Photography News

There's something people often misunderstand about photography workshops. They think workshops exist to improve technique.

 

And yes, technique matters. Of course it does. Understanding timing, framing, light, anticipation, and editing—all of these things are essential. But after more than fifteen years leading street photography workshops, I've realized that the technical aspect is actually the least interesting part of the experience. The real transformation happens elsewhere.

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Putting your lens cap back on after every shot is costing you photos. It sounds like a minor habit, but when a moment happens in front of you and your hands are fumbling with gear, it's gone. 

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Anamorphic lenses produce a look that's immediately recognizable: stretched bokeh, horizontal lens flares, and a cinematic quality that's defined Hollywood films for decades. The question most people face is whether that distinctive look is worth the tradeoffs compared to a conventional spherical lens. 

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Bird photography is brutally unforgiving when it comes to editing. A dull background, clashing colors, or a flat-looking subject can kill an otherwise great shot, and getting it right in Lightroom takes a specific sequence of decisions that most people skip. 

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The Leica SL3-P positions itself as Leica's answer to a problem that has frustrated SL system users for a while: you had to choose between the video-focused SL3-S and the resolution-focused SL3, and if you shoot both stills and video seriously, neither option was a clean fit. The SL3-P sits between them, and Leica calls it the best camera they've ever made. 

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Whether it's a line of lampposts on a dark street, light glowing from the windows on the front of your house, a night sky bursting with stars or a panoramic cityscape showing the twinkling lights from the homes, shops and streets that fill the city, there's something for every photographer, no matter where you live, to photograph at night.

 

1. Kit Choices

Your most important piece of kit if you're heading out at night is a tripod as it's impossible to work hand-held when you're dealing with very long exposures. If you have one, pack your remote release to help minimise shake or make use of the camera's self-timer if you don't. Your standard lens will do just nicely but take a telephoto along to get you close to lights on top of buildings and illuminated signs. Pack a torch, wear suitable clothing and take a watch along for timing when using the B setting. Do have fun experimenting with Bulb as you'll be able to produce some interesting and creative results. 

 

2. How Dark?

It doesn't have to be totally dark for you to have a try at night photography. Late dusk, when there's still a little light left in the sky, will give you scenes with less contrast as the light that's still in the sky will illuminate areas not lit by artificial lights. If you do want to head out when most people are tucked up in bed take someone else with you for safety and they can keep you entertained while your long exposure ticks along. If you're not very patient you could, of course, use a higher ISO, however, sticking to ISO100 or 200 will give you better quality images.

 

 

3. Long Exposures & Timing

How long your exposure is will depend on what you're photographing. If the light, such as street lamps, is your focus you'll have a much shorter exposure than if you were photographing an illuminated building when you're photographing light that's reflected. If you have both types of light in one scene go for the longer exposure as if you don't, the only detail will be the lights, you won't see a building. This does mean you'll get flare from the street lights, but this isn't necessarily bad.

Overexposed street lamps, particularly if it's a damp night, can look really good.

 

4. Metering & White Balance

You may get a few metering problems as areas of darkness which are occasionally illuminated by bright lights can confuse your camera. If you find your scenes too dark or the lights have washed the scene out, use the compensation setting to adjust the exposure and try again. Don't meter from a dark area either as this will just cause lights to be overexposed.

Keep an eye on your white balance as different lights can have different colour casts. Shop windows will be fluorescent while street lamps and buildings lit by floodlights are often tungsten which gives a yellowish cast to images. But you may find the colour cast adds to your image anyway.

 

Other techniques to try at night include:

• Light trails of moving traffic
• Light painting
• Star trails 
• Fairgrounds at night – use a slow shutter speed to create pictures a wash of vivid colours.
• Cityscapes taken from an elevated point to give you a sweeping shot of twinkling lights.

 

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The compact camera is having a genuine revival, and it has caught the industry slightly off guard. Models that sat ignored for years are now selling out, prices are climbing, and manufacturers that abandoned the category are scrambling back into it. The reason is simple: people who grew up shooting on phones increasingly want something that feels deliberate, looks distinctive, and delivers image quality a phone cannot match. A premium compact earns its place by beating your phone at one of four things: image quality, reach, video, or the sheer pleasure of carrying and using it.

