Total Digital Photography (TDP) is a monthly magazine brought to you by Archant Specialist, who also publish other magazines such as "Which Digital Camera" and "Photography Monthly". TDP is aimed at photographers with a wide range of capabilities. It is packed full of useful news, hints and ... Read review
Advantages: Very easy to read, informative, great workshops Disadvantages: Aimed mainly at beginners and intermediates
Total Digital Photography (TDP) is a monthly magazine brought to you by Archant Specialist, who also publish other magazines such as "Which Digital Camera" and "Photography Monthly". TDP is aimed at photographers with a wide range of capabilities. It is packed full of useful news, hints and reviews which I will look at in more detail.
~Package~
This magazine is A4 sized and has a glossy front cover. The issue ... .../>
~Where to Buy~
Total Digital Photography magazine costs £4.75 and its release date is usually around the 11th of every month. You can buy the magazine in most good newsagents without pre-ordering, such as WH Smiths. I have also been able to buy it in some supermarkets.
If you preferred there is the option to subscribe to TDP. A years subscription costs (as at 23rd September 2003) £39.50 if you live in the UK, £34.20 if ... more
Total Digital Photography (TDP) is a monthly magazine brought to you by Archant Specialist, who also publish other magazines such as "Which Digital Camera" and "Photography Monthly". TDP is aimed at photographers with a wide range of capabilities. It is packed full of useful news, hints and reviews which I will look at in more detail.
~Package~ This magazine is A4 sized and has a glossy front cover. The issue that I am currently using as an example is the September 2003 issue, which has 147 pages. More often than not the magazine will be sold with a free CD which contains photo’s that have been used in the magazine, which comes in useful (to be discussed later on). The CD also often includes free software, plug-ins for photo editing packages such as Photoshop and various demos, freeware and shareware.
~Where to Buy~ Total Digital Photography magazine costs £4.75 and its release date is usually around the 11th of every month. You can buy the magazine in most good newsagents without pre-ordering, such as WH Smiths. I have also been able to buy it in some supermarkets.
If you preferred there is the option to subscribe to TDP. A years subscription costs (as at 23rd September 2003) £39.50 if you live in the UK, £34.20 if you live in the UK and wish to pay by Direct Debit or £55.00 if you live overseas. Choosing to pay by subscription will save you upto 40% on normal retail prices.
You can apply for subscriptions online at http://www.totaldp.com. You could also phone up on 0870 4420938 and quote the reference number TDPWEB1, or you could apply by post by sending a cheque made payable to Archant Specialist to TDP subscriptions Department, FREEPOST ANG 50056, Bristol, BS32 0FA.
~Contents~ The layout of Total Digital Photography (TDP) is near enough the same every month, so again I will use the September magazine to illustrate this further.
The magazine starts off with 12 pages of up to the minute news. The “News Desk” covers issues such as new cameras on the market, photo-processing news, online albums, scanner news, digital photo software upgrades etc.
Next there are two pages dedicated to readers’ letters. Here you can send an email or letter to air your views and in doing so you are given the chance to win a digital camera. (In September’s issue the prize letter won a Digital IXUS 400 worth £449!!).
If you are considering buying a digital camera then you will find the 21 page “Rated” section very useful. TDP goes into lots of detail when reviewing products. They rate the products inline with their rating scheme. If a product scores less than 50% then steer clear of the product, 51%-60% is good, but with flaws, 61%-70% is well worth considering, 71%-80% is recommended, 81%-90% is highly recommended – one of the best, and over 90% is top of the class. Personally I have not noticed many items rated over 90%. Each review, especially of cameras, will include facts & figure (details of effective pixels, focus, storage, power etc). The reviews will also include photos taken by the camera, pricing information, comprehensive report and a final TDP verdict.
Ever fancied your chances at having your photographs published for everyone to see? Well TDP are offering to publish reader portfolios, which show creative use of digital photography. As well as having your photo’s printed in the magazine you will also receive prizes (September’s prizes were an Epson Stylus 900, Digital Photo Viewer, and ImageRecall totalling £295).
Or would you prefer to have your images criticised by expert photographers? A section in TDP allows you to send in a photograph with a description of what you were aiming for. A critique will then pass his judgement on whether the photo should be saved or deleted!! Personally this section is not the best because whether you like a photo or not is your opinion. However you may pick up some technical hints from the (sometimes harsh) comments. No digital photography magazine is complete without a competition. TDP is currently running a competition to find the “Digital Photographer of the year”. It is made up of 6 rounds and to win you have to gain points in each round. For example the winner of round one got 10 points, and the 5 runners up get 3 points. The photographer with the most points at the end of the 6 rounds is the winner, so if you’re interested it’s still not to late to take part.
Ever wondered how to digitally enhance or alter your photographs? Well every month TDP includes a section called “Workshops” which guides you through various techniques step by step. For example, September’s workshops included how to use quick masks in Photoshop, how to create a monochrome landscape on Paint Shop Pro, how to fake fisheye on Photoshop, how to manipulate depth of field etc. The workshops are very useful and easy to follow. Some of the courses are designed for beginners, some for intermediate. As mentioned earlier the photo’s that are used in the workshops are on the CD that came with the magazine, so if you wanted to practice a specific technique with the same photograph then it is made possible.
~Final Opinion~ TDP is a very easy to follow magazine. For me the most useful aspects are the workshops, but I also like the fact that the articles are not constantly interrupted by advertisements. Most advertisements are kept to the back of the magazine.
I would recommend this magazine for anyone interested in editing his or her photographs if you are a beginner or intermediate. I cannot see professionals gaining much from the magazine. The workshops are excellent and the help centre answering readers’ queries is also very useful.
If you are considering buying a camera, then although the camera ratings are very informative in TDP I think I would still recommend a magazine that is specifically for reviewing cameras, such as the “Digital Camera Shopper”, unless you have an idea of what camera you want and then TDP do a review.
For information on the lastest issue please visit http://www.totaldp.com
