Exciting news – I’ve starting contributing to Digital Photographer magazine. My first feature for them, in issue 121 – in the shops now, sees me demystify copyright for photographers and all of its trappings. If you want to know how to control the use of your images have a read.
A while ago I was commissioned by Future Publishing to write 4-page feature on taking great photos for eBay, for one of their computing bookazines. This has since been published in one of their craft bookazines too – after all, everyone wants to improve their chances of a profitable auction with great-looking images, right? Click the images below for a better look.
Make your own light tent
If you’re interested in taking better product shots, why not make your own light tent, from a cardborad box? Just follow my step-by-step instructions below:
You will need: Cardboard box / White material / White paper / White card / Glue /Tape measure or long ruler / Tape /Marker pen
Step 1: Measure & mark
With your ruler measure and mark two inches from the side of the box, on all four edges, so you’ve effectively drawn a neat square/rectangle in the centre of the box, with a two inch boarder. Do this on all four sides of the box, but leave the top and bottom alone.
Step 2: Cut it out
Cut out the squares that you previously marked in step 1 – this is a little tricky so go slowly and be careful. You also need to cut the flaps off the top of the box, so that there is no longer a lid on the structure. Leave the bottom alone.
Step 3: Get it white
The inside of your structure needs to be bright white. Cut out 16 strips which are two inches wide (length will vary depending on your box) and then glue onto the inside – make sure they are a perfect fit before you get the glue out.
Step 4: Material magic
Take your piece of white cotton (an old pillowcase works well) and cut three pieces to cover the holes you’ve made in the sides of the structure. Tape these so the join of the material to the structure is on the outside of the box. Leave one side empty.
Step 5: Build a backdrop
The side of the box which is opposite the one side without material, is where you need to install a backdrop. Cut your card so it fits the side of box and along the bottom, making a nice curved bend. You’ll display your eBay items against this.
Step 6: Top it off
Cover the top of your structure with cotton, in the same way as before. Now its ready to use – shine a desk lamp over the top of the structure and shoot your items against the backdrop, with your camera on a tripod, poking through the one free side of your light box.
Tony Howell is a professional landscape photographer, based in Somerset, with over thirty years experience in the field. His love of the natural world is evident in his uncluttered compositions and the feeling of peace they convey. This month I was lucky enough to go on a photoshoot with him, to find out what being a pro landscape photographer is really like and how Tony creates his tranquil images. This feature has been published in the March issue of Photography Monthly.
I took a week off last week and went on a road trip around the stunning Scottish highlands, here are a few of my photos.
In this tutorial for the February issue of Windows: The Official Magazine, I show how to save lots of time and effort by simultaneously making the same adjustments to groups of photos, using IrfanView’s powerful batch conversion tool.
In the second installment of a new series I’m writing for Photography Monthly, I spend a day with Brad Wakefield, an editorial photographer, employed by the South West News Service: the largest independent press agency in the UK. The day saw us cover a repatriation funeral at Bath Abbey and was quite an eye opener…
This feature has been published in the February edition of Photography Monthly, out now.
I’ve kicked off the New Year with a brand new monthly series in Photography Monthly magazine. Each month I’ll spend a day shadowing a professional photographer at work to gain an insight into their unique vision and how they translate that into an image. This month I hit central London with street photographer David Solomons, who has the enviable ability to see the unusual in the everyday and to capture those fleeting moments that make memorable pictures.
Click on the pages for a bigger view.
In this feature for the December issue of Your Family Tree magazine, I show you how to use your family history photos to create festive mementos that you can share with others and make your Christmas sparkle!
With it’s 15x zoom, advanced GPS and new Motion detection function, the 16MP FinePix F600EXR certainly looks good on paper, does it take good photos? Find out in my in-depth review for T3.com here.
Here are a few sample images taken with the FinePix F600EXR :
Leica’s brand of luxury cameras has been given a Titanium make-over on its excellent but wallet-smacking D-Lux 5 Titanium. Read my in-depth review over at www.t3.com
Here are a few sample images taken with the D-Lux 5 Titanium:
FREELANCE CONTENT CREATIVE 