photo technique - summer 2015 uk
DESCRIPTION
Photo Technique - Summer 2015 UKTRANSCRIPT
Clamshell lighting • Creative fl ash for wildlife
photography • Dog photography • Classic fashion
lighting • Mono architecture • Editing tricks
Helping you to be a better photographer
The 10 portrait
laws
PLUS
SUMMER 2015
Top portrait photographers
share their do’s and don’ts
to help you get your best
people shots
MORE
TECHNIQUE
THAN EVER
BEFORE
Britain’s 92 bestlocations
How to get the best from this
photogenic season
24 spring tips
Places to shoot, with expert advice
on how to get the best out of them
PORTRAITSDiscover how to turn
the city streets into
your own studio
CLOSE-UP
Create nature images
with a difference –
in your garden
WILDLIFEHow to use natural
light to add impact to
your animal photos
LANDSCAPES
Creative composition
advice and shooting
pre-dawn images
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WELCOME TO PHOTO TECHNIQUE, a magazine
created by photographers for photographers
who want to develop their skills, be inspired by
stunning imagery and take better photos.
If you’re bored of photographing the same
landscape time and again, look no further than
our comprehensive location guide to the UK.
Packed with stunning vistas across the country,
there’ll be no excuse to be stuck for inspiration.
To help you get your best ever portrait shots,
we’ve spoken to a number of experts to
compile the Ten Commandments of portrait
photography – follow these and you’ll never
take bad people shots again!
Elsewhere, Richard Peters explains how
to master lighting for wildlife, while
we’ve got a host of tips and advice
when it comes to image
processing. Enjoy the issue.
EDITOR PHIL HALL
Welcome
THE TEAM
GROUP EDITOR: Nigel Atherton
EDITOR: Phil Hall
DESIGN: Simon Warren
PRODUCTION: Oliver Cotton
PUBLISHING DIRECTOR: Alex Robb
MARKETING MANAGER: Samantha Blakey
ONLINE MANAGER: Karen Sheard
ADVERTISING: Mark Rankine, Leshna Patel,
Simon Gerard
CONTACT: [email protected]
TWITTER: @phototechniq
Cover image by Mark Bauer (www.markbauerphotography.com)
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P14 92 UK PHOTO LOCATIONS
P60 IT’S A DOG’S LIFE
P36 MASTERING THE LIGHT
P42 WILD LIGHT
LANDSCAPESShoot the land creatively
8 24 spring tips Five experts provide advice
on how to get the best shots this spring
14 92 UK photo locations Be inspired with
spectacular photo spots across the UK
26 The natural order Discover how to achieve
balance in composition with this expert advice
32 Here comes the sun Early riser Mark Bauer
explains the magic of pre-dawn light
NATURERefine your skills for shooting out in the wild
36 Mastering the light Add an extra
dimension to your photos with creative
use of natural light
42 Wild light How using flash can help to
get a unique perspective on your subject
48 In the field Niall Benvie and his popular
field-studio photography project
54 Wildlife watch How to shoot brown
hares, short-eared owls and badgers
PETSGet the best from an often difficult subject
60 It’s a dog’s life Expert advice from three
top dog photographers
PORTRAITSAchieve stunning people shots
66 10 portrait commandments Top tips on
how to take your best-ever people shots
74 Light work How to achieve a classic
fashion look with this simple set-up
78 Out of the shadows Achieve flattering,
shadow-free lighting in the studio
82 Urban lighting Take the studio outside
ARCHITECTUREDetailed and imposing
88 Master of mono Billy Currie’s creative
black & white process
REGULARSInspiration, advice and help
6 Inspire
94 Workflow
100 Digital darkroom
104 Creative Photoshop
Contents
C O N T E N T S
5
P74 LIGHT WORK
P88 MASTER OF MONO P104 CREATIVE PHOTOSHOP
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I N S P I R E
FUTURISTIC BREAKFAST SEREN DALThis image is one of the finalists from this years’ Pink Lady Food
Photographer of the Year 2015 competition, and really stood out in the
shortlist due to its visual and creative uniqueness. The contrast of
colours is very appealing and the perfectly simple arrangement of the
elements works well, particularly in the block of colour to the
left-hand side of the image.
To see all of this years’ winning entries and to
find out how to enter next year’s competition, visit
www.pinkladyfoodphotographeroftheyear.com
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24essential springphoto tips
Five top landscape and nature photographers provide expert
advice on how to get the best shots this spring
USE FLOWERS FOR FOREGROUND
INTERESTMost wideangle landscapes
benefi t from having some
foreground interest, and with
fl owers coming into bloom at this
time of year there’s plenty of
choice. Get in close and fi ll the
bottom of the frame with fl owers.
It’s important to keep
everything sharp from front to
back, so choose a small
aperture such as f/11 or f/16 and
focus a third of the way into the
scene. For greater accuracy, set
the hyperfocal distance for the
focal length/aperture
combination you’re using. To
help calculate this, make a chart
to keep in your camera bag or
use a smartphone app.
SHOWERS ARE GREAT
FOR LANDSCAPESIt may be tempting to stay
indoors on rainy days, but you’ll
be missing out on some
amazing opportunities. When
showers clear, the light is often
dramatic: dark stormy clouds
above, spotlighting on the
landscape below, and incredible
clarity as all the particles have
been washed out of the
atmosphere. If a rainbow
appears, use a polariser to
enhance the colours.
For the best shots, you’ll need
to be in position, ready for when
the rain stops and the sun
bursts through the clouds. You’ll
be standing around getting wet
for a while, but it’s worth it.
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USE A POLARISER We associate spring with colour: fresh greens, bright
wildfl owers, fi elds of yellow oilseed rape and so on. Sometimes
these colours look a little washed out in a photograph, as they can
be dulled by haze in the air or glare on the surface of the fl owers. A
polarising fi lter cuts out polarised light, reducing surface refl ections
and glare, as well as cutting through haze and restoring natural
colour saturation. Using a polariser is easy: just rotate the fi lter while
looking through the viewfi nder until you see the effect you want.
Mist simplifi es the landscape, hiding
unwanted detail and clutter, and gives the scene
a romantic atmosphere. The most photogenic
type of mist is ‘radiation fog’, which lies low on
the ground, often in valleys, and looks great
when shot from above, with the tops of hills,
trees and other features above it.
Spring is a great time for fi nding these
conditions. Head out early after a clear, still night
when the temperature has dropped a little. A
gentle south-westerly breeze fi rst thing can
encourage the development of mist.
SHOOT BLUEBELL WOODS WITH
BACKLIGHTINGWhen we think of spring, we
often think of bluebells. They
look their best in mature
woodland, so try to fi nd a thick
carpet on the forest fl oor
without too much clutter. If you
shoot them backlit at the
beginning or end of the day,
shadows from the tree trunks
will race towards the camera,
creating a sense of drama, and
the fl owers and foliage will be
given a saturation boost.
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3 CHECK THE FORECAST FOR MISTY MORNINGS
SHOOT WOODLAND
ON OVERCAST DAYSOvercast skies are not the landscape
photographer’s favourite conditions,
but they are very good for shooting
in woodland. The level of contrast is
low and manageable, and as a result
the colours of the foliage and plants
are enriched, which can be enhanced
by the use of a polariser. By contrast,
although dappled lighting looks
attractive to the eye, the contrast
often exceeds the dynamic range of
the camera’s sensor, which means it
doesn’t photograph well.
USE LONGER LENSES
TO COMPRESS CARPETS OF FLOWERSWhen you see a large carpet of
fl owers, the natural tendency is to
get in close with a wideangle lens.
However, this approach doesn’t
always do the scene justice as it can
exaggerate the gaps between the
fl owers. Instead, try shooting from
further back with a longer lens,
which will have the effect of
compressing the gaps and making
the fl owers look densely packed.
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CAPTURE THE TRANSFORMING
LANDSCAPESpring is a season of transition
and a great time to explore the
countryside as trees come into
leaf, fields turn green and
hedgerows thicken. Many
landscapes look their best at
this time of year when foliage is
fresh and pristine, and the harsh
woody outlines of trees become
softened by lush spring growth.
Make the most of footpaths
and byways to access the more
unusual viewpoints, and look
beyond embankments and tall
hedges to find views that would
otherwise be missed. The real
atmosphere of spring is often
seen at dawn, when a touch
of brilliant light shows the
landscape awakening – in more
ways than one.
VISIT BEECHWOODS
Beech is one of our most
photogenic native trees, and its
appearance in spring is no
exception. Its newly unfolded
leaves create a translucent
canopy of vivid green, making
deciduous woods look stunning
at this time of year. The leaves
emerge from April onwards, so
be sure to take advantage of the
spectacle while it lasts. Within a
few weeks the leaves mature
and the pale colour darkens and
loses its brilliance.
Shoot in soft, overcast light
for best results and choose calm
conditions, because even the
slightest breath of wind can
cause foliage to blur. In terms of
composition, one option is to
use a wide lens and shoot
directly upwards for a dramatic
view of the tree trunks
converging skywards. Or try
moving in close to frame a small
cluster of leaves, softly backlit to
show their fine detail.
CAPTURE COLOUR ON THE CLIFFTOPS
Spring flowers aren’t restricted
to woodlands and hedgerows –
the coast sees some fine
displays too. Among others, pink
sea thrift and white scurvy grass
are found along many parts of
the British coastline. Growing in
tight clusters, usually along
clifftops and headlands, they
make excellent foreground
subjects that add colour and
interest to wider scenes. Sea
pinks look impressive when
caught in the golden rays of a
rising or setting sun. They can
also be seen sprouting from
rocky crevices, where they make
an eye-catching focal point and
contrast well with the stony
environment. Both species look
pristine when they emerge in
April and May, with the best of
their colour over by summer.
SEARCH FOR TREE SEEDLINGS
Among the flurry of spring
growth, look for tree seedlings
emerging from the forest floor.
They are always something to
marvel at, especially when seen
growing beneath the towering
structure of a mature tree. As a
foreground subject they put the
woody landscape into context,
or make a fascinating study in
their own right. But look
carefully because their first
leaves are often very different
from those of the parent trees
– for example, beech seedlings
emerge with a semi-circular leaf,
while those of sycamore
produce tapered leaves.
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VISIT PARKS AND GARDENS
Whether formal or semi-wild,
parklands and gardens are a
notable and accessible source
for spring subjects. For
blossoms, early fl owers or trees
coming into leaf, there are few
other locations that offer so
much variety in one setting.
Good structural features like
trees, fountains or topiary add
scope for composition, while
good lines of sight are often
crucial for showing depth – so
look for pathways, avenues,
stone steps or boardwalks.
The versatility of zoom
lenses makes them an ideal
option for smaller gardens
where space is confi ned and
plant beds often restrict your
movement. Home in on seasonal
details like fern fronds unfurling,
or the colourful refl ections of
waterside blossoms.
PLAN AHEADForward planning will
ensure you’re prepared this
eventful and inspiring season. To
me, spring means the British
landscape at its best – I never
go abroad in April or May for
fear of missing it. So start by
making a hit list of locations for
spring landscapes, wildfl owers
and trees based on your local
knowledge and a bit of online
research. It’s worth
remembering that all prolifi c
spring fl owers are perennial,
meaning they live for many
years, so you can rely on them
being in the same place year in,
year out.
Also bear in mind crop
rotations. If you have a location
in mind for oilseed rape, for
example, you’re unlikely to
see it in the same fi eld more
than once in three years –
sometimes longer.
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THE LOWDOWN
There are many good reasons for shooting wildlife from a low
angle. Aesthetic: when you portray the animal from its own
perspective rather than a human one, a quality of intimacy
is introduced. Technical: long telephotos are supported on a
tripod at only one point. There’s a lot of overhang fore and
aft, and once the shutter speed drops below 1/60sec, camera
shake creeps in, no matter how hefty the tripod. Putting the
camera and lens on a beanbag on the ground offers the best
stability. As an extra benefi t, the background just behind
your subject that would be rendered quite sharp from a high
viewpoint is hidden and only the distant, blurry background
can be seen. An angle fi nder makes viewing more comfortable
if your camera doesn’t have an articulated rear screen.
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L A N D S C A P E S
WHAT TO SHOOT WHEN
IT’S WET AND WINDYSpring is noted for its showers,
often accompanied by strong
winds. If it is wet and windy, fi t a
macro lens (or close-focusing
zoom) and look at mosses and
lichens. Regardless of the
weather, you can make
intriguing close-ups of these
colourful subjects that are
actually enhanced by a spring
shower. And even in a gale, they
won’t move around.
Since you are often working
at quite a high magnifi cation,
fi nd where your camera’s mirror
lock-up function is and use it,
along with an electronic release.
It really makes a big difference
to sharpness, especially with
longer lenses. Normally you’ll
want to render as much detail
as possible, so identify the
principal plane through the
subject and shoot parallel to
that to make the most of the
limited depth of fi eld.
COLOURFUL BACKGROUNDS
Viewers may do a double-take
when their expectations of what
is ‘normal’ in a photograph are
challenged. We expect to see
the subject in the light, the
background in shade, the subject
colourful and the background
muted. If you reverse these
relationships you’re sure to catch
the viewer’s eye.
The success of these pictures
relies on preventing the subject
from becoming a silhouette (so
the sunlight on the background
must be weak), to set up tension
between the ‘cool’ subject and
the ‘warm’ background. And
because you need to isolate only
a small part of the background,
a long telephoto, perhaps with
an extension tube, is best.
ELEVATED SITESWhat raised beds are to
gardeners, elevated sites are to
nature photographers. They
make the process of getting the
low-angle perspective more
comfortable and therefore more
productive. Many birds
stubbornly refuse to leave the
ground to feed on a bird table,
so you’ve got to make your own
bit of ground (perhaps by
cutting some turfs), putting the
food on it and raising them to
your shooting level.
If you’re building a pond to
photograph drinking birds, it’s
essential that you can shoot at
water level from an adjacent
hide, so make sure the pool is
high enough off the ground.
Subjects on elevated spots also
make it easier to shoot towards
the zenith where the sky’s blue
is richest. And if you’re
photographing wildlife from
your vehicle, a roadside bank
puts it at eye-level.
SHOOTING WITH A REFLECTOR
Bright sunlight can often be too
contrasty, especially with small,
fragile and delicate plants. A
refl ector can bounce soft light
back into the subject from the
opposite side to where the sun is
shining, to lift the shadow detail
and reduce the contrast.
However, you should do this with
a soft white type of refl ector and
not a silver one, which would be
too hard. Alternatively, if you
have a white/semi-translucent
type of refl ector, you could hold
it above the subject and
effectively cast a soft shadow
over the whole subject to reduce
contrast, using the refl ector like a
softbox in a studio.
USING A WINDBREAK
Remember the windbreak you
have in the garage that you use
for two weeks in the summer
every year? Why not use it to
protect the plants you are
shooting from the wind? The
slightest breeze can disturb a
plant, and if you are using a
macro lens, for which depth of
fi eld can be very limited, the
slightest wobble will cause you
to lose your shot. Of course, it
doesn’t have to be a beach
windbreak, as anything large
enough to protect your subject
will work. Just make sure it
doesn’t get into the shot.
SLOW SHUTTER SPEEDS FOR
BLUR AND MOTIONIt is very tempting when
shooting plants and close-ups to
forget creativity in the pursuit of
the ‘record shot’. In trying to
squeeze out every last detail we
put aside our artistic vision in
the pursuit of sharpness and
detail, so go the opposite way
and use a slow shutter speed to
achieve some blur and motion.
If it is a breezy day, don’t
dismiss the idea of getting some
shots – think instead about
USE COLOURIt’s spring, so there should be plenty of colour around,
but avoid the trap of just shooting an individual plant or fl ower.
Look for blocks of colour that either work with each other or use
colour that clashes and has impact. Good locations for this type
of image will be the commercial bulb growers in Norfolk,
Lincolnshire and Cornwall. Or, of course, the famous bulb fi elds
in the Netherlands.
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fl owers with long stems, such as
daffodils, that will sway in the
breeze and create interesting
shapes and colour. Experiment
with shutter speeds of around
1/4sec or slower. A tripod will be
essential, though.
PATTERNS, SHAPES AND TEXTURES
Shooting images in spring is not
just about close-ups of fl owers
and recording colourful
landscapes. Look for abstract
images, detail shots and scenes
with bags of texture. Look
beyond the normal and check
out the patterns in fresh leaves
and petals, shoot shapes and
textures and see how the light
interacts with the structure of
the plants. A macro or close-up
lens is an essential tool for this
type of work.
USE A LENSBABY An interesting and
alternative way of looking at the
world is by bolting a Lensbaby
onto your camera. With different
accessories you can create a
range of effects, from controlling
the depth of focus to softening
the image and having the
colours go very pale and
pastel-like. There are a range of
Lensbaby accessories, so try a
little experimentation.
LOOK FOR QUIRKY ANGLES
Try to avoid shooting everything
at eye-level, looking down on
your subject. Instead, look for
quirky and odd alternatives.
Directly overhead is a good
starting point, or try a worm’s-
eye view. For every angle you
shoot from, think of the
opposite point of view. If your
camera has a tilting, rotating
LCD screen, it is easy to place
your camera on the ground and
point the screen up so that you
are still able to see the image.
Autofocus and a cable or
remote release are essential
for this approach.
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L A N D S C A P E S
The view from the highest point of the Duke’s Pass in the Loch
Lomond and The Trossachs National Park is often described as the
Highlands in miniature. The road through the pass was originally
built by the Duke of Montrose in the 19th century to improve access
to his estate, and was later upgraded to accommodate Victorian
tourists drawn to the area after the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s
epic poem The Lady of the Lake, celebrating the beauty of Loch
Katrine. Among the tree-clad hills, crystal-clear lochs and distant
mountains is the opportunity, not only for landscape, but wildlife,
sport, macro and many other photography genres, to indulge in the
beauty and diversity of the location.
This area comes into its own in the autumn and winter months,
with rolling misty glens and autumnal foliage producing colours
unprecedented in a location that is less than 50 minutes from
Glasgow or Edinburgh.
The majority of the best views are available from the roadside
and accessible almost all year, depending on the weather.
As the Duke’s Pass comes into its own in early autumn, this
coincides with the decline in the midge population and allows more
chilled early morning shoots ‘waiting for the light’, where you can
relax and take in the spectacular scenery without resorting to
chemical deterrents or unfashionable or unflattering headwear.
DUKE’S PASS, THE TROSSACHS, STIRLING 1
UK photo locations92
With so many spectacular photo spots across
the UK, Phil Hall encourages you to get out
there and capture them with your camera
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What can be said about this iconic location
that hasn’t been said already? There are
many great locations and photographic
opportunities throughout the glen, many
known but some less so. The most iconic is
Buachaille Etive Mòr, translated as ‘The
Great Herdsman of Etive’.
It stands proud and tall and is
unmistakable as you enter the glen from
the southern end. The classic shot, and the
one all landscape photographers want of
the Buachaille, is taken from the B road
that leads to Glen Etive beside the River
Coupall. It’s a very well-known spot with
photographers – they often queue during
sunrise at the weekends.
This image depicts a different take on the
Buachaille classic, which offers a refreshing
perspective, and I think it shows the grandeur
of the mountain better than the classic
pyramid shape with which all landscape
photographers have become familiar.
The location is part way up an area that
is known as ‘The Devil’s Staircase’, a steep
section of the West Highland Way. Parking
is available at the bottom and the footpath
is fi rm and well marked all the way up.
Just remember to be prepared and take
your waterproofs, as the Glencoe climate
can change in an instant.
BUACHAILLE ETIVE MÒR, GLENCOE, THE HIGHLANDS 4
RANNOCH MOOR, THE HIGHLANDS
This vast area is one of the last
remaining wildernesses in
Europe, composed of blanket
bog, lochans, rivers and rocky
outcrops that offer plenty of wild
and atmospheric images.
LOCH ACHTRIOCHTAN,
THE HIGHLANDSLying in the heart of Glencoe, this
is a relatively small loch, but
presents great views of the
Aonach Eagach ridge, especially
fi rst thing in the morning when it
can be refl ected perfectly in the
still water of the loch.
OLD MAN OF STORR, ISLE OF
SKYE, THE HIGHLANDSLocated on the north of Skye in
an area known as Trotternish, the
‘Old Man’ is a large pinnacle of
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SCOTLANDrock that stands high and can be
seen for miles around. The climb
can be hard-going, but once at
the top, the views across Rassay
and Rona to the Scottish
mainland are well worth the
effort. It’s easy to see why it’s so
popular with photographers.
LOCH DUNMORE, PERTHSHIRE
Just south of the Cairngorms is
this lovely little loch, with a small
boathouse and a timber
footbridge surrounded by
trees. The loch is small enough
to walk round in approximately
half an hour.
LOCH VOIL, PERTHSHIRE
Set in the Balquhidder Glen, this
short and narrow loch is about
5km long and provides some
tranquil vistas fi rst thing. It can
be reached by a single-track road
from the village of Balquhidder.
ELGOL BEACH, ISLE OF SKYE,
THE HIGHLANDSThis rugged stretch of coastline
on the Isle of Skye looks back to
the Cuillin mountain range,
providing the potential for some
really dramatic photography.
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THE FORTH BRIDGE,
EDINBURGH & THE LOTHIANSA Scottish icon recognised the world
over, the Forth Bridge is a stunning
steel structure. There are many
excellent vantage points along the
Firth of Forth, but a popular place to
shoot from is Queensferry, where you
can also include the Forth Road Bridge
in the scene.
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THE LONDON EYENow an iconic part of the
city’s skyline, the London Eye
offers plenty of scope for
photography – both viewed
from below, and from one of
the capsules.
RICHMOND PARKWith an abundance of
wildlife and picturesque scenery,
it’s hard to believe Richmond
Park is only a few miles to the
west of the City. The roaming
deer are popular subjects,
especially at fi rst light in autumn
and winter, though keep your
distance during the deer rut.
OLD ROYAL NAVAL COLLEGE
The setting for numerous Hollywood
blockbusters, the Old Royal Naval
College is described by UNESCO as being
of ‘outstanding universal value’ and
reckoned to be the ‘fi nest and most
dramatically sited architectural and
landscape ensemble in the British Isles’.
Looking across the river from the north
side offers great views, though don’t
discount shooting closer-up.
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Westminster Bridge offers an abundance of photographic
opportunities and although it’s one of the most photographed
places in London, it’s still possible to come up with a special
image. There are buses and taxis driving by, which can be
included in the composition as a dynamic element. There’s
the bridge with the intricately shaped street lamps, the River
Thames, which creates beautiful refl ections in the evening, and
to top it all off, the iconic buildings of the Houses of Parliament
and Elizabeth Tower. For me, it’s impossible to visit London and
not take a photo of this view.
WESTMINSTER BRIDGE
ST PAUL’S CATHEDRAL
This needs little introduction, with
popular vantage points on the
south side of the river along
Bankside and the Millennium
Bridge. There are plenty of other
great locations in this area, and
views including the Shard, the
City, Tower Bridge and City Hall.
CANARY WHARF FROM THE ROYAL
OBSERVATORY A walk up from the Old Royal
Naval College through Greenwich
Park will bring you to the Royal
Observatory. Look back for an
impressive view of Canary
Wharf, best sampled at dusk as
the glow of the offi ce lights
comes on and the setting sun
refl ects off the buildings.
HAMPTON COURTThis major tourist
attraction is an imposing location
with two distinct Tudor and
baroque styles and large gardens.
ALBERT BRIDGEDesigned by Rowland
Mason Ordish, the Albert Bridge
connects Chelsea and Battersea.
The bridge is a hybrid of three
different design styles and
beautifully illuminated at night by
LED lights, making it one of west
London’s best-loved landmarks.
PARLIAMENT HILLNestled in the south-east
corner of Hampstead Heath in
north-west London, this area of
open parkland is almost 100m
high and offers stunning views of
the capital’s skyline, including
Canary Wharf, the Shard and St
Paul’s, though Parliament has
been somewhat obscured by
surrounding buildings.
