Photography News

When a client says you’re “out of budget” or disappears after seeing your rates, the instinct is to adjust the numbers. That move usually solves the wrong problem. 

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The Panasonic Lumix S9 has been out long enough to see past the launch noise and judge it on real use. If image quality and price both matter, this camera deserves a closer look. 

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Starting in photography feels harder than it should. You’re told to buy more gear, follow trends, chase presets, and somehow build a style at the same time. Here's how to make it easier. 

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Meike has shared a preview of its upcoming lineup for CP+ 2026 in Yokohama, Japan, which will run from February 26 to March 1, 2026. The company will introduce its new lightweight Air series lenses along with the updated AF 85mm F1.4 Mark II.

 

New Air Series (APS-C)

The Air series debuts with three compact F1.7 prime lenses designed for mirrorless cameras:

• AF 25mm F1.7 
• AF 35mm F1.7
• AF 56mm F1.7

All three will be available in Sony E, Nikon Z, and Fujifilm X mounts, with both black and white finishes to match modern camera designs.

 

 

AF 85mm F1.4 Mark II (Full-Frame)

Part of Meike’s MIX series, the AF 85mm F1.4 Mark II is a lighter, second-generation version of the original lens. It features a newly upgraded autofocus motor for faster and quieter performance, along with professional refinements:

• Physical Controls: Aperture ring with click/de-click switch, focus ring, and aperture lock.
• Pro Build: Customizable Fn button and a dust- and splash-resistant sealing ring.
• Mounts: Available for Sony E, Nikon Z, and LUMIX L.

Attendees can see the new lenses at Meike booth No.70 in the Pacifico Yokohama.

For more information, please visit the Meike website.

Photography forums, YouTube comment sections, and gear review threads would have you believe that the path to better images runs through spec sheets and brand allegiances. Spend enough time in these spaces and you might start to think that your sensor size is holding you back, or that real photographers only shoot in manual mode, or that your follower count reflects the quality of your work. None of this is true, but it takes time and experience to see through it. 

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Vary your landscape photography perspectives. Learn how adjusting your tripod's height can completely transform your wide angle compositions. 

In landscape photography, we often obsess over the technical trinity of exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. We also concentrate on techniques such as filters and exposure bracketing. When working with wide angle lenses, there is another variable that is frequently overlooked, mostly by beginners, yet equally critical to the final composition: perspective.

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Every photographer has a collection of images that almost worked. The composition was there, the moment was right, but something about the light fell flat, or the exposure didn't quite capture what your eyes saw in person. We also tend to accumulate old family photographs in shoeboxes and drawers, images yellowed by time and marked by creases from decades of handling. These are the kinds of problems that used to require either significant manual work in Photoshop or simply acceptance that some photos couldn't be saved.

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Carrying a small camera to a place like Malibu sounds casual, but it exposes how you shoot when nothing else gets in the way. The choices you make in the field usually echo later when deciding what images deserve space on your website. 

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Travel photography can leave you frustrated even when the images are sharp and well exposed. You come home with full hard drives and a quiet sense that none of it really landed. 

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Shooting a landscape with only a 14mm lens can leave you stuck with too much foreground and not enough subject. When the light is right but the lens is wrong, the choices you make in editing decide whether the photo survives at all. 

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OM Digital Solutions has announced the OM SYSTEM OM-3 ASTRO, a dedicated astrophotography version of the OM SYSTEM OM-3 built to better capture red emission nebulae. The company says the camera is compliant with the Micro Four Thirds System standard and will be sold on a made-to-order basis, with availability planned for March 2026. 

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The well known saying: 'Keep it simple stupid' is well known for a reason – it works. Yes, there are times when lots of compositional elements do work but by creating an almost 'empty' space, you can actually create a stronger image.

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1. Why Does It Work?

By cutting out clutter, other people etc. you remove potential distractions and it'll be easier for the viewer of your image to understand what / who your main focus is in the shot and what you're trying to say.
 

2. Subject Choice

 

Just because you're keeping things simple it doesn't mean it has to be boring. Actually, with this technique, you have to work hard to do the opposite and find a strong subject that can stand up on its own. This becomes even more relevant when you're using a large amount of space so your subject only takes up a small amount of the frame.

