Wedding? Birthdays? Anniversaries? Reunions? It’s the natural place to snap photos to record your memories. We have a few hints that we’ve used to improve our snaps.

Beware of the Light
To capture the special day, we chose a quiet, scenic area. The wedding couple are relaxed and cheerful. While we have a nice pose, if you look closely, you’ll see that we haven’t done justice to the bride’s expensive wedding dress - the detail is lost.	To avoid turning the wedding dress into a blanket of snow, for this photo we’ve reduced the exposure so that the fine and delicate features of the gown are clearly visible. We’ve adjusted the exposure compensation to about -1 stop.

Great photos are born in the camera.

You’re here because you love taking pictures. Read on and you’ll find helpful hints and tips for turning your snapshots into gallery quality photographs as we show you how to get it right in the camera.

All of these tips are short and right-to-the-point. Click on any of the photos to enlarge. We’re sharing these tips with you so in hopes that you’ll discover new ways to enjoy your picturetaking even more.

Click on tips in the Tag Cloud (sidebar).

With a history dating back more than 30 years, we’re here to help you take even better photos.

We are part of Abacus, a company that was founded in 1978. As a pioneer in the personal computer and publishing industry, we’ve served millions of readers with quality books and software products worldwide. With decades of professional  photography know-how, our editorial staff stands ready to share its in depth experience with you.

Our group at Stay Focused Press is charged with delivering “how-to” for the digital photographer. We’d like to help you solve common picture-taking problems so that you can turn a mere snapshot and a great photo.