Photography News

The Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS has been a staple of wildlife and action shooting for years, but Sony just rebuilt the concept from scratch. The new version brings a constant f/4.5 aperture to a zoom range that has never had one before, and that single change reshapes how the lens competes against the rest of Sony's telephoto lineup. 

[Read More]

 

1. Gear Suggestions

Your normal kit is fine for many shots, but if you can't get close you will find that the telezoom might be worked harder than your wide-angle or standard zoom. Because the sky will almost certainly feature in your compositions, you should find room in the camera bag for a polariser. A warm-up would be handy too.

If you're taking shots inside a lighthouse there may not be room for a tripod, however, there should be plenty of room for a support outside it. Something light-weight will be easier to manage than a heavier model, especially when walking upstairs with it in or fastened to your bag. Talking of bags, as space could be tight, you want a bag that's easy to access and doesn't take up too much room. 

 

2. What Time Of Day Is Best? 

At this time of year, the light can be quite harsh and as most lighthouses are white (and red or black) the high contrast can be a real nightmare. On really bright sunny days, you might be best advised not to waste your time until the sun is shielded by some cloud or just waiting until later in the day. Obviously, much depends on how much time you have to hang around.

Lower, warmer light will undoubtedly give a more attractive end result and you and enhance that warmth with a warm-up filter while a polariser will enrich a blue sky. Late in the day and exposing for a brightly lit structure you might find that a saturated sky will result anyway so keep an eye on the preview image.

 

 

3. What Detail Will I Find? 

Zooming in with a telephoto and picking on detail is fun to do, although if you shooting externally you might find that there is precious little detail to enjoy apart from a few windows. If you are on a tour visit you have more opportunities – except that you might not have that much time and space because of being in a group. Shoot quickly in this instance and do your best to crop out fellow visitors.

Other techniques to try might be to shoot sections of the lighthouse for a 'joiner' image when you get home to the computer. You could also shoot a vertical panorama and merge the images during post-production. For a vertical stitch, you probably need to be further back with the telephoto to get a straight-on perspective rather than angling the camera upwards.
 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

 

The well-timed photo by NigelKiteley of a Grey Heron has been crowned our Photo of the Week winner on ePHOTOzine. This wild action shot is superb and interesting, and shows the heron with its brown rat prey gripped in its open bill at a lake in Milton Keynes. The sharp focus captures the heron plumage alongside its catch, with the soft blurred background helping isolate the main subject and highlight this incredible moment of British wildlife photography.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2027, we’ll crown our 2026 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards!

Shooting the same Tuscan scene for two hours straight and walking away with a dozen completely different images isn't luck. It comes down to reading how light moves across a landscape. 

[Read More]

Returning to the same location dozens of times sounds like the opposite of creative growth, but it might be exactly what separates good work from great work. The conditions you encounter on any given day, the light, the weather, the season, shape the image more than the location itself ever could. 

[Read More]

 

 

Many sports take place some way from the spectators which makes taking decent pictures without long lenses a challenge. However, accessible sports photography comes in the form of road running events. Something which can be captured right up and down the country. Plus, good action shots can be captured with modest gear at local events because you just stand by the roadside – often there are no barriers or anything to get in the way.  

[HOOK]position_1[/HOOK] 

1, Do Your Planning

If an event is local to you, walk/cycle/run/drive the course beforehand to find the best vantage points for the day itself. You could check light direction and backgrounds if you have the time. Get to your chosen location early – only relevant at big events – to ensure a good spot. Have all your gear ready the night before so you're not rushing on the morning of the race and take a camera bag that's big enough to carry your gear but won't weigh you down or prevent you accessing lenses quickly. 
 

2. Get Your Group Shot Early 

If you want shots of a large group of runners, these are usually best done at the start because once a race was started runners will soon be strung out. Only in big events will this not be the case.

 

3. Shutter Speeds & Focus Tips 

For sharp pictures keep shutter speeds 1/250sec and above and set the camera to continuous focusing so that the camera tracks focus as the subject gets closer to you. Many continuous AF systems will cope fine with the closing speed of a runner - though you might have to try your camera in different AF sensor configurations to see which works best to suit your shots.

 

 

4. Choose The Right Lens

A telezoom will be perfect for frame-filling shots at a local event, but also try a wide-angle lens from a low viewpoint.
 

5. Set The Right Exposure 

If the sun's shining you might find that underexposure will occur. If silhouetted figures are what you need, that's fine. However, if you want some shadow detail set a + exposure compensation value or set manual metering, taking a reading from the road. That should give good shadow details. If your camera has LiveView, use that to help with composition although, depending on your camera, you might find that the autofocusing is less than brilliant so manual focusing is advised.
 

6. Capture Detail Shots 

As well as shots of the athletes, there will be plenty of detail shots and candids to be had. In road races, you will often get drinks stations and they are great places to try something different. You could try to grab shots of cups of water as they are being grabbed, or runners jostling for position to collect their drink.

