DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY NEWS FROM ePHOTOzine

Photos (top and right) by David Clapp - www.davidclapp.co.uk

Even though panoramas, like the one above, are great, there are a few ways you can get more creative with them. Here we have five ideas for shooting creative panoramas but if you have any more, please feel free to add them in the comments.

 

People Panoramas

If you're out with a group of friends or at a social gathering, a panorama is an interesting way of capturing a group portrait. Whether it be at a picnic, or just a get together at someone's house, a panorama is a unique way to include everyone in a photo with ease. Try using different poses and expressions to create a shot which is more dynamic and fun. Many cameras now have panorama modes built in where you often have to just hold the shutter button while panning the camera around to take your shot, making it easier to produce good panoramas. Plus, small compacts can be slipped into pockets and bags, meaning they won't take up too much room when you're out.

 

Vertical Panoramas

Vertical panoramas can be used to give vertical objects more presence. They are great for when you're capturing tall trees and buildings, as they give you a real sense of height and grandeur. It is also ideal for capturing waterfalls, wind turbines and windmills. For more tips on shooting vertical panoramas, have a look at this article: Basic Tips On Shooting Vertical Panoramas

  360 Degree Panoramas

For something more quirky, try shooting a 360-degree panorama. You can buy gadgets that do this or some cameras have 360°/180° panorama modes built in. Don't worry if your camera doesn't have a 360-degree panorama setting, as you can stitch several panoramas together to create a similar look. Take a look at our stitching tutorial for more information.
 

Seasonal Panoramas

These work really well in woodland where the changing of the seasons is really visible. Try taking four different panoramas: one in the summer, autumn, winter and spring, in the same location. It will take you a year to get all your images, but once you have them, you will be able to combine them to create a really stunning image showing the changing of the seasons that will be fit for any wall.

  'Following An Object' Panorama

This works really well with a pet or motor vehicle. Take snaps of the animal or object as it moves, preferably running for the animal. This can be achieved really easily by setting your camera to continuous shooting mode. Then just combine your results.

  

© Affinity

 

Canva has announced that its UK-based professional creative suite, Affinity, has surpassed one million sign-ups in under a week, following its landmark move to make the software completely free — forever.

The milestone marks the beginning of Affinity’s new era, unveiled through a month-long build of anticipation, a bold new visual identity, and a multi-asset brand campaign led by Tom Carey, Canva’s Europe Creative Director. The integrated launch signals a major shift for professional design: one defined by openness, accessibility, and creative freedom for all.

 

Building the anticipation: a community-led unveiling

In the weeks leading up to launch, Affinity took a distinctly community-led approach – listening, engaging, and co-creating with its global network of designers. What began in early October as a quiet “creative whisper” grew into a groundswell of excitement, as subtle hints and behind-the-scenes moments appeared across social channels and design communities.

Working closely with the Designer Advisory Board (DAB) and Pro Panel, the team invited early reactions, responded to feedback in real time, and built anticipation organically – not through ads, but through real time conversation.

That shared momentum reached its peak when the news dropped as part of Canva’s World Tour keynote: Affinity was going free forever. The reveal ignited a wave of support from professional creatives around the world – a community united by craft, collaboration, and a belief that creative tools should be open to everyone.

 

A new campaign for creative freedom

The campaign celebrates a new creative era: one where tools are open, collaboration is celebrated, and design is accessible to everyone. Crafted in collaboration with ManvsMachine, the campaign video is a rallying cry for creative liberation. Reminding designers of a time when they created for fun and for love, not confined by their tools, but empowered by them.

The campaign, inspiring designers to craft, experiment and create their way, runs globally across YouTube and Meta until December 14. It aims to raise awareness of Affinity among professional designers and share our message that true creative freedom is now free, forever.

 

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"Designing a brand for designers isn’t easy, but by bringing together an incredible team of creatives and working closely with the community, we set out to craft an identity that was truly for creatives, by creatives.

That collaboration is what makes this launch feel so special. The reaction from the community has been incredible, calling the brand bold.af and relatable.af. And with over a million people signing up in less than a week, it proves that when you design with your community, for your community, it becomes something people genuinely want to be part of." Tom Carey, Europe Creative Director, Canva said.

 

© Affinity

 

Rebranding for a new era

As part of the new Affinity product launch, Canva has unveiled a complete rebrand for the professional creative suite, signalling a new era for the product and the community behind it. Crafted in Affinity and scaled in Canva, the refreshed identity moves away from the angular and geometric shapes of the past and into something more expressive, human and proudly bold.

Developed by Canva and Affinity’s in-house creative teams, in close collaboration with design studio Twist, and guided by Canva’s Designer Advisory Board and Pro Panel — the reimagined Affinity brand celebrates creative freedom. From Rob Clarke’s handcrafted logomark to James Martin’s playful graphic assets and the distinctive “.af” file extension, every detail embodies its ethos: for creatives, by creatives.

The new look blends craft with character: an expressive typeface by Ohno Type, playful ethos badges by James Martin, and an artist palette of neutral tones, charcoal, graphite, putty, and paper, that lets the vibrant work of our community take centre stage. Punctuated by a sharp hit of lime green as a nod to the “punk” energy driving the change. Together, these choices bring the brand’s attitude to life: serious about craft, but unafraid to have fun with it.

The rebrand evolves Affinity from “looking punk” to “feeling punk” – a bold yet thoughtful redesign that balances design heritage with a modern sense of play. It’s a brand that celebrates collaboration, craft, and the creative process itself: raw, joyful, and full of heart.

 

A movement reshaping the creative industry

Since announcing Affinity’s new chapter last week, the response has been extraordinary. Over one million creatives worldwide — from designers and illustrators to photographers and students — have joined the platform, redefining what access to professional tools should look like.

Making Affinity free is a continuation of Canva’s founding belief that great design should be accessible to everyone. It’s made possible by Canva’s sustainable business model — one built on offering powerful creative tools for free, while optional paid features like premium content, collaboration, and AI tools fund continued innovation. This approach has powered Canva’s growth for more than a decade and now enables Affinity to remain free, forever — while continuing to evolve for the world’s most ambitious creators.

For more information, please visit the Affinity website.

 

Leica has announced its new camera model for the Reporter series: the Leica SL3 Reporter. With its robust design, it features a scratch-resistant dark green finish and an aramid fabric cover that protects against wear and exposure. Its textured trim improves grip and stability, making it easier to handle during long shoots or in challenging conditions.

The SL3 Reporter shares the same technical specifications as the standard SL3, including high-resolution imaging and precise autofocus. What sets it apart is its design focus on durability and discretion, with black control elements and no red Leica logo. This makes it a practical choice for photographers working in the field, where reliability and low visibility matter.

The Leica SL3 Reporter is priced at £6,200.00 / €7,200.00 including VAT and is available from the Leica online stores and authorized retailers. 

 

 

From Leica

Leica Camera AG is pleased to announce the launch of the Leica SL3 Reporter, a new addition to the company’s Reporter design series. This particularly robust version of the Leica SL3 represents the latest in a long line of specially developed Leica cameras. The Leica SL3 Reporter is equipped with features that have been specifically designed for the harsh conditions of reportage and press photography, which enables maximum precision even under the most adverse shooting conditions. The result combines maximum functionality and reliability with a unique camera design that is both understated and striking.

The Leica SL3 Reporter features a particularly scratch-resistant dark green finish and an aramid fabric cover, which provide additional protection for the robust camera body against abrasion and environmental influences. Furthermore, the special trim, with its unique texture, also offers significantly improved grip, thus ensuring enhanced stability when taking photographs and filming. Over time, the trim develops a unique patina that reflects the traces of its photographic journey and the character of a true reportage camera. The distinctive design is characterised by a combination of dark green paintwork with black control elements, and the absence of the red Leica logo, which serves to emphasise the SL3 Reporter’s suitability for challenging working environments.

In terms of its technical specifications, the design variant corresponds to the Leica SL3 series model. This model combines state-of-the-art technology with outstanding image quality of up to 60 megapixels, precise autofocus, the best materials and ‘Made in Germany’ manufacturing quality. This product is robust, reliable and is perfect for all your photography and videography needs. It is also very easy to use with a fast connection to the Leica FOTOS App to facilitate a seamless professional workflow.

For more information, please visit the Leica website.

We all aspire to get the correct colour rendition and it is very important, especially with shooting JPEGs, but sometimes it is really fun to shoot with the wrong preset and get weird colours. If you shoot Raw, you can do this afterwards on the computer. 

 

Gear Suggestions:

A camera where you can adjust the white balance makes life easier. This could be a DSLR or compact which has various white balance settings, including custom white balance if none of the presets give you the look you're after.

Once you've found the camera's white-balance control, take a look at your manual if you're unsure where the white balance options are, do try the various settings on offer as each one will give a slightly different look to your image. Most cameras have the following white balance settings: auto, cloudy, daylight, incandescent, fluorescent and flash.

