Innholdsfortegnelse for The Nikon Camera Book 8 i The Nikon Camera Book

Photography is one of the most popular pastimes in the world, and with Nikon leading the way in terms of technology and innovation, it’s no wonder that its cameras are trusted by so many photographers. Although many other brands try to nibble at the market share, year on year Nikon remains a heavyweight contender, with a catalogue of cameras ranging from point-and-shoot compacts to professional DSLRs. The Nikon Camera Book is the ultimate guide to getting the most from your Nikon camera, whatever the model. From the newest cameras and lenses on the market, to the accessories that will make your life much easier, you’ll discover which one suits your needs best. We will take you through advanced shooting techniques across a range of photographic genres, such as discovering the…

SRP: £4,000/$6,500 (body only) There’s always excitement with the arrival of a high-end camera and the release of the Nikon D5 was no exception. The D5 takes over from the D4S as Nikon’s flagship camera. This model is the highest resolution full-frame Nikon camera, and has been built to meet the advancements and innovations in the full-frame market as well as meeting the many needs of professional shooters. There’s a brand-new 20.82MP full-frame sensor that operates across a wide native range of ISO 100 to 102400, which can be ramped up to an outstanding 3280000-equivalent, making image capture even in the poorest lighting conditions a possibility. The newly designed sensor improves autofocus, metering and image processing, which ensures that this camera is capable of producing outstanding imagery. The innovative D5…

SRP: £1,079/$1,297 (body only) Nikon’s third mirrorless Z-series camera with a DX (APS-C) sensor has arrived in the guise of the Z 30. It joins the original Z 50 and the more recent Z fc, which is essentially the same camera with retro-themed, direct-access controls. The Z 30 feels very much like the same camera again – this time sans-viewfinder to appeal to vloggers, and perhaps a generation of photographers brought up on smartphones. It’s also Nikon’s cheapest Z-series mirrorless to date, largely made possible due to hardware hand-me-downs. One of the key benefits of the Z 30 over other cameras in its class is that it provides access to Nikon’s entire range of Z-mount lenses, which has delivered truly astounding optical quality. The Z 30 is the lightest Z…

SRP:£1,079/$1,297 (body only) For what’s supposed to be an ‘entry level’ full-frame mirrorless, the Nikon Z 5 is surprisingly well-specced. It’s fully weather-sealed, featuring five-stop in-body image stabilization, a 24.3MP sensor that goes up to ISO 51,200 in native settings, and a class-leading electronic viewfinder. While its 24.3MP sensor is practically the same size as the Nikon Z 6’s 24.5MP component, it’s not exactly the same. The Z 5’s sensor is based on more established (and cheaper) CMOS technology, but the 0.2MP difference only translates to a 6,016 x 4,016 resolution on the Z 5 versus a 6,048 x 4,024 pixel count on the Z 6 – not enough to lose any sleep over. The other differences are also on the inside. First off, the maximum shooting rate is a…

SPR: £1,999/$1,999 (body only) The Nikon Z6 II has been designed with motion in mind. It has a smaller megapixel count compared to the Z7 II, but the fast full frame sensor will still ensure your images are truly impressive. It’s more of an all purpose FX-format camera and supports a wide ISO range of 100-51200 as standard. The back-illuminated sensor with focal‑plane AF can capture rich, pin-sharp imagery. If you aren’t planning on huge prints the Z6 II probably packs enough in for most shooters. The intelligent face detection AF processor detects and holds faces, and with 12fps continuous shooting you will never miss the action as it unfolds in front of you. The Z6 II has an impressive 273 focus points and the hybrid AF system uses an…

SRP: £849/$799.95 The Nikon Coolpix P950 has a huge 83x optical zoom. That’s a whopping 24-2000mm reach in 35mm terms, meaning that you can shoot sweeping wide landscapes or zoom in on intricate details. This can be digitally expanded to 166x using the Dynamic Fine Zoom, giving you a 4000mm reach in 35mm terms. When using the longer focal lengths, naturally camera shake is going to be an issue. Nikon has tried to combat this by featuring vibration reduction to help you when you’re shooting handheld, which is said to give you a five-stop shutter speed advantage. As well as a huge zoom, this camera offers a backside-illuminated CMOS sensor and bright NIKKOR lens with wide f/2.8 maximum aperture. Weirdly for a camera of this price point you can’t shoot…

Buying a Nikon camera is an investment, whether it’s a small compact camera for snapping holidays and events or a bigger DSLR model for professional purposes. When it comes to adding accessories to your camera, the choices are so vast and stretch from gizmos and gadgets that are fun play with to more serious pieces of kit such as tripods and cleaning equipment. Chances are if you’re passionate about photography your kit wish is never-ending. You’ll aim to build as many options as possible to help you shoot better images and use different techniques to create standout shots. We’ve compiled a list of essential accessories that marry perfectly with your Nikon camera and explain a little about how they’ll help you. We start by looking at bags and cases to keep…

