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Honor 20 Pro launches with F1.4 aperture and dedicated macro camera

Huawei sub-brand Honor has launched its new flagship smartphone and, as rumored, the Honor 20 Pro is the first smartphone to come with an F1.4 aperture in its primary camera. But that’s not the only news. The new model also comes with a dedicated 2MP macro camera that has been optimized for image capture at a subject distance of only 1.5 inches (4cm) and uses a F2.2 aperture.

The primary camera features a 48MP Sony IMX586 1/2″ Quad-Bayer sensor that produces 12MP image output. The lens is optically stabilized.

The tele lens has an equivalent focal length of approximately 80mm and an F2.4 aperture. It also comes with OIS. Finally, there’s a 16MP ultra wide-angle camera with a 117-degree field of view and F2.2 aperture.

A AIS Super Night Mode captures several frames in quick succession, discard the blurry or otherwise unusable ones, and merges the rest into one high-quality low-light image. The 48MP AI Ultra Clarity Mode uses similar methods for additional detail in bright light.

The front camera offers a 32MP pixel count and is located inside a hole in the 6.26” 1080p+ LCD display. The device is powered by the same Kirin 980 chipset as the Huawei P30 Pro and comes with 8GB of RAM and 256GB storage. The 4,000mAh battery can be charged from flat to 50% in 30 minutes.

The Honor 20 Pro will be available soon at a price point that makes it look like an attractive alternative to some more established competitors. The device will cost you €600 ($ 670) in Europe. No pricing information for other regions has been released yet.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

May 22, 2019
Godox announces redesigned X2T with Bluetooth and better handling

Chinese flash manufacturer Godox has released details of an updated trigger that will have a redesigned button layout, a larger display panel and Bluetooth to allow flashes to be controlled from a smartphone.

The Godox X2T has the same hotshoe for shoot-through flash as the X1T, but now has individual buttons for each flash group on the top panel to make selection and adjustment quicker and easier. The control dial has also been moved to the base of the unit, to make it accessible to the photographer’s left hand.

Other new features include a wider display panel with a new and clearer user interface, as well as a quick-lock for the foot instead of the old locking wheel. A scanning setting automatically detects the most secure channel, and Bluetooth support allows users to control and trigger their flash units using the GodoxPhoto app on Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.

As before, the trigger will be compatible with Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Olympus/Panasonic and Pentax cameras and their respective TTL systems. The X2T uses 2.4GH for a wireless control range of up to 100m, and can operate across 32 channels with 99 wireless ID settings. It has a USB socket for firmware updates and is powered by two AA batteries.

The company has yet to reveal pricing or when it intends to begin shipping, but you can find more information on the Godox website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

May 22, 2019
Video: A curated collection of street photography from 1838 to 2019

YouTuber Guy Jones, who specializes in sharing historical images, footage, and audio, has uploaded a new video highlighting street photography from 1838 to 2019. The video provides viewers with a curated look at street photography from past generations, including images of New York City, London, Paris, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Francisco, and other destinations.

According to a note on the video, all of the images have been remastered and color adjusted. A full list of audio accompanying the images can be found in the video’s description. Viewers interested in seeing other similar content can find a huge catalog of historical images through the Library of Congress website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

May 22, 2019
Godox TT350 Flash Review – the Little Flash that Can
The post Godox TT350 Flash Review – the Little Flash that Can appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sean McCormack.

Godox – the mighty Chinese brand that’s sweeping the lighting world, bringing fear to long-established premium brands. And their quality has reached the point where they can now be trusted.

One thing they’ve done well to push the brand forward is their system integration. Any of their X-series triggers will fire any light in the system. Not only that, their TTL speedlights can also act as masters for other lights in the system, from the mighty AD600Pro right through to the humble TT350.

That’s what we’re looking at today – the TT350.

This compact and pocketable unit is the smallest flash in the Godox range. It really is small – requiring noting more than two AA batteries.