Also, rather than thinking about what to include in your frame, think the opposite and look for items you can remove.
 

Here are a few ways you can achieve a minimalist look to your shots:

  3. Blurry Backgrounds

 

An obvious way to make your subject stand out is to adjust your aperture so everything in the background is thrown out of focus. You can find more tips on how to do this here: Creative Aperture / Depth Of Field

  4. Plain Backgrounds

Studio backgrounds and other material can be used to hide distracting objects inside and while you're out, use plain walls, fences or if you're shooting small subjects such as flowers, try taking your own backgrounds with you. On the subject of flowers, you can lower your angle so you're shooting up at the flower with the sky as your background which can give you a minimalist-style shot. White backgrounds are an obvious choice but don't think you can't use some bold, strong colour too (as we'll explain further down the page).

 

5. Play With Colour

 

If your subject and background contrast your subject will stand out from the shot. You can do this with colour (bright, strong colours work well) or light, using a brighter subject against a darker background and vice versa. Just make sure there are no 'hot spots' which will pull the viewer's eye away.

Also, having a strong colour filling your background that's the same as your subject can work in some situations or try producing black & white shots which rely on strong subjects and textures to make them interesting. You could even use shapes and colour as your subject, creating a strong composition that fills your frame in the process. 

6. Space To Breath

When used right, adding space to a shot can work just as well as cropping in close. To find out why sometimes it's what you leave out of your images that makes them great, read our tutorial: How To Use Negative Space In Your Photos

 

7. Crop Out Objects

An easy way to remove objects that are at the edge of your frame is to use your zoom to crop them out. You can also use editing software such as Photoshop to crop your images and we have a detailed tutorial on how to use this tool here: Introduction To Photoshop's Crop Tool

If you find the distracting objects are too close to your subject to crop out, you could use the Clone Stamp Tool to remove them. You can also remove distracting backgrounds and replace them with plain ones in Photoshop, too.

 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Competition Forum

 

Contradictory to what you're told when you first pick up a camera, it is OK to have blur, and quite a lot of it, in your shots when you're photographing the right subject and want to emphasise speed or create a sense of motion. When we say it's OK we don't just mean a shot you accidentally took out of focus will pass off as something creative, you have to deliberately adjust your camera's settings or know how a quick twist of your lens will give you the blur that's needed to add a sense of action to your shot.

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1. How To Add Blur

The two ways we are going to look at are slowing down your shutter speed and using zoom blur (movement of your lens). The second can be a little harder to get a grasp of but after a few tries, it should become easier.

 

 

2. Shutter Speeds

If you've never shot action-style images before you may first think that a subject that's moving through your frame quick will need a quicker shutter speed to ensure you capture them as they move through your frame. You can do this but most of the time you'll just end up with a shot that freezes them in place and all sense of motion will be lost. However, there are a couple of exceptions to the rule such as a rally car or cyclist hurtling through a muddy puddle. As they move through the water, they'll more than likely cause spray to fly everywhere and a quick shutter speed will freeze the spray as it jumps up towards the sky, surrounding your subject. It's the spray here that helps emphasis the action and their pace so using a slower shutter speed will mean this excitement would be lost.
 

3. Slow Things Down

For times when there's no mud and water flying everywhere try slowing your shutter speed down to add some much-needed motion to the shot. How slow you have to go will depend on how fast your subject is moving, how much light is around etc. and the whole process can be a little unpredictable, however, it's worth sticking with and experimenting as you can get great results, some of which are surprising sometimes.
 

4. Balance

The hard bit can be trying to get the balance of blur and in-focus parts of the shot right. Most of the time a blurred background that has streaks running through it in the direction your subject is moving with a sharp subject sat against it is what you'll be looking for, however, if your subject is a little blurred it can emphasise motion and add further drama to your shot. Don't go too over the top with the blur though as they can just end up merging together which makes it hard for the eye to focus, meaning it's hard for the viewer to settle on one point of the image and it can make it look like you just took a bad shot.

