When it comes to technically perfect color photos, digital noise is viewed as a blemish, and camera manufacturers are constantly improving their sensors to minimize it. And in fact we’ve published a number of guides to removing noise from your photos. But things are different for black-and-white photos—in these, “grain” is an element that’s not just tolerated; it’s downright desirable. Here’s how to add it to your photos easily.

The first thing we notice when we look at a person is their eyes. They convey emotion and sparkle when they catch the light. On the other hand, they are a dead giveaway when you’re feeling tired. The eyes are an important aspect that should not be overlooked when shooting a portrait. It’s important to know how to photograph the eyes correctly. We’ll also show you the steps for enhancing the eyes to make them pop.

You don’t always have to get bokeh (a blurred background) in your photo during the actual shoot. Bokeh can be added to photos where there was none previously. Read on to learn how to create your own bokeh and add it to your photography. All you need is your camera, a string of lights, and Zoner Photo Studio X.

You’ll sometimes have group photos where everyone except for one person looks great. You can save group photos like these as long as you’ve taken multiple versions of the same shot. Choose a more flattering photo of the individual in question and swap it with the one where everyone else looks good. This can be done in a matter of a few simple steps.

For a landscape to be truly spectacular, you’ll want the sun in the frame so you can observe the interplay of lights and shadows. The issue is that this puts unrealistic demands on your camera’s sensor. A common solution is to take several images at different brightness levels. But how do you combine them? Auto HDR doesn’t always work. So for greater control over your results, there is a manual process you can use to ensure your results are exactly what you want.

In this article, Zdeňka shows you the editing workflow for one of her photographs. The tutorial describes how to add an object to a photo so that it looks realistic. See how this unconventional portrait came to be and get some inspiration for your photography and photo editing.

It’s happened to the best of us. You’re somewhere amazing and you want to be sure you beautifully document everything, but the weather is not in your favor. While the subject of your photograph itself may be fascinating, the sky is boring. In most cases, you can use the gradient filter and similar tools to fix it. But there are some situations where no matter what you do, the sky is not how you want it and you have to try something else. You have one last resort– replace the sky with a different one.

Photo colorization breathes new life into old black and white images. You can use the process not only to restore old family photos but also to add some magic to digital ones. Learn how to do realistic colorization of black and white images in Zoner Photo Studio X.

Intuitively you probably have a general idea of what layers are for—but can you work with them well? If you’re not sure, then read on to learn the basics and read practical tips for their everyday use.

The right amount of sharpness is crucial to all photography. Not every photo can be pin sharp, and sometimes it’s best to get rid of an outright blurry photo. Sharpness can be affected by factors such as lens parameters. As long as the image isn’t completely blurry, it can be sharpened with editing in post-production. This is a skill that will always be useful.