After the event, you may get runners draped with survival sheets and that can look good for pictures too. The thing is to keep your wits about you and don't pack up shooting and wander off when the leading runners have finished. The fun runners and joggers often make for better pictures.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

For roughly a decade between 2013 and 2023, Sony defined where the camera industry was going. The original a7 and a7R democratized full frame mirrorless and forced Canon and Nikon to abandon their DSLR-protective hesitation. The a9 line proved electronic shutters could compete with mechanical at the highest level of professional sports. The opening of the E mount to third-party manufacturers reshaped the lens economy across every competing system.

[Read More]

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|41843|41843_1778669658.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to Kev8990 (Day 13- 'Birds Of Prey').

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 9

Rust Close-Ups

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|348899|348899_1778310855.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 10

Sunny Days

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|332115|332115_1778408564.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 11

Silhouettes

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|21670|21670_1778491980.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 12

Diagonal Lines

[COMMENT_IMG]portfolio|293533|3860008[/COMMENT_IMG]

  Day 14

Fountains

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|339957|339957_1778737198.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 15

Desserts

[COMMENT_IMG]portfolio|189602|3746560[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 16

Sunsets

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|54721|54721_1778936638.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

Before you dig up the humble dandelion, have you ever thought about photographing it? If you haven't, here's a straightforward guide on how you can capture a rather fun and creative image of one without too much effort on your part. You can also create your own backdrops and swap them in and out for an extra level of creativity, too. 

All the photos show above are of the same dandelion taken from the same standing position with the stalk held at arm's length. The starting point was facing down with a green grass background and I then raised my arm towards the sky and took pictures at several positions on its journey.

[HOOK]position_1[/HOOK]

The Set-Up 

1. Pick a dandelion that has a full seed head.
2. Hold it at arm's length in your non-camera hand with it positioned in front of grass (you can use a tripod as this will free both hands, making adjustments easier).
3. With your camera manually set to close focus and held to your eye,  move the dandelion closer to the camera until it fills the frame and is in focus, then take a photo.
4. Adjust the exposure if the dandelion is too bright or too dark. If your camera is automatic take the photo when it's focused.

 

Experiment With Backgrounds

You can repeat the process but positioning the dandelion against different backgrounds. Each shot will look different and no doubt one will be preferred.

Here are just a few of the backgrounds you could use:

• Trees
• Blue sky
• Cloudy sky
• Coloured paper
• Textured walls
• Carpets
• Silhouetted against the sun

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

While overhyping new filmmaking and photography products is something of a spectator sport and phrases like "game changer" seem to be bandied about on a daily basis, it can sometimes come as a surprise which products actually move the needle. 

[Read More]

Choosing the right starter kit in photography isn't just about budget. It's about whether the gear you buy actually helps you learn. The wrong setup early on can slow your development in ways that take years to undo. 

[Read More]

Expired film is one of the more unpredictable variables in film photography, and knowing how to handle it can mean the difference between a roll worth keeping and one that goes straight in the bin. The rules aren't complicated, but they're easy to get wrong, especially when you're buying film with an unknown history. 

[Read More]

The Fujinon GF 500mm f/5.6 is one of the more unusual lenses you can buy right now. Pairing a 500mm telephoto with a medium format sensor is a rare combination, and the results raise real questions about where medium format ends and wildlife work begins. 

[Read More]

Ilford's Pan F Plus has been a staple black-and-white film for decades, but it was never available in sheet formats until now. The new 4x5 and 8x10 releases open up a genuinely different shooting experience, and it's well worth a look. 

[Read More]

Recently, I had the chance to go hands-on with the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 zoom lens to see exactly who this lens is for and if it is something that would fit into my existing workflow and maybe make it better.  

[Read More]

I know the first thing some people will ask: 'why?' Well, to be fair, that is a perfectly sound question and yes, why bother standing in a stream and shoot water bubbles. To me, it is because you can and with digital there is no cost. It is also a nice break from the usual blurred water shots that many of us love. So, while you are out there doing waterfalls, spend a few minutes afterwards trying this subject.
 

"It is fun, challenging and you may even like the results. In fact, if you want some abstracts to hang up, this technique is worth trying", ePHOTOzine.

Of course, you can shoot water bubbles in the bath, should you feel that way inclined. However, this idea is water bubbles in a babbling brook or at the foot of a waterfall. Health and safety point here: Please take care on slippery rocks and obviously take care of your kit.

  1. Take A Support

You could, of course, use a tripod and position the camera so it is pointing down. Tripods that have a centre column that can be swung round to horizontal make it easier to shoot down onto the water's surface as well as offering more support than working hand-held will. Do make sure your tripod is secure and balanced so it won't fall over, camera first into the stream or river you're photographing.
 

2. Pick The Right Lenses

Lens-wise, try your lens's macro feature or use a macro lens. A macro lens used close up is perfect, but there won't be a great deal of depth-of-field at such fast shutter speeds. Setting a high ISO is an option, but that depends on the noise performance of your camera.

3. Dress Appropriately

Wear sturdy boots, making sure they are waterproof if you're planning on standing in a stream. Wellies or waders mean that you have more freedom regarding camera position but you can just find a suitable spot by keeping your feet dry and standing on a rock or something. You'll also need a warm, waterproof jacket, particularly at this time of year when a rain shower is a common thing. Various jackets and photographer's vests are available on the market.
 

