Photography News

The right edits can turn a dull sunset into a showstopper. Color, light, and local adjustments all work together to create warmth and contrast that feel alive. This tutorial walks through how to transform a flat raw file into a vibrant sunset image with rich tones and clean detail.

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The release of the Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 lens for the Nikon Z mount completes something people have been waiting on: a full f/2.8 G2 zoom lineup that covers everything from wide to telephoto. You get the range, the light, and the stabilization that makes handheld shooting easier across situations from portraits to wildlife.

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Masks in Lightroom Classic are no longer niche tools. If you shoot wildlife, landscapes, or portraits, smart masking decides whether an edit looks polished or clumsy.

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JPEGs are having a moment again, and not just on small sensors. When you shoot fast, deliver same day, or want a clean preview without a laptop, dialing in color in-camera changes how you work on set and what you hand off later.

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Markets are full of photographic opportunities thanks to the colourful array of products and people that pass through them. However, they can also be a little daunting, especially in foreign locations but if you remember a few simple steps, you shouldn't have too many problems. These include asking to take close-up portraits, not getting in the way of those running a business and the most important but simple step: be polite.

 

1. Lenses for photographing candid market images

Wide lenses will give you the opportunity to capture stallholders and customers in their environment while a longer lens can be useful if you'd prefer to shoot more candidly. Consider a telephoto zoom for more flexibility.

2. Flash can make photos look less natural

Try to avoid flash as not only can it be distracting, it can also spoil the atmosphere you're trying to capture. As indoor markets tend to be low on light this can mean working with higher ISOs but most DSLRs cope with this fine so you can still capture great low light imagery.

Leave the tripod at home as the legs will just get in the way of other visitors. If you find you really do need a support, find a flat, solid surface you can rest your camera on. It's also worth keeping an eye on your white balance as some indoor lighting can leave a coloured tint in your shots. 

 

 

3. Interact with people to gain their trust

Capturing portraits of people at work or shots of those visiting the market, buying goods, is the best approach to take. Shooting candidly is fine but for portraits with impact, take the time to ask the stallholders if you can take some shots of them up close. If language is a barrier, try smiling and pointing to your camera as this will often get the message across. Always thank your subject and take the time to show them the result. It'll also help if you can learn how to say 'hello', 'please' and 'thank you' in the language of the country you're visiting, if venturing away from home. 

If someone looks uncomfortable because you're taking their photograph make sure you stop and walk away and always read up on what's acceptable and what isn't and respect the views/practices of the country you're visiting.
 

4. Capture as much as you can

Remember to shoot lots and often as lots can happen in a market. Switching to continuous shooting mode can help, but it's not essential, you could also try shooting from the hip if you don't want to draw as much attention to yourself. 
 
When you do have the opportunity to work more closely, try a slightly tighter framing to see what results are produced. If you have particularly large stalls to deal with that have lots of produce between you and the seller this could mean using the power of a zoom lens to pull them to you rather than you moving your feet. 

If you're making a special trip to a particular market do remember to check:

• Opening times
• Busy times
• Restocking times (so that you're not in the way)

 

Meike is currently offering discounted prices on its lenses during Amazon Prime Deals, running from October 7–8, 2025. The deals include up to 20% off on selected Meike lenses for various mirrorless camera systems.

Get discounts for Meike 85mm f/1.8 STM for Sony E-mount, a fast portrait lens built with a metal mount and quiet autofocus system. The Meike 50mm f/1.8 STM for Canon RF and the 85mm f/1.8 STM for Nikon Z are also included, both offering bright apertures suited for low-light and portrait work.

You can also save on the Meike 35mm f/2.0 STM lens, which is currently discounted at $159.99, down from $199.99.

For APS-C shooters, the Meike 55mm f/1.4 STM lens is also part of the promotion down to just $159.99 from regular price of $199.99. It’s compact and lightweight, with fast focusing and a wide aperture that creates smooth background blur, ideal for portraits and everyday photography.

To check out the full selection of discounted lenses, click below to visit Meike’s Amazon store. Hurry before the deals end today!

