Your photographs are stored on a memory card that can be used to transfer the data to any device that can read it, whether that be a computer or a kiosk at the drugstore for printing.

For your computer, if it does not already have a slot for a memory card, you will need a reader. 42nd St Photo carries a number of these and they are all reasonably priced. You just put the reader in the computer’s USB port, the memory card in the reader, and the computer can read your card, taking the pictures into a format for you to edit and print or post online or send to a friend. You decide!

At a photo kiosk in a store, once you put your card in the slot there will be a walk-thru menu guiding your choices. Photography has come a long way since the darkroom days when a photographer carefully shielded the developing film from light and held their nose over smelly chemicals and waited to see the image emerge. Most amateur photographers would make contact prints, laying the negatives directly on the paper to get as many pictures as possible crowded onto one sheet. Then the magnifying glass would come out as the photos were examined and the best ones chosen to develop further.

Today, with a flick of a card, you can go from camera to PC in one smooth step, download a file, and choose your best images for printing.

Think you might need a reader to get your memory card from camera to PC? The fully educated staff of 42nd St Photo can help you figure it out.

Keep your battery…and a backup….charged. When you are taking a lot of pictures it is easy to run out of power, and grabbing your extra battery to discover it needs recharging is like going to fix a flat tire and finding your spare is flat.

Make sure you have more space on your memory card than you think you will need. If your camera takes videos, those opportunities pop up quickly in holiday settings and can’t be replicated. It probably is a good idea to have an extra memory card in your camera bag, just in case.

Are you familiar with your camera’s features? Have you practiced taking pictures in low light? Being familiar with the functions of your particular camera and practiced with technique means you can use your mental energy on enjoying the occasion and still take excellent photos of what is happening. Otherwise, you will be struggling to remember how to take that tricky shot and miss out on the fun.

Do you need an upgrade of photography equipment? Now might be the best time to come to 42nd St Photo and get the tools you need to take the pictures you want.

The more specific your photography dreaming is, the easier it will be to figure out what kind of camera is best for you. There’s a lot to choose from, and you can narrow it down by considering two factors; the type of photography you want to do and the type of photographer you really will be.

What kinds of photographs will you be taking? Are you going to be outdoors a lot? Do you primarily need to take pictures of a product to sell online? Knowing the type of photography you are interested in will help you do some research on the cameras used in those conditions and give you background knowledge for your discussions with a salesperson.

What kind of photographer will you be? Do you enjoy fiddling with equipment to get it exactly the way you want it? Do you get frustrated with a lot of adjustments? Would you rather capture a moment or set up a scene? Are you the one standing in line to get the latest technology or do you wait for the bugs to get worked out while you keep your old version?

It sounds too simple, but the best camera is the one you will use. If you know that all the latest bells and whistles will intimidate you, a basic point-and-shoot that can take a decent picture is a good place to start because you can always upgrade later as your skills improve and your camera confidence grows. There are DSLR cameras that are easy to use, with fewer features, and the professionals at 42nd St Photo can explain the differences.

Snow scenes are white scenes and your camera tends to underexpose. Compensate your exposure by as much as a full step and take some practice shots to check your settings. That white snow actually has grays and blues or warm tones depending on the light and you want to capture what your eye sees.

Some of the best snow photography conditions are right after it stops snowing, sunrise, and sunset. A quick drop in temperature will cause some spectacular ice effects that disappear quickly. Be ready to grab your camera!

Know your camera and the settings that are available to you. Along with exposure, white balance and flash may need to be tweaked to get the effect you are after. Think about the subject of your photo, a snowy landscape under a clear sunny sky will reflect so much light that a friend will look like a dark cardboard cutout. Play with the features your camera has so you understand how to get the picture you want.

Snow changes the familiar and gives lots of opportunities to get beautiful images. Catch some color in all that white, either bright clothing or winter plumage on birds that stay for the season. Take advantage of shadows and the bones of the winter landscape…leafless trees and shrubs.

If your camera isn’t able to capture all you see in the crisp, clean snow then you might want to stop by 42nd St Photo to see about an upgrade. This season has too many incredible photograph opportunities to miss.

Hold your camera with both hands. This helps keep the camera steady when you move your finger to press the button.

Don’t use the very tip of your finger to press the shutter button. Lay the flat part of the tip on the button, giving you more control.

Your camera has a unique “feel” when you press the shutter release button, and many cameras have features that occur at the half-way point, like locking in the focus and exposure. Just like learning to use a clutch on a car, you have to know your own camera by experience.

