Photography News

 

A compelling mono image by saltireblue, titled The Lone Descent, has been selected for feature on ePHOTOzine.

The woman descending the stairs forms the focus of the scene. The strong contrast brings out the lines of the stairway, while the deep shadows give the scene a cold, quiet feel. The composition is excellent, and the lighting is well-handled. The result is a notable shot that shows how quick reactions can still produce work of real quality.

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 2026, we’ll crown our 2025 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!

 

Photo by David Pritchard

 

With the days growing shorter, there are great opportunities for night photography in the city. Urban and city areas can be accessed in the dark, often at rush hour when there are amazing shots to be had in relative safety.

Article Sections:

• Gear
• Set-up
• Safety
• Locations
• Skylines
• Wet weather
• Long exposures
• Exposure
• Time of day
• Colour

 

Gear

Click on the links below to find gear options to purchase - by cliking on these links and buying anything, you are helping to support the site at no extra cost to you - thank you. 

• Tripod - You can get by with other forms of support but they are never as good as a solid tripod. Many of your exposures are probably going to be 5-10 seconds or more.
• Cable/Remote Release - This will help prevent vibration and camera shake.
• Light meter/card with exposure durations written on it at 1/3 intervals - Exposures can get quite lengthy at night, especially for film users where reciprocity failure becomes a problem. As the longest exposure most cameras can calculate is 30 seconds, you will often find situations where this is exceeded. I find it useful to have a light meter which will cope with much longer exposures.
• Camera - One that lets you work at higher ISOs and has low noise.

 

Checklist

1. Ensure your lenses and sensor are clean. Night shooting tends to emphasise dust and flare from dirty equipment. You will be surprised at just how dirty your kit is once you start shooting at night.
2. Check to see if your camera has a mirror lock function (usually this is in the cameras custom functions) or be prepared to shoot in live view if your camera has this. Personally I like live mode / view as it’s very effective at seeing in the dark.
3. Getting the exposure right at very slow shutter speeds can be very tricky and often involves guessing. Shooting in RAW format can help give you a little more flexibility in post processing.

 

Safety

Before looking at possible subjects, just a quick word on safety. It might still be early but you still need to be sensible and keep personal safety in mind. Where possible work with a friend or two and look out for each other. Avoid being out too late as drunks seem to find cameras unusually attractive especially when mounted on those strange metal legs we know as a tripod. Stick to areas with good lighting and lots of people. These tend to make for better images but are also usually safer.

 

Photo by David Pritchard

 

Locations

Now you have your kit prepared, start to think about the type and location of the shots you want to take. It’s tempting to turn up somewhere and then look for something to shoot. A better option is to think about the type of work and then pick a suitable location. Sometimes however you just get lucky and providing you are prepared you can get some good shots.

 

Skylines

City skylines are the obvious targets for night photography as many office buildings tend to have lighting for the night. Monuments such as churches often have night lighting also as do many industrial sites which work 24 hours. If you do decide to photograph industrial sites stay a good distance from the location as you don’t want to be suspected as a terrorist. I was however surprised when I went around London at night armed with a camera and Gorillapod. I thought that I dare not be seen with a tripod at night. What I found were lots of other photographers all carrying full tripods and using them openly in the streets.

 

Wet weather

Don’t rule out poor weather as wet pavements can be particularly attractive as they reflect the lights of buildings and traffic. When shooting moving objects you should consider what effect you are trying to create and what a suitable shutter speed is to achieve this. If for example you are shooting a car, the headlights will show up well, but when the car is moving fast and the shutter speed is long, the only thing that can be seen are the light trails. With shorter exposures you will probably retain some of the car in the image as well as the light trails.

 

Long exposures

You can use longer exposures to your advantage, for example when photographing people at night perhaps outside bars. People sat or stood may look relatively well defined whilst those moving past don’t show up at all.

