When is the total Lunar eclipse?

The total lunar eclipse is happening on Sunday September 7th (2025), and the time of the ‘Blood moon’ eclipse is between 6.30pm BST and 7.55pm BST. Although the moon will be quite low to the horizon, and will already be in total eclipse as it rises on the horizon, so this will make it more difficult to see. You’ll also need to make sure you get a high viewpoint, with nothing blocking your view of the horizon to the East, for the best chance of seeing it. If you live further south/southeast, your chances of seeing it are increased. (Source)

Who can see it?

The lunar eclipse will be visible in the UK, Australia, Africa, Asia, and Europe, but unfortunately not in the US. Depending where you are, you may be able to see the partial eclipse as the eclipse ends, particularly if you’re in a more northern location.

How often does the Lunar eclipse happen?

There are usually 2-5 lunar eclipses per year, but these are often just partial eclipses, and visibility depends on where you are in the world. A total eclipse only tends to occur every three years, with two happening in the same year. (Source)

When is the next total Lunar eclipse?

There is a total lunar eclipse 7th September 2025, but if you’re unable to see this one, the next total lunar eclipse is expected to happen 3 March 2026 (US, Australia, East Asia only). (Source: skyatnightmagazine.com)

When was the last total Lunar eclipse?

15-16 May 2022, and before that January 2019.

Why is it called the blood moon?

As the earth blocks the light from the sun, the moon will turn a red colour. The moon will turn red because of an effect known as Rayleigh Scattering, where bands of green and violet light become filtered through the atmosphere.

How do you photograph the lunar eclipse?

You’ll need a tripod, and ideally a telephoto lens (300-600mm equivalent or more), particularly if you want to show the moon as large as possible in the frame.

By using a self-timer or remote release, you can avoid camera shake. You’ll also need to adjust your exposure as the level of light changes as the moon becomes darker and darker, as it moves into the shadow of the earth.

Beware of clouds – if there are clouds in the sky, then this will cause problems viewing the lunar eclipse. Sometimes you might get lucky if there’s a break in the clouds. Be prepared for the moon’s position to change in your frame over time.

You’ll need to make sure your camera can correctly focus on the moon, or alternatively you’ll need to switch to manual focus to ensure the focus is spot on. Focus peaking, and/or a magnified view can help with this.

Shooting in raw (and JPEG) gives you the ability adjust the images later, to tweak noise and colour if needed. Don’t be surprised if your photo of the blood moon isn’t as red as other images you’ve seen of the moon on the internet – you will most likely have to play with saturation settings to match others!

Why is light pollution a problem for night photography?

Light pollution, such as streetlights, and lights from houses and buildings make it more difficult to see the dark night sky, as the lights effectively light up anything in the air, making it difficult to get a clear photo of the stars and other objects in the sky, such as the moon.

Therefore, it’s important to be away from any light pollution, so if you can get into the countryside then this will give you the clearest view of the sky. You can use a website such as www.lightpollutionmap.info to lookup the levels of light pollution near you, to see if there are any areas nearby that will give a clearer view of the sky. This is of particular importance when shooting stars and astrophotography.

Where else can I watch the lunar eclipse?

If you can’t make it out to see the eclipse, or have cloud issues, then you will be able to watch a live stream of the lunar eclipse, on the timeanddate.com website.

Shooting the night sky can be a challenging, but rewarding photography skill, see more guides here:

• Top tips from astronomy photographer of the year winners.
• How to photograph the moon – and super moon!
• Best cameras for low-light photography and video

If you want to shoot more amazing low-light photographs, have a look at our guide on how to shoot aurorae, star trails, and the moon.

Lead Photo: Composite photo of the supermoon lunar eclipse of 2015 as seen from North America. The photo shows the moon through 8 various stages during the eclipse ending with the full “Blood moon” A.K.A. “Harvest Moon”. Credit: Vittgenstein, Getty Images.

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Citizens of many countries can take their own passport photographs in photo-booths or post offices, and have passport photo size prints inside ten minutes. In the UK and USA, these can cost £6-8 / $7-14 or more per set – which is to say, per person. It is cheaper and more fun to do the job at home.

Our money-saving guide shows you how to shoot your own passport sized photos quickly and easily at home…

You can also submit passport photos digitally; one no longer has to print the photos. It’s vital, though, to avail yourself of the rules set out by the government of your country, wherever you are.

It’s worth checking the guidelines on the official government websites as they can change: U.S. Passport Photos (state.gov), and www.gov.uk/photos-for-passports for the UK before taking your own passport photos. Then follow our guide for the best results.

Passport Photos – Official Guidelines

The criteria for eligibility are quite stringent, but easily achieved. A neutral expression with closed mouth, no red-eye, clear and sharp focus, with a plain cream/grey background, posed face-on to the camera, are all mandatory.

The photo should also have been taken in the last month – so you won’t be able to use an old photo that you happen to have on your computer.

There should be no shadows on the face, no hair in the face, no facial-coverings and, if printing on photo paper, the images must have no tears, creases or marks. Though official rules state you cannot wear anything that covers your head, there is an exemption if the covering is worn for religious or medical reasons.

The official rules state ‘no glare off glasses’, though if you wear glasses you’re probably best off just removing them entirely – you also can’t wear tinted glasses or sunglasses.

Guidelines for children

If you’re taking a passport photo of a young child they have to be the only person in the photo – you can’t prop them up in your lap. Official advice suggests that very young infants are placed on a plain light-coloured sheet and photographed from above.

The posing restrictions for children under 6, however, are a little less stringent – the child doesn’t have to look straight at the camera or maintain a neutral expression. Children under 1 also don’t have to have their eyes open, though if someone is supporting their head with a hand, that hand is not allowed to be visible.

How to take your own Passport Photos – Shooting

Background and positioning

Find a light-coloured wall (should be light grey or cream, not 100% white where possible) as a background and shoot your passport photo subject using the portrait orientation. It’s a lot like taking a very boring portrait photo.

Your surroundings are important and need to be neutral – for example, should you stand by something red it will have a luminescence that will reflect red light back onto you. Snapping in a random place won’t do – you have to specifically shoot for the right posed shot in the correct location. As much as a photobooth will happily do all this for you, avoiding the expense is the aim here.

You can’t use a photo that has been cut down from a larger photo, so make sure to position yourself or the subject so that they are completely filling the frame. The image of you, from the crown of your head to your chin must be between 29 and 34mm (while the overall height of the image is 44mm).

Lighting

Avoid using the flash as this increases the likelihood of red-eye and background shadows – however, if you can turn the flash down then a small pop of fill-in can provide good colour balance and open up facial detail.

Daylight is best, such as from a window, as this can provide as equal a balance as possible to avoid shadows on the face and background. Flat lighting is integral, as shadows over the face or background may cause your images to be rejected. Expose for the subject’s face, preferably using a spot or centre-weighted evaluative metering setting, and face detection, if your camera offers this.

When reviewing your images, ensure that they are well exposed – you don’t want underexposure, as the detail of the face will be lost in the shadows.

Take several photos to increase your chances of capturing a good image. Avoid smiling and blinking. You could even do this yourself if you use the camera’s self-timer and rest on an appropriate surface or, better still if you have one, use a tripod.

Make Your Own Passport Photos – Post-production

Avoiding post-production as much as possible is the aim of the game – in fact, images which have been digitally manipulated to change your appearance are not allowed.

Changing the background

If you can get away with a quick colour correction and exposure correction, then great. However, if the background of your passport photo image is a little dark or off-colour, it’s easy to use PhotoShop or Elements to fix the background, and make the subject stand out. Use the Magic Wand or Quick Select tool to select your background and simply press the delete key to remove it – ensuring the fill layer is a 5-10% grey as a totally white background is against the guidelines and will cause rejection.

You may be left with some tricky areas around the hair, but these can be ‘picked off’ by zooming in and gently deleting (use the Eraser tool) offending areas or changing the tolerance of your selection tools and re-selecting specific areas.

Don’t worry about being too precise, as the image you are working on now is of a much larger size than the final print will be, so there is a lot of give in how much detail will be picked up in the final print. Once you’re happy select Layer > Flatten Layer.

Make sure you have enough brightness to give the impression of being shot under bright light, like a flash. But don’t wash out details or blow highlights though.

You can bring up the Levels palette by going to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Now bring the left and right markers under the histogram towards the centre to increase contrast, and move the centre marker for brightness.

Rules for submitting digital photos

If you are submitting your photo digitally, then you don’t need to worry about printing one, and can simply upload your photo as part of the process of applying for the new passport.

The photo must follow the same rules as set out above, but should also be at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels high. The image needs to be at least 50KB, and no more than 10MB. You can control this easily when you save the image, by using Photoshop’s Export tool.

If you’re in the US, have a look at the government guidelines: U.S. Passport Photos (state.gov)

Can I use my iPhone or Smartphone to take passport photos?

Yes – so long as you use the main camera on the back of the phone, and not the selfie camera. Then you should be able to get a good photo that is suitable and valid for passport photos. In fact, some of the guidelines specifically state: no selfies!

Therefore, we recommend first enlisting a friend’s help by taking the shot. Also, ensure that you use some zoom (if your phone has this) to obtain a professional-looking photo, taken with a camera. Make sure that any filters, such as portrait or bokeh mode, are switched off, and that lighting is even. See our guide to the best smartphones for photography.

Make Your Own Passport Photos – Readying for print, photo size and dimensions

What size is a passport photo? Passport guidelines on passport photo size state that a passport photo should be 35mm wide and 45mm tall. Make a new file in Photoshop (File > New) at this exact size, at 300dpi.

Select your already edited image from the other window and, using the Move tool, click and drag into your new window.

If it’s too large use the Free Transform tool (Edit > Free Transform) whilst holding down the Shift key when dragging to resize to ensure correct proportion. You may need to zoom out to find the edges if it’s really big. The passport photo dimensions should now be correct.

Once you have your passport image fitted to the window, you’ll want to add a border and multiply the image.

To remove any overlap outside of your 35x45mm window, then click Select > All and then Image > Crop, then hit D on your keyboard to restore your colour palette back to default. By using Image > Canvas Size it is possible to extend the border – add 5mm per side to make a 40x50mm (4x5cm) image.

To make your set of four images, use Canvas size again to double the width and height to 80x100mm, now Copy and Paste your image three times and use the Move tool to arrange them. Make sure they are copies as when applying for a passport it’s important to send a couple of identical images – there can’t be different poses in a single application.

Now flatten again into one layer (Layer > Flatten Image).

Printing Your Own Passport Photos

Recent updates to the official rules for passport photos (GOV.UK) require that they are ‘printed to a professional standard‘. However, this should not deter you from home printing for fear of rejection by the passport office. In the same document, it is made clear that photos should be printed on white paper. In truth a decent quality inkjet printer with good inks and paper can effectively produce a professional-quality print.

Should you print your passport photos at home, ensure you use decent white photo paper, at the exact same size as onscreen (100%) and with the best possible resolution.

If your printer prompts you to resize to page or make any other changes then ignore these prompts. Once they are printed, use a ruler to measure each picture to ensure the size is still 35x45mm. Then cut them up with scissors and you’re all done – passport photos made at home on a budget.