Shop Meike's Amazon Prime Deals

 

Here are 7 things you can still photograph when you're stuck at home sheltering from the bad weather.
 

1. Photograph Cutlery

The kitchen holds a world of photo opportunities and all you need is some imagination to exploit it. Forks, colanders, wooden spoons etc. can make interesting photographs when shot right. For more tips, have a look at these articles:

• Tips On Shooting Cutlery
• How To Photograph Kitchen Utensils And Cutlery

 

2. Explore The House With A Macro Lens

Take a different look at your home through a macro lens. You'll find patterns, textures and shapes you didn't know existed until you looked down a macro lens. Cushions, glasses and salt & pepper pots can all make interesting subjects. 

If you do not own a macro lens, just try using the lens's minimum focusing distance. Or consider investing in a close-up lens.

It's important when shooting close-up and macro photographs to use a tripod and a remote release - so as to maximise depth-of-field, avoid camera-shake, and ensure accurate focusing. Anchor your camera firmly, though, and your shutter speeds can be as long as you like.

Maximising depth-of-field, by setting an aperture of f/16 or smaller, is important because the closer you get to your subject the more limited depth-of-field becomes. At a larger aperture, such as f/5.6, parts of the subject will almost certainly be out-of-focus.

Using a tripod also makes it easier to ensure accurate focusing. Even at a small aperture you may only have a few millimetres of depth-of-field in front of and behind the point on which you focus - and the natural sway of the body when hand-holding can easily take you outside that, and leave you with an unsharp image. You'll also find it easier, if you have an autofocus camera, to switch to manual focusing.

 

 

3. Coloured Liquid In Glasses

Get a selection of glasses, add water and your choice of food colouring to them. Place them on a clear, reflective surface (glass on white paper works well) and place a large piece of white card behind them. If you want to light the background use your flash off-camera to do this. You want an even light that will bounce off the background back onto the scene you're photographing without causing flare. 

 

4. Water Droplets On A Window

There are plenty of opportunities to get great pictures of rain on patio doors or windows and you don't even have to get wet! When rain hits the pane it leaves tiny water droplets and when these droplets are combined they create fascinating patterns. With a close-up lens you can fill the frame with interesting shapes or use a macro lens to give your piece even more impact. 

If a white sky is behind the droplets they will all appear white with just a thin black outline. If you move around so a wall or greenery is in the background instead, the droplets will take on those colours and patterns making more interesting shapes.

 

5. Frozen Items

This technique is brilliant with a macro lens but will work with the lens at minimum focus. 

Freeze water in a suitable clear container. Once frozen place the container or either a white or even coloured surface so it shows through the container. If you have a lightbox, place the container onto it so light shines through from the bottom. If you don't have a lightbox, just be creative your whatever furniture you have. Ideally, being able to get a lamp or flash under the ice container is what you want.

A 50mm macro lens with the camera on the tripod will let you get closer to capture the patterns that form in the water and cracking ice as it melts. Use a kettle of hot water and gently pour it onto the ice to cause cracks and to start the melting process. Look through the viewfinder for interesting patterns and snap away. 

A twist on this is freezing objects - leaves, flowerheads, shells, pebbles - in the container and then shooting them.

Obviously, this idea needs a little bit of planning, so get the container in the freezer early on and try shooting some of our other ideas while you wait for the thing to freeze. 

 

 

6. Cross Polarisation

Cross polarising effect is where you use a pair of polarising filters - one on the camera and one on the light source (behind the subject) to show stress in plastic which appears as wonderful multicoloured pattern. 

You can use an LCD computer monitor as a light source, plus they have a polariser built-in. You'll need to use a camera with a polarising filter either attached or positioned in front of the lens. Of course, you'll need a monitor and a steady support will also be useful.

Some clear hard plastic items will also be needed as well as something to hold the plastic item steady in front of the computer monitor.

For step-by-step tips on how this technique works, have a read of this: Easy Cross Polarisation

 

7. Capturing Oil On Water

With a few items you'll find around your house you can create interesting abstract shots of oil on water. You'll need a camera with a close focus facility, tripod, a light source, a clear dish, water, oil and something to add colour to your shot (card, paper, t-shirt....etc.). You'll find a guide on what to do next in our article full of tips on how to photograph oil on water with just a basic set up.