Keep your kit safe by investing in a suitable bag or case – a dedicated camera bag with protective padding really is a must if you’re spending a lot of money on kit. The range of bags on the market is astounding and you’ll find one to fit your needs whether it’s for adventuring with your camera or making a fashion statement. Quality is the most important factor when choosing a bag; this will be what protects your camera so you should be sure that the materials used are up to standard. Also keep in mind the other gear and accessories you have to carry along with you. If you’re a Nikon DSLR user and you have plenty of lenses and flash accessories then choose a bag that accommodate all…

A remote is an extension of your camera that gives you added functionality by allowing you to control it without physically touching the unit. Remotes are available in two basic options: wired and wireless. Wireless remotes give you more flexibility for being further away from your camera even if there are objects between you and it. The wired options can limit you more but if you plan to use your remote primarily in a studio setup or for landscape photography then this option may suit you perfectly, and they tend to be cheaper too. In its simplest form a remote will release the shutter of your camera when you press the release button. While this is useful when you need to make yourself scarce like when you’re photographing wildlife, it’s…

Your Nikon’s mode dial has something for every photographer. There’s a plethora of modes available, which range from basic auto to full-blown manual control over exposure settings. Whether you’re working with a high-end Nikon compact, CSC or DSLR, most mode dials feature the same selection of options, which means you can follow along with us as we explore what’s on offer. Most mode dials are positioned on top of the camera, although some may be found in the camera’s menu. Your mode dial has an important role to play in the photo-taking process, and can essentially determine how well your shot turns out. To use your mode dial, simply rotate it around to a mode that you’re comfortable shooting in. If you are just starting out, you should select auto, while…

Aperture Priority mode is marked simply as ‘A’ on your Nikon’s mode dial and is a manual-enabled mode. You can select a suitable aperture for your shot, while the camera is responsible for determining the ideal shutter speed for the best possible exposure. Aperture Priority is particularly useful for step-up users who are keen to explore the creative possibilities of manual control, without having to grasp the balancing act of exposure – which is something you need if you’re working in Manual mode. Most photographers use Aperture Priority to control depth of field in their photos. Depth of field determines how much of your frame is in focus. A shallow depth of field creates an artistically blurred background, which is popular in professional portrait photography and still life. The effect…

The Manual mode is the most advanced option on the mode dial, as it can offer complete control of your exposure settings. Rotate the dial round to M to select the manual mode on your Nikon camera and program in your ideal shutter speed and aperture setting. Using the Manual mode, you can experiment with different photographic effects and techniques, offering you complete creative control over the outcome of your images, though this will take a bit of trial and error. It’s a good idea to get a basic understanding of what makes a balanced exposure. You can find this out exploring the Programmed Auto, Aperture and Shutter Priority modes first. Using these modes you can select either your shutter speed or aperture setting while the camera takes care of…

“Everything we see contains varying levels of light intensity… A good photograph renders the scene balanced, as it appears to the eye” With Nikon camera technology breaking boundaries as the digital revolution advances, photography is looking like a complicated ship to steer. Camera controls are becoming so sophisticated that as the manuals get thicker, the technological soup seems harder and harder to wade through. Camera metering, its modes, functions and subjectivity can be just as confusing, so just how do you learn to read the light? Everything we see contains varying levels of light intensity. From bright light streaming through a window to the dark shadow tones in a room corner, a good photograph renders the scene balanced, as it appears to the eye. All modern cameras, from an everyday…

Look through any holiday brochure and a good deal of images will have been taken with the addition of a filter. Some purists believe that filters are a way of cheating, adding something to an image that wasn’t there. In landscape photography this is especially true and it’s a subject that requires honesty to record only what you see. There are filters that add colour and effects to an image, but nowadays filtration is a more sedate affair with the majority of photographers opting to simply control the light. We now have a massive amount of software at our fingertips to alter an image, add colour, morph multiple exposures together and even filter, but the old adage of getting it right in-camera still rings true. I still approach photography the…

How many times have you taken a quick snapshot of a beautiful landscape scene, only to find you are left with a bleached-out scene with no detail or colour? Unlike our eyes, which can instantly adjust to around 24 stops in light difference, the camera cannot record anywhere near this amount of variation in one frame. This is where the simple graduated grey filter comes into play. It bridges the gap in exposure difference between a bright and dark subject, balancing exposure. Graduated filters come in two types: circular screw-on filters and resin oblong filters that slide into a filter holder attached to the lens. Although screw-on grads are in principle the same as the system type, they are more restrictive – to move the graduation line means moving the…

Choosing the best camera for landscape photography is usually a compromise between price and quality. Fortunately, modern cameras are so good that any 20MP+ DSLR or mirrorless camera purchased in the last five years is capable of producing superlative landscape photographs – as long as you don’t want to make huge prints. And if you do want to make huge prints, stitching frames together can capture the extra pixels required to make highly detailed files. The ultimate machine for landscape photography, in terms of detail and fidelity, is a medium-format digital camera. Models from Phase One, Hasselblad, Fujifilm and Pentax vary widely in price. You can find a 50-megapixel medium-format camera system for much the same price as a top professional DSLR, or you can spend ten times that amount…