 

Photo by David Pritchard

 

Exposing

When exposing your shot, be sure to cover the back of the viewfinder to stop light entering and affecting the exposure times. Different cameras seem to have different levels of susceptibility to this but every camera I have used has underexposed if I haven’t blocked the viewfinder during a long exposure. Getting the correct exposure is quite a task and open to guess work, so if in doubt just take the camera's exposure. If you like to judge exposure based on the camera histogram be aware that the histogram is likely to be clipped at both ends. Areas will become pure black and other areas of bright light will have no detail. Sometimes it’s worth bracketing shots a stop either way to ensure you have one you are happy with.

 

Time of day

It may sound strange but the time of day, or rather night can be quite important. The temptation is often to time our shooting for the night when the sky appears inky black. Whilst this might provide a stark contrast to the lighting on the building it also means there is no interest in the sky so you probably need to minimise its inclusion. Earlier in the day however the lighting on buildings doesn’t appear quite so strong although there might still be some colour in the sky which is more appealing. So when considering your subject give some thought to the time of the day and also consider this when selecting your composition.

  Colour of the lights

Another interesting aspect of night photography is the colour of the lights used in many settings. Street lighting for example is usually yellow and Fluorescent and mercury vapour lighting (often found in industrial settings) has a green appearance. Whilst these mixed lighting scenes can appear attractive in the image, you sometimes need to take extra steps to deal with these conditions. The most obvious step is to ensure your camera is set to AWB but even this doesn’t correct all the situations you come across. Film users might face an even steeper challenge as long exposures can cause unpredictable colour shift in the film although this can be quite attractive.

In summary, use the correct equipment with good technique, pick your subject, composition and approach and you will be able to capture some great night images in your city. Most of all, remember to keep to the busy areas and stay safe.

 

 

Photo by David Pritchard

 

Words and images by Robin Whalley from Lens Craft.

Let’s see the comparison of the portraits taken with 50mm, 85mm, and 135mm prime lenses. Is there a difference in the bokeh and background? Find out if focal length affects facial features and what the ideal shooting distance is for both environmental and close-up shots.

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Canon’s new 85mm prime aims to solve a basic problem: you want fast glass and shallow depth of field without carrying a giant, front-heavy lens all day. If you work with Canon RF bodies and bounce between portraits, events, and video clips, how this lens balances size, speed, and autofocus will directly change how you shoot.

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A single lens that can handle landscape, travel, portraits, casual macro, and video without weighing you down changes how you plan every shoot. The Sigma 20-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DG Contemporary lens aims to be that kind of tool, especially if you hike, travel, or just prefer to keep things light.

[ Read More ]

Sigma’s 17-40mm f/1.8 DC Art is trying to replace a lens many people have built entire systems around, the 18-35mm f/1.8 Art. If you rely on one fast zoom on APS-C for video, interviews, or hybrid work, this lens is definitely worth a look.

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A dedicated monochrome camera changes how you see a scene before you even lift it to your eye. When you commit to black and white only, every choice about light, texture, and timing becomes more deliberate.

[ Read More ]

See how painting the scene with light has improved the image of the mushrooms on the left, adding mood and interest to the shot on the right. 

 

When you think of light painting your first thoughts will probably be of people drawing pictures and writing words but you can use it to breath a little more creativity into your still life work too.

As you'll be using longer exposure times or even Bulb mode, a DSLR or an advanced smaller camera will probably the type of camera you think is best for this sort of technique. However, that's not to say you can't use a compact as many do offer longer shutter speed ranges. As well as your camera, make sure you have a tripod to hand and you'll need a torch for 'painting' light with. A piece of black card can be useful as you'll be able to create a cone-shaped from it to direct light more and translucent coloured paper (sweet wrappers will work fine) can be used to alter the colour of the light you're painting with. 

When it comes to the set-up, place your camera on a tripod so you can control the torch with one hand while hitting the shutter button with the other then focus and set the camera on focus lock so that it isn't fooled by the uneven light. If the camera struggles to focus, use your torch to light your subject so the camera can adjust. Any standard torch will do and you can either hold it still or move it around to illuminate different areas of your object. Changing the position of the torch will also prevent hot spots appearing in the image.