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LLOYD’S OF LONDON
This groundbreaking building designed
by Sir Richard Rogers has most of its
vital services (water, heating and
ventilation ducts and stairs) on the
exterior, leaving a clutter-free central
space. This distinctive landmark
provides interesting shapes from
every angle. Additionally, Sir Norman
Foster’s distinctive ‘Gherkin’ is just a
short walk away.
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L A N D S C A P E S
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Tucked away on the edge of mist-shrouded water meadows, and close to the border
between Norfolk and Suffolk, sits Herringfl eet Mill. There’s no shortage of windmills
in this part of the country and, although it’s wonderfully preserved, it’s the location
that makes this one special. Surrounded by an unspoilt landscape with a dyke curling
lazily past – fl anked on one side by reed beds and spanned by a rickety bridge –
there are compositions to be found from all angles throughout the year. Better still,
as it is off the beaten track, you’ll usually have the place to yourself.
HERRINGFLEET MILL, SUFFOLK
EAST OF ENGLAND
DOVERCOURT LOW LIGHTHOUSE,
ESSEXOriginally installed to help guide
ships into the harbour at Harwich,
the Dovercourt Low Lighthouse
has now been decommissioned.
When the tide is out, the ripples
in the sand make for lovely
foreground interest, with
directional lighting from the
rising sun.
DEDHAM VALE, ESSEX
Situated on the Suffolk–Essex
border in the heart of Constable
Country, the surrounding
countryside offers tranquil vistas
along the River Stour, especially
fi rst thing in the morning.
Ely Cathedral, Cambridgeshire
Known locally as ‘the ship of
the Fens’, Ely Cathedral rises out
of the surrounding fl at landscape,
producing a lovely vista on a
cold, frosty morning.
STEVINGTON WINDMILL,
BEDFORDSHIRESitting just north-west of
Bedford, Stevington Windmill
sits alone in the middle of a
low-lying fi eld. A great location
in the evening when the sun is
setting, as the rich colours in the
sky can create a strong silhouette
of the windmill.
HITCHIN LAVENDER,
HERTFORDSHIREIn the middle of summer, the neat
rolling rows of lavender, with their
intense purple colour, are hard to
© JU
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© PHIL HALL
© P
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resist for the landscape
photographer, while the vibrant
colour also works as a great
backdrop for lifestyle portraits.
HUNSTANTON CLIFFS, NORFOLK
Whereas most of the east of
England coastline faces east,
Hunstanton looks to the west,
making it perfect for images of
the sun setting over the sea. Try
and get there to coincide with
low tide and take advantage of
the exposed and rounded rock
forms. Turn your camera back
to the coastline to capture the
golden light on the multilayered
cliffs and the Old Hunstanton
beach huts in the dunes.
SOUTHWOLD PIER, SUFFOLK
There’s loads of photo potential along
the Suffolk coastline, with a favoured
spot being the pier in the picturesque
town of Southwold. Naturally lending
itself to a dawn shot, with the sun
rising to the left of the pier, don’t
discount shooting in the evening,
especially with a moody North Sea sky.
While you’re there, wander down the
coast a little for some quintessential
English beach huts.
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WELLS-NEXT-THE-SEA,
NORFOLKA short drive from Wells Harbour is the
lovely secluded beach of Wells-next-the-
Sea. Backing onto a dense pine forest, the
beach is lined with multicoloured huts
raised off the sand on stilts. At high tide,
the sea laps close to the beach huts and
the gentle slope makes it possible to get
both the huts and the sea in the frame.
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DUNGENESS, KENT
One of the largest expanses of shingle
in Europe, it’s also classifi ed as Britain’s
only desert. Dotted with fi shing boats,
odd huts, largely wooden houses and a
power station nestled ominously in the
background, it has a quite a unique
atmosphere that can produce some
striking landscapes.
In this tranquil location, set among the reeds and willows
of the riverside landscape at Longstock in Hampshire,
perched on an island, is a small thatched hut complete with
trout-shaped weather vane. There is an excellent view of it
from a small bridge that crosses the river to the south-west,
and in calm weather a morning mist hangs in the valley,
adding an enchanting atmosphere to the scene.
In midsummer, in the pre-dawn light, the outline of the
cone-shaped thatch is seen in silhouette as the sun begins to rise
beyond the trees in the background. The location epitomises the
best of rural Hampshire, and for a photographer it’s an idyllic
scene that never loses its appeal.
SOUTH-EASTDONNINGTON CASTLE,
BERKSHIREThis striking two-towered
gatehouse is all that survives
of this once impressive castle.
A striking sight itself, it also
provides dramatic views from
its lofty position.
STOWE GARDENS, BUCKS
Thanks to the infl uence of the
likes of William Kent and
Capability Brown, Stowe Gardens
is celebrated as one of the most
beautiful landscape gardens in
Europe, offering stunning vistas
and more than 40 temples.
THE SEVEN SISTERS, EAST
SUSSEXThese sheer chalk cliffs signal
the end of the South Downs,
and when viewed from Seaford
Head, the coastguard cottages
and mouth of the River
Cuckmere offer pleasing
foreground interest.
THE NEEDLES, ISLE OF WIGHT
Headon Warren at sunset is a
great place to view these iconic
stacks of chalk that rise out of
the sea at the western point of
the Isle of Wight. THE MANGER, OXFORDSHIRE
The Manger is a dramatic dry
valley that, thanks to a
permafrost during the last Ice
Age, has steep rippled sides
that are known locally as the
Giant’s Steps, and which offer
an unusual view.
DENBIES, SURREYDenbies Wine Estate,
situated just outside Dorking,
is England’s largest wine estate,
with neat, long and sloping
rows of vines offering great
foreground interest when
looking out over the Mole
Valley and Box Hill.
© P
HIL H
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© C
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HALNAKER WINDMILL,
WEST SUSSEXThis well-known landmark in
West Sussex sits on a ridge and is
visible from a wide surrounding
area. Try on the morning of a
bright day in early summer, when
the rapeseed comes into fl ower.
© P
HIL H
ALL
RIVER TEST AT LONGSTOCK, HAMPSHIRE
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CHURCH OF ST THOMAS
À BECKET, KENTSitting alone next to an often
water-fi lled dyke on Romney Marsh,
this medieval church can be seen from
miles around. Perfect on a cold winter
morning as the sun rises.
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L A N D S C A P E S
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A vast and easily accessible forest between the towns of Wareham
and Dorchester in Dorset, consisting mainly of pine but with open
heathland as well. The woods are well managed by the Forestry
Commission, with plenty of paths and tracks leading off in all
directions. Apart from the occasional dog walker, you will pretty
much have the woods to yourself. In my experience, these
woodlands are best shot early in the morning, particularly if mist
is forecast. If there is going to be mist it will be in the low-lying
damp areas of Wareham Forest and it tends to hang around for
quite a while too.
WAREHAM FOREST, DORSET
SOUTH-WESTWELCOMBE MOUTH, DEVON
This wild and remote coastal
valley features spectacular and
highly visible razor-like rock
formations and offers plenty of
potential for dramatic seascapes.
ST MICHAEL’S MOUNT,
CORNWALLAt any time of the year, this is a
fabulous subject to photograph,
though try to get there early in
the morning at low tide, when the
causeway is revealed and the
light is at its best.
CROMWELL’S CASTLE,
ISLES OF SCILLYThis 17th-century fortification on
the island of Tresco is best shot
later in the day.
FOREST OF DEAN, GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Plenty of photographic
opportunities here, including the
village of Symonds Yat on the
banks of the River Wye.
CLIFTON SUSPENSION
BRIDGE, BRISTOLThe classic view of this
marvellous suspension bridge,
engineered by Isambard
Kingdom Brunel, is from the
Observatory looking west.
KNAPP HILL, WILTSHIRE
This hill provides great views
south towards Woodborough Hill,
especially first thing in the
morning in autumn or winter
when there’s a chance of mist.
CLEVEDON PIER, SOMERSET
This very elegant pier on the
eastern shore of the Severn
Estuary is the only Grade I listed
pier in the country. It is 312m
long and has eight spans. It
faces west and so is best
photographed at sunset.
© J
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© J
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KIMMERIDGE BAY, DORSET
Unlike Wareham Forest, Kimmeridge Bay is well known among the photographic
community and is a very popular spot. It is the rock ledges and shelves, running for 100m
or so out into the bay, that are the main fascination. Best caught with an incoming tide at
sunset or dusk, and at its best in winter, when you will be looking into the sun and can pick
up the colour and reflections of the sky. Don’t be tempted, as many do, to just shoot from
the first ledge you find at the bottom of the footpath, but take the time to walk around to
your right where there are many locations to choose from. Two things: get there early to
beat the rush and also be aware of the red flag flying – this is nothing to do with the tides
but with the gunnery range just over the hill.
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Chesterton provides a lovely starting point for a long winding
and dipping drive along the Fosse Way down into the Cotswolds.
Crowned on top of a spectacular outlook, and ever-changing
farmland, sits a wonderfully unique 17th-century, six-legged
windmill that is a magnet for local photographers. But the
Chesterton area offers so much more than this famous
landmark. There are some stunning lone trees close by that
provide ample opportunity to try your hand at some
minimalistic landscapes, and the rolling fi elds of the South
Warwickshire countryside are perfectly shaped and formed for
some serene misty-morning views. All of this is easily accessible
from local roads with little effort, making it a nice, straightforward
and relaxed encounter, where you are free to really study your
subject matter.
CHESTERTON, WARWICKSHIRE
BROADWAY TOWER,
WORCESTERSHIREThe Cotswold’s highest tower
and one of Britain’s most
picturesque follies.
THE STIPERSTONES,
SHROPSHIRELying just beside the border
between England and Wales, the
Stiperstones is a fi ve-mile long
quartzite ridge, formed some
480 million years ago, crowned
by several rugged and jagged
outcrops of rock that produce a
moody silhouette against a
stormy sky.
THE ROLLRIGHT STONES,
WARWICKSHIREThis ancient site consists of three
groups of stones: the King’s Men
stone circle, the Whispering
Knights burial chamber and the
single King Stone.
CANNOCK CHASE, STAFFORDSHIRE
Teeming with wildlife and
comprising a mixture of
deciduous woodland, open
heathland and the remains of
early industry, Cannock Chase
has been designated an Area of
Outstanding Natural Beauty.
BROCKHAMPTON ESTATE,
HEREFORDSHIREAt the heart of this National
Trust estate is Lower
Brockhampton, a romantic
timber-framed manor house
dating back to the 14th century
and surrounded by a moat.
© V
ISIT B
RITA
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A
© R
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WEST MIDLANDS
SELFRIDGES, THE BULLRING,
WEST MIDLANDSThis Birmingham landmark is popular
thanks to its striking organic shape
combined with more than 15,000
anodised aluminium discs.
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THE ROACHES,
STAFFORDSHIRESitting in the south-western edge of
the Peak District, the Roaches is an
outcrop of gritstone rocks that have
been shaped by the harsh winds. For
best views, approach along the Leek
road, where you’ll see them almost
appear to stand guard to the entrance
of the Peak District.
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L A N D S C A P E S
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A little off the beaten track and
about a 30-minute walk from the
A53, Three Shires Head is the point
on Axe Head Moor where Cheshire,
Derbyshire and Staffordshire, as well
as three packhorse tracks, all meet.
It is a beautiful walk along the river
ravine, with some steep hills either
side, but the main point of interest
is the high-arched stone packhorse
bridge at Panniers Pool. Here the
tracks lead to two streams, two
bridges, as well as cascading water
leading to a pool. It is an amazing
spot for photographers and has the
potential for many superb images,
but be prepared to get there early,
or perhaps go out of season, to
avoid the many ramblers who
stop on the banks for a breather
and their lunch.
THREE SHIRES HEAD,DERBYSHIRE
EAST MIDLANDS
MAM TOR, DERBYSHIRE
The Great Ridge of Edale
separates the vales of Edale
and Castleton, with Mam Tor
perhaps its most spectacular
point. If you can make it to the
summit, the views along the
ridge path are stunning,
especially at sunrise.
RATCLIFFE-ON-SOAR POWER
STATION, NOTTSLocated just outside
Nottingham, this coal-fi red
power station offers the perfect
location for an imposing
industrial landscape.
BURGHLEY HOUSE, LINCOLNSHIRE
This Grade I listed gem is
absolutely stunning, and that’s
before you’ve seen the avenues
in the park that were laid out by
Capability Brown.
BRADGATE PARK, LEICESTERSHIRE
Bradgate Park, north of
Leicester, offers lovely vistas
and it’s also a great spot to
photograph deer.
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FOTHERINGHAY CHURCH,
NORTHAMPTONSHIREThanks to its tall, distinctive tower,
Fotheringhay Church dominates the skyline.
Shoot early in the morning from the other
side of the river for lovely tranquil shots,
though great shots can be had from the
hills to the north, looking back.
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NORMANTON CHURCH, RUTLAND
Situated on the peninsula at the southern
shore of Rutland Water, this church provides a
key anchor point to this man-made reservoir.
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SALTWICK BAY, NORTH
YORKSHIREJust a little south of the popular
resort and fi shing town of
Whitby is Saltwick Bay, which
features two prominent outcrops
of hard rock that have withstood
some heavy battering over the
years. Known as Black Nab and
Saltwick Nab, they offer great
anchor points around which to
set your image, especially with
the rock pools and the wreck of
the Admiral Von Tromp providing
foreground interest at low tide.
MALHAM RAKES, NORTH
YORKSHIREWith their deep parallel
grooves, the limestone
pavements above the village
of Malham never fail to inspire,
especially when you factor in an
isolated tree. Great in colour, but
the limestone textures cry out
for monochrome.
HIGGER TOR, SOUTH YORKSHIRE
This imposing gritstone tor
landmark in the Peak District
National Park overlooks the
Burbage Valley.
© V
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YORKSHIRE
RIBBLEHEAD VIADUCT,
NORTH YORKSHIRERibblehead in North Yorkshire is best
known for its viaduct, which carries the
Settle-Carlisle Railway across Batty Moss
in the valley of the River Ribble. Made up
of 24 arches over a distance of 440 yards,
this Grade II-listed structure has been
standing for more than 140 years and is
still used today for its original purpose,
albeit carrying a single railway line as
opposed to a double track. Steam
excursions still pass over the viaduct and
it is best photographed in the winter
months facing south-west when there’s
often an opportunity to capture a
silhouette against the setting sun in the
valley. Alternatively, the footpath towards
Blea Moor Tunnel offers some stunning
views of the viaduct in its rural
surroundings during the day.
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STOODLEY PIKE, WEST YORKSHIRE
Sitting in the south Pennines, the
400m Stoodley Pike is noted for
the monument at its summit,
which can be seen for many
miles around.
HUMBER BRIDGE, EAST RIDING OF
YORKSHIREThis fabulous single-span
suspension bridge is a fantastic
subject, whether shooting fi rst
or last thing in the day, and it
can look good in mist and foggy
conditions.
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© M
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AEL TO
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AM
STAITHES, NORTH
YORKSHIREThe small seaside hamlet of Staithes sits
in a small, sheltered cove at the base of
a cliff and is packed with tightly huddled
cottages. The classic view is from the
viewing platform at Cowbar high above
the village, which is fantastic, especially
on a cold winter’s night.
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L A N D S C A P E S
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If you don’t come away from a visit to Buttermere with a great
shot, then you must be doing something wrong, with numerous
vantage viewpoints dotted round the lake. Perhaps the most
famous is of the lone birch tree to the north-west, with its fragile
form contrasting perfectly against the rugged hills that frame it.
Alternatively, from the north shoreline looking south, you’re
greeted with wonderful views of the row of pine trees on the
opposite side of the lake and the well-known fell Haystacks
looming in the background. Light is most favourable early in the
morning, while a panoramic stitch is also popular here.
BUTTERMERE, CUMBRIA
BLACKPOOLBEACH,
LANCASHIREWith the tide out and the town’s
famous roller-coaster, the Big
One, in the background,
Blackpool’s wide sandy beach
is a great subject and that’s not
forgetting the pier.
SALFORD QUAYS, MANCHESTER
Salford Quays, having gone
through a dramatic regeneration
in recent years, is now a mix of
contemporary buildings set
against a backdrop of the old
Manchester Docks, offering a
range of vantage points for
photography, especially
in low-light conditions.
MORECAMBE BAY, LANCASHIRE
With its dangerous quicksand
and notorious tidal currents,
Morecambe Bay warrants
respect, though the ever-
changing conditions provide
endless potential for dramatic
landscapes.
LOUGHRIGG FELL, CUMBRIA
Sitting in the centre of the Lake
District, Loughrigg is by no
means the tallest fell, but thanks
to its location offers fantastic
views from every direction.
JODRELL BANK, CHESHIRE
With the Lovell Telescope
dominating the surrounding
land, it provides photographers
with an almost otherworldly
subject.
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LOW BRANDELHOW
JETTY, CUMBRIAWhile you can pretty much see the
grooves that have been made by the
tripods of the many hundreds of
photographers before you, it’s hard not
to want to capture this scene. This
old wooden jetty is on the shore of
Derwentwater. You should try to capture
it on a still morning when the strong
colours in the sky are refl ected perfectly
in the still water.
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ANTHONY GORMLEY’S
ANOTHER PLACE, CROSBY BEACH, MERSEYSIDEOne hundred cast-iron, life-size fi gures
spread across more than two miles of
beach and stretching out to sea by
almost another, make up Anthony
Gormley’s Another Place installation.
It is a haunting piece of work and one
that can produce some striking imagery.
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good views of it from the
foreshore along Ferry Road.
SEAL SANDS PETROCHEMICAL
REFINERY, TEESSIDEThis striking, modern-age
industrial scene is hard to
resist, offering spectacular
vistas – shoot at dusk to capture
the various illuminations and
blurred smoke.
ANGEL OF THE NORTH,
TYNE AND WEARTowering over the A1, Anthony Gormley’s
Angel of the North is certainly an
imposing sight.
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HERRING BOATS, LINDISFARNE,
NORTHUMBERLANDLindisfarne offers myriad photo
opportunities, but one not to be
missed is the fl otilla of upturned
herring boats. Head for the
harbour area, as unlike the new
sheds at the foot of the castle,
these are much more attractive
and weather-beaten, while
you’ll also get a much better
view of Lindisfarne Castle
sitting in the distance.
BAMBURGH CASTLE,
NORTHUMBERLANDBamburgh Castle totally
dominates the small seaside
village and the surrounding area.
The sandy beach is stunning,
along with the golden dunes, but
move a little further away from
the castle and you’ll fi nd some
lovely textured outcrops of rock
along the shoreline. This makes
for perfect foreground interest,
especially if the surf is fl owing
over them.
HIGH FORCE WATERFALL,
COUNTY DURHAMIn the heart of the Durham
Dales, High Force is one of the
most spectacular waterfalls in
the UK. Dropping some 21m into
a plunge pool below, it’s quite a
sight; and a little further down
the Tees Valley you have Low
Force, a set of waterfalls that
drops at a slightly gentler 5.5m.
TYNE BRIDGE, TYNE AND WEAR
Linking Newcastle and
Gateshead, this bridge has
become a defi ning symbol of
Tyneside. Capture it at dusk
from one of the other bridges
or down by the Quayside.
TEES TRANSPORTER
BRIDGE, TEESSIDEThis unique structure bridging
the River Tees dominates the
Middlesbrough skyline, with
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MILLENNIUM BRIDGE,
TYNE AND WEARThis dramatic pedestrian tilt bridge
is another must-photograph location
along the River Tyne and is often
referred to as ‘the Blinking Eye’ bridge,
due to the way it raises itself for ships
and boats to pass through.
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L A N D S C A P E S
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Overshadowed by the Snowdonia National Park, the Clwydian Range receives
relatively few visitors. As a result, it is largely ignored by photographers, but in its
own way the area is just as spectacular as its more prominent neighbour.
Lying deep in the heart of these mountains is the remote and little-known
Llantysilio Valley. The plummeting, rolling terrain found here is truly spectacular
and the constantly changing fl ora make it a rewarding subject to capture at any
time of year.
The sweeping contours of the steep valley are a particular feature of the location.
Add to this the elevated vantage point, which provides an uninterrupted view of the
surrounding hills, and you have a landscape that could have been forged with the
photographer in mind. It is, without doubt, a hidden gem.
LLANTYSILIO VALLEY, DENBIGHSHIRE
WALESPORTMEIRION, GWYNEDD
This popular tourist village was
designed and built by Sir Clough
Williams-Ellis in the style of an
Italian village.
LLYN DINAS, SNOWDONIA,
GWYNEDDFormed by the River Glaslyn,
Llyn Dinas lies on the valley fl oor
a few miles north of Beddgelert
and offers a wealth of
photographic opportunities all
year round – there are so many
different viewpoints to choose
from. You’ll fi nd that mornings
offer the best light, while colder
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months offer the chance for
some atmospheric mist.
TREFOR, GWYNEDD
If you’re prepared to scramble
over rocks past the sea wall,
Trefor is a hidden gem on the
North Wales coast.
PEN Y FAN, BRECON
BEACONS, DYFEDThe highest peak in southern
Wales, its stunning views can be
reached after about an hour of
climbing, though the walk is
relatively gentle.
ELAN VALLEY, POWYS
This magnifi cent nature
reserve is a photographer’s
dream, with dense woodland,
lakes and waterfalls.
© H
ELEN
HO
OK
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This image is taken from a B&B called Llanerchindda Farm, about eight miles from
Llandovery – this is the view from the terrace, looking down the valley towards the
Cynghordy Viaduct, part of the Heart of Wales railway line, with the Brecon Beacons
and the Black Mountains in the distance. Every couple of hours, a train trundles across
the viaduct, but the main attraction is the ever-changing scene. The viaduct remains a
constant, but the light and weather changes from hour to hour (sometimes minute to
minute – this is Wales, after all).
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CYNGHORDY VIADUCT, CARMARTHENSHIRE
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NASH POINT, GLAMORGAN
You can’t fail to get a good
shot along this stretch of heritage
coastline thanks to the unusual layers of
rock, both on the cliff face and the
shoreline at low tide – aim to shoot in the
evening for warm orange tones.
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KIT
LIS
TL A N D S C A P E S
MARK BAUER
Mark Bauer has been a
full-time landscape
photographer for more than
10 years. He is based in
Dorset and takes his
inspiration from the beauty
of the surrounding
landscapes in the
south-west of England. He
is the author of four books
and has won numerous
awards in major
competitions. www.
markbauerphotography.com
GOOD-QUALITY TRIPOD HEADMany photographers skimp
on tripod heads, but they
are as important as the legs.
Choose one that will allow
you to make fi ne adjustments
to a composition, such as
the Manfrotto 410 junior
geared head.
RULE OF THIRDSThere is a very traditional division of the
frame in this image, closely following the
rule of thirds, with the tree placed on a
vertical line and the sun placed on
one of the horizontals, which makes for a
balanced, harmonious composition
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm,
1/20sec at f/16, ISO 100
LEVELLING AIDStraight horizons are an
important part of accurate
compositions. Some
cameras have electronic
levels to guide you, but
if yours doesn’t have one,
a hotshoe-mounted
bubble level is an
inexpensive accessory.
FILTERSFilters are essential for
landscape photography.
Graduated fi lters balance bright
skies and dark foregrounds,
neutral density fi lters allow
you to extend shutter speeds
for creative effect, and
polarisers reduce glare and
boost colour saturation.
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A WELL-KNOWN PHOTOGRAPHER once told me:
‘Landscape photography’s easy. Just arrange the
frame so you’ve got two-thirds land and one-third
sky (or vice versa if the sky’s really interesting), put
something interesting in the foreground and set a
small aperture for depth of fi eld.’
