Digital Camera World Spring 2020

These are strange times to be living through, and our thoughts are with any readers affected by the coronavirus. Without wanting to sound crass, though, there is a silver lining to the current restrictions. Think of all the photo projects you can now do at home, plus some routine maintenance to your cameras and kit. We have both angles covered this month: Photo Active (p14) features some creative ideas you can tackle indoors, while Camera College (p52) walks you through spring-cleaning your equipment. You’d be wise to do this before photographing the most colourful season of the year; our cover feature is bursting with creative ways to capture the wonders of spring, from page 40. Other highlights this month include an interview with the American great Stephen Shore (p136), and…

Stephen Shore Documentary photographer More than 25 books of Shore’s photographs have been published, including Uncommon Places: The Complete Works, and American Surfaces. Donna Crous Food photographer A finalist in Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2017, Donna’s distinctive tableaux of wholesome, healthy food have graced many a recipe book. Clinton Lofthouse Advertising photographer Yorkshire-based Clinton is also a specialist in composite photography and creative artwork. Find out more about his background and work on page 30. Claire Gillo Creative photographer Photographer and journalist Claire is constantly coming up with new ideas and approaches, and shares some of her latest projects in Photo Active. Benedict Brain Creative photographer It’s always a good idea to have several photo projects on the go, says Benedict. An image from one of his projects, taken on a trip to Peru, is considered on page 37. Quintin Lake Roving photographer Quintin’s…

Food photographer Donna started off taking photographs of the dishes featured on her Eighty 20 Nutrition blog. She came third in the Food Blogger category of Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2017. www.donnacrous.com Photographing food is becoming more and more popular. Whether it’s snapped on a phone or captured by a camera, it’s a fun entrée to mastering composition and lighting techniques – two essential ingredients of still-life photography. And, as shown in our February issue, while a keen enthusiast can get great results with a basic camera setup, it’s genuinely fascinating to see how a professional food photographer approaches a shoot. Just how much work needs to go into turning an attractive-looking dish into a fine-art photograph? Thanks to spending a day with Donna Crous, we’re about to find out. Donna’s…

Donna’s route into food photography was an interesting one – she started blogging about using wholesome ingredients to feed families (eighty20nutrition.com), and needed photos to illustrate the recipes. But she soon realised that she preferred taking photographs to writing… Home-cooked food, home-made studio Although Donna was once told that she would need a studio in London to become a successful food photographer, she decided to set up at home. She turned the sitting room next to her kitchen into a studio, so she only has to carry her dishes a few feet. There are two sources of natural light: a pair of French doors that face northeast, and a large side window that faces southeast. “The curtains cast a yellow light,” notes Donna. “I can’t really change the environment because this is…

1 Nikon D850 “This camera’s pixel size is ideal for my work,” says Donna. “I’ve been using it for just over a year.” 2 Nikon D750 “This is a backup body now, or my daughter Gemma will use it as a second camera.” 3 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 “If you need one lens for food photography, this is it. This focal length is perfect.” 4 Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 “As well as being great for close-up and macro shots, you get excellent optical compression when shooting from further away.” 5 Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 VR “I don’t use this for studio work. It’s ideal for location shooting, as I don’t want to carry a lot of kit when I’m travelling. It has Vibration Reduction, because it’s heavy, and I’m quite small!” 6 Rotolight Neo 2 “This is perfect for shooting on overcast dull days,…

1 “Be aware of your lighting: a good image has a balance of shadows, midtones and highlights.” 2 “When styling a scene, take the direction of shadows into account when balancing the composition. Always use side or back lighting, and don’t have the light source in the same direction as the camera as the food will look flat and unappetising. And never use in-built flash.” 3 “Light is not static – it’s always moving and changing. Be constantly aware of how the light is changing and tweak it: either add more filler light, bounce cards or diffusers.” 4 “Learn to control depth of field. Make sure you understand the depth of field characteristics of a given lens.” 5 “Using a tripod means you won’t have to worry about shutter speed and ISO values, and…