The Specs
- A Guide Number of 36 (rather than the typical 52 of most larger flashes).
- Recycle time of 2.2 seconds at full power
- 210 full-power flashes available from two 2500maH AA batteries
- TTL, Manual, Optical Slave, Optical Slave with Preflash, and Multiflash modes available
- Coverage from 24–105mm in full-frame 35mm terms
- High-speed sync up to 1/8000 sec
- Built in 2.4G radio transmitter and receiver to act as either radio master or slave
- Wide-angle diffuser and bounce card
On-Camera

The small size and weight of the TT350 make it the perfect on-camera flash for any camera system, particularly mirrorless systems. While I’m using them with a Fuji, they’re also available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus/Panasonic and even Pentax.

As with any on-camera flash aimed directly at the subject, the light is hard and not particularly flattering.

While the flash does have a bounce card, I prefer using reverse bounce for on-camera situations to create a larger light source coming from behind me.

On-camera, the TT350 can be used as a master for other off-camera flashes.

Now let’s look at off-camera flash.

Off-Camera

The benefits of using a flash off-camera are many. You get better placement to control shadows, and by extension the shape of the features in the shot. You also can use a larger range of modifiers to soften or shape the light itself. To go off-camera, you need a flash, a trigger and a stand (with a modifier being an additional option). In this case, our flash is the TT350.

Triggers

The TT350 can be powered from:
- the X-16 for manual power
- the X1T or XPro trigger for TTL and Manual.
It can also be triggered from:
- another TT350 (and its lithium battery brother the V350)
- the TT685 and V860II speedlights.
The trigger sits on-camera and relays information from the camera to the remote flash.

Stands

Any stand will do, even the cheap Photo-R stands . I find Neewer to be great value for money, although in the studio I prefer using C-Stands even with speedlights.

Master and Slave

To use the radio features, hold down the Sync button and then twist the dial when the antennae icon flashes.

The first option that appears is M, making your flash the Master.

A second twist brings you to S, which enables the Slave mode.

To change between TTL, Manual and Multi modes, press the Mode button.

In Master mode, press the Slave button to alternate between the Master group (M) and the A, B or C groups.

In Slave mode, pressing Slave chooses the group the flash is on (A, B or C).

The M group in Master dictates what the flash does on-camera. Press Mode to switch between flash off, TTL and Manual.

Here’s a video that takes you through the entire process.

?

Make sure all your flashes or triggers are on the same channel. To set the channel:
1. Hold down the Slave button until the CH number flashes
2. Use the dial to change channel
3. Press Set to make the change.
You’re now ready for off-camera flash.

Using the TT350 with modifiers

Moving the flash off-camera doesn’t automatically make it look better. But you do get to position the shadows better, as you can see in my article on lighting. I also have a list of cheap modifiers that won’t break the bank. The 120cm Octa is a good investment.

One light

With the TT350 inside a 120cm Octa (with the diffuser on), you’re ready to get some big light from a small flash. With the Octa between you and the subject, you’ll get flattering light in the ‘Butterfly’ position.

You can improve this further by adding a reflector underneath, such as the Lastolite Halo Compact.

High-Speed Sync

To get really shallow depth of field with flash (especially outside), you need to use High-Speed Sync to overcome the limitation of the camera sync speed. To engage it, tap the Sync button once.

Here’s a shot at 1/2000sec and f/1.4, ISO400 with HSS on. (You’ll find bumping the ISO helps save battery life, which is why I’m using ISO400 here).

Two lights

Another way to help battery life (and the recycle time) is to use two flashes in the modifier.

Set both flashes to the same channel and group. This allows them to automatically match power when you make a change.

You can get double flash brackets and aim them into the center with them positioned either close together or further out.

Here’s a portrait with this dual-light Octa box setup on the left (facing across the shot) and a white reflector on the right.

This is what the setup looks like.

Removing one of the lights and putting it on a stand behind our subject gives a good cross-light setup.

Should you get a TT350?

Clearly, a flash you have with you is better than one you leave behind because of the weight. So for general flash applications the TT350 is great. But, it’s never going to overpower the sun, and and its compact size makes it the lowest-power flash in the range (excluding their mobile phone flash unit).

