Beyond Your Kit Lens: Cheap — But Good — Lenses for Your Digital SLR
The lens that comes packed with a single lens reflex camera is known as the "kit" lens. Professionals often buy their camera bodies and lenses separately, but almost all first-time buyers get their camera in a box that also contains the kit lens. Open the box, pop the lens on the camera, and you're ready to take photographs…

Planning for a Studio
You are a highly intelligent individual and you want to be a successful professional photographer or an advanced serious amateur. You've purchased excellent equipment, enrolled in photography's premier correspondence course, NYI's Complete Course in Professional Photography studied thoroughly…

NYIP on Myspace and youtube - Existential Central Station
These electrifying first sentences of The Stranger by Albert Camus caused a stir when first published in the 1940s. Camus's novel was considered a classic of existentialism, a philosophical movement…

Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice the Hard Way!
This month, we're glad to note that NYI Contributing Editor Richard Martin has graciously provided us with his analysis of a provocative student photograph. Students who have had the good fortune…

Off-Camera Flash Made Easy (and Cheap!)
Of all the questions we get from students, probably the most popular (after what camera, lens, etc. should I buy?) is how do I use my flash? And no wonder. Flash photography can be confusing and challenging, especially…

Available Light in the 21st Century
First, let's take a little trip back in time. When I began in the 1950's, photography was still largely a black & white medium, especially in the realm of photojournalism. Magazines were beginning to use color but…

Summertime Tune-up for Your Camera
There's nothing like an annual tune-up to keep things in tip-top condition. For example, experts advise changing the batteries in your smoke detector every fall when daylight savings time ends, anticipating the winter…

Sharp Photos
The first teacher to call in was NYI's Walter Karling, and his voice mail message was brief. "Look at the front page of today's Times," he advised. "Another victim of auto focus."…

How to use Hyperfocal Distance to get the greatest possible Depth of Field
If you haven't seen it yet, check out our Picture of The Month article. We think learning to use the hyperfocal technique is so important that we've analyzed this month's Picture-of-the-Month in terms of the use…

Incident and Gray-Card Readings
How do you meter a sunset? Or a flag backlit by the sun? Or a very dark-skinned subject? Or any other "tricky" exposure situation?…

Capturing Mermaids with a Holga
There's no better place to celebrate the Summer Solstice than the Mermaid Parade at Coney Island, so this year my boyfriend Tod and I packed up our cameras and hopped the train. Coney Island is a great place for…

How to Photograph Interiors
We all take lots of pictures indoors, and today's handy on-camera flash units make it easy to make good photographs indoors. But for most amateurs, the subject isn't the indoor space itself; instead, it is one or…

Basic Model Release
Here's a general Release Form that you are free to copy and use on your own professional jobs. We offer you this caveat, however: Our attorney advises us to tell you that we accept no responsibility…

NYI on PhotoTalk Radio!
Join NYI Dean Chuck DeLaney as he discusses his book, "Photography Your Way, A Career Guide to Satisfaction and Success." The show airs LIVE Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 8-9am Pacific Time. You can ask Chuck or…