The summer months bring heat, with heat the sun, and with the sun, sharp light. For a photographer, harsh and direct light is among the most unpleasant light there is.

When you’re getting started in photography, even camera settings can be a sack of troubles. Now add to this the fact that sometimes you pull out your camera or cell phone and quickly snap a picture without thinking. In portrait photography, this can spoil your picture—it can deform your subject’s face. So—how do portrait photos look when taken at different focal lengths? And what should you do to keep from ruining your portrait photos? Read on to find out!

Amateur photographer Mark Johnston lives with his wife and two children in Owensboro, Kentucky. We discovered Mark a short while ago on Zonerama. We didn’t wait a moment and wrote in to ask him if he as a power user of Zoner Photo Studio would answer a few photography questions for us.

Are product photos with white backgrounds starting to get boring for you or your clients? Don’t worry, it’s not your only option. Today we’ll look at a different take on

In today’s thrilling episode of Zonerama Magazine, we’ll geek out about the physics of the TV series The Flash. Did its authors go overboard when they let their super-fast hero photograph himself? Oh, and could he have used a flash? So many questions! So let’s answer them. All we’ll need is a little high-school physics.

Like many beginning photographers, you may wish for your own studio. But do you really need one? Many pro photos today are born outside the studio. In fact, more and more photographers are avoiding classical studios completely. This trend has been apparent for the past several years. So here’s a tip on how to work like a modern pro from the comfort of your home—by creating your own home studio.

You see photos everywhere. Browse the web: you see photos. Open a newspaper: you see photos. Drive to work: you see billboards with smiling models… in photos. And that’s just the situation for normal people. It’s even worse for us photographers, who live and die for photos. So how can you pick good photos out of the flood of them you see each day?

Stan Sholik has spent over four decades as a commercial, advertising and illustrative photographer in Orange County, CA. During that time he has developed a national reputation in a wide range of technology-oriented specialties for his clients in the computer, electronics, medical device and food industries.

The exposure meters built into digital cameras generally do their work well and make your job as a photographer a lot easier. But in certain complex situations they can get confused. That’s why for precise exposure metering, you can either use aids that help the camera’s built-in light meter, or use external light meters. These, the higher-quality option, measure the light actually contained in the scene.

Stan Sholik has spent over four decades as a commercial, advertising and illustrative photographer in Orange County, CA. During that time he has developed a national reputation in a wide range of technology-oriented specialties for his clients in the computer, electronics, medical device and food industries.