However, you can buy two TT350s for the price of a V860II. And while they don’t have built-in batteries, combined they can provide more power for less weight.

Me? I bought two so I can use them in the configurations I’ve shown here, and as a master-slave setup if I have an issue with a trigger.

Overall, they’re great tools to have in the bag.

Have you used this flash? What are your thoughts? Please share with us and the dPS community in the comments below.

The post Godox TT350 Flash Review – the Little Flash that Can appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Sean McCormack.

Digital Photography School
May 22, 2019
How to Add Functionality to Photoshop CC with Free Extensions
The post How to Add Functionality to Photoshop CC with Free Extensions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Using extensions in Photoshop is like putting scaffolding on Mount Everest. The program already has more features than you probably need. But you can add more functionality by using free extensions. Photoshop CC even invites you to “Find Extensions on Exchange…” on the Windows menu.

Finding Photoshop extensions

When browsing the Adobe Exchange site for extensions, take note of what products they’re compatible with. Otherwise, you’ll end up downloading stuff that won’t install. Naturally, free extensions are less likely to be up to date. Some of the paid add-ons are worth a look, with the caveat that you can’t always try them out first.

Extension installers

You can install Adobe extensions easily by using either Anastasiy’s Extension Manager or the ZXP Installer. (I use the latter.) Drag the .zxp file onto the app, and the extension will be waiting next time you open Photoshop. (Or at least it should be.) You can also use Adobe’s Creative Cloud desktop app to install and uninstall extensions.

If your extension doesn’t load automatically through the Creative Cloud app, try Anastasiy’s Extension Manager or the ZXP Installer.

Three great free extensions

Some great up-to-date extensions are available for free. They might be a segue from an unpaid product to a paid one or have some other sales angle, but they’re still handy additions to Photoshop.

Here are three free extensions that work with Photoshop CC in 2019 (version 20.0.4 as I write).

Adobe Paper Textures Pro (Russell Brown)

This extension lets you easily add paper textures to photos. The downside is the supplied textures are web-size only, so you can’t add them to big files without losing definition. Of course, it’s designed to hook you into buying full-res textures from Fly Paper. But if you’re into this type of editing, it’s probably worth it, as they appear to be high quality.

A textured digital photo using one of the supplied Fly Paper overlays in Adobe Paper Textures Pro.

To make Adobe Paper Textures Pro fully functional without costing you anything, you can download free full-res texture images from other web sources and load those up instead. The textures automatically blend with your open image, so it’s quicker than creating layers manually. In the past, the extension has drawn a few negative reviews. But it has behaved well for me, and despite the odd glitch, it’s a lot of fun to use.

Adobe Paper Textures Pro and a separately sourced texture overlay.

Interactive Luminosity Masks (Sven Stork)

Being able to select different areas of luminosity within an image can be useful when making local edits. You might want to adjust the contrast or tone in one area and not another. Or perhaps you want to avoid sharpening noisy, darker areas of the image or apply noise reduction to the shadows.

The Interactive Luminosity Mask lets you select highlights, mid-tones or shadows, and also allows a customized choice with a zone mask and picker.

A luminosity mask exposing shadow areas only for adjustment. You can invert the selection if you want to protect an area rather than edit it.

The extension also includes saturation masks. These were once useful for selectively increasing saturation, but the vibrance slider made that a little redundant. Even so, there’s still a lot of value in being able to use color to make selections. For instance, you may want to avoid sharpening large single-tone areas such as skies. This add-on lets you select areas of low, mid or high saturation, or manually pick a color using the zone mask. You can even launch channels and commonly used adjustment layers from within the extension.

Facebook Grid Cover (Bojan Živkovic)

Facebook grids force you to curate your own photos if you want to create a good one. That’s always a useful exercise. This add-on set of actions works flawlessly.

Facebook covers may seem like a frivolous way to spend your time. But creating a grid of photos that look good together isn’t always easy. Even with a simple three-image grid, you may find composing a good online triptych challenging. This extension doesn’t end up in your extensions menu. Instead, it’s an action (or series of actions) that loads initially onto your desktop.

