Cameras and Photo Gadgetry

Point and Shoot Cameras     New this year is a KILLER camera from Canon. If you are not ready for the full blown digital SLR, but want something with more heft and power than a typical point and shoot, try the Canon PowerShot SX20IS. Wow, oh wow, 12 megapixel images and movies in HD! $369.   If you want the pocket-sized camera, I still love the Canon Digital Elph ($149). I own one myself and it’s the best combination of tiny size and good picture. I haven’t seen anything come through my Point and Shoot Camera Basics class that tops this little guy.   When it comes to features, remember that more megapixels are not always better. Unless you’re going to make a billboard, 6 megapixels is plenty. Otherwise you are just buying bigger memory cards, bigger hard drives, and waiting longer to upload. The ridiculous part is that often the camera defaults to a lower megapixel rating so it appears that the card holds more images. So your 12 megapixel camera is actually shooting at 8 or less unless you change this.   Image Stabilization is pretty important on a camera that has more than 3X optical zoon (remember digital zoom is EVIL. It CROPS your pictures. It’s not a zoom at all. Turn it OFF.) Without I.S., a tiny wiggle in your hand (even in just pushing the shutter button) becomes a big movement at the extended end of a zoomed-in lens, causing motion blur.     Digital SLRs   Still, the best is going to be for me, the Canon Digital Rebel XSi ($569). I’m NOT sending you to the pricier 15 megapixel one. The 12 meg one is FINE! Really! The link is for the kit, which I don’t love, as I think the 18mm-55mm lens isn’t enough for what most people will want. Try a 28-135 lens instead.     Photo Gadgets This year when a family member asked for an MP3 player, I discovered this amazing little SanDisk gadget. It plays songs, as well as lets you view photos AND videos. Since our cameras all do little videos now, this is the perfect thing to slip in your purse or pocket. Who needs wallet photos anymore? Just load up your updated pictures into this! And best of all? Only $49.   I freely admit to being a Canon girl. Among the entry-level digital single-lens-reflex cameras, I find them the easiest to use. Nikon buries the menus and makes it difficult to make simple setting changes. But if you love Nikon, definitely the D-series are a good choice ($464 for the D3000).

Private Lessons and Classes

Fancy cameras are no good if you don’t know how to use them! Most people don’t realize that a digital point and shoot camera used in the “automatic ” setting will take WORSE pictures than a point and shoot.   For gift certificates for private lessons bought between now and Christmas, buy one hour of lessons for $65 and we’ll double it for a two-hour session.   Just call or email me and I’ll get you a cute little gift certificate.    This year I got to do so many fun lessons. Dad brought the kids to the park while Mom learned how to photograph them. We set up a little space by a window in another mom’s home where she could take portraits of her baby. I got to teach a jewelry maker how to photograph her work and a knitter how to get images up on Etsy of her products. And boy, did I do a lot of Photoshop lessons. Seems everybody wants to touch up their pictures.   Gift certificates for private lessons are good for a year.   OR! Take one of my classes at UT! I will be teaching both my beginner Point and Shoot Camera Basics and my intermediate Photography Walking Tour of UT (for both Digital SLR and P&S cameras) in March. Search for photography classes at UT Informal Classes. If you want a more in-depth series of classes, look for my friend Carlos Austin’s courses for beginning digital SLR users.

For the kids

The girls’ book on how to make balloon animals is going great! It made it all the way up to #26 for Kid Crafts on Amazon last week. We were thrilled!   Since so many people asked where to get pumps and balloons, we found a company that provides supplies to professional balloon twisters and made a little kit of the book, a pump, and 20 balloons. It’s on special through Christmas for $16.95 and use the code shipfree09 and you won’t pay shipping either!   If you would like the book signed by the little authors, you can let them know the inscription in the shipping instructions.   Check it out at Casey Shay Press.

]]> http://deannaroy.com/2009/12/2009-digital-camera-and-gadget-buying-guide/feed/ 0 http://deannaroy.com/2009/08/glorious-nuptials/ http://deannaroy.com/2009/08/glorious-nuptials/#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 03:22:01 +0000 Deanna http://www.deannaroy.com/?p=375 The majority of my photography-related work can be found at my studio site, but this is a special case, the marriage of two of my best friends. I had the great honor of photographing their ceremony.