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Why do I tell every maternity client, "Show up in your pajamas and I will take care of you"? Great maternity portraits have very little to do with fancy equipment or complicated lighting setups. They start with trust, and that trust begins long before the camera comes out. 

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Buying an 85mm lens is one of the most common moves in portrait photography, and it's also one of the most misunderstood. The lens has a reputation for good reason, but the way most people use it wastes most of what makes it worth owning. 

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Choosing between the Sony a7R VI and the Sony a1 II is genuinely difficult, and the spec sheets don't make it any easier. On paper, the two cameras overlap so heavily that you could easily talk yourself into either one without ever really knowing if you made the right call. 

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Photography, in this social media era, has become exhausting.

 

Not because taking pictures is difficult. That's still the easy part. It's everything surrounding it that wears you down. Every week there's another camera that's supposed to change your life. Another firmware update. Another YouTube expert explaining why you've been holding your camera wrong for the last ten years.

It's all noise. Everything built for likes and approval.

Sometimes I leave the house with an Olympus Infinity Stylus and a roll of 400-speed film.

That's it.

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At $135 a full frame autofocus 50mm lens sounds like a compromise waiting to happen. The Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8S DF is that lens, and it turns out the compromises are a lot smaller than you'd expect. 

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Shooting the 24 Hours of Le Mans sounds thrilling until you realize you're standing inches from cars doing 200 mph for 40 hours straight. The gear choices, accreditation requirements, and shooting approach at an event like this are genuinely different from anything else in motorsport photography. 

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  Before you take your shot, take a good look around the viewfinder to make sure everything that's in the frame needs to be. If it doesn't, here are a few ways you can remove the unwanted object(s) and some ideas on what things you should avoid capturing in your frame.  

 

What Should I Be Looking Out For?    1. Check The Frame For Unsightly Objects

Items such as rubbish bins, dead trees, shopping trolleys in rivers and broken benches do have significance and a place in some photographs but most of the time they're on the 'try to avoid list'. You don't want a microwave or mattress spoiling your idyllic landscape shot. 

  2. Make Sure Poles Aren't Sticking Out Of Heads

If you're shooting portraits outdoors make sure you don't position your subject so it looks like they have a lamppost, telephone pole, tree or any other object sticking out of the top of their head. In some cases, it can look quite amusing but more often than not it's just a distraction.
 

3. Look Out For Distracting Highlights

Areas of an image that are overexposed or particularly bright will draw the eye away from what it should be looking at to it. To stop this, make sure the image is exposed correctly and look out for reflective or other bright surfaces that could cause you problems. The same goes for particularly shadowy areas, too.

 

4. Be Careful With Bright Colours

As with highlights, if you have an object that's brightly coloured that isn't your main focus of the shot it can pull the eye to it. Yellowjackets that officials wear at races and other events are a good example of this. Most of the time you won't want them to be the focus of the shot, but they will be in the background and their bright coloured jackets stand out like spotlights, pulling the focus of the image to them.

5. Be Aware Of Busy Backgrounds

When you're shooting portraits, of any kind, unless the background adds to the shot you'll probably want to blur it out of view. This is true for macro work too such as when you're working in the garden, focusing on one flower that's sat against a background of garden equipment and other distracting objects.

 

 

How Do I Fix The Above Problems?    1. Move Your Subject

If you can't move the object that's causing the problem the easiest way to get the empty background you're looking for is to move your subject. This doesn't mean picking a new location to shoot in as moving them a couple of steps to the left or right of where they first stood could fix your problem.

 

2. Move Yourself

If you have to shoot against the particular part of the background you positioned your subject against then pick up your kit and move yourself so the object that's causing the distraction is no longer in the frame.

 

3. Change Angle

Can you shoot from higher up or lower down? You may find a change in angle gives you a new take on a shot that's overdone. This technique works particularly well for flowers as you can use the sky as a clutter-free background for your images if you're garden's full of distracting objects.

  4. Create Your Own Background

For small subjects such as plants, you can use pieces of card and material as backgrounds for your shots, hiding the scene in front of you behind it.

 

5. Use A Different Focal Length

If you've got a variety of lenses to hand or have packed a zoom lens, try cropping in to remove whatever is distracting the eye.

