DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine

 

The Society of Photographers is delighted to announce that voting is now officially open for the 2025 Photographic Trade Awards - a celebration of the innovation, quality and creativity that continue to drive the photographic industry forward.
 

Each year, these prestigious awards recognise the products, brands and services that have made a significant impact on photographers across the globe. From cutting-edge cameras and lenses to state-of-the-art software, professional labs, lighting, accessories and more, the awards highlight the companies who go above and beyond to support photographers at every level.
 

Photographers Invited to Have Their Say

Photographers of all genres and experience levels are invited to cast their votes and champion the industry leaders they feel deserve recognition. Whether it’s exceptional customer service, groundbreaking technology or consistent product excellence, this is the opportunity to acknowledge those who have made a real difference throughout 2025.

Win a Full 4-Day Masterclass Pass

Everyone who submits a completed voting form will be entered into a prize draw to win a Full 4-Day Masterclass Pass to the 2026 London Photo Convention, worth up to £300.

The winner will be announced shortly after 1 January 2026.
 

Categories Open for Voting

Voters may participate in as many categories as they wish:

• Best Professional Lighting 2025
• Best Professional Lab 2025
• Best Professional Album 2025
• Best Professional Paper 2025
• Best Professional Camera 2025
• Best Professional Lens 2025
• Best Professional Photographic Training 2025
• Best Professional Service 2025
• Best Professional Accessory 2025
• Best Professional Software 2025

Cast your vote here: https://thesocieties.net/trade-awards/

Award Announcements

The winners of the 2025 Photographic Trade Awards will be revealed during the Awards Presentation Evening at the 2026 London Photo Convention, alongside the Society’s renowned Photographer of the Year announcements.

Deadline

Voting closes at midnight on 31 December 2025.

 

Cast your votes now!

 

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 Win a SIGMA 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art

The Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art: the world's only F1.8 zoom for crop-sensor mirrorless systems

The Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art for L-Mount, Sony E-mount, Canon RF Mount and Fujifilm X Mount cameras combines the flexibility of a zoom with the speed of a prime, making it one of the most versatile mirrorless lenses on the market. Its class-leading optical performance, exceptional build quality and fast aperture offer photographers and film-makers a unique balance of creative freedom and portability that delivers truly professional results. The lens is ideal for landscapes, street photography, interiors, portraits, documentary and video work, and is a true hybrid option for image-makers who like to shoot both stills and video.

Building on the ground-breaking Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art - the world's first F1.8 zoom for DSLRs – the all-new 17-40mm achieves not only superior optical performance and added functionality, but also a wider zoom range, a more compact body, and a 30% lighter weight.

The fast, constant F1.8 aperture ensures beautifully blurred backgrounds, and combined with its smooth and attractive bokeh, it helps to isolate an in-focus subject from its surroundings. It also allows faster shutter speeds for shake-free shooting in low light, reducing the need for a tripod.

As with all Art-line lenses, the 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art offers a range of professional-grade features, including Sigma's HLA (High-response Linear Actuator) motor for ultra-fast, precise and near-silent autofocus performance. This enables smooth, responsive tracking when shooting video. Other features include an internal zoom and focus mechanism, ideal for gimbal use, and minimal focus breathing for professional-quality focus pulls. The lens also includes two customisable AFL buttons, a manual aperture ring that can be de-clicked and locked in position, a lockable lens hood and a 67mm filter thread for added convenience.

The 17-40mm's robust yet lightweight construction combines Sigma's Thermally Stable Composite (TSC) material with precision-machined metal components. The zoom and focus rings provide smooth, consistent torque, while a dust and splash-resistant structure ensures reliability for outdoor shooting in challenging conditions.

Every Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art lens is designed, manufactured, and assembled at Sigma's sole production facility in Aizu, Japan. This complete in-house process guarantees the highest levels of quality control and craftsmanship, from the precision polishing of glass elements to the final inspection of every lens that leaves the factory.

