February 2008

Beginner's Guide: Close-ups
This month, our beginner’s guide is devoted to the fascinating world of close-up photography. Practically any subject is suited to being shot close-up, so begin looking around you and you’ll discover the possibilities are endless! Close-up photography allows us to view subjects from a totally different viewpoint and capture visually striking, often abstract looking photographs both indoors and out. Moving in closer to your subject reveals detail, colour and texture that would otherwise go unnoticed. Over the coming pages, we explain the meaning of a subject’s reproduction ratio and look at how depth-of-field and light are affected when shooting up close. Although it is possible to take good close-ups with a standard zoom lens, there are a number of close-up attachments and accessories available that have been designed specifically to make macro photography easier. Here, we take a look at a selection of the most useful. With prices ranging from just a few pounds upwards, you shouldn’t have any problem getting started

Brett Harkness Lifestyle Portraits Masterclass
Portraiture is one of the most popular types of photography and also one of the most exciting and fluid, as new styles and techniques are developed and introduced by innovators in the field. Professional photographer Brett Harkness is fast gaining a reputation as one of the UK’s most creative portrait photographers and in this Masterclass series, shares some of his favourite techniques for taking great images. This month, he focuses on how to capture wonderful contemporary lifestyle portraits of children.

Digital Convert: Colin Prior
While other landscape photographers are waiting in the comfort of a people carrier for the sun to rise, Colin Prior is trekking across mountainous terrain with several kilos of photo kit in his pack, to bring us never before seen images of the natural world and the world’s wildest places.

5-Minute Photoshop: Reality TV!
Everyone fancies a stint on telly, and with a couple of quick snaps and a few Photoshop effects at his disposal, our digital guru, Luke Marsh shows how you can get your fifteen minutes of fame in just five!

One-Hour Photo reader challenge: Brighton Pier
This month’s reader challenge takes us to the seaside town of Brighton for some low-light action. Matt Henry hits the seafront with reader Sarita Atkins to test her skills at capturing the thrills and spills that Brighton’s Pier has to offer

Make Something of it! An audio cassette
Do you sometimes struggle for photographic ideas and inspiration? If you do, then Digital SLR Photography is here to help. To show that it’s possible to produce a great picture of literally any subject, we supplied some photographers with everyday household objects and asked them to surprise us with a stunning image. We hope their efforts will open your mind to the photographic possibilities that await if you stretch your creative skills to the limit. This month we gave each a cassette tape.

Main camera test: Nikon D300
It’s hotting up in the enthusiast/semi-pro market with Nikon’s D300 being the latest model to enter the scene. Built for serious use, packed with the latest technology and boasting a 12.3-megapixel resolution, this could well be the model that sets a new standard. Daniel Lezano puts it to the test