Focussing On Photography

Name: Focussing On Photography
Address: 18 Truswell Road, Sheffield, S101WH, GB
Telephone: +447967921781

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Focussing On Photography

Bespoke commercial, event and portrait photography. Official photographer at Hallam FC. Welcome to Focussing On Photography. My name is Antony Baker. Antony

I’m a creative, reliable and friendly commercial and portrait photographer in Sheffield. I also provide photography training to help you to get the best from your camera and to take control of your photography. As far my photography services go, everything I do starts with a free, no obligation chat so you can tell me how I can help you. Photography isn’t just about a photographer taking photograp

hs, it’s a collaboration. When you’re investing time and money it makes sense to have a shared understanding. I also sell greetings cards. These can be left blank for your own handwritten message or you can request that any message, text and/or logo be included. I sell prints and canvasses of my landscape photographs too. Do take a look through my website https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/ and if you like what you see please get in touch. I’d love to hear from you.

08/08/2026

Camera versus Phone Pictures. What’s the difference and why does it matter?

When it comes to quality the picture from a camera is better than that from a phone. Don’t misunderstand me. There’s a saying that the best camera is the one you have with you and most of us have our phones with us pretty much all of the time. I use my phone camera regularly for record shots.

And phone cameras are getting better all the time, with more apps allowing a higher degree of manual control and more creativity. It’s also very easy to share pictures from your phone compared with a camera.

But… (you knew that was coming didn’t you)…

The biggest downside to phone cameras is the lower quality of the picture. This is because

• Phone cameras have much smaller sensors. This means lower resolution, less detail and, in low light conditions, more image degradation. For pictures viewed on a phone this may not seem an issue (because the screen is so small) but if you want to enlarge and/or print the picture then quality is a real problem

• Most phones save images at 72 ppi (pixels per inch) but the standard to ensure print quality is 300dpi (dots per inch)

• It’s very easy to overuse apps (for example to sharpen a picture or to saturate colours), and whilst it may look good on your phone, at higher magnifications the effects on quality become obvious

• The lenses on phone cameras are really small. These can’t compete with the quality of larger lenses (especially those made of glass rather than plastic)

• Phone cameras rely on algorithms to produce the final picture. Cameras (with a dedicated lens such as a macro for insect shots or telephoto for wildlife photography for example) produce the final image optically

For both the camera picture and the phone picture below, I ensured that all settings were the same (as far as possible given that my phone has relatively few manual settings). The results shown are straight out of camera and phone with no alterations in software.

In the camera picture the colours, tones and brightness of the scene were as I saw them. (My monitor is colour calibrated for accuracy). My phone has rendered the colours, tones and brightness differently through the algorithms it uses.

The upshot of this is that a camera and knowledge of how to use it will help you to take control of your photography and get the picture that’s in your head in digital and/or print form.

This is where I can help you through photography training.

There are more details on my website

https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/photography-training/

Antony

15/07/2026

I recently spent a fabulous evening photographing the Gala Dinner of SY Orthopaedics at the OEC Sheffield.

My thanks to the staff there for their help and hospitality.

If you’d like me to photograph your event please get in touch.

It’s important to get the shots that you want and need. It’s why I always liaise beforehand so we can discuss the details and I can shoot to your requirements.

There are more details on my website

https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/events/

Antony

09/06/2026

I recently had the pleasure of photographing for James Retail Ltd who required photographs of some of their stores across the region for their website.

If I can help with your premises or commercial photography please get in touch.

There are more details on my website

https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/commercial/

Antony

19/05/2026

I recently had the pleasure of photographing for the OEC in Sheffield, showcasing two rooms for hire, both set up for weddings.

If I can help with your venue photography please get in touch.

Antony

10/02/2026

A busy afternoon at a very well attended Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry AGM at the Memorial Hall, Sheffield City Hall, last Thursday.

