Baby Shower Gifts Under $10

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The pitter-patter of little feet is always a joyous sound to your ears, but all those baby shower gifts are draining your savings. You don't have to blow a bundle on adorable toys and outfits to create a memorable baby gift. The next time you get invited to a baby shower keep these great $10 or less gift ideas in mind:

1.)Babysitting Coupons: This gift will only cost a bit of your precious time. Print up cute certificates offering hour-long babysitting sessions. The mom-to-be will adore a baby-free afternoon and the chance for a pedicure or uninterrupted lunch.

2.)Movie Package: Buy a pre-owned DVD ($5 or less on Amazon or eBay) and package it with microwave popcorn - it could be awhile before the new parents can get back to a movie theater.

3.)Mix it Up: Burn a CD of your favorite, upbeat, baby-friendly tunes. The Beatles, ABBA and Simon and Garfunkel are always popular with kids. Your friends will thank you for saving them from suffering through an endless loop of Raffi.

4.) Subscription Prescription: Give the new parents a subscription to a parenting magazine like FamilyFun ($9.95 for ten issues), Parent & Child ($9.97 for six issues). This gift will outlast any clothing purchase and promises to deliver monthly tips on childrearing. Look for discount subscription offers online or special "2-for-1" subscriptions.

5.)Meal Solutions: Offer your personal chef services. The new parents will love having a night off from cooking or a break from the monotony of take-out cuisine. Make sure you show up with all the ingredients and clean up after yourself.

6.)Start a Baby Book: Carry a colorful notebook, Polaroid and colored pens to the baby shower. Snap away and while the mom-to-be is busy opening gifts, you'll have attached the first few photos in her new baby book.

7.)Pacifier Package: Pacifiers (a.k.a. binkies, nuk-nuks and soothers) are small and inexpensive, but extremely practical. Baby superstores sell two-packs for $3. Purchase two different brands and add a pacifier "leash" ($2.95). These little items always seem to get lost; any mom can use a plentiful supply.

8.)Create Your Own Layette: Purchase a 3-pack of onesies ($9 or less) and put your creative energy to work. Embellish the onesies with nontoxic paint pens and markers to create fun designs for the baby.

9.)Start a library: Scout out local yard sales and snap up vintage baby books. Look for volumes in good condition and check for missing pages. Try to stick to theme: Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter, etc., and make sure to wipe down the pages before wrapping.

10.) Hospital Help: Offer to take care of Fluffy or Fido while your pal heads to the hospital. Keep your schedule open for the weeks preceding the delivery and get a spare set of keys and care instructions.

These thoughtful gifts will be deeply appreciated and more memorable than yet another bear sweater or plastic toy. Use your creativity and save your cash.

Tips for Your Commercial Photography Portfolio

Photo Credit: celtics baby clothes

A great commercial photography portfolio is your calling card in the industry, and your ticket to winning clients and landing jobs as a professional photographer. Read on to learn 3 key tips that will help make your commercial photography portfolio shine, so prepare to start getting the gigs you need to advance your career. These commercial photography portfolio tips will take your clips to the next level, so that you can scale the ladder to your dream job.

1. Offer Your Commercial Photography Portfolio In A Variety Of Formats

When you hand out your commercial photography portfolio, one of the things it is crucial to communicate to a client is that when they hire you, you will do everything you can to make his or her life easy. You want to be seen as professional and responsive, and as someone who proactively anticipates your client's needs. One great way to make this impression fast is to have your commercial photography portfolio available in a number of formats, including in print, on CD, and online, as AllArtSchools suggests. When you follow this advice and have print, digital, and virtual clips available, your first question to a client can always be "What's easiest for you?", a sentence that will be music to any prospective employer's ears.

