Want a last-minute gift based on your photos? Picking thirteen photos for a photo calendar is a matter of minutes—and the rest is just clicking.

Get inspired by our list of thirty topics you can shoot in December, and try to take at least one picture every day.

The great thing about being a photographer is that you can give your loved ones gifts that truly delight. Because who wouldn’t appreciate a printed version of their memories, or something beautiful from you that you (almost) created yourself? Immortalize your photos and make those your gift. You have several possibilities.

Photo editors have some quite powerful tools available for removing objects from photos—for example the clone stamp and healing brush.

Even though panning is a technique that’s mainly used in sports photography, you can experiment with it elsewhere too. For example you can get interesting abstract pictures by using panning on autumn leaves—that is, on something static.

Many people consider layers to be something complicated that an ordinary person can’t even understand. But they’re really something very simple that will help you and make your work easier on even the simplest jobs. Let’s go make layers a part of your work too!

Digital photo processing opens up huge possibilities—everyone is free to edit photos to match their taste and their mood of the day. But this freedom can sometimes tie you up by leaving you with so many variants that you can’t even choose among them. Or at least, I know it happens to me—all the time.

This year’s new version of the all-in-one photo software Zoner Photo Studio awaits you under a new name: X. You’ll soon discover why this year’s new features will be an extreme success in your home. But first, let’s peel off the program’s individual layers.

Lens flare in photos, including artificial lens flare, is fairly popular… though not with everyone. A lens flare can add life to a photo, giving it a story or energy. But it can also ruin a photo. Here we’ll be showing you how to add lens flare to a photo—as well as where you definitely want to avoid it.

“Delete” is one of the most useful buttons, both on your camera and on your computer. And you shouldn’t be afraid to use it if a photo is mediocre—since in the end it will help you get better.