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How-To

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

Most Recent: 

  • How to Take Stunning Portraits

    Portraitist Peter Bellamy offers tips on how to get the most out of your subjects.
    • By Peter Kolonia on December 16, 2008

    The best thing about shooting location portraits? You have plenty of control. If you don't like your subject's outfit, put it in shadow. Subject in a grumpy mood? Try a glass of chardonnay. Smile resembles a scowl? Go for a backlit silhouette.
    Oddly enough, though, when it comes to backgrounds for location portraits, many photographers throw up their hands and relinquish control. Often, they shoot where they find their subjects, against cluttered backdrops that, at best, contribute nothing, and, at worst, actively distract from the subject.

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  • Special Report: Photographing 9/11

    An oral history of September 11, 2001, as told by the photographers who covered the terrorist attacks on America.
    • By American Photo & The Digital Journalist on December 16, 2008

    This story was part of American Photo's September 11 Special Issue published in January, 2002, and was a co-production with The Digital Journalist (www.digitaljournalist.org).

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  • Photoshop How-To: Extension Please

    Does your picture need an extension? Filling out a composition that's too tight is as easy as 1, 2, 3.
    • By Debbie Grossman on December 16, 2008

    Sometimes you get the shot, but you blow the composition. Maybe cropping will fix the problem, but if you need more picture, not less, try extending the background. Then, if you're in the mood, add a couple of extra elements.
    Quick Tips:
    > To extend a background that has a lot of details you can afford to lose, do a crude job, then blur the heck out of it. No one will know you didn't just opt for a shallow depth of field in the first place.

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  • Capturing Nature

    TV's beloved Crocodile Hunter had a lifelong passion for photography.
    • By Russell Hart on December 16, 2008

    Steve Irwin was in the middle of wrestling a crocodile when I phoned his Australia Zoo to do an interview about his interest in photography. It was six years ago, and my family couldn't get enough of The Crocodile Hunter show since we'd gotten cable. When Irwin called me back and I heard his energetic Aussie accent just the way it sounded on TV, my first thought was that someone was impersonating him.

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  • Testing Olympus Glass at the US Open

    Our staff shooter test drives several Olympus 4/3 system digital Zuiko lenses at the US Open but finds them limited for sports by the E-330 DSLR.
    • By Jack Howard on December 16, 2008

    I was recently given an offer I couldn't refuse: an invitation to test out several Zuiko Digital lenses for the Olympus 4/3 series cameras. At the US Open, of all places. From the photo pits at Center Court. From the top of Arthur Ashe Stadium. In the press section of Field Court Seven. And from the comfort of the Olympus Box.

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  • How-To: Landscapes

    How to spin a pricey filter into pure gold.
    • By Donald Higgs on December 16, 2008

    A typical polarizing filter reduces reflections and glare on windows, water, and other reflective surfaces. A polarizer also enhances the color of the sky and clouds. For nature photographers, this is a boon for shooting midday foliage, waterfalls, and streams.
    But filter maker Singh-Ray goes the typical polarizing filter one better with its Gold-N-Blue Polarizer. This piece of high-end glass-priced from $190 to $220, based on size (direct, www.singh-ray.com)--renders those reflections as gold, or blue, or any combination of the two.

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  • Born to Run: The Unseen Photos

    A conversation with Eric Meola about his shoot for Bruce Springsteen's seminal Born to Run album.
    • By Monica R. Cipnic on December 16, 2008

    I was sitting in the front room of Max's Kansas City late one July day in 1973, reviewing a photo shoot that just had wrapped, when I was introduced to Eric Meola. A few minutes later, I happened to notice a somewhat familiar figure walk by the table and head into the back room; it was Bruce Springsteen. Eric excused himself and also went into the back room, because as it turned out that night Bob Marley and The Wailers, in their first New York City appearance, was the opening act for Bruce Springsteen in what would be a legendary six-night stand.

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  • Take Control of Your Minilab

    10 steps to getting the job done right--the first time!
    • By Michael J. Mcnamara on December 16, 2008

    Tired of getting digital prints from your local minilab or online processor that have unusual color casts, strange skin tones, off-kilter crops, or too much contrast? Sure, you could try to do a better job on your own photo-quality inkjet printer, but it's hard to resist the incredible bargains and convenience most digital minilabs and online photo processors offer-especially for big enlargements or piles of 4x6s. So before you curse the lab for messing up your photos, why not secretly take control of their $200,000 superprinters and show them how to do it right the first time?

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  • Learning from the Best

    Three great photography teachers share their wisdom.
    • By Jay Mallin on December 16, 2008

    For young photographer Ralph Clevenger it was one of those mountaintop moments-literally. As a shooter breaking into stock photography, he'd gone with his mentor, photographer Craig Aurness, to a high point above the Santa Ynez Valley to get an aerial perspective.
    As Clevenger surveyed the scene below him, Aurness asked him, "What's the money shot?"-the image that would make the whole trek worthwhile.
    Clevenger looked around. He had to admit he had no idea.
    "Turn around," his teacher suggested.

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  • 'My America,' by Christopher Morris

    Time magazine photojournalist explores the politics of patriotism.
    • By Miki Johnson on December 16, 2008

    For 15 years photojournalist Christopher Morris was known for being where the action was -- the 42-year-old has covered more than 18 foreign conflicts including the U.S. invasion of Panama, bloody battles in Chechnya, and both Iraq wars.
    But since 2000, Morris has been Time magazine's man on the ground in President Bush's inner circle. His upcoming book and exhibition at New York's Hasted-Hunt Gallery, both named My America, comprise images he took while on assignment for the magazine, although all but one went unpublished.

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