While he was obviously being somewhat tongue-
in-cheek, what he said does in fact address the two
fundamental problems that you have to deal with
when composing a landscape image. The fi rst
problem is how to arrange the elements to create a
sense of balance and harmony, and the second is how
to create a sense of depth and perspective in a
two-dimensional medium.
ORGANISING THE FRAMEThe main goal of composition is to fi nd a sense of
order and harmony in the chaos of the natural world.
There are many ways of organising the elements in
the frame to achieve this, but one tried-and-tested
method is the rule of thirds.
Imagine a grid overlaying the viewfi nder, dividing
it into thirds both horizontally and vertically, so that
it looks like a noughts and crosses grid. You can then
organise the elements in the frame around these
divisions. The most obvious starting point is the
horizon, which can be placed on one of the
horizontal lines. You can then move on to the other
points of interest. Most landscape images benefi t
from having a strong focal point in the frame, and the
points where the horizontal and vertical lines
intersect in the grid are particularly powerful places
to position such a point of interest.
The rule of thirds is, in fact, a simplifi ed version of
ALL IMAGES MARK BAUER
The naturalorder
CORFE CASTLE, DORSETThe composition of this shot was partly dictated by the desire to include
the dramatic sky, which was unusual for a misty morning. This resulted in a
departure from the traditional one-third/two-thirds division of the sky and
land. The castle was positioned in the frame according to the golden
section rule, and the mist has separated the rows of trees into distinct
planes, helping to create a sense of depth
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 24-105mm, 1/40sec at f/9, ISO 100, 3EV soft grad
WIDEANGLE LENSNot all landscape images are
shot with wideangle lenses,
but they do allow you to
enhance perspective by
getting in close to foreground
interest, with the rest of the
scene stretching out behind.
Mark Bauer shows you how to achieve balance
in composition with his expert advice
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29
L A N D S C A P E S
a proportion known as the golden section, which
should provide an even more harmonious division of
the frame. The golden section has been used in art
and architecture for centuries, and research suggests
that our brains are ‘hard-wired’ to respond positively
to images that conform to its proportions.
To create a golden section, divide the image frame
into two rectangles, so that the ratio of the smaller one
to the larger one is the same as the ratio of the larger
one to the whole frame. (Expressed mathematically,
this ratio is approximately 1:1.618). These sections can
then be subdivided according to the same ratio, so you
end up with a grid that looks a little like a ‘squashed’
rule-of-thirds grid. As with the rule-of-thirds grid, use
it to help you with the placement of key elements –
strong focal points can again be placed on the
intersections of horizontal and vertical lines.
While the rule of thirds and golden section
divisions often work well, if this is the only way we
attempt to achieve balance and harmony our images
will soon become formulaic and predictable. Worse,
applying the principles blindly, without any
consideration, can actually result in poor
compositions, so it’s worth taking a little time to get
to grips with the principles of visual balance.
In many ways, visual balance is similar to physical
balance, and making this comparison can help us
THE GOLDEN SECTIONBalance is achieved in this composition by organising
the elements according to a golden section division of
the frame. The cabin of the boat sits on an intersection
of horizontal and vertical lines, and the horizon is
placed on the top horizontal
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 21mm, 179secs at f/8, ISO 200
ACHIEVING VISUAL BALANCEThere are two clear points of
interest that balance each other in
this image: the ruined church and
the rising sun. The church, being
larger and darker, is placed near
the ‘visual fulcrum’ and is
counterbalanced by the sun, which
is slightly closer to the frame edge.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm,
0.8secs at f/22, ISO 100, 3EV soft grad
understand how it works. If you place two objects of
equal weight on a see-saw, they will need to be
equidistant from the fulcrum in order to be balanced.
In visual terms, we would have symmetry, which is
often considered harmonious but somewhat static. If
you have objects of different weights, then the lighter
one will have to be further away from the fulcrum in
order to achieve balance, which in visual terms would
create an asymmetric balance – usually considered to
be more dynamic.
30
In reality, visual balance is more complex than
this, but the basic principle is true. While we can’t
consider the physical weight of objects in the frame,
we can consider the factors that contribute to
their ‘visual weight’ – size, brightness, contrast,
complexity, texture and so on – and place them
in the frame accordingly.
CREATING THE ILLUSION OF DEPTHThe main challenge facing landscape photographers
is that the world has three dimensions, but a
photograph has only two, so poorly composed shots
can therefore appear ‘flat’. So how do we go about
creating a sense of depth in a two-dimensional
medium? The answer is, basically, by exploiting the
same visual cues that the brain uses to interpret three
dimensions from the image projected onto the retina.
The main way the eye judges distance is by using
linear perspective. This describes the way that objects
in a scene apparently diminish in size the further
away they are, and the angles at which lines and
planes seem to converge. Although parallel lines, such
as railway tracks, appear to converge when we view
them, we understand that they are, in fact, parallel.
Linear perspective is enhanced by the perception of
diminishing size, so if you have a number of similar
objects going away from the camera, such as a line of
trees, a strong impression of depth is created.
The effects of linear perspective can be enhanced
by choice of lens and viewpoint. By getting in close
to the nearest object with a wideangle lens, the
apparent distance between the foreground and more
distant objects will be greater than if we shoot the
same scene from further away with a telephoto lens.
This is why budding landscape photographers are so
WHY IT WORKSLighting and composition combine to make this a
successful image (below) by creating balance and
perspective. This balance is based around the golden
section, with the central area of the background hill
placed on the upper horizontal line, and the chalk
carving of the white horse positioned on an
intersection of horizontal and vertical lines. The
‘layering’ bands of light and dark create depth, and
the dramatic sky focuses attention on the hills.
ONE THAT DOESN’T WORKThis is a simple image (right), with strong lines and
atmospheric lighting, yet it leaves the viewer
dissatisfied. This is probably because it consists only
of lines, which rarely seem to make good subjects on
their own. They are best suited to acting as guides,
leading to a clear focal point. It can be frustrating to
be led through the image without haveing a focal
point for the eye to rest on at the end.
LEAD-IN LINESLines coming in from the corners of the frame can be used
to act as ‘pointers’ to direct attention into the picture. Lines
can also be used to take the viewer’s attention through
the picture and to highlight the main subject
or focal point.
LAYERED COMPOSITIONSHaving distinct layers or planes in an image can increase the
impression of depth and direct the eye inwards. This can be
created by overlapping forms such as hills or mountains, or
better, by strong sidelighting, which creates alternating
bands of light and dark and a ‘layering of light’.
MARK’S TOP TIPS
A FRAME WITHIN THE FRAME Using a natural frame,
such as overhanging
branches or an
archway, helps keep a
composition tight and
focuses attention on
the main subject. It
also enhances depth
by adding a distinct
plane in the
foreground. It has
become something of
a cliché, but is an
effective technique.
L A N D S C A P E S
31
FOREGROUND INTERESTA strong foreground can add depth and draw the eye into
a composition, but it has to complement the scene. In the
image on the left, as well as helping with depth perception,
the rock pool in the foreground refl ects the colourful sky,
tying together the foreground and background.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm, 25secs at f/16,
2EV hard grad and 3EV ND, ISO 100
PAY ATTENTION TO THE SKYWhat is above the landscape is as important as the
landscape itself and can dictate how the composition
below works. Making the most of a strong sky may mean
breaking the ‘rules’, such as placing the horizon centrally
in order for the sky to sit well in the composition.
KEEP IT SIMPLEThe best compositions are often the simplest. Having too
many elements can be visually confusing and water down
the point of the image, so try to exclude anything from the
frame that does not contribute to what you’re trying to
achieve with your composition.
THE RULE OF ODDS If you are including several objects in the composition, such
as a group of trees, remember that odd numbers are more
pleasing to the eye than even numbers. Often the number of
objects in the frame is beyond our control, but some control
can be gained by choice of viewpoint and focal length.
often given the advice to use foreground interest
in their compositions.
While this is good advice, it needs to be applied
with care. A foreground element that doesn’t
complement the background adds nothing to
a composition and, at worst, a poorly chosen
foreground can dominate a composition,
diverting attention from the view beyond.
Too low a viewpoint can also cause problems,
reducing the visual separation between foreground
and more distant planes, thus actually reducing the
impression of depth.
Look for foregrounds that help to direct attention
into the frame and enhance the view in some way
– ‘U’ and ‘V’ shapes, which help to frame the scene at
the bottom, often work well.
LINEAR PERSPECTIVETaking a low viewpoint with an extreme wideangle lens, as in
the image below, has exaggerated the diminishing size of the
plaques on the deck of the pier, as well as the converging
lines, which creates a striking perspective in this composition.
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 17-40mm,
5 secs at f/22, ISO 100, polariser
32
KIT
LIS
T
L A N D S C A P E S
ND GRAD FILTERSThese are an essential part of every
landscape photographer’s kit, and are
particularly necessary in the contrasty
conditions that are often typical
in pre-dawn light.
REMOTE RELEASEIf you’re making bulb
exposures, you’ll need a
remote release to lock the
shutter open. If you just
hold the shutter button
down, you’ll end up with
camera shake.
MARK BAUER
Mark Bauer has been
a full-time landscape
photographer for more
than ten years. He is based
in Dorset and takes his
inspiration from the beauty
of his surroundings in the
south-west of England.
He is the author of four
books and has won
numerous awards.
www.markbauer
photography.com
POLARISING FILTERAlthough they are mostly
associated with saturating
the colour of a blue sky,
polarising fi lters are also
very handy for reducing
the glare on water and
enhancing refl ections.
Early riser Mark Bauer explains the
magic of pre-dawn light, and reveals
how to make best use of it
Here comes the sun
ALL IMAGES MARK BAUER
33
HEAD TORCHYou’ll be arriving on
location and setting up in
the dark, so you’ll need
to see what you’re doing.
A head torch allows you
to keep both hands free
to operate equipment.
MOST PHOTOGRAPHERS agree that the landscape
usually looks its best during the ‘golden hours’ – the
30mins or so either side of sunrise and sunset – with
vivid, saturated colours in the sky and low, modelling
light revealing form and texture on the land below.
However, the most magical conditions probably
occur in the hour or so leading up to dawn, from the
moment the light begins to creep up into the sky
until the sun breaks the horizon.
This is the time when you can see some of the best
colours of the day – either strong and saturated or
more subtle, but equally beautiful pastel shades.
Warm/cool contrasts are common, with warmer
colours above and cooler shades on the land,
particularly in the shadow areas. There is often a
feeling of calm and tranquillity, enhanced by the
natural stillness of the pre-dawn air and the relative
absence of human activity.
Choosing the right subject or location is key to
making the most of conditions. Shooting near water
often works well, especially on still mornings. Lakes
and ponds are obvious choices and coastal locations
can also work well. The water won’t be still, but waves
breaking on the shore can help to create textural and
tonal contrast with other parts of the scene.
Inland, mist can simplify the landscape and
introduce a romantic atmosphere to scenes. It’s most
common in the spring and autumn, when the
humidity is fairly high and the temperature drops
overnight. Look for cool, clear nights with little or no
wind – a gentle south-westerly bringing warmer air
over the cool ground can help mist to form, so keep
an eye on the weather forecast and if you see these
conditions, head for locations near water or with
views over valleys.
Probably the biggest challenge with pre-dawn
photography is making the effort, as you will have to
get up early, head to your chosen location and set up
in the dark. In the summer months, 3am can seem
like a bit of a lie in, and in the winter months,
although you’ll be setting off at a more humane time,
you’ll also have the cold to contend with – staying in
a nice warm bed is a very tempting proposition. You’ll
also be heading off knowing that there’s no guarantee
of good conditions and that you might return having
not even fi red the shutter. Thorough research and
planning will help with your motivation – if you have
a clear idea of the result you want to achieve, you’ll be
much more likely to leave the comfort of home than
if your plan is to just drive around for a bit and see if
you fi nd something interesting.
As well as boosting motivation, planning will
greatly increase your chances of success. The light can
change rapidly pre-dawn, so knowing where you’re
going to set up, which lens you’re going to use and
Pre-dawn light is atmospheric. Exposure
times are long, so any moving elements, such as
water, will blur, often with moody results. With
the right cloud cover, skies can be dramatic
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm,
3.2secs at f/11, ISO 100 (two exposures
blended, for the sky and foreground)
34
LOOK FOR MIXED LIGHTINGThe cool ambient pre-dawn light contrasts
beautifully with warmer artificial lighting, so look
out for floodlit buildings, street lights, car headlights
and so on. In this shot, the harbour wall was lit by
the warm glow of a street lamp.
CHOOSE THE CORRECT ND GRADTake a meter reading from the land and then
another from the sky, and calculate the brightness
difference in stops. Choose a filter that leaves the
sky 1-2EV brighter than the land for a natural look.
having compositions in mind mean that you’re less
likely to miss opportunities as a result of rushing.
Aim to arrive at a pre-selected spot a good 45 minutes
before sunrise, as the best colour is often seen half an
hour before sunrise and you’ll want to be in position
and ready to capture it. This is also the perfect time to
capture misty scenes, as they often look their most
atmospheric in the cool blue light before the sun is
too close to the horizon. Know where the sun will be
rising, as this is usually where the colour will be
strongest, and plan your compositions around this –
smartphone apps such as The Photographer’s
Ephemeris can be helpful.
Shooting before sunrise throws up some technical
challenges. With no direct light shining onto the land,
but with the sky lit from below, contrast can be very
high – and it will increase as the sun gets closer to the
horizon. Often, the contrast will be greater than your
camera’s sensor can record, which will result in either
overexposed skies or underexposed foregrounds.
Graduated neutral density filters (ND grads) provide
an in-camera solution: simply place the dark section
of the filter over the bright sky to reduce the contrast
to a manageable level. The key to using ND grads is
to place the filter so that the transition line sits on the
horizon and can’t be seen, and choosing the correct
strength filter. Alternatively, try blending exposures.
Take two shots – one exposed for the land, the other
for the sky – and then combine them post-capture
using software (see the step-by-step guide opposite
for details).
Another potential challenge is achieving the correct
exposure in low light. Exposure times can be long,
sometimes exceeding 30secs, which is the maximum
that can be selected on most cameras. It’s possible to
increase ISO and therefore shorten exposure times,
but there will be a trade-off with increased noise and
a loss of image quality. Instead, keep the ISO on its
lowest setting but switch to bulb mode, which allows
you to lock the shutter open for as long as you want.
As for composition, all the usual guidelines apply,
but there are one or two additional points to consider.
Look for locations with strong foreground interest,
especially objects that will look good silhouetted
against a colourful sky. Placement of the horizon is
important, and if the sky is dramatic don’t shy away
from a bold composition with the horizon low in the
frame. Look for structural compositions with a clear
focal point. If shooting at the water’s edge, make the
most of reflections, and on still mornings use reeds or
grasses to add foreground interest and frame the view
beyond. On misty mornings, look for shapes in or
rising above the mist, and make the most of any
‘layering’ effects that give the impression of depth.
TOP TIPS
Exposure times can be long and the
contrast high, so meter carefully
Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm,
25secs at f/11, ISO 100, 0.6 hard grad
On still mornings, reflections on water will
double the impact of a colourful sky. Grasses
and reeds make excellent foreground interest
Canon EOS 5D Mark III, 16-35mm,
13secs at f/16, ISO 100, 0.6 hard grad
L A N D S C A P E S
35
KNOW WHERE THE SUN IS RISINGThe position of the sunrise will have a big infl uence on the
composition you choose, so it’s best to research this and
plan compositions in advance. There are various
smartphone apps that can help.
CALCULATING BULB EXPOSURESFor exposures of more than 30secs, increase the ISO until
you get a meter reading. Then work out the equivalent
exposure at the base ISO. For example, 30secs at ISO 400 will
be 2mins at ISO 100. Use bulb mode to lock the shutter open.
KEEP DRYAt certain times of year, there will a heavy dew in the hour
or so before sunrise, so to keep your feet dry when walking
through long grass, wear good-quality waterproof boots
(or wellies) and waterproof trousers.
Not every photographer likes to use fi lters and ND grads
don’t work well in all situations, such as for extremely
high-contrast scenes or when an uneven horizon means
that the transition line would be obvious in the image.
In these situations, it’s better to take two (or more) shots
of the same scene, typically exposing one for the sky
and one for the foreground, and then blend them in
post-production.
It’s possible to blend bracketed shots automatically,
using dedicated HDR (high dynamic range) software, but
on the whole you get more control and better results by
blending manually using layer masks. This can be done
in both the full version of Photoshop and Photoshop
Elements, as well as various other image manipulation
programs. This demonstration here uses Photoshop CC,
but the procedure is similar in other software.
EXPOSURE BLENDING
3 MAKE SELECTIONMake a selection of the sky and feather it heavily by
150-250 pixels. Then, with the foreground colour set to
black and using a soft brush with the Opacity set to about
50%, gently brush away the sky in the top layer, revealing
the darker sky beneath.
1 PROCESS FILESOpen the images in your raw converter. One should be
exposed for the foreground and one for the sky. Process the
darker one so that the sky looks correct, and the other so that
the foreground looks good. When you’ve fi nished, convert
the fi les to TIFFs and open them in your image editor.
4 FINE-TUNEYou may need to do a little ‘tidying up’ around the
edges – here, the cliffs are a little too dark. Deselect
the sky, and set the foreground colour to white. Set the
Opacity to around 25% to allow fi ne control and gradually
paint back the lighter layer where needed.
2 OVERLAY IMAGESDrag the lighter image over the darker one. Hold down
the Shift key while dragging so that the images line up
precisely. The lighter image is added as a new layer on top
of the darker image. Click on the Add Layer Mask icon at the
bottom of the Layers palette.
5 FINAL ADJUSTMENTSThe fi nal image. Now that you’ve got the full range of
tones in a single image, you can make fi nal adjustments
to Levels, Curves, Saturation, and so on. When you’re
satisfi ed, fl atten the layers to fi nish.
36
KIT
LIS
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N A T U R E
AS A PHOTOGRAPHER, it’s very easy to fall into the
trap of thinking to yourself that the light isn’t very
good. However, the truth is that all light is good for
something. But putting that thought aside, even when
the sun is out and everything is bathed in light, it’s
just as easy to miss beautiful shots that are staring you
in the face as it is to pack up because the light is dull.
Simply put, get the sun off your back. What do I
mean by that? Well, when the light is good and the
subject is perfectly lit, don’t get caught up with fi lling
a memory card with front-lit images. Where possible,
move around your subject. Shooting in this way will
drastically improve your understanding of exposure
while also giving your portfolio some beautiful
variation as you start to explore shape and form.
LIGHTING TECHNIQUESOnce you start to light your subject from different
directions, which is essentially what you’re doing by
shooting from different angles, you start to introduce
greater variation in dynamic range across the frame
as highlights get brighter and shadows get darker.
That may sound like it’s getting technical, but it’s
essential to know because it is this variation in
dynamic range, and knowing how to expose for it,
that will allow you to get more creative with the light.
But to bring it back to its simplest form, the aim is to
try two things: backlight and sidelight.
Backlighting is achieved by placing the subject
between yourself and the sun, and shooting towards
the light. This opens up several creative opportunities
that simply aren’t available when you have the sun to
ALL IMAGES RICHARD PETERS
Add an extra dimension to your photos
with creative use of natural light.
Award-winning wildlife photographer
Richard Peters explains how
Mastering the light
The far hillside helped produce a beautiful
dark background to this sidelit puffi n
Nikon D800, 200mm + 2x converter,
1/1600sec at f/5.6, ISO 900
TRIPOD When working with
long lenses and tricky
lighting, a tripod
ensures that your
images remain
sharp if your
shutter speed
starts to fall.
DSLRCameras such
as the Nikon
D810 offer a
number of
metering
modes.
37
A 300mm f/2.8 is a popular
middle-range wildlife lens.
Using a compressed
perspective and shallow
depth of fi eld can
further emphasise
the way the light
hits your subject.
As the sun rose, refl ecting
brightly off the grass,
underexposure was used to
retain highlight detail while
rendering the red deer stag
as a contrasting silhouette
Nikon D3S, 600mm,
1/500sec at f/5.6, ISO 200
RICHARD PETERS
Richard Peters is a UK-
based wildlife photographer
whose passion stems from
watching natural-history
documentaries as a
youngster. Now his
photos and writing are
published regularly, and
his images have won
awards in numerous
worldwide competitions.
www.richardpeters.co.uk
TELEPHOTO LENS WHITE BALANCE
As these lighting techniques more often than not lend
themselves to sunrise and sunset shooting, take your
camera out of auto, as this often has a bias towards a
cooler blue colour. Instead, set it either to cloudy or a
manual setting of around 6,000K and above. This will
help retain and emphasise any warm tones.
38
First light in the forest has lit
this red squirrel perfectly
Nikon D4, 200-400mm,
1/1000sec at f/5.6, ISO 200
your back and the subject is front-lit. This technique
can produce a wonderful golden glow to the overall
scene. It is most easily achieved at sunrise or sunset
by ensuring the sun is just out of frame, so that its
light is filtering across the image. The correct
exposure – one that is not over or underexposed –
should result in beautiful golden tones. However, it’s
important to remember that while you do not want
the sun in the frame, the further away from the edge
of the frame the sun is, the less intense the warm
tones. This effect can be further enhanced if it’s a
misty morning or the subject has visible breath,
which will provide more atmosphere and an extra
element of interest.
Backlighting is also very good for creating
silhouettes. Typically, this may require some
underexposure when compared to the evenly lit,
warm-toned look. However, silhouettes can work
equally well by waiting for the sun to be a little higher
in the sky, again keeping it out of frame. This will
UNDERSTANDING METERING MODES
Most DSLRs, in their standard set-up, will always
try to produce an average exposure that has
both shadow and highlight detail. Virtually all
DSLRs feature a variation of metering modes,
which essentially help in exposing for a variety
of lighting. Depending on the camera system
you shoot with these will go by different names,
but the basic three modes are:
MATRIX/EVALUATIVEThis is the standard mode on all cameras, where
the metering will read the entire image and try
to get a balanced exposure. It’s good when the
entire frame is evenly lit, but less so when trying
to get creative.
CENTREWEIGHTEDWith centreweighted, the camera will read the
light across the entire frame but will bias the
exposure for the middle of the frame. More
feature-packed models will also allow you to
change the size of the area in the middle of the
frame should you wish.
SPOTThis mode is very useful if you are shooting a
bright subject on a dark background. The
metering system takes its reading from the
immediate area surrounding the focus point you
have selected. It is useful if you have a bright
subject on a dark background, but it can be
tricky with subjects that move a lot.
THE LATEST CAMERASDSLRs such as the Nikon D810 also feature a
new mode called highlight-weighted. This reads
the entire frame, much like matrix/evaluative
metering, but automatically exposes for the
highlights without the user having to ensure the
focus point is placed over the bright area of the
image. Think of it as intelligent spot metering.
MATRIX
SPOT
CENTRE
HIGHLIGHT
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Sidelight has
emphasised this little
owl sunning itself at the
end of a night of hunting
to feed its young
Nikon D3S, 600mm,
1/200sec at f/5,
ISO 2800
The morning light
provides a lovely
rimlight around
the lioness
Nikon D3S, 600mm,
1/1000sec at f/5.6,
ISO 200
N A T U R E
41
provide good light on the surroundings while the
underexposure will create a silhouetted subject.
ONE STEP FURTHERRimlight is a by-product of backlight and takes the
silhouette one step further. In its simplest form, it is
when the light catches on the edges of the subject so
they are much brighter than the area of the subject
that isn’t in direct light. However, to really push the
effect to its maximum, it can be used to create an
outline of the subject on a black background. In
order to achieve this, the sun needs to be close to, but
outside of, the frame and low in the sky so that the
fore and background are lit as little as possible.
Shooting with the sun just above a distant treeline,
for example, helps to ensure everything except the
subject is rendered black when you expose only for
the rimlight outline. Typically, the exposure for a shot
like this could be anywhere from 1 stop to 3 or 4 stops
underexposed, but they are easy to master when the
conditions allow.