You can pick up to 13 images to go into your Facebook grid cover, and the actions let you switch any one of them as long as the layers remain intact. Whether you run a photographic Facebook page, or just want one for your own cover, this extension will create an eye-catching result.

Further delights

Here are some more free extensions for you to try:
1. Thomas Zagler’s Free Stock Search is ideal for finding free stock images you can use for things such as digital composites. You could compile a folder of free texture photos and use them with the Adobe Paper Textures Pro extension I talked about earlier.
  
  Free stock photos are useful for overlays in Photoshop. Add texture to your photos or drop in a better sky.
2. Sven Stork’s Interactive Blender Panel lets you blend pictures together according to tone (highlights, mid-tones, or shadows) and leave the rest of the photo unblended. This is ideal for dropping in more appealing skies, among other things.
  
  This is another first-rate offering from Sven Stork. Adding better skies is one use for blending pictures by tone. You can use a layer mask to brush out any unwanted blending.
3. Anil Tejwani’s Action Launcher provides useful ways to organize your actions, including alphabetically or by favorites. Note: The favorites feature expires after 30 days unless you upgrade to the pro version.
  
  Action Launcher lets you easily filter and organize your actions.
4. Davide Barranca’s PS Tools lets you lay out all the Photoshop tools you actually use in a pop-out panel and conceal the rest.
  
  This extension lets you lay out all the tools you usually use and hide the rest. (Note: The panel doesn’t float. The illustration shows screenshots of editing pane and selected tools.)
5. Denis Yanov’s RealLookLongShadow panel gives you lots of control over drop shadows and their length to make photos or cut-outs stand out.
  
  This extension lets you create longer shadows than is usually possible within Photoshop.
Your recommendations

I hope you find some of these extensions useful or fun. Please feel free to add your own recommendations for free or paid extensions in the comments.

The post How to Add Functionality to Photoshop CC with Free Extensions appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Digital Photography School
May 21, 2019
Easter Island tourists put iconic statues at risk to get nose-picking selfies

The remote volcanic island Rapa Nui, also called Easter Island, is under threat from tourists seeking a particular variety of images taken with the island’s iconic oversized head statues (moai): nose-picking. The trend is one of multiple types of disrespectful actions taken by tourists who are increasingly violating visitor guidelines, putting the statues at risk.

Easter Island has been a World Heritage Site for more than 20 years and is home to the Rapa Nui National Park. According to UCLA archaeologist Jo Anne Van Tilburg, who has been studying the island for almost 40 years, the number of tourists visiting Easter Island has skyrocketed over the past couple of decades.

Van Tilburg said to Newsweek, ‘In 1981 there were only about 2,500 to 3,000 people living on the island, and the yearly count of visitors was about that number. Today, the island hosts over 150,000 tourists per year.’

Many tourists have engaged in disrespectful behavior toward both the island and its residents, including walking over protected land, on top of graves, and climbing the statues. Some tourists violate these rules to get a picture of themselves picking the nose of one the head statues.

The influx of tourists is described as having ‘a hugely negative impact’ on the island’s natural resources and sense of community. Many tourists have engaged in disrespectful behavior toward both the island and its residents, including walking over protected land, on top of graves, and climbing the statues. Some tourists violate these rules to get a picture of themselves picking the nose of one the head statues.

Van Tilburg has called for greater efforts to protect the island and its history, telling Newsweek:

We all need to step up, whether scientist or tourist, and do our fair share to preserve the past. Tourists can study and learn before they travel to the island. They can show proper respect for others. They can remove their egos—and their selfie sticks—from the landscape and learn to appreciate the past.

Sadly, other popular protected destinations also face damage and destruction from tourists, particularly those seeking images to post on Instagram. Last year, for example, New Zealand officials revealed plans to place warning signs around the iconic Lake Wanaka Tree due to the damage it has suffered from people climbing on it.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

May 21, 2019
Hands-on with the new Peak Design Travel Tripod

Peak Design Travel Tripod

Peak Design announced a new Travel Tripod on Kickstarter today and we were lucky enough to get our hands on a prototype prior to launch. But before we dive into some initial impressions, here’s the nitty gritty: the tripod will be available in aluminum for $ 350 and carbon fiber for $ 600 – both prices include a ball head – however you can score the tripod for much less by backing it on Kickstarter now.