Related articles:

• Complete guide to portrait photography
• How to take better portraits with a smartphone
• Get to grips with lighting for better portraits

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

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Not only has Josh recently been named a Sigma creator, he has won several awards, been endorsed by no less an organisation than NASA and is a regular fixture on regional TV news and in the press. Josh is also about to bring out a new book with Ammonite Press, 52 Assignments: Night Photography. Not bad going for someone who’s not yet 30! In addition, Josh will be a star speaker (pardon the pun) at our forthcoming Festival of Outdoor Photography, helping people to get started with astrophotography and building on existing skills (book your tickets here).

Reaching for the stars

A proud native of rural Somerset (and a near neighbour to me), Josh also has a deep love of the landscape and nature, and this really shines through in his work. It gives his ‘astro-landscapes’ more emotional impact than the more scientific captures of distant galaxies, which while impressive, can be harder for the viewer to engage and identify with. So, we were keen to catch up and find out more about Josh’s already ‘stellar’ career and his new book, which expertly ties together astro and landscape photography.

‘My interest began when I was seven, as I used to watch kids’ TV programmes about Mars, which triggered my curiosity about life on other planets. I got a planetary camera, which is like a webcam, and I put it in my telescope. I’d take the images I took of planets etc into school, and that inspired me to take astrophotography more seriously as I got older.’

Indeed, Josh went on to get a first-class honours degree in photography from the University of the West of England, specialising in astrophotography and the effect of light pollution for his final project. So for Josh, his vocation has always been very clear. ‘My degree also gave a good grounding in what you need to survive as a freelancer and pursue a professional career as an astrophotographer,’ he adds. From here, Josh worked hard to get his images seen and on news programmes. He also devoured lots of books and online resources on astrophotography in order to develop his skills further and help him make good equipment choices. ‘A particular help was Alyn Wallace’s YouTube videos – Alyn has now sadly passed, but you can still learn a lot from his online resources.’

The fast show

Josh cut his teeth shooting solar and lunar eclipses and then he moved onto other popular subjects, such as the Milky Way and winter constellations, along with meteor shows and aurorae. ‘The biggest technical challenge I had at the start of my career was equipment,’ Josh recalls. ‘In other words, adapting to low-light environments. I soon realised that “slower” kit lenses, with narrower apertures, weren’t cutting it. Working with Sigma as a Sigma Creator means I can use the latest fast, cutting-edge lenses, whose apertures open up to f/1.4. This has made the night sky much more accessible to everyone.’

When it comes to promoting his work, Josh has found the most effective way is to tell his own stories. ‘In the period coming up to lockdown I actually gave up astrophotography for about six months, but then I took the ‘Enigma of the North’ shot, which appeared on an AP cover in 2023. I really pushed this image and the story behind it, out there, and I quickly learned how effective Instagram could be. So that inspired me to continue shooting astro during lockdown and beyond.’

Josh’s quick tips for better astro-landscapes

• Gear – You don’t need the latest equipment, work with what you have – that could be a DSLR and kit lens. I know this seems to contradict what I said in my advice on camera gear, but the whole point of my new book is to encourage people to ‘have a go’ at astrophotography.
• Authenticity – In terms of building a social media presence, don’t be put off by the competition and how many followers somebody else might have. Be true to yourself and be true to the story that you want to tell. People will appreciate an authentic story they can relate to.
• Planning – Keep a firm eye on the weather forecast and regularly check out astrophotography resources so you can keep abreast of what is happening the night sky throughout the year. You need to be a patient and philosophical, especially with the UK’s very changeable weather!

Josh’s favourite camera gear and accessories for astrophotography

‘Right now, I shoot with two Sony cameras, the Sony A7S Mark II and the Sony A7S Mark III. In terms of lenses, it’s a mixture of glass from the “Sigma fleet”, ranging from 14mm up to 100mm. The specific lenses I use are the Sigma 14mm F1.4 DG DN Art, the 20mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm and 100mm. These are all primes with a maximum aperture of f/1.4. I also shoot with the Canon EOS R6 Mark II, plus the Canon RF 200-800mm lens and their RF 1.4 tele-extender. For telephoto work, the quality of the Canon gear is outstanding.’

For more options for all budgets, read our guide to the best cameras for astrophotography and the best lenses to capture the night sky.

You could fill a small lorry with every accessory for astrophotography out there, including smart telescopes, but here is Josh’s gear choice:

Red flashlight – This is arguably the most important accessory in a night photographer’s camera bag. It can take the human eye 30 minutes or so to fully adapt to the dark, at which point white light from a standard flashlight or smartphone should be avoided. Red flashlights help you see in the dark without affecting your night vision and are available as either hand or head flashlights.

Remote shutter release – Camera movement during long exposures will result in camera shake, which is why a remote shutter release is another wise investment. These connect to your camera either wirelessly or via a cable and allow you to trigger the shutter without physically touching your camera. More-advanced remote shutter releases also allow you to set a delay after pressing the shutter button, set the number of images required, and set the interval between frames.

Star tracker – A star tracker is essentially an electronic motor that mounts to the top of your tripod and moves at the same rate as Earth’s rotation, allowing photographers to shoot long exposures of the night sky without stars appearing as trails of light. They are specialist pieces of kit, but as your skills and confidence improve, you may want to invest in more-advanced equipment and a star tracker should be top of your list.

Tripod – A strong, sturdy tripod is recommended for night photography. My preference is for carbon-fibre models, as they are compact and lightweight, and their ergonomic design is well-suited to colder environments.

Geared head – An integral part of any outdoor tripod set-up, geared heads are mechanical systems that attach to the top of your tripod legs and allow for very precise adjustments both horizontally and vertically – perfect for fine-tuning your compositions.

Filters – The two most popular filters for night photography are diffuse and natural-night filters. Diffuse filters are designed to make stars appear bigger and brighter while natural night filters reduce the effects of light pollution. Neither are essential, but if you are looking to capture a number of visual effects, these are great filters to consider.

Other software and apps – Stellarium is a free open-source ‘planetarium’ that shows the sky as you would see it with the naked eye, binoculars, or telescope. Use it to find out which planets will be visible and when. Alternatively, use the Stellarium Mobile app. More information at stellarium.org

Editing workflow for astro

Editing for astrophotography may seem complex and off-putting to some, but as Josh reveals, it needn’t be. ‘I find Photoshop and Lightroom more than enough,’ Josh explains. ‘My suggested workflow is as follows:

• I take the original raw images of the Milky Way, for example, but I also might need to take separate images of the foreground in order to get a balanced exposure later (you might also need to track the night sky using a star tracker).
• Then I bring all these images, including the Milky Way and the foreground, into Photoshop and load them as layers. Then you simply turn these into a ‘Smart Object’ and use a median blending mode to register the data in all the images you’ve imported, and to boost the signal-to-noise ratio.
• Because these images are taken during the same shoot, you can seamlessly blend the foreground and the background and end up with a nicely balanced exposure which you can fine-tune as needed in Photoshop or Lightroom.’

Location, location, location

Josh now travels all over the world for his astro-photography, which as you can imagine, can be time consuming. So he needs to be focused and organised. ‘You need a regular income coming in, but you also need to be looking for new ideas and opportunities for your astrophotography. I’ve learned that the quality of the night sky in the UK is getting worse by the year, in terms of the impact of light pollution. So this means that I have to travel quite a lot in order to appreciate the night sky at its best.’

Not all AP readers will be able to head off to Easter Island, as Josh did for the magazine’s 8th April cover shot. So in the spirit of making do with what we have, what are his favourite destinations in the UK? ‘That’s a tough question, but Northumberland National Park can yield great images, as can Galloway in south-western Scotland. Further south, the south west of England can be good for dark skies, including Exmoor and the tip of south-west Cornwall. Brecon Beacons is worth mentioning, too.’

New 52 Assignments: Night Photography book

With Josh’s new book, 52 Assignments: Night Photography, he hopes to inspire as many people as possible to take pictures of the night sky. ‘It’s created for both beginners and experienced astrophotographers, and as it’s based around assignments, there are lots of ideas for weekly or monthly projects to get your teeth into. The book covers a very broad spectrum of topics, including eclipses, aurorae, the Milky Way and the moon. It is also compact and light enough to take with you on your nocturnal shoots.’

52 Assignments: Night Photography by Josh Dury is expected to be available from 13th May.

Dark matters: a sample assignment from Josh’s book

‘A dark-sky site is an area that isn’t adversely affected by artificial light at night (ALAN). These sites provide us with a window to the universe and, if you’ve never visited one before, can be positively overwhelming. The night sky’s brightness is measured by the Bortle scale, with Class 1 being the darkest and Class 9 being the brightest. True dark-sky sites are Class 1 and should be treated with the utmost respect, as not only are they often rich in wildlife, but the use of artificial light is often prohibited by law.

For this assignment, you will need to use your resources to find a Class 1 location and plan and shoot a night-sky image with little to no artificial light sources. Use the widest focal length you have at your disposal to capture the maximum amount of light and detail, and fill the top two-thirds of your frame with the sky and the bottom third with your foreground. This will help you to fully appreciate the immensity of a truly dark sky unaffected by light pollution.

To find Class 1 locations, use an app called Light Pollution Map. This free app is available for both Apple and Android phones and provides a colour-coded map overlay, with Class 1 areas highlighted in dark blue. I highly recommend you download it. Because the contrast between sky and stars will be noticeably more pronounced, clarity will be greater and shutter speeds will generally be shorter, although subtler details in the night sky can be revealed with longer shutter speeds. Experiment with exposure settings and compare your results to see which approach you prefer.

Field notes – Bortle Class 1 locations are very dark and so extra care must be taken with regard to your environment and the wildlife around you. Your eyes take 20-30 minutes to fully adapt to the dark, and artificial light can hinder this process, which is why a red flashlight is essential when moving around and setting up your camera.’

Josh Dury is an award-winning photographer, filmmaker, public speaker and writer who specialises in capturing natural world subjects, including astrophotography, landscapes and wildlife. He and his work have been widely featured in the media, including appearances on the BBC, ITV,
CNN and many other media outlets. See joshduryphoto-media.com.

Festival of Outdoor Photography

On Saturday 31st May Josh will be speaking on the main stage at our first Festival of Outdoor Photography event about how to get easy yet effective ways to get celestial objects, eg. the milky way, into your landscapes. He’ll also talk about the biggest technical challenges and his choice of equipment. Plus, a more intimate workshop for a smaller group on editing.

Related reading:

• Why Tenerife is THE place for astrophotography
• Night photography: how to take great photos at night
• The night sky: How to photograph stars and the Milky Way

Follow AP on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

The post 52 Assignments: The night photography book you need from Josh Dury appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Travel Photography tips from the experts

Travel photography tips from Tom Svensson

Tom Svensson is an award-winning conservation photographer and an environmental influencer. See more at www.tomsvensson.se, Facebook @TomSvensson.conservationphotographer or @ tomsvensson1 on Instagram

Appropriate kit

Make sure your kit is in good working order and all batteries are charged. But perhaps even more important is bringing the right gear for the place you’re visiting and the photo you’re hoping to get. For example, on a recent trip I wanted a close-up of a rhino so I started to do some research on where I might find some. Once I’d chosen a location to visit I decided it was best to use a remote car to capture the image I had in mind.

This was key to me achieving this photograph below. Another piece of advice is to test out all your kit at home before you go, so you know how it works. When it comes to packing, I always group my kit together in separate bags for specific assignments, so I can easily access the exact kit I need for each photo I plan for.

Careful planning

Plan your trip thoroughly. This all comes down to ensuring you visit the correct location at the right time of year. Not only do you need to find out exactly where your wildlife subject can be found before you arrive, you need to know which season they are most active and therefore more likely to be seen. Also, it’s important to know the type of environment you’re going to so you can bring the most appropriate kit, clothing, and footwear. I also take the time to see what other photos have been captured previously so I know what kind of photo I can expect to achieve while also ensuring that I capture something unique.