 

Technique:

Much of this is you playing with the various presets – or in Photoshop afterwards.

One of the most obvious is shooting with the incandescent setting in daylight to give blue-coloured images. In film days, fashion pros used to use tungsten-balanced colour film in daylight. With digital, you can try this without risking anything and if the effect looks wrong, switch back to auto white-balance and try something else.

Most cameras have the option of using Kelvin. You could set a low value and shoot in normal daylight. The effect can be very pronounced and will enhance the mood of suitable scenes. There is no right or wrong when it comes to experimenting.

 

Photo by Peter Bargh, edited in Lightroom.

 

Play with RAW files on your PC

If you have Raw files, you can play with white balance without leaving the computer. Just put the file through the Raw converter again and try a different preset. It is simple to do and because it is Raw processing is non-destructive so you can always go back to the original colour images.

It is worth saying that if you play with white balance in-camera and are shooting JPEGs, the result is more or less what you are stuck with and there is only a limited amount that you can salvage afterwards.

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For decades, countless memories have been locked inside the limits of early digital cameras and consumer video gear. Grainy low-light shots, motion blur, and fuzzy VHS transfers have left families and professionals alike wondering whether their old footage could ever look good again.

Thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, that’s no longer wishful thinking. AI-based enhancement tools can now reconstruct missing detail, reduce noise, and upscale images to cinema-grade resolution. One such tool, VideoProc Converter AI, combines multiple AI models and editing utilities to bring lifelike clarity back to otherwise “unusable” media.

The software focuses on three key areas of AI-powered enhancement. For still photos, it delivers 8K/10K upscaling, face restoration, and intelligent colorization. For videos, it significantly boosts resolution up to 400% with natural detail enhancement, and creates smooth 20x slow-motion footage. For audio, it can remove background noise and isolate vocals.

The latest version 8 introduces the v3 Super Resolution engine, delivering up to 80% faster processing and visibly cleaner enhancement results. You can Download the free version of VideoProc Converter AI v8, or check out the current special deal for the lifetime license. See below.

 

Year-end Special Offer

As part of a limited-time promotion, the lifetime full version of VideoProc Converter AI for Windows/macOS is just $39.95 instead of $89.95 and includes unlimited free updates. You’ll also receive four bonus utilities at no extra cost. A family license covering up to five devices is $59.95 (regularly $159.95) — a 62% discount.

Year-end offer: get VideoProc Converter AI for $39.95

 

How VideoProc Converter AI Restores Photos

VideoProc Converter AI's Image AI employs four specialized deep learning models powered by Convolutional Neural Networks to tackle diverse image challenges. Even a well-shot image suffers from upscaling blur and pixelation the moment it is zoomed in, cropped, or prepared for large-canvas printing — and that’s where this AI module comes to the picture.

Upscaling and detail enhancement: It upscales low-resolution images to 4K/8K/10K. By synthesizing natural, realistic details, it ensures the final upscaled photo is genuinely sharper and more refined, not just stretched.

 

 

Sharpening and deblurring: It sharpens and deblurs images to restore natural clarity without bringing harsh edges or artificial artifacts. With it, you can address common flaws, including softness from old cameras, mobile phones, or scanned prints; out-of-focus error due to camera shake or subject movement; haze or lack of definition; and minor pixelation resulting from cropping.

Noise reduction: VideoProc Converter AI can precisely eliminate distracting digital noise, effectively saving photos taken in challenging low-light conditions. It corrects problems like high ISO grain, unsightly color splotches, and grainy texture, breathing new life and clarity into dimly lit or underexposed images.

 

 

Face restoration and colorizing: Beyond general image enhancement, the software restores faces in your photos for a clean and natural look, and can colorize black-and-white or faded photos with vivid, realistic tones.

Three steps to restore and enhance photos:

Step 1. Click Image AI. Drag and drop to import the original image files.

Step 2. Pick an AI model. Gen Detail v3 and Real Smooth v3 are two top choices. Select the target resolution or set the upscale ratio.

Step 3. Click RUN to start exporting the enhanced images.

 

 

AI for Video: Turning Grainy Footage into 4K

VideoProc Converter AI excels at transforming problematic raw footage, elevating it into something truly polished, professional, and naturally clear 4K quality. Here’s how it rescues “unusable” clips:

 

 

AI Video Upscaling: The AI Super Resolution module can upscale low-quality video to 4K clarity while fixing imperfections like digital noise and blocky pixelation. The latest version adds support for AV1 and ProRes codecs—essential for professional workflows—and refines hardware acceleration for faster exports.

 

Perfect for:

• Upscaling old camcorder footage or legacy video sources like 480p DVDs, to 1080p/4K.
• Restoring clarity to grainy footage captured in low light or with the wrong ISO settings.
• Clearing heavy pixelation and blockiness from web videos and social media clips.
• Transforming blurry zoom-ins of distant subjects into sharp, high-quality close-ups.

 

 

AI Motion and Stabilization: Another impressive capability is the software’s ability to turn choppy, low-FPS video into super-smooth, ultra-fluid motion (120fps/240fps) for spectacular slow-motion via AI Frame Interpolation, and also utilizes AI Stabilization to fix camera shake and jiggle.

 

Perfect for:

• Boosting the FPS of old archives and low-speed clips for fluid slow-motion.
• Fixing choppy sports, drone, and AI footage for stable, clear action and professional quality.
• Eliminating severe shake and jiggle from drone and action camera footage.

 

 

Audio Noise Deduction: VideoProc’s AI capabilities aren’t limited to visuals. Its Audio AI module cleans up audio by removing distracting background noise for crystal-clear dialogue. It can also separate vocals from background music, giving you flexibility for editing.

 

Perfect for:

• Cleaning up background noise and hiss from old family videos and drone footage.
• Isolating vocals from music for professional audio post-production.

 

Overview of Bonus Features 

Beyond AI enhancement and restoration, VideoProc Converter AI includes a complete media toolkit. This breadth of functions positions it as both an AI enhancement solution and an all-in-one media processing powerhouse.

• Convert between 370+ video and audio formats, including ProRes and HEVC.
• Access 29 quick editing tools: cut, crop, merge, flip, rotate, change speed, and more.
• Compress files to save up to 90% storage space.
• Back up DVDs or rip to digital formats like MP4, MOV, etc.
• Download videos and audios from 1,000 websites for offline viewing.

 

Who Needs VideoProc Converter AI?

With its straightforward workflow, VideoProc Converter AI bridges the gap between ease of use and professional-level enhancement and processing power.

• Families can easily revive old home videos or scanned photos — no specialized skills required.
• Content creators and YouTubers can reuse archival or low-quality footage for new projects.
• Photographers can restore aged or damaged images for client work.
• Gamers can present their archived streams and highlight clips in better quality.
• Educators and institutions can modernize legacy materials for today’s screens.

For anyone looking to breathe new life into aging photos or low-quality footage, VideoProc Converter AI offers a versatile, reliable, and easy-to-use solution. With ongoing lifetime promotions, there’s never been a better time to future-proof your media library and enjoy AI-powered clarity that keeps your memories timeless.

Year-end offer: get VideoProc Converter AI for $39.95

Photo walks are probably something you associate with summer, however with autumn shades decorating our countryside and lights getting switched on sooner in cities, you can capture just as interesting shots at this time of year.

Where you walk and how long for really depends on how long you have and what you want to capture but here are a few tips you'll find useful no matter where you walk.
 

Gear Choices  It can be tempting to take various lenses, however if you can pack a zoom that covers various focal lengths, you won't be as weighed down with gear. It makes your walk more of a challenge too, making you work closer to subjects and thinking slightly more out of the box. If you do spot something you really can't capture with your zoom you can always revisit the location on another night / day. A tripod or monopod will be useful, particularly when you're using longer shutter speeds at night or capturing the movement of autumn trees.

A sling-style bag is great for city shoots as they make accessing gear quick and easy. If you're planning an autumnal walk that'll last a few hours or even all day a rucksack would probably be better as you'll be able to pack other supplies and weight will be distributed evenly across your back.

 

Check The Weather

If a clear night is forecast you should plan an early start as frost will be decorating fields and leaves. Closer to home, look for cobwebs and if it's really cold, ice forming on ponds or puddles if it's rained the night before.

Misty sun rises work well as do snowy landscapes and shots of wet streets after the sun's set and lights are switching on.

Photo by Peter Bargh.

 

 

Dress For The Weather

By taking the time to check the weather forecast you'll have a good idea on what clothing you'll need for your walk. Sticking your head out of the door is also a good idea as weather forecasters aren't guaranteed to get it right every time! For cold days, wear lightweight layers rather than a couple of thick bulky items as you can always remove layers if you're too warm or add more if you need them. A good pair of boots or shoes that support your ankles, have a good sole and are ideally waterproof are also essential.

