Wholesale Photo Camera Store News – in Bergen County, New Jersey / NJ

Bergen County, NJ-

The holidays will kick into high gear with Thanksgiving serving as the beginning of what is sure to be a busy and festive season. When family gathers together to celebrate, we want to make sure we’ve taken plenty of fantastic photos to remember the occasion. Here are some of our favorite tips for making sure the snaps you shoot are cause for celebration:

Get Your Gear Ready A few days before family arrives, spend a few minutes getting your gear in order. If you have images on your memory card, transfer them to your primary computer, verify they transferred without incident and reformat the camera card. Charge your camera’s battery and, if you have an external flash, make sure it’s charged with new batteries and is in working order. Also, double-check that your lens cleaning cloth is in your bag. One rogue fingerprint can kill an entire series of shots. Check out most popular cleaning supplies here.

Also, remember to revisit how to use the timer function on your camera. After all, you don’t want to just take the photos–you’ll want to be in them as well!

Understand Your Lighting Situation: If the Thanksgiving feast is being held at your home or at a nearby relative’s abode, scout the most likely areas to shoot family photos. What lighting options are available? Are there large windows nearby to lend available light? Does the room have a low ceiling and few light sources?

Surveying the possible posing locations and studying lighting can greatly improve your success rate when it comes to shooting quality holiday photos. You’ll have a sense of where the best lighting is located and can bring additional lighting if needed. You’re also much more likely to get cooperation from pint-sized subjects if you have all the tough stuff figured out in advance. All you’ll need to do is pose and shoot!

Showcase Your Storytelling Skills: Do you have an idea of what you’d like to capture this holiday season? For example, maybe the all-day cooking marathon in the kitchen always brings a smile to your face. Thanksgiving photos aren’t solely for the dinner table presentation, although that particular shot is certain to be a favorite. Document the interactions between loved ones–the offhanded laughs, the shared smiles and the candid conversations exchanged throughout the day. The outdoor football game, the long walk after an amazing meal and the kids playing in the yard are all great opportunities to create Thanksgiving memories.

Make Posing Painless: Getting everyone to cooperate is particularly important when large groups and small children are involved so your careful planning is about to pay off! When your family members know that you’ve put a bit of thought into the process, they’re more likely to realize it should be a quick and painless event!

For posed group portraits, you’re more likely to get cooperation from family earlier in the day. For elderly family members, make sure posing includes a comfortable chair for them to sit and place others around them according to height. Younger kids can sit cross-legged on the floor in front. Getting engaged smiles is an easier task if you stay connected to them. Try a remote shutter release –it’s one of the most helpful accessories you can keep in your camera bag for shooting family portraits.

Don’t Forget to Share! With so many choices online, sharing your family photos has never been easier. Just make sure to get copies to all the family members involved. For example, some grandparents have a Facebook account while others prefer to have hardcopies, so take care to send a set of printed photos if they aren’t comfortable viewing images online. Upload your photos to our web sharing site.

Bergen County, NJ- We haven’t even seen Halloween yet and the winter weather has already hit! Weather men predicted snow for today and, probably like most people, I didn’t believe them. But here we amidst quickly accumulating flakes.

The beginning of the snow outside our window this morning.

The view outside our window now.

Get any great photos of the snow? Post them on our Facebook wall or come in and make prints!! We’d love to see them!

Bergen County, NJ- If you are like most families, chances are many of your events and holiday gatherings through the years were captured on video with good intentions to watch again and again. But with life going by, as it usually does, those film reels or VHS tapes have been packed away.
Well wouldn’t it be great to go back, experience these moments like you once planned and also share them with new members of the family? There is no better time than now to transfer your VHS tapes along with 8mm, Super 8mm & 16mm film to DVD. With these past rainy months & Hurricane Irene barreling through flood zones and dampening otherwise dry houses, your keepsakes, including photos and videos, are especially vulnerable. Also with the holidays coming up fast, restored home movies make a perfect gift!

Go through your basement, dig around your attic, bring us your film reels and VHS tapes and let us do the rest. It will be great to see what’s been stored away for all this time.

Come in anytime or call us with any questions!

Bergen County, NJ - Today we received the brand new Nikon J1 compact mirror less camera. It features a 10 mp CMOS sensor, 73-point hybrid autofocus system, 1080p video & interchangeable lenses. The CMOS sensor allows for great photos in low light while the EXPEED 3 processor captures more faster. The J1 also makes getting that one great shot easier with Smart Photo Selector. Just press the shutter once and the camera captures 30 frames, takes into account exposure, focus and face recognition, and gives you 5 of the best shots to choose from. It is the perfect camera for those who want great quality, fast shooting capability and the ability to change lenses while maintaining portability.