Fieldcraft

When I think about capturing an image of a special species, I  allow time to research them thoroughly. I want to know more about their habitat, where you can find them, understanding their behaviour, habits and calls, and the time of day and year to photograph them. This will also help you build a picture of what type of light and background you can expect to achieve in your photos, which may dictate what kit you need. To give an example, I love wombats but they are nocturnal so that was my first hurdle. I kept researching and eventually came across a location where they are out during day. That completely changed how I could photograph them! It just goes to show that preparation makes all the difference.

Tom’s recommended kit for Travel Photography

Mirrorless camera

I have completely converted to the mirrorless system as there are many advantages that come with the kit. One of the biggest is the amazing autofocus systems the cameras have. I currently use the Canon EOS R3 and R5 models. Another benefit is weight, so now all my gear is under 12kg when I travel.

Range of focal lengths

My mirrorless Canon set-up right now includes a trio of RF lenses. I use the RF 24-105mm, RF 70-200mm and my absolute favourite, the RF 100-500mm – I tend to use this the most. This range of focal lengths covers a wide range of subject matter.

Travel photography tips from Tesni Ward

Tesni Ward is an award-winning, professional wildlife photographer and OM System ambassador based on the outskirts of the Peak District. See more at www.tesniward.co.uk and on Instagram @tesniward

Research, research, research!

So, you’re going on a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip and you want to make the most of every opportunity. When we travel for photography, we’re working at a disadvantage compared to those who live there because we only have a limited amount of time to photograph. Going in blind can be one of the biggest mistakes you make, so do as much preparation and research as possible before you go: look through social media using location tags to see the kind of images that can be achieved and the sort of focal lengths you may need. Check if there’s a certain time of the year that’s more productive in terms of light and activity or events you wish to see. If you’re going on a guided trip, a few questions to the guide can go a long way.

Don’t buy all new gear a week before you travel

Familiarity with your equipment can be the difference between getting an incredible image or missing it entirely and I can’t stress enough how important it is that you feel comfortable and competent with your kit. Make sure if you’re planning on investing in new gear before your trip that you do it a couple of months prior at the very least. If the camera has been a bit neglected over the past few months, commit some time to go on a few local outings to reacquaint yourself with everything and make sure things are working as expected.

Flight faff

Kit can often be heavier or larger than what’s permitted in hand luggage, but it’s ill-advised to put kit in your check-in baggage: many airlines won’t allow lithium batteries in the hold and insurance rarely covers it if anything goes wrong. Paying for extra carry-on bags and creative packing can ease the stress. I will often wear clothes with plenty of pockets (fishing jackets are surprisingly handy for this) so that if I have issues getting through I can pop lenses and accessories into pockets or even a couple of camera bodies across my shoulders under my jacket. Smaller domestic flights can be a different kettle of fish if they’re weighing you!

Tesni’s recommended kit for Travel Photography

Telephoto lens

A telephoto lens is an absolute must for me when travelling. You have a limited amount of time to get a portfolio of images, so having that flexibility to capture a wide range of images is essential.

Second camera

You should always prepare for the unexpected when travelling, so having a second shooter camera is non-negotiable for me. This will also allow you to cover a wide range of focal lengths to ensure you get the shot in unexpected encounters.

Travel photography tips from David Tipling

David Tipling is renowned for his artistic images of birds. He is the author or commissioned photographer for many books. He will lead a tour with Zoom Photo Tours in November. See davidtipling.com and www.norfolkphotosafaris.com

Keep an eye on ISO

Pumping up the ISO to achieve a high shutter speed is not always necessary when photographing in bright light. Too high an ISO can affect colour saturation and lose fine feather detail in birds. So, if you use Auto ISO think about keeping the upper limit lower than the camera’s default. Often our cameras will automatically choose a higher ISO than is required and although de-noise software does a good job of cleaning the image up, it is better to obtain the best quality you can when you shoot. These crab plovers (below) were photographed in the Seychelles in bright tropical light at 1/1250sec. This was fast enough to freeze their wings and at an aperture of f/7.1 to ensure I had enough depth of field for both to be in focus. I only needed an ISO of 200 because of the intensity of light.

Behaviour

Anticipating when something interesting might happen is a skill learnt over time, but a bit of background research can go a long way to assist this process. These displaying sarus cranes were photographed early in the morning at Bharatpur in northern India. They were standing side by side feeding, and when one stood up erect and the other then stood and started to point towards the sky, I knew from experience that the other bird would then call and lift its wings. A behaviour that is quite fleeting but as I knew what was about to happen, I was already focused and fired the shutter as soon as it happened. Whether it is duetting cranes or perhaps a duck bobbing its head before take-off, watching for the signals birds give off can give you that extra second or two to capture the action.

Early and late

Birds in countries with hotter temperatures than our own are often most active at dawn and then sometimes again later in the day. Being out as the sun comes up can be the most rewarding time of day for photography. If you are in a location where the light can become quite harsh by mid-morning then getting up early to make the most of that good light is essential. These spotted owlets photographed at Bharatpur in northern India frequently roosted by day in the same place, often disappearing down a hole during the heat of the day. But frequently at dawn they would sit warming up in the early morning sun, which is when this image was taken. The early bird catches the worm.

David’s recommended kit for travel photography:

Remote trigger

When abroad I occasionally have opportunities to photograph birds within their habitat using wideangle lenses, which might require setting the camera on a remote and triggering from a safe distance.

High-powered torch

In the tropics owls can often be photographed at night. I prefer to illuminate nocturnal subjects by shining a torch below for lighting rather than use flash, in order to give a natural feel.

Travel photography tips from Ben Hall

Ben is one of the UK’s leading professional wildlife photographers and has multiple international awards. He leads workshops and will host a Zoom Photo Tour in August. See www.benhallphotography.com, Instagram @benhallphotography, FB @benhallphoto

Research your location

Whilst knowledge of your subject is paramount for success, knowing your location well is also vital. I recommend doing at least one or two recces to build up an understanding of your chosen site. Pay careful attention to the light and how it changes throughout the day. Make a note of the areas that have most potential for morning light, and which areas benefit from afternoon or evening light. Observe potential subjects and note down any behavioural patterns that you notice. This information will pay dividends and ultimately will help you to position yourself in the best possible way for any situation that may arise. Try to visualise potential images by looking at backgrounds and foregrounds and note the direction of the light.

Get the most from your gear

When travelling to a new location, having a variety of focal lengths with you will ensure that you are able to take advantage of any given opportunity. When covering a long distance on foot, however, I prefer to travel as light as possible. Not being too laden down with gear will also allow you to react faster and take advantage of those opportune moments. For this reason, when hiking I prefer to take a tele-zoom rather than carry a heavy prime. A monopod is also useful when covering large distances. A sturdy monopod will take the weight out of even the heaviest of lenses whilst being considerably lighter than a tripod. When travelling to a new or unfamiliar location, using a smartphone app that calculates the position of the sun such as PhotoPills or Magic Hour can prove invaluable.

Try to capture something different

When tackling a particular subject, consider the potential for capturing images that are unique. There are plenty of locations around the world that have become well known for certain subjects. This is usually for good reason, either the subjects are numerous, or accessible, or often both. With so many photographers visiting the same place to shoot the same subject, it can be difficult to come away with images that stand out from the crowd. Turning to a lens that you would not normally use may just inspire you to look at your subject in a new light. Try a shorter lens to incorporate the environment, or perhaps look for a more abstract way to interpret your subject. Capturing movement is a great way to add an artistic element to your work. Try shooting moving birds or animals with a slow shutter speed to capture a sense of motion and energy.

Ben’s recommended kit for travel photography

Gimbal tripod head

A gimbal tripod head eliminates the weight of a long, heavy lens and allows complete freedom of movement. This is especially useful for flight photography.

Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II

This tele-zoom lens has been a firm favourite of mine for over two decades. Not only is it relatively lightweight, but it also gives me the flexibility that I need when composing environmental images.

Travel photography tips from Philip Lee Harvey

Philip Lee Harvey is a multi-award-winning photographer and filmmaker. In June he will be hosting a tour of Sweden with Zoom Photo Tours and AP. See Instagram @philip_lee_harvey_photographer and www.philipleeharvey.com

Don’t be like everyone else

Find your own way to see the world. This takes time, but to succeed you need to stand out and have a voice. When you begin it’s easy to just try to mimic other photographers, but this has no longevity and soon it will become just a formula. Try to use mood boards to determine the things that you like. I often shoot the obvious first, to get it out of the way, then I have the confidence to experiment and add my own twist to the image. In this case (below), I was influenced by broken Chinese pottery.

Height of the camera

Don’t just stand and shoot; the height of your camera can drastically change the quality of the image. Lay on the ground or go up high, this is the difference between a pro and a novice… effort! If photographing wildlife, get your camera to their eye-line as it’s far more engaging. Remember, if you look down on your subject, it makes them submissive, go low and you make them the hero; just look at early propaganda and travel posters for examples.

Advanced preparation

Try to scout a location before you shoot but do it with a camera. This allows you to see how different angles and lenses will change the scene. I also use a sun tracking app, such as Sun Seeker, to determine the best time of day to shoot any given place. It can save a lot of time in the planning and lets you achieve more in any given day.

Philip’s recommended kit for travel photography

50mm prime

Having a very fast prime lens in your kit, ideally an f/1.2, can really help with portraits and details. It gives a very cinematic feel and lets you shoot in low light when everything else has failed.

Blackout cloth

We often see white and silver reflectors used, but negative fill is just as important in controlling light.

An LCDVF screen loupe

This is essential for viewing images on the back of the camera in strong daylight. I also use them attached to external monitors when shooting video.

Travel photography tips from Ulla Lohmann

Ulla is a photojournalist and filmmaker. She specialises in active volcanoes and works regularly for National Geographic. She is a Canon ambassador and also offers photo tours. www.ullalohmann.com and @ullalohmann

The right place at the right time

To photograph erupting volcanoes, it is very important to be well informed of what to expect and how to keep safe beforehand. Local Volcano Observatories are helpful, as well as webcams and Instagram for visual references of the state of activity. Also check the local laws; it’s often very expensive to trespass and it’s important to be aware for security measures. Time your ascent of the volcano so that you can photograph during the blue hour, when the lava glows yellow, the blue sky offers a wonderful contrast, and you can still see foreground details. Another option is to make use of the light of the full moon. If possible, plan multiple visits and prepare to spend more time than you think at the volcano. It is a life-changing experience!

The right exposure

Lava is like water – you can show it in drops or as a veil. The shorter the exposure, the more you can see the individual glowing rocks. Personally I like it when you can see the ‘trail’ of the so-called lava bombs. Usually I choose a longer exposure, starting from five seconds onwards. I press the shutter shortly after the initial blast to avoid overexposure. I use the camera in manual mode, which gives me more freedom to expose for what I want to show, and I like to set my white balance to a very low Kelvin figure (around 3400K) to emphasise the blues in the sky.

Sharpness

Depending on your camera, it can be very hard to focus during the night. You can try to set it manually but depending on the volcano it can be hard because gases and steam might give you an illusion. You can set the focus during the day and then put it on manual and not change it any more, or make use of a large explosion to set your focus during the night, or use a light source in a similar distance to focus. If you are close to the volcano, you might find that you can’t get sharp images at all – yes, this is because of volcanic quakes. Either you see it as an effect, or you just take many images with a shorter exposure. One of them will be sharp.

