Photo Accessory Reviews

One way that photographers can add variety to a portrait session is to shoot a few images in black and white. The way I like to do it is to put the camera in monochrome mode then shoot with Raw+JPEG capture, creating two files at the same time—one in color, the other in monochrome—that you can show your subject right away. I did this recently and the subject loved the look of the black-and-white portrait so much that we continued the session shooting that way. That said, since this is the lighting issue I’d like to start with some new items to light up your photo life.

The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) member magazines recently convened for their General Assembly to vote for the best photo and imaging products launched by the industry in the last 12 months. The voting took place during the General Assembly that was held in spring 2016 in San Francisco, California.

I ended the March 2017 column on my must-have lenses for travel photography and the tripods that support them with a promise that there’d be a part two on the gear that goes beyond cameras and lenses to enable me to get the pictures I envision.

When I say filter, your first thought may be a Photoshop plug-in. That’s natural, especially if your first good camera was digital. But folks who cut their photographic teeth shooting 35mm film know all about the light-bending qualities of glass screw-in filters. Physical filters were once the best (and sometimes only) way to get certain types of creative shots. Although still as effective as ever, they’ve fallen from favor for several reasons.

Ever drop a camera? Ever have a camera strap break? Or bust apart near the D-ring? Put those worries out of your mind. UPstrap offers a full lineup of some of the toughest camera straps you’ll ever wear. And, as the name proudly announces, they stay UP on your shoulder, too. 

The Vanguard ABEO Pro Kit starts out as a solid carbon-fiber tripod but then adds features and functions like a removable and rotatable (vertical or horizontal) center column, a pistol grip with built-in trigger release with cable attachments for many cameras, bubble levels, 80-degree leg spread, three “feet” supports (pads, spikes, and rubber), a quick-release base plate and mechanism, and etched degree settings on the center column for those who want to do precise panoramas.

I’m as bad as the next guy when it comes to tripods. I know I should know better—they’re the only accessory you can buy that has the potential to improve every single picture you take. I’ve written about tripods at least a hundred times. That said, there have been too many occasions when I’ve been two-legged when I should have used three.