Photo How To

Orest Macina says he is “a self-taught photographer interested in painting with light to capture the beauty all around us in vivid colors.” He holds a Ph.D. in Theoretical Computational Chemistry, and has worked in the pharmaceutical field. He first became interested in photography in high school, though his interest lagged through college, graduate school, career, and marriage.

Lynne Eodice is an accomplished writer/photographer and a regular contributor to Photographic magazine.

Throughout the decades, artists have depicted still life scenes--arrangements of inanimate objects--in paintings and photography. Shooting still life subjects is one of the best ways to sharpen your photographic skills. You can take your time, and your subject...

Long lenses are wonderful photographic tools. Their longer-than-"normal" focal lengths magnify everything, allowing you to get "close-ups" of subjects you can't (or don't want to) approach closely. The shorter long lenses (those in the 85--120mm range, for 35mm cameras) are ideal for portraits, because they produce a good head size at a...

Good photographs needn't be complicated.

You can often make better pictures by thinking "simple."

Instead of trying to get as much as possible into the shot, try to include as little as possible. Ideally, you should include everything that adds to the picture, and nothing else. But that's a tall order for those new to photography...

Photography is one of those things you learn best by doing it. Here are some photo projects that will help you get more out of your photography.

1. Decorate Your Home with Your Photos
Considering all the time, effort and money you put into making your photographs, you should display the best ones for all to see. A good place to start is in your own...

Next to your camera body, the lenses you use with it are your most important photographic purchases. While physically, a lens is just a collection of glass or plastic elements held precisely in position in a light-tight tube, with a camera mount on one end and some means of focusing, creatively it's your...

There are lots of special-effects accessories on camera-store shelves, and they are well worth checking out if you're into special effects. But you don't need a lot of fancy accessories to create some interesting and unusual photographic effects. In fact, if you have a basic SLR (single-lens reflex) camera—film or digital—there are several special effects you can produce with no...