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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 Leedslass1 (Day 22 - River).

 

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 16

Rugged Landscape

[COMMENT_IMG]portfolio|32616|3846201[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 17

Night Architecture

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Day 18

Cats

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|42656|42656_1758169450.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

  Day 19

Textures

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|242789|242789_1758303154.jpg[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 20

Safari

[COMMENT_IMG]portfolio|13524|1039406[/COMMENT_IMG]

 

Day 21

Ducks

[COMMENT_IMG]direct|48973|48973_1758470179.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.

 

Fog and mist give instant mood, adding an extra level of environmental interest to your shots. You actually do not have to do anything special apart from just being out in it with your camera. So, whether you are walking the dog or on your daily commute to work, it is worth having a camera with you for those unmissable mist images.
 

1. Camera Choice

Any camera is good for mist photography and you can use any lens too, so just stick to your favourite combination. There is nothing wrong with using a top-end compact if carrying a DSLR around with you is not feasible.
 

2. Lens Options

In terms of lens choice, a wide-angle lets you show the tonal differences between foreground and misty background in a gradual way. Look for bold foreground detail and strong lines (rocks, trees, pathways, rivers etc) to make the most of this effect.

The foreground is just as important with [AMUK]telephoto lenses|telephoto+lens+lenses+zoom[/AMUK]. Shoot a misty scene with no foreground and there is no perspective, no sense of depth. This can work fine but most scenes need some foreground interest to give that three-dimensional quality and the tonal transition is much more abrupt.

3. Ultra-Violet Or Skylight Filter?

You probably already have your lenses fitted with an ultra-violet or skylight filter; if you don't it is a worthwhile consideration if you bear in mind that a filter is cheaper to replace than a lens.  On misty days when you can have tiny water droplets settling on your lens this will affect image sharpness, so being able just to wipe them off without being too delicate is a bonus.

 

 

4. Use A Tripod

If you have the room it's a good idea to pack your tripod as exposures can be on the long side as not much sunlight will be able to get through the fog/mist you're photographing. It should also help you keep horizons straight too, although some cameras feature a level or some sort of grid-guide that can help you level your camera for straight horizons. 

 

5. Valleys And Low-Lying Areas

Mists forms in low-lying areas (valleys, for example) and over water so if you fancy the idea of shooting mists, those are the sorts of places to head for. To add a touch of mysticism or eeriness to your work head for thickly wooded areas where fog and mist will weave around the trees.
 

6. Meters Can Be Fooled

Camera meters are often fooled into underexposing misty scenes so they come out looking very grey, rather than light and airy which usually looks better. Setting +0.5EV or +0.7EV will help avoid this. In strongly backlit scenes you might need up to a +1 or +2 exposure value to record the delicacy of the mist.

Shooting in Raw and doing the adjustment later is an option but it makes sense to get it right in the first place.
 

7. Work Quickly

Finally, remember to get there in plenty enough time so if there is a mist, you have time to scout a few good spots and then decide which is best. Conditions can change very rapidly, so shoot quickly, perhaps bracketing exposures, and then move on.

I set out to photograph and light paint a collapsing market in Desert Center, California. Here’s how I pulled it off. I'll take you behind the scenes of my desert ghost town night photography safari.

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Shiny specs like megapixels and frames per second grab the headlines, but they don’t always make a camera worth carrying every day. The real difference between a tool you love and one that gathers dust often comes down to overlooked features hiding beneath the marketing gloss.

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In the world of photography, few things inspire as much love and hate as post-production. Some photographers trust this as the place where the vision comes alive. Others (myself, for example) dread it and put it away for months at a time. AI has promised to make editing faster but was met with criticism from artists who are afraid to lose creative control. I spoke with Miles Witt Boyer, a pioneer in the world of AI editing, about this and much more.

