Optical micromanipulation with holographic optical tweezers offers unprecedented possibilities for manipulating microscale objects. We will discuss how holographic optical tweezers operate and illustrate their ability to manipulate and independently rotate multiple objects in three dimensions from beads to nanotubes to fluid filled vesicles. Then we will give examples of the applications of holographic optical forcing to study the microstructure and mechanical properties of soft materials, in particular actin networks and lipid vesicles.