Finally, sidelight can be a really nice way to show
off texture and contours in a really dramatic way.
With the light only falling on some areas of the
subject, you can get some truly beautiful contrasts
between light, bright detail, and areas of darkness and
shadow. Also, depending on how far round the light
is in relation to the animal, sidelight can be used to
almost completely light a subject or throw it mostly
into shadow, giving a plethora of creative looks. Some
underexposure is generally required because you
need to expose for the parts of the frame that fall in
direct light.
MANUAL METERING All these types of light are related, with sidelight
feeding into backlight, which then feeds into rimlight.
But learning the various exposure modes your
camera has to offer, and when to use them to master
these lighting techniques, will quickly help you get on
your way towards mastering the light. However, these
modes aren’t foolproof and the camera is still
essentially guessing what you want to achieve. The
ultimate way to achieve your desired results is to tell
the metering system what you want to do. And that’s
where manual exposure and exposure compensation
become essential, as they will let you get the exposure
just how you want it.
The important thing to remember is that most
creative uses of light require an exposure that is the
average meter reading of the entire scene, so don’t be
alarmed when your camera is telling you to brighten
or darken the exposure. Take the shot anyway and
work from there. Once you start to experiment more,
you’ll quickly fi nd yourself instinctively looking
through your viewfi nder and knowing how much
exposure compensation you need to achieve the
creative shot you’re after.
By shooting uphill, this hare has
been silhouetted against the
intense glow of the setting sun.
A hint of sidelight gives some
form to the silhouette
Nikon D3S, 600mm,
1/1250sec at f/5, ISO 200
SIDE VS EVEN LIGHT
The effects of directional light, and where you
place yourself relative to that, can transform any
subject from dull and boring into a more
interesting and evocative subject. This is
immediately obvious when comparing the two
images below. In the fi rst shot,
the sun is behind a thin covering
of cloud, lighting the image
evenly. It has produced a nice
image, but one that lacks any
punch or visual interest.
The second image was taken
with the sun unobstructed by
clouds. It’s low in the sky and
coming in from the left of the
frame. The camera wants to try
to even out the exposure in
situations like this, which would
result in a higher ISO and
overexposed subject in order to
balance out the background.
However, by applying some
exposure compensation, the
pigeon is exposed correctly,
which has thrown the background into darkness.
The sidelight has given some nice contour detail to
the pigeon and ultimately produced a far more
pleasing image. The same result can also be
achieved by spot metering the subject.
EVEN LIGHT SIDE LIGHT
While lit evenly,
the shot lacks drama
Nikon D4, 600mm,
1/1250sec at f/5.6, ISO 3200
Side lighting is
much more pleasing
Nikon D4, 600mm,
1/1000sec at f/7.1, ISO 200
42
N A T U R E
Wild lightFive award-winning wildlife
photographers reveal how
using flash helped them get
a unique perspective on
their subject
WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
Wildlife Photographer of the Year is co-owned by the Natural
History Museum and BBC Worldwide. To see more of these
stunning images, visit www.nhm.ac.uk. An exhibition of 100
finalists is currently on display until 30 August at the Natural
History Museum in London.
43
THE WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2014 competition
and exhibition is packed with stunning wildlife imagery. But
look at little closer and you’ll notice that many of the winning
photographers and fi nalists are choosing to use fl ash in a number
of creative ways to achieve distinctive images. These photographs
would be impossible to capture with just ambient light, and
the fl ash helps produce unique images in their own right.
To fi nd out how such award-winning images were achieved,
we delve into a few of the stories and set-ups behind a selection
of these stunning photographs.
HERONS IN TIME AND SPACE
Dedication and a little ingenuity helped Bence
capture this striking shot that combined
exposures for both natural and artifi cial light in
one single fi le. This allowed him to illuminate the
herons in the foreground with a burst of fl ash,
while the stars behind were exposed correctly
with a longer exposure. Not only that, but Bence
also wanted to get both the herons and stars in
focus as well, meaning that focus would have to
shift in the exposure.
With such a specifi c image in mind, Bence had
to solve various technical challenges, as well as the
fact that the slightest sound would have scared the
shy grey herons off, before he got a chance to fi re
the fi rst shot. This meant developing two timing
devices for the camera to execute the single
exposure shot he was after: one to move the focus
from the foreground (herons) to the background
(stars) and the other adjusting the aperture,
shifting it from f/10 for the fl ash exposure to f/2.8
for the ambient exposure. Shooting overlooking
Lake Csaj in Kiskunság National Park, Hungary, it
took 74 nights nestled in a hide before Bence
found the right conditions.
The surface of the lake was still and refl ected the
stars – just as he wanted – while the sky was clear
and moonless. It was just after midnight when the
seven stars of the Plough, part of the Ursa Major
constellation, slid into the exact position Bence
had envisioned – over the glow of the distant town.
He then fi red the shot.
Using four remotely fi red fl ashguns, Bence
managed to capture both the stars and the herons
in focus. The secondary ambient exposure for the
stars also resulted in traces of the birds’
movements, leaving ghostly impressions against
the sky and creating a picture Bence had planned
for several years. His patience was well rewarded.
Bence Máté Winner – Birds
Nikon D800, Sigma 15mm, 1sec at f/10 (fl ash
exposure), 31secs at f/2.8 (ambient exposure),
ISO 2000, four fl ashguns, tripod, hide
44
Ring-necked parakeets, an Afro-Asian species, are
now well established in the wild in Britain after
captive birds escaped or were deliberately released.
These colourful parakeets thrive in certain areas of
the country, perhaps most notably in South London.
Winter can be a particularly prolific time for
parakeets, with roosts containing huge numbers – up
to 5,000 birds in some cases – matched by a loud
cacophony that heralds their arrival. Sam wanted to
capture this roosting spectacle and after checking out
several spots chose this London cemetery, where there
was a constant stream of arrivals in groups of 20 to
30, loudly squawking their way past as dusk fell.
Studying their flight paths, Sam set up his kit and
experimented with various techniques. With the
swathes of birds flying low and close to him, he opted
for a wideangle lens and set his flash mode to rear
curtain sync, so that when the parakeets flew past
he’d fire the shutter. An exposure of 1/30sec was
enough to introduce movement, while the burst of
flash at the end of the exposure would create the
ghostly trails. Had the camera remained in front
curtain mode it would have resulted in the birds
appearing to fly backwards, but instead Sam
conveyed the essence of these cemetery-dwelling,
eye-catching aliens in the English urban landscape.
FERAL SPIRITS
Sam Hobson Finalist – Birds
Nikon D7000, Nikon 17–35mm, 1/30sec at f/6.3, ISO 800,
SB-800 flash, PocketWizard Plus III remote release, tripod
N A T U R E
45
After his ageing 1976 Nissan Patrol broke down, Greg
found himself stranded alone on the edge of Kenya’s
Lake Nakuru. With night closing in, he decided to
take advantage of the superb photo opportunities
presenting themselves.
With a view of around 200 great white pelicans
settling to roost, Greg got down low to get an eye-level
view of the birds at the lake’s edge, while staying alert
for emerging hippos. Choosing a long exposure to
capture the atmosphere of this twilight hour, he
composed his shot and waited for a pelican to fl y in.
Looking down the valley he could see one of
the last stragglers coming into view. With about
three seconds before it came into the frame, Greg
tripped the shutter. The burst from his fl ashgun
was just powerful enough to create a ghostly
impression as the bird came into roost,
complemented by the last ambient light refl ecting
off the rift valley wall behind.
THE MOUSE, THE MOON AND THE MOSQUITO
NIGHT OF THE PELICANS
Greg du Toit Finalist – Birds
Nikon D3S, Nikon 80-400mm, 3secs at f/16, ISO 200, SB-800 fl ash
Alex had spotted a giant puffball mushroom
near his home in Blackfoot Valley, in western
Montana, USA, which had started to infl ate.
Over time, he noticed curious squirrels,
chipmunks and mice exploring this strange
new object. Setting up one night and lying
patiently on the ground for a few hours, he
was entertained by the activity of dozens of
small animals exploring the puffball. He
noticed the most frequent visitors were
deer mice, which would scamper across the
puffball, occasionally stopping to check
their surroundings before moving on.
With this shot, Alex wanted to retain the
sense of place in the scene and maintain the
unique atmosphere in front of him. To this
end, he used a single fl ashgun to add a
gentle pulse of light to the ambient scene.
To work with the position of the moon, Alex
opted to place the fl ash in front of the
puffball so it was just out of sight, and
raised the head upwards. Then, when a deer
mouse appeared and paused for a moment,
the fl ash gently backlit the mouse, a nearby
mosquito and the mushroom to provide the
perfect midnight puffball scene.
Alex Badyaev Winner – Mammals
Canon EOS-1D Mark IV, Canon 24-105mm, 1/125sec at f/14,
ISO 250, 430EX II fl ash
46
Touché
HUMMINGBIRDS BECAME a special focus for me
when I stayed for fi ve days among these amazing
birds in Brazil. Over time, I was accepted as part of
their environment, to such a point that they began to
rest on my head, ear and arm. This allowed me to
make images with a 100mm macro lens, while the
hummingbirds were feeding on a fl ower.
I became fascinated by the characteristics of these
amazing birds, with wings beating at an incredible 200
beats per second, which would require an exposure
time of 1/10,000sec or faster to freeze the action.
Ecuador is a hummingbird paradise and on a
recent trip there I decided to capture these
magnifi cent creatures using high-speed fl ash. I
studied hummingbirds and their energy management
at different altitudes in the Andes and focused on two
particularly attractive members of the diverse family:
the booted racket-tail hummingbird and the
beautiful sword-billed hummingbird. The latter has
Jan van der Greef explains how
multiple fl ashguns allowed him
to capture his striking image
Jan’s shot of sword-billed and collared Inca
hummingbirds was a fi nalist in the Wildlife
Photographer of the Year competition 2014
an 11cm (4.3in) bill that is designed to reach nectar at
the base of an equally long tube-shaped fl ower. It’s
the only bird with a bill longer than its body.
SPECIAL FOCUSHummingbird behaviour can be divided into two
categories: territorial hummingbirds that defend their
territory of favourite fl owers (and/or feeders); and
so-called trap-lining behaviour, in which a bird follows
a path to its preferred fl owers through the jungle. The
sword-billed hummingbird belongs to the latter
category and I chose to position myself along the path
and wait for the bird to visit its favourite red angel
trumpet fl ower on a bush. This path was close to the
lodge I was staying at, and I could see that the sword-
billed hummingbird would cross the territory of a
fi ercely territorial collared Inca hummingbird, which
would chase the poor sword-billed bird away when it
showed any interest in the feeders around the lodge.
However, the sword-billed hummingbird would
sometimes use its bill to make a statement to the Inca.
That was the moment of interaction I wanted to
capture. It happens very fast, but in a well-defi ned area.
I spent two days with my set-up and had just three
opportunities with the desired interaction, with the
most dynamic shot becoming a fi nalist in the Wildlife
Photographer of the Year Awards 2014.
JAN VAN DER GREEF
Jan van der Greef is an
internationally acclaimed
nature photographer. His
latest book, Refl ections of
the Inner Self: Dreams and
Visions of Nature, shows his
signature in photography,
capturing emotions and the
essence of nature.
www.janvandergreef.com
ALL IMAGES JAN VAN DER GREEF
N A T U R E
47
THE SET-UPTo capture this interaction, I used six slave
fl ashguns (in this case, some ageing Nikon SB-26
Speedlight fl ashes) that were all manually set with
a power output of 1/64sec. Using such a low power
output would mean the fl ash duration was strongly
reduced to the desired exposure time of 1/10,000-
1/25,000sec, and by using six fl ashes enough light
is generated to achieve a nice quality of light.
For the camera set-up, a shutter speed of
1/250sec was selected (this is not so relevant, as
the exposure is determined by the fl ashes used)
and an aperture of f/16, with the ISO dialled in at
400. This allowed me to obtain a workable depth
of fi eld using manual focus in combination with a
300mm f/2.8 lens.
A Canon Speedlite 580EX fl ash on a Canon
EOS-1D Mark IV was used to trigger the slave
fl ashes, with one of the slave fl ashes aimed at a
refl ective artifi cial background. This is typically a
printed-out blurred photo to avoid a dark scene
and really makes the hummingbirds the focus of
the image. Finally, my camera was positioned on a
Gitzo tripod equipped with a Wimberley head at a
distance of around 2-3 metres.
SLAVE FLASHGUNSThese don’t have to
be the latest models.
So long as you can
control the power output
and they can be
triggered remotely,
they’ll do the job.
MAIN FLASHGUNTo fi re the slave
fl ashguns, a
dedicated fl ashgun
was positioned
on the camera,
allowing quick
control of settings.
Jan used six fl ashguns
to illuminate the
hummingbird, plus
a background to
isolate the subject
on location
Jan’s shot of sword-billed and collared Inca
hummingbirds was a fi nalist in the Wildlife
Photographer of the Year 2014 competition
TIPS & TRICKS
O�Make the most out of your trip by studying the target species
(behaviour, environment and so on)
O�Try to fi nd a bird guide and/or photography guide with
local knowledge
O�Learn from an experienced photographer already working
in the fi eld. I learned the tricks on fl ash photography for
hummingbirds in Ecuador from Nate Chappell
O� Make notes on the behaviour of the various birds and the time
they show up, especially for trap-liner hummingbirds, so you can
take a rest every now and then without losing the moment
O�Remember that heavy rain showers can suddenly occur out
of the blue, so plastic bags for covering equipment and fl ashes
are essential to avoid damaging your kit
KIT
LIS
T LONG TELEPHOTOA 300mm telephoto on a
1.3x crop-sensor DSLR
delivers a focal length
equivalent to 390mm,
providing a good
working distance.
48
Niall Benvie explains how the ‘Meet
Your Neighbours’ project has helped
popularise fi eld-studio photography
In thefi eld
AT FIRST GLANCE, the beach at Auchmithie, north of
Arbroath in Angus, seems unremarkable. Red
sandstone cliffs back a storm beach of rounded grey
pebbles, which gives way quickly to the turbid North
Sea. Yet as you walk along the beach to where the sea
rattles the pebbles back and forth in the surf, a
remarkable transformation occurs. Where the pebbles
are wet, their true colours are revealed – serpentine
green, liver red, quartzite white and septic yellow. It’s
hard, though, to convey the beauty of each stone when
they are all massed together on the beach, so that’s why
I am working on a project to photograph 500
individual pebbles (for starters!) against a simple white
background, presenting each as a separate gem that is
part of a large composite. It’s all about individuality.
While photographing subjects on white
backgrounds is nothing new, the spin that I and my
colleagues on the ‘Meet Your Neighbours’ project
have introduced is to backlight the subject through
the white background, and to ensure that the
background is pure white from corner to corner. This
makes the task of compositing elements into a single
larger piece on a white page easier.
BACKLIGHTINGWhile backlighting has no effect on pebbles, for most
of the other subjects I photograph in the fi eld studio
it makes a huge difference. Backlighting reveals the
subject’s translucent qualities, so it introduces a depth
to the image that is absent in a front-lit photograph
shot against a solid-white background. As I want
maximum detail, the front light is also heavily
diffused to minimise shadows, and I normally shoot
at between f/16 and f/20 for best depth of fi eld. In
conventional photography this makes the
background sharper too, but that’s not an issue in the
fi eld studio. Only when separated from their usual
surroundings can the extraordinary complexity and
beauty of many animals and plants be appreciated,
and people often express surprise when they see the
subject magnifi ed on the back of my camera or iPad.
KIT
LIS
T
N A T U R E
FLASHGUNSYou need two fl ashguns
with manual mode
(or studio fl ash heads)
– one for the
background and one for
the subject. Strobes
deliver briefer fl ash
durations on low-power settings than
studio heads, which is a plus point.
RADIO TRIGGERSRadio triggers are built in to some
studio heads. Relatively inexpensive
models are now
available and
are much more
convenient than
sync cords.
ALL IMAGES NIALL BENVIE
A collage of
creatures found in
Préporché, France
49
NIALL BENVIENiall Benvie has worked
in environmental
communications as a
photographer, writer and
designer since 1993. He has
thousands of image credits
and has published more
than half a million words
(including six printed books
and two ebooks).
www.niallbenvie.com
ACRYLICAn A2-sized, 3mm-thick piece of
translucent acrylic (light
transmission around 40%) acts
as the background. If you are
using a transparent set, you can
simply direct a fl ash at any white
surface behind it, such as a
refl ector, to create the
background pool of light.
CLAMPSA range of Manfrotto clamps and goosenecks, as well
as a tripod with rotating central column to support
lights and backgrounds, are useful. You don’t need to
put the camera on a second
tripod, but it’s a useful
additional support
for lights. I always
use two tripods.
DIFFUSIONUse a front-diffusion
material, such as
Corlite, Flyweight
or a similar fl uted
plastic. Alternatively,
use a softbox.
COMPOSITING
Field-studio pictures often have a lot of white
space around the subject that gets in the way
when creating a composite image. However,
since you’ve taken the trouble to expose (and
subsequently process) the background to pure
white, you need only make a loose selection
around the subject (rather than right up to its
edge), knowing that it will blend seamlessly
with the white page that receives it. If you’ve
ever tried to make a convincing selection of an
out-of-focus edge, you’ll understand what a
boon that is.
On the background layer, draw a loose
Polygonal Lasso around the subject. Activate
this selection by double-clicking when you join
the end of the Lasso to its beginning. Duplicate
the background layer. Only the selection will
be copied, against a transparent background.
Convert this to a Smart Object to allow
non-destructive scaling in the final design.
If you are creating the composite in
Photoshop, simply drag the layer with the
Smart Object into the receiving page, then use
the Transform command to size it.
To turn the background
pure white, you need to
make a rough selection first
For non-destructive scaling in
the final design, you’ll need to
convert it to a Smart Object
The relatively simple set-up means
it’s very versatile and can be used
in pretty much any location
An orange-tip butterfly sits on
top of some garlic mustard
There are a lot of freedoms associated with the field
studio that make it appealing for every photographer
on a tight time budget. All the illumination is
provided by flash, so there is no need to wait for still
conditions or diffused natural light. The background
doesn’t matter, since you will be replacing it with a
white one. The opportunities to create work close to
home are endless, allowing you to revisit subjects
you’ve previously photographed with traditional
techniques and produce something new.
MINIMAL INVESTMENTIt’s not only time that you save with this type of
photography, as top-quality field-studio photographs
can be made with minimal investment. More money
buys more convenience, but the essential look of the
pictures is the same whether you use a portable
studio flash and softboxes, or some old strobes,
corrugated plastic envelope stiffener and Perspex.
To photograph plants on a budget, you need two
flashguns that can be operated in manual
mode and triggered remotely from the
camera. To fire the flashes you’ll need
some radio triggers (or you can use
your camera’s infrared system if the flashes are
compatible), or if you prefer, some simple sync cords.
You’ll also need an A2-sized, 3mm-thick piece of
translucent white acrylic (with a light-transmission
rating of about 40%) as the background, and an
A3-sized piece of translucent – but not transparent –
plastic to act as a front diffuser (Flyweight
envelope stiffener is ideal).
If you’re unwilling to invest
in support arms, clamps and
tripods, you’ll need
someone else to help you,
but otherwise you can
start work.
N A T U R E
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52
1 SET EXPOSURESet the flash’s modes to manual and 1/4 power, then the
camera to raw and exposure to manual. Set shutter speed
to 1/160sec, the aperture to f/16 and ISO to 200 – a
standard starting-point exposure – and the camera’s
image review should show blinking highlights.
2 POSITION BACKGROUNDPlace the background about 10cm behind the subject if
it is quite dark or dense, or 50cm behind if it is pale or
translucent. Make sure there aren’t pieces of vegetation
to mask any part of the background. Then make a test
exposure with only the rear flash switched on.
GETTING STARTEDSome subjects, such as reptiles and invertebrates –
not to mention stones and fallen leaves – need a
different sort of set-up that positions them at the
right distance from the backdrop. While it is tempting
to place subjects directly onto the white Perspex,
doing so makes it impossible to manage how much
light from the background spills forward onto the
subject. And for pale or translucent subjects, it
becomes impossible to separate them properly. A
pure-white background is pure white whether it is
20mm or 2m behind the subject. The difference is in
how much light from the background affects the
subject. The trick, then, is to place the subject on a
transparent background and position that at the right
distance from the white one. In this way, even white
STEP BY STEP This technique is all about highlighting individual subjects, so
it’s worth spending time searching out the ideal specimen
because any flaws will show up in your exquisitely detailed
shot. It’s a good idea to take the piece of white Perspex and
just hold it behind various candidates to see how they look
before committing to the full set-up. When you do, you’ll
find it much easier to attach the background and rear light to
a tripod. In fact, it’s essential if you’re shooting on a
transparent set above the white background.
What we’re after is an image with a pure white (R255,
G255, B255) background in which the front light is balanced
to show both detail and translucence. If there is too much
front light, the backlighting will be overwhelmed, but if
there is too little the details will remain obscure. Here is the
procedure for photographing plants.
The wide variety of pebbles on a
beach only really comes to light
when they are removed from their
context and celebrated
subjects can be photographed successfully on white.
The same applies when you photograph aquatic
creatures in a tank – the back should be clear and the
background positioned up to two metres away.
These photographs are the starting point for
something more ambitious and unique if you regard
them as elements of a bigger piece of work. There is
no better way to illustrate biodiversity than in a
field-studio composite showing the range of creatures
and plants that live in a particular place. The endless
variety of pebbles on a beach or decaying oak leaves
on the forest floor only really comes to light when
they are removed from their context and celebrated
as fascinating objects in their own right, in the field
studio. Best of all, you needn’t travel to the ends of
the earth to do this.
This cinnabar moth
was photographed in a
field studio in Scotland
N A T U R E
53
3 TEST EXPOSUREEverything except the subject should be blinking. If this is
the case, reduce the exposure until it is no longer blinking,
then open up just enough so that it all blinks again. If the
background doesn’t blink at the start, increase ISO or the
fl ash’s power output until it does.
4 TRY DIFFERENT DISTANCESWithout adjusting any of your settings, continue testing
with the background at different distances behind the
subject until you get just the right amount of backlighting.
If a lot of light is wrapping around the edges of the subject,
move the background further away.
5 ADD FILL FLASHOnly now should you turn on the front fl ash, fi ring a test
shot. If you’re not using a softbox, fi re it through the
diffuser and adjust the power output until you get the
optimal amount of fi ll. Alternatively, move the fl ash and
diffuser closer to, or further from, the subject as required.
Once you’ve introduced your
backgrounds, the birds
should begin to accept it BIRDS ON WHITEOne of the appealing aspects of fi eld-studio
work is the amount of control you have in
respect of lighting, how the subject is
positioned and depth of fi eld. However, once
you start working with wild birds (and even
more so, mammals), it’s a different story.
The skill is to identify predictable behaviour:
when does a particular subject appear and
under what conditions; what does it like to eat;
where does it stand or perch? Then there is the
challenge of introducing a fairly large white set
and hoping the subject will accept it. For these
reasons, I’d recommend starting with garden
birds. They are easily observed around a bird
table, and are quite used to human artefacts
appearing in the garden. It’s challenging work,
but there is a lot of scope for original images.
54
ALL P
ICTU
RE
S ©
DA
VID
TIP
LIN
G
Barn owlsTo photograph a barn owl fl uttering moth-like over a meadow on a crisp
winter’s day is special. David Tipling reveals how to get the shot
BARN OWLS ARE NORMALLY nocturnal, but in the
UK and particularly in eastern England, they can be
seen hunting during the day, especially in late winter
and when feeding young in summer. Getting great
images requires good fi eldcraft, while keeping an eye
on the weather forecast will increase your chances.