 

Have A Route

A quick, short route that circles back on itself will be fine. Taking a path through woods is good at this time of year and shouldn't be too strenuous. It's also the season when towns begin putting up and switching on Christmas lights so a quick route around your town's streets should also give you plenty of opportunities to capture some interesting night-themed shots.

 

What To Look For

In towns, get up high to stop problems with converging verticals, plus it'll give you the opportunity to capture some cityscapes. Don't be afraid of getting in close to capture some abstract shots of buildings and capture unique perspectives by changing your angle. 

 

Tell People Always tell someone where you're going, how long you'll be and give them an idea of the route you are going to take. This is particularly important at this time of year when cold and icy conditions can make routes harder to navigate. Even if you are only going for a walk around your town, it's still a good idea to let someone know where you'll be, especially when heading out after the sun sets. In fact, if possible, take someone with you on the walk.
  Be Aware Of What And Who Is Around You

Traffic in towns, crowds on busy shopping streets and ice at the side of rivers are just some of the dangers you need to keep an eye out for. It's easy to get carried away when you have your eye stuck to a viewfinder, and you can soon be falling over something because you took too many steps forward while you had your eye glued to the camera. This is another good reason for taking someone, especially if they are a non-photographer, with you as they'll be an extra pair of eyes looking out for hazards on your route.

Motion and movement is a wide and varied photographic subject and as a result there are many ways a photographer can create a sense of motion or movement in their shots. Slow shutter speeds can be used to exaggerate the flow of water while fast shutter speeds will freeze the force of a wave as it crashes against a sea wall. ePHOTOzine has written many tutorials that cover motion in some shape or form and as a result, we've decided to group the most popular ones together so, hopefully, you'll be fuelled with enough inspiration and ideas to make you want to head out to capture motion. Here's our top seven:
 

How To Capture Landscapes That Show Motion

John Gravett shows us how wind movement can make interesting and more dynamic landscape shots. Plus, he includes tips on capturing the popular 'blurry' water shots at the coast and with waterfalls.

 

How To Use Blur To Create A Sense Of Movement

Blur isn't always a bad thing as it can help emphasis speed and create motion in a shot. Read on for tips on using shutter speeds, flash and zoom lenses to create blur.

Photo by David Clapp - www.davidclapp.co.uk

 

Beginner's Guide To Capturing Motion

Mike Browne from PhotographyCourses.Biz shows how easy it is to capture a sense of movement.

 

Camera Panning Techniques

Peter Bargh talks through a few tips to improve your panning technique. Panning is a great technique for action and, once perfected, the main subject will be sharp against a blurred background.

 

Tips On Photographing Action And Movement

Here are a few tips on shutter speeds and how to focus so you get sharp action shots every time.

 

How To Capture Movement

Ben Boswell shares his tips on capturing movement. Tips include making sure movement looks deliberate, when to use a pan, what shutter speeds are appropriate and if a tripod is needed.

 

More Tips On Capturing Movement In The Landscape

Do landscape shots always have to be static? If you think about it you'll realise that they're often not. This tutorial adds to the tips John Gravett gave in his article, covering clouds, trees and people as subjects.

Photo by David Clapp - www.davidclapp.co.uk

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For a software to thrive in the competitively fierce image editing market, it needs to offer so much more than basic skills. Of course, it should have the essentials such as cloning, layers and exposure control, but contemporary image creators need a workflow programme with the capacity to handle large numbers of high res files quickly and efficiently, video editing skills and there’s the small matter of AI and the creative power that it can bring to your photography. 

Zoner Studio is a powerful software that ticks all the boxes, and it’s great value for money too compared to what's available from rivals Adobe. It’s a subscription only software available for Windows 10 and 11, and it comes with the commitment of two major updates every year.

The latest Autumn / Fall 2025 update has recently dropped with two headline grabbing features, AI Close-ups and AI interpolation, of which more soon, and joins a long and impressive roll-call of innovative and practical editing features.

 

The Manager module makes browsing, selecting, rating and organising images straightforward and speedy.

 

Accelerate your workflow even more in Zoner Studio

Take out a subscription to Zoner Studio and you’ll get two updates each year. For full details of the Autumn / Fall 2025 update, click here. 

Zoner Studio is a modular workflow software with tabbed menus, Manager, Develop, Editor, Print and Video. One of the headline updates is in the Manager module, where the software helps you organise and rate images quickly. 

While it’s wonderful that we have cameras with super-fast burst shooting rates, we can end up with many near-identical photographs, and any tool that can speed up the selection process should be welcomed with open arms.

In Zoner Studio, we now have AI Close-ups, a feature that speeds up identifying keepers and works across a range of subject matter with Faces, People, Animals, Birds, Vehicles and Airplanes available in the drop-down menu. The software automatically zooms into the detected subject so, for example, you can check out facial expression in portraits or wing position in bird in flight shots and quickly rate shots for further editing. 

The second major feature in the latest update is AI Resize which has two options to increase the size of small files, either originals or greatly cropped images, to produce a bigger result.

 

Zoner Studio AI Close-ups tool automatically zooms into images so you can see the subject in greater detail which makes identifying keepers simple.

 

The AI Close-ups tool has a drop-down menu with subject options and zoom percentages.

 

AI Resize (reconstructive interpolation) can be used on single images or in batches and it’s quick because no new content in the file is created. This also limits how large you can make a file and this is around double the size of the original.

If you need a bigger enlargement, there’s AI Resize Generative which increases file size without quality loss. In this technology the software assesses the file and uses AI to fill in missing details and can even look at blurred areas of the image to produce a smooth-looking larger file. Because Zoner Studio isn’t just stretching the image to make it bigger and is working to create content to fill in the gaps, the process takes a few seconds.

 

The starling was captured with a 400-800mm zoom lens but even at 800mm, the bird was small in the frame and needed cropping for a tighter crop.

 

Cropping tightly on the bird took the original 50 megapixel image from 8640x5760pixels to just 2183x1455 pixels.

 

Resizing using AI Resize Generative took the cropped file back to its original size and you can see on the magnified image the benefit of using AI. On the left is the normally resized shot, while on the right is the AI generated image and you can see the extra detail it has produced.

 

AI features designed to make more of your pictures painlessly

Of course, the Autumn / Fall 2025 update is big news, but if Zoner Studio (formerly known as Zoner Photo Studio X) is new to you, it’s worth recapping on some of the huge advances the software has seen in the recent past.

True HDR editing was the leading feature in the Spring 2024 update. More and more monitors and laptops are being introduced with VESA certified HDR capability that can show a greater tonal range, especially in the highlights, than standard SDR (standard dynamic range) screens. The true HDR processing ability of Zoner Studio will help you make the most of Raws to enjoy on the latest monitors.

 

SDR image

 

HDR Image

Zoner Studio has true HDR processing capability which, if you have an HDR compliant screen, helps you produce more detail in the highlights than a SDR image. Image credit: Will Cheung

 

Digital capture nowadays is so good that images can be too clean and clinical, and what Zoner also added in this update was the ability to emulate the look and feel of film with Grain, Glow and Halation tools. Controllable and realistic, the look of images can be precisely tweaked in Zoner Studio to match the mood you’re trying to reflect and it’s all achieved simply with minimal mouse clicks.

AI-powered features arrived in style in the Zoner Studio Autumn / Fall 2024 update and these included AI Portrait Presets, AI Background Removal and AI Automatic Enhancement.

AI Portrait Presets have the power to detect specific facial features and create masks so you can tweak precisely what you feel needs adjusting.

The AI Background Removal tool does exactly what you'd expect from its name and you can use it for portraits among other subjects. Where it comes in useful is with product photography, perhaps when you are preparing images to post on an auction or sales site such as Etsy, and the professional look can drive sales.

 

 

 

Click on Auto-Enhancement followed by Full Automatic at 100% very quickly transformed this underexposed portrait of Daisy. The portraits featured in this feature were taken at a Timelines Events shoot. Image by Will Cheung

 

AI Automatic Enhancement in the Develop module can improve photos very effectively with a couple of clicks. For sheer speed, take the Full Automatic option and set the slider to how strong you want the effect to be up to 100% or choose Portrait, Landscape or one of the tonal control options. 

Masks are very powerful and Zoner Studio has full masking options, so if you prefer to take control, click on the Mask icon. This is also in the Develop module and there’s the option of four AI-powered masks, Subject, Background, Sky and Object, and five traditional masking tools which includes Brush, Linear Gradient and Color Range. Once the mask has been created, it can be fine-tuned as necessary and the selected area can then be edited.

 

 

With four AI-powered masks and five traditional masking tools, it’s easy to pick out the area of the image that you want to edit and adjust. Model Carrie was brightened up with two masks including a radial gradient mask on her face. Image by Will Cheung

 

 

Zoner Studio Pricing & Plans

Zoner Studio is available on subscription and is Windows 10 and 11 compatible. A free, fully working, seven day version of Zoner Studio is available here. No credit card is needed to download.

