I'm sure that we have all at one point been face with the dilemma of what to give mom for Mother's Day. It can be difficult to pick out the perfect gift for mom that shows her just how much you love her.
This year save yourself the stress of figuring out what kind of flowers to buy and give mom something that will last forever. This year give mom a photo gift specially picked out (and maybe even designed) by you! The best part of photo gifts is that many most can be made with online companies. And even better, most companies have Mother's Day deals!
When I'm shopping for photo gifts, I most often use Shutterfly. The website is fairly easy to navigate and they typically have the best deals. And if you sign up for a free account, you'll get emails with special offers and sometimes even free gifts! The site offers options such as simple photo prints, canvas prints, photo cards, photobooks, mugs, and even iPhone cases, all of which can be fully customized with your memories!
Shutterfly is currently having discounts for Mother's Day that you are not going to want to pass up. Some of these discounts include, 20% off of photo books, 50% off of calendars, 50% off of notebooks, 50% off of prints and posters, and 20% off of desktop plaques. And if those deals were not enough, they are also offering free shipping for orders that are over $30. You'll get great deals on gifts that your mom will want to show off to all her friends.
Some of my favorite Shutterfly products are their photo books and desktop plaques. Both products are classy and practical. Photo books can be put on the bookshelf next to your other photo albums, or left on the coffee table for guests to view. Photo book design is also incredibly easy on Shutterfly. They allow you to fully customize and design your book yourself, or you can pick a template and they will design the book for you in a matter of seconds. And a nice extra piece to photo books is that you can share them online! So your mom will be able to email all her friends and post your photo book all over Facebook. It's a low stress, simple project that your Mom will cherish. Desktop plaques are a cute modern spin on a picture frame. It's a simple photo printed on an easel back plaque. It looks great on an office desk or on a side table or shelf in your mom's house. What I love most about the desktop plaques is that it saves me the hassle of framing. There's no need to worry about what frame would look best in your mom's house, the desktop plaque looks great anywhere!
This year save yourself time and stress and just order online. You cannot go wrong with photo gifts for Mother's Day. Your mom will cherish the memories that you put together in a unique photo gift for her this year!
-Andrea, Captured Magazine
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Let's Talk Lenses
Buying lenses can be incredibly overwhelming. It seems like the best ones are super expensive, but you don't really want to waste money on cheap lenses every few years. There is also a wide variety of lenses out there, that it can be near impossible to make a choice.
When it comes to buying camera lenses I struggle with the same things. I find myself spending hours upon hours on the internet searching for good, decently priced lenses that will do what I want it to. And because lenses cost so much money, it makes it so much more stressful. I tend to want a lens that I could take out for everyday shots, but also something that I could use when shooting portraits.
I recently discovered the beauty of a 500mm f/1.8. I never thought I would find myself buying a prime lens. I was convinced that it would limit me when shooting. I was sure that I would find myself claustrophobic when using the lens because I would be unable to zoom in and out.
I was incredibly wrong. I have the hardest time taking the lens off of the camera. I am absolutely in love with it.
It's great for everyday use because it's small and light weight, I can just grab my camera and head out the door. My clunky camera almost feels "compact" with the lens on. It's also great for indoors and outdoors. The wide aperture range allows you shoot in lower-light situations without the flash, which I absolutely love. It's great for portraits because you can get a great or small depth of field easily. And it can even take a decent close up shot. It produces great sharp images and the price makes it great for a starter lens. Most 50mm lenses run around $100, which is one of the cheapest lenses out there. You can't really go wrong with a price that good, and let's be honest, it sounds pretty sweet telling your friends that you shoot with a prime lens.
When it comes to buying camera lenses I struggle with the same things. I find myself spending hours upon hours on the internet searching for good, decently priced lenses that will do what I want it to. And because lenses cost so much money, it makes it so much more stressful. I tend to want a lens that I could take out for everyday shots, but also something that I could use when shooting portraits.
I recently discovered the beauty of a 500mm f/1.8. I never thought I would find myself buying a prime lens. I was convinced that it would limit me when shooting. I was sure that I would find myself claustrophobic when using the lens because I would be unable to zoom in and out.
I was incredibly wrong. I have the hardest time taking the lens off of the camera. I am absolutely in love with it.
It's great for everyday use because it's small and light weight, I can just grab my camera and head out the door. My clunky camera almost feels "compact" with the lens on. It's also great for indoors and outdoors. The wide aperture range allows you shoot in lower-light situations without the flash, which I absolutely love. It's great for portraits because you can get a great or small depth of field easily. And it can even take a decent close up shot. It produces great sharp images and the price makes it great for a starter lens. Most 50mm lenses run around $100, which is one of the cheapest lenses out there. You can't really go wrong with a price that good, and let's be honest, it sounds pretty sweet telling your friends that you shoot with a prime lens.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Convergence and the Idea of Geotagging
For some of you out there, this idea of 'Geotagging' may be new. Geotagging is when a photograph is associated with a geographical location; when a photograph is taken with a camera that has built-in GPS, it registers a longitude, latitude and sometimes an altitude of the location of where the photo was taken.