Ulla’s recommended kit for travel photography:

Tripod

This is essential for long exposures. It must be robust, but light enough to carry because there is usually a lot of walking required when shooting volcanoes.

Backpack

Essential to not only store your equipment but also warm clothes, food, water, torch and if needed, a helmet and gas mask. Make sure you prepare well – volcanoes are not playgrounds and can really be dangerous!

You can join these travel photography experts on our upcoming AP Photography Holidays! Whether it’s in the UK or abroad, there is something for all photographers. Upcoming tours include:

South Africa: Wildlife, Wine and White Sharks with Tom Svensson and Nigel Atherton 14 – 21 May 2023

Red Grouse with Ben Hall 24 – 27 August 2023

Orangutans and Komodo Dragons with Tom Svensson and Tesni Ward 7-16 October 2023

Birds of India with David Tipling 12 – 18 November 2023

See the Best used travel zoom cameras and best travel cameras.

Amazing images win in Travel Photographer of the Year

Do travel photography like a street photographer

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

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Back up and peace of mind. A new lease of life with editing, online sharing and digital printing. Yes, digitising film is a crucial practice today for analogue shooters. Sadly, as digital is the mainstay of photography in 2022, tools for analogue photographers to archive film have diminished.

Nikon has ceased producing its excellent dedicated film scanners, alternatives from the likes of Plustek don’t come cheap either, while those that do like the nifty Kodak Mini Digital Film and Slide Scanners can lack the resolution for high quality scans.

Have no fear. With the right setup and techniques, a mirrorless or DSLR camera can do the job of a high-quality scanner and ensure you get the best digital versions of your film stock. In fact, even a smartphone can do the trick. In this article we’ll walk you through how to get your film ‘scans’ done with a camera.

What you need to photograph film

Lights, masks, camera and lens are your essential considerations for photographing film.

Light source

You’ll need to place a clear and bright light source – ideally daylight-balanced – behind the film to obtain the best quality picture of it using a camera. Hands down the cheapest and easiest option is a light box. Companies like Kaiser Fototechnik specialise in light boxes with a diverse range for all sizes and budgets. For this purpose, one of its smallest and cheapest light boxes is sufficient. Lomography goes one better by offering a purpose-built film mask with a built-in light box bed.

If you don’t own a light box but happen to have a portable studio light with continuous output – even many studio flashes do – then that’ll work instead. In fact, flash works as well as continuous light does for this chosen task. You’ll need to go about suspending a firm and flat diffused surface between light and camera on which to place the film. Consider a white perspex sheet, it will avoid unwanted hotspots and reflections. This setup may be more faff than it’s worth, but if you like a DIY challenge then this option could be for you!

Masks

With light source and surface in place, you need a secure aperture within which to place the film completely flat, and to mask it to avoid light spill that can cause flare. The aforementioned Lomography’s DigitaLIZA kit is a simple solution for 35mm and 120 film.

If you’re on a real shoestring, why not make your own mask? Mount board is a secure material to cut out a mask for any film size; 35mm, 120 and 5×4 large format. It’s more fiddly than a purpose-built mask to secure the film (we’ll get onto that), but again a good option for DIY enthusiasts and all film-size masks can be cut within the same large format aperture!

There are alternative purpose-made options like the Nikon PB-6 bellows to insert film rolls, plus a slide copier like the Nikon ES-2 or from SRB Photographic that attach directly onto our camera lens to photograph slides. Slide copier and bellow options still require clear sight of a strong light source.

Camera and lens choice

The main consideration for both camera and lens is resolution. The more pixels, the larger the ‘scan’ and enlargement prospects you have. A full-frame mirrorless or DSLR camera is likely to have more pixels to play with than crop sensor formats like APS-C and Micro Four Thirds, but in other regards sensor size is irrelevant because the film should be illuminated by a strong light which will eliminate the adverse impact of noise in your pictures.

To make the most of your camera and its resolution, you’ll want a lens that can focus close enough in order to fill the entire frame with the film. For full frame you’ll likely need a macro lens, while a standard lens might well focus close enough with a crop sensor camera like Micro Four Thirds. A prime lens with standard focal length between 50mm and 105mm will maximise sharpness and minimise distortion, and keep the working distance and setup manageable. A smartphone can do the trick too, though the primary camera angle of view is wide may introduce barrel distortion.

How to photograph and digitize film

Setting up your camera and work station, plus preparing the film itself.

Camera and work station set up

Although many modern cameras feature image stabilisation, you should mount the camera to a support for photographing film, such as a tripod, in order to lock it in place for working quickly and accurately through what is potentially many film rolls.

It is essential to position the camera square-on to the film to avoid any distortion that results from shooting at an angle. A bubble-level will do, though a neat trick is to use a mirror on the same surface as the film and ensure the lens is centre-frame in your shot – this accounts for the level of both surface and camera simultaneously. If a tripod is your support choice, it needs a centre column that extends horizontally away from the legs so that you can angle the camera straight down and square on, without the legs getting in the way.

What camera settings do I need to photograph film?

We’ll keep camera settings to the basics; use the highest possible picture quality and raw format in case exposure is off in any way. Exposure is a little tricky because you want the base of the film to appear white, which can mean over-exposing slightly. To maximise editing flexibility, it’s wise to shoot a flat colour profile and restrain sharpness in-camera.

Most fiddly is white balance, because the temperature is affected by both your light source and the colour cast of the film base. Auto white balance will likely prove unreliable in such a scenario. To kill those two birds with one stone – create and save a manual white balance reading of a blank exposure of the chosen film against the light source. If you’ve shot in raw, further white balance adjustments are much easier in your chosen editing software where you can use the white balance picker tool from any blank area of the film to set white balance instead.

Securing the film

We have mentioned creating a mask in order to secure the film and eliminate light spill. For sure, a ready-made film holder is the quickest option and should come cheap. Alternatively, cut out a 5x4in aperture in black mount board (for large format), then within that cut-out a 6x7cm aperture (for medium format), then again a 36x24mm aperture for full-frame. That way you have all the major film sizes covered.

Securing a ridge on the underside of the mount board for each cut-out makes it easier to slide between frames within the film roll, and use masking tape to fix it down. Alternatively, and especially if film roll is curved, you can non-destructively flatten it in place with magnetic or pressure plates.

Preparing film

Dust, fingerprint marks and smudges are the nemesis of good film scanning, especially when you consider that any blemishes are magnified with any enlargement. So, before you press the camera shutter, make sure your working environment is as clean and dust free as possible and that you avoid handling film with bare hands – look for lint-free cotton gloves.

Next get a close look of the film using a loupe or magnifying glass because blemishes can be hard to spot with the naked eye. Remove any dust by using a blower. Follow all these essential preparation steps for any film scanning, and your time editing will be joyfully taken with your artistic choices rather than painstaking cloning and healing.

File management

You could well be photographing hundreds if not thousands of frames, and so before you get cracking consider the following:

Be selective

As you work your way through each roll of film, be selective about which frames you will photograph. If you are unlikely to edit, print or share a frame, why bother digitising it? Consider this moment a pre-edit; a library management and picture rating process like in Adobe Camera Raw.

Naming files

Like any set of digital images, consider how you will name the digital photographs of your film so that they can be found easily further down the line. Date or subject are the most obvious choices, though you may also wish to keyword the files, too, including info such as the camera used.

Remember, the metadata that comes with your digitised film files; date, location, camera, lens and exposure settings, will all relate to the moment you took a photo of the film, not of the original picture itself. Remembering when film pictures were from takes serious brain power!

Your file naming choices at the very beginning of this archiving journey will concrete how your library fills out. Ask yourself, could you navigate those photos once your library contains hundreds of folders?

Editing

Film negatives remain a negative when photographed and need to be inverted using editing software. CMD+I / CTRL+I is the shortcut in Adobe Camera Raw / Photoshop, while any software with tone curves can complete this task by reversing the Point curve. Slides are already positive and therefore do not need the same treatment.

Try as you may, the reality is that it’s infuriatingly hard to remove all blemishes from film (and you aren’t enjoying the Digital ICE feature in dedicated scanners that does this job for you). As you process those archived files, the healing or clone tool will become your best friend. Healing tool is perhaps best dealing with blemishes where there is not too much detail going on in the photo, while the clone tool can handle the recovery of intricate detail better. All other edits are down to artistic preferences. Happy ‘scanning’!

7 Top tips for digitising film with your camera

1. A light box with a film mask is your most cost effective option for digitising film with your DSLR or mirrorless camera
2. Position the camera square-on with a close focusing lens to minimise distortion and maximise resolution
3. Create and save an in-camera custom white balance reading taken from the light source and film base
4. Wear gloves when handling film and use a blower to keep film as clean and dust free as possible!
5. Don’t photograph every frame – consider the photographing film process as a pre-edit
6. Give thought and discipline to file naming and keywording especially when managing large quantities of film
7. Film negatives need to be inverted, and the shortcut in Adobe software remains Cmd+I, or instead in Curves reverse the ‘Point Curve’

Related reading:

Film photography and scanning tips

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The developer can be any standard paper developer, and might come as a powder or a liquid concentrate mixed to the correct strength before use. Many manufacturers offer darkroom paper, but the brand I recommend you buy first is Ilford Multigrade RC (resin-coated) paper, with either a glossy or pearl surface.

The hardware for printing is easy to acquire. Second-hand darkroom gear is ridiculously cheap and sometimes even available for free. Ask at your local camera club if anyone has any old equipment looking for a home. Remember that you will need plastic trays for the chemicals, and flasks/measuring jugs to mix up solutions. You will also need a set of Multigrade filters for altering contrast, which are easily found online.

Guide to Darkroom Printing: Equipment Needed

• Enlarger (with 50mm lens if printing 35mm film)
• Red/orange safe light
• 3 trays
• Masking frame
• 2x plastic tongs/tweezers
• Multigrade filters (8.9cm size)
• Multigrade paper (RC type)
• Multigrade paper developer, stop bath and fix (check dilutions before use)
• Plastic bottles to store mixed-up chemicals
• Optional: electronic timer, focus finder

Making a Print: Getting Started

Once you have the equipment and are satisfied that the wiring is safe, set up an area with the enlarger and enough space for three 10 x 8in trays (roughly 1 metre x 40cm). The developer should be nearest to the enlarger, then the stop bath and then the fix. Beyond that, you could have a big bucket of water to wash your prints in after the printing session.

Before opening your box of paper, remember that it will be ruined by any stray light, being very sensitive to it. You can work with an orange or red light, but I suggest turning this on only after you have ascertained that the room is totally dark. If you leave your printing until the evening, you may be able to cover the windows and cracks of light with a couple of layers of black bin-liner plastic, stuck up with masking tape.

If you can still see across the room with the lights turned off, then it is still too light. Small amounts of stray light make a difference over time. Cover any from digital clocks, LEDs and other electrical equipment, and keep your phone in your pocket.

You will need a power supply for your enlarger and safe light, although a battery-powered red bicycle light can be used at a pinch, so long as it is well away from the paper. Make sure the surface for the enlarger and trays is firm and steady. It’s no use balancing everything on boxes. A wobbly enlarger will give you blurry prints and you don’t want spillages in the dark.

I hope you give it a go, as having actual prints that you created yourself from your own negatives is very rewarding.