Once you know where that lock-in occurs, you can focus on your feature and move the camera slightly to change the composition, keeping that feature in focus. Gently pressing the rest of the way will take the picture.

Many of the cameras carried by 42nd St Photo will also have a continuous shooting mode triggered by keeping the shutter release button pressed. You get a series of shots, quite helpful in many situations and easy to edit by deleting the undesirable images.

Digital cameras also have a slight lag (in fractions of seconds) between the time the button is pressed and the shutter is released for the shot. This varies with each model, so if you are looking for a camera with less lag, talk to the professionals at 42nd St Photo about which camera will be best for you.

Trekking also makes a Comfort Camera Strap that is compatible with the Safari strap system and allows you to interchange mounted cameras. It also has memory card compartments and an extra set of mounting straps for a pair of binoculars or another camera.

The Bower SS10 Deluxe Heavy-duty Neck Strap is a 2″ wide neoprene strap designed to fit a lighter camera. Its two ends attach to the included D rings or buckle on an SLR.

If you aren’t sure what type of strap you need, call 42nd St Photo for a consultation with our experts. We can help you determine the camera strap that is suitable to your equipment and lifestyle needs.

42nd St Photo carries a lot of photography equipment, cameras and accessories. We’d love to have you as a customer and hope that you will look at all we offer. Everything we carry, though, is just a tool for you to use to take that image you see and make a permanent record of it. So…the tool has to be in your hand for you to use it!

Maybe the only camera you have is the one on your phone…take the picture anyway. Use that phone-camera to its fullest potential and think about composition, shadows, lighting, and angles. Take a couple of different shots from several angles and evaluate them. Try to get good photographs with the camera you have.

Learning how to use the camera in your hand increases your skill level. Just as a skilled craftsman can produce beauty with basic tools, you can learn how to produce beautiful photographs with the most basic camera.

The more you know about photography, the better able you will be to upgrade intelligently when the time is right to get another camera. You can go to 42nd St Photo and have a good idea of what you want. In the meantime, you will have all the beauty you have seen in your surroundings in the photographs you took with the camera in your hand.

Negative space is the context of your subject and the emptiness that defines its edges. The silhouette of buildings against a cloudless sky, for example, will draw your eye to the shapes of those buildings and the way they relate to one another in the picture. The same buildings against a backdrop of skyscrapers will not have the same effect because the busyness of the background acts as camoflage for those same shapes and outline, distracting the eye.

Professional portrait photographers will use a device like the handpainted muslin backdrop sold by 42nd St Photo to drape behind the subject and create a context that doesn’t compete for attention yet frames and enhances the person in the portrait.

You can create a blurred background deliberately and create negative space. One way is by changing settings on your camera and shortening the depth of field to focus on your subject. This is a great way to add emphasis to a photo.

The idea of negative space is one of calm and contrast. If you think of the people or objects in your viewfinder as shapes, negative space is the space between those shapes that gives the eye rest. Imagining your subject as shapes in a negative space allows you to see how the composition of your photograph will turn out and adjust by changing an angle or setting to get the photograph you will be happy to display.

One of the great advantages of an accessory kit is the knowledge that someone with more experience in photography has put it together. They’ve already experienced the lack of an item and regretted it; this is an easy way to benefit from their experience.

A Starter Kit will vary depending on the brand of camera you have purchased, but whether it be Nikon, Canon, Leica or another, they will have things like a 2GB Secure Digital Memory Card, a tight carrying case, and extra rechargeable battery. some may have a USB Reader/Writer for the memory card, and things like a screen protector, cleaning kit, and tripod are standard.

A Basic Accessory kit will have a larger memory card, 4GB, and perhaps some additional items. 42nd St Photo also has Executive Accessory Kits (8GB cards) and Pro Shooter Accessory Kits (16GB cards) with appropriate variations of items in the kit.

It is worth your time to look at the different options you have when you purchase your camera. You will need a case, and a cleaning kit, and an extra battery and memory card. You will want a tripod at some time, and appreciate the other items that 42nd St Photo has put together in their accessory kits.

When you look into your camera lens you see black blades of the shutter whorled into a point in the center of the lens. When the photo is taken, the blades open and form the aperture, the window that lets the light and image into the camera to be captured on film or memory card.

An analogy would be the human eye. Bright light causes the pupil to shrink and reduce the amount of light entering the eyeball while darkness causes the pupil to open wide to capture more light and see. The pupil is not the moving part of the eye: the iris or colored part of the eye is moving and changing the opening we look through to view the world around us.