Photo courtesy of Bob Beischer

Come in to Wholesale Photo and see the Nikon 1 / J1 for yourself and let us show you all it can do!

There is nothing worse than spending time, effort and creativity shooting and then expectantly lose all your images. Many times this is due to simple, often unknown mistakes. Here is a list of 5 ways you can keep this from happening.

1. Format a new memory card

Formatting a card before you take photos allows your camera to recognize it. This assures your files are structured correctly and risk of corruption is minimal.

2. Do not use the trash can

So you’ve done a lot of shooting and have run out of room on your card. Going through and selecting images to delete sounds like a good idea but in fact it does more harm than good. When you delete a single image, a hole is made in the memory card where that image used to be. That hole has a specific size so unless the next photo you take is exactly the same size as the photo you deleted, the hole won’t be filled precisely. This leads to images being split up between free space and files corrupting on your card. Instead, carry multiple cards and delete the bad images on your computer once you’ve uploaded them.

3. Always transfer your images to your computer with a Card Reader

Most cameras today come with their very own USB cable to connect to the computer. But this doesn’t mean you should transfer your photos by plugging your camera into your computer. When you think about it, your camera is like a little computer and connecting one computer to another means one of them is pulling power from the other. This can lead to a power surge which can zap your computer or it can drain your camera’s batteries and cause you to lose data. Transferring via card reader is also faster and more reliable.

4. Back-up your photographs to a CD or DVD

Once you transfer your photos to your computer, putting your images on a CD, or if there is a lot, a Data DVD, saves them while allowing you to format and reuse your memory card. Backing up your photographs to a disc is a sure way to protect them. As long as nothing physically damages the disc your images are safe. It also is a quick and convenient way to make prints at our kiosks.

5. Format your memory card after backing up your photographs

Formatting your memory card instead of using the delete all button erases your files completely and restores your card. Contrary to it’s definition, deleting doesn’t actually remove everything on the card’s memory. This can cause issues with file corruption because remnants of old images and files build up over time. Also, formatting allows the card and camera to work together more efficiently.

We recommend using Promaster Memory Cards. We carry SD cards and CF Cards in a variety of sizes and each card is protected under a lifetime guarantee. We will replace the card if anything were to happen to it. We also recommend backing up your images on Promaster Gold CD or DVD.

The kids have been dreaming of costumes and candy, and their excitement to hit the streets searching for sugar can be felt days before Halloween. In the frenzy for fun, make sure to take these photo tips in your bag of tricks so, when Halloween is over, you’ve got some treats of your own!

Keep the Kids’ Perspective: This holiday is all about the kids, so make sure the photos you take keep their perspective into account. Shoot lower than normal, at their eye level, as opposed to standing over them and shooting downward. The images will highlight the sense of play and connectedness to the subjects.

Have Fun with Flash: What better time to experiment with lighting than during the spooky celebration? If you’ve got an off camera flash, use it! Experiment with position and let the kids get involved, too. You can also hand out flashlights and ask the kids to strike their scariest poses. Have them hold the lights under their faces for extra spooky shots. Bump up the ISO on your camera a bit for extra help and encourage a little clowning around.

After the sun goes down, experiment with flash and without. Flash-free photos might better capture the scary aura of the evening but some other shots may escape you unless you have flash as an option. Check out our line of quality flash products here.

Grab the Glow Sticks! We use them as a signal to cars that our kids are walking on the roads trick-or-treating, but they’re also the perfect lighting accessory for tricky photos. Use them to illuminate Jack-o-lanterns, put them underneath decorations and experiment with angles to give your photos that extra eerie effect.

Now that it is officially Fall, apple picking, hay rides, harvest fests and the beautiful changing scenery are all in season. It is the perfect time to grab your camera, gather the family and take advantage of the nice weather before it really starts to get chilly!

There are plenty of happenings going on close to home this weekend.
Skylands New Jersey Botanical Gardens in Ringwood are holding their annual Harvest Fest this Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Festivities include face painting, hayrides, pumpkin painting, Octoberfest food and dancing as well as a craft fair and plant sale.

Want to mix shopping with fun for the kids? Here is a list of farms that offer hayrides, pumpkin picking, and petting zoos for the kids along with in season produce, meat and poultry, all located in Bergen County.

The 23rd Warwick Applefest is happening this Sunday from 10am to 5pm in Warwick NY. From craft and food vendors to apple picking and a children’s carnival, there is plenty to do and see.

All of these events this weekend offer opportunities for creative photographic experimenting as well as great family photos.

