Photography News

The Viltrox TC 2.0 is the first third-party 2x teleconverter for Sony E-mount, and it cuts into Sony's own $600 option at just $280. That price gap alone is worth paying attention to, but the real question is whether the performance holds up. 

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1. Gear Suggestions

A long zoom lens will be handy as you'll be able to get close to the animals without having to climb into the enclosures. Something around the 70-300mm mark or bigger would be good. Also, consider taking a macro lens along as most zoos have enclosures where you can get close to insects.

A camera with a tilting LCD screen is perfect for zoo photography and you could take a monopod along to raise your camera up above the fences but leave your tripod at home as they don't mix well with crowds.

Pack a brolly as it will most likely rain at some point during your visit and have a lens cloth handy to wipe off raindrops that will blur your shot. As you have limited angles to work with you may have to shoot into the sun so a lens hood would be handy.

A polarising filter will be good when you're shooting through glass as it reduces reflections it will also reduce the amount of bounced light so the textures and tones in fur will stand out.

 

 

2. Weather

Pay attention to the weather forecast. When it's raining you'll get drenched kit and most animals will head indoors where you can take photographs, but you'll have glass and crowds in a small space to contend with. If it's gloriously sunny is maybe too bright and you'll get very harsh shadows. You can use fill-in flash but check before you do as it's often not allowed. You're better off sticking with natural light and increasing the ISO instead. Rain's too wet and the sun's too bright but an overcast day's just right. A slight covering of cloud acts like a softbox so you'll have images that have even tones and are well balanced.

 

3. Plan And Research

Before you set off, go on the zoo's website, find a map and make a plan. Arrive early to beat the rush and try walking around the opposite way to the crowds to give yourself chance to capture shots without the crush. Feeding times are great photographic opportunities but they're popular with visitors so arrive early.

 

 

4. Cages And Glass

Unfortunately, zoos are full of cages and there's nothing worse than shooting through wires and bars! Sometimes the gaps are just big enough to poke your lens through but if they're not, get as close to the fence as possible, position your lens so it's pointing through one of the gaps or, when the fence has small gaps, make sure that the face of the animal you're photographing is in a gap, use a wider aperture setting and wait for the animal to move back from the cage. This way the fence will be thrown our of focus so you, hopefully, won't even notice it. If you venture indoors you won't have fencers to contend with but glass full of greasy smudges will certainly be in your way. To minimise reflections attach a lens hood or hold your hand to the side or above the lens. If there's a lot of people touching the glass switch to a slower shutter speed to minimise shake. You may also need to switch to manual focus as cameras can be fooled by glass.

 

5. Find Good Shooting Spots & Angles

Make sure you take a walk around the edge of the enclosure before you take your photos to find shooting locations that won't leave your image with a distracting background or posts sticking out of the animal's head. Try to avoid shooting down as this can distort features instead get down low, to eye level if possible, to create a more dynamic shot. Use a wide lens setting and crop in later to make sure you don't amputate any limbs by accident – a shot of a monkey missing its tail is very can be very annoying to look at. Don't be afraid to fill the frame with your subject as this will give your shot more impact and it won't be so obvious that you took your photo at a zoo.

 

 

 

6. Focus And Shutter Speeds

Most of the animals won't stay still so use focus lock to prefocus on a certain point and take the shot as the animal enters the zone that's focused. Always focus on the eye and try using continuous shooting mode if you don't manage to get your subject in frame the first time. Try freezing their movement with a fast shutter speed and if you're panning, use a speed between 1/8sec to 1/30sec to blur the background but leave the animal sharp.

 

7. White Balance

Keep an eye on your white balance when going from indoor and outdoor enclosures and watch out for condensation when moving from the cooler outdoors into the tropical climate of a butterfly house. You'll need to give your camera time to acclimatise otherwise you'll end up with hazy, dream-like shots.

 

 

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

I set out to photograph and light paint a mysterious, dilapidated homestead cabin in the Mojave Desert under moonlight. With nothing more than a flashlight and a single long exposure, I turned it into a glowing, cinematic scene. Here's exactly how I did it, and how you can too. 

I'll also discuss some of the issues one might run into while attempting to photograph this abandoned cabin. I did the entire photo in a single exposure, however.

But first, let's find out what "light painting" is.

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Imagine your editing workflow being enhanced by something that resembles the controllers you once played video games with. That, plus customizable efficiency, is what this editing console offers.

 

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Your camera has image stabilization. Your lens might, too. You also have a shutter speed dial that goes up to 1/8,000 of a second. Both of these tools fight blur, but they fight different kinds of blur, and mixing them up is one of the most common mistakes beginners make. 

Here is the distinction in one sentence: image stabilization compensates for your hands shaking. A fast shutter speed freezes your subject moving. They are solving two completely separate problems, and understanding which one you need in a given moment will immediately make your hit rate go up.

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Choosing between the Sony a7R VI and the a7 V isn't straightforward, even though one costs significantly more than the other. The sensor architecture, video specs, and body features differ in ways that could genuinely change which one makes sense for how you actually shoot. 

 

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There are photographs that seem to exist entirely on their surface. 

You look at them and everything is already there. A trailer, parked on a patch of dirt. A road cutting the foreground. Mountains in the distance. A sky that holds the whole thing together without insisting too much. And across the side of the trailer, a name stretched in bold letters, impossible to ignore.

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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.  

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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.

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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

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Day 10

Sunny Days

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Day 11

Silhouettes

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Day 12

Diagonal Lines

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  Day 14

Fountains

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Day 15

Desserts

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Day 16

Sunsets

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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