Holiday Gifts Part 1: Great Gift Certificates

Give a gift of memories this holiday season with a portrait session from Ryan Richardson Photography. A portrait session captures not just a picture of a person, but part of the story of their life that they can look back on and cherish for years to come.

To celebrate this new offering, and the holidays, we're offering this $200 value for only $75. In addition, when you purchase a gift certificate for someone you care about for the holidays, you recieve a complimentary 8x10 from their session. So not only are you checking one name off your list of gifts, you're also giving back to yourself. It's a great way for parents and grandparents to keep picture frames and scrap books up to date.

Hurry up and purchase your portrait gift certificates today, because like the holidays, this deal will be over sooner than you'd think.

For more information on our portrait sessions, visit the portraits page of this website.

UPDATE: If you're interested in ordering our gift certificates, please e-mail me as payment can be made either via check or with an electronic invoice powered by Google Checkout.

More Tips For Holiday Photos

A version of this article originally appeared in The Yankee Clipper.

As the leaves turn and the air gets a chill, thoughts of the holidays start to appear. It’s a time of year when friends and family gather together to celebrate the times that were and the year that will be. Often it’s the only time you’ll see some people all year, so it’s a great opportunity for pictures.

“Two of my most important reminders for the family photographer are to lower your expectations, and keep the camera ready but remember to stay in the moment,” said Cindy Dow, of Wood Brook Photography and associate editor for the Middleborough Gazette.

Snapshots are about capturing moments and memories. The best holiday photographs spark a memory of a special time that you shared with the people you care about, not the ones that you want to hang in an art gallery.

“Sometimes we can have our ideal image so clearly etched in our minds that the kids end up in tears and we end up frustrated because we aren't getting what we're striving for, when what we ought to be striving for is the happy memories we want the pictures to portray,” Dow added.

Staying in the moment is a lot easier when you get to know your camera. Read the manual and practice, the great advantage of digital is that you can review what you shot right away and keep trying until you’ve found the problem. This way when you have your camera in hand you won’t miss those little moments – like a child unwrapping a present – because you used the wrong setting.

Ken Sutton, owner of K-Ellis Photocenter at 37 Faunce Corner Rd. in North Dartmouth, has heard a lot of horror stories of dads pulling out new cameras from a package and causing a lot of frustration while trying to figure out the latest gadget. To prevent this struggle, Sutton had two suggestions:

“Go back to the old camera that you know, rather than sitting around and waiting for the photographer to get the picture right,” he said.

The second is to consider giving the instruction manual to the camera a little early. While this gift might spoil the surprise of a brand new camera, it will certainly help to better capture those special holiday memories.

Getting to know a camera also starts at the store when you’re deciding what camera to purchase. The market for digital cameras is incredibly competitive and Sutton said that by sticking to name brand manufacturers you could find a great camera to fit any budget. A knowledgeable sales staff can help you know what might work best for shooting pictures of sports, taking videos, or even for gifting to the least tech savvy on your list.

Perhaps the most important tip of all this holiday season is that photos are meant to be shared with family and friends. While Facebook and e-mail have made it easy to share photos with loved ones around the country and around the world, it’s easy for those special images to get drowned out in the holiday rush. Printing and sharing your photos in a card or in a frame is a great way to make an image stand out and be remembered.

“Nothing is as impersonal as an e-mailed picture,” Sutton said.

Holiday Deadlines

 

Like it or not, the holidays are fast approaching. Ryan Richardson Photography offers a number of great photographic services to help make your holiday photography needs a little easier so you can concentrate on having a happy holiday season.

Holiday Album Deadlines:

An album, whether of wedding photos or other work can make a great holiday gift to a loved one (especially if you didn't already purchase one with your wedding package). To make it in time for the holidays, pictures must be selected by Nov. 9, and spreads must be approved by Nov. 21.

Remember, albums are 20 percent off through Dec. 31.

Print Order Deadlines:

Individual prints and products like gallery wraps are also great gifts. A photograph is a memory and a moment, and can carry a lot of sentimental and emotional weight that no iPod ever can. If you'd like your prints in time for the holidays, please order by Nov. 21.

Remember, gallery wraps of all sizes are 20 percent off through Dec. 31.

Holiday Card Specials:

Schedule your family's holiday portrait session in November and receive 15 percent off your holiday card order. Cards are available in a variety of styles and start at $2 per card (portrait sitting fees also apply). To schedule your session, please visit the portrait scheduling page. Please approve card designs by Nov. 19.

Four Tips for Your Holiday Photos

More light isn't always better: Avoid photographing outdoors at noon because the bright light casts harsh shadows. If you must photograph outdoors in bright lights, using your flash might help eliminate those shadows.

The bright lights: While holiday lights really sparkle at night, you can get great shots of holiday decorations in the hour just before sundown when you can see the lights and the landscape they decorate.

Group Grief: When taking pictures of groups don't just stop at one. Try to get three or four pictures so you can pick out the one with the fewest blinks and best expressions.

Fall Foliage: Fall is a beautiful time of year in New England, and a great backdrop for your photos. The fall colors really come alive in your camera right after it rains when the leaves are still wet.

Of course, the most important tip is to just put down that camera and enjoy the holidays. Look for more tips for holiday buying, getting to know your new camera and more over the next few months.

2009 Holiday Camera Buying Guide

The one major problem with giving a great new digital camera as a gift during the holidays is that by the time it's opened, all the best moments have passed. Still, a digital camera can be a great gift for the holidays allowing your loved ones to capture the wonderful little moments that make enduring the month of music and garish decorations worth it.

The problem is that there are about a million digital cameras in the marketplace with names that were written by a cat running across a keyboard (S90? LX3? DSC-W190?). Clicking over to B&H Photo will net you 200 different makes, models and colors to bemuse and bewilder you, and that's before you start looking at what these cameras are supposed to do. Relax last-minute shoppers, help is on the way to start narrowing down those 200 to a dozen or so.

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