 

Photo by David Pritchard. 

 

It's best to slowly build up the amount of light you paint onto your subject so you don't overexpose a particular area. You'll need a long-ish shutter speed if you're not using the B-setting and as a torch has a colour temperature that's warmer than daylight, you could end up with images that have an orange tint. Of course, you may think the warmer tones work but if you don't, auto white balance should be able to remove it or you can always edit your images after if shooting in RAW. 

If you find the light isn't directional enough, try using a cone made from black card and secure it to the torch to give you more precise control over it. 
  More photography tips and tutorials    

• Ultimate guide to indoor photography
• 10 DIY Photography Tricks & Hacks

Style is not something that comes with experience. It takes shape when a photographer stops acting intuitively and begins to build a conscious system of decisions. That system is your personal strategy.

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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 21 - Ice)

 

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

Colourful Architecture

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  Day 17

City Lights At Night

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Day 18

Cutlery

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Day 19

Different Angles

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  Day 20

'Laughter'

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Day 22

Stormy Weather

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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.

Photo by David Burleson

Add A Vignette

To create mood and to add emphasis apply a vignette to your transport shots. For more information on how to do this, take a look at our tutorial: Creating Vignettes.

Shoot Inside

As well as shooting the outside, if you can, open the doors of the car, truck or of whatever transport you’re photographing and capture some interior shots. You can go wide, capturing the whole of the interior or use a close-up lens to focus on detail such as dials, buttons and badges.
 

Fill The Frame

To really add emphasis so the car is the only focal point of the shot, fill the frame with it. This, however, doesn’t mean it has to be positioned in the centre of the shot. Move your position slightly to the left or right and you’ll see how it can make a really big difference to the overall image. Just make sure you don't clip off a wing mirror or a wheel in the process.

Photo by David Burleson

Use Reflections

Try using the car’s mirrors or some part of its bodywork to capture a reflection of another part of the car in. Just have a good look at the reflection to make sure you or any passers-by aren’t captured in the shot as you’ll have to spend time cloning them out later if you do.

Away from the car look for puddles and other reflective surfaces you can photograph. New buildings, which are full of glass and steel, are great backdrops to position new cars against.

Stepping further back so you can see the reflection of the horizon down the side of the car can also work brilliantly, particularly at sunset or if you're in a picturesque location.

Photo by David Burleson

Change Angles

Take a walk around the mode of transport you’re photographing and look for the angles, shapes and little details that make it unique. 

Get low to headlight level to make it look intimidating while shooting from the side will give you the chance to follow the lines of the car’s bodywork which will help guide the eye through the shot.

Shoot up high so you can show the car’s overall shape, just make sure the sky’s not overexposed. You can always fit an ND grad to darken the sky, creating more mood. For wider shots, make sure you can’t see what’s behind the car from underneath it as this will be distracting.
 

Soft portraits on sharp modern cameras are frustrating, especially when you know your focus point was right on the eye. A tiny mix of motion blur, shutter vibration, and dull light can rob your images of bite even before you open them in Lightroom.

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Seven years ago, I made a decision that has shaped the way I photograph wildlife ever since I bought the Sigma 150-600mm lens. It was for one specific purpose: to finally get closer to the action during the annual red deer rut in Ireland. Does it still stack up?

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Picture this: A new photographer finishes building their portfolio, registers their LLC, files their DBA paperwork, and suddenly announces to the world, "I need a brand." They spend $500 on a beautiful, scripty logo from a designer on Fiverr or 99designs. They pick some carefully curated "moody" color presets for their Lightroom catalog. They commission a sleek website with parallax scrolling and a cool animated loading screen. They launch their Instagram with a consistent grid aesthetic. They call it a day, sit back, and wait for the high-end clients to roll in.

