Digital Camera World » famous photographers

Fashion photography tips: Lara Jade on perfect lighting and simple compositions

jmeyer — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:01:23 +0000

In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue, world famous photographer Lara Jade steps in to share her best fashion photography tips with our apprentice.

Meet our professional photographer

Lara Jade began her photography career aged 14, taking fine art and self-portrait images. At just 22 years old, she has an mpressive client list including Elle, Harper Collins, BBC and Schwarzkopf. Her unique romantic, gothic style of imagery has built a strong following and earned her a place in the fashion photography elite. See more of her work at www.larajade.co.uk, or book a photography workshop at www.larajadeworkshops.com.

Meet our apprentice

Nicki Fairall is the owner of Uber Beauty Rooms in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. As well as being a talented beautician and businesswoman, she’s also a keen photographer with a love of portraits. As she is coming to the end of her photography diploma course, she’d love to add some high-fashion images to her portfolio, but is unsure how to get the right lighting and find a willing model.

Technique Assessment

Manual mode for models
“Like many people, Nicki had been using Av mode for her portraits, but Manual mode gives so much more control,” explains Lara.

“Being able to set both the shutter speed and aperture means your exposures will always remain consistent, highly important when using studio lights. It also enables you  to maintain your depth of field, so everything from the tip of the nose to the final strands of stylishly coiffured hair is in focus.”

Maximise detail with raw format
“I always shoot in raw format – it gives me the best quality images. I love using Photoshop to manipulate my shots and add a fantasy element, so I have to ensure I have as much colour and luminance data to play with as possible,” says Lara. “I got Nicki to shoot in raw too, so she won’t be losing important detail and introducing artefacts when she edits her shots later.”

PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Fashion photography tips for during the shoot
PAGE 3: Final fashion photography tips from Lara Jade
PAGE 4: Lara Jade’s recommended gear
PAGE 5: Shot of the Day

Photo Anatomy: shooting underwater photography in a freezing Alpine lake

jmeyer — Sun, 19 May 2013 01:00:15 +0000

In our Photo Anatomy series on Digital Camera World we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment underwater photographer Franco Banfi reveals how he captured this stunning image in the freezing waters of a Swiss alpine lake.

Hidden depths
Banfi’s image shows an unusual, fish-shaped iceberg. It’s located under the surface of a small, freshwater mountain lake: Lake Sassolo, located in the south of Switzerland.

Sense of proportion
By including his partner Sabrina holding a torch in the image, Banfi created a crucial extra point of interest and enabled the viewer to appreciate the scale of the iceberg.

Challenging conditions
“It was very cold in the lake, so having the right diving equipment was essential,” says Banfi. “That included a good dry suit and a pressure regulator that worked well in low temperatures.”

Tried-and-tested kit
Banfi shot close to the iceberg using a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II with a 15mm f/2.8 fisheye lens, contained in a Seacam underwater housing. Settings were 1/100sec at f/5, ISO 100.

Insider Knowledge
“In spring this lake is still covered with ice,” says Banfi, “but the temperature rises and the ice melts quickly. Usually there are only 2-3 weeks in which to shoot the ice.”

We Say
As water absorbs colours at the red end of the spectrum, underwater photographers often like to shoot with strobe or flash for a more balanced range of colours. However, shooting with ambient light, as Banfi has done here, uses the resulting blue hue to create a much more subtle and atmospheric image.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

Photo Anatomy: capturing un-tamed moments in the wild

jmeyer — Sun, 12 May 2013 00:00:04 +0000

In our Photo Anatomy series on Digital Camera World we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning wildlife photographer Bence Máté reveals how he captured a rare confrontation between a hummingbird and a snake.

Shallow depth of field
By using a telephoto lens and throwing the background completely out of focus, Bence has concentrated attention on the bird and snake. The branch provides context and a frame.

Long lens
Bence captured this unusual stand-off with his Nikon D300 fitted with a 300mm f/2.8 lens. He was only able to fire off a few frames before the hummingbird flew away.

