Lens Tips

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...

Autofocusing is one of the best things that's ever happened to the SLR camera. I didn't think so while testing early examples when the AF SLR era began back in 1985, but a lot of progress has happened in the ensuing two decades. Today's AF SLR cameras, film and digital, will focus more quickly and accurately than most photographers can. Naturally, the higher-end...

You should always shoot with your eyes wide open (at least, the one looking through the viewfinder). But often it pays to shoot with your lens wide open, too.

Wide apertures let in more light, so you can use a faster shutter speed in any given light level. This is handy for anything from low-light photography to action shooting.

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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...

All photos © Lou Manna

New York-based food photographer Lou Manna discusses shooting trends: "The old style of photographing food involved lots of props, edge-to-edge sharpness, dramatic, shadowy light and was shot from a high angle. On the other hand, today's...

Sun & Games Fun with the sun...and more

1. Sun Stars
Your wide-angle lens at its smallest aperture can turn the sun into a star in your photos—fitting, since the sun actually is a star. The effect occurs because the tiny aperture diffracts the incoming light rays a lot. This diffraction causes the star effect. You can include the sun as a compositional. Photo by...