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How-To

Valuable tips, tricks and techniques for every step of the photographic process.

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  • How to Photograph Snowflakes

    A dedicated photographer makes snowflakes hot - and shows you how.
    • By Lori Fredrickson on December 16, 2008

    "No two snowflakes are alike." It's a phrase repeated so often that most of us accept it as fact. But, as Julie Falk points out, it's not a scientific idea at all -- it was simply a theory posited in 1898 by Wilson Bentley, the very first snowflake photographer, who captured close to 5,000 crystals in his lifetime.
    "The idea has always fascinated me," the 49-year-old schoolteacher, from Clinton, MI, explains. "So I decided to look for two that were alike."

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  • 2006 Holiday Gift Guide

    • By Popphoto.com Staff on December 16, 2008

    For this year's Holiday Gift Guide, we asked some of our friends in the photographic community to help us put together our master Wish List -- who better than industry pros who are constantly surrounded by cameras and gear to tell us what's hot? Below, you'll find gift suggestions from our expert panel, as well as some items we thought you should definitely consider as you shop for yoursel -- er -- your loved ones. All prices are approximate, based on online vendors.
    Happy Holidays and Happy Shopping from the staff of PopPhoto.com!

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  • Where to Shoot in December

    Where to go and what to shoot in December.
    • By Teresa Ha on December 16, 2008

    MANATEES
    When: Throughout December.
    Where: Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge, Crystal River, FL.
    What: More than 250 of these slow-moving, giant mammals spend their winters in the warm waters of Crystal River. The refuge is accessible only by boat, but guides will point out manatee hotspots.
    Tip: The best time to catch the manatees is from 7 to 10 a.m., when they venture out of the sanctuary to feed. Wade into the water, and wait for them to approach you.

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  • DSLR 101

    Helping beginners go from "Now what!?" to how-to
    • By John Owens on December 16, 2008

    DIGITAL SLRS WILL BE one of the top gifts this holiday season. According to the market research firm NPD Group Inc., 1.8 million DSLRs will be sold in the U.S. by year-end. In 2007, the number is expected to reach 2.3 million units.
    With so much photographic horsepower going into the hands of so many people, there are bound to be questions. Billions of questions. Even from those who never stray from the full-auto "green mode" and use their new DSLRs as high-powered point-and-shoots.

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  • How to Get 'Real' B&W Look from Color Photos

    Add a new dimension to your black-and-white photos.
    • By Debbie Grossman on December 16, 2008

    Do your black-and-whites look flat? The best monochrome prints have a dirty little secret: color. To get that "real" black-and-white look, use Adobe Photoshop's Channel Mixer to go monochrome, then add tone with Variations. Soon your friends will be wondering why your b&w photos look so much better than theirs do.
    Click here to launch Debbie's step-by-step instructions on converting color images to black-and-white.

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  • Sky's the Limit

    Klaus Leidorf offers a bird's eye view from his Cessna 172.
    • By Lori Fredrickson on December 16, 2008

    "Ever since iI was a young boy I liked to take photos," Klaus Leidorf says. "Now I do it from the air."
    The 50-year-old shooter, from Bonn, Germany, is an aerial archaeologist, meaning he conducts archaeological surveys from the window of his Cessna 172.

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  • Photography on the Couch

    You don't have to be crazy to be a photographer, but...
    • By Neal Matthews on December 16, 2008

    "Basically, everybody who can take pictures, does. This is something really, really deep," says Dimitrios Deliz, a leading photo industry analyst. "Why did digital photography take off so fast? Why does 80 percent of the population take pictures? It must be something close to our being."
    Those beings number 240 million and counting (80 percent of 300 million), in the U.S. alone.

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  • How to Digitize Slides

    Here are three easy methods for bringing your dusty old slides up to date.
    • By Peter Kolonia on December 16, 2008

    Got stacks of slide carousels loaded with holiday, vacation, and other family memories? Those trays hold too much personal history to be tossed, but in their current analog state, all those images are just too bulky, dusty, and, well, old-fashioned to bother with.
    Your best bet? Usher these memories into the 21st century by digitizing and burning them to DVDs. You have three choices: Use a slide duplicator on your digital SLR, scan them, or outsource the task to a slide duping house.
    ___________________________________
    SLIDE DUPLICATOR

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  • How to Perk Up Pet Pictures

    Perfect your pets, lock your auto exposures, grow a third arm and other cures for your photo woes.
    • By Timothy Edberg on December 16, 2008

    Everybody loves to photograph their pets -- but few know how to get the most out of their furry friends. Following any or all of these tips can improve your pet photography:
    1) Get down and dirty. You usually see Rover and Fluffy from above, but that's not the best angle for a portrait. Instead, flop down on the floor and meet them at eye-level; this presents them as equals in the photo and reveals their personalities.

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  • Boom & Zoom

    How to shoot big-budget, dramatic car photos on about 20 bucks.
    • By Bill Debley on December 16, 2008

    I'm always thrilled by the low-angle car photos in magazine and TV ads, so when my camera club picked "Motion" for the month's assignment, I decided to go for it.

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