Supplementary lighting
Rain was falling and the light was poor, so Bence used two flash units – one in front and the other behind the action. The flashes enabled him to capture the motion of the hummingbird’s wings.

Restricted colour palette
The photograph uses different shades of green to striking effect. The bright green snake and moss, and the hummingbird’s mid-green plumage, stand out brilliantly against the muted, darker green background.

Expecting the unexpected
Bence was photographing hummingbirds in Monteverde, Costa Rica, when he noticed they had become agitated. He soon realised why: a side-striped palm pit viper was coiled on a nearby branch.

We Say
“Getting into the situation where you can photograph something like this is one thing, but this picture could easily have been ruined by the poor light. Using flash to supplement daylight gives wildlife images added impact, and allows you to work with faster shutter speeds.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

Photo Anatomy: why Dan Chung used a tilt-shift lens to capture Usain Bolt

crutter — Sun, 05 May 2013 01:00:14 +0000

In our Photo Anatomy series on Digital Camera World we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning press photographer Dan Chung reveals how he captured Usain Bolt’s 100m final victory at the Beijing Olympics using innovative tilt-shift lens effects.

Freezing the action
“I handheld my Nikon D3, which was fitted with a Nikon PC-E Micro-Nikkor 85mm lens,” Dan says. “I used an exposure of 1/500 sec at f/2.8 with the ISO set to 800.”

‘Toytown’ effect
Dan used his tilt-shift lens to create a narrow depth of field, making the runners stand out from the blurred background as if they were a group of miniature-scale models.

Decisive moment
This frame was captured just after the runners had crossed the finish line, and Bolt’s holding out his arms in celebration. The display board shows his record-breaking time.

Alternative viewpoint
“I’m always looking for a different perspective on an event,” says Dan. “This photo was part of a series of tilt-shift images I took during the Games.”

Press ethics
As a press photographer, Dan had to create this effect entirely in-camera. “I was shooting for The Guardian and wouldn’t have been allowed to use software to simulate it,” he says.

We Say
“Tilt-shift lenses have a variety of technical and creative uses and are great fun to experiment with, but they’re expensive.  As an alternative, the miniature-like appearance shown here can be created at the post-capture stage.
Chris Rutter, Technique editor

Photo Anatomy: using light to create artistic landscape photography

jmeyer — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 13:00:14 +0000

In our new Sunday series on Digital Camera World, we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning landscape photographer Antony Spencer reveals the artistic choices and photographic techniques he used to create this amazing landscape image.

Composition
The whole image is built around the tree. “It adds another dimension and takes the composition up  a level, especially with the creek leading straight to it,” says Antony.

Exposure
“When shooting a scene at 280mm on top of a hill, any wind will soften the image,  so I used ISO200 to shorten the exposure time,” he says.

Selecting the right content
“I used a 70-200mm lens at 200mm with a 1.4x extender to compress the area of interest within the landscape,” says Antony. “A polariser increased colour saturation.”

Viewpoint
Antony shot this image from the top of Steptoe Butte, which overlooks the wide open landscape of the Palouse region in Whitman County, Washington State, USA.

Time of day
“Sunset was always going to be the best time of day for the light to emphasise the undulating hills and lead towards the tree,” says Antony. “The angled light was crucial.”

We say
“Photographing a large-scale landscape like the Palouse can initially be overwhelming. Using a longer lens reduces the amount of detail in the frame and compresses perspective. By selecting the right combination of elements you can create a simple, balanced composition that’s far more effective than a broader landscape.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

Photo Anatomy: black and white wildlife photography with instant impact

crutter — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 13:00:45 +0000

In our new Sunday series on Digital Camera World, we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment award-winning wildlife photographer Richard Peters reveals the techniques behind this striking black and white image of an owl.

01 Background
“A dark background helps your subject pop,” explains Richard. “I was shooting into the shade of distant trees, so it was already a dark green. Converting to mono turned it black.”