2. Pitch Your Commercial Photography Portfolio Directly To The Job At Hand.

Instead of having one commercial photography portfolio, have several, one targeted to each kind of work you're hoping to do in your career. Have you taken some gorgeous nature images? That's great, but a client who's hiring for a fashion shoot won't care! A prospective employer will hire the person who seems most likely to do a great job on the specific project at hand, so make sure everything in the commercial photography portfolio you hand to a possible client is directly relevant to the task they'll need you to do. Try doing as PhotoCritic suggests, and put together a portfolio of just your fashion work, another that highlights your nature shots, another for photos you've taken of products, and so on for each genre you've got clips for, and are seeking work in. That way, as you move forward in applying for a variety of jobs, you'll always have your most specifically relevant work at your fingertips, ready to impress your next boss.

3. Include The Right Written Information In Your Commercial Photography Portfolio.

As Marketing For Photographers and Photography points out, you don't need to include much written information in your commercial photography portfolio. However, what you do put in can make or break a client's interest in your work. By reducing the amount of text, you help keep your prospective employer engaged with the images you're presenting, which is the goal of your commercial photography portfolio. You don't need to put forward the technical information for each picture, like your equipment choices or shutter speed, because the client only cares about your end result, not about the road you took to get the shot. You should offer a brief description of what each picture is, to provide some context, and a clean, professional, and specific title for each shot, so that it's easy for clients to reference a particular image in your commercial photography portfolio when they're in discussion with you, or with any colleagues who may be involved in making the decision to hire you.

DIY Wedding Photography on a Budget

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So, your wedding is fast approaching and you want memories that will last a lifetime. However, you are on a budget and don't have a lot of money to spend for a professional wedding photographer. You can still get professional-looking, creative, memorable pictures with DIY wedding photography.

The first thing to do is to find someone who takes great pictures. This doesn't have to do be a professional photographer. Many people have a "great eye" and instinctively know how to take great pictures. Think of friends or family members who you've complimented on their photography from vacations, for example. Another way to find a cheap wedding photographer is to look on local college bulletin boards, or post on them yourself in the art department or photography department. Many students have amazing talent, but since they are still a bit inexperienced, will be your wedding photographer for a fraction of the price of a professional wedding photographer. Some may even photograph your wedding for free, for no more than a free meal and use of your wedding pictures for their portfolio. You can also consider putting an ad on Craigslist for a hobbyist who is not a professional wedding photographer, but has an artistic eye and loves to take pictures. Get samples of work and negotiate a price you are both pleased with.

Whether you use a talented stranger or an artistically-inclined friend or family member as your wedding photographer, make sure they have a good camera. You may even consider purchasing a good quality, digital camera that you can give them as their "payment". If you need to purchase a camera for your DIY wedding photography, make sure you give it to the wedding photographer in plenty of time for them to learn the ins and outs of the camera, so they can adjust the settings. Digital cameras also allow for easy editing, so you or your DIY wedding photographer can edit your wedding pictures. Also, digital cameras have a large capacity to store many pictures, with a memory card they can hold hundreds of pictures, so you will have plenty of wedding photos to choose from to preserve your special day.

Another idea is to meet with your DIY wedding photographer to develop a plan of what you want photographed. Remember, since you will be saving a lot of money by not hiring a professional wedding photographer, you will have to do some of the work yourself. This includes providing the DIY wedding photographer with a list of what you want photographed. This may include photographs of the wedding rings, the wedding invitations, the bridal party, the groomsmen, the family of the bride, the family of the groom, the bride and groom's first kiss, the wedding service, etc. This will help you and your DIY wedding photographer be on the same page and know each other's expectations beforehand, so you get exactly what you want on your special day.

Also, encourage others to take pictures of your wedding. Some of the best wedding photography are those wonderfully candid moments caught by some of the guests. Some wedding couples choose to put disposable cameras on tables for guests to take photographs of, then ask that they leave the cameras when they leave the wedding reception. Some give the cameras out as wedding favors and ask that any great wedding photographs be sent to the married couple.

