Hey everyone, I hope you found my first Gift Buying Guide useful. I don't know how many of you out there have started your holiday shopping, but I know I haven't! If nothing in last week's post met your needs, I hope this week you will find at least one useful accessory that would make a good gift for a photographer. Many of these suggestions came from our very own showroom and phone sales staff. If any of you out there have suggestions, feel free to chime in on the comments or e-mail me at [email protected]. Here's to another great week of shopping and shooting! Next week will be Part III in the mad rush leading up to Christmas!
1. Rogue Flash Bender
So your cousin Jerry just got an SB-600 or 430 EX II flash for his camera. He's all fired up to take the holiday pictures this season, but oh no, he's pointing the flash directly at everyone, ruining the pictures and making it a Christmas Nightmare! Everyone's faces are blown-out to a bright white glow and there are ugly shadows everywhere! Help Jerry take better flash photography pictures with a Rogue Bender! They come in a few different sizes and are extremely useful. Use the bender as a flag or giant shovel fill card. Sure you can make your own out of some cheap foam, but it won't be as flexible or customizable as a Rogue bender. A big expensive flash pointed directly at your subject is just like using a bigger pop-up flash. The best strategy is to bounce the flash off of a big white ceiling and/or wall, but that wall or ceiling isn't always white. Sometimes it isn't there at all! In these situations you need something inexpensive and simple like the Rogue Bender. Those who insist on using the pop up flash on their DSLR should check out the Gary Fong Puffer!
[caption id="attachment_2509" align="aligncenter" width="221" caption="The Super Useful Rogue Flash Benders"]
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2. Westcott Umbrella Kit
The term "studio lighting" shouldn't be an intimidating phrase for any photographer. You don't need to be a professional photographer to light your own photos. For many beginners, anything outside of what they've already bought seems excessive. "I just spent $250 on a flash, why would I need to spend more on anything else? I mean, I'm not a professional." I've lost count of how many times I've heard that dreadful phrase, "I'm not a professional"! Well guess what? While photography may just be a hobby for you, at the end of the day, everyone wants to make better photographs. This great Westcott Umbrella kit comes with everything you need to get started in off-camera lighting. (Depending on your camera setup, you may need a way to trigger the flash; always check first.) A solid 8ft lightstand, umbrella adapter for your flash, and a nice big umbrella with a removable black cover make for a very good beginner setup. Stop being lazy and take the darn flash off camera! If you know you're getting a flash as a gift, add this to your wish list.
3. Slingshot 202AW
Everyone is guilty of it. You start off on the NJ Transit train (or any other metro rail of your choice) with your camera in hand, excited to take some pictures in the city, walking into an art gallery, or maybe visiting the MSG to see the Knicks rock the Garden. (Don't forget they are actually good this year -- take pictures so you can actually believe it for yourself.) All of the sudden, you're essentially in a mosh pit of grumpy New Yorkers and tourists and your camera is under attack from ferocious shopping bags and people too busy to look up from their smart phones to notice you. Oops, there goes your 24-70 f/2.8 onto the ground! There's an easier way folks -- bring a bag! Going into the city with a camera bag is usually a hassle. A backpack is bulky and awkward and a shoulder bag is even worse. A sling-bag like the Lowepro Slingshot 202 AW will get you through a number of urban scenarios. Having fast access to your camera is a must and so is protection; the Slingshot 202 AW offers both and is one of the top selling bags on the market. It's reasonably priced and makes an awesome holiday gift for any photographer that likes to travel with their camera. The Slingshot also comes in a smaller 102 AW and larger 302 AW sizes.
4. Nik Software
A warm cup of coffee turns cold as you fall asleep at your computer trying to learn the ins and outs of Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop is a very powerful tool and it pays to know how to use it to edit photographs, but you can't learn it overnight -- it takes years to master. You may prefer Lightroom like I do for working with many images from the same shoot, but there isn't quite as much flexibility or precise control as there is in Photoshop. The good news is that while you continue your path to Photoshop expertise, you can still use many creative filters and effects. NIK Software makes a variety of products that specialize in Sharpening, B/W Conversion, Noise Reduction, HDR, and overall image enhancement. Turn that cloudy winter day into a stunning landscape. NIK Software uses sophisticated, but easy to use (all you do is click) "Control Points" that sense texture, color, and tone in an image. This helps you darken skies, brighten foregrounds, etc... without having to use tedious layer masks. There are versions for both Photoshop and Lightrom.
[caption id="attachment_2504" align="aligncenter" width="204" caption="The NIK Software Complete Collection"]
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5. Gorilla Pods
The Joby Gorilla Pod is one of the most notorious products in photography. Some bitter armchair photographers (people who don't make photographs, just talk about cameras) complain about how useless Gorilla Pods are and brag about their fancy Gitzo and RRS ballhead that never get used. Little do they know that the Gorilla Pod is much more than a novelty. Joby makes a variety of Gorilla Pods; some are best for point and shoot cameras, while the more expensive version can hold up to 11lbs! That's enough for an SLR with a 70-200 f/2.8 lens attached. So what's the big deal, you have a tiny tripod made out of balls!? Well, have you ever tried shooting from extremely low angles? Shooting from such a low angle can create a dramatic effect, especially if you have a dominant foreground subject. Try shooting low with a wide angle lens, I promise you will like the results. Picking out the right Gorilla Pod is easy, you just have to know what camera you're going to put on it. If you're buying it for a friend, just ask what camera/lens they use the most. The Gorilla Pod does more than just get low. It can be manipulated and wrapped around a tree branch, sign post, etc... which makes stabilizing your camera easy when you don't have your super Gitzo on you. The Gorilla Pod goes nicely with the Slingshot AW202 bag for the photographer on the move. Joby also makes Gorilla Pods to support mobile phones and even makes a really handy LED flashlight version which is a great gift for anyone, photographer or not.
BONUS
Ok I know in my first Gift Buying Guide that I said I would keep everything under $300. I kept the main 5 items true to that criteria, but thought it would be worth mentioning a really awesome deal right now. If you're in the market for a Canon DSLR, you can get a serious rebate on a PIXMA 9000 Mark II or PIXMA 9500 Mark II. Alone, each printer has a mail-in rebate of $100 and $200 respectively. However, when you purchase the printer WITH a DSLR, you can get even more savings. For example, when you buy the EOS 5D Mark II, 7D, Rebel T1i, Rebel T2i, or 60D with a PIXMA 9000 Mark II,, you get a $400 rebate! Wow, so even if you already have a nice printer, you can "re-gift" and not feel bad about it because you just gave your friend a $450 printer. Here is a list of all of our great rebates. For a super extra-special time sensitive deal on the 60D or 7D purchased with a PIXMA 9500 Mark II, please call us!
[caption id="attachment_2506" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The PIXMA 9000 Mark II, 13x19" High Quality Photo Printer "]
[/caption] -MZ