Selecting cameras, lenses and accessories for your favorite subjects

A digital recipe for smokin’ photos

If you're in the mood to cook up some sumptuous photographs, here's a quick 10-step recipe that I think you'll find appetizing. To illustrate this article, I'll use photographs that I took on a recent trip to Papua New Guinea. While some of you may not get to (or may not want to go to) that exotic destination, the same ingredients can be used to create images that will quench your photographic thirst in any location. Let's dig in!

Artistic expressions are only a few clicks away

We all strive for pictures that look unique, artistic and creative. That goes for when they're framed and hung on a wall, when they're posted on the web, and maybe even when they're published in a book or magazine article. One creative idea is to add emphasis to the main or central subject in an image. Another is to dress up the image with a digital frame or border. In this column, we'll cover a few easy techniques for accomplishing both goals—and more.

Get your photos online

It's pretty much expected these days that if you're a photographer, you'll have some kind of web gallery. The good news is that you don't have to know very much about how the web works to create a home on the web for your photos.

Use the warm light of the “magic hours” to your advantage

The magic hours—the hours immediately after sunrise and just before sunset—are times of amazing light for photography. The time is brief, but the great thing is that twice a day, every day, there's a generous helping of breathtaking ambient light that's complemented by the dramatic backgrounds and mood of the rising and setting sun.

It’s the grain of the digital age. Learn how to tame it.

Noise, the digital equivalent of film grain, can be a challenge to overcome. It appears as an irregular, sand-like texture that, if small, is essentially invisible; if large, it can be unsightly and a distraction from your image. Noise can have color to it (chromatic noise) or only vary in brightness (luminance noise). (As with grain, this fine-patterned look is sometimes desirable for certain creative effects.)

What’s Your Priority?

I typically use my camera in automatic mode, but occasionally I step out of my comfort zone and move into some of the other modes. I really understand the full manual mode but, quite honestly, I don't get the whole aperture priority and shutter priority. I know what they are supposed to do and I sort of get when you are supposed to use them, but when I take pictures, I often switch between the two and I really don't see much difference. Is it me or the camera?

Try these five exercises for strengthening your core photo techniques

How do you become a better photographer? You can read articles in magazines like PCPhoto, study books and attend workshops. All of these pursuits will help you learn new and improved techniques for photography.

Skip to the good parts with photoshop actions and batch processing

Use ICC profiles to take the guesswork out of printing

Tips to make the most of low-light photography

Photographing a stage show basically is an exercise in photographing in a low-light, nonflash situation. I took these photos of a stage performance of the Rising Sun musical and dance troupe in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. You can use the same tips and techniques for photographing any stage performance, even one in your neighborhood, because all of the same principles apply.

Save Money on Select Canon Lenses

Save up to $125 on select Canon Lenses with our new Canon Instant Savings Rebate. Purchases eligible for this rebate must be made between October 19, 2008 and January 17, 2009.

Due to lack of financial backing

Launches New D.I.Y. Photo Kits and Carbon Fiber Tripods

Ramsey, NJ (October 23, 2008) – Manfrotto, a world leading manufacturer of professional photo and video support products, today introduced its D.I.Y. series of comprehensive athome photography kits. Designed for the enthusiast, the D.I.Y. series comprises four kits, each of which combines specific Manfrotto support products that work together as a system to assure optimal lighting results for the most common and sought after photo applications.

Firmware Upgrade For Micro Four Thirds System

Today Olympus announces a firmware update for the following five Zuiko Digital Lenses:

Five Pros to be Included on the Roster

NEW YORK (PhotoPlus Expo #1018), Oct. 23, 2008 – Sony today unveiled its professional photographer program at the PhotoPlus Expo tradeshow.