In addition to the formalities, the CEO gave details of the future direction and strategy developed with members and stakeholders.

The Chamber thanked its outgoing president and welcomed its incoming president after which the keynote speaker Niall Shamma, Chief Operating Officer of Warp Films talked about the twenty year journey from a garden shed in Sheffield to the Golden Globes and why Warp is, and will continue to be, based in Sheffield. Warp have just won a number of awards including Best Independent Production Company.

Special congratulations to the long service members in attendance receiving anniversary certificates.

My thanks to the Chamber team for their help in ensuring my afternoon went smoothly and to the team at the Memorial Hall for their help and hospitality on the day.

If you’d like me to photograph your event please get in touch.
There are more details on my website

https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/events/

05/01/2026

Photography Basics 10 – Neutral Density Graduated (ND Grad) Filters

When you’re photographing landscapes or cityscapes where the sky is much brighter than the foreground you’ll either have an overexposed sky or an underexposed foreground (unless you take two images, one exposed for the sky, the other exposed for the foreground and blend them together in software).

However, the reason for this series on photography basics is to help you to take control of your photography and to use your knowledge to get the picture that you want without software. This also means that it’s relevant whether you use a digital camera, a film camera or both.

Using ND grads allows you to see the effect of the filter or filters (you can use more than one) on the final picture before you press the shutter button. There are two types – hard and soft, with the latter being more commonly used.

ND grad filters are rectangular pieces of plastic that are half dark and half clear. Hard ND grads are dark at the top and fully transparent at the bottom. They’re used when the horizon is a straight line such as in seascapes. On other occasions soft ND grads tend to be used. These are dark at the top but gradually become lighter until the plastic is fully transparent. Both types come in different strengths, so for example a three stop filter is darker than a one stop filter (see Photography Basics 5 for an explanation of what a stop is). A filter holder is attached to the front of the lens via an attachment ring which is screwed into the thread on the lens. The filter is placed in the holder and then you can look through the viewfinder (or on the back of your camera if it’s digital) and move the filter up or down to see the effect.

The first picture shows the component parts of the filter system.

The second shows how it looks on camera.

In picture three the foreground is exposed correctly but the sky is overexposed.

In the fourth the sky is exposed correctly but the foreground is underexposed.

The fifth picture shows how the use of a soft ND grad balances the exposure for both.

If you’d like to know more about this and other aspects of photography there are more details on my website

https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/photography-training/

10/12/2025

I’m delighted to have been designated as an Official Recommended Supplier at OEC Sheffield for the photography of business events and social occasions. My thanks to the team at the OEC. I look forward to continuing to work with you and developing our partnership.

01/12/2025

Photography Basics 9 – Why use a polarising filter?

These two pictures are identical except that the first was taken without a filter and the second was taken with a polarising filter.

Polarising filters

· reduce reflections from water (and glass and other shiny surfaces). You can’t replicate this in software

· increase colour saturation

Circular polarisers work by attaching the filter to the front of the lens and then rotating it either clockwise or anti clockwise to increase or decrease the effect of polarisation and you can see the effect as you do so. You do lose upto a couple of stops of light (so shutter speeds will be longer unless you change the aperture and/or ISO but you’d generally be working with a tripod anyway and if so that’s not an issue).

When you’re shooting waterfalls try starting with a shutter speed of ¼ second to get some movement in the water. Too fast and you freeze it, too slow and it looks milky (although I personally like that effect). It does also depend on the rate of flow so it’s worth experimenting.

Whatever the shutter speed, aim for an aperture of f11 or f16, manually focus a third of the way into the scene for front to back sharpness and use a low ISO for maximum image quality.

If you’d like learn more about this or any other aspect of photography please see my website

https://focussingonphotography.co.uk/photography-training/

Antony

Address

18 Truswell Road
Sheffield
S101WH

Telephone

+447967921781

Website

http://www.focussingonphotography.co.uk/contact.html

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