Step by Step Guide to Darkroom Printing

1. Using the enlarger

Once the chemicals have been measured out, place the negative in the enlarger carrier with the shiny side upwards and the numbers away from you. Set the enlarger at the correct height to give a projected image big enough for the chosen print size. Each time you alter the height, refocus the image.

2. Positioning

Turn on the enlarger and alter the aperture ring of the lens until the brightest image is projected onto the baseboard. Focus the image on the masking frame. Turn the lens’s aperture ring until you feel two clicks and see a slight darkening of the projected image. This should be two stops darker than the lens’s maximum aperture.

3. Check sharpness

Check for critical sharpness by using a focus finder if you have one; but remember to set it for your own eyesight first. Turn off the enlarger until ready for exposure. Now remove a sheet of paper and cut it up to use as test strips. You should be able to get roughly ten 10 x 5cm pieces from a 10 x 8in sheet.

4. Make a test strip

Place a Grade 2 filter into the enlarger, then place one of your cut pieces of paper on the masking frame. Expose for 5secs. Cover a 1cm strip of the paper with card and expose for another 5 secs. Repeat until the last strip of paper has been exposed. Ensure that you do not move the test paper as you move the card.

5. Developing the image

Place the exposed paper into the tray of developer and gently rock the solution back and forth, trying to get all the paper submerged at the same time. Timing is important – 1min for RC paper; but this will need longer in cold conditions. Avoid poking the paper with tongs as this can leave marks on the image.

6. Stop and fix

Remove the paper from the developer after the allotted time and drain briefly. Slide the paper into the stop bath and gently rock the stop bath tray for 10secs. It’s called a “stop” because in this tray the image “stops” developing, literally. Remove, drain and slide it into a tray of fixer – to “fix” the image – gently rocking again (10secs for test strips, 1-2mins for finished prints).

7. Review

Remove the test from the fix and view by white light (make sure your box of unexposed paper is closed). Counting from the lightest end of the test in fives, look for the first exposure that looks correct, and this will be your exposure time for the full print. This method will produce good ‘beginner’ prints.

8. Adjusting contrast

If the print is too high in contrast, replace the Grade 2 filter with a Grade 1 and re-test. If the improvement is only slight, move down to Grade 0 and re-test. However, if the print is grey and flat, replace the Grade 2 filter with a Grade 3 and re-test. If the improvement is only slight, move up another grade to 4 and re-test.

9. Final print

When the correct exposure and contrast grade have been established, place a sheet in the masking frame and expose. Develop and stop as you did for the test, fix for 1min and wash for 5-10mins. Don’t leave prints in water for more than 30mins. Hang the fully washed print up to dry or lay it out on blotting paper.

Guide to Darkroom Printing: Things to Watch Out For

• Be careful how you rock the trays. It’s easy to spill chemicals over the edge, so put plenty of newspaper under the trays in case of splashes.
• Drain off the excess from tests and prints before placing them in the next tray. This prolongs chemical life and reduces waste.
• Use one set of tongs to lift paper out of the developer and another set of tongs for stop and fix. Do not allow tongs to get mixed up, as fix will get into the developer and reduce its effectiveness.
• Always wrap up the paper and put the lid on after taking out what you need.
• Wash your hands each time you get any chemicals on them and don’t handle paper with fix on your fingers.

Guide to Darkroom Printing: Troubleshooting

Having problems? Here are some common issues you may encounter and what causes them:

• Photo paper black after development: Paper has been totally exposed to light
• Photo paper has black edge after development: Paper is partially fogged, so the packet was probably left open
• Paper is white after development: Paper unexposed
• Paper is pink: Print not fixed
• Print turns brown over time: Fix not washed off
• White specks on final print: Dust and dirt on the negative
• White fingerprint marks on finished print: You had fix on your fingers when you handled the paper

Andrew Sanderson is a highly respected photographer, printer and teacher working exclusively with analogue methods and materials. He runs workshops on many techniques. www.andrewsanderson.com

Further reading:

How to check if a film camera works
More on darkroom printing options
Master darkroom toning – dodge and burn

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What is boudoir photography?

Unlike the tacky glamour photos that once dominated lads’ mags (and AP), boudoir photography is more romantic and is aimed mainly at a female audience. The vast majority of boudoir shoots are commissioned by the subjects, often as part of a bridal photography package, a landmark birthday, or as a gift for a partner. Many women choose a boudoir shoot as a confidence boost after having children, getting divorced or losing weight.

Boudoir photography is generally shot in a bedroom setting – hence the name – and is sensual and sexy without being explicit. The subject’s modesty is generally covered by lingerie or bedding, and artful posing.

Most successful boudoir photographers are women, for obvious reasons, so male photographers hoping to succeed in this genre should consider a female assistant to help out with lighting, hair and make-up, posing and costume changes, but most importantly for the subject’s reassurance.

Boudoir vs Glamour Photography

Boudoir is about photographing women in a natural setting, whilst artistically capturing their natural beauty. On the other hand, glamour photography is normally associated with specific body types, high-end makeovers, magazines and heavily retouched photos. Ultimately, good boudoir photography should bring out the beauty of the subject no matter their body type.

Getting Started with Boudoir Photography

We teamed up with Brighton-based photographer Emma Joanne for a boudoir shoot at the Hotel Pelirocco, to learn how to succeed in this challenging genre.

Boudoir Photography – Look for interesting locations

“When I’m choosing locations I tend to go for themed hotels where the decor is different in each room, and where you can style the client to complement the theme. This offers a much greater variety of pictures and fires my imagination,” says Emma.

“One of the things I like about Hotel Pelirocco is that the rooms are like sets. There are lots of props and details to play with, like ornate dressing tables. I find that with anyone, whether they’re a seasoned model or not, if you give them something to do it looks far more natural and takes away the whole idea that they’re being photographed.”

Before you even so much as remove the lens cap, the model will need make-up and hair done, ideally by a professional, so that she looks her best. For this shoot Emma brought along Stacie Smith, who she has worked with before. Our model, Angel, will be familiar to regular readers – she has been on our cover before.

Meanwhile, you first need to clear the set.

“Go around the room and remove anything incongruous that you will curse about later if you see it in the background,’ says Emma. ‘This includes kettles and cups, luggage stands, and even the TV – if it is on a stand and can be moved safely.”

The model should have brought along a selection of lingerie in different colours and styles. If you haven’t already worked out in advance which colours complement the décor of your room, now is the time.

Boudoir Photography – Lighting the set

Next you need to light the set. Our hotel rooms have large picture windows that fill the rooms with daylight, but in many cases will be behind the model. While this creates a nice rim light you’ll need strong frontal lighting to balance with the light behind. For this shoot Emma used Rotolight AEOS and NEO 2 LED lights, which she prefers over flash heads.

“You need to work quickly with boudoir,” explains Emma. “You can’t keep the model waiting while you fiddle with the lights or you’ll lose the energy of the shoot. With these continuous lights you can see how the light is falling, and balance it with the ambient light by eye. You can even change the colour balance. They have a flash mode as well if I ever need the extra power.”

During the shoot

When your subject is ready to start the shoot, ease in slowly. You should have a list of at least a few poses you want to try first.

“Professional models will help suggest poses,” says Emma. “But with ladies who haven’t done this before you’ll need to direct them. You must make them feel comfortable, offer lots of encouragement and help them to enjoy the session.”

Watch for reflections of the lights in mirrors and pictures, and if shooting with a wide-angle keep the model in the middle of the frame to avoid distorting them.

Take plenty of breaks and once you feel you have exhausted one part of the room move on to another. “If you’re going to be selling images to your clients you want them to have as much variety as possible,” advises Emma. In our first room alone Emma used the dressing table, the bed, the chaise longue and a screen as props.

Emma has a final piece of advice for anyone interested in trying this genre of photography: “One thing about boudoir is that there is a lot of expectation, and depending how good your pictures are you can either boost someone’s confidence entirely, or do the complete opposite and destroy it.”

11 tips for successful Boudoir Photography

1 – Location

Hotels are great locations to shoot boudoir, but look for somewhere that gives you more creative options than just white walls and linen.

2 – De-clutter

The first thing to do before you introduce the model is de-clutter the room. Hide the kettle and cups, and avoid the TV in shot.

3 – Clothing

Make sure the model has a collection of different lingerie in a variety of styles/colours so that you can pick outfits to complement the room décor.

4 – Hair/make-up

Good make-up is vital for successful boudoir photography. If possible hire a professional, or ask a friend who is skilled in this area.

5 – Props

Use props such as a phone, hairbrush or lipstick. Giving them something to do helps provide a distraction for your model and helps them forget they’re being photographed.

6 – Lighting

I prefer constant LED lights, like the Rotolight, because I can adjust the brightness by eye and see exactly where the shadows fall before pressing the shutter. It means I can work more quickly and not keep the model waiting.

For further inspiration read our guide on how the direction of lighting affects your portraits.

7 – Start off slow

If you’re working with someone inexperienced start them off in a dressing gown – something sexy but not too exposed to start with. You can reveal more as their confidence grows.

8 – Communicate

Offer lots of encouragement and praise during the shoot to boost their confidence, as it can be intimidating.

9 – Be open

Although you should come to the shoot with some ideas already, don’t rigidly work to a checklist. Keep your mind open to your environment and let that give you ideas you may not have thought of.

10 – Inspiration

Look at existing boudoir photography online for ideas. Save images that inspire you to a Pinterest board, or make an album on your phone so you can refer to it during the shoot if you get stuck for ideas.

11 – Primes

I always favour prime lenses, such as my 50mm f/1.4 or 85mm f/1.4 as the shallow depth of field they offer gives a much more creative look. Have a look at our guide to the best 50mm prime lenses.

Top Boudoir Photography Posing Tips

Have an assistant

It’s useful to have someone on hand to look out for unflattering creases, hairs out of place and other things you may not spot. They can also help adjust, move or hold the lighting. A male photographer should have a female assistant – perhaps the make-up artist, so they can also apply touch ups if needed.

Standing poses

You always want a bend on the leg nearest the camera as it creates a nice curve and elongates the leg. The weight should be on the back leg, because if you put your weight on the inside leg it will thicken that hip and we want to make it look as slender as possible. Turn the bent knee away from the camera. Shoot from low down with a wide-angle lens to make the legs look longer. If you shoot from head height they’ll look stumpy.

Bend it

In boudoir the model should overemphasise every pose, so remind her regularly to keep her chin up, shoulders back and tummy in, because it pushes out the bust and creates a more sexy and elegant pose. Basically whatever can bend needs to bend – you don’t want to see any limbs looking lifeless.

Seated models

With any model, whatever their size, when you’re seating them it’s best to ask them to put just the edge of their bum on the seat, and edge as far forward as possible with their weight on just their rear buttock, rather than having them rest their entire weight on both buttocks, which is going to look very unflattering.

Lying on the bed

When shooting on a bed the model is going to be lying flat – either on her front or her back – which means that her body is going to relax into the bed. You need to watch for any creases going on, which you can iron out with a change of position. With bigger ladies this will take more work to conceal.

Concealment

If your model has a part of their body that they are self-conscious about (such as their legs or tummy) try getting them to hold a carefully placed cushion, pillow, towel or bed-sheet in front of them to conceal it. Alternatively shoot from an angle that doesn’t show that part of her body.

How to choose the best camera and lens for boudoir photography

As a general rule of thumb what works for portrait photography will be suitable for boudoir too. Most photographers use a full-frame camera but don’t dismiss MFT or crop sensor, as with a good lens they would be more than adequate to capture excellent images.