 

 

5. Focus

For shots where you want your subject to be sharp, make sure you're focused on them as you follow them through the frame. A quick autofocus system will help ensure your shot is focused quickly and accurately. Trying to focus manually with fast-moving objects can be tricky, however, it can be done if you plan on pre-focusing on a spot, say on a particular bend on a track, you know your subject will have to pass through. Just remember to lock your focus after you've set it up and be ready to hit the shutter button at the right time.

Switching to continuous shooting mode which most cameras now feature will increase your chances of capturing the action when panning or pre-focusing on one spot. You'll need to start shooting just before your subject comes into frame though to ensure you don't miss a shot due to shutter lag. If you're panning make sure you keep the pan going even after your subject has left the frame and you've got your shot.
 

6. Flash

To brighten your subject so they pop from your frame and to freeze them in place while the background is blurred switch to slow sync flash which combines a slow shutter speed with a burst of flash. The slow shutter speed means the camera will blur the background and further subject movement. Depending on if you're using front or rear curtain will change when the flash is introduced, freezing your subject's movement at different points of the shot.

 

 

7. Zoom Blur

To really emphasise your sport and action shots, giving them a dynamic edge, try using zoom burst to create blur that you deliberately create by twisting the zoom on your lens as you take a shot.

As well as emphasising movement it can help make your subject, who's not blurred, 'pop' from the frame. A burst of light from a flashgun will help freeze your subject and add sharpness to the image.

On paper, it's a simple technique but it can take some time to actually master. You need a lens that will zoom and experimenting with different lens lengths will change the overall effect. Changing the starting point of the zoom and the length of time you zoom for and how quickly you move the lens will also change the final look of the shot. For action shots, it's best to use shorter exposures which you start while you're moving the lens. Starting zoomed out and pulling the zoom in during the exposure makes it easier to capture a sharp shot of your subject with the zoom blur surrounding them.

Adding a little bit of camera movement will adjust the pattern the zoom blur creates and can be used to direct the eye on a particular path through your shot.
 

You've read the technique now share your related photos for the chance to win prizes: Daily Competition Forum

Every photographer makes decisions about file formats constantly, yet most of us operate on habit, hearsay, or whatever our camera defaulted to when we first pulled it out of the box. The problem is that choosing the wrong format at the wrong stage of your workflow can quietly destroy your editing flexibility, balloon your storage needs, break compatibility with clients and labs, or degrade your images in ways you won't notice until it's too late.

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Today, the new Viltrox AF 50mm f/1.4 Pro Z Mount lens comes to Nikon cameras. 

You know, sometimes a lens will just scratch you right where you itch. It can be hard to explain. Sometimes you’ll shoot with two lenses, both sharing the same focal range. In practical terms, you are expecting essentially the same result. But maybe one is slightly warmer than the other, maybe one is slightly lighter than the other, and next thing you know, you’ve discovered a valuable tool that becomes a permanent part of your rotation.

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Photoshop’s generative credits determine how freely you can use newer AI tools, and most people don’t know where to see their balance. That uncertainty turns routine edits into guesswork, especially when premium models are involved. 

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I like to carry minimal gear and travel light when on vacation or a travel photography adventure, and my favorite camera hasn’t changed after 7 years of ownership—it’s the Nikon Z50. Finding the right lens has always been a struggle, though, until I got my hands on Viltrox’s AF 27mm f/1.2 Pro. 

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The instax mini Link+ is a small shift in how you move from a screen to a physical print, and it’s aimed at the moments when a phone image feels too disposable. If you care about handing someone a real Instax Mini print at an event, or building a wall of tiny proof prints from a shoot, the tradeoffs in this printer are worth knowing before you buy. 

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Choosing between 25mm and 35mm on APS-C sounds simple until you see how differently they shape a scene, especially with fast apertures. These two focal lengths control how much environment you show, how close you feel to the subject, and how hard the background falls away. 

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AI in photo editing went from thrilling to unsettling to flat in a short window. If editing speed, legal risk, and long-term control over your work matter, this shift affects how much you can trust the tools you use every day. 

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