HABITATBarn owls favour hunting over grazing marshes and
meadows and along wide fi eld margins adjoining
hedgerows. These sites will hold good populations
of rodents, particularly voles. Meadows that are heavily
grazed soon prove unattractive, though, as voles leave
locations where there is insuffi cient cover. Individual
owls repeatedly return to favoured hunting sites, so
once located, perseverance should pay off.
The east-coast counties of Suffolk, Norfolk and
Lincolnshire offer the best opportunities for day-fl ying
owls, with the north Norfolk coast being top of the list.
BEST TIME TO SHOOTThe peak period for shooting is early January to late
February. A combination of low prey numbers, cold
weather and a need to get into breeding condition
means hungry barn owls will be hunting throughout
the day. However, I fi nd the fi rst couple of hours after
dawn and then from around 2-3pm until dusk are
most productive. Do not ignore the summer months.
Evenings, particularly in July, can be good when the
owls often have large hungry broods to feed.
A long focal length of
500mm was used to capture
this female barn owl hunting
Barn owls can be found
across most of the UK
This barn owl was photographed
on a frosty morning in Norfolk
KIT
LIS
T CLOTHING Natural-coloured clothing is a must,
while a ghillie suit is designed to
resemble heavy
foliage and
perfectly
camoufl ages
the wearer.
MONOPOD A monopod will offer relief from
the weight of a big lens and
is a good alternative to
shooting handheld
as it offers more
freedom than
using a
tripod.
ABOUT THE BARN OWL
One of our most distinctive and
much-loved countryside birds,
the barn owl is an expert
hunter with excellent vision.
O LOCATION: Widespread
across the UK and Ireland, with
the exception of some areas of
Scotland and Ireland.
O�SIZE: 30-40cm, with the
female larger than the male.
O NEST: Unlined nest of fl oor
debris in barns, ruins,
haystacks, hollow trees or
holes in a cliff.
O�DIET: Rats, mice, voles and
occasional fi sh and frogs.
O POPULATION: There are
estimated to be 4,000-5,000
breeding pairs in the wild.
N A T U R E
55
This barn owl shot was taken in
Norfolk during the late afternoon
SHOOTING ADVICE
QUIET SHUTTERIf your camera has a noisy
shutter, try to dampen the
sound a little. The clicking
will not go unnoticed by a
hunting owl that is using
its sensitive hearing to
locate prey, and it may
steer clear of where you
are standing. I normally
keep focused and only fi re
the shutter once the owl is
within optimum range.
CAMOUFLAGEI normally handhold my
telephoto lens as it frees
me up to track the owl,
which can fl y past
relatively quickly.
I position myself against
a hedgerow or tree when
waiting, and sometimes
wear camoufl age gear
that can prove very
effective. At some sites,
owls are used to people
and clicking cameras,
but at most locations
moving slowly and using
good fi eldcraft will
increase success.
POSITIONINGA hunting owl will always
quarter a fi eld fl ying into
the wind if there is more
than just a light breeze.
This gives the bird greater
control to hover and
stoop. So place yourself
ahead of the owl and you
should be able to shoot it
coming towards you.
WEATHERBarn owls fi nd it tough
to hunt in wet and windy
weather, so as soon as
conditions improve they
will be out hunting in
numbers. The best
conditions in winter are
still days or a day with just
a light breeze, which has
followed a period of wind
or rain. Very cold weather
will see increased
numbers of owls hunting
during the day too.
56
N A T U R E
Short-eared owlsFavouring daylight hunting, short-eared owls are the
perfect subjects for the winter months. Luke Massey
reveals how to photograph them
THE SHORT-EARED owl causes photographic
pandemonium on an annual basis. This is thanks not
only to its habit of hunting in broad daylight, but also
because of the huge infl ux we see in their numbers
over winter, as visitors from Europe migrate to the
UK for the milder temperatures.
HABITATShort-eared owls breed on large open areas in the UK.
They like moorland, where they can actually be found
nesting on the ground. When overwintering, short-
eared owls seem to prefer large grassy expanses. They
aren’t picky, though, as I have seen them hunting over
everything from pristine meadows to old aerodromes.
If you can’t fi nd an owl site, check your local bird
club website. Every county has one and they usually
put up daily or weekly bird sightings with locations.
You will begin to notice they have favourite areas
where they like to hunt, and each owl will have its own
designated patches. If one of these areas is on the edge
of a wood or high hedgerow, for example, it will be
more sheltered and there will be more rodents about,
making it a prime area for hunting.
BEST TIME TO SHOOTAt my local site, short-eared owls often appear at
around 3pm, and the fi rst one would provide a great
aerial display for an hour. If there is a full or nearly full
moon, short-eared owls won’t hunt as much during
the day. Owls also hate the wind and rain.
If you want to know where to
fi nd short-eared owls in your
area, check your local bird club
Short-eared owls swell
in numbers over winter
KIT
LIS
T
BINOCULARSYou’ll need these to spot where your
owls are. I have seen owls as tiny
specks on the horizon and been able
to set up my kit before they reach me.
TELEPHOTO LENSYou can use anything from a 300mm
lens upwards. It’s useful to have a
1.4x converter handy as well.
THE SHORT-EARED OWL
With their bright yellow eyes
and impressive plumage,
short-eared owls are high
on the hit list of many
photographers.
O LOCATION: One of the
most widely distributed
owls in the UK
O SIZE: 34-43cm
O NEST: Nests are usually in
the shelter of a grass mound,
under a grass tuft or among
herbaceous ground cover
O�DIET: Small mammals,
especially voles
O�POPULATION: There are up
to 2,000 breeding pairs in the
UK, but this can increase to
around 50,000 individuals
between October and March
Short-eared owls usually have
a favourite area to hunt, often
in broad daylight
ALL P
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LU
KE M
AS
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57
SHOOTING ADVICE
APPROACHA lot of migratory
short-eared owls may
never have seen a human
before, as they breed in
remote parts of northern
Europe, and most will be
wary of people.
I have had mixed
success with hides. They
can work very well, but if
you don’t have access to
one, try to place yourself
in front of a hedgerow or
a tree, as this will break
up your outline.
Whatever you do, don’t
hassle the birds, especially
in times of cold, harsh
weather. If it looks as if
the bird is actively moving
away from you, stay back.
INTERACTIONIt’s rare to fi nd only one
short-eared owl at a site
– I once saw 14 in the sky
together! When food is
scarce, you will probably
see the owls contesting for
territory. Short-eared owls
make a strange rasping
call when they are
pursuing another owl, so
listen out for this.
SETTINGSI set my ISO to auto, but
give it an upper limit so I
only have to worry about
aperture and shutter
speed. If you work out
what ISO is your
maximum useable range,
keep this as your ceiling
and everything in
between should be fi ne.
Focus can be diffi cult
as you try to pick out a
grass-coloured owl fl ying
low over grass with a
background of grass. I use
continuous AF and a single
focus point where I want
the owl to be. Try to lock
on to the owl as soon as
possible, even if it is a
long way away, and just
track it as it (hopefully)
comes closer.
Use your central point
to acquire focus and
track your subject as
it fl ies towards you
58
N A T U R E
BadgersPhotographing badgers can be a challenge, as
they require a lot of fi eldcraft. However, it’s well
worth the effort, as Andrew Mason explains
BADGERS ARE MAINLY NOCTURNAL, but in the
United Kingdom they can be active before dusk,
particularly after young cubs have fi rst emerged
above ground in the spring. Photographing badgers
using natural light requires patience, hard work and
good fi eldcraft.
HABITATBadgers prefer areas of countryside that have mixed
deciduous woodland, and areas of land that are rich in
earthworms. Badger setts can be found in a wide
variety of locations, such as woodland, hedgerows,
scrubland, open fi elds and embankments. Setts can be
found in some urban areas, such as churchyards and
under buildings. Badgers will often make and use
well-defi ned paths to and from their setts.
BEST TIME TO SHOOTThe best time to photograph badgers using natural
light is May to August, when they will often emerge
above ground before dusk. This coincides with the
cubs becoming more active following their fi rst
emergence above ground, which typically occurs in
April. During periods of prolonged dry weather when
the soil hardens, badgers can be active earlier due to it
being more diffi cult to forage for earthworms.
Badgers are found across
most of the UK
KIT
LIS
T BAG HIDEA camoufl aged bag hide will provide
concealment when lying or sitting,
and it will allow you
to move around
quickly and
easily when
shooting.
These are
lightweight
and easily
carried.
THE BADGER
Badgers are one of our most
beloved mammals and, with
their black & white fur, one of
the most distinctive. They are
high on most wildlife
photographers’ wish lists.
O LOCATION: These mammals
are widespread across the UK
and Ireland, with the exception
of high altitudes, low-lying
land subject to frequent
fl ooding, and most, but not
all, large urban areas.
O SIZE: The average size of
an adult badger is 90cm from
head to tail. They weigh
10-12kg, with males larger
than females.
O SETTS: Badger setts are
extensive underground systems
of tunnels and chambers, with
multiple entrances. Large spoil
heaps of discarded bedding can
be found outside setts.
O DIET: Earthworms, large
insects, small mammals,
cereals, fruits, and occasionally
birds and frogs form the basic
diet of badgers.
O POPULATION: There are
estimated to be 250,000-
280,000 badgers in the UK.
LENSESFast lenses with a maximum aperture
of f/2.8 or f/4 will allow
you to photograph
in low light.
ALL P
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AN
DR
EW
MA
SO
N
Get down low for a
eye-level angle, but make
sure you are downwind
of the animals
Badgers can be found
in a variety of locations,
including woodland,
hedgerows and scrubland
59
SHOOTING ADVICE
FIELDCRAFTBadgers have poor
eyesight that is best suited
to low light, but their
sense of smell and hearing
are very good. They are
easily spooked, so good
fi eldcraft is required.
I arrive at the site
where I am photographing
badgers at least an hour
before I expect them to
show. I normally use a
lightweight camoufl aged-
patterned bag hide, as
this allows me to shoot
lying down or sitting up
and, if necessary, to move
position quickly. Using a
bag hide in conjunction
with local vegetation
provides very effective
camoufl age. This is also
useful in avoiding
unwanted attention from
curious people who may
inadvertently disturb you
and the badgers.
Position yourself
downwind of where you
want to photograph the
badgers to avoid your
scent blowing towards
them and be as quiet as
possible. I use the
quiet-shutter setting on
my cameras, although you
could also wrap material
around your camera.
LOW LIGHTAs the light levels drop,
increase your ISO and keep
shooting until you can no
longer focus. Don’t be
afraid of high ISO image
noise, as badgers make
for great black & white
subjects and the noise can
be rendered as grain in
the conversion process. By
underexposing as the light
drops (up to 2 stops), you
can more accurately
refl ect the light
conditions, and the
resultant increase in
shutter speed allows you
to keep photographing for
longer as it gets dark.While badgers are nocturnal animals,
they can be active just before dusk
60
PHOTOGRAPHING DOGS WITH PEOPLETry to capture the strong
bond and relationship
between the person and
their dog, whether they’re
running around and playing,
or simply sitting enjoying a
nice view together. If you
get the person down to the
same level as the dog, you
can capture sweet
interactions, laughter, and
show the affection that
people have for their dogs
and vice versa. Try using
benches, rocks, walls or
other things where the dog
can sit and the owner can be
at the dog’s level.
BE PATIENTThe best way to get the shots
you want is to be patient – with
yourself and your dog. Never
try to get a dog to do
something it doesn’t want to
– just accept that dogs are dogs
and they have a mind of their
own. On outdoor shoots, there
can be so many distractions:
traffi c, other dogs, the weather
and noises in the distance.
Then, of course, there’s how
your dog feels on the day.
Accepting that you may go out
several times and still not get
the shot you want is all part of
the process, and makes it all
the more satisfying when it
does all come together.
RHIAN WHITE
Rhian White is an
award-winning professional
pet photographer and
fi lm-maker who loves
taking pictures of dogs.
Brighton Dog Photography
has been in business for four
years, and Rhian beautifully
captures the unique, happy
spirit of each dog in the
outdoors while on their
walks. www.brightondog
photography.co.uk
61
P E T S
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RH
IAN
WH
ITE
BACKGROUNDSGood backgrounds – whether
this is because of the colour or
texture – provide great contrast
with your subject, so choose a
location suited to the colour of
the dog you are photographing.
Beautiful skies, grasses, fl owers,
brick walls and graffi ti all make
for great backgrounds. Using a
narrow depth of fi eld can also
help the dog stand out and, of
course, the further away the
background is from the dog, the
more it will be out of focus,
ensuring the dog really stands
out. Try to contextualise the
animal – tell the story of their
adventure and where they are.
And if you are in a beautiful
location, make the most of it.
Expert advice from three top dog photographers
on how to capture man or woman’s best friend
HOW TO TAKE A PORTRAIT OF A DOG THAT WON’T SIT STILLThe best way to take a portrait shot of an active
dog that won’t sit still is to simply wait until it gets
tired. Leave portrait shots until the end of the shoot
when the dog has done all the racing around and
exploring it wants. You can use what motivates the
dog, such as a ball or a treat, to get its attention
and get it to look in a particular direction. If you go
at the dog’s pace, you will get more out of the
experience and the images will refl ect that.
It’s a dog’s life
62
P E T S
CAPTURE THE MOMENTSometimes we have to recognise that it is not all
about the lighting, pose or background of an image,
it’s about a moment that needs to be captured. So
always have your camera at the ready for those
in-between moments that create themselves, yet
rely on your speed of reaction to nail the shot. In the
shot above, the spaniel was so excited at the
thought of a new person visiting he fetched his dish
in the hope of a treat. Sadly, I had none to offer, but
was thankful for the quirky picture.
PRACTICE MAKES PERFECTIdeally, you need a dog or pet with whom you can try different
strategies, lighting techniques and specifi c actions. It could be your
own dog or a relative’s – so long as it has a good level of obedience,
this will be a great opportunity to refi ne all your camera and lighting
techniques, in addition to perfecting your dog-control strategies.
This is my own dog, Millie, and she has been a great model over the
years, giving me the chance to try out new equipment, learn new
camera techniques and explore new locations. She has a 95%
compliance rate in obedience, yet this fi gure drops to 10% if squirrels
are in the vicinity. This image was captured using an Elinchrom
Ranger Quadra fl ash with an assistant holding the light to my left.USE TOYSIt’s often a great idea to
introduce a play toy or
object, as shown in the
example above. My advice is
to produce toys later in the
session as some pets can
become obsessed –
especially with balls – and
not wish to give it back. If
the session is all about the
pet and its favourite toy that
would be different, but
mostly we are looking for
variety. A toy can also serve
as a great reward for all the
posing that your pet has
done and introduce some
fun into the session!
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PAUL WALKER
Paul Walker’s passion for pet photography began in childhood. Now, with three
fellowships to his name, two UK Pet Photographer of the Year Awards and fi ve
Scottish MPA Pet Photographer of the Year Awards, his current vision and
experience are worlds away from his fi rst snaps of his pet dog and rabbit.
www.pawspetphotography.co.uk
HEADSHOTEvery set of pet pictures needs a
strong headshot. It’s the face that
we remember most about our
pets and a headshot can have
great impact. My preferred style
is to capture the face looking back
into the camera. It’s really a
picture for controlling the depth
of fi eld to your requirements. As a
given, the eyes should be sharp
and probably the nose, too, but
sometimes you may wish to put
more emphasis on the eyes if it
strengthens the impact.
Experiment by opening up the
aperture to give less depth of
fi eld and closing your aperture
for more depth of fi eld.
63
WORK IN SHALLOW WATERGreat fun can be had in
capturing a variety of playful
shots with water. Some dogs
avoid the wet stuff altogether,
others prefer a quick paddle,
while some dogs refuse to get
out of it. My preference is to
seek out shallower depths, as
these provide more splash and
dynamic action shots than
deeper water where just the
head is visible. In the shot on the
right, the speed of the dog, in
combination with the relatively
shallow water, has created a
mini wave that aids the
composition and makes the
image harder to replicate.
USE THE SEASONSSeasonal weather or foliage
changes can often transform
locations into picture-
perfect settings. In summer,
for example, the tree-lined
avenue shown above would
look very different, with
tricky dappled light fi ltering
through the branches. A few
months later, at the back
end of autumn, a bed of
leaves and lower sun
transform this location into
an ideal spot for a pet
picture. Note how the trees
frame the dog, and ensure
your angle allows four legs
to be seen rather than three.
64
MIX YOUR SHUTTER SPEEDSFreezing all that chaotic canine
motion is all very well, but
sometimes it can be fun to try to
capture the essence of that
movement with a slower shutter
speed. I often fi nd there’s a sweet
spot with moving animals at around
1/8sec. If you pan smoothly, you can
hold quite a lot of detail on the dog,
but still get some very expressive
and interesting effects from the bits
that move independently of the pan.
See how long you can keep the
shutter open and still achieve
something descriptive. Small
apertures, manual focusing, a neutral
density fi lter if you have one, and a
lot of trial and error are key to
fi nding something unique. When you
edit, take time to fi nd the camera
settings you’ve used, and note down
which ones seem to work best, so
the next time you shoot you’ll have
a good starting point. HEAD FOR THE SHADE
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Direct sunlight – especially around midday
when the sun is overhead – can be diffi cult,
contrasty and often quite ugly, for people as
well as dogs. The best way to deal with this,
without bringing a lot of fi ll-in fl ash to the
party, is to move to the shade. Look for trees,
or the shady side of buildings. If you can fi nd
a spot that’s in the shade but still has a big
area of open sky above, you’ll record a lot
more detail in the fur, and get a much softer
and more natural look. Remember, if there’s a
blue sky, you’ll need to warm up your white
balance quite a lot, either in-camera or with
your editing software. Another advantage,
especially with ‘busy’ dogs, is that you can
shoot from pretty much any angle and the
light remains quite consistent. Simply set a
manual exposure so the camera isn’t fooled by
the difference between the inevitable changes
between dark and light backgrounds.
MARTIN PHELPS
Martin Phelps is a
commercial photographer
who has been shooting
animals for the Blue Cross
and the Dogs Trust for
about fi ve years, with his
pictures used in anything
from simple rehoming
posters to full-blown
advertising campaigns.
www.martinphelps.com
LOOK FOR INTERESTING LIGHT AND SHADE
Photography is all about light. If
you can fi nd some good directional
light at your location, you’re already
halfway towards making an
interesting picture. I like to shoot
with a strong backlight, and it’s a
technique that works particularly
well with dogs. It can really pick out
all the fur and forms a halo that
separates the dog from the
background. Backlight also picks
out all the water droplets very well
when your dog has a shake after it
gets out of water. Always look for
patches of sunlight between shaded
buildings, or under trees, or raking
evening sunlight, and build a
composition around that. You’ll be
on to a winner.
P E T S
65
SHOTS WITHOUT EYE CONTACTPhotos of dogs don’t need to look like passport pictures. Once
you’ve mastered the eyes-to-camera portrait, it’s time to move
on and try something a little more interesting. Often, it’s what
you leave out of a photograph, rather than what you actually
depict, that makes a picture sing. I always look for elements of
a photograph I can remove, without losing the sense of an
image. It could be that you focus on a particular part of the
dog, or you expose for a silhouette, or you might want to make
the dog much smaller in the frame so that the picture shows
the relationship of the animal to its environment.
USE FILL-IN FLASHFor striking results, try
shooting towards the light
and using fi ll-in fl ash to
balance the exposure and
lift the shadows. For
a more pleasing result,
attach a diffuser such as a
softbox, while positioning
the fl ash away from the
camera can deliver a more
studio-like result.
GET IN CLOSE WITH A WIDEANGLE LENSWhile we don’t often think
of a wideangle lens as being
suitable for portraits, it can
deliver really dynamic
images when shooting
dogs. Once you’ve tired
the dog out with plenty
of running around and it
is sitting, take the
opportunity to get in close
and really fi ll the frame.
TELEPHOTO LENSESA 70-200mm f/2.8 lens is
perfect for getting those
action shots of your dog at
play. It will allow you to
work further back so you
don’t distract it, while the
fast aperture and the ability
to compress perspective
makes it a great choice for
portraits too.
USE BACK-BUTTON FOCUSRather than half-depressing
the shutter button to acquire
focus, set your camera up so
focus is solely controlled via
your camera’s AF-on button
at the rear. Sports shooters
swear by this, as it allows
them to track their subject
in continuous AF, fi ring the
shutter at the crucial time.
To focus on a stationary
subject, press the AF-on
button to acquire focus,
then release and recompose
if necessary for a better
composition.
66
P O R T R A I T S
Ten commandments of portrait photographyFour top portrait photographers give their top tips on how to take your best-ever people shots
IF YOU’RE STRUGGLING to
shoot a striking portrait, then it’s
perhaps time to deconstruct how
you set up and capture your
subject, since there are a number
of elements that combine to
make a successful portrait image.
By understanding and following
our top ten commandments of
portrait photography (and
knowing when to break them),
you can easily pinpoint
weaknesses and areas to improve
your portrait technique. To help,
we’ve called on editorial and
commercial photographer Jason
Alden, beauty and commercial
photographer Jamie Harrison,
travel photographer David Lazar,
and beauty and lighting guru
Damien Lovegrove, to offer you
expert advice and guidance to
ensure that the next portrait you
take will be your best yet.
JASON ALDENJason has twice been
awarded Business
Photographer of the Year at
the UK Picture Editors’ Guild. Building his
reputation in editorial photography as chief
photographer at daily business paper City
A.M., he now primarily shoots editorial for
The Independent, The Wall Street Journal
and Bloomberg. www.jasonalden.com
JAMIE HARRISONJamie Harrison specialises
in beauty, commercial
portfolios and portraiture.
With almost 30 years’ experience, he has had
photographs published in magazines and
websites worldwide. He regularly works with
model agencies, testing new signings and
building portfolios for more established
models. www.jamieharrison.net
DAVID LAZARDavid Lazar is a travel
photographer from
Brisbane, Australia, who
captures moments of life,
beauty and culture in his photography. His
portraits and landscapes from around the
world have been published in National
Geographic, Lonely Planet and various
leading travel magazines.
www.davidlazarphoto.com
DAMIEN LOVEGROVEDamien Lovegrove
is a renowned portrait
photographer and lighting
guru. You can view his work at www.
lovegrovephotography.com, which is home
to more than 2,000 images. Or you can join
him on a photographic adventure, with a
range of training experiences on offer.
passionphotographyexperience.com
1 BE PREPARED Think about what you want to
portray, and use this vision in
your location and lighting
strategy. Complementary
environments, such as a client
wearing an evening dress in a
sumptuous hotel, or contrasting
environments, like a guy in a
dinner suit in a back alley in the
rain, work well. Use lighting to
match the look – soft light
creates beautiful and absorbing
pictures, while hard light creates
drama. Damien Lovegrove
2 LOCATIONPlacing the subject in a different location or environment can
produce striking results. The reason you see so many pictures of
people on beaches, in fields or around ruined buildings is because
they work. Dress the subject in appropriate clothes that either
stand out or harmonise with the location for great shots.
Jamie Harrison
Use your
environment
to complement
your subject
Let your subject either
stand out or harmonise
with your location
© D
AM
IEN
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© JA
MIE H
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ON
THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
For some subjects,
a complementary
environment works best © D
AM
IEN
LO
VEG
RO
VE
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69
P O R T R A I T S
© J
AM
IE H
AR
RIS
ON
3 BACKGROUNDSWhen I travel, I sometimes see
the background or scene I want
to use before I even fi nd a
person to photograph in it. A
good background can make all
the difference between a
snapshot-style photo and an
artistic photo with strong visual
impact. The background should
be clear of distractions, such as
unnecessary objects, patches of
light in darker areas, or anything
that clutters up the frame and
therefore takes attention away
from your subject. In a close-up
portrait, you are usually
shooting a face that is
characterful, beautiful,
emotional or interesting, and it’s
important to capture this face
and nothing else that is
erroneous and distracting.
