Hardware How-Tos

Shooting Photographs for the Web

Photos that look great as large prints can shrink into muddled, fuzzy messes when viewed on a computer monitor or, worse, a mobile phone. Here's how to compose, shoot, and process your images so they work well on the small screen.

Creating Sharp Images: The Big Picture

To get sharper photos, you just apply the right sharpening settings in Photoshop and you’re done, right? Not quite. To create consistently sharp pictures, pay attention to important factors at every step of your photographic workflow -- especially steps that affect image contrast.

Photography Tutorial: Get the Right Light

When shooting portraits, good lighting is all-important. To make sure you have it, you can buy expensive lighting rigs and multiple flash units. Or you can spend a few bucks and carry just the right mix of sun and clouds in your pack.

Photo How-to: Gifts from the Sky

You can shoot heavenly sunrises and sunsets anywhere.

Sidewalk Serendipity

Street photography hones your vision, improves your technical skills, and heightens your reflexes. Plus, it's free and legal!

Get Dynamic in Photoshop

HDR is one of the hottest trends in photography. Learn how to shoot, merge, and tone-map photos to extend the dynamic range and produce those painted-looking results so in demand right now.

10 Quick Macro Shooting Tips

Eliminate the variables, and you'll end up with nothing but great shots.

Add Videocasting to Your Bag of Tricks

Record, edit, and publish a professional video podcast using inexpensive tools and your imagination.

Make a Pinhole Panoramic Camera

Ever feel like your life is a little too digital? Take a break and make this low-tech camera with your own hands.

Build a Tilt-Shift Camera Lens for Peanuts

This flexible camera lens produces cool optical effects, but it can cost more than $1,000. Here's how to create your own tilt-shift lens for the cost of a few materials.

Photoshop How-To: Brushstroke Bonanza

Get believable results from this digital technique that will have your photos looking like realistic pen-and-ink drawings.

Using Photoshop Lightroom, Part 2

The editing and developing tools in Lightroom beta 4 share some similarities with Photoshop and Camera Raw, but there are significant differences. Here's how to get the most out of the new tools.

Make Your Own Time-Lapse Photography System

You'll need a little ingenuity, but not much money, to assemble this system. Then have fun while time flies!

Producing Podcasts

Blogs are a good way to establish a more personal Web presence. But if you've got the talent for talk, a podcast can be an even more attractive avenue.

Photography How-to: Printing Black and White Images

When it comes to processing black and white images, digital has advantages over the darkroom. But can modern printing methods compete with output from the old days?

Sharpen Photos Smartly

What's the best time to sharpen your photos? And what's the best tool -- Camera Raw, Photoshop's Smart Sharpen, or something else? We answer these questions and more.

Framed and Exposed: Keeping Your Camera Clean

When you've got a dust problem that just won't go away, it may be time to clean the camera's sensor. But delving into your camera's guts is not for the faint of heart. Luckily, Ben Long is here to hold your hand through the process.

Digital Photography How-To: The Pros and Cons of Lens Flare

Lens flare -- whether it's in the form of brights streaks, random polygons, or an overall washed-out look -- is a hazard when you're shooting photos near a bright light source. Learn how to avoid it, and even how to exploit it to make stunning imagery.

Framed and Exposed: Out, Damn Spot!

Dust can ruin a perfectly good shot, and removing it in an image editor isn't always possible (and is never fun). Ben Long tells you how to remove dust from your digital SLR, and how to avoid it in the first place.

Ooohh! Aaahh! Tips on Photographing Fireworks

Shooting fireworks can be daunting. Here's how to prepare yourself and your digital camera so you successfully capture the rockets' red glare.