 

 

 

6. Change Orientation

If you don't have a variety of focal lengths to-hand try switching from landscape to portrait orientation.

 

7. Blur The Background

If you don't need the background to be in focus use a wider aperture to throw it out of focus. If you're using a compact camera switch to macro mode for close-up work as your camera will select a larger aperture so the background's thrown out of focus. If you're shooting portraits with a compact select Portrait Mode as, again, your camera will know it needs to use a larger aperture so the background's out of focus.

 

8. Use Foreground Detail As A Frame

If it's branches and leaves that are causing you problems why not blur them to create a soft, out of focus frame for your image? For more tips on framing take a look at our previous article: Ten Top Ways To Use Frames In Your Images.
 

9. Experiment With Longer Shutter Speeds In Cities

If you're working in a place that's full of people and you don't want them in your shot, use longer exposures to remove them. This works particularly well at night and is the same technique photographers use to capture light trails in night shots.

The problem with using longer shutter speeds in the daytime is the amount of light that will reach your camera's sensor and you can end up with very overexposed shots. But try using a small aperture such as f/22 and find a location which is slightly shaded and experiment to see if it'll work. Using an ND filter will also help you get the slower shutter speeds you need. If you're photographing city streets at night and only want the lights, traffic and buildings to appear in the shot, this technique works particularly well at removing people from the scene.

 

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

Old artefacts aren't the only things to photograph in museums. At places such as Beamish and the Black Country Living Museum, you'll find people dressed in period clothing, acting out specific historical roles who are perfect subjects for a quick snap of times gone by. If you don't fancy heading to a museum there are also plenty of re-enactments held right across the UK where you'll find plenty of people in character who are more than happy to be photographed (a subject we'll be looking at later this month). 

  1. What Gear Do I Need? 

When shooting portraits in large museums where buildings and locations vary, you'll need a versatile zoom lens which allows you to move from a wide-angle to a mid-range focal point easily, even if in a busy crowd. A shorter zoom or prime lens such as 50mm can be used in more controlled environments.

Unless it's really impossible to do so, use a tripod as they slow you down and give you the chance to think about composition more and a reflector would be handy, although don't get in anyone's way with one, especially inside shops and other indoor locations where space can be lacking. 
 

2. Do Your Research 

Make good use of the internet to search for places of interest but always keep a lookout for notices in local shops and venues advertising events as these tend to be based more locally, saving you time and money. 
 

3. Take Your Photos At Less Busy Times

To avoid crowds, arrive as early as you can or stay later. By doing so you'll be able to capture images without a queue of people waiting behind you, meaning you can take your time and as a result, produce better shots. 
 

4. Take A Walk Around 

When you arrive at the museum have a look around and see what's where and who's around to photograph. If possible, find a good subject then go and look for a fitting background. However, most of your subjects will already be in locations that fit their character such as in shops, workshops etc. so you may not need to do this. Do remember though that getting the background right in the shot is much easier than editing one in. 

Do look for 'that person' other photographers aren't surrounding which is easier said than done sometimes but it will give you a shot that, hopefully, not many others will have captured. 

 

5. Always Be Polite

When you do find someone you want to photograph always ask permission first, even if the people there expect to be photographed it's always better to ask. Be confident and always act professionally. You may need to give direction but some will automatically create a pose they like or have held on several occasions before. You can capture them in this pose but do try and persuade them to change their stance a little to give you something a little more unique. It's also important to keep them chatting as this put them at ease and allow a bit of their personality/character to come through.
 

6. Double-Check The Scene Before Hitting The Shutter Button

Small details make a huge difference so do check your frame carefully before taking your shot. Asking someone in a polite way to not smile so much or open their eyes wider may seem like a small thing but it will make a big difference to your final image. 
 

7. Think About The Lighting 

You may find that there's either not enough light or too much electric/artificial lighting and this is where moving a subject will help, but you will need their cooperation so that's why it's always worth chatting to them first.
 

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

To paraphrase a favorite pair of authors of mine: once is never, twice is always. Not sure where the third and fourth times something goes wrong rates. 