We all have our own preferences when it comes to photographing the landscape, but if we’re selling our work, what we need to determine are the preferences of our customers. What sort of photographs do they want to buy – and why? Landscape photographs are usually purchased because of a connection between the buyer and the subject. The location could bring back memories, or it could be so generic it creates an emotion. Many landscape photographers establish themselves in tourist destinations so they can appeal to the transitory market, but they find themselves selling plain, postcard style images, rather than the emotive, arty photographs they like to capture personally. Finding connections between your landscapes and the people who buy them is the key – and being confident enough to ask…

Wildlife photography can be a daunting proposition. It’s a hugely attractive field, but it obviously presents plenty of challenges, owing to the wide variety of technical skills and subject knowledge needed. However, the rewards of making the effort to master these are abundant, with the chance to capture stunning photos that are captivating to look at, satisfying to produce and also often very marketable. Over the next few pages, you’ll discover how to improve your wildlife photography, with the help of experts in the field, Robert Read and Paul Sterry, who between them run the Nature Photographers image library, which can be found at www.naturephotographers.co.uk. Read on to discover their advice, as they tackle everything from kit suggestions through to editing skills.…

Given planning and a little bit of luck, wildlife photographers will often find themselves working with perfect lighting and cooperative subjects. In theory the resulting images should need little editing, apart from perhaps tweaking the levels and tinkering with the colour balance. The key with editing wildlife photographs is to keep it simple and the aim is to try to keep them looking natural – look out of the window at real life if in any doubt about colour accuracy. Working with a calibrated monitor and a well-lit image, the process should be to check that the colours are true to life and that the contrast is optimal, and then save the image as an archive TIFF file; resist the urge to reduce noise, sharpen or enhance the saturation at…

Thanks to the lovely golden light that they offer, dawn and dusk are often said to be the best times to take great images, but there is much to be said for the hours after the Sun has set. This may seem like a strange thing to say on face value, but low light offers immense potential for creativity. You can take advantage of this at any time of year, but the late autumn, winter and early spring months obviously offer increased opportunity. So don’t let either the night or the colder months of the year spell an end to your photography. In fact, the long nights of winter can offer an array of creative opportunities for the photographer who is willing to venture out into the gloom. And those weekends…

During long exposures the image sensor inside a camera starts to heat up, and this results in image noise. Unlike high-sensitivity noise, it is characteristic of the sensor, a bit like a fingerprint, and that provides a means for removing it. The easiest method is to use the in-camera noise-reduction system, but this doubles the time it takes to produce every image. When activated via the menu, long-exposure noise reduction will automatically kick in whenever there’s an exposure of one second or longer. After the image exposure is made, the camera makes another of the same duration without opening the shutter. This dark frame enables the camera to identify where the noise is before extracting it from the image. To save time on each shot, it’s also possible to do…

Over the years, Photoshop has become a hugely important part of the photographic process. More and more photographers now rely on this software instead of using the traditional on-camera settings, even though Nikon offers its users all the control they could want. This is because in the post-production phase you can push your images to the next level and achieve fantastic creative results that just couldn’t be captured on your camera alone. Many factors can let down a photo-shoot, be it the weather, poor equipment or a shaky hand, but all of these flaws can be edited out and corrected. When using Photoshop you only need to master a few key techniques to ensure that every editing project looks professional and your images perfect. Once you have these skills mastered, you…

NX Studio is a new free software application from Nikon that allows you to edit still images and movies. NX Studio replaces both ViewNX-i and Capture NX-D and incorporates the main functionality from both applications into a single easy-to-use free application. When you install NX Studio it will replace ViewNX-i, if already installed. NX Studio supports all Nikon DSLRs released since the D1. The NX Studio interface has been redesigned to include an easier-to-use, modern UI with the convenience of using a single application to attain good image quality and colour reproduction when editing images. The workspace is customizable using the View and Window menus. The filmstrip can be moved from a horizontal bar at the bottom of the screen to a vertical bar at the left side of the screen.…

Although many brands try to nibble at the camera market share, Nikon remains one of the biggest contenders. Nikon has strategically launched an impressive array of shooters that cover every portion of the market to fulfil the needs of every target demographic. Nikon’s D series DSLRs have become a popular choice for anyone from the enthusiastic novice to the seasoned photography professional. Consumers choose Nikon for its reputation for reliability, accessibility, high performance, superb functionality, impressive features and, ultimately, incredible image quality. The company has come a long way since it launched the first professional DSLR, the D1, in conjunction with NASA, but it has continued to build a name photographers can trust. Today the company retails dozens of models, all exhibiting a variety of specifications perfectly crafted to fulfil the…

SRP: £1,800/$1,600 (body only) Nikon’s top of the range DX-format offering provides some really outstanding power. The D500 is the D5’s more petite sibling, built to perform in even the most high-octane photography pursuits. Like the D5, the D500 houses Nikon’s next-generation 153-point AF system that will allow precision focusing even in extremely low light. The AF points cover almost the entire viewfinder frame, maximising coverage. The improved AF tracking and viewfinder visibility make it great for shooting motorsport and fashion shows where the subject is always moving. You’ll never miss a moment with the D500’s amazing 10fps shooting ability. Its high-performance buffer enables up to 200 NEF RAW images to be captured during one high-speed blast, which means you can shoot at maximum quality for 20 seconds. The D500…