In a camera, the size of the aperture is measured in f/stop numbers. Larger numbers mean that more of the shutter is blocking the light and the aperture is smaller. Smaller numbers conversley indicate that less shutter is being used so the aperture is larger.

Cameras carried by 42nd St Photo have a range of settings, from the automatic poin-and-shoot to the DSLR cameras that allow you to control things like f/stops. The advantage of being able to control the f/stop and hence the aperture is in the depth of field you want in your image.

Depth of field is essentially what is in focus in your shot. A smaller aperture (higher f/stop) means that more objects can be in focus even when in various distances from the camera lens, kind of like squinting to see clearer. Learning how to adjust the aperture in coordination with ISO and shutter speed will greatly enhance your ability to take the photographs you aim for.

Know your camera’s capabilities, and come to 42nd St Photo for all your photographic needs.

No matter what type of photography equipment you have or how many photographic terms you can use with confidence, a photo has a subject, composition, and lighting. These three elements comprise the image you capture and create.

The subject is simple; it is the reason you picked up the camera to take the shot. Your subject can be a person, like a family member or a model. Your subject could be a place, like a farmer’s market or the boardwalk. Or, your subject could be a thing, like a sunset or statue. Anything you can take a picture of becomes the subject, and any subject can become a very beautiful or iconic image depending upon the last two elements: composition and lighting.

Composition is the way that subject is arranged in the frame of the image. When you move closer, or kneel, or shift the viewfinder to the side or an angle, you change the way the subject relates to other things in the picture. That relationship changes as the camera shifts and the variations in composition will affect the way the subject is portrayed.

Composition can be symmetrical and formal or it can be off-center and casual but generally the simpler the composition, the more pleasing it is to the eye. Much of the art of composition is learned; there are basics like ‘the rule of thirds’ and ‘balance’ that are identifiable in many images. You can find basic compostion tips in most manuals and photography guides like the offerings at 42nd St Photo.

The last element in all photographs is lighting. This element will make or break your composition and obscure or illuminate your subject. You can manipulate lighting to create effects…a profile silhouetted against a bright sky is backlit, with no detail of the subject except the outline. That may be exactly the effect you are after! A fill-in flash will change the exact same subject and composition and emphasize an entirely different aspect of that subject.

Professionals use a variety of lighting devices. 42nd St Photo carries the best of the selection available. Natural light varies also, from the soft indirect glow of a cloudy day to the sharply defined shadows of sunshine and the mystery of the dark night.

You combine these three elements, subject, composition, and lighting, to create all the photographs in your growing portfolio. The better your understanding of these basics, the better your pictures will be.

All your pictures in a digital camera are stored in the form of pixels. One million pixels equals a megapixel, and that is the unit of measurement you generally will see mentioned as resolution. A higher resolution photo has more megapixels…more units used to make the picture…and it will use more storage space on your memory card.

Memory cards store information in binary form, similar to an on/off switch. A simplified way to look at the way storage is measured is this: One binary digit is one bit, 8 bits is one byte, 1,000 bytes is a kilobyte(KB), 1,000 kilobytes is a megabyte(MB), and 1,000 megabytes is is one gigabyte(GB).

A 128MB memory card will hold 91-100 images at 4 megapixels but it will hold only 38-42 images when they are taken at 8 megapixels. A larger card can be used if your camera is compatible: a 1GB card, for instance, will hold 724-800 images at 4 megapixels and 301-333 images at the higher resolution of 8 megapixels.

42nd St Photo carries a variety of cameras with various storage capabilities. You need to know your own camera and its storage requirements because not all sizes of memory cards will be suitable for your device. It is frustrating to purchase a 1GB card to take all your vacation pictures and discover that your camera cannot process that amount of information.

If you are not sure what sizes of memory cards are compatible with your camera, look in the manual or contact 42nd St Photo for the expert advice that will allow you to keep your photographs safe on the best memory card for you.

Taking a photograph with your camera in the traditional position will result in a picture that has a horizontal emphasis because most shots will be developed as a rectangle with the long sides at the top and bottom.

This gives a definite feel to the photo, one that is wide and generally grounded by the horizontal emphasis. It is not a bad thing at all, and most of your pictures benefit from being wider than they are tall.

Sometimes, however, it is a good idea to add a vertical look to your shot. This is easy to do, and you don’t even have to look for a special accessory at 42nd St Photo!

When you want to capture that tall object, a Christmas tree or a lighthouse or a monument, try turning the camera sideways. This simple trick results in a photograph that is taller than it is wide: you have flipped the rectangle to give a new feel to your picture that emphasizes its height.