Read more about the best cameras for portraits and the best lenses for portraits to find the best kit for your boudoir photography.

Emma’s favourite kit for boudoir photography:

• Nikon D700 | 50mm f/1.4 | 85mm f/1.8 | 24-70mm f/2.8 – www.nikon.co.uk
• Rotolight AEOS | Rotolight NEO 2 lights – www.rotolight.com

See our latest Rotolight reviews:

• Rotolight NEO 3 and AEOS 2 Review
• Rotolight AEOS 2 PRO Hands-On Review
• Rotolight NEO 3 PRO Hands-on Review

Watch our behind the scenes video on this boudoir shoot:

With thanks to…

Photographer: Emma Joanne – www.shotgunweddings.co
Model: Angel White – www.instagram.com

Hair and make-up: Stacie Smith – www.stacie-laura-smith.uk
and the Hotel Pelirocco, Brighton UK – www.hotelpelirocco.co.uk

All photos © Emma Joanne

Further reading:

• Maternity photography – your complete guide
• Lighting tips for maternity photography
• The do’s and don’ts of working with models
• Complete guide to portrait photography
• How to shoot like a fashion photographer

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

The post Boudoir photography – the complete guide appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Adequate lighting and steady footage are crucial for producing professional-quality videos for YouTube, social media, or corporate uses. Thankfully, achieving high-quality results doesn’t require a large budget. This article examines affordable lighting options – LED ring lights compared to RGB LED panels – and key stabilisation methods using tripods, and gimbals. 

LED Ring Lights: Soft and Even Lighting for Faces 

Due to their simplicity and affordability, LED ring lights have become a favourite among vloggers, beauty influencers, and streamers. They consist of a circular light source, often with adjustable brightness and colour temperature. Ikan’s Oryon kit, which comes with a stand, phone mount, and remote, is a steal for beginners. For more advanced users, Westcott’s Bi-Colour Ring light comes with a slew of accessories and two NP batteries for on-the-go shooters.  

Pros of LED Ring Lights: 

• Soft, Even Light: Ring lights create a flattering glow with minimal shadows, making them ideal for talking-head videos, makeup tutorials, and live streaming. 
• Great for Eye Catchlights: The circular light reflection in the eyes adds a professional touch. 

Cons of LED Ring Lights: 

• Limited Coverage: Best suited for close-up shots; not ideal for illuminating larger spaces or background elements. 
• Flat Lighting: Can sometimes make subjects appear two-dimensional without additional fill or backlights. 

RGB LED Panels: Creative and Versatile 

RGB LED panels provide a wider array of lighting options, enabling creators to tailor their colour palettes and atmospheres to suit various scenes. The market for LED lighting has become saturated with affordable yet quality options. Amaran’s compact and budget-friendly Ace 25c is a standout option that delivers impressive performance because of its size. For those looking to elevate their production quality, DMG’s Dash pocket light is a favourite among filmmakers due to its excellent colour accuracy and robust design. Additionally, you can enhance its effect with the Dot Diffuser for optimal eye lighting.  

Pros of RGB LED Panels: 

• Personalisable Colours: A complete RGB spectrum allows you to explore various shades and craft more engaging effects. 
• Multiple Placement Options: Can be mounted on tripods, walls, or handheld for on-the-fly situations. 

Cons of RGB LED Panels: 

• A Bit Pricier: Budget-quality options range from £50 to £150, while professional-grade panels typically cost more. 
• Additional Accessories Required: Think about employing diffusers, softboxes, or several panels to attain soft, even lighting. 

Up your image-game with stabilisation. 

Unsteady footage can ruin a perfectly lit and framed shot. Most affordable camera solutions rely on a combination of in-camera stabilisation, tripods, and gimbals. However, not all budget-friendly cameras offer in-body stabilisation, so here are a few tips to improve stability without breaking the bank. 

1. Tripods: The Backbone of Stability 

A good tripod is one of the most affordable and practical tools for achieving stable footage. Here’s what to look for when choosing one: 

Key Features to Consider: 

• Height & Adjustability: Select a model that reaches eye level for interviews and vlogging. 
• Fluid Head vs. Ball Head: Fluid heads excel at achieving smooth panning shots, whereas ball heads are more versatile for still photography. 
• Weight Capacity: It’s essential to ensure that it can safely support your camera setup. 
• Portability: While carbon fiber tripods are lightweight, they are more expensive compared to aluminum alternatives. 

Similar to LED lighting, a surge of affordable and feature-packed products has entered the market in recent years. Expanding beyond their camera-rigging roots, Smallrig has introduced the incredibly affordable AD-01 video tripod. For filmmakers on the go, iFootage offers the outstanding Gazelle TA6S legs paired with the K5S Komodo Fluid Head, easily adaptable to their superb Cobra 2 monopod system.

When you’re ready to elevate your setup, the Manfrotto MVK500M system is a popular choice on sets from this reputable brand, providing additional features like a mid-level spreader.  

2. Gimbals: Smooth Motion for Dynamic Shots 

Gimbals utilise brushless motors to ensure stability, producing ultra-smooth, cinematic footage. While few brands manufacture gimbals, one name stands out: DJI. Over the years, DJI’s user-friendly software has established them as a premier choice among content creators at all skill levels. For smartphone users, the Osmo Mobile SE is a quick and portable option, ideal for videographers on the go.

Then there’s DJI’s often-overlooked RS3 Mini, which, despite its compact size, can support a substantial setup, such as the Sony A7S III paired with a 24-70 f2.8 zoom lens, making it a remarkable all-rounder for content creation. Alternatively, you might consider the ingenious Osmo Pocket 3, which combines a camera and gimbal in one device. The Pocket 3 has gained immense popularity among content creators due to its surprisingly impressive image quality, all while being pocket-sized. 

Gimbal Benefits: 

• Fluid, Film-like Movement: Removes shakiness from handheld footage. 
• Creative Flexibility: Allows smooth pans, tilts, and follow shots. 
• Enhanced Walking Footage: Crucial for adventure and travel visuals. 

Conclusion: Lighting & Stabilization on a Budget 

Getting great lighting and steady footage can be budget-friendly! LED ring lights are fantastic for providing soft, even illumination in close-up shots, while RGB LED panels allow for a lot of creative flexibility in your cinematography. Plus, tools like in-camera stabilization, tripods, and gimbals can really enhance the quality of your videos without breaking the bank. 

When you incorporate these budget-friendly lighting and stabilization techniques, your content will look more polished and professional, no matter your budget. Whether you’re just starting out or you have years of experience behind the camera, putting your money into the right tools and methods can really elevate the quality of your videos! 

• Choose the right camera for video – Phone vs Vlogging camera Vs Hybrid camera
• Audio Essentials for Beginners in Video

Advertising feature in partnership with CVP.com

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Billy Currie shares some expert tips on how to capture striking images of buildings in black and white. 

Billy came to photography relatively late, as he explains. “I got my first camera, a Canon DSLR, around 2008, and got to grips with it pretty quickly. In fact, the only reason I bought a camera was to take some pictures of my dog! But I soon fell in love with photography, especially living in Scotland, where there are so many amazing places to shoot.” Billy was fortunate in that he learned the more technical side of photography relatively quickly.

Why the real magic happens at the editing stage

“I work in IT and am used to computers and logic, so I consider myself to be a fairly technical person. Making the transition to shooting in manual mode for me was actually pretty straightforward. I soon appreciated what a good-quality raw file was and the importance of exposing the image properly, and getting as much detail as possible while preserving shadows and highlights. Once I understood this it all followed quite quickly.”

“But I was still disappointed with the results I was getting; they just weren’t the images I wanted to capture. That made me realise that the camera was only the very first step in making the ‘stunning’ images I aspired to. I realised that the skill in black and white building photography was very much in the darkroom – even though we are in the digital age, the principles are the same.”

Expanding on this, Billy reckons it only took him a couple of hours to learn how to get an optimum-quality raw file, appraising the histogram and keeping the ISO low. He had something of a ‘Eureka’ moment when he realised that for his architectural photography, the real challenge was making the post-processing as good as possible.

“I was really keen to develop my digital darkroom skills – these were what Ansel Adams used with landscapes back in the film days, and the principles haven’t really changed that much. So for me, the raw image is only the beginning – it’s what you do with the pixels afterwards that counts. Some photographers would dispute this, but it’s worked for me.”

While Billy enjoys other genres, he became hooked on architectural photography after seeing the work of the Dutch photographer, Joel Tjintjelaar. “Joel’s artistic architectural work strongly appealed to me. I was blown away – I’d never seen such interesting pictures of buildings before, with such great post-processing.”

Why modern architecture suits black and white building photography

We hear a lot about learning to “see” in black & white, and developing a sense of which subjects are instantly suited to stripping away the colour. This is not a skill that comes easily to everyone, however, and Billy is a good example.

“I still find it hard to ‘see’ in black & white. When you strip away the colour from an image using a photo-editing program, all you are left with is shades of dark and light – basically, contrast. So I begin by taking away the colour from an image and then I start playing with the contrast. It either works or it doesn’t, so don’t beat yourself up if you need to experiment with an architectural image to decide whether it’s going to work in black & white or not. Maybe it’s because I am more of a logical, technical person rather than an immediately artistic one!”

When choosing which buildings are suited to black & white, Billy is a big fan of more modern structures. “Modern architecture tends to have nice lines and not look too busy. Older buildings can feature a lot of decoration, which can be distracting. They often have to be edited in a different way.”

“As mentioned, my personal black & white style puts a lot of emphasis on contrast, and I find modern buildings lend themselves better to this approach. There’s generally more scope with newer buildings.”

As can be seen in the panel on Billy’s kit, he likes to keep things relatively simple and another key accessory for him is a good pair of walking shoes. “When I arrive at a building, I don’t just immediately pick one spot and stay there. I spend a bit of time walking around, checking out possible compositions by looking through my camera’s viewfinder or turning on the live view on the rear screen.”

“It’s important to keep an open mind at this stage. Sometimes the whole building may be stunning on its own, shot from the front, but with others, a low angle or an angle from the side may look better. I am always thinking of how I can “constrain” the shape of a building through the viewfinder, experimenting with different angles until I’ve found the one that seems to work best.”

What is the best time of day for black and white building photography?

When it comes to choosing the best time of day to shoot, Billy reckons his particular shooting style and the emphasis he places on really ‘working up’ the raw file at the post-processing stage, which gives him a lot of flexibility.

“A lot of other photographers prefer dawn or sunset when the ambient light is balanced, but I am quite happy to go out shooting buildings during the whole day. It doesn’t matter so much if the light is harsh, as I take the correct exposure to allow me to deal with that light. Certainly, going out in the morning means there are fewer people around, but otherwise I don’t limit myself to shooting at certain times. When you can control light and shadow in the digital darkroom, you have a lot more options.”

Top tips for better black and white building photography

Darkroom magic

A well-exposed raw file is just the beginning. Effective digital darkroom skills are essential with black & white architecture, particularly when it comes to working with contrast. Film photographers used darkroom skills, so we are simply doing the same in the digital age.

Be square

Try the square format, which really suits a lot of modern architecture. I can set up the square aspect ratio in live view on my Canon DSLR, which makes it easier to choose your subject and angles. Then I crop the raw file to the square format in Lightroom.

Focus on foreground

Don’t forget to make use of the foreground in your images, and try to avoid a very conventional, ‘tourist’ view of a modern building. Include railings, bollards, benches and seats… Street furniture, or even a bus, can give a perfect sense of scale.