02 Preparation
Richard knew that a family of owls lived on an area of Sussex farmland. He photographed one of them from a one-man pop-up hide as it perched on old farm machinery.

03 Mono conversion
“Mono is great for making texture and detail stand out,” says Richard. “The rusty detail of the machinery and the dark background suited a black-and-white conversion.”

04 Getting close
Richard photographed the owl from distance using a Nikon D4 fitted with a 600mm VR lens with a 1.4x teleconverter. It was mounted on a Gitzo carbon fibre tripod with a Wimberley Mark II head.

05 Positioning
“For this shot,” says Richard, “it was important to position myself in such a way that I had a clean background, but also had good light on the subject.”

We Say
“Photographing birds in the wild can be tricky, but getting in position and staying there, allowing them to become comfortable, works far better than constantly moving around and following them. More co-operative birds are usually found in places where they are more used to human presence.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

Photo Anatomy: revealing personality in celebrity portraits

jmeyer — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 23:01:14 +0000

In our new Sunday series on Digital Camera World, we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment Robert Wilson tells us how he captured his penetrating portrait of actor Mark Rylance and how he aimed to reveal a different side to a well-known person.

Keeping it simple
Robert photographed Mark Rylance at a rehearsal room near London’s Globe Theatre. Rylance was lit with three lights, and another was used to illuminate the grey Colorama background.

Shallow focus
Robert used a Hasselblad H2 body with a 150mm lens and a Phase One P65+ digital back. He chose an aperture of f/3.5 and set the focus point on Rylance’s expressive eyes.

Post production
“Many of my pictures are colour graded and have contrast added, although this one had very little post production,” Robert says. “Most of the work was adding the contrast.”

Skin texture
This powerful image is rich in the minute details of Rylance’s skin texture, which have been brought out by the use of a high-quality 60-megapixel image sensor.

We say
“When you’re shooting a tight, close-up face shot, avoid using a standard or wide lens, because they can distort features, often making noses look big. A medium telephoto lens compresses perspective and generally produces a more flattering portrait.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

Photo Anatomy: how one of the web’s most viral images was made

jmeyer — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 00:00:46 +0000

In our new Sunday series on Digital Camera World, we select pictures by famous photographers and explain point by point what makes them work.

In our latest instalment Seth Casteel tells us how he captured his extraordinary underwater dog portraits, which took the internet by storm overnight.

Inspiration
Seth was inspired by seeing a dog that loved jumping into a pool to retrieve a ball. “As I watched him, I wondered, ‘What does he look like under there?’” he says.

Underwater kit
Seth used a Canon EOS 7D body, a Tokina 12-24mm lens and a Canon 580 EXII flashgun, all encased in a custom-designed surf housing. The camera was just a few inches from the dog.

Expression
“I love the connection that dogs have with water,” says Seth. “It gives me the opportunity to explore their wild instincts and allows their amazing range of expressions to shine through.”

Colour
Aside from the dog’s determined and wild-eyed appearance, the overall visual impact of the image is reinforced by the dominating complementary blue and orange colours.

Split-second timing
Seth waited underwater for the dog to jump into the pool and then fired the shutter. The dog’s movement was frozen by the flash, just as it was straining every muscle to reach the ball.

We say
“Capturing action shots of dogs can be challenging, but there are a few simple techniques you can try. Photograph them running in surf at the beach, or jumping to catch a ball or frisbee. Use your camera’s continuous AF mode  and the fastest available shutter speed, and frame tightly for impact.”
Chris Rutter, technique editor

13 ways famous landscape photographers make money from photography

jmeyer — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:01:20 +0000

The life of famous landscape photographers can appear to be a glamorous mix of travelling to distant exotic photo locations, taking a few photos in glorious golden light, selling them onto international clients for a fortune before deciding where to travel to next!

The reality is very different. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start living the dream now and selling a few of your best pics to magazines, publishers, calendar companies and more. They might even help you pay for your next lens!