Lastly, consider the best of both worlds. You can hire a professional wedding photographer for a short period of time to take a few very specific pictures, then rely on your DIY photographer and wedding guests to take the rest of the photographs. This will eliminate a lot of cost for a professional wedding photographer. You can also opt to don your wedding attire a few days after the event and go to a studio to have a few professional pictures taken.

Remember, it doesn't take a professional photographer to take some amazing, creative, professional-looking wedding photography. Have a great day!

Whoever Said a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Probably Didn't Use Positive Images Photography

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Well I've come to terms with the fact I'm no Denzel Washington... and I'm okay with that. All I really wanted to do was to take some good quality pictures I could use as profile headshots for my internet businesses and for my business cards, brochures, etc. This was important since I had a deadline coming up that I needed pictures for.

Based on my photography needs, I had wondered was there a photographer where the average looking person can go to get reasonably priced, almost "Star Quality" pictures taken. Also, I preferred that they were local too because I wanted a photographer that I could do business with again on future projects. Just imagine my delight when I found out that there was such a photographer located in Oakland at Positive Images Photography.

The owner is Gisele Bonds (no relation to Barry) and she not only consulted with me on the objectives of my project, she also happened to be a pleasure to talk to. She is very knowledgable. She definitely won points when she suggested that I go home to retrieve a few darker outfits to round out my photoshoot after I mistakenly arrived with all lighter colored outfits. She then explained why and how the darker colored outfits could be used to my advantage in the photoshoot.

As we took pictures she instructed me to pose at various angles and again she told me why those angles were important based on the numerous ways we discussed I could to utilize those pictures in my marketing mix. For instance, some of my pictures were taken with my business' branding in mind so that my company's logo or other images could be easily incorporated into those pictures. Nice!

For someone who's camera shy, I can honestly say I did enjoy Gisele's professionalism and creativity. After what felt to me like a thousand pictures and almost an eternity, we finally finished! At that point my mind started thinking, I hope these pictures look okay. I have to admit, I felt a little self-concious about the prospect of seeing the finished product because I have like many people, facial blemishes. When I mentioned this concern to Gisele she said not to worrry the pictures are going to look good.

Gisele invited me to come in and take a look at all the pictures we took and choose the ones I wanted. She gave me some positive feedback that was helpful and then I selected my favorites.

Later, when I received my Picture Disc I was happy to see that she was so right, my pictures did look good and my facial blemishes were gone... at least in my pictures! Interestingly, I'm told her specialty is working with high school aged students. Her studio is filled with with a plethora of graduation and prom pictures, etc.

She mentors students by providing intern opportunities at her studio and one of her past interns who is in college currently, still works at the studio which to me says alot about the kind of person Gisele is. I think that Positive Images Photography is aptly named and if you're looking for high quality photos, Gisele is the person you need to see. You may soon find that your pictures will be worth much more than a thousand words if you do!

Boppy Pillow Photography Prop

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Photography props are expensive and many times are not even worth the investment. A Boppy Pillow however, even if bought at full price, is well worth the investment. You will get years of use from your Boppy Pillow and as a photography prop the Boppy Pillow can be used for babies and pets. The Boppy Pillow is also washable so it can be cleaned inbetween uses. You can purchase Boppy Pillows new at stores such as Target or used at resale shops and rummage sales.

Boppy Pillow Photography Prop Pose #1: Baby On Back
Place the Boppy Pillow on the floor of coffee table or other raised surface, not to high since you will be photographing from above. Cover the Boppy Pillow with a backdrop, blanket, material, etc. Gently rest the upper body of the baby on the Boppy Pillow, the baby's bottom should be near the open end. This position is perfect for newborns that can not support themselves.

Boppy Pillow Photography Pose #2: Baby on Tummy
Prepare the Boppy Pillow as above on a raised surface. For this pose the table can be high or low since you will be photographing from in front of the baby. For this photography pose you will be facing the open end of the Boppy Pillow away from the camera. This pose does require some upper body strength so it works best for babies 2 months and up. Place the baby stomach down with the upper body resting slightly forward of the Boppy Pillow. You now have a perfect head and shoulders position.

