of major clients including Coca-Cola, Adidas, Levi Strauss, Convers

You don’t have to venture into the wilderness to find wildlife. Explore your local town to record animals thriving in the urban environment, be it foxes in night-time streets or birds nesting on buildings. Enter at www.photocrowd.com/digitalphotograp

For our latest competition in association with Photocrowd, we challenged you to submit your best images of the essence of autumn. After working through thousands of brilliant entries, the winners have been selected. Both crowd-voted and expert winner

Our team of trusted and expert reviewers score gear thoroughly to help you make better buying choices.

Wide-angle zooms are favoured for landscapes, as well as for architectural photography. But turn your gaze heavenwards on a star-studded night and you can take in a whole new perspective. For shooting the Milky Way with a full-frame camera, a zoom ra

From Canon’s prestigious L-series line-up, this is the first-choice zoom for astrophotography with a DSLR. The maximum viewing angle is less extreme than that of the EF 11-24mm f/4L USM, but the 16-35mm is a whole f-stop faster, so has better light-g

Launched in 2018, ten years after the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, this Sigma zoom delivers the same ultra-wide zoom range and constant aperture rating. It’s only about two-thirds of the price of the Nikon lens but is supremely well-built. It’s also availabl

Launched with much aplomb back in 2008, this was the world’s first 14-24mm zoom lens with a fast and constant f/2.8 aperture. It was very well received and has gone on to become something of a legend in its own lifetime. Even so, it now faces stiff c

This lens is the only one in the entire group to feature an optical stabiliser or ‘vibration compensation’ system. It’s a rare thing to find in fast, ultra-wide lenses, whether they’re zooms or primes. The G2 edition of the lens gives a boost in stab

While the image quality of the Panasonic S1, S1R and S1H have been praised, their size, weight, price and autofocus performance have been called into question by many. Panasonic has tried to address these issues with the Lumix S5. Like the S1 series,

The S5 has a vari-angle screen on its back, which means it can be seen from above or below eye-level as well as from in front of the camera. Dual IS II means that the S5’s on-board image stabilisation can work in partnership with lens-based image sta

Panasonic’s Lumix GH5 is a popular camera among videographers, but many people want a full-frame model. The full-frame Lumix S1H is extremely capable, but it’s also rather bulky and expensive at £3,598/$3,998 body only. The S5 offers a nice compromis

In-camera and lens stabilisation systems have come a long way, but there’s a limit to the degree of movement correction that they can offer. Luckily, motorised stabilisation gimbals have also taken huge strides forward in recent years, becoming small

There are six stabilisation modes available on the Crane 2S: Pan Follow (PF); Locking (L); Following (F); Full-Range POV (POV); Vortex (V); and Go. Single, double or triple-pressing the M button toggles through all but Full Follow mode, which is acti

Generally speaking, macro lenses come with a professional edge, since the manufacturers assume that only serious enthusiasts and pros will be willing to invest in such a niche optic. With the exception of some entry-level 50mm and 60mm models, this m

The first thing you notice about the Nikkor Z 70-200mm f/2.8 is just how big it looks when mounted on a Nikon Z-series camera. This is largely an illusion, however, and being a full-frame (FX) format lens, this model is in line with most similar DSLR

Website:www.fstopgear.com Price: £165/$189 internal camera units from £65/$75 A modular bag from F-Stop’s Ultra Light (UL) range, the Kashmir is one of the most comfortable backpacks to carry, even when heavily laden. However, with the recommended