With all of the excitement and activities for your kids, it is a perfect time to capture candid shots and really show them in the moment without distraction.
Also, it is a great chance to play around with different lenses. Use zoom to really get close and enhance natural textures or showcase the whole view with a wide angle lens.
Simple in-camera changes can also make a big difference. Try setting the picture control according to your subject to naturally enhance the skin texture in portraits and the colors in landscapes. Shooting in continuous mode allows you to get in more frames per second when the kids are on the move. When it is super sunny and your subject is back-lit, setting the meter mode to center weighted tells the camera to meter for what is in the middle of the frame and not for the surrounding light.

Fall’s beauty is almost in full bloom, and photographers across the country are clamoring to capture the amazing turn of seasons. The trees drip with rich colors resembling garnet and jade jewels, the cool air whisks away the remains of a hot summer and the air is filled with anticipation for family-filled holidays. If you’d like to take some of fall’s finest moments and tuck them away to enjoy once the snow falls and the trees’ leaves fade away, here are a few tips:
Shoot Early or Late: Consider shooting during sunrise and sunset hours for the best lighting opportunities as these times can help you capture the richness of color around you. The morning hours may yield the best results because the air will be cleaner and largely free of dust, smog and other airborne particles. Those minute flecks in the air can have an impact on the richness and clarity of your images.

Wait for the Clouds: If you’re trying to capture the vibrancy of autumn leaves and colors, patience pays. Overhead clouds can help retain the depth of color in the foliage whereas direct sunlight is often extremely harsh and can wash out the colors you are trying to capture.

Experiment with a Polarizing Filter: While it may not work in every situation, a polarizing filter can help in those situations where bright sunlight might flatten fall colors. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different tools during your session; when you take the time to try new things, you discover additional tricks to add to your photography arsenal.

Capture Contrast: The rainbow of colors fall provides is even more gorgeous when coupled with contrast. A ruby leaf paired with green grass or weathered wood can create a more powerful image than either item photographed alone.

Stay Simple: Part of the beauty of fall can be captured in its simplicity. Zoom in close and focus on a single leaf or a small cluster of them. Spend a few minutes surveying your surroundings to find the perfect subject. It may be something completely unexpected such as an unassuming park bench or a solitary bird.

Rain Reigns: If it happens to rain in the location you wish to photograph, celebrate! The images you can capture after a rain occurs may just take your breath away. The leaves are clean and vibrant and the rain will clear away dust and other items that may get in the way of the perfect shot.

Play with Settings: If your digital camera includes settings to shoot in ‘vivid’ mode or has options to adjust saturation, use those settings to determine if the results are richer than what you would create in your standard automatic mode. You can also experiment with ‘cloudy’ settings on overcast days. Being open to experimentation may bring images that surprise and delight!

While this idea might conjure up the image of a primate sitting under a tree with a camera around its neck, it actually points to something less unique. In fact, it’s a common practice among beginning photographers. The term “chimping” refers to the habit of looking at the back of an LCD screen after each shot. It’s the constant ‘shoot and check’ that so many amateur photographers engage in. Professional shooters tend to shy away from this practice, as they strive to stay connected in the moment of what they’re photographing, knowing there’s time to review once the session or event is over. Also, most professional shooters have an outcome in mind before they begin shooting. Knowing how you want your photos to look beforehand saves time and let’s you focus on your subject.

If you find yourself constantly checking the back of your camera, try to shoot without checking your images until your session is over. You may find this approach can help you stay better connected to your subject and you might pick up moments you might otherwise miss.

With all great DSLR’s and equipment comes a bag to carry it all and there is no shortage of options. You can go with shoulder strap bags, sling bags, backpacks, toploading, etc. Basically they come in all different sizes and shapes but not so much different colors. The standard color for camera bags has been boring black.
This week we received our first shipment of camera bags made by Tenba and I am very excited about the designs and colors. We already offer a wide range of bags from Lowepro, Tamarac, and Promaster but these Tenba bags will definitely offer something new to our customers.

The first design we are offering is the shoulder bag in Vector collection. These bags are lightweight and water resistant as well as completely monochrome. They have plenty of pockets for extra cards and and extra lens as well as a microfiber cleaning cloth and a rain cover. We offer them in medium and large sizes in Oxygen Blue and Cadmium Red colors.

The second design we are carrying is the Tenba Messenger bag. This is the bag for someone who carries everything around wherever they go and it comes in a variety of colors. It is designed to hold everything you would need: laptop, camera, accessories, magazines, pens, business cards, etc. It is made of water resistant, extremely durable materials and is lightweight with fully padded compartments. We offer the messenger bag in three sizes: mini which fits a laptop up to 13 inches, small which fits a laptop up to 15 inches, and large which fits a laptop up to 17 inches. All three can fit an SLR and 2-3 lenses and have plenty of pockets and storage space.

With this new collection of bags in store we hope to offer you another way to express your individuality and creativity because let’s face it, black may go with everything but it sure isn’t fun!