SRP: £1,300 /$1.250 (body only) The D7500 houses a 20.9MP DX-format sensor, EXPEED 5 processor and a 180K-pixel RGB metering sensor, which promises to offer the same impressive image quality as the popular D500. It will perform well in all lighting conditions with an impressive ISO range of 100 to 51200, expandable to ISO 1,640000. The Live View autofocus is much quicker compared to the D7200, which Nikon attributes to the high-spec EXPEED 5 processor. You’ll be able to hit an impressive 8fps continuous shooting too. It offers AF precision with a thorough 51-point AF system even down to-3 EV so users will be able to track, lock onto and keep subjects in focus even when the light is low. The 180K-pixel RGB metering sensor, together with the Advanced Recognition…

SRP: £849/$859 (body only) The Nikon Z 50 DX is the first Z-series DX-format camera in the Nikon line-up. The mirrorless camera houses features inherited from the Nikon Z 7 and the Z 6 cameras, which include the wide Nikon Z mount and fast Hybrid-AF. The Z 50 also features a large 20.9 MP DX-format sensor, sharp electronic viewfinder and a tilting touch screen. The EVF enables you to see everything clearly whether you are shooting video or stills, and you can choose to view the scene naturally like you would through an optical viewfinder or how they’ll look with your settings applied, meaning that this camera is perfect for any level of photographer. The impressive mirrorless camera has Intelligent Eye-Detection AF, which automatically focuses on your subject’s eyes, making…

SPR: £2,999/$2,999 Nikon have taken a more serious approach to CSCs. The Z7 II’s compact body, big mount, bright lenses and strong build make it a worthy competitor for the likes of Panasonic and Sony. The Z series is the world’s widest full-frame mount at the time of writing, and is capable of capturing light in incredible detail. The impressive compact camera has an incredible 45.7MP sensor which has been teamed with the blazing EXPEED 6 image processor for truly professional results. The 55mm mount diameter means the Z cameras can take in more light, and with only 16mm between the mount and the sensor, the quality of light that reaches the sensor is better than ever before. The new larger diameter mount is truly at the heart of the…

SRP: £1049/$997 (body only) The press release for the P1000 made for entertaining reading. A fixed lens bridge camera with 125x optical zoom, equating to 24-3000mm in 35mm terms? “Tell me more!” Weight: 1.42kg, Length: 181mm. “Yikes, it’s huge!” Conversely, the P1000 isn’t blessed with a big sensor. It has a tiny 1/2.3-inch 16MP chip, the same size you’d find in a budget compact or a smartphone. While my already slackened jaw descended into freefall with the RRP, you do get a lot of camera for your money. The P1000 is roughly as bulky as a D750 with a 24-70mm f/2.8 attached, but with much more girth around what would be the lens mount. It’s comfortable in the hand though, with a well sculpted grip, even if build quality doesn’t…

Tripods are an essential piece of equipment to keep your images straight and let you play around with creative effects. Even the steadiest of hands can’t produce clear long exposures free from camera shake so if you want to add a professional edge to your work then get one. Weight and stability are the two major concerns when buying a tripod. You’ll probably have to carry your tripod a fair amount so you want it to be light, at the same time you want to be able to take the weight of your camera and not tip over from a gust of wind. When selecting a model check whether it comes with the right attachment for your camera and if it comes with a head. Professional tripods are often sold…

NIKON SPEEDLIGHT SB-5000 (£599/$600) Compatible with both FX and DX format Nikon DSLRs, the SB-5000 has been designed with professional shooters in mind. It is fast, reliable and versatile, offering superb performance both out on location and in the studio. This Speedlight operates as a hot shoe-mounted flash unit, wireless commander or remote unit – it’s the first Nikon speedlight with wireless control and the all-new cooling system allows more than 100 rapid-fire shots to be captured with the flash operating at full power. Using flash is about more than just shooting in low light and brightening up your image. It is an integral part of photography and learning how to use one effectively will increase your understanding of the photographic process and how light works. Most cameras – compacts…

Most cameras work by saving images and video files to a storage device such as an SD or MicroSD card which slot into the camera. These memory cards come in different sizes – the bigger the card the more images you can shoot before you run out of space. It’s not always a great idea to use a huge memory card to store all of your images on, though, as if it corrupts you will have lost the entire shoot. Sometimes it’s better to split a shoot over a series of smaller cards. When you buy your camera the accompanying manual will tell you what type of card fits into the unit. Nikon releases a list of SD cards compatible with various makes of camera too. Check their website to…

The Programmed Auto mode is marked as ‘P’ on your mode dial. It’s all too often overlooked as being a straightforward auto setting but, in fact, it offers a lot more flexibility, which makes it one of the best modes to explore after you get out of Auto and scene modes. Using Programmed Auto, the camera will determine the best combination of aperture and shutter speed for an exposure. There’s still room to be creative though, as you can take control over the final results by adjusting settings as you shoot, which makes it a more flexible mode. By changing one of the settings during a shoot, the camera will take care of the other, ensuring you still get an even exposure. Programmed Auto is capable of roughly determining what…