The Travel Tripod series sits in a pricing bracket of its own, toward the upper end of the market. It’s more than double the cost of a lot of other popular entry-level travel tripods, like Manfrotto’s Be Free line and MeFOTO’s RoadTrip tripods, but still much less expensive than the upper-echelon of the market in the Gitzo Traveler tripods (when factoring in the cost of both legs and head).

Overall design

The Peak Design Travel Tripod (center) is 2.5″ / 6.35 cm in diameter from top to bottom, making it considerably more streamlined and less bulky than the Manfrotto Be Free (left), MeFOTO RoadTrip (right) and Gitzo Traveler (not shown). Peak Design told us removing unnecessary bulk to save space was the primary goal of developing this tripod. To that regard, they seem to have been successful.

However, just because it’s slimmer doesn’t mean it’s any lighter than the competition. In fact both the aluminum and carbon fiber versions weight about the same as their Manfrotto and MeFOTO counterparts. And Peak Design’s collapsed length of 15.5″ / 39 cm is also about the same as the aforementioned tripods.

The ball head

Like most Peak Design products, the ball head accepts Arca Swiss-compatible plates – the two pins on either side can be removed (using an included tool) if you happen to have an Arca plate that is wider than the standard Peak Design-issued one. And a dual-locking mechanism offers piece of mind that your precious gear won’t take a tumble.

The top of the plate has a small bubble level that I found generally ends up covered when a camera’s attached, but it is useful for leveling prior. Users loosen and tighten down the ball head by turning the lower ring. I was pleased with the throw of this ring, you only need to turn it about 90-degrees to go from fully-locked down, to loose enough to adjust the camera’s framing.

Stability

Historically, I haven’t been terribly impressed by the level of stability most travel-oriented tripods offer, especially when using cameras with front-heavy lenses. For instance, when trying to photograph the moon with a Nikon P1000 mounted on a Manfrotto Be Free, the camera was prone to sagging forward with the lens fully-extended.

But Peak Design assured me their new tripod is up to the challenge of locking down even the heaviest rigs. To test their claims I went to our gear closet and brought out one of the heaviest setups I could find: a Nikon D5 with a 70-200mm F2.8 lens. To my surprise, I had no issue locking it down. Even with the front-heavy lens pointed up toward the sky, I witnessed no sag.

The legs and other features

The Peak Design’s Travel Tripod’s locking levers are easy to open and close thanks to a long throw. This makes it very easy to set up or break down in an instant, something I can definitely appreciate. A hex tool is also included to tighten and loosen the lock joints. This tripod can reach a maximum height of about 60″ / 152 cm with its legs and center column fully extended. It also offers a ‘low mode’ that get you to about 5″ / 13 cm off the ground and an ‘Inverted Mode’ for when you want to shoot straight down.

Peak Design loves including secret little features in their products and the Travel Tripod is no exception. A hook at the bottom of the center column can be used to weigh down the tripod, but turning it also reveals a secret Arca-compatible cellphone mount, tucked away in the column.

Initial impressions

It’s encouraging to see brands jumping into new product categories and genuinely trying to innovate and improve. With the Peak Design Travel Tripod, there’s no doubt the price alone will have people turning up their noses. But innovation and research doesn’t come cheap. And more importantly, even in the little bit of time I used a prototype of this tripod, I found it to be more compact and more stable than what’s offered on the lower end of the travel market.

Ultimately, we’re looking forward to getting a final version in and taking a proper look at how it compares not only to the ManFrotto and MeFOTO travel tripods, but travel tripods with a similar price, likes those from Benro, as well as the higher-end models from Gitzo.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

May 21, 2019
Leica Q2 review
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84%

Overall score

Jump to conclusion

The Leica Q2 is a fixed-lens, full-frame camera sporting a new 47.3MP sensor and a sharp, stabilized 28mm F1.7 Summilux lens. It’s styled like a traditional Leica M rangefinder and replaces the hugely popular original Leica Q (Typ 116), launched in 2015.

