Family Tips

Looking for great holiday photo gifts that are affordable and sure to be appreciated? Here’s our lineup of sub-$50 swag.  From prints to printers, from pillows to penholders, we’ve prepared a panoply of photo presents you’ll be positively proud to proffer—or possess.

Gifts for photographers? We have some suggestions—20 of them. And don't forget to treat yourself—you deserve it. You what?! Oh well, treat yourself anyway.

Making an avoidable mistake can cost you a great shot, your precious inner tranquility, and sometimes cold cash. Everyone blunders now and again; missteps are an integral part of the trial-and-error method of learning (which I have always maintained is the best way to learn photography at the deepest level). But there are a few goofs that I hope I’ve learned to steer clear of.

It’s November, and that means retail stores and malls are shifting into end-of-year holiday decoration mode. Soon the red-suited elf will be shaking his bell outside the train station. Is it rushing the season? You be the judge. One thing we know for sure: it’s not too early to pick up a few new ways to give your holiday photos that extra sparkle.

If you have a recent iPhone it probably defaults to Live Photo and stores images as files that have an HEIC file name extension. Here’s how to change the default to shoot regular still images and save them as the JPEGs you’re accustomed to. But HEIC (High Efficiency Image File format), better known as HEIF, is better than JPEG in many ways, and after learning a bit about it you may not want to revert back to your old, comfortable JPEG files.

It's been said a billion times but it's worth repeating: The best camera you'll ever use is the one you have with you when you need it. Mirrorless marvels and DSLRs are wonderful photo-making machines, but there are times when they're too large or heavy to be convenient—and that's when the compact camera shines. Here's a selection of high-performance compact cameras you can order from MPB today.

All photos by Chris Ameruoso unless otherwise indicated

By the end of 1998, Chris Ameruoso found himself at a major crossroad. As someone who had spent most of his youth performing in a family rock band, he had moved to Los Angeles about 10 years previously "with a dream of music." Then suddenly he switched gears, and found his calling shooting portraits of...