“Just by changing your own viewpoint, you can completely change the appearance of the photo” Composition is the way you organise the different elements on the scene in front of the camera. It’s tempting to imagine that the world is just the way it is, and all you can do is just turn up, point the camera and take the picture, but there’s a lot more to it than that. In the real world it’s usually not possible to move objects around to fit your ideas – but you generally don’t need to. Just by changing your own viewpoint, and sometimes the focal length of the lens you’re using, you can completely change the appearance of the photo and the objects within it. Composition in photography is like the rules…

For a long time, the general rule of thumb for many photographers – both amateur and professional – was that, unless you were talking about heavy-duty, professional flash units, artificial light was bad news. Magazines and books would routinely advise their readers that the best policy was to use natural light wherever possible and avoid using a hotshoe flash. So, what changed? The answer is twofold. Firstly, as the 20th Century became the 21st, the range of off-camera, wireless flash-triggering options available to photographers using a speedlight flash unit grew exponentially. Secondly, at around the same time, digital capture made itself available to consumers. Wireless radio triggers allowed photographers to position hotshoe flash units off camera, knowing that they could be reliably fired in perfect synchronisation. Even if this meant setting…

Despite the myriad of different filters and effects that are available in software, there is still nothing as yet to match what the simple polarising filter can do. This is because the filter physically affects the light entering the camera. Yes, there are software effects that can replicate the filter’s effects and there are the Saturation and Vibrance sliders, but a polariser is the one filter that every photographer should have. There are three types of polariser available. The first is simply a sheet of polarising gel, which can be cut by hand and held in front of the lens or mounted in a handmade gel holder. You can also buy these from manufacturers, however they aren’t very durable and can cause flare problems. There is also the most common…

Professional landscape photographers will return to the same location many times. Most of the amazing landscapes on their gallery walls rarely happened on a first visit, but are the result of persistent and careful attention. Planning photography shoots has never been easier. All it takes is a quick internet search to reveal thousands of amazing landscape locations. Pick one and then work out how to travel there. For instance, if you wanted to photograph the cherry blossoms in bloom around Mount Fuji in Japan, you not only need to plan your trip, you probably need to allow for a window of time in which you can travel. The timing each year is slightly different, so inflexible travel plans could mean you miss out. Apps will help you determine the weather…

How do you know there’s a photographer at an exhibition? He or she is looking at your two-metre prints from 15 centimetres away, inspecting the pixels one by one! Of course, this isn’t how we are supposed to view large photographic prints, but it’s true that there is nothing better than embracing an amazing print on the wall and then, as you walk up closer and closer, you are not disappointed by a lack of sharpness or quality. If you’re planning to produce a large, high-quality print, you need to make sure absolutely every step of your production, from capture to printing, is performed flawlessly. By the time you’re ready to make a print, it’s too late to change your camera technique or editing, but every step makes a difference.…

Still life photography may not be as ubiquitous as landscapes or portrait photography, but it has a lot going for it as a subject matter to work with. For a start, it’s virtually limitless, as there are no real rules about the kind of subject matter you can capture, and it’s an ideal home studio pursuit. However, not knowing exactly where to start with the nuances of composition and lighting can put some people off, which is why we’ve asked Kasia Burke to take a look at the ins and outs of this genre and explain some of her influences, working practices and shooting techniques. She also explores some of the considerations required when working for a client and gives some editing advice.…

When shooting for a client the first thing to do is to get a feel for their business and the message that they want to purvey. Working with smaller companies or individuals often means dealing with the owner directly. A client will normally approach me because they have seen my work and would like something in my style, but not always, so it is important to make sure that their requirements are fully understood beforehand. If they have images in mind that are not your own, then it’s a good idea to put together a mood board or a selection of images to reference to. Once a style is established a client may then leave the rest to the photographer. This entails a huge element of trust on both parts,…

The market is awash with cameras, lenses and all manner of photographic accessories. And with new kit seemingly being launched daily, you could be forgiven for being confused as to what is the best gear for your style of wildlife photography. Ultimately, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to choosing your equipment. Much will depend on your photographic style, your intended subjects, the budget you have available and, quite often, how much you can physically carry. But there are some general rules and principles that will help you make the right choice before you part with your hard-earned cash. If money is no object and you can afford the latest top of the range camera body and lenses, all well and good. But it is useful…

On paper, black and white photography sounds simple; the scenes you capture are absent from the complication of colours fighting for dominance and are instead simple presentations of grey tones. However, producing successful black and white photography is far more complex. It requires an understanding of tone, contrast and the ability to view the world in black and white in order to visualise the final image. Instead of just perfecting a composition you must understand the shapes, lines and textures in a scene and how they will interact with each other once the colour has been removed. Some people wrongly view black and white pictures as a back-up option for when colour images don’t quite work. Of course, sometimes you can strike lucky and rescue an image by converting it…