Attention to detail

As well as wide-angle shots, include interesting details too – sometimes less is more. A lot of modern architecture features some very visually interesting details. As mentioned in the main feature, walk around a building and thoroughly explore it before starting to shoot.

If you are looking to purchase a wide-angle lens, here are some top recommendations.

Stay subtle

Don’t go over the top with your processing effects and learn when to back off. Strong contrast is key to my style, but sometimes extreme contrast can look terrible so don’t be afraid to pull it back – this comes with experience. Ask for feedback too.

Know your rights

It’s easy to get intimidated by officious security guards, but you are within your rights to shoot a lot of buildings – though care needs to be taken with government ones. See our full guide to street photography and the law. 

How to edit black and white building photography

For Billy, effective post-processing is key to getting really stand-out black & white architectural images. He begins by loading his raw images into Lightroom, where he does a basic black & white conversion.

“You are then left with a range of tones, which you can darken or lighten as appropriate. For me, the big skill in post-processing is learning how to increase or decrease contrast, in a way that best suits the image. In Lightroom, I will normally do a very “bland” black & white conversion and actually reduce the contrast as I will work on this later.”

Billy then turns to Photoshop, rather than trying to do everything in Lightroom. “I begin by masking all the areas of the image that I need to work on individually – the sky, pavement, grass, street furniture and so on. This can take a few hours, but once I have made the specific masks and saved them, I can fine-tune specific areas of the image as necessary.”

“To make a dark area stand out, I will lighten the area behind it, and so on. If there is a flat area on a building, running a gradient through it can radically change how it looks. A gradient is about making one side lighter, the other darker, so for me post-processing is about really understanding contrast and learning how to work with it. Too much contrast can look terrible, and sometimes not enough can work against the image, too – you need to learn how to manipulate dark and light by becoming a master of contrast, working in contrast in the areas of the image you’ve selected, and the areas around it.”

We have a full guide to making selections and masking in Photoshop here.

Be careful with sharpening and higher ISOs

When it comes to sharpening and using higher ISOs, Billy advises caution. “For me, if you use a half-decent lens, as well as the optimal camera settings for the best exposure, I find that I don’t need to sharpen too much. I have found that when processing a raw file of a building, extra sharpening doesn’t always add a significant gain, but it’s very easy to ruin an image by oversharpening.”

He’s also conservative with his ISO settings. “I never push the ISO much beyond 200. I always use a tripod, and always use long exposures, so shooting in low light is never a major problem for me. Doing a long exposure often flattens out the light as well, as the sun moves, or goes in and out of clouds A decent dark ND filter helps too.”

Billy’s shooting technique also helps to minimise noise. “I tend to expose an image to the very right-hand side of the histogram so I am capturing as much data as possible, stopping before I clip any whites and blow out the highlights. I will sometimes bracket my images too, and between the three bracketed images, I know I have captured every tone comfortably. So even if I am boosting contrast in areas, I won’t be plagued by noise.”

What are the best editing programs for black and white building shots?

Billy generally finds that Lightroom and Photoshop offer everything he needs for effective post-processing. “When I started out, other editing tools such as Silver Efex weren’t so developed as they are now, and I still don’t tend to use them. When my students use Silver Efex, for example, they tend to be limited by the available filters and presets within the program, and some of them can add a lot of noise. If you can learn to create these black & white effects manually, using Lightroom and Photoshop, you have no limitations at all.”

Check out our get-started guide to black and white photo editing in Lightroom

Billy Currie’s favourite destinations for better black and white building photography

London
London has some stunning modern structures and I love the Lloyd’s Building. All the infrastructure on the outside of the building, and the cables, can generate some fantastic images. The Tower 42 building is another great subject – if you can get underneath with a wide angle lens, you can separate it from the other buildings and get great results.

Glasgow
This is my home town, and the SEC Armadillo and the Hydro are just fantastic – they sit next to each other and provide lots of creative opportunities. The SEC Armadillo is very sharp, with sweeping lines, while the Hydro is much softer. I’ve also got great images of much smaller and easier-to-overlook buildings in the city, just by walking around.

New York
The beauty of New York is the skyline – there are many places where you can get different views of the whole skyline, and this can top any individual building. It’s easy to get lots of different angles on the skyline; you can shoot from Manhattan, for example, or cross the river. It is recognisable from every direction, so it’s great to work into shots.

Dubai
This is another unique destination and has the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. If these destinations are beyond reach, there are plenty of opportunities for good images of much smaller, less-famous buildings in a town or city near to you. Remember to keep an open mind, and pre-visualise the image by looking through your viewfinder or using live view.

Which cameras and lenses to use

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
This DSLR may be a few years old now but I find it does everything I need, with the 20.2MP full-frame sensor delivering detailed images. Before buying this I also used a Canon EOS 5D, so you don’t always need the very latest gear. I will probably change to mirrorless at some point, but right now I am happy with my DSLRs.

Minimal lenses
I don’t feel the need to carry around a big bag of lenses and find a 24mm prime is fine for most of my modern building shoots. I also like to use a 16mm prime for exaggerating angles. I find these lenses cover a lot of bases for me; I did try using a tilt-and-shift lens and while it was lovely and sharp and sorted out converging verticals, it added a slightly different distortion elsewhere. With Photoshop, I can take away the converging verticals easily, and save the expense of investing in tilt-and-shift equipment.

Tripod
I use a tripod as I nearly always shoot at longer exposures. At times, I’ve been told by security guards that an area is too busy to set up a tripod, so I also carry around a smaller table-top tripod, enabling me to set up the camera on top of a wall or similar support. I never shoot handheld.

Filters
I have a set of full dark ND filters, rather than using ND grads – a 6, 10 and 16 stop. Between those filters, I find I can work in most conditions, and have dropped the ISO all the way down to 50 with a 16-stop filter while still getting six or eight-minute exposures. I also find that using a tripod and filters slows you down and makes you more mindful of the framing and effects that you are trying to achieve. Standing there for four minutes or so waiting for a long exposure means you don’t tend to overshoot so much.

For more tips, see our guide to the best cameras for black and white photography

More about Billy Currie

Glasgow-based Billy Currie specialises in black & white architectural photography and emphasises the importance of effective post-processing. Billy won both the UK and International rounds of the EISA Maestro competition in 2015 and runs regular workshops on architectural photography and post-processing. See his Facebook page for more details.

Further reading:

• Best cameras for black and white photography in 2025
• Black and white editing with Snapseed on your smartphone
• Complete guide to black and white street photography
• Fine art architecture photography guide

Follow AP on Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

The post Master black and white building photography appeared first on Amateur Photographer.

Focusing is fundamental to the imaging process. Many of us take it for granted that the autofocus technology in our cameras will get it right. It usually does, almost regardless of the subject and the lighting conditions. Over the decades since its debut in the Minolta 7000, camera manufacturers have invested a huge amount of resources in improving, fine-tuning and innovating how autofocus works. Accuracy, sensitivity, responsiveness and tracking skills have improved beyond all recognition.

Mirrorless cameras are a comparatively recent phenomenon and it’s true that early on in their development the AF on this camera type lagged behind DSLRs (see our guides to the best Canon DSLRs and the best Nikon DSLRs). But the AF in mirrorless cameras has caught up in spectacular fashion. To name a few models, the Nikon Z8, Canon EOS R3/R5, Fujifilm X-H2S, Nikon Z 9, OM Systems OM-1 and Sony Alpha 1 all boast remarkable AF skills with customisable patterns, eye/face/subject detection with quick and very tenacious focus tracking.

What’s more, they are as capable with live view as they are with viewfinder AF. That is not the case with DSLRs, which are generally excellent when the optical viewfinder is being used but are much less effective in live view where they can be slow and uncertain.

Why focus manually?

So, having extolled the many virtues of autofocus, you are probably wondering why we’re here suggesting manual focusing. There are several reasons why you should embrace it in your shooting workflow. At the very least, when AF lets you down you will know how to work round the problem.

Every AF camera and lens can be used to focus manually and who knows, you could get to enjoy that element of involvement so much that you invest in a new (or pre-loved) manual focus lens. The first thing to recognise is that while AF is undoubtedly brilliant, it’s not infallible. An AF camera, even a top-end mirrorless, will need your help in certain conditions and with particular subjects. So being aware of such moments and teaching yourself a few skills to manually focus accurately will stop you getting frustrated with losing pictures.

This AF uncertainty is usually due to the subject or scene in the viewfinder. The focus point might be trained on an area of even tone or perhaps the subject is high frequency. Such as animal fur or birds’ feathers. In both cases the camera might need assistance. Fast-moving subjects can also make an AF system struggle, although that does also depend on the camera/lens combination, your tracking skills and the subject itself.

The latest mirrorless models such as those mentioned earlier can track flying birds, sprinting athletes, planes in the air and racing cars at full speed. But they will struggle with erratically moving subjects or smaller subjects like insects. Or it could be a more technical issue, such as very low light levels and a lack of contrast. Modern AF systems are very sensitive but there is a limit, and even the camera’s AF illuminator assist lamp might not help.

How does manual focus work?

Manually tweaking focus is the answer when AF fails you. On earlier AF systems the focus motor had to be physically declutched, via a control on the lens or body (AF/MF switch), before manual focus was possible. That still might be the case depending on the kit, but many AF cameras have the option of full-time manual override.

So when the AF system racks the lens back and forth struggling to find focus, you just rotate the manual focus ring to get your shot sharp. Some cameras let you adjust focus once it has autofocused, and some need you to keep the shutter button partially pressed down.

With scenes with nicely defined edges, good contrast and in decent light, adjusting focus accurately without any extra aids is achievable, especially with DSLRs and their optical viewfinders. On mirrorless models with their electronic viewfinders (EVFs), using the monitor on its own can be more challenging.

Although some of the latest cameras have very high-resolution EVFs with 3.69 million or even 5.8 million dots and the very detailed viewing image can make focusing more assured.

It is worth mentioning that how the manual focus barrel works varies between brands. On some, the focusing action or ‘feel’ is close to a classic manual focus lens and very precise and responsive, while others seem to take an age to alter distance. Make sure manual focusing is optimised to your needs in the camera’s menu.

You might think that manual focusing is bit of a throwback to a bygone age but it remains an essential part of photography. The techniques are easy to learn and going manual might even give you even more enjoyment from your photography. 

Top 20 tips for manual focus

Practice

Most of us are used to powering up our camera, composing the shot, then pressing the shutter release to get a sharp image. Manual-focus lenses take a little more effort. Douglas Fry has been shooting professionally for over 25 years. In 2000, he switched to using autofocus kit but he was never really happy with it and switched back to manual-focus lenses in 2014. He now uses them exclusively for around 300 commissions every year. His number-one tip is to practise focusing with manual-focus lenses.

He says, ‘Practice is a priority – you get better and faster at focusing, so eventually you’re able to keep up with a moving subject. It’s just a case of knowing how fast and how far to rotate the focus ring to keep pace with your subject.’

Set the diopter

As you’re using your eyes to assess the focus when using a manual-focus lens, it’s essential that you get the best possible view and that the diopter on your camera’s viewfinder is set correctly. The little adjustment dials are easily knocked out of position on some cameras, so it’s worth checking your camera’s before you start shooting. It’s just a case of rotating the dial one way or the other until the point of focus is at its sharpest. Of course, this relies on the lens being focused, so it might be an idea to pop an autofocus lens on your camera just to check you’re happy.