David Lazar
4 CONNECTWITH YOUR SUBJECT
Perhaps the most essential part
of the portrait process is
building up good rapport. Get
all the technical preparation out
of the way before the shoot, so
you can give the sitter your
undivided attention. Be relaxed
and exude confi dence. The trust
and respect you develop before
the shoot over a coffee will
allow a higher level of openness
in your portrait. Brides,
families, children, actors and
models all respond well to some
pre-shoot banter. I use the
rapport process to quell any
fears and build the excitement.
Damien Lovegrove
A good background should
be clear of distractions
Connect with your subject
and build up good rapport
© D
AV
ID L
AZA
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70
As a general rule, it is best not
to photograph people’s faces in
strong sunlight to avoid the
hard black shadows that occur
on the skin and eyes that are
not relaxed. By positioning
your subject in the shade and
under cover, with no direct
sunlight hitting surfaces
anywhere in the photo that
would result in blown-out
distractions, you can create
nice lighting on the face if the
surrounding indirect light is
bright enough. For example,
shoot outside under an
awning, where there is plenty
of light coming in from
refl ections from the ground or
the sky, but no direct sunlight
on the skin. This can also
create very dynamic and
engaging catchlights in the
subject’s eyes, which make for
‘sparkling’ eyes in a photo.
David Lazar
WINDOW LIGHTIf you’re stuck indoors and
don’t have strobes, you can still
make use of the light outside.
Window light is a fantastic free
resource that changes by the
hour. North-facing windows
are best, but so long as the light
is bright enough, you can get
results from most directions in
the summer. Opaque windows
will diffuse the light for a softer
look, and refl ectors can be used
to bounce light back onto the
subject. Jamie Harrison
ADD MOODCombine a single directional
light with a diffuser on one
side and a black refl ector on
the other to produce a moody
portrait of the subject half in
shadow. Add to the atmosphere
with a dark background,
convert to mono and increase
the contrast to enhance the
effect. Jamie Harrison
5 KNOW YOUR LIGHTING
Shoot in shaded
areas for striking
catchlights in the eyes
© JA
MIE H
AR
RIS
ON
© D
AV
ID L
AZ
AR
71
Have a good range
of posing ideas
ready – subjects
like to be directed
Look for patterns when
working with more than
one person on a shoot
It’s a good idea to have a library
of posing ideas in your mind, so
when it comes to the shoot you
can react instantly and direct
your subject more confi dently
and effi ciently. People being
photographed like direction.
They trust that you are making
them look good and will happily
oblige what you ask them to
make their photo better.
By analysing other portrait
photos and observing people’s
posture in real life, you can start
to notice and remember a few
poses that you can implement
later with your subject. Some
posing ideas that I regularly call
upon include having the subject
leaning on a surface, such as a
table, or the upper part of their
legs while seated to make their
posture appear more engaging
and personal. Another is to have
the subject interact with
something, for example, by
touching or holding an object,
or connecting with another
person to convey a story of
friendship and care. I also like to
try having an object near the
subject’s face, to draw attention
to their eyes, such as fabric
around the face, a hand, a wall
or a toy. David Lazar
SHOOTING MORETHAN ONE PERSONIf you are photographing more
than one person, try to imagine
a shape or a pattern that you
can arrange your subjects into,
for interesting and creative
compositions. Creating a line of
people in your scene can work
well, including the use of
three-dimensional space with
people positioned back into the
image. Consider your angle, and
perhaps you can make a pattern
looking down on your subjects
from a bird’s-eye perspective.
David Lazar
© D
AV
ID L
AZA
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© D
AV
ID L
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R
6 DIRECT YOUR SUBJECT
7 COLOUR & BALANCEMake the most of
complementary or
opposing colours with
the subject’s clothes and
the background. Colour
clashes from opposite
colours can add drama
to an image, while
complementary colours
can combine the
elements for harmony
and cohesion.
Jamie Harrison
GEL UPRemember those nasty
yellow backgrounds when
you were using your fl ash
in the church or at the
party? The problem is you
are mixing two colour
temperatures – fl ash at
6000K and tungsten light
at around 3000K. The
trick is to match the two
temperatures by covering
your fl ash with a gel. A
CTO (colour temperature
orange) gel is a sheet of
semi-transparent orange
plastic that will convert
your fl ash into a tungsten
value. Then switch your
camera’s white balance to
tungsten and you’ll have
nice consistent colour. Try
buying large sheets of
CTO gels from shops like
Calumet and cut them to
size. Jason Alden
Balance fl ash
and tungsten
light with
CTO gels
P O R T R A I T S
72
8 CAPTURE THE NARRATIVEThey say that a photograph is worth a thousand
words, and if your portrait is worthy of the front
cover of a novel, or one that a writer could use as
inspiration for a poem, then you have ticked that
box. If the moment is a natural one unfolding in
front of you, such as children playing in the
garden, use reportage techniques. Let the action
flow as if you are not there, and then capture
decisive moments.
This technique can also work well during certain
parts of a wedding. If there is no moment to
capture, you’ll be required to create one. The trick
is to have an idea, convey that idea to your sitter
and get them to act out the emotions in much the
same way as a film director works with an actor.
For pictures with eye contact, start without the
camera as it can act as a barrier and alienate the
sitter. Work together on building depth in the
expression and get the sitter comfortable with that
level of intimacy and intensity. Then introduce the
camera, create the moment and capture it.
Damien Lovegrove
9 KNOW THE TRICKS OF THE TRADE
ANTI-SHINE IN NO TIME I often photograph people who
aren’t experienced at being in
front of the camera, let alone
going near make-up. But I don’t
want to spend hours at home
retouching a shiny bald head.
A friend of mine who is a
make-up artist told me about
oil-absorbing sheets, which
remove excess oil from the skin.
Available from Boots, I now
always have them in my bag and
generally offer them to my
subject. The sheets contain a
small amount of powder to help
reduce the shine, but the subject
doesn’t know that so they won’t
feel awkward. Jason Alden
© JA
SO
N A
LD
EN
Use an ND filter to
add drama and allow
you to shoot with a
shallow depth of field
73
LIFT THE EYESIf you shoot in natural light, you
should be able to bring out any
catchlights by using the Dodge
tool. Zoom in on the eyes and,
using the Dodge brush set to the
size of the catchlights, repeatedly
click on the catchlights until the
eyes ‘sparkle’. David Lazar
SMOOTH SKINSmooth the skin tone in places
where there is a bright refl ection
or dark shadow on the face.
Create a new layer and select the
Brush tool. Set its Hardness to 0
and Opacity to about 60%.
Then hit the Alt key (or Option
key for Mac users) on the
desired skin tone next to the
problem area to take a colour
sample. Next, paint over the
problem area with this brush.
Keep taking new colour samples
as the skin tone changes, and
resize the brush as need be.
When you have covered the
problem area with a skin tone,
you can turn the Opacity of the
new layer down to blend with
the original skin, perhaps at
around 65%, for a nicer quality
of skin. David Lazar
SAVE THE SKINSharpening tools are really
powerful, but the big drawback
is that they will generally
sharpen the whole image. A
great trick in Lightroom is to
make use of Masking in the
Sharpening panel. Generally, I
drag the sharpening up to about
50, as I fi nd that digital images
never look super crisp when
viewed at 100%. Then below
Sharpening there is a magical
second slider called Masking.
Hold down the Alt/Option key
and the screen will turn white,
telling you that the whole image
is being sharpened. Then, while
still holding the key, drag the
Masking slider to the right. It
will highlight the areas you are
sharpening. With a portrait I
generally want to focus on the
hair and the eyes, so I might drag
this up as high as 90%. Jason Alden
SPLIT-TONE BLACK & WHITESplit-toning is much easier and
more controllable now. In
Lightroom, you can set the mix
in the Split-toning tab, with
warm highlights and cool
shadows working well. Jamie Harrison
GO DARKI love to get my lights in nice
and close to my subject, as the
closer you get your light, the
softer it will be. The trouble is,
it’s likely that your lights won’t
dial down low enough to enable
a wide aperture, even if your
camera is right down at ISO 50.
A way round this is to use
ND fi lters. A 4x ND will enable
you to go down to f/1.8 or even
f/1.4 and still light your subject
dramatically. This technique
extends to shooting with lights
outside too, giving a moody,
dark background while
maintaining that sexy
differential focus at f/2.8 and
below. Use your shallow depth
of fi eld and pop on an ND to
underexpose a bright scene
slightly. Then use your lights/
fl ashguns to fi ll in and
illuminate the dark subject.
Jason Alden
HANG TIGHTIn windy conditions, I’ve found
lots of uses for climbing kit. I
have a collection of slings
(loops of high-quality woven
fabric) that I use for lashing
bags or power packs to light
stands, which then act as
ballast. Karabiners are also great
for attaching awkward objects
or securing equipment to a
handle on your bag during
transit. Jason Alden
SPECKY TILTPeople who wear big, thick-
rimmed glasses can be a real
pain if you like to use fl ash, as
you’ll hate seeing your lights
refl ecting in the glasses and
may end up rearranging your
set-up at the expense of lighting
the subject nicely. You could ask
your subject to take them off,
but if they always wear glasses
the portrait simply won’t
represent them.
Instead, ask your subject to
lift the arms of their specs just a
centimetre from the tops of
their ears. They may fi nd this a
strange request and look at you
like you’ve lost your mind, but
from the front you’ll never
notice the difference and the
refl ections will vanish. Simple
but very effective. Jason Alden
© D
AM
IEN
LOV
EG
RO
VE
© J
AS
ON
ALD
EN
Have an idea that you
want to convey and work
together with your subject
Below left and centre: Sharpening the eyes
saves skin tones from looking unfl attering
Below: Split-toning is a great way to add a
creative twist to your shots
Tilt glasses to
avoid refl ections
10 EDIT RESPONSIBLY
P O R T R A I T S
Here, I used just the 150cm octa and a black
bounce. I warmed the image by adjusting the colour
temperature, then added a vignette with Lightroom
and used the Imagenomic Portraiture Photoshop
plug-in to soften the skin to an almost painterly effect
75
2X BOWENS GEMINI 500R FLASH AND STANDSBowens produces reliable
fl ash models of varying
outputs and at a range of
prices. Invest in decent
stands that can take the
weight and allow you to
reach the necessary height.
LIGHTING IS THE FUNDAMENTAL starting point of
photography, and for those who are venturing from
the outdoors into the studio, the vast array of lighting
equipment and complicated lighting set-ups this seems
to open up can be overwhelming. When you’re
shooting people, the simplest way is to start with one
light, and then build up the light around it – a simple
techniques that can be used again and again, adapting
it to your personal needs, the subject and even to the
equipment you own.
KEY LIGHT The key light provides the majority of your picture’s
illumination and is always the starting point before
you begin to build the lighting around the subject. One
of my most used light modifi ers is a 150cm Lencarta
folding octa softbox, which opens like an umbrella
before the diffuser panel is placed on the front. It’s
called an octa because it is an octagonal shape, and it is
available in a variety of sizes and depths.
The key light is placed to the right or left of the
camera and at a 45° angle to the model. This is
essentially Rembrandt lighting, and is named after
the artist who often used the same fl attering form of
window lighting in his paintings. I like to work in this
way because it creates a huge soft pool of fl attering
light, allowing the model to move position without
worrying too much about affecting the way in which
the light falls on him or her.
A large light source can also illuminate the clothes
and body for full-length shots. The concentrated light
produced by smaller octas requires the model to be
more static and remain within the beam, as the light
falls away to shadow more quickly with this smaller
light pool. A smaller light source can also increase
contrast, if that is the effect you wish to achieve.
Placing the light high and pointing down towards the
subject ensures that the model’s shadow will fall on
the fl oor and not on the background.
EXPOSUREThe key light determines your exposure. I aim for an
aperture of around f/8 to f/11 to ensure that I achieve
suffi cient sharpness. However, if I’m shooting beauty,
which tends to require close-ups of the model’s face, I
may decide to use a wider aperture.
Working with studio lights requires you to use
manual exposure and, because it’s fl ash, the shutter
speed is fi xed to whatever your camera dictates for
fl ash photography. My Olympus OM-D E-M5 has a
maximum fl ash synchronisation speed of 1/250sec.
However, because I use a wireless fl ash trigger between
the camera and strobe, I reduce it to 1/125sec. This is
Lightwork
Jamie Harrison demonstrates how
to achieve a classic fashion look with
this simple and adaptable set-up
JAMIE HARRISON
Jamie Harrison is a
professional photographer
and journalist, specialising
in beauty, commercial
portfolios and portraiture.
With almost 30 years’
experience, he has had
photographs published
extensively in magazines
and websites worldwide.
Jamie regularly works with
model agencies, testing
new models and building
portfolios for more
established models.
www.jamieharrison.net
ALL IMAGES JAMIE HARRISON
LENCARTA SOFTBOXESI’m very impressed with
Lencarta’s range of
affordable softboxes,
including 120cm and 85cm
versions. Other models
from Profoto, Westcott,
Elinchrom and Bowens
are also available.
MANFROTTO EXPAN BACKGROUND SYSTEMThe Expan system is
designed for permanent
fi xing to a wall in the
studio, but free-standing
systems are available
if permanence is not
an option.
COLORAMA STORM GREY 11FT PAPER BACKGROUNDThe Storm Grey background
is a midtone grey that is a
standard in most fashion
studios. Colorama also
produces lighter and darker
tones, and myriad other
colours. Alternatively, you
could just use a wall.
ADOBE LIGHTROOM 5I can’t work without
Lightroom and it’s my
standard tool for organising
and editing my shoots.
I use the Develop tools
to add effects and tweak
colour before exporting
to Photoshop CC for
retouching.
OLYMPUS M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 45MM F/1.8 LENSEquivalent of 90mm in
35mm terms, this lens is
perfect for three-quarter-
length and head shots, and
has impressive sharpness
for its price and size.
P O R T R A I T S
76
P O R T R A I T S
because, occasionally, there may be a slight delay
between the trigger and receiver. Although this is a
fraction of a second, it can cause the shutter curtain to
miss the exposure, resulting in a partially exposed
frame. Almost inevitably, this happens with the best
image from the session.
Because the shutter speed is fi xed, exposure is
therefore determined by the power and position of the
light, and the aperture. Because I know the aperture I
want to shoot with, all exposure decisions then rest on
the strobe. All modern studio lights allow you to
incrementally adjust the power output of the fl ash,
usually in 1-stop increments, with smaller steps in
between of 1⁄10 stop. Just as the relationship between
shutter and aperture is reciprocal, so is the relationship
between the light power and the aperture. So if, for
example, you are shooting at f/5.6 and want to stop
down to f/8, you would increase the light output by 1
stop. If you wanted to shoot at f/4, you would decrease
the light output by 1 stop.
The second factor to consider when setting your
exposure is the distance between the light and the
subject. Moving the light closer to the subject will
brighten him or her, while increasing the distance will
darken the subject, so you need to adjust accordingly.
For example, if you want to shoot at f/8 and your light
is at maximum output but your subject is still
underexposed, move the light closer, and vice versa.
This is all explained by the inverse square law, which
is the mathematical formula that explains how the
1 MODEL POSITIONFor a clean background, don’t position your model right up
against your backdrop. If he or she is too close, they will
cast a big shadow. This may be fi ne for some images, but
I preferred to avoid it with this shot. By placing my model
approximately 2m from the background, the shadow is
lost. As the main light is also now further from the
background, it appears darker.HO
W T
O G
ET T
HE
LOO
K
The key light was an octa to the
model’s right, with a black panel
around 1m to her left. A fi ll light
with a small square softbox
directly above her head
emphasises the bright-red hair
A black bounce very
close to the model on
her left-hand side, the
monobloc lower at
around 5ft, a smaller
80cm octa, and
Lightroom vignetting all
combine to produce a
stark, high-contrast
black & white image
77
2 KEY LIGHTThe main light is a 150cm octa softbox on a Bowens strobe,
which is set up in front of and at 45° to the model, and
positioned to the left of the camera. It is placed high
on the stand, at around 2m, and is set to full power.
I positioned the light to the left to catch the detail of the
pleats of the skirt. This is a fashion shot, so there has to
be detail in the clothes.
3 FILL LIGHTWith only one side lit, I have three options: I can leave the
natural shadow as it is, I can emphasise and deepen it, or I
can fi ll in the right-hand side with more light. None of the
options is wrong, but here I wanted to throw a little bit of
light back to brighten the model’s face and also to bring out
a little more detail in the black skirt, so I used a white 8 x 4ft
polyboard as a fi ll light. You could also use a refl ector.
4 KICK LIGHTI could have stopped there, but I wanted to add a little
more modelling to the right-hand side of the image.
Adding a second light fi tted with a strip softbox on the
model’s right and slightly behind her adds a rim of light
on her arm and down her right side, which also creates
separation from the background.
refl ector is best. If you prefer, silver or gold refl ectors
can be used to bounce light back in your studio set-up,
as they provide more refl ectance than white panels.
Refl ectors come in a range of fi nishes, offering a variety
of diffusions of light and, in the case of gold refl ectors,
adding warmth to the subject. The desired effect is
achieved simply by moving the refl ectors closer to or
further from the subject.
KICK LIGHTOnce the key and fi ll lights are in place, you can begin
shooting – or you could add a kick light. Kick lights
are generally placed to the side or behind the model
to provide highlights along body parts and hair, and
to create a separation from the background. A kick
light can also be placed directly above the model to
illuminate the hair, which is usually referred to as a
hair light, or directly behind the model to provide a
highlighted silhouette effect. This is more commonly
known as a rim light. Kick lights are often set either at
higher power than the key light, or closer to the
model, in order to achieve the highlighted effect.
The beauty of this technique is that it can be
adapted to a variety of spaces and requirements. The
key light can be placed to the left or the right, the fi ll
can be added or not, or a black refl ector used instead
– and the kick light is entirely optional. In post-
processing, the set-up allows further creative options,
from converting to mono, to increasing or decreasing
contrast, or adding false tones and colour.
LIGHTING TERMS
KEY LIGHTProvides the majority of
the image’s illumination
and usually placed in front
of the model.
FILL LIGHTThe secondary light
source, which opens up
any underexposed or
darker areas. Produced
by a second light or using
a refl ector.
KICK LIGHTTypically placed to the
side of the model to
provide illumination down
the side of the body.
RIM LIGHTPlaced more directly
behind the model to
provide a rim of highlight,
especially in the hair,
often with a snoot placed
over the strobe. A little
old-fashioned these days.
power of light reduces over distance. The beauty of
photography is that technological advances mean we
don’t need to worry too much about it these days, as
we can simply measure the light using a handheld fl ash
meter, or by simply looking at the LCD screen on the
camera. If you can tether your camera to the computer
and review as you shoot, even better.
FILL LIGHTIf you’re happy with the lighting you can begin
shooting, but you may want to introduce a secondary
light source, or fi ll light, to bring some modelling – or
depth – into the shot. This could be from a second
fl ashgun, or a refl ector for a softer fi ll. With a fl ashgun,
set the fi ll light to either a lower output than the key
light, or place it further from your subject. Set it up on
the opposite side to the key light to fi ll in areas of
underexposure on the face or in clothes.
Most photographic studios have large 8 x 4ft
polystyrene panels, called polyboards or V-fl ats, which
have a black side and a white side. Using the white side
bounces the light back onto the model to ‘fi ll’ in the
shadow. The black side absorbs light and produces a
deep shadow. Again, this is often used for a moody
effect, or to emphasise bone structure or muscle tone.
It’s often used to produce a V-shaped light on the
cheekbone as the shadow from the nose falls across the
face to meet the shadow of the jaw line.
Polyboards aren’t practical in home studios or on
location shoots. In cases such as these, a collapsible
78
KIT
LIS
T
CLIPS AND TAPEUse cable or crocodile clips
and gaffer tape to
keep your
trailing power
cables tidy.
Loose wires are easy to trip over and can
cause injuries in the studio. They can also
pull down and smash your lights!
OLYMPUS 75MM F/1.8 LENSUse a telephoto lens to get closer
to your subject. You’re going to
have lights or refl ectors between
you and the model, so to get a
nice tight crop, you need a longer
than average lens. My lens of
choice is this beautifully
constructed optic.
BEAUTY DISHAvailable in a range of sizes and
fi ttings, with a silver or white
fi nish, the beauty dish is a
beauty essential. Light is
bounced from the central disc to a
parabolic refl ector, which directs the light
waves parallel to the subject. The light is
punchy but even and diffuse, and sets off
skin tones beautifully.
LASTOLITE TRIFLECTORThis little wonder is one
of my favourite studio
gizmos. Three refl ective,
reversible panels, available
in silver/white, gold/white
or translucent, provide easy
hands-free bounce and fi ll,
with distinctive catchlights
that make the eyes sparkle.
LIGHT STANDSLook for something sturdy that
can take the weight of your lamp
and modifi er, and that can go
high enough over a subject’s head
or low enough for the fi ll light.
Booms are additional poles that
are placed on the stand with a
weight to counterbalance the
weight of the light.
The top and bottom lights were slightly
offset in this variation of the clamshell
technique. The fi ll light was set lower to
allow for some shadow, which gives a
more three-dimensional effect
79
P O R T R A I T S
CLAMSHELL LIGHTING is a virtually foolproof
technique that provides a fl attering, shadow-free
wrap on a model’s face. It emphasises bone structure
and the contours of the face and, crucially, really
makes the eyes sparkle. In its truest sense it requires
two lights, but rules are meant to be broken and
lighting is meant to be adapted, so I’m going to
demonstrate a few variations that can easily be
implemented in either a rental or home studio.
TWO LIGHTSClamshell lighting gets its name from its similarity to
the top and bottom shells of an open clam.
Essentially, it is created using a pair of softboxes – one
above the model and one below. Because of the
placement, it’s ideally suited to close-ups of faces, and
is especially fl attering to women, producing a soft, fl at
light that covers up fl aws in the skin and is a perfect
canvas for post-production treatments.
Both lights are fi tted with a square softbox. The
main key light is placed close to and above the model,
pointing downwards at 45°. This light provides the
main source for the face and hair. Because it directly
faces your model, the light stand can cause some issues
with your shooting position, but you can get around
this by using a boom arm. This means your light stand
can be placed to one side, with the boom holding the
light over the shooting position, but these aren’t always
suitable for home use. Alternatively, don’t worry about
moving the stand a few inches out of your way, as the
spread of light with a softbox is wide and diffuse so it
shouldn’t cause too much of a problem.
The fi ll light, again using a square softbox, is also
placed front and centre, but below the model and
pointing upwards at 45°. Small, compact light stands
are preferable for this set-up, as they have a lower
minimum height than standard stands. This light
reduces the shadows produced by the top light: under
the chin, nose and forehead (from hair).
To add more modelling to the face, black, white or
silver refl ectors can be used on either side of the
subject. Black will increase contrast and provide
shadow areas to the sides of the face, while white adds
soft highlights to the perimeter of the model’s face.
Silver is similar to white, but with an increased
specular and higher-contrast highlight effect.
EXPOSURELighting ratios can be adjusted depending on the
overall effect you’re after, but generally the output of
the top key light should be higher than or equal to
the bottom fi ll light. Using a higher output on the
bottom light can result in a Halloween-like, torch-
under-the-chin effect. As a starting point, set the
lights at 2:1, that is, the key light has double the
output of, or is 1 stop higher than, the bottom light.
From there, you can adjust the power of the lamps to
achieve a look you’re happy with. It really is about
playing and testing.
Because the lights are so intense and close to the
model, you may fi nd it diffi cult to shoot with a wide
aperture for shallow depth of fi eld. If that’s the look
you’re after, use a neutral-density fi lter on your
camera to reduce the exposure.