The weather can have a huge impact on the photographs that you produce, so it is important to know how to embrace the conditions in order to determine the mood and atmosphere captured in your black and white shots. As already discussed, the very best black and white imagery needs to embrace contrast, tones and the light – and different weather conditions can be used to enhance this. A body of water, fog, mist and haze all have the ability to reduce the contrast of a scene and create a more ethereal high-key feel. It can create an eerie stillness that is perfect for simple, stark black and white photography. In a similar way, a dark and stormy sky can be used to create a more low-key dramatic atmosphere. A…

Nobody wants to carry more weight than they have to, but it’s especially important to only carry the stuff you need when you’re shooting at night, because it’s amazing how much harder it is to find what you want by torchlight. It’s also easier to lose things, so we recommend that you sort through your bag and take out anything that you don’t need. In most cases taking photographs at night involves making long exposures of several seconds or even minutes in length. That makes a good, solid tripod absolutely essential if you’re going to avoid camera shake from causing blur. A decent tripod head that locks tight and doesn’t droop is also a wise investment. Wide-angle lenses are frequently favoured in low light and night-time photography. This is in…

One of the great things about shooting with long exposures is that it gives you time to change the brightness of parts of the scene by flooding them with light. This technique is known as painting with light, as you use light like a paint brush, passing it over objects to brighten them. It’s especially useful for brightening dark objects under a brighter sky, but it can be used more creatively to make glowing patterns or patches of light and shadow. with light. Where possible he likes to work with 30-second exposures, as this gives a decent amount of time for painting the scene without the extra hassle of Bulb mode. If the foreground is fairly close he’ll use an aperture of f8, but drops to f5.6 or f4 if…

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SRP: £3.499/$3,300 (body only) If you like the idea of creating big prints with amazing quality, then the Nikon D850 with its 46 megapixels is for you. Not only will this camera be perfect for shooting portraits and the occasional wedding, but it will also be great at home, shooting sports and wildlife. This camera has acquired the amazing autofocus system from the D5. Now with it’s 153-point autofocus system and nine frames per second burst rate, it’s sure to capture fantastic action images. The D850 is the first camera to offer 4K UHD recording using the full width of the sensor. Anyone just happy to shoot high definition video will be pleased to know that camera will do slow motion recording at up to 120 fps, which wasn’t offered…

SRP: £2,199/$2,299 (body only) This DSLR has been designed with the contemporary image maker in mind. It brings dazzling image quality, cinematic video and pro-inspired handling with a tilting LCD, as well as built-in Wi-Fi. The FX-Format 25.28MP sensor sits alongside an EXPEED 6 processor to produce high-resolution imagery with fantastic high‑ISO performance. The full-frame D780 houses two AF systems – a fast, dedicated Hybrid-AF for Live View shooting, and a fast, reliable Phase-Detection AF system for viewfinder shooting. In Live View, the accurate AF system offers 273 on-sensor AF points and Eye‑Detection AF. When shooting through the viewfinder, you can harness Nikon’s powerful 51-point AF system with flagship tracking capabilities. Pros seeking a secondary camera for fast-paced shoots will appreciate the D758’s familiar handling and speed. Other little, elements…

SRP: £3,999/$3,999 (body only) Rumours of a Nikon Z8 mirrorless camera, fitting in the range somewhere between the Nikon Z7 II and Nikon Z9, have been doing the rounds for years. The manufacturer is touting the Nikon Z8 both as the “true successor to the Nikon D850” and a “baby Z9” – both fair descriptions. It does indeed look and feel like the Z-series equivalent of the D850, with a similar form factor, yet squeezes virtually all the high-end specs of the flagship Z9 into a smaller (and more affordable) body. Kicking off the headline specs that the Nikon Z8 shares with its bigger brother, it has the same 45.7MP stacked CMOS sensor, boasting the fastest scan rate in any commercially available camera. While this isn’t a ‘global’ sensor that…

SRP: £809/$957 (body only) The Z fc has much in common with the Z 50, not least in that they have the same 20.88MP (23.5x15.7mm) CMOS sensor and Expeed 6 processing engine. Like the Z 50, the Z fc has a stills sensitivity range of ISO 100-51,200, which can be expanded to ISO 204,600 and ISO 100-25,600 for video. The maximum continuous shooting rate is also 11fps. The big difference between the Z 50 and the Z fc is in the design because the newer camera was inspired by the Nikon FM2 film SLR from the 1980s. Consequently, the Z fc has a collection of metal dials for setting the sensitivity (ISO), shutter speed and exposure compensation to specific values. Usefully, it also has a vari-angle screen that can be…

Selecting the right lens for the correct subject matter is crucial. Your lens is the eye of your camera and records or captures what it sees. In terms of cost and performance, it usually comes down to the more you spend, the better your results; however, if you’ re just starting out there is no point in splashing out on lots of expensive equipment straight away as you first need to learn the basics of photography and find which genre you wish to pursue. A good lens is pricey; there’s no getting around that fact. The cheaper kit lenses will produce good enough results for beginners, but when you need to take your photography to the next step you will have to invest in a couple of decent lenses. A lens’s…

