Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-12-05)

TechTalk

Ask the Experts

Loupedeck+Photo

VideoEditingConsole

Witha plethoraof controls

designedforergonomicand

preciseadjustment,the

Loupedeck+ promisesto rene

youreditingandspeedupyour

workow.It’sdesignedto work

seamlesslywithLightroom,

PhotoshopandFinalCutPro

software,andis connectedto

a PCor MacviaUSB.Thereare

dedicatedbuttonsfora whole

rangeof commonlytweaked

settings,andyoucanfurther

customiseitsoperationto suit

yourpersonalneeds.

WacomIntuosSmall

Takefarnercontrolof

localisededitswiththis

affordablegraphicstabletfrom

marketleaderWacom.With

4,096pressurelevels,the

IntuosSmallis supremely

responsiveto yourmotion,

allowingyouto ‘draw’and

‘paintin’yourdesiredeffects

in appssuchasPhotoshop

andLightroomin a waythat

feelsfarmorenaturalthan

a mousealone.Thanksto

customisablepennibs,youcan

changethefeelof thetexture

to respondasthoughyou’re

usinga brushor feltpen.

BehringerX-TouchMINI

Thismidicontrolleris

somethingof a curveballin

ourroundup.Originally

designedformusicproduction,

it canbemanuallykeymapped

usingfreesoftwareto workas

aneditingperipheralfor

LightroomandPhotoshopin

muchthesamewayasthe

Loupedeck+. TheX-Touchmini

featureseightdials, 18 buttons

anda fader,providingplentyof

tactilecontrolpotentiallyfor

settingssuchasexposure,

whitebalance,highlightand

shadowsetc.USBpowered,it’s

bothMacandPCcompatible.

£219

● 40 buttons, 13 knobs,eightdials

andonewheel

●MacandPCcompatible

●CompatiblewithLightroom,

Photoshop,Premiereetc.

£69

●6x3.7inactiveareaandfour

expresskeys

●4,096levelsof pressuresensitivity

●Customisablenibs

£42

● Eight dials, 18 illuminated buttons

and 60mm fader

● Mac and PC compatible

● Dual layer mode

Looking for a new camera or accessory and need some advice? We’re here to help. Contact us at [email protected] or on Twitter at @AP_Magazine and #AskAP

Q

With much more time spent at home

over the last few months I’ve taken the

opportunity to revisit some of my older

work and give it a re-edit. I have to admit,

though, that while I really enjoy taking images,

editing has always seemed much more of a

drag. I think this may be in part to my strong

dislike of trawling through menus and tweaking

little sliders using a mouse. What options are

out there for those of us who would like a more

tactile method of adjusting our images?

Gary Woodstock

A

Many of us spend as much time editing

our images as taking them, yet this

process can feel a bit of a slog. While

editing software has become more intuitive over

the years, using a mouse often doesn’t allow the

 ne-tuning of our shots in the most accurate and

tactile way. Thankfully, there are now several

products available on the market to put you

back in control of your editing in a more

hands-on fashion. Below are three of our

favourite peripherals to help your image editing

become a much more tactile and fun process.

How can I make my editing more tactile?

Easiest way to see studio

shots as you take them?

Q

I’ve been working in

collaboration with a

couple of models lately

to produce a series of dramatic

studio portraits. While I’m always

keen to show the models the

shots we are taking as we go, in

order for them to  ne-tune their

expressions or posture, it can be

quite dif cult to get a good feel

for an image on my camera’s

small rear display. Is there a

better way to preview shots in

this scenario as we take them?

Taylor Williams

A

While a camera’s

monitor is a great tool for

reviewing images on the

 y, you’re right Taylor that its

small size can sometimes make

it dif cult to properly assess the

shots that you are capturing. In

a studio environment there is

a fantastic solution to help you

resolve this issue – tethering. By

connecting your camera directly

to a computer, you can instantly

download the photos you are

taking, allowing you to see them

on a much larger display and

back them up to a hard drive if

desired. There are several ways

of doing this, but the easiest

(and most affordable) is to use

a cable. Tether Tools produce a

range of cables for this purpose

starting from around £45, with

lengths of 15ft plus, and a variety

 ts with USB or USB C at one

end, and a range of widely used

camera inputs at the other.

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