The Q2 looks essentially the same as its predecessor, but under the hood notable improvements have been made including the addition of weather-sealing, better battery life, a new processor and a much-improved electronic viewfinder. Pixel count has also nearly doubled.

Key Specifications:
- 47.3MP full-frame sensor
- 28mm F1.7 Summilux stabilized lens
- 3.68MP OLED EVF with 0.76x magnification
- 3″ fixed touchscreen LCD with 1.04 million dots
- Fast autofocus and smoothly damped manual focus ring
- Native ISO range of 50-50,000
- 4K video capture
- Leaf shutter up to 1/2000 sec
- E-shutter up to 1/40,000 sec
- IP52 rated dust and water resistant
- Magnesium-alloy body
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Improved battery life
While the Q2 replaces the original Q in Leica’s lineup, the Leica Q-P – a ‘stealthy’ version of the Leica Q – will remain available. The Leica Q2 sells for a recommended price of $ 4995 / £4250 / €3990.

Raw photo processed in Adobe Camera Raw.
ISO 250 | 1/80 sec | F2.8

What’s new and how it compares

The Q2 and original Q look pretty similar, but there are a lot of upgrades under the hood. Here’s the nitty gritty.

Read more

Body and controls

How’s it feel in hand? How’s the new electronic viewfinder? Find out here.

Read more

First impressions

We’ve been shooting around with the Leica Q2 – here are our initial thoughts based on that time.

Read more

Image Quality

The sensor in the Leica Q2 looks pretty impressive, but we’re still not fans of the low-contrast, low-saturation JPEGs.

Read more

Lens performance

The Q2’s lens includes digital corrections as part of its design. We found little to worry about: the lens is as wide and sharp as the JPEGs make it look.

Read more

Autofocus and Video

The Q2 has surprisingly good video specs, but the lack of control holds it back a little. Autofocus is fit for purpose.

Read more

Conclusion

The sheer cost makes it difficult to be completely objective about the Q2. But by Leica’s standards, we think it’s a comparatively rational choice.

Read more

Sample gallery

Puppies and landscapes and portraits, oh my! Check out our full sample image gallery for out-of-camera JPEGs and Raw conversions.

Read more

Is the Leica Q2 right for you? [Separate Article]

We take a closer examination at how well-suited the Q2 is for a variety of common photography use cases.

Click to visit ‘Is the Leica Q2 right for you?’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
May 21, 2019
How to Pose Grooms and Groomsmen Effectively
The post How to Pose Grooms and Groomsmen Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

Wedding days aren’t just about the bride, even though it might seem that way. As photographers we must also take photos of the groom by himself and with his groomsman buddies – whether they like it or not.

Posing the groom alone

When posing the groom alone you often see stiffness and shifting eyes because most men don’t feel comfortable having their photo taken. So it’s worth starting a conversation that has nothing to do with the wedding to relax them and settle their nerves.

Find a nice background where you can photograph the groom at three different crops: full-body, half-body, and close-up. These three crops will add variety to your portraits, and give you more options when choosing the best portrait to deliver to your clients.

For example, window lighting can add dimension and depth while the groom is adjusting his tie or watch, or buttoning his shirt. Have the groom look out the window, or at his watch or tie. This keeps his hands busy, and because he’s not looking at the camera he won’t feel as vulnerable.

When you’re outside you can have the groom lean on a wall, or simply stand in the middle of a walkway. To help him pose naturally, tell him to stand as if he was by himself and not getting his photo taken.

Also, remind him to breathe. The stiffness is often caused by the groom holding his breath. It will also help him relax his shoulders and overall stance.

Photographing the groom at three different crops is a great way to add variety to the final images.

If the groom usually puts his hand in a pocket, have him put the one furthest from the camera into his pocket. This can help make the portrait feel more natural. Having the groom look at various points beyond the camera (to the side, behind you, or even at his shoes) can reduce the nerves and stiffness, and make him feel more comfortable.