Individual licence $5.99 a month, $59 for a year. 

Benefits include free updates and new tools twice a year, 20GB of free storage, 15 free photo prints and a Zonerama Premium account. 

Family Plan $9.98 a month, $98 a year

For two or more people in your household. Each person gets their own account plus all the benefits of the individual licence.

 

Sunset at Bluff Knoll by ePz member jowita1226 has won this week’s Photo of the Week (POTW) award.

This is a wonderful shot with great composition and a calm mood. The warm evening light spreads over the mountains, showing soft colours and gentle detail that pull you into the scene. The person standing near the edge adds balance and shows how big and open the view is. The view is stunning, and the light gives the whole scene a warm, quiet beauty.

We think it's a beautiful shot that's full of atmosphere and well worthy of winning our POTW this week.

Every Photo of the Week (POTW) winner will be rewarded with a Samsung 128GB PRO Plus microSDXC memory card with SD adapter, providing top-tier storage for all your creative needs across multiple devices. But that's not all! In January 2026, we’ll crown our 2025 Photo of the Year winner, who will take home the ultimate prize of a Samsung Portable 1TB SSD T7 Shield, courtesy of Samsung. It’s time to shoot, submit, and showcase your best work for a chance to win these incredible rewards!

We are only a few days away from this year’s Bonfire Night and we couldn’t really kick November off without mentioning a few tips that’ll help you capture spectacular firework photos.

Photos by David Clapp - www.davidclapp.co.uk

 

Gear Suggestions

As long exposures are a must you will need to take a support with you. A tripod’s great but at busy events you may be better off with a monopod that takes up less room and is easy to move around with.

If you’re a compact user, it can be harder to capture firework themed images but it's not impossible as most compacts have a range of scene modes and a firework mode can often be found among them. Plus, the longer zooms that are available on some compacts will now get you closer to the action too.

Wider lenses will capture more of the sky, increasing your chances of capturing a burst. You may want to try shooting a few in a portrait orientation, though, to capture the long trails left by the firework as it climbs to the spot where it explodes.

Finally, pack a torch as it’ll be dark and you may need it when making changes to your settings and for putting your kit away.

  Focus And Aperture

Switch to manual focus and turn your focus to infinity (check your manual if you’re unsure how to do this). This is to ensure the firework explosions stay sharp as they can be further than the maximum focus setting on your camera. Setting an aperture of f/8 or f/11 will increase your depth of field, further increasing the chances of capturing a sharp shot of a colourful explosion. Make sure your flash is switched off too.

 

RAW Or Jpeg?

If you shoot in RAW you’ll be able to tweak colours and brightness levels when you’re back in front of your computer once the display has finished.

 

Exposure Times

For shots filled with bursts of colourful explosions you’ll need to switch to Bulb mode. This mode allows you to keep the shutter open for longer but as you need to keep the shutter button pressed, it’s a good idea to use a cable release to prevent shake. If your camera allows it, you could fire the shutter wirelessly via a smart device. 

In Bulb mode, you basically need to keep the lens covered (a dark piece of card will work) until a burst erupts. At this point you need to uncover the lens. Replace the card until another burst occurs and continue to do this with however many bursts as you like. It can take a while to get right as timing is key but you can create some great shots when you’ve perfected the technique.

If you don’t have a bulb mode you can capture single explosions with exposure times between 1-4 seconds. This should give you shots that show a light trail as the firework climbs as well as the final burst of colour at the end.

 

Photo by David Clapp - www.davidclapp.co.uk

Watch The Display

As displays don’t tend to be short affairs it pays to watch a few bursts so you can see where the fireworks are being launched into the sky and you’ll also be able to see how long it takes them to climb, plus how long the explosions last for. This will make framing easier, although you can’t obviously guarantee every burst will appear where you need it to. It’s worth doing a few test shots to make sure you’re happy with the composition too before the big display begins.

 

Add Interest

Buildings and other structures can add an extra level of interest to your shots but if they are illuminated it can mean they end up looking ‘blown out’ so adjust your exposure accordingly.

   

As photographers, we're always wanting to improve our technique and learn now ways we can take better photos. So, to help you do this, here's three challenges you can set yourself which will not only get you thinking a bit differently but they'll also help you think more about composition and as a result, you'll hopefully produce better photos. 

 

 

Choose One Spot And Stay There

When you're out taking photos it's easy to walk and click so you take lots of photos of everything that are good, but not 'wow'. By sticking to just one spot in one location, you may start to notice things about it that you'd usually miss. You don't actually have to travel a great distance to try this either as by picking one spot in your home or garden to take photos from you'll probably discover photo opportunities you didn't even know existed until you actually took the time to slow down and really open your eyes. Play with your zoom, change your angle and pay attention to your composition and the light. Also, simple things such as focusing on colour or texture can completely change the look/feel of a shot, too. 

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  Don't Take So Many Photos 

Why not limit the number of shots you can take in one location? To really set a challenge, only take one photo in each location you're stopping to take a photo. By doing so you'll really think about your composition and study the scene in front of you to ensure you've found the best spot possible to take your one photo in. Don't forget to assess the light, too as you may find that waiting for the sun to shift position could help you create a better shot. You don't want to lose good light, though so pay attention to how clouds are moving and hit the shutter button before it's too late. 

If you find this too restricting try setting a shot limit before you head out of the door and make sure you stick to it. By doing so you should be able to improve the quality of the images you take as you'll be finding the best shots through planning and careful thought. 

 

Use Less Equipment 

Instead of carrying a bag full of lenses why not just use one that has a fixed focal length? By doing so, you'll really need to think about what you're going to photograph because without a zoom your focal length is limited so rather than relying on the lens to do the work you have to get those grey cells warmed up and your feet moving to find a position/shot that works.   

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The latest winner of our popular daily photography theme which takes place in our forums have been chosen and congratulations go to MalcolmM (Day 30 - Winter Weather)

 

Daily Theme Runners-Up

If you didn't win this time, keep uploading your images to the daily competition forum for another chance to win! If you're new to the Daily Theme, you can find out more about it in the Daily Theme Q&A. 

Well done to our latest runners-up, too, whose images you can take a look at below.

  Day 25

Light Trails

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  Day 26

Busy Places

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Day 27

Graveyards

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Day 28

Creative Distortion

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  Day 29

City Twilight Shots

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Day 31

Halloween

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You’ll find the Daily Themes, along with other great photo competitions, over in our Forum. Take a look to see the latest daily photo contests. Open to all levels of photographer, you’re sure to find a photography competition to enter. Why not share details of competitions with our community? Join the camaraderie and upload an image to our Gallery.

Zoner Studio has a new name and a new look, and it’s fitting that its first update brings along some powerful features to speed up workflow. For more details of the Autumn/Fall 2025 update, click here. You can organise, sort, label and delete images speedily and easily in the Manager module, and processing is just as quick when editing with the ability to work in batches with a few clicks and utilise AI-powered tools.

Zoner Studio is a subscription-based software for Windows 10 and 11 with the guarantee of two major updates a year, so there’s the prospect of new features and tools every six months. Within the software, you can back up to the cloud, print and upload images to the Zonerama online gallery which comes as part of the subscription package. Finally, Zoner Studio is a video editing solution with no extra software or plug-in required.

With such an impressive array of skills, join us for a closer look at Zoner Studio’s Autumn/Fall 2025 update. If it looks like a software you want to try, then you can and it’s free for seven days. Click here to take you to the Zoner Studio download page; no credit card required.

 

Zoner Studio has a modular approach to workflow. This is the Manager module where you can have all the shots showing or folders which makes moving images around easy.

 

Quick Verdict

Zoner Studio is a powerful image editor available on subscription. If you’re a Windows user needing a great value software with amazing AI workflow and editing skills, as well as the ability to edit video, Zoner Studio is worth a serious look and, very importantly, it will save you money compared with Adobe products. It is a modular workflow software with page tabs for Manager, Develop, Editor, Print and Video that is easy to learn and shortcut keys can speed editing up further.

Try Zoner Studio for yourself and download a fully functional version here and you can enjoy its talents free for seven days.

 

+ Pros

• Individual membership $5.99 a month, $59 a year
• Windows 10 and 11 support
• Zonerama Online Photo Gallery with unlimited space for your photos and video
• Family plan for two or more people $9.98 a month, $98 a year
• Updated Spring and Autumn 
• Compatible with most Raw formats including Fujifilm X-Trans CMOS sensors
• Full workflow software using AI
• AI masks, resizing
• Supports 4k resolution
• Supports pressure sensitive drawing tablets
• Integrated colour management
• Speedy image editing with AI tools and presets
• Fully compatible with HDR monitors
• Complete set of output options
• Good for video editing 
• Click here for full details of the latest update

- Cons

• Subscription only

• Windows only, no Mac option

 

 

Zoner Studio is a subscription-based software with two major updates each year. For individuals, it’s priced at $5.99 a month or $59 for a year. The price includes free updates and new tools twice a year, 20GB of free storage, 15 free photo prints and a Zonerama Premium account. There’s also the option of a Family Plan at $9.98 a month or $98 a year, which is a great value for two or more people in your household. Each person gets their own account plus all the benefits of the individual licence. It is for Windows 10 and 11 and is compatible with an extensive range of Raw camera formats including files from Fujifilm X-Trans CMOS sensors.