We went to Canada since it is illegal for these two wonderful people to get married here in Texas or, for that matter, the majority of this country.

I don’t see a day very soon that this issue will change here, but we can keep working toward that goal.

So many new babies were born:

We had a lovely spring:

And new studio shots were very fun:

Now it’s time for the big Longhorn game!
(What a difference one vote makes–this mama didn’t know she had an Aggie in her Longhorn photo until she saw the proofs!):

Thank you all for a great year!

I found some small LED lights for your children to hold in a lovely solemn image that can stand for peace, for hope, or, as this sample shows, a reminder of the holiday’s origin. You can go either secular or religious depending on how we word your card. Multiple children can hold lights together, or we could give the whole family a go.  Email or call me (512-347-0081) to talk about if this image will work for the ages of your children. If not, I have a brand new gallery of all my holiday card options to go through. There are some especially wonderful ones for baby’s first Christmas.

Despite the many trials in 2008, it IS a great year to be a Longhorn! The Littlefield Fountain on the South Mall of campus has been fully refurbished, so I took a shot of it during one of my photography classes to use for cards. Most any studio or outdoor shot will work with the card, but it’s really fun if you flash your Hook ‘Em Horns! (I also have UT photo ornaments for great Christmas gifts at $12!)

Last year I also shot the Zilker Christmas tree for cards. It makes a gorgeous card, and a perfect expression for those of you who love Austin as much as I do. Let me know if you want to use this card backdrop, as we should shoot the image carefully to match.

The tree is decorated and I think it’s the loveliest version of it I’ve ever created. Last year I spent the day after Christmas at Macy’s buying up amazing translucent pointsettias and gorgeous pinecone balls to dress the tree.

It’s definitely time to call or email me so that we can fit you in for the season! I still have maybe four or five slots where I could do outdoors with the sleigh if you want that instead.

I can’t wait to see you!

So what if it’s Texas and snow is a once-in-a-decade thing. We’re having a great time with the sleigh shoots! The dogs have been so much fun and the kids love to jingle the sleigh bells!

Some of you moms have insisted this is an odd year, and you couldn’t get yourself together in October, so I added one more weekend to the sleigh special, Nov. 1-2.

Come on out while the weather is so amazing. Thank goodness for fall!

Regular studio holiday portraits will begin Nov. 3. I’ve already begun booking them, so feel free to call and reserve your slot. I’ll have the new sample shot very soon–it’s a lovely one to send out during a trying year.

It is time for the sleigh special! It will run from Oct. 2-26. If you already know you want to do it, here’s the schedule, find a slot!

I have the PERFECT spot for these images in the back of Boulder Park, just four blocks from my studio. In a new section of the park, we have a little lane that takes a turn just in front of some evergreens–it’s fully shaded and looks amazing.

Bring your doggies if you have them! They can pull the sleigh! These images can be full family or kid only. No doggies? We’ll do close ups on the sleigh.

In addition to sleigh images, we’ll take traditional pictures around the park as always. See a whole gallery of family images at Boulder. The $95 sitting fee includes a portfolio that is yours to keep.

Feel absolutely free to let your friends know about the special this year. I have double the slots of last year, so plenty of room to get everyone in!

I can’t wait to see you all this year!

I decided to post an image of the sleigh on my blog, so I grabbed a camera and walked to the back door to unlock it.

And there was a deer there!

“Hello, deer!” I said. She was lying in a shady spot by the porch and sort of looked up at me as if to say, “Meh. You mean I have to get up?”

I had this elated sense of wonder that maybe she was some big symbol, that my holiday season would go well, and I would pay for this crazy sleigh I’d special ordered from Pennsylvania from an actual sleigh craftsman.

I dragged the sleigh though the living room and peeked through the door. She was still there. I opened it gently, and she peered at me lazily. I wasn’t totally sure she was going to move! I wondered if she were hurt, but she seemed perfectly serene.

When I started shoving the sleigh through the door — it was a tight fit — the racket did startle her. Still, as I pulled it onto the porch, she leisurely stood up and walked away a few feet to give me room.