Boppy Pillow Photography Pose #3: Baby Sitting
Prepare the Boppy Pillow as described in pose 1. As in pose 2 the raised surface can be high or low since you will be photographing from in front of the baby. The Boppy Pillow opening should be facing the camera. Sit the baby inside the hole with the baby's legs coming out the opening. The Boppy Pillow will help support babies that can sit unassisted. In this pose the Boppy Pillow is mainly used to keep the baby sitting tall. Photograph the baby from the front. This pose will help you capture a nice head and shoulders photo of babies six months and up.

Boppy Pillow Photgraphy Pose #4: Pet Laying
Again prepare the Boppy Pillow as stated above. You will be photographing from in front of the subject so a high or low table will work. The Boppy Pillow opening should face to the left or right of the camera. Lay the pet with the front paws on the Boppy Pillow. The body should be laid into the center and if large enough out the opening. Stand behind the camera in front of the subject and get the pet to turn their head towards the camera. I use a rubber chicken, not a squeaker toy. A squeaker toy will scare most animals and usually makes a dog jump up and want to play. You only want to get the animal to look in your direction with their head.

I have included a couple of photos that show the Boppy Pillow in use.

Digital camera batteries are specifically designed for the unique way digital cameras use energy – in big power bursts. Digital camera batteries have substantial power with a much longer life than alkaline AAs.

Batteries for portable consumer devices are principally made using technologies such as:

- Nickel Cadmium (NiCd)


- Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH)


- Lithium Ion (Li-Ion)

Each type has unique characteristics manufactured for different uses.

NiCd and NiMH:

The main difference between the two is the fact that NiMH (the newer of the two technologies) offer higher energy densities than NiCds. NiMH are less prone to problems and require less maintenance and care. NiMH are also more environmentally friendly than their NiCd counterparts, since they do not contain heavy metals(which present serious landfill problems).

Li-Ion:

Li-Ion produce the same energy as NiMH but weigh approximately 35% less. This is a definite consideration in portable devices where the battery makes up a significant portion of the device’s weight.

Another reason rechargeable Li-Ions have become so popular is that they do not suffer from memory effect at all. Memory effect is voltage depression caused by improper recharging.

They are also better for the environment because they don’t contain toxic materials such as Cadmium or Mercury.

Rechargeable digital camera batteries are rated in “mAh”. The mAh stands for Milliamp Hour, a technical term for how much power a particular battery will hold. Those with higher mAh values theoretically last longer without requiring a recharge, allowing you to take more photographs before you have to replace your cells.

It is recommended when installing batteries that their mAh values match. Otherwise, it is possible that one will drain before the others, causing extra strain on the others, or preventing further photo taking until all are replaced.

- Help and Tips

Cameras consume battery resources quickly, even rechargeable ones, so you should always carry extra. NiMH tend to last much longer than most standard alkaline AAs – plus, are rechargeable, so they can be re-used for quite a long time.

Turn off your digital camera when not in use. Don’t stop after taking every photo and look at the picture in playback mode. If you are using MicroDrive media, be forewarned that these miniature hard drives may take up quite a bit more power than Compact Flash cards.

Rechargeable batteries don’t stay charged forever. They tend to lose a little of their power every day. If you recharge often and frequently use your digital camera, you will probably never notice this loss. However, after a couple of weeks, the loss may be noticeable, and after a couple of months or longer of non-use, those once were ready-to-go but now may have lost enough power to make them unusable.

If you are not planning on using your digital camera for a while, it may be wise to take your batteries out for storage. This reduces the chance of chemical leakage and corrosion, which can seriously damage your equipment.

If you plan on taking photos in colder weather or snowstorm, note that batteries may hold their power for shorter periods of time than in warmer weather. You may either want to bring extra during your photo shoot or look for those specially rated to handle colder temperatures.