Discover more about the world's only F1.8 zoom for APS-C mirrorless cameras - the Sigma 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art - at sigmauk.com.

Available in L-Mount, Sony E-mount, Canon RF Mount and Fujifilm X Mount.

Visit Sigma

Today's Prize Win a SIGMA 17-40mm F1.8 DC Art

The lens is ideal for landscapes, street photography, interiors, portraits, documentary and video work, and is a true hybrid option for image-makers who like to shoot both stills and video.

Available in L-Mount, Sony E-mount, Canon RF Mount and Fujifilm X Mount.

Visit Sigma

As a thanks to all of you who support the site by purchasing Plus Membership, you will receive 2 entries per draw.

Also, a huge thank you to all of our members, old and new, Plus and Free, for being part of our amazing community and to those clients who have supported us this year, through continuing tough economic circumstances. It's certainly been another challenging year, so thanks - we couldn't have made it through 2025 without you!

Wishing you all a lovely Christmas and here’s hoping 2026 will be healthy and happy all round. The ePHOTOzine Team.

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The party season has well and truly arrived and if you're planning on taking your camera along with you, here are a few party photography tips for you to remember:

 

Arrive Early

It might be uncool in some circles to arrive first at a party but by doing so you'll have chance to capture shots of the decorated room and smaller details such as gifts, glasses lined up on tables, food and clean, set tables before the room gets destroyed by fellow party goers. When you're shooting your detail shots, get in close and fill the frame with your subject for more impact.

 

Photo by davidburleson

 

If you are meeting up with family and friends to exchange gifts at your party, take a few shots of them first before they are opened on Christmas day. 

  Photograph The Group First

Just after people arrive at a party is usually when they look their best so grab them on the way in and get your group shot in the bag. If you don't, after a few drinks, a lot of dancing and general chit-chatting, you'll tend to find people are less co-operative. Don't be afraid to shout instructions out either as after all, you're the one behind the camera so know if people need to move closer together or if they need to switch places with someone.
 

Avoid Red Eye

Red eye's caused by the flash illuminating blood vessels in the eye and when the light bounces back, you get red eyes. Some people are more likely to get red eye than others and there are a few things you can do to try and stop them getting it. Many cameras feature red eye reduction or you can ask your subject to not look directly at the flash but this can mean it looks like they're no longer looking in your direction. If you get home and find some of your portraits have red eyes you can fix them in editing software such as Photoshop rather easily too. For more on red eye, take a look at this previous article: Red Eye
 

White Balance

Sometimes, auto white balance can be fooled when shooting under artificial lighting indoors and your images can end up with a colour tinge. If you arrive early you'll be able to fire off a couple of test shots to check if you need to use one of the other white balance presets available or go the whole hog and manually set the white balance yourself.
 

Lighting

Most parties, particularly at this time of year, happen indoors and unless you're shooting in the day time in a room that's well lit with natural light, lighting your shots can be a bit tricky. You can increase your ISO setting to quicken your shutter speeds but most of the time, you'll probably need some flash to light your scene. Flash guns which you can adjust the position of are better than your camera's built-in flash which can be a little harsh. If you do have to use it, try diffusing it so the effect isn't as strong.

Shoot Candids

People soon get bored of you posing so you can take their photo so take a candid approach instead. Not only will this keep everyone in a better mood but it will also give you shots which are more interesting and more dynamic.

Vary Your View

Changing your focal lengths and varying your angle will give you a collection of shots that are far more interesting to look at. If you're working with a large group of people see if there are any stairs you can claim so you can shoot down over the group. For candids, fill the frame with faces as well as shooting full length portraits that tell a story. Using other people as frames to focus attention on one person works particularly well too, even more so if you throw the other people slightly out of focus.

  Shoot The Aftermath

If you've not had one drink too many, photograph the room once the last persons left. It can make an interesting comparison when sat against the shot which shows how the scene originally looked.

Finally, don't forget to enjoy yourself too and do spend a little time without your camera in your hands!