In essence you have cropped the photo before the picture is taken. By putting a little thought and care into what you see in the viewfinder and a simple, creative flip to change the shape, you get a new look.

42nd St Photo wants you to know that no matter what kind of camera and equipment you have, the creativity of the photographer and the skill developed by thoughtful practice are your best assets.

Be prepared! If you have to set up your equipment and figure out settings while the group is arranged, you will lose their interest and have a difficult time keeping them posed and happy. Your photo will show their lack of interest and suffer.

Take control of the situation by knowing what the goal is (multiple family shots at a wedding, for example) and communicating what is happening. Give them a reason for cooperating with you and keep it short, while telling them where you want them: “Grandma and Grandpa want to be able to see who was at their 50th Anniversary party, so make sure you can see the camera and they will be able to see your face in the picture”. If there are several photographers, try to work together and avoid confusion.

Remember to take lighting and background into account and choose the location before assembling the group. Strong light behind the group will affect the photo drastically, so think about how to have sufficient light, perhaps a fill-in flash. If they are in the rosy glow of the sunset, try not to have it in their eyes or you will have squints instead of smiles.

If your camera has continuous shooting mode, where a quick burst of shots is possible, you have a great chance to get a story of the shot…the posing adjustments, the “cheese” smiles, and the reactions…and a better selection to choose from. Sometimes those candid takes are cherished more than the formal shot. Take a few series of before, during, and after just to see what you get.

If your camera isn’t really up to the standard you need for getting those pictures you want from the coming events in your life, consider upgrading with 42nd St Photo. Your memories are worth capturing with a quality camera.

The numbers on the lenses, 35mm, 70mm, etc., indicate the ‘focal length’. Focal length is the angle of view, the area you see in your picture. A larger number means the angle is narrow, as in a telephoto lens able to get a closeup for a portrait. Lower numbers are wider angles, needed for things like landscapes.

A ‘prime’ or ‘fixed’ lens does not change. It is usually a smaller lens with a specific number indicating the focal length.

A ‘zoom’ lens is able to change the focal length by adjusting or twisting the barrel of the lens.

‘Telephoto’ lenses can be fixed or zoom. They are great for a long distance shot at a sporting event, for instance.

A ‘wide angle’ lens has a short focus length, can also be fixed or zoom, and allows you to include a broad sweep of area in your photograph.

‘Fish eye’ lenses are a specialized form of wide angle, that are so wide in scope that they can distort on the edges. They are useful for getting the entire room in the shot.

‘Macro’ lenses are the opposite…they get incredibly close and magnify details that you ordinarily don’t see.

Think about the pictures you want to take. Which lens would help you take it? Then go browse the site at 42nd St Photo to see which lens is going to be best for you.

All that “eye” is, though, is the experience that comes from looking at what you see from the perspective of an artist and imagining the scene with the boundaries of a frame. You can do this right now…form a rectangle with your index fingers and thumbs by sticking them out and turning one palm toward you, then touching finger to thumb. See the frame? Now close one eye and look through it…all around the room, one scene at a time.

If your frame were a camera’s viewfinder, those scenes could be photographs. Notice how the mood of the picture changes when you move the frame just a little bit? Find an object that fits into your frame. Imagine that space in thirds, and place the object in the center portion. That’s the kind of functional picture you would need for selling the object. But if you move the frame to the side, so the object is in one of the side portions of your frame, the two other thirds have either empty space or other things in them and many times a few smaller objects will balance out the larger object and the empty space gives depth…a composition.,,now you have created a picture that is more than function. You have made art.

This is the sort of thing that artists and photographers do so often it is without thought. They will arrange their possessions in small vignettes–little scenes that give them pleasure. Using the viewfinder in your camera instead of your fingers is an easy way to find these small scenes.

You can practice composition with your digital camera by taking several shots of the same arrangement, putting the frame in slightly different places. Most people find the ‘rule of thirds’ to be an easy way to imagine their composition and you can put your main object in each of the thirds side to side or top to bottom and compare those differing shots. What do you like better?

You may notice that you would like to experiment with focus, or lighting, or that your camera does not capture what your eye sees. This is why the professionals at 42nd St Photo carry so many kinds of lenses and equipment: it sometimes requires a special accessory to capture the beauty your eye beholds. Thoughtful composition and the eye to create it comes from you and your practiced placement of the things around you but successfully photographing that beauty will be easier with the tools you can get at 42nd St Photo.

