Castle Photo

Have you ever dreamed of getting that perfect shot of your Christmas tree or home holiday lighting but found the results to be less than festive? Let us share a few tips to help you create that postcard-perfect picture to remind you of the remarkable lighting that graced your home this holiday season.
Covet the Clouds: An overcast or cloudy day can be the perfect time to photograph your outdoor holiday lights. If possible, wait until late in the afternoon or during dusk to take the photographs. Your holiday lights won’t need to compete with bright daylight, allowing them to show the warm tones and sparkle of the hundreds of tiny lamps adorning your roof lining.
Take Your Tripod: Regardless of whether you’re using a DSLR or a compact point-and-shoot camera, having a tripod will greatly assist in capturing the essence of your lights. This will help eliminate image shake, which will be especially important when shooting in low-light settings such as this one.
Be Aware of Ambient Light: Consider which light sources you have in the room and make sure that the ambient light doesn’t overpower the holiday lighting. Try a few pictures keeping a lamp light or two illuminated to see how it affects the overall image. Also consider keeping your flash off to retain the warmer tones in the room.
Adjust Your Angle: Try shooting from a number of different positions in the room. Instead of simply photographing the Christmas tree by simply shooting it in the middle of the frame, consider framing the shot where the tree is off to one side and includes the fireplace, a reading chair or some other point of interest. The tree will still be a focal point but will be showcased in a more interesting manner than a traditional head-on shot.
Play with White Balance Settings: On your camera, your white balance setting (WB) is designed to help you capture an accurate ‘white’ in your image. However, a number of things can influence the ‘true white,’ leaving the color to be more orange or blue depending upon the situation. If you’re shooting indoors and find your images are too orange, consider changing your white balance setting to ‘tungsten.’ The term ‘tungsten’ simply refers to lighting from artificial sources such as standard room lamps or overhead lighting. If you’re shooting outdoors, consider waiting until just past sunset and changing your white balance settings to ‘outdoor.’ You will still have some colorful ambient light but it will enhance, not compete, with your outdoor holiday lighting.

The Thanksgiving holiday provides us an opportunity to pause and reflect upon the many joys in our lives. That week is also considered one of the busiest travel times of the year, requiring many to venture across state lines or even cross country to celebrate with loved ones.
Here are a few tips so you won’t have to spend a moment worrying about whether your camera is ready to capture those smiling faces around the banquet table.
Preparation Pays: Those Boy Scouts know what they’re talking about when they advise us to ‘be prepared.’ This is certainly true when it comes to digital camera batteries. Make sure to pack an extra set of AA batteries or an extra rechargeable battery (depending upon your camera’s requirements). It is a very small investment and can mean the difference between getting the shots you want and hoping a relative will send copies of her pictures to you after the event is over. Stop by our store or give us a call, and we’ll make sure you have the right battery for your needs. http://tinyurl.com/4g84j6
Lens Cloths Save Time Later: Keep a lens cloth in your camera bag and spend a few seconds cleaning your camera lens before you start shooting. Finding a recurrent smudge on your favorite Thanksgiving photos can make you feel a little less joyous, and cleaning your lens before the event is far less time consuming than trying to correct the images using a photo editing program later.
Try a Travel Charger: The digital camera travel charger may be one of the most important accessories you can keep in your camera bag. You don’t need to worry about keeping up with extra cables or other attachments because our PROMASTER XtraPower Traveler series of chargers have a built in switching power supply and a flip up plug. It’s a very compact and simple charger to use. The internal 110V - 240V power supply means you can use this charger worldwide; this combined with the compact size makes it PERFECT for the traveler. http://tinyurl.com/48wpvl
Bring the Right Bag: Not all camera bags are created equal, and cramming your camera and accessories into a backpack or briefcase isn’t always the best idea. For special family visits and vacations, it pays to pack your camera and accessories in a properly-padded camera bag. There are designs for every budget and style preference, and when it comes to getting ready for a trip, a camera bag is the one accessory that can keep all your gear properly organized and protected.
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Technique Tip: Bounce Your Flash to Soften Shadows: When it comes to taking pictures of people indoors, bouncing your flash can help eliminate red-eye as well as soften shadows on your subject’s faces. All you need is an external flash for your DSLR to try this technique. Simply rotate the flash to point toward a nearby wall or ceiling—thereby ‘bouncing’ the flash off the surface—and then shoot the image. You’ll replace that harsh overexposed image with a warm effect and more natural-looking skin tones.

…by Laura Oles, Digital Photography for Busy Women



Children are notorious for being less-than-fully-cooperative when it comes to taking pictures. As the mother of twin boys, I marvel at how two kids who share the same DNA can still go opposite directions the moment my lens is in view. My theory is that this is a hidden skill kids learn in kindergarten—‘Picture Avoidance 101’—something taught between snack and recess.

With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, now is the time to prepare a plan so your kids are the picture of cooperation when the time comes to take family photos. Take these techniques on your Thanksgiving trip, and return with some fantastic family photos:

To Go Faster, Slow Down: This may sound counterintuitive but it really does work. When you’re trying to arrange a photo of your children with other family members, our instinct is to hurry and try to get everything done as quickly as possible. If you can remain calm and unhurried during the posing process, little ones are more likely to sense that calm and remain in the same state of mind.
Bring on the Bubbles: Many professional photographers keep canisters of bubbles in their studio, and for good reason—they are a great way to elicit natural smiles from children while keeping them looking toward the camera.