All images and words by Lee Beel

In order to make a success of your landscape photography and to increase the chances of your work being published you should always ask yourself one question when you’re out in the field: how can I photograph the scene before me in order to maximise its earning potential?

Of course, you should strive to capture the scene looking at its best but different clients want different things. Over the next few pages we’ll give you advice and tips for how to really make the most of every photographic opportunity.

How famous landscape photographers make money from photography: 1-3

1 Shoot in the middle of the day
Photographers know that the best light for landscape work occurs in the ‘golden’ hours around dawn and dusk when the low angle of the sun reveals contours and texture in the scene and bathes it in glorious light.

But if you only work for a couple of hours a day how do you expect to make a living? Colours look rich and saturated in harsh light under a blue sky.

It’s worth getting in touch with local interest magazines to see if they can use any of your pictures or if they’d like to keep them on file for future use.

2 Shoot vertical and horizontal
Most of the images published in magazines are in the vertical format. It seems obvious that upright images will be in demand when you know that an A4 page is this shape too.

However, if you look at the vast choice of calendars that are available you’ll notice that most of the use images that are shot horizontally.

This is not to say that each of these markets don’t use images that are shot in the other format. Of course magazines also use horizontal photographs and some calendar companies like to use vertical shots.

So, in order to increase the chances of your work being used you should try to capture a scene in both formats if it’s possible.

I don’t suggest you record both just for the sake of it – only if the scene you’re photographing works in both ways.

3 Compose with text in mind
If you browse the shelves at your local newsagent you’ll notice that most, if not all, magazines (and books for that matter) have the title in a prominent position along the top of the front page and various other text positioned around the cover image.

For this reason it can be a good idea to leave a bit of extra space at the top of your composition and around the edges of the frame so that text can be added if you work is to be considered for the front page of a magazine.

PAGE 1: How famous landscape photographers make money from photography – tips 1-3
PAGE 2: How famous landscape photographers make money from photography – tips 4-6
PAGE 3: How famous landscape photographers make money from photography – tips 7-9
PAGE 4: How famous landscape photographers make money from photography – tips 10-13

Professional Photographer to the Rescue: seaside sunset photography made easy

jmeyer — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:01:31 +0000

In our latest Professional Photographer to the Rescue post our pro takes our apprentice on a quest to capture brilliant seaside sunset photography.

Meet our professional photographer

Tom Mackie is a world-class landscape photographer with over 30 years’ professional experience. Since 1985 he’s lived in East Anglia, and enjoys capturing the beautiful British coastline and countryside with his pro Canon kit. Tom also runs photographic workshops in the UK, Europe and US. For more info and to see his gallery, go to www.tommackie.com.

Meet our apprentice

Jim Huntsman is a support worker who’s been a keen amateur photographer for the past seven years. Not long ago he upgraded to his first DSLR, an EOS 400D, and enjoys photographing landscapes. He’s asked for our help to improve his scenic and night shots of Blackpool – his hometown.

Technique Assessment

Jim began shooting as he would normally, then Tom suggested a few ways he could improve his DSLR techniques

Use raw power
“Jim was shooting in JPEG, so I encouraged him to shoot in raw format as it’s the best image quality, and ideal for landscape shots when you may want to accurately adjust exposure and tones afterwards in Adobe Camera Raw software,” says Tom.

“As Jim hadn’t processed raw files before, we set his 400D to capture both raw and JPG files, so he had both formats of each shot to work with.”

Control the DoF
“Jim was relying on his Full Auto mode, which sets everything automatically and restricts him from controlling the depth of field (DoF). I got Jim to use the Av (Aperture Priority) mode, as it enabled him to control the aperture, while his camera took care of the shutter speed,” says Tom. “Then, by setting a narrow aperture (f/16-f/22), he controlled the DoF to ensure his shots were sharp from foreground to horizon.”

PAGE 1: Meet our professional photographer and apprentice
PAGE 2: Seaside sunset photography tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 3: Final tips from our professional photographer
PAGE 4: Our professional photographer’s recommended gear
PAGE 5: Shot of the Day