If I’m shooting a model with pale skin or blonde
hair, I generally underexpose by 1⁄2 or 1 stop. This
is because the hair is very close to the key light
and the highlights may blow out. Once highlights
are gone, they’re gone, and it is diffi cult if not
impossible to retrieve them. It’s easier to lift dark
tones and shadows areas in Adobe Lightroom or
Photoshop, while still preserving the highlights. On
top of this, I often lift the exposure of the skin tones
by up to 1 stop in post-production. This helps the
skin and eyes to glow, and clears up many
imperfections without the need to expansively
spot and heal in Photoshop.
Out of the shadowsAchieve fl attering, shadow-free
lighting in the studio. Jamie Harrison
shows you how
TOP TIPS
1 LIFT SKIN TONESIn post-production, lift the
skin tone by up to 1⁄2 stop.
This one simple adjustment
in Lightroom really
brightens up the eyes and
skin, and reduces many
skin blemishes. Increase
warmth by increasing the
colour-temperature slider.
2 BOOST CONTRASTPlay around with contrast
controls in Lightroom or
Photoshop to give your
images more depth. Using
the Vignette control in
Lightroom darkens the
corners and adds a soft
shadowing around the
perimeter of the head,
producing a three-
dimensional effect.
3 CONSIDER YOUR CROPTry to avoid a passport-
picture crop. Get in close, or
encourage the model to tilt
and turn her head.
Adjusting the shoulder
position brings diagonal
lines into the shot. Use the
Crop tool to choose a crop
that concentrates on the
model’s best features,
which are usually the eyes.
4 LIFT EYES Use the Dodge tool to
brighten the catchlights in
the eyes. This one simple
technique will make the
eyes really sparkle.
5 CHECK CATCHLIGHTSIf the catchlights are
uneven, such as not being
fully visible in one eye,
use the Clone tool to clone
one and place it in the
other eye. Eyes without
nice bright catchlights
look dead and hollow.
ALL IMAGES JAMIE HARRISON
The beauty dish and Trifl ector were used here.
The image was adjusted in Lightroom by increasing
contrast, choosing a cold white balance and reducing
saturation for a stark, almost monochrome result
80
P O R T R A I T S
ALTERNATIVE SET-UPWhile it isn’t strictly clamshell, a similar effect can be
achieved using a single light source as the key light and
a refl ector as the fi ll light. This set-up is ideal if space is
limited, as you only need one light and the model can
even hold the refl ector below her chin for you.
While I often use this set-up with a softbox, my
1 POSITION FIRST LIGHTPosition the fi rst light at full power with a softbox front
and centre above the model, angled down at 45°. A boom
is useful, but if your softbox is placed a few inches to the
side of your camera position, it won’t make a lot of
difference. Notice the shadows beneath the model’s chin.
2 ADD THE SECOND LIGHTA second light, also with a softbox, is placed below the model,
pointing upwards at 45°. Shoot some tests at different power
outputs on the lights to determine a favourable lighting ratio
based on the overall effect you’re after. In this case, I wanted
to retain detail on the white dress.
3 FINAL SHOTThe fi nal shot, with a little retouching to fi nish. Look
closely and you’ll notice the catchlights in both the top and
bottom of the eyes, which create a lovely sparkle, and the
smooth skin tones from the fl at lighting.
TWO-LIGHT SET-UP
A Trifl ector with a central
silver and black side
panels softens shadows,
while cheeks remain dark
MAKE YOUR OWN REFLECTOR
The shape of your modifi ers will be refl ected in
the eyes as catchlights, so using differently
shaped refl ectors, or even making your own,
can manipulate this. I sometimes use a square
or rectangular refl ector made from stiff white
board or polystyrene. For more punch, silver
Mylar refl ective material can be gaffer-taped to
it for the model to hold under her chin.
Rolls of Mylar are inexpensive to
buy on eBay or Amazon.
This is more cost-
effective than buying
small sheets from craft
stores. It really is a
useful material for
photographers.
81
1 POSITION LIGHTThe fi rst light is placed above the model, facing front and
centre, but here I’ve used a beauty dish instead of a
softbox. The hard directional light of the overhead beauty
dish produces hard, deep shadows below the eyes, nose
and chin.
2 PLACE REFLECTORPlacing a Lastolite Trifl ector with silver refl ectors on a stand
below the model’s chin bounces the light from the top
light back onto the model’s face. It also reduces the
shadows to produce smooth and attractive skin tones.
3 FINAL SHOTThe fi nal image with retouching, and a shift in exposure, to
further clear up the skin tones and reduce shadow areas.
The smaller catchlights are a result of the smaller diameter
of the beauty dish and distance of the refl ectors.
favourite modifi er is a beauty dish, or radar.
Available in a variety of sizes, and with a white
or silver interior, beauty dishes produce a lovely,
parabolic soft light with a little more punch than
a softbox. The light can also be further modifi ed
with accessories such as grids, which give a harder,
more directional light, or with a diffuser cap, or
sock, which fi ts over the front of the dish to further
soften the light.
I often pair this with a Lastolite Trifl ector. This
handy device consists of a small stand and a trio of
braces that hold three refl ectors that can be adjusted
around the subject’s face to direct the bounced light
back. If you’re just using a standard round refl ector,
then brackets are available to attach the panel to a
stand and hold it in position while you shoot.
SINGLE-LIGHT SET-UP
The key light is a beauty dish paired
with a round silver refl ector as the
fi ll light. The image was adjusted in
Lightroom using the white balance
slider to add warmth
A large, soft white beauty dish was
used as the key light and a large
round silver refl ector as the fi ll
82
KIT
LIS
TP O R T R A I T S
CACTUS RF60 FLASHGUN These fl ashguns have the
power of the best units from
the leading manufacturers
with a built-in radio receiver
system and a zoom fl ash
head. I use two of them in full
manual mode for ultimate
control and consistency.
LASTOLITE JUPITER STANDThese value stands cost less than
£40 and have a wide radius spread
when fully opened, providing a
stable support for a fl ashgun even
in moderate winds. The Jupiter
stand extends to a signifi cant
height, making it perfect to
simulate street-lighting effects.
HOODMAN LOUPEIf you review your pictures using an
LCD screen on the back of your
camera, this bit of kit is a must.
With the loupe resting on your
LCD, you can clearly assess
your exposure and fl ash
balance even in full sunlight.
ALL IMAGES DAMIEN LOVEGROVE
Damien Lovegrove shows you how to turn
the city streets into your own studio
For this portrait set against
the sky, I used two
fl ashguns on full power
opposite each other, with
the key light at 45° to the
camera and shot from a
low viewpoint
Urbanlighting
83
THE CONCEPT OF SHOOTING portraits on city streets
is nothing new. In fact, it’s been around as long as
photography itself. However, unlike street
photographers who candidly document the people of
a city without intervention, urban portrait shooters
like to take control of everything and make the
cityscape their studio.
When I’m shooting on city streets, I select the
location, style the shoot, control the lighting and
create the moment. Here’s how I do it.
First, what makes the perfect location? A great city
location is an area full of picture opportunities closely
packed together. I like to work within a 500m radius
of my start point and aim for a variety of
backgrounds and shooting spots to last me a whole
day. I shoot come rain or shine, as there is nothing
more frustrating than having to cancel a shoot owing
to bad weather. When it does rain I need the option
of covered areas to work in. These can be pedestrian
underpasses, areas beneath fl yovers, railway bridges,
canal tunnels or building canopies over entrance
porches. A perfect city location also has cafés with
toilet facilities, a place for a decent lunch and the
opportunity to shoot without being moved on by
police or security staff.
FINDING LOCATIONSI invariably start with Google Earth, and look for
intersections of rail, tramways, roads, rivers and
canals. These provide multi-level zones with bridges
and tunnels, and are ideal for controlling the light
and staying dry. I then use the Google Maps overlay
to fi nd parking locations, somewhere to meet and a
place for lunch. Google Street View is a useful tool to
search for suitable photographic backgrounds, such
as a stainless-steel shutter at the back of a commercial
building or a wall of glass at the foot of an offi ce
block with interesting refl ections. Being able to
LOVEGROVE FLASH BRACKETThis is a small unit that can be
mounted on a light stand that
allows a fl ashgun to be rigged
in any direction using
the ball-and-socket
head and universal
insulated coldshoe.
DAMIEN LOVEGROVE
You can view more of
Damien’s work at www.
lovegrovephotography.com
where there are more than
2,000 images arranged in
23 galleries. Or you can join
him on one of his
photographic adventures.
For more information, visit
www.passionphotography
experience.com
Sunlight in a street
at 90° to the camera
is perfect light for
this simple scene
CACTUS V6 TRANSCEIVER
This universal unit can act as
a transmitter from any camera
with a standard hotshoe, and
gives full manual power control
over most fl ashguns from the
major camera manufacturers
attached to another V6 acting
as a receiver.
84
wander around at street level from the comfort of my
studio is a real bonus at the planning stage – I can
add virtual pins and create a walking route. I also
follow the links on Google Maps to business websites
to check café opening times, parking prices or any
other information relevant to the shoot.
Finally, I search tourist information websites with
‘what’s on’ calendars. I don’t want to arrive at a
location, only to fi nd it’s fenced off for the Tour of
Britain cycle race or a half marathon.
THE RECCEIf you have time, it can be incredibly useful to have a
look round a location beforehand to fi ne-tune a
schedule and plan the technical requirements of a
shoot. At the recce I look to confi rm the suitability of a
location with regards to safety and security – I love
disused railway lines and docksides, in fact all kinds of
places that present hazards. I can then do an
assessment, schedule the times I will be at each
location and what kit I’m likely to need. I confi rm
several things, such as the suitability of covered spaces
for lighting control, backgrounds and textures, and use
my phone camera to record shot opportunities and
pin the locations on my Google Map. If it’s raining or
overcast during the recce, I plan for the position of the
sun using the Photo Pills app on my iPhone (www.
photopills.com). On a recent recce for a shoot in the
City of London, I discovered the small backstreets
between St Paul’s Cathedral and the River Thames are
very quiet on a Sunday. I also loved the shiny
aluminium beer barrels stacked up on the pavements
outside the pubs and found out they are collected fi rst
thing each Monday morning. On the shoot itself we
worked all day without being asked to move on by
police or security staff. I rigged fl ashguns on stands,
and had all sorts of set-ups without any trouble at all.
STYLING AND LIGHTINGFor urban grunge I use harder light from barefaced
fl ashguns and choose refl ective fabrics like leather
jackets or wet-look leggings to make the pictures
I used two fl ashguns on
full power opposite each
other, with the key light
high and at 45° to the
camera to accentuate
Stina’s cheekbones
The two-point lighting on
Rosalinde is all natural
and comes from gaps
in the structure
GLOSSARY
KEY LIGHT The main or principal
light. This can be the sun,
a fl ashgun or a window
and is the dominant light
landing on your subject.
BACKLIGHT This is a light that is
opposite the camera
position. If your subject is
facing away from the
camera, it would, in fact,
be lighting their front.
COLOUR TEMP ORANGE (CTO)CTO refers to the colour of
a fi lter. CTO fi lters are
orange and come in
various grades from
full to 1⁄8 strength. Full
CTO converts a fl ashgun
at a daylight colour
temperature of 5,600K
to 3,200K, approximately
the colour of tungsten
light. I cut my own out of
big sheets of lighting gel,
available from theatre
suppliers for under £5.
COLOUR TEMPBLUE (CTB) CTB fi lters also come in
various grades and full
CTB converts tungsten
light at 3,200K to daylight
at 5,600K or can be used
on a fl ashgun at a daylight
colour temperature of
5,600K to convert it to
over 10,000K.
P O R T R A I T S
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86
DEPTH OF FIELDWhen you use flashguns on location with compact
system cameras, use neutral density filters to achieve
a wide-aperture, shallow-depth-of-field look. The
electronic viewfinder and LCD remain bright as the
exposure compensates automatically.
COLOURMix your colour temperatures. Use a CTO gel on the
flashgun and set the camera’s white balance to 3,400K
to make the background or daylight-lit areas blue while
your subject maintains a warm glow. Use a CTB gel as a
backlight for added effect.
come alive. I find that black cotton is a no-no because
it soaks up light and ends up as black holes in the
final images. For contemporary locations such as
glass-fronted office buildings and other clean
surfaces, I like to introduce patterned printed fabrics.
I shoot in locations that give me control of the
natural light by blocking it from one or more
directions. Once I have control of the ambient light, I
can go with what there is or add my own with
flashguns. In the rare places where I have no control
of the ambient light, I tend to overpower it with flash,
using the ambient as a bit of fill. Go too far and it will
look as though the picture was taken at night.
CAMERA KITI use my Fujifilm X-T1 camera with its tilting screen.
This attribute is vital if I want to avoid lying in the
gutter to compose my image and it’s great for
high-angle viewpoints. I make far better shots when
I’m shooting with primes, as well. I’m more active at
the set-up stage, moving around until I have the
perfect balance in my shot. I’ve always preferred
prime lenses from the time I first started back in the
1970s. I used zooms for ten years when I was
shooting weddings, but I’m now using primes and
loving the compact, lightweight nature of the lenses.
Currently I’m using 14mm f/2.8, 23mm f/1.4,
35mm f/1.4 and 56mm f/1.2 or 60mm f/2.4 lenses
and these fit in my Think Tank Retrospective 7 bag
with ease, together with a pair of flashguns. Other
than a pair of lighting stands with their flash brackets
attached, I don’t need to carry any more kit – I had
enough backbreaking years in my SLR days. The
whole kit is lightweight and easy enough to carry
around for a whole day’s shooting.
BACKGROUNDSI often use just a 2m-wide piece of wall or glass as a
background for my urban portraits. Shooting wide open
with a standard or telephoto lens away from a background
can soften the look and render it beautifully out of focus.
To achieve the shallow depth
of field for this shot of
Rosalinde at the waterfront in
Hamburg, I used a Hoya Pro
ND100 filter on my 56mm f/1.2
HOW TO GET THE LOOK
P O R T R A I T S
87
MODES AND SETTINGSUse manual exposure control and manual power settings
for your fl ashguns. This will provide a consistent exposure,
even when you change your composition. Using triggers
like the Cactus will allow you to set the fl ash power
remotely from your camera.
EXPOSUREWith the fl ash switched off, set your camera shutter to the
maximum fl ash sync speed, the ISO to its lowest setting
and then adjust the exposure of the background using the
aperture. Then add fl ash to taste, adjusting the fl ash power
and position as required.
REVIEW EACH SHOTIt’s all too easy to get carried away when shooting with
fl ashguns and run out of battery power. Stop and review
after each fl ash shot taken. Use a loupe or EVF to see how
it can be improved. Make tweaks as required until you are
happy, then move on.
I used a CTO gel on my fl ash at 90° to the camera and post-
produced the image with a tip of my hat to Edward Hopper
I used a full CTO fi lter
on the key light and
set the white balance
to 3,400K. This gave
me the slightly warm
skin tones and the
cool effect on the
background and
backlight. The
backlight had no fi lter
for this shot
I put clear
zip-seal
food bags over
my fl ash to
keep them dry
TOP TOPS
GET IT RIGHT IN-CAMERAEven if you are shooting
raw, set the white balance
and picture style to give
the desired fi nished look.
USE A LOUPEThe only accurate way to
review your images is to
use a loupe for the LCD or
the EVF if you’re mirrorless.
SHOOT INTO THE SUNIf you are shooting in
sunlight, place the sun
behind the model and use
it as a backlight. Add fl ash
from the front as required
but not in a fi ll-fl ash way
– be bold and use it as a
key light.
KEEP OLD FLASHGUNSIf you change camera
systems, keep your old
fl ashguns. With the Cactus
V6 trigger units, you can
take full control of your
old fl ashguns on your
new camera.
88
89
A R C H I T E C T U R E
KIT LIST
TILT-SHIFT LENSDistortion is a major factor
when photographing
architecture. A tilt-and-shift
lens can virtually eliminate
this, meaning far less work in
post-production.
ONCE I HAD GOT OVER the initial beginners’ hurdles
of photography, I decided I wanted to create a wide
and varied collection of images – something more
than a single-style portfolio. I felt it was important to
become a well-rounded photographer who could ply
his art regardless of situation, style or environment. I
hoped it would ensure my photography would stay
fresh, challenging and, above all, interesting.
As my journey continued, I veered more and more
towards black & white. While it wasn’t a conscious
decision, the skew became increasingly obvious as
time went on. This pull towards monochrome has
never left me, and currently around 70% of my
images are mono in one form or another. Black &
white images, for me, contain a purity that their
colour counterparts can never possess. They are
timeless and look beautiful among any surroundings.
In my opinion, the same cannot be said for colour.
From a purely post-production point of view, a
Master of mono
Billy Currie reveals the creative process
behind his award-winning black & white
architectural images
BILLYCURRIE
Scotland-based Billy Currie
has long been a passionate
photographer, and had
always hoped to make
it his profession. With a
background in IT, he now
runs photography and
post-processing courses
in Scotland and northern
England.
www.billycurrie
photography.co.uk
REMOTE RELEASEThis is crucial for long exposures.
I use a Hähnel Giga T Pro II, which
provides me with many options,
from basic remote release to
wireless timer to intervalometer,
to name but a few.
GEARED HEADLining up an electronic spirit level
with a ball head is quite diffi cult. A
geared head such as the Arca-Swiss
D4 makes this an easy task.
L BRACKETWhen shooting in portrait mode, your
camera and tripod are substantially
less stable. I always use an
L bracket to ensure my
camera stays above
the centre of
my tripod.
Striking modernist
architecture and mono
are a perfect combination
ALL IMAGES BILLY CURRIE
90
A R C H I T E C T U R E
The Hydro, Glasgow’s newest
venue, which sits close to the
Clyde near the city centre
BEFORE AND AFTER
There is no doubt that post-processing, whether in
the darkroom or on a computer, is one of the most
important and complex aspects of photography –
even more so with this artistic style of architecture.
It is critical that the original image is captured with
as much information as possible, but even then,
this only provides a good starting point.
Next comes what I consider to be the ‘art’ aspect:
the creation of your vision through post-processing
techniques, which is often much more difficult and
complex than anything you can find on your
camera. This is a very personal stage, where your
image becomes unique and takes on your individual
vision, be that true to the original scene or as far
removed from it as your imagination allows. Editing can be a very personal process,
during which the image becomes unique
colourless image is much more of a blank canvas than
colour could ever be. Take, for example, contrast,
which is the most important tool I have at my disposal.
In monochrome, contrast can take you from light and
airy to the depths of dark and moody, retaining its
beauty at all times. Because of colour shifts and
saturation, colour images are far more constrained,
and can quickly become unattractive cartoons. Mono
lends itself much more freely to creativity.
INSPIRATIONAlthough my portfolio was varied and already
contained many mono images, one style that didn’t
feature in it was architecture. It was a subject that I
had never viewed in an interesting light,
metaphorically speaking. And then, it happened…
I came across a selection of architectural images
from Dutch photographer Joel Tjintjelaar. They
were like nothing I had ever seen previously in
BEFORE AFTER
92
further adjustments to contrast are applied, along
with gradients.
The next step is the really painstaking part of the
process. If I’m working on a single building, I make
selections of every face, window and piece of trim – I
then simply dodge and burn each of these in turn
until I have my desired effect. If I’m working on a
skyline, I make individual selections of every
building. When this is done, I finish the image by
making some global adjustments to really fine-tune
the atmosphere.
One of the most important points to note about
this whole process is that the deep shadows and
eye-catching highlights can never come from the
black & white conversion alone. They come from
working on the many individual selections and
transforming each of them into interesting areas in
their own right.
architecture: artistic, eye-catching and, above all, in
beautiful black & white.
I already had a good knowledge of Photoshop, and
I knew that mastering it would be the key to
producing artistic images such as Joel’s. After reading
a few blogs and watching one of Joel’s videos, the
next step was obvious: learn the relevant Photoshop
tools required for this discipline. I knew it would be
quite different to anything I’d done previously with
my landscape and nature work. Buildings have
strong, defined edges, curves, panels and even
surfaces. It stands to reason that they require a new
set of post-production skills.
Capturing an architectural image is pretty much
the same as any other long-exposure shot. The only
slight difference may be the length of the exposure. I
don’t have a standard setting for shutter speed; it
solely depends on how fast the clouds are moving
and how far I want them to travel across my frame. If
clouds are moving slowly, I may shoot a much longer
exposure – anything up to 12mins is not unusual.
FRAMINGThe beauty of combining architecture and
monochrome is that both free you up, compositionally
speaking. There are no foregrounds to worry about, no
rule of thirds or any other preconceived ideas of what
makes a nice landscape. With mono architecture, it
doesn’t matter if you shoot part of a building, the
whole building or a whole skyline of buildings. It is
the shadows and contrast and drama that make the
photograph, not just the subject.
Once back home, that’s when the real work
begins. It can take anything from an hour up
to several hours to produce an individual image,
depending on what’s involved. I don’t use any
plug-ins; everything is completed in the core
Lightroom and Photoshop programs.
Although they can be time-consuming and
repetitive, the processing techniques are actually
relatively simple – although a thorough
understanding of basic Photoshop tools is a must.
You need to be comfortable with aspects such as
selections, organising layers, dodging and burning,
applying gradients, and so on, as these provide you
with everything you need for most images.
When processing a monochrome architectural
image, my starting point is usually a basic black &
white conversion that’s been carried out in either
Lightroom or Photoshop. Once this is complete, I
then take a look at the exposure and adjust it to create
the overall atmosphere that I’m hoping to achieve.
The sky and how it interacts with the building or
buildings is vitally important to all my images, so the
next step is to make an accurate selection, where
FILTERSTo be able to expose for any duration in any light
while still using optimal camera settings, the
best combination of filters are 3, 6 and 10 stops.
As filters can be stacked, these enable you to
have 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16 or 19EV of light reduction.
Paisley Mill, a very traditional
old building near Glasgow
While the light might not
be great for colour, it’s
perfect for shooting mono
COMPUTER POWERWorking with large documents in Photoshop can
lead to severe performance degradation. If you
already have sufficient RAM, installing a small SSD
drive for Photoshop to use as a scratch disk can
make a substantial difference.
A R C H I T E C T U R E
The impressive
skyline of London’s
financial district
TOP TIPS
93
SKYWith architectural images of this style, I think it is
important that the sky should complement the structure
rather than detract from it. The image is an artistic
interpretation of the building through the use of light and
shadow; the sky could easily reduce the overall impact.
NOISE REDUCTIONIt is a common belief that long-exposure noise reduction is
used to remove hot pixels, but this is not the case. The
purpose of this in-camera setting is to remove or reduce
‘fi xed pattern noise’ – something that is near impossible to
do well in post-production.
CHECK FOR DUSTOn completion of an image, it should be inspected at
more than 100%. This allows for the identifi cation and
removal of any unwanted artefacts, such as dust spots
or chromatic aberration. An image should be fl awless
regardless of its size.
BAD WEATHER
For me, architecture is by far the most rewarding of all the genres of
photography. Unlike many others, it is not as reliant on weather, fl attering
light or time of day. The building or structure is 100% of the image; it needs
neither foreground nor colour in the sky. Simply make a good exposure with
optimal settings and the camera’s job is complete – light, shadow and mood
can all be taken care of later. For these reasons, architecture can still yield
many keepers in weather that would prove unsuitable for most other types
of outdoor photography. I can’t recall an architectural shoot to date that
didn’t produce at least several usable images, which is not something that
can be said for most photographic subjects.
94
W O R K F L O W
1 LENS CORRECTIONSMy import preset adds a small amount of colour noise
reduction. It also ticks Enable Profi le Correction and Remove
Chromatic Aberration in the Lens Correction box, in order to
correct any lens distortion. Sometimes some manual
correction is also needed, but not here. I then use the Angle
tool to straighten the horizon. Following this, I prefer to adjust
the white balance by eye, setting the temperature to
emphasise the mood of the image, rather than trying to fi nd
the most ‘accurate’ setting. I usually start with auto or one
of the presets, and tweak it where necessary. In this case,
I cooled down the cloudy white balance slightly.
