Amateur Photographer – 16 August 2019

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Technique

14

Fakemorningdew

withawateratomiser

Flowerslooksomuchbetterwhencapturedin the

morninglight,witha dustingof dewdropletsclinging

tothepetals.However,youcanbypasstheearly

alarmwake-upcallbyusinga standardgarden

wateratomiserbottle,whichcanbepickedupfora

couple of quid, to recreate the look of morning dew.

17

Useasieveto

addtexture

Therearemanyobjects

youcanmakeuseof,to

recreatethelookof

whatarereferredtoby

professionalsas‘gobos’:

essentiallyobjectsthatgo

betweenthesubjectand

thelightsource.Fortight

portraits,a standard

kitchensievewillintroduce

aninterestingtexture,

whileforwidershots,

somethinglikegarden

furniturewillcreate the

same effect.

19

Usebasickitchenappliances

toaddatouchofsteam

Takefoodphotographytothenextlevelbyusinga kettle

tointroducesteamintotheframe.Trytobacklightthe

steam as this will make it more visible in the image.

15

Fillaziplockbag

withriceasasupport

Beanbagsupportsaregreatforproppingupthecamera

whenshootingfromanultra-lowdownpositionorwhen

youareshootingfromtheseatof a car,astheysteady

thecameraandprovidea bufferbetweenthecamera

andthegroundorthepaintworkof yourcar.Whilenot

themostexpensiveof accessories,youcanstillsavea

coupleof quidbyfindinga ziplockbag,thekind you

keep freezer food in, and filling it with rice.

16

Useasuitcaseforlonglens

Rollercasesforlargertelephotolenses

canbeontheexpensivesideand,afterall,if you’ve

justshelledoutona lenslikea 300mmprimeora

150-450mmzoom,it’slikelyyoumaybewatching

thepennies.Onesolutionis topickupa cabin-

luggagesizehard-plasticrollersuitcase,foraslittle

as£20– arounda tenthof whatyoumayexpectto

payfora professionalversion.Addfoamtoholdthe

camera/lensset-upin placeandyou’llbeableto

transport your pride and joy in a protective shell.

18

Useabox

tocreate

aflashgrid

Is thelightfromyour

flashguna touchtoo

harsh?Youcanusea

simplecardboardbox

tomodifythelight.Usea

boxthathascorrugated

cardboardandcutstrips

thatmatchthelength

of yourflashgunhead.

Stackthestripsand

securethemwithsome

tapesothatthelight

hastopassthroughthe

corrugatedcardboard

beforeit hitsyour

subject.Youcanfind

plentyof othercheap

DIYlightmodifierideas

on the internet.

20

Useplateswhenshootingwith

atripodonabeach

Anyonewhohastriedtousea tripodonwetsandwill

knowhowfrustratingit canbewhenthefeetsinkdown.

Thesolutionis toslipthreepaperplatesintoyourkitbag.

Usingonebeneatheachfootwillspreadtheweightof

yourgearevenlyandstopanysinking.Thisis usefulwhen

shootinga longexposurewhichwouldotherwisesuffer

as the tripod sinks into the ground, ruining the image.

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