Every holiday thousands of people ask Santa for a shiny new camera, the big kind, the DSLR kind….. and every holiday Santa lovingly purchases errr elves make expensive cameras for Santa. He wraps them up with paper, and a big red bow, shimmies down chimneys and safely delivers them to those camera-wanting folk. I would venture to say the majority of the time, the gift gets opened- and to get it functioning as fast as possible, they pop it into auto or p (program) mode so they can document the next few moments/hours as quickly as possible. Then…. the inevitable happens…. the manual gets lost, the holidays are over, you’re back to work and life is crazy…. and suddenly you find yourself never really knowing how to use that fancy camera you received. Let me fill you in a secret…. that camera you got, that likely cost $400+ is doing the exact same thing a $70 point and shoot is doing if you leave it on auto or p modes. All that “big” camera is doing now- creating huge files that are filling up your computers hard drive for no reason. You would have been better off asking for a small, lightweight point & shoot. Honestly. So- if you want a “nice” camera this holiday season, and you are lucky enough to receive one…. LEARN HOW TO USE IT. As a wedding photographer, nothing peeves me more than the 75 DSLRs that are at every wedding we shoot….. on AUTO. Do you hear me yelling?? I AM. While we were in Hawaii at the Dole Plantation a gentleman asked me to take a photo with his DSLR and 70-200 lens (a $2000 lens!) and it was on auto….. I politely took the photo… and then cursed him under my breath (and to Jeremy)….. UGH. Now…. you can spend your free time reading that 200 page manual, and Google terms like aperture, shutter speed, ISO to figure out how they all work together…. OR… you can come to Camera 101! We’ll go over all those basics at the class, and figure out what all those buttons mean 🙂   Email me (info@jjhortonphotography.com) to sign up…. or better yet, that loved one your giving the camera to this holiday!   Now that we have that squared away…. here are a few other gift ideas for the shutter bug in your life…. 1. Gift Cards! Now…. maybe you aren’t giving a camera this season…. maybe your mom wants a nice family portrait done…. that one you’ve been saying you’ll do for the last 5 years??? Why not get her a gift card!! Email me for that too (info@jjhortonphotography.com) and we can do any denomination you like 🙂 2. A new Lens Does your camera-owning-loved-one only have that first kit-lens that came with their camera? My first recommendation is always the “nifty 50” . It’s a 50mm 1.8 lens. It’s a great little lens that if you know how to use a camera on manual, will change your photos 100000% for the better. Best thing is…. it’s cheap! These babies run just over $100 new! Nikon version Canon version 3. A new camera bag Fellas…. a word of advice, STEP AWAY FROM THE CAMERA BAGS that they sell next to the cameras in Best Buy. They are ugly. Period. She’ll love you bunches if you spring for a “pretty” bag! Here are a few of my favorites…. Built NY (I carry the large one… and actually bought it from Amazon, cheaper!), Kelly Moore (these are beautiful and look like nice purses instead!, Jill E has some nice ones too, one last place to look is Etsy…. tons of cute, handmade bags are there! 4. A nice strap To go along with that nice bag you’re getting…. better get a nice strap too. I loathe a strap that screams I SHOOT NIKON, that back and yellow makes me cringe…. speaking of which… Jeremy still uses one of these…. eek! off to shop after this post!….. Etsy has lots of great choices, and is where I purchased my elephant strap.   5. Memory!! A photographer can NEVER have too many memory cards! Amazon seems to have the best deals lately, but check Adorama too. Make sure you know what kind of card your shutter-bug friend needs…. the most common are SD’s but lots of cameras take CF’s too!              Now….. I didn’t list a camera to purchase…. because, well…. they ALL essentially do the same thing. My best advice- go hold them! I HATE the way a Canon feels in my hands… Nikon’s just fit me better. If you’re interested in hearing my thoughts on Nikon bodies, I’ll be glad to offer advice if you email me…. but I can’t really tell you too much about Canon… sorry!   Happy Shopping!