A tripod’s legs are there to carry the weight of your gear, while the head is there to give you flexibility and movement while you shoot. Essentially, the head does all the work, as you twist and turn it into the right position to line your camera up with the shot. The price range of heads can range from the value-for-money midrange offers to purpose built but astronomically priced units. Heads will often match or even outprice tripod legs and that’s because they’re just as important in your gear list. When choosing a head take note of the panoramic rotation and lateral tilt. This is how far you can turn your camera while it is mounted and how far you can angle your lens up or down. Your choice of…

One or two cameras? When shooting in-fast-paced-situations such as weddings, one camera might not be enough. To stop getting tangled between two straps, choose a solution that holds two. While it is more conspicuous than a simple strap, a product like Black Rapid’s Double (DR1) (£99.95) can hold two cameras securely, keeping your hands free to change lenses if you need to. Getting a strap for your camera is just as essential to protecting it as the correct bag. Besides protection they are also vital to allowing you to shoot comfortably and take your camera around with you while having your hands free to perform other tasks such as changing lenses. There are hundreds of straps on the market that you can choose from, some built to be practical and…

Scene modes are a lot more advanced than your standard Auto mode camera setting. They are programmed to automatically capture your subject using the best settings for the scene. The selected exposure settings are based on those that are traditionally used, in order to get creative results when shooting the likes of portraits, landscapes, sports and still life. The Landscape scene mode ensures more of the picture is in focus by selecting smaller aperture settings to increase depth of field. Other modes make similar adjustments to optimise images, including blurring the background in portraits. To select a scene mode, simply rotate the mode dial to one of the icons, depending on what you’re planning to shoot. In some Nikon cameras, you may need to select the scene symbol and choose…

Now it’s time to rotate the mode dial around to S to select the Shutter Priority mode. It works in the exact opposite way to the Aperture Priority mode, in that while you select your ideal shutter speed, the camera takes care of the aperture to ensure a balanced exposure. Using the Shutter Priority mode, you’ll be able to experiment with shorter or longer exposure times. Using this mode on your Nikon camera, you’ll be able to determine how much light reaches the sensor from the lens. Faster shutter speeds, that are only a fraction of a second, will let in the least amount of light, so to avoid underexposing your image, the camera will compensate by using wider aperture settings, to let in a larger volume of light. Fast…

Digital photography has a significant quota of science and technology in its DNA but, despite this, there’s so much about it that’s as subjective, unquantifiable and intangible as any other art form. All the clichés about one person’s art being another person’s trash hold completely true when it comes to photography. This, of course, means that it’s hard to definitively judge photography; what separates a great photo from one that’s merely good? It often comes down to consistent technical proficiency in key areas. When it comes to making an objective judgment of an image, few factors matter more than focusing and its impact on sharpness and clarity. Images that display good focusing technique appear professional and well executed. All too often, photographers assume that the sophisticated cameras and lenses that…

As the landscape is one of the most accessible subjects, you would think this would make it easy to capture. However, unlike studio photographers who can control their own lighting, for landscape photographers it’s a slightly different story. We work with natural light and in the UK this can be unpredictable at the best of times. We have to measure and cope with a changing light in all its various forms – side lighting, back lighting, sunsets, sunrises, into the light, harsh light, diffused light… the list goes on and the various techniques for capturing each first time around aren’t at all simple. Add to this other elements such as cloud cover, the seasons, the Sun’s position and you start to get an idea of what we’re faced with. We have…

Let’s not forget that photography is a creative process – not does it produce a true representation of a subject, but it’s also used to capture what we have in our minds, whatever the subject. With current software it’s all too easy to create montages and all kinds of creative imagery, but in-camera it requires a practical knowledge and forethought. The landscape in particular is restrictive in terms of what you can add to it, unlike studio photography where lighting and effects can be created. With the landscape you get what you’re given, but with filtration you can bend the visual rules. One filter that can do this is the ND (neutral density) filter – a piece of grey resin or glass that holds back light from entering the lens.…

For me, landscape photography is all about the emotion. It’s about creating atmosphere and interpreting how I feel about my subject using equipment and techniques that produce the finest quality I am capable of. It’s a weird synthesis of left and right brain thinking, where I get to problem-solve technical issues and logistical challenges (like getting to the location in the first place), and then hopefully create something magical as well. I am quite comfortable comparing my approach to landscape photography with producing a Hollywood feature film, where it’s all about visual storytelling and creating a cinematic experience. However, I imagine other landscape photographers would prefer their work to be compared perhaps with a BBC documentary, where production values are designed to produce a ‘genuine’ or ‘realistic’ experience. Both are…

The act of taking a photograph can be described as ‘capturing good-quality pixels’, after which everything else can be done later in post-production. This doesn’t mean you can forget about lighting or composition out in the field. Quite the opposite: these form the essence of great landscape photographs. Rather, once you’ve found that amazing scene, take a series of exposures to ensure you have captured correct (or optimum) exposure and focus. These are the standard exposure bracketing and focus stacking techniques. There are few filters needed in the field, the main exceptions being a polariser and neutral density filters. Both produce results that can’t be replicated in post production. A polariser on a wide angle isn’t great for darkening blue skies because the effect isn’t even across the field of…