Mean What You Say: If your kids had a quarter for every time they hear “just one more picture” when you’re snapping those shots, they’d probably have enough money for a Toys-R-Us bender. Let them know ahead of time what to expect by asking them to stay still for five photos in a row. When it’s time to say, “Just one more,” take the last shot and keep your word. Your kids may cooperate more in the future knowing that what to expect and when it will be over so they can go back to playing Freeze Tag.

Forget Perfection: Everyone might pose perfectly and they might not; the more people you have in a photo, the trickier it can be to achieve perfection. That’s okay. If someone is looking away or one of the little ones is a bit fidgety, don’t sweat it. You’ve still captured the true essence of your loved ones and the authenticity of their smiles will show though. And that, my friends, is true picture perfection.

If you’ve found yourself the victim of an itchy trigger finger which caused you to delete all the latest photos off your digital camera card, don’t fret just yet. We have a few tips that may help you recover those images. And if it makes you feel better, plenty of people who are considered ‘computer experts,’ have made the same blunder, so don’t berate yourself too much! You may also lose images due to your media card becoming corrupted through no fault of your own; technology doesn’t always behave as it should. These things sometimes happen; here’s what to do if it does:

• Stop Everything! As soon as you realize what happened, DO NOT attempt to do anything further to the camera card. If you continue to take pictures, it will begin overwriting the files on the card. Deleted images may still be on the card (although you won’t see them listed) but taking more pictures will write the new images over that older data.

• Get to the Computer: There are many companies that offer inexpensive ‘digital photo recovery’ software and you can use this phrase as a search term online to identify the best solution.

• Choose Wisely: Before choosing a software recovery program, check to make sure that the company’s website is current and that they have positive reviews from industry magazines or associations. Make sure that the software program doesn’t write any data to the memory card as this altering can hinder recovering your photos. Most companies explain (on their website) how their product works to retrieve digital photos.

Stop by the Store: Come by our store and bring your digital camera with you. We’d be happy to take a look at the digital camera card to see if we can get those precious photos back for you

Photographing excited (and constantly moving) costume-clad children at night can pose a few challenges, but taking great Halloween pictures can be a snap if you use a few simple techniques.

Use that Jack-o-lantern! Jack-o-lanterns can serve as great props as well as a creative light source for super-spooky shots. You can pose your children close to the jack-o-lantern—either with the pumpkin below their faces or in a silhouette pose, and the light coming from inside will cast a soft and scary light on their faces.

Go for the Action: Go beyond the traditional ‘say cheese’ shot and snap pictures of your trick-or-treaters on the go! Consider photographing them from behind as the run down the sidewalk, fully costumed with treat bags in tow, or walking up the steps to a neighbor’s house. Have them act the part of their costumes and keep snapping!

At Dusk-- To Flash or Not to Flash: Most trick-or-treaters try to hit the trail before dark, and using natural light as the sun goes down can yield some wonderfully warm Halloween images. Turn off your flash and use natural light to capture the rich colors of the costumes and painted faces. If possible, snap some of your shots before dark; your Halloween photos will contain a nice range of moods between the dusk and nighttime hours.


Nighttime Shots: The right flash can make all the difference when it comes to creating that perfect image. Most cameras have a flash that is effective somewhere between five and ten feet from the subject; just don’t stand too close or else you may find your picture looks too bright or overexposed.

If you shoot using a DSLR, a high-quality add-on flash unit can greatly improve your images and allow you to capture fantastic nighttime pictures. PROMASTER has the most complete flash line in the industry with a product to suit everyone's needs and budget. http://www.promaster.com/electronicflash

Digital Photography for Busy Women..by Laura Oles

I go through the same thing every year.

Part of me is sad to see summer end while another part of me craves having my family back on a regular schedule. It’s the yin/yang dance of organized and carefree natures trying to occupy the same space. Thankfully, there’s room for both, and we can help our kids recall all those fantastic summer memories while still building expectation for the wonder and fun that the back-to-school season brings.

Bulletin-Board Memory Lane: Buy a bulletin board and hang it in your kitchen or other common area of your home. Print some of your favorite summer photographs and tack them to the wall along with hand-written notes about what makes that picture so special. You can put a jar on your kitchen counter and have your kids write their favorite memories to be added to the board. To add even more journaling, consider buying a bulletin board that also has a dry-erase side; you can keep the conversations going by writing messages to one another about your summer trips and the photos displayed on the board. It can become an ongoing conversation and a great way to stay connected once the bustle of school starts.

Once school starts, take pictures of the first day of school and add a few of those images to the board as well as a few pictures of your children’s friends. Now your kids can enjoy the end of one season and the beginning of another.

Mini-Scrapbook: If your children are a bit anxious about going back to school, print some photos and purchase up a mini scrapbook kit. Let them create their own ‘my favorite summer memories’ book to keep in their backpacks once the season starts. If you’d like to add the element of surprise, take a CD of your favorite images to your local photo store and have them print a mini photo book for you. Place the book inside your child’s backpack so she’ll find a nice surprise once she’s at school and getting settled.

“Why I Love This Picture…” Here’s a simple project that takes only a few minutes but is guaranteed to put a smile on your child’s face. Print your favorite summer pictures and keep them in the kitchen drawer with a pen. Each Monday, pick a photo and write a special message on the back of the picture to your child. You can create a new tradition, and you can be certain she’ll keep each one. Collect all these pictures at the end of the season and put them on a bulletin board or in a photo book for your child to treasure.

Trust me.

She will.

--Laura Oles is a photo industry journalist and the author of Digital Photography for Busy Women.