To see our previous reviews, click here for the Spring 2025 update and here for the Autumn 2024 review. For a free, fully-functional seven-day trial of Zoner Studio, click here.

 

Zoner Studio Autumn/Fall 2025 update highlights

A smooth, efficient workflow is essential for today’s image maker particularly with cameras that can shoot continuous bursts at 20, 30, 50 and even 120 frames every second. Obviously, much depends on the subject but in an afternoon you could end up with several thousand shots to work through.

AI Close-ups in the Zoner Studio Autumn/Fall is a big feature that will definitely be much used by prolific shooters. AI Close-ups has magnification and subject options which are Faces, People, Animals, Birds, Vehicles and Airplanes. The software automatically zooms into the detected subject, and you can just rate the photographs using the magnified image that you want to keep for further editing.

 

A1 Close-ups is one of the headline features in the Zoner Studio Autumn/Fall update.

 

Here are the subject and magnification options in the AI Close-ups menu.

 

AI Resize has the ability to enlarge smaller, cropped files without image quality suffering. There are two resizing options. AI Resize (reconstructive interpolation) is for smaller enlargements and is performed through the Export, Edit or Batch Filter menus. This method is quick because no new content is generated but its working range is limited to about double the size of the original image.

AI Resize Generative is designed to produce bigger images with minimal quality loss and this is done through the Edit menu. As its name tells you, AI is used to fill in missing details or determine what’s hidden in blurred areas and smooth things out. AI doesn’t just stretch the image to make it bigger but enhances its content for a quality result, so it takes several seconds.

 

AI Resize (reconstructive interpolation) enlarges photos without creating new detail so it’s quick and ideal for batch processing.

 

AI Resize Generative can help you recover quality as well as give a much larger print size. from severely cropped images.

 

New features of Zoner Studio Autumn / Fall 2025 update

• AI Close-ups – find your best shot quickly. Detect animals, vehicles, people, faces, and aircraft
• New AI resize methods – Reconstructive Interpolation perfect for everyday photos and batch imports
• Generative – fills in missing details, suitable for major resizing (4x or more)
• Improved Split view with a slider
• Improved photo books – drag and drop, filmstrip
• Two video updates – smooth audio cuts
• Improved retouching tools, faster and natural results
• New crop tools - diagonal, triangles, golden spiral aids
• Faster selections
• Improved export
• Simpler editing

 

Zoner Studio: Ease Of Use & Performance

 

Finding your way around Zoner Studio is straightforward thanks largely to the five module concept which has self-explanatory tabs for Manager, Develop, Editor, Print and Video. That said, this is a very powerful workflow software and digging deeper into its treasure chest of tools and features will take time as will learning and remembering quick keys.  

The AI Close-ups feature worked quickly even though I was working with 45 megapixel Raws from a Canon EOS R5 Mark II. The previews would appear sharp enough to assess even though the Processing icon was still showing. With a sequence of portraits, Zoner Studio would usually magnify the face, which really sped up the workflow, but on the odd occasion a different part of the image was highlighted. Also, in my stag portrait, the software picked the base of its antlers where I would have expected the AI to pick up on the nearby eye. However, in both instances, it wasn’t a problem to move the image so that the face or eye showed. The key thing, though, was that  Zoner Studio made it quick process to go through large number of shots and identify the keepers.

 

AI Close-ups works very quickly and in this sequence of shots featuring an airplane coming into land, Zoner Studio picked the right area to show.

 

For some reason, AI Close-ups picked out four facial close-ups perfectly but slipped up on the fifth, even though the composition of the five images was the same.

 

In this sequence of shots of a stag, AI Close-up picked out the base of the antler to focus on when you would have expected the software to latch onto the eye.

 

After AI Close-up, the next big feature, the Zoner Studio Autumn / Fall update was its two resizing skills, AI Resize Reconstructive Interpolation and AI Resize Generative.

I tested AI Reconstructive Interpolation starting with a full-size 50 megapixel Raw from a Sony A1 II. The original 8640x5760 pixel file of a heron enjoying its fish supper was cropped down to just 2687x1734 pixels then, using AI Reconstructive Interpolation took a few seconds to resize it to 5269x3400pixels.

 

The original Raw file was captured with a Sony A1 II fitted with a FE 400-800mm lens and opened up to an image of 8640x5760pixels. Image: Will Cheung.

 

Cropped in Zoner Studio resulted in an image measuring 2687x1734 pixels and this was resized using AI Reconstructive Interpolation to 5269x3400 pixels.

 

Close-up of the 2687x1734 pixels image

 

Close up of the image after AI Reconstructive Interpolation to 5269x3400 pixels

 

Moving on to AI Resize Generative I started with an image of a starling. This was taken on a Sony A1 II with a FE 400-800mm zoom lens. It was shot at the very high ISO of 5000 and the image was not treated to any denoising. The original  was 8640x5760pixels  before being cropped to a small image of just 1924x1276pixels. This image was then resized back to close to its original size using AI Resize Generative. For comparison’s sake I repeated the process with AI Reconstructive Interpolation.

 

This image of starling was cropped down from 8640x5760pixels to just 1924x1276pixels.

 

Taking the 1924x1276pixels image, I resized it to 8732x5820pixels using Zoner’s AI Reconstructive Interpolation function and then repeated the process to the same size using AI Resize Generative and this is the resulting image.

 

Taking a highly magnified look at the feather detail of the two starling shots. On the left is the AI Reconstructive Interpolation compared with AI Resize Generative on the right. The extra detail and  clarity of the AI Resize Generative version is clear.

 

Value for Money

Zoner Studio is available on subscription at $5.99 per month or $59 annually plus there’s the Family Pack option. Either way, subscribing to  Zoner Studio is cheaper than taking on Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom. It is worth celebrating the fact that Zoner Studio has held its price. We rated the software highly on value for money in 2024, and the fact that it’s the same price in late 2025 with so many improvements makes its great value for money. 

Zoner Studio is available on subscription and that might put some people off, but subscriptions are part and parcel of modern life, whether we like them or not. In the case of Zoner Studio’s monthly fee of $5.99, this is less than the cost of an average bottle of wine and probably more rewarding and you get two big updates a year.

Go for an annual subscription and at the end of the licence period, there is a one month grace period to give you time to extend the licence and even when the licence period has ended, you can still export photos and view images.

 

Zoner Studio Verdict

 

With its updated branding and new name, Zoner Studio has already had a big year and the Autumn / Fall update certainly sees out 2025 in style.

AI Close-ups is a big feature that speeds up the process of wading through hundreds of pictures to pick out your best shots, and the fact that it works for a wide range of subjects makes it even more useful. 

Zoner Studio’s new resizing skills may not be so significant but the benefits are clear and if you need to resize files from tightly cropped images, the feature is on hand and it works well. 

With these new skills added to its already extensive selection of image and video editing skills, you can’t really quibble about the cost of Zoner Studio and you get it all for $5.99 a month or $59 a year, so value for money rates very highly. Try the free seven-day trial version for yourself here. 

 

Zoner Photo Studio X Pros

• Individual membership $5.99 a month, $59 a year
• Windows 10 and 11 support
• Zonerama Online Photo Gallery with unlimited space for your photos and video
• Family plan for two or more people $9.98 a month, $98 a year
• Updated Spring and Autumn 
• Compatible with most Raw formats including Fujifilm X-Trans CMOS sensors
• Full workflow software using AI
• AI masks, resizing
• Supports 4k resolution
• Supports pressure sensitive drawing tablets
• Integrated colour management
• Speedy image editing with AI tools and presets
• Fully compatible with HDR monitors
• Complete set of output options
• Good for video editing

 

Zoner Photo Studio X Cons

• Subscription only
• Windows only, no Mac option

[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4.5|R_handling=4|R_performance=4.5|R_value=5|R_overall=4.5|A_level=4.5|E_id=8016[/REVIEW_FOOTER]

Ask most landscape photographers what their favourite season is, and probably 80% will reply "autumn". I actually try not to have a favourite, because it keeps me fresh for all the different seasons, but even I can't deny that the Lakes in autumn can be a truly spectacular place. An important issue to remember is that the lakes can also be a truly WET place through October and November as well, so consideration of the weather must be taken into account.