This new convergence between GPS technology and cameras is innovative and a pretty cool idea. But when it comes down to dollars and cents, is it worth your money? Do you really need a camera that does this? As a society today, we make it very convenient to do the most amount of things, with the least amount of devices. Take a cellphone for example. Originally, a cellphone was used to make phone calls. Next, came texting, which was a huge step in wireless communication and still is today. Next came web-browsing and email, and apps and social media and the list goes on and on.
So this idea of convergence is nothing new, but just because we can do something, doesn't mean that we should, or that it benefits us to do so. Is combining GPS and photography useful? So what if you know the exact location of a photograph. You were there, you know where you took the photo. I myself don't mind the idea, but I wouldn't choose to spend extra money for a feature that, when it comes down to it, isn't that useful. Feel free to post your thoughts on the idea, and a poll will be put on our homepage so you can cast your votes on how you feel about the subject. Get out and get creative!
-Dan, Captured Magazine-
This new convergence between GPS technology and cameras is innovative and a pretty cool idea. But when it comes down to dollars and cents, is it worth your money? Do you really need a camera that does this? As a society today, we make it very convenient to do the most amount of things, with the least amount of devices. Take a cellphone for example. Originally, a cellphone was used to make phone calls. Next, came texting, which was a huge step in wireless communication and still is today. Next came web-browsing and email, and apps and social media and the list goes on and on.
So this idea of convergence is nothing new, but just because we can do something, doesn't mean that we should, or that it benefits us to do so. Is combining GPS and photography useful? So what if you know the exact location of a photograph. You were there, you know where you took the photo. I myself don't mind the idea, but I wouldn't choose to spend extra money for a feature that, when it comes down to it, isn't that useful. Feel free to post your thoughts on the idea, and a poll will be put on our homepage so you can cast your votes on how you feel about the subject. Get out and get creative!
-Dan, Captured Magazine-
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Discount Gear
Hello, and welcome back to Captured! Today we were thinking about how expensive it is to be a photographer at any skill level. Here at Captured we understand that not everyone has deep pockets to keep drawing from whenever you have gear needs. So in the spirit of keeping photography fun for everyone, we have looked around to see where you can get the best bang for your buck!
Newegg.com caught our eye when we saw how many good deals they offered. Newegg offers weekly deals on both Point & Shoot and DSLR cameras, so no matter your budget they have something for you and your skill level. So you already have a good camera, but need accessories? Well you're in luck, because Newegg.com has everything you will need to get out there and start finding your shot.
Here at Captured we strive to make photography more enjoyable and affordable for photographers of all ages and skill levels. With all this in mind get up, get out there, and stay creative!
-The Captured Magazine Team-
Newegg.com caught our eye when we saw how many good deals they offered. Newegg offers weekly deals on both Point & Shoot and DSLR cameras, so no matter your budget they have something for you and your skill level. So you already have a good camera, but need accessories? Well you're in luck, because Newegg.com has everything you will need to get out there and start finding your shot.
Here at Captured we strive to make photography more enjoyable and affordable for photographers of all ages and skill levels. With all this in mind get up, get out there, and stay creative!
-The Captured Magazine Team-
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Welcome to Captured!
Hello everyone, and we're glad that you have chosen to be part of the Captured family. For those of you that are new to Captured, we are a monthly, national magazine that focus' on the everyday photographer. Our magazine is filled with how-to's, critiques on the latest products, and just great professional-grade advice that will turn your beginnings with photography into something extraordinary, all for an affordable low price.
Our passion for photography leads us to helping new photographers of all ages find their inner artist. We want to guide you every step of the way with great tips and ideas to provoke creativity and hone skills that will produce a life filled unlimited possibilities.
Our magazine offers ways to improve your photography, but us at Captured want to take this a step further. We will be posting weekly blogs that will greatly add to the already teeming tips and tricks that we offer in each issue, all for the very low cost of nothing! We want to help you become a better photographer, and hope that you will continue to support us as we support you. I hope you enjoy Captured!
-The Captured Magazine Team-
Our passion for photography leads us to helping new photographers of all ages find their inner artist. We want to guide you every step of the way with great tips and ideas to provoke creativity and hone skills that will produce a life filled unlimited possibilities.
Our magazine offers ways to improve your photography, but us at Captured want to take this a step further. We will be posting weekly blogs that will greatly add to the already teeming tips and tricks that we offer in each issue, all for the very low cost of nothing! We want to help you become a better photographer, and hope that you will continue to support us as we support you. I hope you enjoy Captured!
-The Captured Magazine Team-
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