DTL Photo

FROM SUMPTUOUS Barista-style coffee and glass-chilled cocktails to high-speed splashes and the allure of mouth-watering 20-year-old Scotch on the rocks, the art of great beverage photography is an area of expertise all of its own. Very highly attention on detail for lighting, composition and technique make it just as much, if not more, of a creative discipline than photographing its dry counterpart. In fact, we could probably fill a book with all you need to know, so we’ll have to suffice with the basics. As you’d expect, and as we’ve already mention, lighting is crucial when it comes to food and especially beverage photography. Backlighting, natural lighting, a multiple studio flash set-up, lighting to eliminate or at least minimise reflections in the glass is something helps create a smooth image that doesn’t distract from what you want to convey. Sometimes the reflections add to the appeal and atmosphere, but for those where it doesn’t, experiment with using black card to

Moving up from a basic compact camera or smartphone to a DSLR creates a whole new range of photographic possibilities. Not only will a more advanced camera offer you increased control over the settings you use, but with easy know-how, you’ll be ready to achieve creative effects such as long exposures and blurry backgrounds. Of course, this added functionality means extra buttons and dials that may seem pretty alien to you when you first pick up the camera... Start in auto mode Our advice would be to start in full auto mode, which is usually marked by a green square on the main mode dial. In this mode, your camera will behave like a point-and-shoot compact and you won’t have to worry about settings. Next, move on to ‘P’ mode, which is similar except you’ll be able to change the balance between shutter speed and aperture and turn off the flash. Once you become more familiar with the camera, you can move on to the semi-automatic and manual modes. Let’s take a look at what some of

Before the digital age, photographs were stored either as negatives, slides or prints. They were physical things that would be lost or physically destroyed. In terms of digital, images are a watery mix of virtual 1s and 0s that can be erased or corrupted in the blink of an eye. Dropped a 1TB hard drive on the floor by accidentally, you could be saying goodbye to over 30,000 images in one go. And there is one else, no one really knows how long it will last. 20 years? 50 years? They haven’t been around long enough for us to find out yet...   This means the photographer in this digital age has to consider file storage very carefully. Today, there are now several different affordable storage options on the market, which, when used in combination, should help you safeguard your photos for many years to come. In this article, you will take a closer look at the four main types. We recommend you keep three copies of everything, with images saved across two different types of storage

Panasonic has been a leading pioneer in the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera market ever since it released the world’s first CSC back in 2008. One of its most successful models to date has been the GF6 – a compact and stylish entrylevel camera boasting an attractive price-tag. Panasonic is updating the 2-year-old GF6 with the GF7, which sports a signifi cantly different look owing to its retro-styling, leather-touch grip and more chiselled body. At the heart of the camera is a 16MP Live MOS Micro Four Thirds sensor, the same size as the ones found in all Panasonic and Olympus CSC models. However, it’s not exactly the same sensor as the one found in its predecessor. In fact, the GF7 inherits the more advanced GX7’s sensor, as well as its Venue Engine image processor. Main features On the back of the camera there’s a 3in 1040k-dot touchscreen, which is an identical size and resolution to the one on the GF6. The screen tilts upwards for easier shot composition

If the weather’s too bad to venture outside, then grab some colourful fruit and brighten up your day with an indoor shoot.  If you can find some blue dye and old plywood backgrounds to makeover. The vibrant color is inspiring for creating joyful image. This is the base element for citrus balloons creation. Go grab some fruit in your house such as oranges and lemon. Cut it them a half and arange them on the background so that the look like a bunch of balloons. Then removed the fruit and glued a few pieces of rope to the background, adding the fruit back into the scene with the addition of a few kumquats and green leaves. Setup your lighting that consist of flashgun positioned top-right of the image and reflector top-left. Placed the camera on a tripod above the setup, held the ends of the rope in one hand, and took the shot with your free hand. You can use self-time, however it was quite easy to press the shutter in this small project scenario. Place your fruit roughly