Equipment needed is totally down to personal style, anything from a compact, through to DSLRs with wide-angle lenses, telephotos, macros etc. will all give excellent results. I do find a polarising filter useful to take reflection off leaves / bracken and give a boost to the colours; but be careful not to overdo it.

If I'm working in the early part of Autumn, I quite often like to work with a wide lens to make a strong feature of foreground bracken, especially when it's showing a wide colour range, from green, through to red. This will even make a good semi close-up picture just concentrating on the bracken itself.

 

Later in the season, when the colours have changed, if I'm really lucky a calm day can, with the help of the reflections, offer twice as much landscape in a single shot; with the landscape reflected perfectly in the water. On all my reflection shots, I use a 0.45 hard-edge ND grad filter, to balance up the amount of light absorbed by the reflection. Also remember, that lower viewpoints often give better reflections. In addition, if there is any foreground element, a low viewpoint will usually reduce the distance between the foreground element and the bottom edge of the reflection.

Woodlands clearly become a favourite subject through the autumn weeks, but as well as general vistas, individual branches can show off the shapes of leaves well. Even once the leaves have fallen, there are great pictures to be had of leaf details and textures on the ground, or contrasted on a mossy bank or rock. If the weather is inclement, consider taking a few leaves home and photographing them backlit on a lightbox. The type of tree and altitude has a great bearing on when they change colour, with Silver birches tending to be the early changers, and larch (the only conifer to drop its needles) then oak bringing up the rear.

The range of subjects through the autumn in the lakes is incredible, certainly covering most of October and November. Even when the trees have lost their leaves, the glow of the bracken retains the fantastic hues of autumn, almost right through to spring the following year.

 

 

Article by by John Gravett - www.lakelandphotohols.com

    

© Affinity

 

Affinity has unveiled an all-new design app that brings together photo editing, drawing tools, and layout features in one easy-to-use platform. It’s built to be flexible, so you can set up your workspace the way you like, combine different tools, and even share your setup with others. Whether you're editing pictures, creating graphics, or working on documents, everything is now in one smooth and powerful space.

The best part is that Affinity is now completely free. This full-featured design software used to cost money, but now anyone can use it without paying. The update also comes with a fresh new look and marks Affinity’s next step as part of the Canva family, making high-quality creative tools more accessible to everyone.

 

From Affinity:

When Affinity joined the Canva family last year last year, we made a promise to preserve its power while expanding what’s possible. Today, that vision comes to life with the all-new Affinity: a studio-grade creative app that brings vector, photo, and layout tools together in one high-performance platform. Fully featured. Lightning-fast. And completely free.

For too long, professional designers have had almost no choice in the tools they use, from bloated software that slows them down, to subscriptions that stack up, and workflows that interrupt creativity. Across the creative community, we’ve heard the same frustrations: a call for speed, for power, for freedom. Designers have been asking for the tools they love, so we listened, and we built something better.

 

A new era for Affinity

For ten years, Affinity has been the tool of choice for professionals who care deeply about craft. Designers who value precision, speed, and control, and who expect their tools to keep up.

Now, that legacy enters a new chapter. The all-new Affinity was built in close collaboration with its community of creators, shaped by thousands of conversations, feature requests, and shared ideas. Guided by Canva’s Designer Advisory Board, this release reflects what professionals told us matters most: performance, reliability, and creative freedom.

From the smallest details to the biggest design systems, every feature has been built with respect for the people who use it.

  One app to craft it all

The all new Affinity app brings professional vector, photo, and layout tools together in one powerful space, featuring everything you need to design, edit, and publish without switching apps or breaking flow.

For designers who think in lines, curves, and grids, Affinity’s vector tools deliver precision and speed in perfect balance. Every adjustment happens in real time: paths adjust instantly, shapes snap into place, and even large files pan and zoom smoothly. From comprehensive brand systems to complex illustrations, everything feels responsive and effortless.

Affinity’s award-winning photo editing tools give you the freedom to experiment without limits. Every adjustment, from RAW development to retouching and compositing, is non-destructive, so you can refine endlessly without losing your original work. Plus, GPU acceleration keeps even the most complex files fast and fluid, while intelligent tools like Smart Selections, live filters, and batch processing help speed up repetitive edits.

With Affinity’s layout tools, structure and creativity work side by side. From short brochures to multi-page reports, you can edit images, graphics, and text directly within your document and see every change update live. Smart Master Pages, shared text styles, and advanced typographic controls keep everything consistent while giving you the freedom to experiment.

Whether you’re editing a portrait, building a brand identity, or designing a publication, the all new Affinity keeps you in flow, combining power, precision, and speed in a single studio-grade environment.

 

Design your workspace, your way

Every designer works differently, and now, Affinity does too. The updated app introduces a new level of personalization with fully customizable studios.

Creatives can mix and match tools from the Vector, Pixel, and Layout studios to build a workspace that fits their unique process. Rearrange panels, choose the tools you need, remove the ones you don’t, and save multiple setups for different projects or tasks. Custom studios can also be shared and downloaded, opening new ways for teams and creative communities to exchange workflows and learn from one another.

It’s flexibility built for focus, with professional tools that adapt to you and the way you work best. And no matter how you work, Affinity keeps up. Built on a high-performance engine, every adjustment updates in real time, from instant previews and detailed edits at 10,000,000% zoom to projects with thousands of layers. It’s ultra-fast, super-smooth, and precise down to the last pixel.

While the all-new Affinity has been reimagined, it still feels instantly familiar to those who know it best. The tools, workflows, and precision you rely on are all here – refined but not replaced. Every update builds on what professionals already love, so you can pick up where you left off and feel right at home.

 

© Affinity

 

Free for everyone

From the beginning, Affinity set out to challenge the idea that powerful design tools should come with a hefty price tag. Today, we’re taking that even further.

 

Affinity is now completely free, forever. 

The full, professional-grade Affinity experience, available to everyone.

There’s no catch, no stripped-back version, and no gotchas. The same precise, high-performance tools that professionals rely on every day are now open to all, because creative freedom shouldn’t come with a cost.

Whether you’re an independent designer, a creative studio, or a team building your brand, we believe everyone should have access to the tools they need to create their best work.

 

Affinity and Canva: Stronger together

Affinity has always been built for people who care deeply about design. Professionals who notice the details others might miss, who stay up late perfecting the final pixel, and who take pride in their craft. That hasn’t changed. But we couldn’t launch the all-new Affinity without something special for the Canva community.

For everyone with a Canva premium account, Canva AI’s tools are now accessible directly inside Affinity through the new Canva AI Studio. This includes familiar favorites like Generative Fill, Expand & Edit, and Remove Background – powerful features that speed up repetitive steps while keeping designers in full control of every detail.

Everything that makes Affinity a precision tool for creative professionals remains at its core: the speed, the control, the depth. Now, those same qualities are enhanced by Canva’s technology, giving you new ways to work faster, experiment more freely, and know that your tools will always keep up. Whether you’re refining a complex composite or extending parts of an image, these features work quietly in the background, supporting your process without ever getting in the way of craft.

We know that transparency around AI use and data handling is essential, and your creative work will always remain yours. Canva AI features are built with privacy and control in mind, ensuring that your creative work in Affinity stays secure, runs on the user's device, and work is not accessed to train AI features.

And when you’re ready to collaborate, scale or publish, you can export your Affinity projects into Canva in just a few clicks, to share with colleagues or clients. It’s the first of many steps toward connecting professional design with everyday creation.

This is a new chapter for professional design. We know some of our community may be curious about what this means for Affinity’s identity. It remains exactly what it’s always been: a professional design suite built for people who care deeply about their craft, now strengthened by Canva’s support and resources to take it even further.

You can also bring your existing work with you. Affinity supports PSD, AI, PDF, SVG, TIFF, IDML, and more, making it easy to open, edit, and collaborate without starting from scratch.

Today is just the beginning. We’re continuing to invest in both Affinity’s professional design tools and Canva’s all-in-one platform, building a future where everyone can design at the highest level, without barriers.

The all-new Affinity is available today for Mac and Windows, with iPad coming next year. The Canva community can activate Affinity with their existing account, while existing Affinity customers and new users can create a free Canva account to download Affinity directly.

For more information, please visit the Affinity website.

Halloween - it's a perfect time to shoot some portraits and capture some of the small details that make Halloween so spooktacular.

 

Low Light

Most Halloween themed activities don't start until after the sun's begun to set and that means there's not a lot of light left around to play with. If you're shooting still objects such as pumpkins, you can put your camera on a tripod and use slower shutter speeds but with kids that are running around high on sugar, longer shutter speeds will turn them into streaks of blur. Try using a slightly higher ISO or just shoot your portraits under a porch light or street lamp, to add a little bit of extra light to the scene. You can also head out at dusk when there's still light in the sky but the atmosphere you're trying to capture is just beginning to build.
 