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Photographers have a tendency to prescribe ways things should be done. But that flies in the face of the beauty of art, doesn't it? Here are some common takes on photography that maybe, just maybe, require a rethink.

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A fast 85mm prime this cheap can change how your portraits and travel images look, especially if you want shallow depth of field without spending on a first-party lens. Here's a look at this fantastic option.

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Black and white can feel like the wrong choice when the forest is burning with autumn color. Yet that is exactly when it exposes how well you understand tone, structure, and the way trees and branches hold a frame.

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Color contrast is what turns a flat, gray landscape into something that feels deep and alive. Learning to build contrast between warm and cool colors is one of the fastest ways to rescue files that would otherwise feel dull.

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Church interiors are difficult to photograph because they usually have huge bright windows and dark nooks and crannies with the rest being a mix of tones illuminated by tungsten light or candles. Automatic exposure cameras will often deliver a photo with a well exposed interior, but no detail in the windows. Fortunately, with digital photography and modern software there is a solution, it's called HDR (high dynamic range) photography. Using HDR can really make your architecture shots pop.
 

   

Most modern cameras will have a HDR mode built-in, however if this is not the case, then here are some basic instructions.

 

Creating a HDR image

To create a HDR shot you need to take several shots of the same scene at different exposures, each one from the same position. These are then merged into one photo using HDR software (see ePHOTOzine's technique section for articles on how to do this). To ensure the photos are in an identical position it's best to use a sturdy tripod which will keep everything aligned and steady. It's worth using a cable-release too to trigger the shutter when the camera is on the tripod, but with a static subject such as a church you can get away using the camera's self timer.
 

Use a wide lens

A wide-angle lens is best for church interiors and ideally you want one that's really wide. With a lens like this you can usually shoot the interior from wall to wall if you stand back far enough. The camera you use can be a DSLR or compact so long as it has a manual exposure mode or at least exposure compensation to override the automatic settings.

As exposures are long in churches they can soon flatten your camera battery so always carry a spare just in case. Also, when shooting HDR, every picture you take requires several exposures so you may need extra memory cards.

HDR exposures should have a fixed aperture so that the depth of field is the same for each shot. Set the camera to f/8 and before setting up the shot take a meter reading for the lightest area. If the shot has a stained glass window in view this will usually be the brightest part. These are usually very decorative and beautiful works of art so you need to record those with an exposure that gives 100% detail. Use the camera's spot meter and position the camera so the window is in the centre of the viewfinder where the meter takes the reading. Take a shot and preview the result on the LCD If it's good make a note of the shutter speed. Now take a meter reading for the darkest area and make sure that the resulting photo has detail in it. Make a note of the shutter speed.

 

Your HDR exposure should have a range of shots that covers from the speed needed for the window to the speed for the dark areas. Let's say the window was 1/15 sec and the dark area was 8 seconds. The full shutter speed options would be 1/15sec, 1/4sec, 1/2sec, 1 second, 2 seconds, 4 seconds and 8 seconds. So you could take seven photos or as most HDR software can get what it needs from two stop intervals you could take four shots at 1/15sec, 1/2sec, 2 seconds and 8 seconds.

With this new information, adjust the position of the camera on the tripod compose the photo, including the previously metered elements in the frame and take a sequence of pictures, making sure no one walks into frame and the light doesn't change, sun comes out, floodlight goes on inside etc., at the shutter speeds calculated earlier.

Try this technique all around the church, in bigger churches/cathedrals there are lots of smaller rooms and chapels to discover.

Here are some of the tutorials you'll find in ePHOTOzine's technique section on HDR photography

• HDR Buildings
• Creating HDR Images
• Post Processing HDR Images
• Using Oloneo PhotoEngine For HDR
• HDR Landscape Photography

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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 Kenwil (Day 06 - Creative White Balance)

 

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 1

National Parks

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  Day 2

'Win' Theme

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Day 3

Fireworks

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Day 4

Races

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  Day 5

Photo Walk

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Day 7

Panoramas

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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.