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Adobe announced on June 25 that it has agreed to acquire Topaz Labs, the Dallas company whose denoising, sharpening, and upscaling tools quietly became part of how a huge number of photographers finish their work. Neither side put a number on the deal. Closing is targeted for the back half of 2026, assuming regulators sign off. Adobe says Topaz CEO Eric Yang will stay on, the standalone apps will keep running, and the underlying models will eventually flow into Firefly, Firefly Services, and Creative Cloud apps. 

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For hybrid content creation, for vlogging, for video, and last but certainly not least for stills photography, here we have Canon's new 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ full frame lens. Rather than having a separate attachment PZ zoom, for the first time for Canon, we have an internal power zoom. So there are many video possibilities, but also a focal length range that can be very useful for stills photographers. So we set out into the weekend of 1940s re-enactments and even a full day of blazing sun at the Lytham Vintage Car event, using the new full-frame 32.5MP Canon R6 V plus a more conventional 26.2MP Canon RP. Cameras and lenses held up without a glitch; let's see what we learnt from the unusual experience of shooting a review in the sun and heat of a relentless heat dome.

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Handling and Features

There is a provided petal lens hood that bayonets smoothly into place. There is a retaining catch to ensure it does not come adrift in use. The bayonet fit surrounds a standard 67mm filter thread. The front element is Fluorine treated to help repel water, dust and grease. The lens is chunky but not overly heavy, weighing in at a modest 420g. Dimensions are 79.9mm x 98.4mm.

 

 

The various control rings do not protrude beyond the diameter of the lens but are easily gripped thanks to the texture on the surface. First up is the usual programmable control ring, followed by the manual focus ring and then the zoom ring. The zoom ring reveals something new, having two distinct sections, PZ and MZ. These can be toggled using the release catch further back along the lens barrel. PZ is the built-in PZ zooming, operating much like any compact camera’s motorised zoom, albeit silky smooth, virtually silent and adjustable in speed. If zooming during filming, this should yield smooth transitions without any juddering or instability. Combined with the near silent nano USM AF system, this will no doubt be welcomed by videographers.

The control ring and the focusing ring are electronic and totally smooth in operation. The zoom ring is obviously smooth when set to PZ. From here, the zoom action can be operated via a switch on the camera or by turning the zoom barrel. If moved into the MZ section, then the lens has a normal manual zoom action. This is not electronic, but is still commendably smooth. There are clear and accurate focal length markings at 20mm, 24mm, 28mm, 35mm and 50mm. As these actions do not extend the lens barrel and the balance remains the same, an advantage when using gimbals.

 

 

The only other switches are the AF/MF and Stabiliser on/off. The stabiliser gives a potential 6 stops advantage, rising to 8 stops if combined with IBIS. 

Optical construction is 13 elements in 11 groups, including 3 UD (Extra Low Dispersion) and 2 Gmo Aspherical (Glass Moulded aspherical). The diaphragm comprises 9 blades. Reduced focus breathing will assist videographers. The extra wide 20mm setting does mean that immersive filming and compositions are enhanced, bringing the lens right into the action. This can be applied to street and reportage photography, creating the feeling that the image maker is a part of events rather than just an observer of them. To assist with this, the lens focuses down to 0.24m, resulting in a magnification of 0.14x at 20mm and 0.33x at 50mm. The converse is less true, as the lens is not compatible with extenders.

At the core of all this lies the performance, so let's now have a close look and see how the lens performs in the technical tests.

 

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Performance

At 20mm, central sharpness is outstanding from f/4 through to f/8, excellent at f/11 and f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/4 to f/11, good at f/16 and fair at f/22. 

At 28mm, central sharpness is outstanding from f/4 to f/8, excellent at f/11 and f/16 and very good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/4 right through to f/16 and fair at f/22.

At 50mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4 through to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are excellent from f/4 through to f/8, very good at f/11 and f/16 and good at f/22.

This is a highly accomplished performance indeed.

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ MTF Charts Previous Next

How to read our MTF charts

The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.

For this review, the lens was tested on a 32.5MP Canon R6 V and a 26.2MP Canon RP using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses?

 

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is under control throughout, but especially so at the centre of the image. In real-life photos, there is little sign of colour fringing.

Distortion is very close to zero, and we could happily consider the lens to be rectilinear throughout the range, comfortably exceeding even the performance of many macro lenses. The actual figures are -0.10% barrel at 20mm, -0.07% barrel at 28mm and +0.10% pincushion at 50mm.