Jack-O-Lanterns

If your flash is set to automatically fire, switch it off as you'll end up with a shiny looking jack-o-lantern that's lost all of its glow. Instead, use a longer shutter speed, making sure you have your tripod with you to stop shake spoiling your shot. If you find the glow from inside the lantern isn't bright enough, use a few more candles or switch the candles for a torch. You'll just have to position yourself so the torch can't be seen in shot. You can also try bracketing if you find metering to be a problem.

 

 

Portraits

There will, of course, be plenty of people in costume and shooting candids while you're out with your kids trick or treating, should give you plenty of interesting shots. If you're taking photos while they're knocking on a door, position yourself so once the door's open, it won't block your view.

For shots with more impact, get down to the child's level before you take your shot and fill the frame. If you have more than one child to photograph, make sure they're stood close together when taking group shots as people have a habit of putting space between themselves and another person.

Take time to study their makeup and costume to see which parts are the most interesting and should be focused on. If they have a particularly interesting mask, shoot a headshot and if you're going for a full body shot, make sure you take a look at their feet before you do as people tend to head out in shoes that aren't Halloween themed and they can spoil the overall feel of the shot.

Don't forget your basic composition rules such as filling the frame, rule of thirds and giving your subject space to look into. 

 

Small Detail

Look out for the spider's webs, decorations and pumpkins as shots of these, combined with shots of people in fancy dress will give you a great overall account of the day's events.
 

Graveyards

If you fancy heading to a graveyard to shoot some close-ups of detail or want to use them as a backdrop for portraits, have a look at our previous technique: Graveyard Photography
 

Have A Play In Photoshop

If you want to give a house a spooky feel, as David did with his image above, or add a ghost to a shot you've already taken, open up Photoshop and have a play around with the various tools and features to see what Halloween-themed image you can create.  

© Zoner Studio
 

 

With its Fall Update, the popular Czech photo editing and management software introduces features that accelerate photo selection, streamline editing, and simplify export. Users will greatly value the faster workflow, simpler selection of their best photos, and the ability to enlarge images without losing quality.

“At Zoner Studio, we’re taking the path of gradual evolution, bringing real value with each step. This update once again helps users work with their photos faster and easier,” says Jan Kupcik, Product Manager at Zoner Studio. 

 

AI Close-ups: Select your best shot in seconds

The most notable new feature is the enhanced AI Close-ups. Previously, it only detected faces. Now, it can automatically detect entire figures, animals, vehicles, and airplanes. This allows users to immediately focus on the most important parts of a photo and easily compare multiple shots without manually zooming in. This dramatically speeds up the selection process when sorting through dozens of portraits or action photos. The feature works entirely offline, with local calculations and results displayed in seconds.

  AI Resize: Enlarge photos without losing quality

The Zoner Studio Fall Update expands your creative possibilities—you can now enlarge photos without compromising their quality. Whether you re preparing a photography exhibition, printing an album, or want to keep the original dimensions of a cropped photo, AI Resize gives you freedom without compromise.

 

Efficiency without excess

Zoner Studio remains the easiest way to start editing photos for photographers who want highquality, realistic results without unnecessary effects. The Fall Update brings more than just two new tools. There are numerous improvements across the entire interface to make everyday editing faster and more intuitive: easier selection, quicker edits, and streamlined export. Zoner Studio continues to be simple, fast, and affordable—whether you re working with family portraits, wildlife, or event photography.

For more information, please visit the Zoner Studio website.

 

About ZONER Inc.

ZONER Inc. is a Czech technology company specializing in photo management and editing software. Its flagship product, Zoner Studio, has long been among the leading photo editing software, as recognized by the EISA Photo Software 2025–2026 Award. Zoner Studio stands out for its unique combination of powerful functionality and user-friendly design. It’s trusted by first-time users for its intuitive interface and valued by experienced photographers for its wide range of advanced tools. Zoner Studio offers a complete, cost-effective solution without a steep learning curve. 

 

Penda Photo Tours has opened entries for its Penda Travel Photography Competition 2025. Open to all photographers around the world, it offers a chance to win a dream safari in Botswana. It will also raise funds for Wild Shots Outreach, a nonprofit that teaches wildlife and conservation photography to young people in South Africa who have limited access to resources.

 

Photography with Purpose

Penda’s collaboration with Wild Shots Outreach underscores the belief that photography can do more than just create striking images - it can build connection, agency, and opportunity. Based in the Greater Kruger area in South Africa, Wild Shots Outreach gives young people from disadvantaged communities access to cameras, mentoring, workshops, and bursaries to help them engage with their natural heritage and pursue pathways in conservation, storytelling, and creative careers. By entering the competition beyond the free first submission, contributors will be directly supporting the work of Wild Shots Outreach - helping fund equipment, education, and program expansion.

 

Competition details

• Main Prize: Botswana Photography Safari

The overall winner will receive a space on an exclusive guided photo safari in Botswana, running 17–23 July 2026. The prize is worth USD 4,995 and includes accommodation in a private camp, guidance by professional wildlife photographer Alan Hewitt, and exclusive wildlife photography opportunities (lions, leopards, elephants, and more).

• Category Prizes & Runners-up

Category winners will receive a camera bag by VINCOV, a boutique brand of quality camera accessories, and runners-up will receive VINCOV camera straps.

• Competition Categories

The competition has three categories; Wildlife, Landscape, and People. Photographers can enter in all categories, and there is no limit to the number of entries.

• Entry Terms

The first image entry is free. Additional entries (in sets of up to 10) are available for USD 10, with all profits going to the nonprofit partner.

• Deadline & Announcement of Winners

Entries close on 10 December 2025, and winners will be announced on 15 January 2026. 

 

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Judges

The entries will be judged by a panel of eight professional photographers with diverse backgrounds and impressive portfolios. This includes former White House photographer Susan Sterner, National Geographic photographer Tyrone Turner, and Fuji-Film ambassador and wildlife conservation photographer Alan Hewitt. Judging will be based on storytelling, technical excellence, creativity, and overall impact.

Alan Hewitt, explains what he’ll be looking for when judging the entries;

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of the judging team for Penda Photo Tours’ photography competition! I’ll be looking for quite a few qualities in the submissions; first and foremost, technical excellence, sharpness and focus, correct exposure, pleasing composition and careful and natural processing. Getting these right are crucial.

With these qualities in mind, behavioural insight and natural history context is also important. Can we learn something from the photography or does it evoke curiosity? Creativity use of light is always interesting, as is trying to incorporate surroundings. Crucially, I’ll also be looking for respectable ethics, no signs of disturbance or stress to the subject/s or habitat and also authenticity, avoiding set ups and manipulation.

Let’s celebrate the beauty, resilience, and diversity of wildlife and culture in this competition, and I hope these images inspire us all to continue to cherish and protect the natural world and respect its diversity of cultures.”

 

Last year’s winner

The competition ran for the first time in 2024, and the winning image was ‘Taken by a Ghost’ by Pandora Maund. In July this year, Pandora ventured to Botswana to cash in her prize.

“The Penda safari has got to be the best prize I have ever won,” Pandora says. “I'd been looking at the various safaris Penda offers, as I really liked the small numbers to a vehicle and guide ratio, and then to win a trip was such a wonderful surprise.

Botswana had been on my bucket list for a while and it didn't disappoint. We had some super sightings including large herds of elephants, lions, jackals, zebras, and much more. But my favourites have to be the leopard and the brown hyena, neither of which I had been able to photograph before on other safaris. The drivers and photography guides Alan and Mike really knew their subjects and ensured we got the best sightings possible with lots of tips on how to get the best shots. All in all a wonderful experience. Many thanks to Penda for running such a great competition.”

View Pandora's winning image and the other category winners.

 

How to enter

Photographers interested can submit entries (JPEG, max 2 MB) through the competition page on Penda’s website. All entrants must agree to terms including permission for Penda to use images for marketing purposes, with due credit.

For more details, including full rules, judge bios, and past winners, please visit the competition website.

 

About Penda Photo Tours:

Penda is a travel company specialising in photographic safaris and tours, designed for photographers of all levels to explore and capture the natural world, wildlife, culture, and landscapes. Penda was founded in 2016 with trips in Africa, and has since expanded throughout the rest of the world.

 

About Wild Shots Outreach:

Wild Shots Outreach is a South African nonprofit that uses photography as a vehicle to engage disadvantaged youth with their wild spaces. Founded in 2015, it offers training, workshops, bursaries, and pathways to careers in conservation and creative sectors. 

Winter's on its way which may mean dark nights and cold mornings but it does bring ample photography opportunities for those who don't mind braving the cold. We can capture sunrises at more reasonable hours and depending how low the temperatures drops, we could even see some snow filled landscapes appearing in people's portfolios. In preparation, here's 30 tutorials to kick-start your winter photography with a bang. 