Think about your reaction to the holiday cards you have seen in the past. Do you really like that crazy, zany photo shoot with all the wild sweaters and chaotic decorations? Do you remember faces or the setting? It’s fine to have a family shot like that if everyone in the family is on board but you want to remember to capture the facial expressions of all involved. Those photos take a lot of thought and props, and it is a good idea to use a camera with multiple exposure settings and flash options and experiment a few times. Get familiar with what your camera can do so that the flash reflecting off the tinsel doesn’t hide the cute grin.

If you would rather have a family portrait that doesn’t end up ‘dated’ except for kid sizes, have everyone wearing a classic outfit in solid colors. Some even will opt for the same color family, like shades of green or red or blue. This will allow the beloved faces of your family to take center stage. Hairstyles can be in current fashion, but remember how you chuckle at old yearbooks and tone that ‘do’ down a bit. Think about the background of your photo and keep it simple.

42nd Street Photo sells a number of accessories and props for professional portrait photographers, and browsing their site might make your eyes glaze over but will give you some ideas about lighting and backdrop. They also sell dvd’s that will help you use your existing camera to its full potential. One of the reasons that professionals use things like extra lights and accessories is to avoid red eye…that demon glow that turns your little angel into a devil with ruby eyeballs.

Red eye is caused by the light of the flash reflecting off the blood vessels inside the eye. You can avoid this by turning off the flash and using other light (try turning on all the lights in the room and maybe bringing some more in), moving the flash farther away from the camera lens to change the angle of the light, or checking to see if your camera has an anti-red-eye function that gives a series of short flashes and hopefully causes the iris to be smaller as it reacts to the light.

Once you have your family in place and are taking your shots…maybe with a timer so you can race into place…take a number of them. It is much easier to sift through a bunch of rejects for the prize than it is to recreate the moment for another try. If you are still unhappy with your pictures, a visit to 42nd Street Photo for a look at a replacement might be a good idea.

So what kind of camera accessories are we talking about? Here’s a sampling:

• Memory Cards – Cameras these days don’t use film. They use digital memory cards. Get them in different sizes and for use with a variety of cameras.
• Tripods – The best photographers use tripods when they need a good still shot.
• Lights – Professional photographers need a good assortment of lighting to establish the perfect mood.
• Marine Packs – Do any underwater photography? Get the proper equipment for your marine photo shoots.
• Lenses – Whether you need fish eye lenses, wide lenses, or telephoto lenses, 42nd Street Photo has the right lens for the right occasion.
• Cleaning Kits – Keep your camera and other photography equipment clean with the proper maintenance supplies. Your camera will last longer if you take good care of it.
• Batteries – Cameras need batteries. Don’t let your supply run low.
• Cases – Protect your camera and photography equipment with the proper carrying gear. 42nd Street Photo has all the accessories you need to keep your photo equipment safe and secure.

Get all of your camera accessories at your favorite New York City camera store – 42nd Street Photo.

If you prefer to visit the store in person to place an order, feel free. We have long hours of availability throughout the week. If you are near the NYC area, feel free to stop in and check out our products hands-on.

Many of you are not in the area and actually shopping with us is not an option. We have options for you too! First, you can visit our website 42photo.com to browse our selection and even place and order. This is quick and simple. Some people are not comfortable with purchases made online. If this is the case, we also have telephone orders available.
No matter which way you place the order or which customer service associate assists you, you will be pleased with the order you made, the service, and the prices. We have put customers first for over four decades and we will continue to do so.

Remember, if you have any questions or concerns, you can contact 42nd Street Photo anytime. We have representatives waiting to assist you as needed.

More power, more photos- DO NOT FORGET to make sure you have the means to power your camera for the entirety of your trip. Batteries, rechargeables and a charger, or even a cord- no matter what your source, be sure to have it on hand. There is nothing worse than missing out on photos due to a lack of preparation in power source. A tip for saving power is to power off your LCD screen as it uses the most power on your camera. Remember if visiting a foreign country that you may need a power adapter.

Making the most of memory- Do not get caught running out of memory on your vacation. This is possibly the most annoying thing that can happen. Of course you can go through and delete some photos to make room but that is no good for multiple reasons. First, you may have to delete a photo or two that you actually wanted and second, it is time consuming. In order to be well prepared, simply take tons of memory with you- more than you will ever use.

Protecting your investment- Your camera may or may not be your greatest investment. It may not be monetarily but because it holds your memories, it is much more valuable. Water, sand, dust and more can be detrimental to your camera’s well- being. First, be sure to have a nice carrying case. If you need a waterproof one due to the nature of your travelling, get one! You can add a pack of silica gel to your bag to reduce moisture as well.