As you’re taking the groom’s portraits, feel free to joke around, talk about things they like, or simply compliment them. This can make them feel more comfortable and bring about natural smiling and laughing, as well as fill in the silence.

Sitting is another great way to pose the groom. Have him sit on steps, a short wall or a chair. It will make the groom feel less stiff, and allow you to focus on various details of his outfit such as his shoes or socks if he chose something special.

Portraits of the groom while with the bride

But the groom doesn’t have to be completely alone in his portraits. A beautiful portrait of the groom with his bride can isolate him while placing him in the overall story of the wedding day.

Pose the couple facing each other, and ask the bride to place her head on his chest or arm to bring her face out a little. Then have her close her eyes while you direct the groom to look at the camera.

Another great portrait is having the groom at a 45-degree angle, with the bride behind him. Ask her to put her head on his back/shoulders, and have him look either directly at you or off into the distance.

He doesn’t have to smile. He can even look a little more serious. But the big picture will still look romantic and show that the couple is sharing a special moment.

You can move the groom and bride from there and create variations where the groom is:
- in focus
- in the forefront
- looking directly at the camera
- the main focal point in the photo.
These will all make great portraits of the groom and help him pose with his bride.

Groomsmen

Groomsmen are really fun to photograph. Most of the time they’re buddies and will joke around a bit, which can make for great candid photos. But it can also mean they won’t take the photo shoot seriously.

One way to get them to listen and cooperate is to let them know the faster they get through the photo shoot, the sooner they can start having fun. But don’t use this trick until you’ve captured some candids showing how they all interact, as it will be nice for the groom to have those as well.

Keep at least three different groomsmen setups in mind before photographing the wedding. You can find inspiration online and save those inspirational photos on your phone to recreate or build on them. This can save you lots of time if you’re new to wedding photography.

Try and keep the conversation light and easygoing. It will help the groomsmen relax, and you’ll get much more authentic expressions from them.

Group huddles and hugs are great icebreakers, and can lighten the mood if you feel the photos are getting a little stiff or the groomsmen are losing steam. A slow walking photo is also nice to have and having them looking at each other and talking is a great way to get them all smiling.

A staggered photo, either on a staircase or in a big area, can provide you with more varied poses for your final photos. If you have enough time, get a photo of each groomsman with the groom. Keep the photos moving by keeping the groom in the same place and having the groomsmen take turns standing beside him.

Keep everyone’s height variations in mind when taking photos of the groom with his groomsmen. Taller groomsmen may need to stand further back. If there are big height differences between the groom and his groomsmen, place those who are about the same height next to the groom, or bring the groom closer to the camera. This can help isolate the groom and make him the focal point of the photo, which is exactly what you want.

Keep everyone moving and try to get the photos done quickly. Groomsmen are usually ready for the next event pretty quickly and get sick of the camera much faster than the bride and bridesmaids.

If the groomsmen have ideas for poses, go along with them. It may be an inside joke or something that brings them closer together as buddies. And they’re usually the photos they love to remember.

Also, always ask if the groomsmen are wearing something special or have a gift from the couple – watches, socks, matching shoes, flasks, etc. These items have far more meaning when they’re photographed in the hands of those who received or are wearing them.

For example, these groomsmen all received personalized flasks from the groom, so a toasting photo was fun to create for them, along with a close-up of one of the flasks.

In conclusion

Grooms and groomsmen are fun to photograph during a wedding. But it’s best to have a few poses in mind so you can work quickly, as they often don’t like having their photos taken and may tire quickly. Keeping the mood light and fun gives them a great experience, and they’ll look back at the photos with fond memories.

The post How to Pose Grooms and Groomsmen Effectively appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jackie Lamas.

Digital Photography School
May 21, 2019
2019 Buying Guide: Best instant cameras

Looking to get in on the instant camera fun? We tried every model and think the Fujifilm Instax Mini 70 strikes the right balance between price and features – the Instax Wide 300 is our choice if you crave a larger format.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

May 21, 2019