The traditional landscape composition is based on a foreground, middle ground and background. By having elements of interest in each of these planes, such as a rock in the foreground, a tree in the middle ground and a mountain range in the background, the viewer’s eye is encouraged to travel through the landscape – which is considered successful in compositional terms. These traditional landscapes are seen with a moderately wide angle lens, but there are other ways of composing the landscape. Ultra wide-angle lenses can also use the foreground-to-background arrangement, but by placing the camera close to the foreground, an exaggerated sense of scale can be produced (for example, the foreground rock looks huge in comparison to the mountain in the background). However, wide-angle lenses mean there’s a lot of…

There’s no single right way to print, mount and frame a landscape photograph. However, if you’ve invested in good quality equipment, you may like to print your photographs on a smooth, glossy paper, as this will show off all the detail to best effect. However, glossy photographs can appear a little sterile and if mounted behind glass, there can be unwanted reflections. One option is to print on matte paper and flush mount the print onto aluminium or board, with no frame or matte. While the print is unprotected and open to scratches, many believe it’s a better way to ‘see’ your photographs. Canvas prints have become popularised in homeware and department stores and can be purchased very cheaply. This is good news if you want one for yourself, but…

My still life work is influenced by the style of Old Master paintings from the 17th Century whose illuminations I replicate through a very controlled low-key lighting. I keep it simple, although this doesn’t necessarily mean easy. Where a painter can set up a composition and tailor the lighting as they desire, with photography the lighting needs to be cast in exactly the right place to achieve the desired effect. Adjustments can be made in post processing but I believe in getting it right in camera initially so that hardly any work in post is needed at all. I mostly use flash studio lighting which means I have control over the light, rather than relying on available light which could differ throughout the day in colour temperature and strength. I…

Flight is arguably the aspect of bird behaviour that offers the most potential for creative photography. But before you can express your artistic flair it is important to master the skills required to capture sharp images of birds. These days it is not unrealistic to expect to be able to see feather detail – even individual barbs – in a flying bird. At first glance the skills required to capture birds in flight appear to echo those needed in sports photography. However, there are significant differences that make this branch of wildlife photography more problematic. Firstly, flying birds tend to move unpredictably with more three-dimensional challenges than their human counterparts. Secondly, and more importantly, their movement through space is much faster, with blurringly speedy wingbeats. Back in the days of…

Most wildlife photographers do not have to stray far from home to find subjects that will keep them fully occupied and their memory cards full. And there is an argument to say that if you cannot find something to photograph nearby then a lack of imagination and creativity may be the issue, rather than a dearth of subjects. However, that philosophy quickly evaporates when photos of weird and wonderful creatures and landscapes are viewed online or drooled over in a magazine. So, sooner or later most photographers succumb to the lure of the exotic, and are tempted to travel to distant locations in pursuit of wildlife images. Today it has never been easier to travel to wildlife-rich destinations and there is a wealth of information available online and in books…

Selecting a suitable subject and focus for your black and white captures can be trickier than when shooting for colour. In order to succeed with your black and white photography you must learn to look at the world in tones of grey and well as shape, form and texture. There is no colour, so it is all about the power of the composition when it comes to achieving striking shots. Professional photographer Luke Tscharke (luketscharke.com) says, “When shooting with a black and white image in mind there will be a greater focus on the light, textures and patterns in the image rather than the colours. One could say that colour is a distraction, and shooting in black and white means you are more focused on the composition of the subject…

There is more to creating a striking black and white image than doing a simple desaturation – it is very easy to tell the difference between a quick, thoughtless conversion and one that time has been spent on. There a number of ways to convert your images to black and white; the most basic way would be to do it in camera, however we’d recommend that you shoot in colour and RAW in order to maximise the amount of image information available to you, then spend time in post perfecting the tones. Avoid simply converting the image to Grayscale in Photoshop because the results will be very flat, and this is also a destructive edit that simply removes all colour. Instead you should opt for a non-destructive adjustment layer to…

Long exposures need to be composed just like any other shot, and guides such as the rule of thirds are just as useful. It’s also important to consider the whole scene and ensure that there’s something of interest in the foreground, middle and background of the composition, just as you would with an image taken in daylight. However, you can use light, or the lack or it, to reveal or conceal parts of the scene. One of the most important aspects to remember about shooting exposures of several seconds or more, is that moving objects may be recorded as a blur or, if they move fast enough, not at all. It depends how fast they move and how long the exposure is. Clouds, for example, can be recorded as a…

Shooting a wide view calls for a wide-angle lens that brings the bonus of greater depth of field at any given aperture. In some situations f4 can be small enough to produce the depth of field you need, especially if there’s lots of shadow, but if the main focal point is relatively close you may have to drop to f8 or smaller. Use a shutter speed that gives the degree of movement blur that you need – expert David Clapp finds 30 seconds is often ideal. Most cameras can control the length of an exposure up to 30 seconds, if you need longer than that you’ll have to use Bulb mode. In this mode the shutter is held open for as long as you hold down the shutter release –…