How can you give photos just the right look, one that lets the right colors shine through? The blending modes in Zoner Photo Studio are your friend here—especially the Multiply, Soft light, and Lightness modes. In this article we’ll explain what they are and how they work. Most edits in Zoner Photo Studio lie on a temporary layer until you apply them, and that layer can be blended into the picture in various ways, called modes. To pick the most useful mode for a job, you need to know how modes work and what kinds of image information go best with which modes.

Every family has their photos, the ones that capture exceptional moments—times of joy and pain. How should you approach this kind of photograph? What are the things to avoid and rules to respect? To learn all this and a little more too, read today’s article.

Items shot with a white background are a classic you can use almost anywhere. Read on for the ins and outs of these standard shots.

I’m sure you’ve heard the word exposure. But you might not be sure that you know what it means. And if you’re unsure, this article is for you. A photo’s success depends on many different things—such as light conditions during the shot. But it also depends on correct camera settings, and especially the three exposure settings: time, aperture, and ISO. You, the photographer, need to choose values that both give you correct exposure (how dark or light the photo is) and help you express what you want to express. These settings affect your expression because they influence how time and space are recorded in the photo.

TFP is something you should learn about, even if just for the fact that many professional photographers and models are less than thrilled about the TFP trend. TFP (Time for Prints) is a form of transaction in the photography business world where neither side charges the other side money. The model gives the photographer their time, and the photographer gives the model presentation photographs.

It may have already happened to you: you needed to quickly find a photo of your parents, or pick the best out of a set of mountain photos. But your pictures were scattered all over your disk, so just browsing normally, you were helpless. And yet, there is something that helps with precisely this job. What is it? It’s keywords! Keyword-tag your photos, and searches like these become a question of seconds.

Join me for a look at one of the most famous focal lengths in history. It’s the fixed-fifty lens. This is a lens of many faces. There are lots of different fixed fifties on the market, ranging from thrifty to luxury. But why are these lenses a perennial favorite, and why should they be in everyone’s bag?