 

1. Photographing Winter Portraits

Living in the UK, most of the best clothing in our wardrobes is probably winter stuff so why not encourage people to get out and about with their favourite coats, hats and scarves and have fun shooting some outdoor winter portraits.

 

 

2. Shooting Winter Landscapes

Water in the landscape makes a great photograph at any time of the year but in winter, after we've had heavy rainfall or fog's settled in, lakes and rivers suddenly take on a new look that's well worth braving the cold to capture.

 

 

3. Photographing Winter Birds

Winter days leave us with a shortage of daylight hours to photograph, but also is not the perfect time for birds to find food, with much less food about and less daylight time to feed.

 

 

4. Winter Wedding Photography

Winter weddings are becoming ever more popular. As a wedding photographer, the natural light on a winter day may only be short, but if you are comfortable using available light whether it be tungsten or candlelight, you can create some really atmospheric photos.

 

Image courtesy of Limeleaf Weddings.

 

5. Working With Winter Sun

While winter may often be associated with wet, gray, and generally downbeat weather conditions, when the sun makes an appearance it is perfect for landscapes.

 

Image from  Landscape Photography: The Four Seasons title from Ilex.

  6. Winter Photography Tips 

Whether portraying a bitterly cold day or a snowy Christmas scene, there are certain things to consider when heading out for a winter photography shoot. I have put together a number of tips which have proved invaluable.

 

Photo by Barry Chignell

  7. How To Shoot Winter Silhouettes

The low position of the sun in winter makes it a perfect time to shoot silhouettes. You just need to find a bright background (the sky's perfect) and the right subject to give you a shot with series impact.

 

 

8. Winter Wildlife Photography Tips

Learn how to take great images of winter wildlife around the coast, in your garden and in various conditions. 

 

 

9. Snowboarding Photography Tips 

Nathan Gallagher gives ePHOTOzine some tips for capturing snowboarders in action on the snow as well as tips on capturing portraits in the studio. 

 

 Photos by Nathan Gallagher.

 

10. Coping With Contrast In Winter

The low angle of sun in the winter may bring with it fantastic lighting, but it can also cause problems when it comes to contrast in your images.

 

Photo from Landscape Photography: The Four Seasons title from Ilex.

 

11. Even More Winter Wildlife Photography Tips

Winter can be a great time to photograph wildlife. With the trees bare, it can be a lot easier to spot illusive species such as deer and foxes. A telephoto zoom lens will be a necessity, and you'll need a tripod and possibly a hide, too depending on what you intend to look for.

 

 

12. Indoor Themed Winter Portrait Tips 

With winter approaching, more people will be heading indoors but this doesn't mean you have to stop looking for ways to bring your portraits to life. Of course, if you have a willing subject you can brave the cold and venture outside to capture some great winter imagery. But if the cold isn't for you, then going indoors works very well at this time of year too.

 

Photo by Michael Alan Bielat.

 

13. Photographing Mountains In Winter

There are plenty of great mountain ranges scattered around the UK that are well worth a photo at any time of year but in winter, when a covering of snow's fallen or a hard frost has settled they tend to look even more impressive.

 

 

14. Tips On Photographing Ice In Winter 

Ice is only frozen water – so it's clear, isn't it? Far from it, and I love ice – naturally occurring on lake edges, round waterfalls, as icicles, however it forms. I'm only going to look at natural formed ice, rather than ice made in freezers and photographed in studio conditions; although either makes amazing pictures.

 

Photo by John Gravett

 

15. 10 Top Robin Photography Tips 

Robins can be found in their numbers and as many would agree, they are very photogenic and this becomes even more true at this time of year when the cold weather sets in, bringing snow to cover the ground.

 

 

16. Tips On Photographing Frost And Ice

Frost might not be good for plants but it is great for photographers who are looking for winter scenes and interesting abstracts to add to their portfolio.

 

 

17. Fast Moving Vs. Slow Moving Waterfalls - How To Capture Both With Your Camera

When capturing waterfalls you can make water appear as if it's frozen in time so every splash and droplet is captured in frame or you can go to the opposite end of the scale and smooth the flow of water out into almost a dry-ice, cloud-like texture. At this time of year there's the added option of capturing frozen shapes that water's created when it's splashed up over rocks and grass found at the edges of the falls, too.

 

 

18. Top Cold Weather Photography Tips

 It won't be long before the temperatures drop and we're venturing out over the Christmas break with cold weather photography in mind. Here's a few ideas how to prepare yourself – and your camera equipment – to ensure you get the most out of your cold-weather photography.

 

 

19. Tips On Photographing Snow & Ice

Winter brings a new range of photo opportunities where familiar colourful scenes are suddenly covered in a blanket of snow. Bare trees become stark outlined silhouettes against a brilliant white backdrop, grasses poke out from below white canopies and old barns look like sets from pantomimes.

 

 

20. Urban Christmas Light Shoot

As the majority of festive pictures are of parties taken on small apertures on compacts with auto flash, having a good image of the Christmas lights, particularly with people in them will really stand out and as a result are a great subject to have a go at photographing.

 

 

21. Cold Weather Photography Tips

The temperatures are slowly dropping which means it's a good time to start thinking about cold weather photography and how you can protect yourself as well as your kit. 

 

 

22. How To Take Black & White Shots Of Snow Scenes

Find out how using the black & white medium can add so much more to your snowy landscape shots. 

 

Photo by John Gravett

 

23. How To Photograph Frost

Set your alarm, wrap up warm and get outside to capture the magic of a frosty start. You don't have to head to far either as you'll find plenty of frost-themed images right in your back garden. 

 

Photos by John Gravett

 

24. More Snow Photography Tips

Snow scenes are very picturesque. They make excellent additions to your landscape portfolio but they can be tricky to photograph. Here are some tips to help you take better snow scene photos and make your time in the chilly outdoors more enjoyable.

 

Photo by Mark Elliott 

 

25. Tips On Photographing Stormy Seas

For those who don't mind a fierce wind and cold weather, winter is a great time to shoot at the coast. Why? Well it's quieter as you don't tend to get many tourists visiting out of season and strong winds can create strong sea swells which means they'll be plenty of big waves crashing into cliffs and sea walls to capture.

 

 

26. Capturing Snowy Landscapes

What better excuse do we need as photographers than a blanket of snow for wonderful photographic opportunities, but it's important to get a few techniques right to ensure you capture everything at its best.

 

Photos by John Gravett

 

27. Photography Tips On Capturing Patterns In Ice

When temperatures begin to fall, lakes, ponds, puddles and even waterfalls (when it's really cold) freeze, all of which make excellent close-up photography subjects.

 

 

28. Explanation On Why Snow Can Appear Blue And How To Fix It

We all know the feeling of photographing in snow on a bright, crisp day, only to realise that the snow is coming out blue in your pictures. This is generally due to one or two errors which can be quickly and easily put right. 

Photos by John Gravett

29. Snow Photography For Beginners

Snow can be quite tricky to capture and can leave many beginner photographers asking questions. To help them out, here we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions about snow photography.

 

 

30. Quick Tips On Taking Photos In Icy Conditions

If you're out in icy conditions, there are a few hazards to contend with which are particular to the weather. Yes, this includes obvious things like taking care to not slip but there are other problems you may not have thought of too. 

 

 

 

1. Be Early

Arrive at your chosen spot about half an hour before the sun's due to set as you'll need time to set your equipment up and to find your angle. You'll need your tripod as shutter speeds will be slow and working hand-held will only result in shake. If you have one, attach your remote release up, too, to stop your movement rocking the camera when you go to press the shutter button. Many cameras allow you to fire the shutter via a Smart Phone, eliminating the need for a remote release. You might want to fire off a few test shots to see if your composition works but do remember the light will change.
 

2. Get Ready

Make sure your focus is correct then turn off autofocus as it tends to struggle in darker conditions. Check your white balance and set your ISO to 100, although, if you want to quicken the shutter speed slightly, you can knock it up a couple of notches. Then, you just have to stand and wait for the sun to begin setting. You might want to pack a flask of something warm and make sure you have your coat with you for this bit!
 

3. The Sun's Setting

Once the sun has gone below the horizon don't think it's time to put your equipment away so you can head home, you need to keep taking photos, adjusting the exposure length as you do to capture as many different results as possible.

 

 

4. Watch Out For Bright Light Sources

If you have the moon in shot or other bright lights such as street lamps, and you use a longer shutter speed it can result in flare but this isn't always a bad thing as an overexposed street lamp, particularly on a damp evening, can look quite good.
 

5. Where Works?

Getting out above the city so you can shoot down on it. Capturing the city lights against the dark blue sky as they switch on works well but do get in among the city buildings too. At busy junctions, you'll be able to capture light trails as traffic flows by while a bridge will give you a nice leading line with lights dotted along either side of it. Have a look for shop signs that are lit up or if you're visiting one of our well known seaside towns, you'll have a long street of illuminations to capture.