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Photographers talk a lot about gear, technique, and style, but one of the biggest factors in whether you get hired (or keep getting hired) has nothing to do with your camera. It comes down to how you show up as a team member. A member of my private community asked how I hire for my sets and for staff. I decided to create a casual video about it, and I’m hoping you are able to benefit from my experience.

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Light can make or break a portrait. You can have the best camera and lens, but if you don’t understand how light behaves, your images will always feel flat or harsh. The secret isn’t in power settings or expensive gear. It’s in one simple principle that affects every frame you shoot.

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Canon finally shipped the portrait prime you’ve been asking for: an 85mm with speed, modern autofocus, and a body you won’t dread carrying. If you photograph people, you’ll want to know where the Canon RF 85mm f/1.4 L VCM lands against the staples in this focal length.

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Removing distractions from a photo can be the difference between a polished image and one that looks amateur. Clean edges, believable textures, and consistent lighting make or break an edit. Photoshop’s new tools make that process easier, but knowing how to combine them is what takes your work from casual to professional.

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Wind, scooters, and a single compact body on an island built for sun and stone. This video shows how a tight travel setup changes what you shoot and how you move.

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Reflections are something you can shoot all year round but as bright colours and bold shapes make the most interesting reflections, autumn's the perfect season to try this technique.

 

1. Where should I go?

You can head to a picturesque area of landscape where you have reservoirs and lakes by the dozen to pick from. You can also stay a little closer to home and take a walk through your local park after it's rained and use the puddles that have formed as your reflective surface. If you have a pond in your garden and a tree or two that's decorated with autumn colours, you don't even have to walk to the park as you can set your gear up in your own back garden to shoot these abstract style shots.

 

2. Photograph The Wide Landscape

If you head to a national park area you can capture a few wide shots where you include the body of water in the photo with the tree line and rolling hills sitting alongside it. For this, you want an almost mirror-like reflection and this means shooting on a very still day. Better still, do your research and find a lake or reservoir that's sheltered by hills or find one where at least part of it's out of the way of the wind. It helps if you're an early riser too as the air tends to be stiller first thing in the morning than later on in the day. Ripples still a problem? Try using a slightly slower shutter speed to blur them.

You'll need a tripod to stop shake creeping in and a remote / cable release can be handy but it's not essential. You could even start your exposures via a Smart Phone if the camera you're using has wireless capabilities. 

When working with slower shutter speeds by lakes, have a look at the distant trees and other objects that can move in the breeze to see if they've blurred slightly. If you do have a problem with blurry trees, try taking two exposures then combined them when you're back in front of your computer. The first exposure needs to be shot with a slower shutter speed and the second with a quicker shutter speed that won't allow movement to be introduced into your background. 

It's also a good idea to pack an ND Grad Filter as you'll find that the reflection will look darker than the 'real' scene that's creating it. If you line up the darker part of the filter so it sits over the sky and finishes at the shoreline, you'll produce a shot that balances the exposure of the bright sky/surroundings with the reflection.

  3. More Abstract?

Shooting reflections on their own, particularly if the water's slightly choppy, will result in interesting abstract images. You just need strong colours and / or shapes to create shots with real impact and Autumn's oranges and reds are just the shades you need to produce abstract shots that really pack some punch. You can shoot a wider shot of the landscape, as above, then crop in when you're back in front of your computer but it's much easier to just frame up so the water's surface is your main point of focus. Some lenses struggle to focus on moving water so you may need to switch to manual focus so you get a sharp shot.

Just remember to shoot plenty of photos at quite quick intervals as the patterns created by the moving ripples will change quickly.

If you prefer to shoot water flowing and falling over rocks, use a slower shutter speed to blur its motion. As a result, you'll have smooth waves of water that have the autumn shades/colours of the trees dotted along the banking flowing through it.

Are you looking for a full frame mirrorless camera that’s relatively affordable? Then check out the Nikon Z5 II. This entry-level model is more than just a basic camera and offers semi-professional features within reach.

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The camera industry evolves through a pattern of gradual obsolescence where features that once seemed essential slowly fade away as new technologies offer superior alternatives that better serve photographers' actual needs. Here are five features likely on their way out in the next decade.

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