Look for light

Just like an autofocus system, our eyes need to be able to see some detail or contrast to be able to focus. That means there needs to be some light and the point of focus probably shouldn’t be a featureless monotone panel. If the subject you are interested in lacks contrast or is in a dark area, consider moving it into some light or directing a light source towards it. Alternatively, focus on something in the light and with detail that is about the same distance away from the camera.

Use live view mode

If you use a mirrorless camera, you shoot in live view mode permanently, which has some advantages for manual focusing (more on this later). If you’re using a DSLR, it’s worth considering activating the live view and composing the image on the screen on the back of your camera – you can’t use live view with a DSLR’s viewfinder. It’s not ideal to use the screen in all shooting situations, but it’s great for still life photography, landscape photography and macro photography – anything when the camera and subject are still.

Zoom in for best results

One big advantage of a live view feed is that you can zoom into the preview image to enlarge the most important part of the scene. This is a huge bonus when you’re focusing manually – provided that neither you nor your subject is moving. With some camera and lens combinations, the live view image automatically enlarges where the active AF point is (even though the camera/lens is set to manual focus) as soon as the focus is turned. That doesn’t happen with lenses that don’t have electrical contacts, but it’s often possible to customise a button to activate the magnification/zoom with a press.

Use focus peaking

Focus peaking is another useful feature of mirrorless cameras and some DSLRs in live view mode. When this is activated, the camera highlights the points of highest contrast on the screen (or in the viewfinder with a mirrorless camera). The highest contrast areas are usually the points of sharpest focus, so you can use peaking to guide your focusing. It’s usually possible to set the focus peaking indicator to one of a small selection of colours – white, red and yellow are common. Ideally, select a colour that contrasts well with the scene you’re photographing.

Focus wide-open

Some manual-focus lenses close down to the shooting aperture at the point of capture, but not all do. If you have to manually close the aperture on a lens, close it after you’ve focused. As well as giving you the brightest possible view while you focus, the depth of field is at its most limited, which means that you see the strongest difference between what’s in and out of focus.

Use hyperfocal distance focusing

The hyperfocal distance is that magical focus distance at which the lens produces the maximum possible depth of field at any given aperture. You can use this technique with any lens, but the focusing scale on most manual-focus lenses makes it easy.

All you need to do is decide the aperture you want to use, then on the focus scale, line up one of the two markers for that aperture with the infinity symbol. The other marker for the aperture indicates the closest point of focusing. Landscape photographer Jeremy Walker says, ‘I routinely use hyperfocal distance focusing to get the best from my Zeiss Milvus and Leica lenses. Some photographers prefer to focus on a specific subject in the scene, but I like to think in terms of depth of field.’

Focus and move

The focus-and-move technique is especially useful with macro lenses, particularly when you want to get the greatest magnification possible. Simply set the lens to its closest focusing point and move the camera forwards (or backwards) until the point that you want to be in focus is perfectly sharp. You only need to make very small movements to have a dramatic effect with a macro lens, so it can help to have the camera mounted on a micro positioning plate on a tripod. This enables you to move the camera very gradually by turning a screw thread.

Pre-focus

Manual-focusing masters such as Douglas Fry have no trouble focusing on fast-moving subjects, but even he recommends pre-focusing when you know where your subject is going to appear. With the focusing done, you can check the exposure and concentrate on getting the composition just right when the subject arrives.

Set the optimum settings

Manual-focus lenses are great for street photography because, with a little preparation, you can shoot instinctively. The first step is to decide what aperture you want to use. f/8 makes a good starting point because it produces reasonable depth of field. Then, either set the focus scale to focus on a point you find works well for your subject and lens – for example, 2m – or set the lens to the hyperfocal distance (see tip number 8 above).

Then, set a shutter speed that freezes any accidental camera movement but doesn’t require a very high sensitivity (ISO). A shutter speed of 1/60sec or 1/125sec is a good choice for handheld street photography. Finally, set the sensitivity to automatic so that you don’t need to worry about having to keep changing the settings. You can just concentrate on the composition and getting the subject within your focus range. Once you’re comfortable with this setup, you don’t even need to lift the camera to your eye, you can shoot with the camera at your hip or any other level.

Try something different

All Lensbaby lenses are manual focus, and while they can produce ‘straight’ images, their magic is in the creative effects they can create. Wedding and portrait photographer Robert Pugh regularly uses a Lensbaby Twist 60 on his Sony full-frame cameras (see our guides to the best full-frame cameras and best Sony cameras) for engagement, wedding and portrait shoots, because he loves the swirl effect it creates towards the edges of the image.

He explains, ‘I like to shoot something a bit different and to do the work in-camera. It saves me time editing my images and when I show my client a shot or two on the back of my camera during the shoot, it helps them loosen up and enjoy themselves, so we get even better images.’

Get technical

Manual-focus lenses offer a couple of technical advantages over autofocus lenses that tend to get overlooked. For instance, if you’re shooting a series of images to stitch together to make a panorama, you can’t forget to turn off the AF and the focus won’t shift halfway through the sequence. So next time you plan to create such an image, maybe reach for a manual-focus lens. Also, unlike autofocus lenses, some manual-focus lenses have markings to indicate how the focus needs to be adjusted for infrared photography – that’s handy if you have an IR adapted camera.

Switch focusing screen

Back in the days of film, we used to swap focusing screens like camera straps. We bought one that we liked and suited our purposes. A split image focusing screen, for example, makes it easier to see when you’ve nailed the focus manually. If you’re shooting with a film camera, it’s definitely worth investigating whether it can accept a different screen and seeing what options are available. It’s far less common to change the focusing screen in a digital camera, but if you hunt around on the internet, they can be found for some models.

Use a loupe

Many people find it easier to concentrate on the composition of their images when surrounding distractions are excluded from the view – in other words, when they use the viewfinder rather than the screen. However, if you want to use live view on a DSLR, you have to use the screen. A screen loupe basically turns the screen on the back of camera into a large viewfinder, cutting out any distractions and, most importantly, cutting out reflections so it’s easier to see details and focus manually. Alternatively, look for a viewfinder magnifier that will slip on to your camera’s viewfinder instead of the eyecup to give you a clearer view of the scene when you focus.

Get an adapter

There are literally thousands of second-hand manual-focus lenses available to buy, with many costing less than £50. If you hunt around charity shops, you may be lucky and find some treasure for even less. Then all you need to use them on your modern camera is an adapter. SRB Photographic is a great port of call for these: they sell a huge range, with prices starting at under $20 / £20. And once you have an adapter, you’ll have a new hobby – looking for additional lenses to mount on it.

Shoot continuously

I’m not a fan of the phrase ‘spray and pray’, but it can be helpful to set your camera to continuous-shooting mode in some situations. When you’ve prefocused, for example, if your subject is moving very quickly, you might not be able to time your shot as perfectly as you’d like. So shooting at a few frames per second can really help. However, part of the beauty of using a manual-focus lens is that it helps you engage with your subject and photography, so don’t shoot in continuous-drive mode at the expense of developing that connection.

Embrace the flaws

If you spend a fiver on an old lens and it turns out to have the best optical quality you’ve ever seen, fantastic! Thank your lucky stars. But the chances are, it’s been around a while and is a little battered. And, of course, it may never have been that good in the first place.

Modern production methods and advanced coatings mean that we are really spoiled by the lenses of today. Older lenses may be rather soft and suffer from heavy vignetting, chromatic aberration and flare. But rather than fight it, enjoy these aspects of your lens. Turn it towards the sun so that the light bounces around inside, use the vignetting to frame your subject and learn to love the fringing. You’re shooting with the real deal, not adding effects on the computer after the event.

Try a modern manual lens

While there are lots of great second-hand and vintage manual-focus lenses, there are quite a few in current production, too. Zeiss, for example, makes some fabulous manual-focus lenses for modern cameras, Leica’s M-range is entirely manual focus and Voigtländer has some gems. One of the benefits of opting for a modern manual-focus lens is that the manufacturer has ploughed all their knowhow into the optics to create the best image quality they can for the money.

Take your time

All three of the professional photographers mentioned in this article love using manual-focus lenses. And one of the reasons why they love them is because they feel that by focusing manually, they are drawn further into the process of creating their images. So they become more important to them and they enjoy their photography more.

As Jeremy Walker explains, ‘I’m a landscape photographer, so my subjects don’t move much and I can take my time when composing the image. I find that using a manual-focus lens helps me to think much more carefully about what I want to say about a scene, how much depth of field I want and which aperture I need to use. It’s an enjoyable process that has certainly benefited my photography. if I could give only one piece of advice to anyone who’s thinking of using a manual-focus lens, it would be to slow down and take your time.’

Six subjects where Manual Focus can actually work better than Autofocus

1. Astrophotography and night photography

AF generally does not work for stars because they are too small and dim. You may think that with such distant subjects, all you do is focus on infinity and your shots will be sharp. But that’s not the case. The best advice is to aim the lens at the brightest star (or planet!) in the sky and use infinity focus as a starting point. Focusing through the viewfinder or live view using the focus magnifier to check focus. Adjust focus and reshoot if needed. For more, see our guide to astrophotography

2. Macro

When you’re up close for macro work, the amount of depth-of-field, even at f/11, isn’t great and you might only get a few millimetres of acceptable sharpness. Focusing manually can make the difference between a keeper and a failure. Take insects. You need to get in close for a reasonable-sized image in the frame, whether with a macro lens or a telephoto lens at minimum focus, and AF can be unreliable. Go manual and adjust the focus barrel, or sway in and out with the focus fixed to make sure the essentials are sharp.

3. People

Using fast-aperture lenses at their wider values is a tried-and-tested technique for getting a shallow depth-of-field and nice blurry backgrounds. However, an AF system, even with eye detection, might not focus on what you want.

Focusing manually can ensure the image is sharp where you want it to be. Remember, using the camera’s focus magnifier to check focus before taking a shot can slow the shooting process. So just ask your subject to hold still until you have the focus right. For more see our guides to portrait photography.

4. Reflections

Reflections can confuse an AF system and your subject might not be sharp. Possibly owing to the lack of contrast, the multi-layered nature of the subject or the nature of the reflecting surface. Manual focus will get you straight to the result you want. Whether you prefer to focus on the reflection, the reflected subject or somewhere in between, relying on depth-of-field to get both aspects acceptably sharp.

5. Street

If you find that your AF kit is not hitting the spot, go manual and use zone focus. On a 35mm lens setting a focus distance of 3m an aperture of f/11 will give you good sharpness. Roughly, from 1.5 to 10m so you can shoot away.

On AF cameras/lenses, a distance scale might not be available. So just autofocus on a subject that is 3m from you and then switch to manual focus. If your AF lens in MF has a focusing barrel that moves with just a touch, a piece of gaffer tape will stop that. It’s well worth keeping a few bits of tape handy for such occasions. Check out our guide to street photography for more tips.

6. Sunrises and sunsets

There’s no lack of light here so you might think that AF would deal with the situation with no problem. But if the focus area rests on a region of even tone, or the sun’s disk itself, AF can rack back and forth. You can redirect the AF point where there is some contrast for the AF system to work, or take over and manually focus. This also has the advantage that once you’re focused up you can try different compositions or format orientations knowing the focus is sharp.

Related articles

• Prime vs Zoom lenses: which is best
• Common lens problems and how to fix them
• Master manual focus, exposure and flash
• How to get sharper shots in tricky focusing situations
• Which autofocus settings should I use?
• How to get better autofocus on mirrorless

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