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Chromatic Aberration Charts Previous Next

How to read our CA charts

Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens' inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.

Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.

For this review, the lens was tested on 32.5MP Canon R6 V and a 26.2MP Canon RP using Imatest.

 

Bokeh is the smoothness of gradation in the out of focus areas in an image. This is an aesthetic judgement rather than a measurement, but we know attractive bokeh when we see it. The lens has pleasant bokeh, but not utterly buttery smooth like some. There is just a tinge of feathery edges where there could be silky gradation. It is a very minor difference, though, and for most purposes, the out of focus effects are pleasant enough.

The flare performance is excellent in all general photography. Where bright light sources are within the frame, artefacts can be generated, but it must be said that they can look rather good as well. This not only applies to stills photography, but perhaps especially to the primary video intent of the lens. Some dramatic flare can look rather good in videography.

Vignetting is well within reasonable levels and returns figures that not so long ago would have been considered exceptional.

 

Aperture 20mm 28mm 50mm f/4 -1.4 -1.3 -0.9 f/5.6 -1.3 -1.3 -0.9 f/8 -1.2 -1.3 -0.9 f/11 -1.2 -1.3 -0.9 f/16 -1.1 -1.3 -0.8 f/22 -1.1 -1.3 -0.8

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Sample Photos Previous Next

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Aperture range Previous Next

You can view additional images in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own reviews, photos and product ratings.

 

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Value For Money

The [AMUK]Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ|Canon+20-50mm+f/4L+IS+USM+PZ[/AMUK] lens is priced at £1439.00.

The only option that comes close to the PZ function is the APS-C format 18-135mm lens with the optional Canon PZ-E1 adapter, not full frame and hardly an elegant option by comparison.

Perhaps the closest, non PZ, option might be the [AMUK]Canon 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM|Canon+15-35mm+f/2.8L+IS+USM[/AMUK], priced at £1173.00

Considering the quality and the features, though, the new lens does seem to be priced fairly and no doubt that price will settle over time.

 

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Verdict

There is no doubting the quality of the 20-50mm PZ lens, and no doubting that the focal length range makes it a strong option for those who like to get in close, for an immersive experience. The features are geared towards the videographer and the hybrid content creator, but for general photographers, we also have a simply superb wide standard zoom lens.

Two camera bodies were used in the review, as mentioned in the introduction, and both performed without any problems at all. In the unrelenting sun of our heatwave, it must be said that it is easier to precisely compose using the eye-level viewfinder of the RP. Using the rear screen only, R6 V is fine in duller light or under studio conditions, but in full sun, it is almost impossible to check that nothing unwanted is creeping into the edge of the frame.

Whatever the camera style, it is clear that the 20-50mm f/4 L IS USM PZ lens is a very fine lens indeed that will not disappoint.

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Pros

• Excellent to Outstanding sharpness
• Virtually rectilinear (no distortion)
• Fast, accurate and virtually silent AF
• Excellent flare resistance
• CA well controlled
• Moisture and dust sealing
• Internal power zoom
• Modest vignetting
• IS 6 stops
• IS + IBIS 8 stops

 

Canon 20-50mm f/4L IS USM PZ Cons

• Some flare in extreme situations

 

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4.5|R_handling=4.5|R_performance=5|R_value=4.5|R_overall=4.5|A_level=4.5|A_text=Highly recommended – A simply superb wide standard lens with inbuilt PZ zoom control.|E_id=8027[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

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Why fix what isn't broken? Well, Viltrox seems to have a good subtle reason as to why it did with the 35mm f/1.2 LAB (N) that photographers might appreciate. 

Last year, Viltrox launched one of its most unique lenses, and it was received with a lot of positive reactions. The Viltrox 35mm f/1.2 LAB is a straightforward large-aperture prime that came in a large and relatively bulky form. However, with that came the optics that became the standard of the Viltrox LAB series that could perform even in significantly low-light situations.

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The MacBook Neo sits at the bottom of Apple's MacBook lineup, and that single fact shapes everything about it. At its price point, it goes up against laptops that routinely disappoint, which makes what Apple has pulled off here genuinely worth paying attention to. 

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