2 EXPOSURE ADJUSTMENTSThe raw fi le, as is often the case,
is fl at and lacking in contrast,
but this one is also slightly
underexposed. Starting at the top,
I raise the Exposure and Contrast
to brighten and add a bit of punch
to the image. Moving down, I use
the Whites and Blacks sliders to
take the histogram out to the
edges, which adds further
contrast, before jumping back to
the Highlights slider to take the
edge off the brightest areas.
Things are already looking
better, but the posts are a little
too dark, so I use the Shadows
slider to bring out some detail,
but not so much that they start
to look unnatural.
3 GRADUATED FILTERThe exposure adjustments have left the area at the top of the
sky a little too bright for my liking; my eye keeps wandering
up to the brighter area of the scene. This is easily fi xed with a
Graduated Filter with a negative exposure value over the area
in question. I could probably have got away with using a
slightly darker ND grad fi lter over the sky at the capture stage,
but I fi nd it harder to lighten a sky where I’ve used a fi lter that
is too dark than the other way round. As a result, I often err on
the side of caution. As long as the fi lter is strong enough to
retain all the detail in the sky, I’m happy.
Workflow masterclassArriving at an image-editing workfl ow that works for you can take time
and practice. Here, three experts explain how they go about adding the
fi nishing touches to their landscape, portrait and wildlife images
LOVE IT OR LOATHE IT, there’s no denying that
post-capture editing is now an integral part of most
photographers’ workfl ows, with many of us having to
learn new skills and techniques for getting the best
from our images.
We’ve each now probably got our own routine
when it comes to working on an image, but there’s
still plenty we can learn that will save us time and
ultimately help us to get better results.
Over the following pages, we take a behind-the-
scenes look at how three photographers go about
adjusting and processing their images.
STEP BY STEP
95
4 CLONING, DODGING, BURNINGI need to jump to Photoshop for the next stage. While these
are all changes that could be made in Lightroom, the tools in
Photoshop allow more control. I fi nd the post on the left and
the white rock that cuts the edge of the frame distracting, so I
use Content-Aware Fill to remove them. Then I use the Spot
Healing Brush, also set to Content-Aware Fill, to remove a few
dust spots visible in the sky. I also carry out some dodging
and burning to further enhance the foamy streaks in the
foreground. Adding a new layer, with a 50% grey neutral
background set to Overlay mode, I can now use the Dodge and
Burn tools without it being permanent.
5 SHARPENINGI like to sharpen my images in Photoshop before saving and
returning to Lightroom. There are countless sharpening
methods, but the one I employ most often uses LAB colour. I
convert the image to LAB mode, duplicate the background
layer and, with that selected, apply an Unsharp Mask to the
Lightness channel. As the sharpening has been applied to a
duplicate layer, it is then possible to use a layer mask to mask
out any areas that you don’t want to sharpen. I particularly
like selective sharpening as it helps lead the viewer’s eye to
what is important in the image, while the areas of the image
that should be soft, stay soft.
6 FINISHING TOUCHESBack in Lightroom, it’s time to crop the image. I leave this until
the end as cropping in Lightroom is non-destructive and gives
me the fl exibility to change my mind, or recrop for different
purposes. I also leave any saturation adjustments until this
stage, in case any of the Photoshop adjustments affect the
colours. In this case, I’ve reduced the saturation on the orange
tones in the sky, which had become a bit too strong. I’ve also
made a couple of small tweaks to the exposure. The fi nal step
is to leave the image alone for a couple of days, before looking
at it with fresh eyes to ensure I haven’t overdone things.
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JU
STIN
MIN
NS
Balancing the exposure
and some subtle
adjustments has
fi nished this shot
AFTER
LANDSCAPESJUSTIN MINNS
Adobe Lightroom is at the heart of my workfl ow. As
well as keeping my image library organised, it’s where
the bulk of my editing takes place. If, however, I want
to make selective adjustments, then I prefer the
fl exibility of Photoshop’s adjustment layers and masks.
I try to emphasise the atmosphere in an image,
while still keeping things looking natural. Although I
generally only make the sort of exposure adjustments
and minor cloning you see here, I believe it’s the
fi nished image that’s important, rather than how it
was created, so I’m not averse to removing larger
distracting elements or blending exposures to
achieve the result I want. I prefer to get the job done
in-camera, but that’s not always possible. In such
cases, it pays to bear in mind what you can do on the
computer while you are still behind the camera.
BEFORE
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W O R K F L O W
1 COLOUR GRADINGThe secret is to make your workfl ow as clean and as quick as
you can. With this image, I used some custom presets in
Lightroom to start the colouring process. I can apply the
preset to all the images in the series to see how they’ll look
once edited, which is great for selecting the images to be
imported into Photoshop. With this image, I used split-toning
to add a blue tint to the shadows. At the same time, I adjusted
the highlights, shadows and blacks for more contrast, while
ensuring there was no clipping of the darker tones. It’s helpful
to keep an eye on the histogram while doing this.
2 SKIN EDITINGNext I work on the skin tones in Photoshop. I have a method
that’s quick to set up and allows me to edit the colour and
tone of the skin without removing any detail. It sounds
complex, but after a couple of goes you should get the hang of
it. First, make two new versions of your image, labelling the
bottom one ‘Blur’ and the top one ‘Detail’. Add a Gaussian blur
to the Blur layer (set with a Radius of 2) before selecting the
Detail layer. Go to Image > Apply Image, then apply the
settings that match the screenshot. Ensure the Detail layer
blending mode is set to Linear Light.
3 SMOOTHING SKINThe Mixer Brush is a great tool for blending skin when
retouching as it allows you to use a hint of colour and blend
the skin tones. For this, I like to use a large soft brush – a very
low opacity is important if the effect is to work well. To start
with, select your foreground and background colours by
sampling your subject’s darker and lighter skin tones, then
use these colours to blend the areas and smooth out the tones.
A good tip while doing this is to press X, as it allows you to
jump from your background to foreground colours while using
the Mixer Brush, allowing you to work that bit more quickly.
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DAV
E K
AI-
PIP
ER
By working on the
image on multiple
layers, a more
polished fi nal result
has been achieved
PORTRAITSDAVE KAI-PIPER
For me, using Photoshop or any other image-editing software is only an extension
to the initial concept of the image. In other words, editing the image allows it to do
what it needs to do.
I rarely take an image unless it has a purpose or a story to tell. Editing allows me
to refi ne the image to ensure it tells that story clearly. The amount of editing
depends on how near or far the unprocessed image is from the story I want to tell.
It is crucial not to overdo things, though. The more planning you put into a shoot,
and the better that shoot is, the less post-production you should require. The less
pre-shoot planning you put in, and the less well shot it is, the more likely you are to
need to prop it up with extra editing. It is always worth remembering that the
‘editing’ process begins way before you even take a photograph.
AFTER
BEFORE
STEP BY STEP
97
4 DODGE AND BURNUsing two layers means you can have all the fi ne control you
need for your highlights and shadows. This method also lets you
add colour shadows and tinted highlights. To set up, create two
new 50% grey layers and place them both into Soft Light blend
modes. Set your brush opacity very low, and start to add the
shadows onto the bottom of the new layers, and the highlights
to the upper new grey layer. Working slowly and keeping the
overall look realistic is the key. I fi nd that my brush opacity is
between 1% and 10% for both the dodging and burning.
Remember, you can always fade the layer overall.
5 COLOUR LOOK-UP TABLESHere, I used the Kodak 5218 preset, which is designed to match
the Vision2 500T Colour Negative Film 5218 (a high-speed,
tungsten-balanced colour negative fi lm). It can be found
under the Color Lookup function in the Adjustments menu. On
top of this, I placed a light ‘S’ curve onto a Curves adjustment
layer to add some contrast to the midtones. A quick tip with a
shot such as this is to remove any hints of red from the skin.
Do this by making a Hue/Saturation layer and put a minus
value in the red channel. Use a mask to lightly apply this to the
skin where any red hues are pronounced.
6 CROPPINGCropping in Lightroom rather than Photoshop allows me more
control if I need to recrop the image later. In addition, it gives
me the largest fi le output from Photoshop, keeping my
lossless workfl ow intact. The very slight vertical adjustment is
carried out in Lightroom as I fi nd the tools easier to use. There
are some fantastic functions that Lightroom does have faster
access to – lens corrections are one of them. Once the image is
cropped, I then introduce the fi nal creative element – gradient
fi lters. These are added last as the crop can sometimes change
how much or little the fi lter is applied.
98
W O R K F L O W
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RIC
HA
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S
Localised
adjustments
plus highlight and
shadow recovery has
completed this image
1 IMPORTINGI apply two things to my images. The fi rst is a predetermined
selection of development settings, which is called an import
preset. This applies the same basic set of adjustments to every
image that I’ve copied, which in my case includes noise
reduction, sharpening and lens-profi le corrections. With that
done, the second part is to apply standard keywording – nothing
too complex to begin with, simply the species name, location and
a few other brief descriptive words. I then make a quick pass
through all images, rating them between one and fi ve, with fi ve
being the best and one being those I will delete later.
2 EXPOSUREWith my selection made, I can begin editing. Starting with a
blank canvas allows me to more accurately edit my images,
and I begin by making small changes to the overall exposure.
This is often only a small amount, if any, as I usually prefer to
opt for targeting the overall brightness and contrast of the
image more specifi cally at a later stage, using the fi ner control
sliders Lightroom has to offer. At this stage, I also make white
balance corrections. With these adjustments made, it’s time to
move on and look at the whites and blacks – essential for
boosting contrast without clipping highlight or shadow detail.
3 WHITES AND BLACKSBy holding down the Alt key (on a Mac), the image turns
black, and as I move the Whites slider to the right, any clipped
highlight information starts to show up. I generally stop the
slider at the point where the fi rst highlights appear. It’s OK to
push this a little as I will later use the dedicated highlights
slider to control these further. I then repeat the process with
the Blacks slider. You can also hold down Shift and
double-click the Whites or Blacks text, which automatically
adjusts the image to the fi rst sign of clipping. However, I often
fi nd the end result is less pleasing than when done manually.
STEP BY STEP
4 LOCALISED ADJUSTMENTSNext, I make some localised adjustments. The Adjustment Brush
allows me to mask off certain areas of the image to apply edits
to. The puffi n’s chest and the side of its face are looking a little
blue, so I am able to push the highlights a little and add a small
amount of warmth using the Temperature slider. This removes
the blue cast. You can bump the highlights and adjust the white
balance slightly to brighten and remove the blue cast. You don’t
always need to be 100% accurate here, because you can control
the feather of the brush.
5 CROPPINGI’ll now take a look at fi ne-tuning the overall contrast and
vibrance, before cropping to taste. I want to retain the same
aspect ratio as the original image (3:2 in this case), so in
Lightroom’s Crop & Straighten, I select Original from the
Aspect drop-down menu and then drag it out over my image.
I then take a snapshot and name it, in this instance ‘Colour’,
because it is a colour edit. If I were to do a black & white edit,
I would save two snapshots – one called ‘Colour’ and one
‘Black & White’.
6 DELETE HISTORYAfter a snapshot is created and I’m happy with the fi nal edit, I
then delete the editing history of the image. I do this to ensure
the Lightroom catalogue fi le does not become far larger than
is required. All those edits in the history can take up vast
amounts of space over time, so it’s good housekeeping to do
this. Where necessary, I’ll apply more keywords to the image
and then add it to a catalogue.
WILDLIFERICHARD PETERS
Should you leave your images untouched, the way they appeared when they came out of the
camera? Such a question is a red herring. After all, every modern camera applies some form
of processing. It really comes down to the question of how much is too much? I generally try
to keep processing as simple as possible and fi nd with Lightroom that the average colour
image can be edited in a few minutes. Aside from shooting raw, I also use the standard
picture control in-camera. Although this means the original fi le appears a little dull and fl at,
I’m able to edit it quickly to achieve results that refl ect how the scene looked to me through
the viewfi nder. BEFORE
99
AFTER
100
Dodging and burning
D I G I T A L D A R K R O O M
Photographer Jay Maisel is quoted as saying
that the three most important aspects of
street photography are light, gesture and
colour. Steve Campbell’s photograph below
is certainly strong on ‘gesture’. It is a
wonderfully caught moment, further helped
by the interaction of the two young women
walking past. I recomposed this photograph
by selecting a crop that focused on
including all the key components: the
ice-cream van with the person in the gorilla
suit, the two women, and the ‘Ice Cream Van
Only’ road marking in the foreground.
Cropping out the lamp post would have
looked odd, so I decided to keep it in.
Lighting was an issue, but after localised
adjustments I was able to balance the
tones to produce a better-exposed
version in which the main elements are
all nicely highlighted.
1 LIGHTEN THE IMAGE I began by going to the basic panel in Camera Raw to lighten
the image and fix the white balance. I also made the
photograph warmer in colour and brightened the Exposure
setting. I then fine-tuned the other tone sliders to achieve a
nice overall tonal balance.
2 CROP TO PROVIDE FOCUSThe next step was to crop the photograph. There were several
ways I could have cropped this image, but in the end I chose
to apply a crop constrained to the main elements of interest in
this scene, which resulted in a squarer shape.
3 APPLY A RADIAL FILTERAt this stage I did some fine editing to add subtle light and
shading. I first applied a Radial Filter adjustment to darken
the outer edges slightly, followed by a second Radial Filter
adjustment to lighten the ‘gorilla suit’. Finally, I added a couple
of Adjustment Brush tweaks to lighten the two young women.
Martin Evening balances the expoure in this image, and on the
facing page, focuses in on the action in the scene
AFTER
BEFORE
101
LOCALISED ADJUSTMENTS
LOCALISED adjustments can be used to
add emphasis to areas of a picture that
need to draw in the viewer’s attention or
subdue areas that are distracting. In
darkroom terms, this is referred to as
dodging and burning, where a darkroom
printer would selectively add more or less
exposure at the print-exposure stage (and
sometimes enhanced through chemical
treatment at the post-printing stage). When
working on the computer, and especially if
editing in Camera Raw, you can target the
areas you wish to enhance and fi ne-tune the
localised exposure adjustments. Here’s a
close-up of ‘gorilla-suit man’ after masked
Radial Filter adjustment in Camera Raw.
From this angle of view, it looks like Valery
Egorov’s photograph was taken from the top
of St Paul’s Cathedral, looking down on the
Millennium Bridge linking Peter’s Hill to the
Tate Modern. What stands out most is the
aerial view of the people walking across the
bridge. It reminds me of Vincent Laforet’s
photograph ‘Me and my Human’, taken of ice
skaters in New York’s Central Park. However,
the people and the bridge are rather lost in
the original view, so I chose to zoom in more
to highlight what was happening on the
bridge. I also straightened some lines to help
create a symmetrical composition. This was
about as close as I could go without losing
sharpness, but it might have been interesting
to shoot from this viewpoint using a longer
lens to produce an even tighter composition.
1 ALIGNMENT ADJUSTMENTSThe fi rst step was to get the bridge to appear vertically aligned. To
do this, I went to the Lens Corrections panel in Camera Raw and
explored Upright adjustment settings. Here, I selected the Auto
setting combined with a few manual transform adjustments.I also
set the Aspect slider to -98 to stretch the width.
3 BASIC TONE ADJUSTMENTSHere you can see the cropped image with a tighter view of the
people on the bridge. With the Basic panel selected, I made
some tone adjustments to increase the contrast slightly. I also
needed to go to the Detail panel to boost the sharpness and
reduce some of the luminance noise.
NARROWING THE VIEW
BEFORE AFTER
2 CROPPING OUT NOISE I then selected the Crop tool and carefully cropped the image to
remove the building in the bottom-left corner (which was quite
distracting) and adjusted the crop handles so the bridge now
appeared perfectly centred in the image (cropping the bottom
section would also work as well).
AFTER
BEFORE
102
Correcting geometric distortion
Martin Evening straightens curved edges in this image,
and on the facing page, injects some life into a macro
image of a mantis
D I G I T A L D A R K R O O M
While there are problems with lens chromatic aberration and focus in the
original image from Adrian Maltby, the biggest issue is the extreme lens barrel
distortion. Rather than using a Photoshop lens profi le, I used Camera Raw to
apply a fi rst-pass correction and then took the image into Photoshop, where I
applied a further adjustment using the Lens Correction fi lter. The result wasn’t
perfect, but you’ll notice that many of the curved lines are now straighter and
the globe in the top-left corner now appears less elliptical in shape.
AFTER
BEFORE
1 APPLY CAMERA RAW LENS CORRECTIONSTo correct the extreme lens barrel distortion, in Camera Raw I
went to the Lens Corrections panel and applied the maximum
+100 Distortion, +66 Vertical and -100 Aspect slider
adjustments to compensate for the vertical stretching.
2 ADD BASIC PANEL ADJUSTMENTSIn the Basic panel, I applied a -100 Highlights adjustment to
reveal detail in the clouds and sky, and +100 Shadows to show
detail in the shadow areas. I also warmed the image slightly
and added some Clarity to boost the midtone contrast.
3 APPLY THE LENS CORRECTION FILTERThe geometric distortion was not fully corrected so I opened
the adjusted image in Photoshop. In the Filter menu I selected
the Lens Correction fi lter and applied a maximum Distortion
correction along with a +27 Vertical Perspective correction.
103
LENS CORRECTIONSLens corrections in Photoshop or Camera
Raw are possible due to Adobe having a
database of lens profi les for many different
camera lenses. This includes most of the
popular brands and models. Basically, the
software is able to reference the camera’s
Exif lens data, and using that information it
knows exactly how to correct known lens
anomalies such as geometric distortion
and vignetting.
It’s not just the
lens corrections
in Camera Raw
and Photoshop,
but also other
tools such as the Adaptive Wide Angle
fi lter and Photomerge that benefi t from
this feature. Shown here is a before and
after example of a photograph shot with a
fi sheye lens automatically corrected using
a lens profi le.
FISHEYE AUTO CORRECTED
1 LIGHTEN THE IMAGEI began by opening the JPEG master image via Camera Raw,
where I fi rst went to the Basic panel and applied a +1.75
Exposure adjustment. The also increased the contrast by
lightening the Highlights and darkening the Shadows.
I added a lot of Clarity and some extra Vibrance.
2 APPLY A ROTATED CROPIn the bottom left-hand corner there was an out-of-focus
straight edge creeping into the frame, which was a little
distracting. To remove this, I used the Crop tool to apply a
rotated crop (as shown here), adjusting the corner handles to
avoid cropping the image any further than was necessary.
3 MAKE HSL ADJUSTMENTSIn the HSL/Grayscale panel, I selected Luminance and then the
Target Adjustment tool. I clicked and dragged downwards on
the blue background to darken the Blues very slightly. I then
clicked on the body of the mantis and dragged upwards to
lighten the Yellows and Greens.
It can be incredibly diffi cult to photograph
insects close-up. For a start, they tend to
move pretty quickly, and getting your
subject in sharp focus using a macro lens
is never that easy. Andy Kyriacou has
done well here to get this great view of a
mantis head-on.
The exposure in the original was a bit
dark, so it needed to be lightened up a bit,
but it was also important to boost the
contrast. Normally, I use the Highlights
and Shadows sliders in Camera Raw to
lower the contrast and open up the tones
at the highlight and shadow ends. Here, I
used these two sliders to do the opposite.
I also added sparkle using the HSL
Luminance slider controls, enhancing the
colour luminance contrast between the
green mantis and the blue backdrop.
ADDING SPARKLE TO AN IMAGE
AFTER
BEFORE
104
C R E A T I V E P H O T O S H O P
THERE ARE A LOT of discussions about the merits of
Photoshop. Some people hate it and some love it, but
I agree with the latter view. While it can produce
some horrible results in the wrong hands, it’s an
incredibly powerful tool for creating images that you
can’t make with your camera alone. I like to think of
my manipulations as surrealistic with a touch of
humour. I only make use of my own images.
CONCEPTBefore I even pick up a camera and start taking
pictures, I like to make a sketch of the idea I want to
create. In this case, I envisaged a shot of a girl blowing
bubble gum that becomes so big that she starts to
fl oat off the ground.
To achieve this look, I needed to shoot a series of
three images that I could then merge together – the
background, the bubble gum and the girl. I decided
to photograph the background fi rst, because this
would determine the lighting on both the bubble
gum and the model.
I shot my background during the golden hour,
when the sun was really low and there were lots of
Chewing gum bubble
KEY IMAGES
From a simple sketch comes a surreal idea. Sjoerd
Stellingwerf reveals the process behind this image
ALL IMAGES SJOERD STELLINGWERF
shadows being cast. I took multiple images of the
same scene that I then merged later in Photoshop.
When shooting for composites, it’s very important to
keep certain things in mind when shooting pictures
for a background. For example, where is the main
light source? What is the position/angle of the
camera? What are the settings of the camera? I like
to make a note of these points so that when I’m
back in the studio shooting the model, I can set
Below: The main subject is
shot in the studio; multiple
shots of the background are
taken; Two images of the
bubble gum are used
105
SJOERD STELLINGWERF
Sjoerd Stellingwerf is a freelance digital creative based in Deventer, the
Netherlands. With eight years of experience in advertising as a designer and
art director, he specialises in concept development and the creation of all
kinds of images. What all his creations have in common is a well-thought-out
idea and a sense of humour. Visit his website at www.sjoerdstellingwerf.nl
and position my camera accordingly.
I wanted a blonde model because it seemed to fi t
the mood I was aiming for. I also bought some
bubble gum to blow some nice bubbles, which is
more diffi cult than it seems. All these things should
be shot with the same light, from the same angle and
with the same settings.
Now for the most interesting part: merging the
pictures together to create a single image.
106
1 CAMERA RAWMy background is made up of four pictures that I took at
the same time. I always shoot in raw, so in Adobe Camera
Raw I made some basic lens corrections to each fi le before
adjusting the Highlights and Shadows until I was satisfi ed
with the result.
4 BRING IN THE CHEWING GUMWhen the model was in the right position, it was time for
the chewing gum. Again, I used the Pen tool for my layer
mask. It works really intuitively when used with my
Wacom Pro Tablet and feels just like drawing.
7 DODGE AND BURNAfter I had fi nished my composition, I created two new
layers: one for dodging and one for burning. These are
adjustment layers with a mask, because I try to work
non-destructively. With a soft brush, I adjusted the areas
that I wanted to lighten or darken.
2 CREATE THE BACKGROUNDIn Photoshop, I combined several images to form the
background. With the help of layer masks, I erased the
parts I didn’t need. Then, in order to blend the different
layers, I made some colour corrections fi rst with the
Curves panel.
5 LIQUIFYAs the bubble gum wasn’t looking the way I wanted it to,
I needed to fi ne-tune some adjustments using the Warp
tool because this allows me a good level of control. The
Liquify tool is also a great way to reshape objects.
8 COLOUR CORRECTIONSI then added a colour layer in a warm tone to blend all the
layers. This time I chose orange to make the image a bit
warmer. I set the transparency to 3% and the blending
mode to Color. It has a minimal effect, but it works for me.
3 ISOLATE THE MODELWith a new layer mask, I isolated the model. There are
many different ways to do this in Photoshop, but for the
‘hard’ lines I prefer to use the Pen tool. Isolating hair is
more diffi cult, though, and I usually try to avoid it, or I use
Edge Detection and Refi ne Edge.
6 ADD SHADOWSWhen you place a model in a background, you should add a
shadow to make it look realistic. I normally use the shadow I
created in the studio and set that layer to multiply. In this
case, the sun is very low so there is no shadow.
9 SHARPENINGTo sharpen the image, I made a copy of all the layers
together and used the High Pass fi lter. I changed the blend
mode to Soft Light and lowered the Opacity until it looked
right. The image is now fi nished!
STEP BY STEP
C R E A T I V E P H O T O S H O P
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