How to Get a Great Waterproof Camera!

Click here for photo coupons from Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, and Picaboo

My favorite camera is at a great low price at Amazon right now. I love this camera. It's small enough to carry with you all the time. It takes beautiful photos and videos.

A great accessory I've come to really appreciate is a waterproof case that's made specifically for this camera. You can use this case to protect your camera in so many different situations and still have access to all the controls. I have used it at the beach and the swimming pool. With the case on, the camera can take great photos or videos underwater. I also used it while kayaking and was able to take great photos without fearing that my camera would be damaged. I really wish I had the waterproof camera case on last year's trip to Maui when we went snorkelling!

Canon PowerShot SD770IS 10MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)
Canon WP-DC23 Waterproof Case for Canon Powershot SD770IS Digital Cameras

Easy Photo Tip for the Holiday Season

Click here to see all Shutterfly coupons
Click here to see Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, Picaboo coupons
Click here to see Holiday Photo Card coupons

Tip of the Day:  Turn off the flash!

You can get some wonderful holiday photos both during the day and night if you turn off the flash.  To turn it off, select the button that shows a lightning bolt with a line through it.  Now you can take a photo of your lit up Christmas tree or your fireplace with stockings hanging above (tell your kids that this is what Santa sees!)  Using the macro setting (flower symbol), you can take a close-up of an ornament on a tree.  Turn off the flash during the daytime and use natural light to get a more interesting contrast.

Here are some photos I took with my simple "point and shoot" camera when I turned off the flash.  I hope they give you some ideas for your holiday season photos.

My Latest Favorite Camera Setting

Most of us keep our "point and shoot" camera on the automatic setting as we take our photos.  I do the same because, after all, it is a "point and shoot" camera and the whole point is to keep photo taking easy.  I never read my camera's owner's manual, but every once in awhile, I discover a feature that makes it worth shifting from the automatic setting.  My latest favorite camera setting is the "macro" setting designated by a flower symbol.  It's great for close up photos.  Most of us think of close up settings for nature, but there are also great opportunities for close up settings in family photos.  Here are just a few photo opportunities that would be great for the "flower" setting: a birthday cake, the face painting artwork on a child, a child's masterpiece, a holiday ornament, your child's note to Santa, Thanksgiving turkey on a platter just before carving, and many more.  If you're taking a photo of a baby, try using the setting and take a photo of your baby's toes or fingers or the back of her neck.  Good luck and have fun!

It's All About the Photos

We all enjoy looking back at photos.  Who can resist looking at their grown child's baby photos and fondly remembering holding that precious little bundle?  My kids love looking at their own baby photos.  They love looking at photos of past birthday parties and holidays.  It truly is a gift to your children and to yourself to take photos.  You don't have to be a great photographer or have a professional style camera.  You just have to have a camera and be able to pull it out and click away.

I wholeheartedly recommend having a small point-and-shoot camera that you carry with you all the time.  We've all experienced the regret of not having a camera with us when we wished we had one.  If you're in the habit of carrying a small camera with you, you won't have to worry about remembering to bring the camera along.  I have a Canon Digital Elph camera that's small enough to fit in my purse or in my pocket.  A lot of people have camera cell phones, which could serve the same purpose (if the photos are high enough in quality to use in photo albums.)

Taking photos is a lot of fun, even if you're not a "photographer."  The more you click away, the more likely you are to find that jewel of a photo that just perfectly captures a child, a beautiful scene, or a wonderful experience.  When that happens, you'll be excited to take even more.

Tips for Great Halloween Photos

Halloween photo ops are some of my favorites of the whole year. I can’t resist taking my children to a pumpkin patch and snapping away. I love the bold orange colors, especially if you can catch the late afternoon lighting.
Here are some more ideas for your Halloween photos:
1. Take before and after photos of your child. Have them pose in the same location with their regular clothes on and then with their costume on.
2. Turn off your camera’s flash and set your camera on a nighttime setting to capture a spooky mood.
3. Alternately, turn on the flash and cover it with a colored sticky note (green or blue work best) and take the photo. Add to the spooky effect by having a light source, like a flashlight or candle glowing in their face.  Photo on left has regular flash while photo on right has blue sticky note on flash.
4. Be sure to take a photo of your children pouring out their loot of candy after trick or treating.

Halloween photos are a must in any year in review family photo book. Happy snapping!

Digital Photo Tip

I love to take photos, but by no stretch of the imagination am I an "expert photographer."  I basically point and shoot.  I don't use all the features that my camera offers.  My philosophy has been to take a lot (and I mean A LOT) of photos and chances are at least one photo will turn out well.  Recently, I read an article that gave a few tips on digital photography.  I'm not very good at reading my camera's owner's manual, but I read this article and learned a tip that I've incorporated into my photo taking.  I switch the camera to "manual" mode and then set the light or"white balance" to the light situation that I'm in, i.e. sunny, cloudy, indoor lighting, and so on.  The photos look better and my camera has less of a delay when I click the shutter, which is very important when kids are the subject of the photo.