This issue’s special contributors…

Emma Dunham PAGE 6 Foodie photographer Emma shows

Welcome to issue 160

Go coastal with Ross Hoddinott and learn to

Tuck shots

Pro ‘foodie’ Emma Dunham spoon-feeds our apprentice her tastiest trade secrets

LIGHTBOX

Our favourite Nikon images taken from the Close-up Photographer of the Year competition

Cracking coastlines!

Oh we do like to be beside the seaside… with its dynamic seascapes and wonderful wildlife. Here’s how to capture it!

Finding opportunities for change is now my challenge

The weather is miserable, we’ve put on a pound or two and spent too much but now is the time of year to rekindle our optimism and go for it…

Delve a little deeper

Adam Atkins explains how he wields his Nikon in super-tight spaces and with next to no light

Double trouble

Mike Harris uses a purposebuilt water feature to capture red squirrel reflections

Under the sea

Paul David Smith proves that the seaweed is always greener when you indulge your creativity

Get the long-exposure look

Use the Stack feature in Affinity Photo to combine a set of photos and blur choppy waters, says James Paterson

Why Photoshop isn’t the only game in town

Tidy up messy areas of your images in Camera Raw and Lightroom with James Paterson

Creative cross polarization

James Paterson uses cross polarization to create striking, spellbinding abstract colours

Clive Mason

As Getty Images photographer Clive Mason gears up for another Formula 1 season and the Paris Olympics, he speaks to Keith Wilson about the highlights and lucky breaks of a career stretching back more than 30 years…

Talking turkey

JAMIE SMART

Why shutter speed matters

Using the correct settings is key to getting sharp shots and creating blur

How to freeze a fast-moving subject

It’s not just the subject’s speed that counts, it’s your position and shooting angle

Speed is everything

Sharpness depends on just how far the subject moves during the time of the exposure. For a typical action subject, such as a bike or car, you need the subject to have moved less than 2mm for a sharp shot, and less than 10mm for it to be worth keeping in the album!

Capture movement creatively

Wide lens apertures aren’t the only way to produce blur – the other big factor is movement

When’s it safe to handhold your Nikon?

Subject movement is just one cause of blur; the other is camera movement

Camera shake and focal length

The amount of shake is the same when taking all these shots – it’s the magnification that makes it look worse

How VR works

Many Nikon lenses have Vibration Reduction built in (they have ‘VR’ in the name). Other manufacturers have their own variants. Here’s how VR works…

Ask Matthew...

Our resident Nikon expert Matthew Richards answers your questions and solves your problems. If you have a Nikon-related question, email it to mail@nphotomag.com

PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2024

The search for the world’s best Nikon photographer of 2024 begins! Each issue the monthly N-Photo POTY 2024 photo contest’s top 10 images are selected by the N-Photo team. This issue’s competition has the theme of still life photography…

WIN! A Nikon Z f

The overall winner of N-Photo’s Photographer of the Year 2024 will receive the grand prize of a Nikon Z f!

Readers’ letters

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the mag and all things photographic! You can write to us, message us or share your images in the following ways: mail@nphotomag.com twitter.com/nphotomag facebook.com/nphotomag instagram.com/nphotomag

Sit, sit, sitters...

Marie Ainge’s stint as an N-Photo apprentice inspired her to invest in studio lighting and continue taking portraits; here are the results...

THE PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO SHOW 2024

The greatest show on earth (for photographers) is just around the corner!

GearZone

New gear, buying advice and the world’s toughest tests

Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide-Heliar Z Aspherical

The Voigtländer 15mm f/4.5 Super Wide-Heliar Aspherical for Nikon Z cameras looks and feels an absolute classic. No autofocus? No problem!

Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-1.4x

The TC-1.4x aims to boost telephoto reach without compromising performance

Nikon Z Teleconverter TC-2.0x

The TC-2.0x aims to prove twice as much can be twice as good, not just for bumping up reach

Combined lab results

Sharpness Centre @200mm The TC-2.0x has a negative

Portrait primes

Ready for your close-up? This month we’re focusing on perfect primes for portraiture and a whole lot more besides, so you can buy the best in this versatile genre

Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.8G

Compact, lightweight and relatively affordable, this trusty lens is an old favourite and has certainly stood the test of time

How we test

We combine real-world shooting with range of lab tests

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.8 S

There’s nothing second-best about this Z-mount prime; it ticks all the right boxes for portraiture and much more

Distortion

There’s very little distortion to speak of

Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

Redesigned for Sigma’s ‘Global Vision’ range, this is an Art-class lens that’s typically hefty gut goes large on image quality

Viltrox AF 56mm f/1.4 Z £269/$349

An ‘effective’ 84mm focal length on Z DX format bodies

Sigma 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art

Sigma’s supersized portrait prime is weighty, even considering the combination of 105mm focal length and fast f/1.4 aperture

7Artisans 50mm f/1.05 Z £319/$399

This full-frame compatible Z-mount lens shines in brightness

Nikon AF-S 85mm f/1.4G

Compared with many an 85mm f/1.4 prime, this Nikon lens is relatively compact, lightweight and easy to live with, but is pricey

Colour fringing

Control over fringing is generally good

Nikon AF-S 105mm f/1.4E ED

This 105mm f/1.4 lens is more manageable than the competing Sigma in size and weight but considerably pricier to buy. Spot a theme?

Yongnuo YN85mm f/1.8Z DF DSM £365/$379

A smart choice for Z-system cameras if you’re on a tight budget

Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena

Built for bokeh, the Z 135mm ‘Plena’ takes defocused areas within compositions and turns them into something truly exquisite

Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC DN | C £449/$499

This Sigma lens looks deceptively simple but is a good performer

Nikon Z 85mm f/1.2 S

This super-fast 85mm f/1.2 lens goes into overdrive for portraiture. It’s expensive but what price perfection?

Sigma 135mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art £1099/$1399

The same focal length and aperture as the Plena, but for DSLRs

The winner is… Nikon Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena

The Plena is more than just a perfect portrait prime

Nikon cameras

The current range of Nikon DSLR, Coolpix & Z-series mirrorless cameras

Nikon-fit lenses

Your at-a-glance guide to the current crop of Nikon-fit lenses

A bit of a bore

Editing isn’t for everyone, but spending more time in post doesn’t make you any less of a photographer says Mike Harris