4. Choose The Right Shutter Speeds

Find yourself a good spot in the stream. This can be in a sunbeam or it can be in the shade. However, very fast shutter speeds are the order of the day, so check the lighting and if you are getting 1/1000sec or more, great. It is an opportunity to explore those speeds of 1/2000sec and 1/4000sec. As with blurring flowing water, try different shutter speeds. Flash is worth a try too.

  

5. Let's Talk About Focus And Exposure

Exposure and focusing are technical challenges. Your camera is not going to manage to autofocus – water bubbles do not hang around waiting for your AF to kick in. The best thing is to focus manually and then change the camera position to get sharp focus. The reject rate will be high.

Exposure can be tricky because you have a bright, sunlit bubble against a dark background, and the scene is constantly changing. Like focusing, taking the manual option is worth serious thought. Meter manually, shoot some frames and make adjustments. Once you have metered for a particular lighting situation, it is time to start shooting.
 

6. Don't Stop Shooting

Shoot lots. You are not going to get the perfect picture in a couple of frames. You will find that the micro landscape in front of you is never the same twice – miss a shot and you are not going to get another identical shot. Put in a positive way, every shot you take will be unique – no question. You can also play around with your images in Photoshop, flipping images to create interesting patterns etc. 

 

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Forum Competition

 

When it comes to picking a bag to carry your camera and other bits of kit around in, it can take a while to come to a final decision as there's plenty of top brands and styles to choose from. Some photographers will have a go-to bag for all occasions while others will choose to have a few different designs that have different uses.

To help you decide what camera bag is perfect for you, we've put together a few tips on what to look out for and we'll also be asking questions you'll probably be thinking about next time you're shopping for a camera bag.
 

1. What Type Of Photography Do You Enjoy?

By thinking about the above question, you should be able to narrow down your choices. For example, a landscape photographer will find a backpack style more appropriate than a shoulder bag but someone who travels on planes a lot may want a roller case they can use as hand luggage but will pack a smaller bag inside it which they can use when they arrive at their destination. 

  2. What Will You Be Carrying?

For the majority of shooters, it's important to keep the weight of your bag to a minimum, even more so if you're heading off on a long walk in a National Park. A Body and two or three good all-around lenses should be fine for most but if you do need to carry more, make sure there's plenty of dividers in your bag to keep your gear snug and safe. Look for pockets that are easy to access so you can quickly grab memory cards, spare batteries etc. and a tablet/laptop pocket is a feature more and more of us are needing in our camera bags, too. 

 

 

 

3. How Quickly Will You Need To Access Gear? 

A good camera bag will allow you to access your camera gear quickly and easily. If you're shooting in busy locations where you don't want to have your camera out around your neck constantly, such as in popular tourist locations or in towns and cities, a sling design may be better than a rucksack as they're easier to swing around to your front so you can access equipment without removing your bag. Shoulder bags can also be accessed easily while on the move but do take care not to overload this style of bag if carrying it on one shoulder.

 

 

 

4. What Features Should You Look Out For?

 

1. Comfort

No matter what your planned shoot for the day is, be it a long photo walk or a short trip to the local park, your camera bag needs to be comfortable as you don't want to injure yourself and if something's annoying you, it can distract you from your photography as well as irritate you. If possible, try your bag out before you buy it to test where straps sit etc. 

 

2. Material 

You want your bag to last so look for models made from hard-wearing fabrics and pay attention to how the bag is sealed. Waterproof covers can be very useful and many bags now come with them built-in. It's also important to pay attention to small details such as zippers as plastic ones can be less durable than those made from metal.

 

 

3. Internal Dividers 

Having a bag that allows you to customise the interior will give you more flexibility when it comes to the gear you carry and how you carry it. Some bags feature inserts that can be removed when not needed, giving the user a bag that reverts to everyday use which is useful when travelling on planes when weight is limited so taking two bags may not be an option. 

 

4. Protection

Your bag doesn't want too much padding so it's bulky but you do want to make sure there's enough to provide protection for your gear in the right places. Make sure you pay attention to the bottom of the bag to see if feet or a protective layer are provided. 

For more information on camera bags, take a look at ePHOTOzine's guide to camera bag types. 

For roughly twenty years, the working photographer's purchase logic was simple. The flagship body was the right answer for demanding work, and the mid-range body was the right answer for everything else. Working pros bought flagships because their work demanded it. Wedding photographers shooting in dim churches, photojournalists in unpredictable conditions, sports photographers tracking fast subjects, wildlife photographers waiting for a single decisive moment, commercial photographers needing absolute reliability across long shoot days.

[Read More]

In the age of being able to take care of a lot of production needs with AI, are professional models becoming irrelevant? And even beyond AI, why is using a professional model such a necessity for professional photo shoots, especially in the fashion space? 

[Read More]

Spending $15,000 on a single lens is not a decision you make lightly, and getting it wrong is an expensive mistake. Tom Mason owns the Nikon Z 600mm f/4 TC VR S and has put it to work as a professional wildlife shooter for years, but he's the first to admit it might not be the right call for everyone. 

[Read More]