Picture requirements

All submissions are speculative - there is no guarantee that we can use the work you send. However, if you have some good ideas for shooting a particular technique, do let us know so that we can tell you if we are still short of images in that area.

As this list will be seen by a number of photographers, anything you can do to make your pictures a little different will increase your chances of publication.

Please include written technical information along with any tips and advice you can offer. Indicate if exposure compensation was needed when using accessories, etc. Diagrams of lighting set-ups are always useful.

Unless you request otherwise, suitable material which we are unable to use in the next few issues will be placed on file in the EOS magazine picture library for possible future publication.

IMMEDIATE REQUIREMENTS

We are planning articles on the subjects listed below and are looking for photographs to illustrate them.

Improve your pictures
This is a basic technique article which shows a number of easy ways to add impact to a photograph. In every example we need comparison pictures - one showing the way many people take the shot, and the other showing the improved image. Here are some ideas of the type of pictures needed (we just describe the improved picture):
• fill the frame with the subject
• use a high or low viewpoint
• Place the subject off-centre
• make sure the horizon is straight
• use a suitable shutter speed to avoid the effects of camera shake
• avoid clashing colours (or use a dominant colour)
• use a wide aperture to reduce the effect of distracting backgrounds
• choose the time of day (or night) which suits the subject
• use a focal length which suits the subject

High speed sync (FP flash) with Speedlites
This is useful for outdoor fill-in flash photography in bright sunlight. It can also be used to generate very brief flash durations to 'freeze' fast-moving subjects in close-up photography.

Bounce flash techniques with Speedlites
We want images showing light bounced off a ceiling, but also from walls. Do you have any images where the flash head has been rotated through 180 degrees to bounce the light off a wall behind the camera? Do you have a shot showing a colour cast introduced by bouncing the light off a coloured wall or ceiling?

Second-curtain flash synchronisation
We hardly ever see good examples of this technique, mostly because it is difficult to come up with a suitable subject that does not look contrived. And we need to see the same subject shot with first-curtain synchronisation, as well.

Slow synch flash
Combining a slow shutter speed with flash picks up background detail that would be lost at faster speeds. It is good for interior shots and night scenes. We are looking for stunning pictures which use this technique, plus comparison sequences which show the results of using different shutter speeds.

Flash/exposure compensation
Sequences combining flash exposure compensation with exposure compensation. We need some strong single shots which use this technique, plus an extended sequence showing all the possible combinations with the same subject.

Photographing groups
Photographs of groups, shot with or without flash. Anything from small groups of two or three, to large groups of dozens of people. The more imaginative, the better. Please make sure that everyone in any group images you submit is happy for the picture to be published in EOS magazine. (Copies of signed model release forms are useful for us to keep on file.)

PhotoStitch
Images made using Canon's PhotoStitch software. We need the finished results as well as the component images.

Soft focus
We need images showing all the different ways of producing soft focus images, from breathing on the lens to using soft focus filters and the EF 135mm SF lens. Also images taken using the soft focus function of the EOS 1000N and EOS 1000FN cameras. Soft focus effects often change with the aperture, so there is scope for three or four images of the same subject.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Flash techniques

We are very short of good pictures which show techniques possible with Speedlite flashguns. Here are just a few ideas of what we need:

• pictures taken with flash off-camera using the Off-Camera Shoe Cord, either to eliminate red-eye or to improve the lighting of the subject. Pictures can show how the lighting changes depending on the position of the Speedlite (left, right or centre). Remember to take pictures using the Speedlite on-camera for comparison purposes.

• pictures taken with the flash on-camera, but using the tilt and/or swivel facility of the flash head to soften the illumination by bouncing the light from a ceiling or wall. Series of pictures showing the different lighting effects produced by bouncing the light from a ceiling and a wall to the left and to the right of the subject.

• pictures taken with the Speedlite head aimed at a wall behind the camera to give shadowless lighting to the subject.

• pictures taken with different focal length lenses to illustrate the autozoom head feature.

• comparison pictures which show the advantage of using flash exposure lock (FEL), flash exposure compensation (FEC) and flash exposure bracketing (FEB) with different types of subject.

• pictures showing the effect of auto flash reduction

pictures taken using the Canon wireless flash system with Speedlites 580EX, 550EX, 420EX and ST-E2

• pictures taken using the built-in flash, especially those which show techniques which make best use of this feature.

Other techniques

Here are some subjects and techniques we may cover in future issues of EOS magazine - especially if we receive good photographs to illustrate them.

• first and second curtain flash
• close-up lenses
• extension tubes
• aperture/shutter priority modes
• use of ambient light/flash ratio
• slow-synch flash photography
• high-speed flash
• use of focus points
• night photography
• autofocus modes
• Program Shift
• partial/spot metering
• macro lenses
• manual metering
• self-timer
• Macro Ring Lites
• auto exposure bracketing
• exposure compensation
• bulb exposures

It is unlikely that you will have many suitable pictures in your files. Most contributors either shoot specifically for the EOS magazine photo library or take extra pictures when shooting their usual photographs.

It is also worth keeping in mind that our library is one of the few interested in faults and mistakes. However, this is not an opportunity to off-load images that you would otherwise throw away! Comparison shots stand the best chance of being published. Pictures with and without a lens hood to show flare, for example, or with and without a tripod to show camera shake.

Unusual subjects

We want to hear from photographers who have tackled unusual subjects or use a specialist technique (photomicrography, for example, or infrared imaging).