A CSC, aka a compact system camera (or sometimes a mirrorless interchangeable-lens camera), is essentially a hybrid between a DSLR and a compact. As a general rule, they tend to boast the shape, size and weight of a compact, and don’t have a bulky internal mirror mechanism, but they have the advanced functionality of a DSLR, including the ability to change lenses. Essentially, they’re designed to be the best of both worlds, and are aimed at photographers who want full control over their camera’s key settings without having to carry around hefty bodies and lenses. However, in recent years those lines have blurred somewhat, and many advanced CSCs are very similar in shape and size to entry-level DSLRs. Similarly, at the lower end of the market, some very basic CSCs are now exceptionally similar to a compact, with many having abandoned a viewfinder altogether.  The first ever CSC, Panasonic’s G1, was released in 2008, although there were a couple of CSC-like cameras in the years

Having your photo kit stolen is the stuff of nightmares. If you’ll love your camera like a child, and would have to endure a roller coaster ride of disbelief, denial, bargaining, guilt, anger and depression before you could accept it was really gone. So it’s well worth doing everything possible to protect, what is for most of us, a considerable financial investment that would be very difficult to replace. Unfortunately, many photographers lose kit because of a simple lack of common sense. For example, they might leave their kit bag open on the floor of a busy street while taking a shot in the opposite direction. Or they might leave it unattended in a bag on the beach while they have a quick dip. So it’s worth training yourself to think defensively when you’re out shooting. Can anyone get into my bag without me noticing? Am I in a dodgy area where I could be mugged? Is this hotel room really secure? But there are some

1. Shoot Portraits in bright light When taking portraits in bright sunshine it’s nearly impossible to avoid harsh shadows on the face without retreating to the shade. You can use fl ash or refl ectors to fi ll in the shadows, but that can leave light looking fl at. The best option is most often to position the model with the sun behind them and shoot towards the light.  2. Freeze action with flahguns In this example it was fl ash that froze the moving subject, not the shutter speed. By setting the manual fl ash power output to 1/32, and shooting in a dark room, it’s the short duration of the fl ash that freezes fast movement. The fl ash duration is so fast, in fact, that it beats the fastest shutter speed possible several times over. Low fl ash power equals super short fl ash duration.  3. Polarise light for saturated skies  Polarising filters are one of the most versatile filters available. They’re best known for their ability to saturate blue skies and remove reflecti

Nikon’s 24.2mp d5500 is one of the smallest, lightest and slimmest DSLRs ever produced, yet it boasts some advanced features you wouldn’t find on a lower entry-level model. And what better way to push a camera to its limits than live music, especially when it’s photographing one of the UK’s most energetic rock bands, Enter Shikari. Just figured it out if it could cope with strobes, smoke and spinning band members, it could handle just about anything! The D5500 sits above the D3300 in the Nikon line-up, and below the enthusiast level D7100, replacing the highly successful D5300. Sporting the same EXPEED 4 processor and 24.2MP sensor as its predecessor, including the omission of an optical low-pass filter, the biggest changes include the addition of a touchscreen (the first on a Nikon DSLR), and a redesign. Handling Perhaps the defining characteristic of the D5500 is its slimmed-down body. Measuring just 124mm in width by 97mm in height, and weighing only 470g, it’s the perfec

Working to a theme is a great way of focusing your attention and exploring the visual possibilities of a subject. But spring itself is such a wide and all encompassing theme that it’s difficult to create a series of images that work cohesively. But narrow the idea further to aspects of spring, and much more obvious stories will become apparent. A single image can suggest a story, but a set of three can tell it. A triptych is simply a way of displaying three images side by side, and for our spring triptych the theme we worked with was gardening and new life. The result was a set of three images that show different elements of the growing process, with the hands holding a flower in soil suggesting the nurturing aspect of gardening. The best thing about storytelling with photography is that there are two approaches you can take. You could choose to show what was in front of the lens using focusing and composition to make the images interesting. Alternatively, try something more cre