The holiday season is a great time to make photos with gorgeously softened backgrounds and shallow depth of field for painterly, creative, and festive results. Indoors and out, the Christmas trees bedecked with tiny lights, Menorahs, and decidedly secular seasonal displays that brighten the world each December present the perfect opportunity to experiment, explore and create. While we’ll obviously be featuring a number of Sigma lenses in this how-to, much of the information here is universal.
Lens Guides
Hands-on reviews, technical information, and advice on SIGMA Art, Sports and Contemporary lenses for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.
First Look: SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art Hands-On
Photographers have been excited about the possibilities of the new Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM lens since it was announced at Photokina. The first of the Art line in the new Sigma Global Vision, this lens is finally here. And being one of the first photographers in North America to shoot with this lens, I can tell you, it is flat-out amazing.
Sigma’s Holiday Season Gift Guide
Gift ideas for photographers from Sigma. Tips for buying lenses and cameras for new parents, teenagers, snowboarders, wildlife photographers, grandparents, and everything in between from budget-minded ideas to extravagant gifts for milestone occasions.
Treat Yourself to Cool Halloween Shots With These Tricks and Tips
Halloween can be an amazing time to make all sorts of cool photos. Between the Jack O’Lanterns, people of all ages in silly or scary costumes, and haunted houses, there’s something great to shoot pretty much everywhere you turn.It’s also a great time of year to throw so many of the hard and fast guidelines of photography aside and have some fun by breaking some rules, and employing some cool photo tricks to make Halloween photos that’ll turn some heads. In this blog posting, we’re going to have some fun and give you some ideas on how to capture the spirit of the season.
Sigma DP2 Merrill Model Shoot with Robert Lopshire
Photographer Robert Lopshire used the Sigma DP2 Merrill instead of a DSLR for a model shoot, and was amazed at the big-camera image quality of this amazing compact, prime lens camera with the 46 megapixel Merrill Generation Foveon X3 Direct Image Sensor.
The Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 Macro is Ready for Adventures
When traveling as light as possible while maximizing versatility, an all-in-one zoom lens like the new Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 is a great choice. This recently redesigned lens is built specifically for DSLRs with the smaller APS-C sensors, and now adds 1:2.9 macro capture for even more flexibility and creativity in an even more compact package than its predecessor.
Sigma DP2 Merrill: First Impressions by Jack Howard
The Sigma DP2 Merrill creates amazing photographs with exceptional detail and beautifully smooth color gradations and nuances of tone. The overall image quality of this camera is simply amazing.
Chasing Birds with the Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6
This past month, I was lucky enough to visit two amazing birding hotspots with the Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6. Now, after shooting with this compact, long-reach tele zoom, I’ve got to say that is has quickly become one of my favorite lenses in the Sigma lineup for its fantastic combination of reach, range and amazing sharpness in a very compact package–under four pounds and just eight inches long.
Fireworks and Bright Lights in the Night For the Fourth of July and Beyond by Jack Howard
The fourth of July means many things, and for photographers, one of the most exciting and challenging aspects of this holiday is capturing amazing photos of fireworks. The bright lights in the night paint the sky with multi-colored flames in a way that can be spectacular to witness and capture with your camera. And while it may seem that fireworks–and articles about how to capture fireworks with your DSLR–only appear for a few nights in early July, there are actually tons of nights from coast to coast all summer long when the skies are illuminated with fireworks.
Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM: First Impressions with Walter Arnold
Pro Photographer Walter Arnold has been shooting new ad campaign shots with the new Sigma 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 DC MACRO OS HSM on the sly for the past few weeks. We spent a few minutes talking with him about his experiences with this amazing new superzoom. For full press release and technical specifications click here.