I snapped pictures of the sleigh, and the deer kept watching. I wondered madly if I could convince her to stand by it!

I ran inside and searched frantically for some frozen corn, and finding none, opened a can, rushing back outside. She was still out there!

I made a small pile of corn and backed off, sitting in a chair to wait. She walked away from it, looking back at times, but showed no interest in food.

Eventually a motorcycle roared down the street and this noise startled her enough that she headed into the woods. I snapped more shots of her, knowing I could photoshop the two of them together if I wanted, and waited for the girls to come home, still giddy and elated that a deer of all things had come to visit as I finished my sleigh, like a little gift.

Sadly, I didn’t see the doe anymore, but since the sleigh was outside, I dressed up the girls so we could do a sample shot. We don’t have any dogs, but I’m encouraging families who do to bring them to the outdoor special in October. It will be a hilarious family portrait, the kids in the sleigh, the dogs “pulling” it, and the parents behind as if to send the sleigh down the lane. I will be doing sample shots with this in the next week or two.

The schedule is up for you early birds, although I won’t send any information out officially until I have my sample shots. I have double the number of slots as last year, as I do plan to take out an advertisement. Feel free to go ahead and reserve a slot if you know you want to do an outdoor sitting (then forward it to your friends!) We will do a whole session of sleigh, family poses, and kid shots in the grass, trees, and landscape of the park.

Indoor holiday shoots will begin November 1. I’ll have that schedule up in a few weeks. Can you believe this will be my 10th Christmas? Some of you have been with me all ten years! Thank you!

View the October outdoor special.

Just kids having a blast. Click for more information on the special.

From May 17-31, come take the cutest shot there ever was for Dad’s big day! Bring your little ones, some of dad’s shirts and ties (or borrow some of ours–we have plenty!) and put on the fedora!

Dad will be sure to love his kiddos playing dress up just for him. Mom, feel free to jump in a shot too!

This special costs $45 and includes a 5×7 of your favorite shot for Dad’s desk. Feel free to bring other outfits if you need other portraits done at the same time.

Appointments are any day Monday-Saturday, including several opportunities for school-aged siblings to jump in and get shots together during the special:

Saturday May 17
Saturday May 24
Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day)
Saturday May 31

Email Deanna or call her at 512-347-0081 to reserve your slot!

One small note: oh, man, did spammers take over my email address. I’ve been getting as many as 1,000 “mail not delivered” and spam hatemails a DAY. If I do not seem to return an email to you, first check your spam filter as I’ve probably been blacklisted and thrown there with the other scoundrels (and victims). Second, CALL me. I may have accidentally deleted your email in the torrent of junk I’ve gotten. I’ll be creating a new clean, unstolen email address shortly, but it’s a long process to switch over. (OOOOH, those dirty rotten spammers!)

I took my very first bluebonnet baby shot a very long time ago, when I was pregnant in 1998, by taping a sonogram image to a bluebonnet. I was so jealous of everyone nestling their little ones in the blooms that I couldn’t wait! It’s a good memory, before the bad ones came, and I still have the photo framed on my wall with bluebonnet shots of the girls.

My next baby, Emily, arrived at the tail end of bluebonnet season in 1999. I dragged her out into the bluebonnets for a squinty unhappy newborn picture–but yes, I had it! My baby in the state flower!

Elizabeth arrived just after bluebonnet season in May 2002, so by the next year, I was ready for a spectacular shot. I had seen many professional images by then, and I knew exactly what I wanted. This was a stellar year for the blooms, and they prolifically filled a spot in Zilker Park. We did an amazing shot of Emily’s entire playgroup joining hands, and I also snapped the one of Emily and Elizabeth laughing at the tea table.

The next year, Zilker mowed the field and it didn’t bloom at all. Then they began using it as a shortcut, so tire tracks wrecked most of the blooms. While this year wasn’t stellar, they were enough that I returned to that spot to take portraits of the girls. Those blooms waned quickly, so I’m not using it for others at this point, but I have always loved the trees at the edge of this patch and it is a good memory for me!

I’ve felt very honored to take so many family bluebonnet portraits this year. It’s is such a wonderful tradition.