If it is raining, or if you are near an area of running water such as a waterfall, be extremely careful. Get at a safe distance from the water before you change out the power cells. Water can corrode, possibly causing leakage, and this can damage your equipment.

Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Whirl White) Feature

• Offers a large LCD with Micro Thumbnail and various slideshows to choose from


• Combination of 10 megapixels and 3x optical zoom furnished with the Picture Stabilization / Anti-blur Mode, and Shooting Modes


• Equipped with the newly evolved 6 scene SR AUTO


• Picture Stabilization / Anti-blur Mode automatically corrects for camera shake and subject blur

Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Whirl White) Overviews

This ultra-chic camera kicks off with a smooth and curvy metallic surface, perfect for any locations or trendy scenes. This superb masterpiece is created with a combination of 10 megapixel shooting and 3x optical zoom furnished with Picture Stabilization / Anti-blur shooting modes. With the newly evolved SR AUTO (Scene Recognition Auto) and face detection, scenes and faces can be captured and optimized even more with these detection functions. The advanced face detection functions can simultaneously recognizes up to 10 faces in a single photo. Share your group portraits using the “Zoom Up” function in playbacks, checking each detected face. The Z30 even corrects red-eyes while playing back close-ups and detected faces. Indoors, at night, or in the midst of fast-moving action; high sensitivity (ISO 1600) makes it easy to take bright, clear photos regardless of the conditions. Picture Stabilization / Anti-blur Mode automatically corrects for camera shake and subject blur, helping you to capture fleeting moments in crisp stop-action with background detail intact. The One-Touch-Movie button is just for shooting movies! No settings. Just press, shoot, and enjoy the movie. Successive Movie allows you to select any previously recorded movie file and “resume” shooting to create a movie up to 60 seconds long. After you take a clip, just set the “In and “Out” points to crop and save only the part you want. It’s that easy.

Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Whirl White) RelateItems

• Silver Zebra Zipper Eva Pouch Carrying Case + Universal LCD Screen Protector for FujiFilm Z Series FinePix Z30


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• Camera Case for Fujifilm FinePix A100, A150, A170, F20, F30, F31FD, F50FD, F60FD, J20, J29, J50, J100, J110W, J120, J150W, J250, Z1, Z3, Z5FD, Z10FD, Z20, Z20FD, Z30, Z100FD, Z200FD, Z33WP, Z37, Z35, Z300, J30, Z300 and more…


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Fujifilm FinePix Z30 10 MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Whirl White) CustomerReview

This was intended for a young relative of mine – since this camera has an optical zoom lens in the internal style, I thought it would be a safer camera for little ones to use, in case it is dropped. More on that later! And the whirl white color scheme is perfect for young kids.

But after testing the camera to make sure it was ok prior to gifting it, I fell in love with the Z30 myself. Now I’ll have to go and buy another – I’m partial to Fuji cameras and I couldn’t pass up the great price on this one. I collect Fuji’s and this camera is my 8th Fuji digital since 2004.

The Z30 is TINY – and the screen is big and bright – I have no trouble seeing anything on this LCD screen even outside in bright sunlight. It’s tiny and lightweight and easy to carry in either a pocket or small bag.

And since the lens has a cover – and this is the way the camera is powered on/off – by sliding the lens cover open (like the first Fuji digital cameras) you almost don’t need to buy a separate case….although I do keep mine in a case because I don’t like the exterior to get scratched.

A couple of complaints for an almost-perfect entry level camera:

>>> The USB port is located inside the battery compartment. I don’t know why they couldn’t have designed it for the side of the camera like most others. I’m afraid of opening flimsy battery compartments unless I absolutely have to. Even if I want to use my SD card reader instead of transferring photos via the USB cord, I still have to open this compartment.

>>> There is no good location to grip the camera on the back of the camera. The entire area is composed of LCD screen and buttons. At least the back area of the camera is rubberized so it does help with the gripping.

But the pro’s way outnumber my complaints:

>>> Quick response when opening the lens cover to take the first shot
>>> Takes beautiful life-like color-saturated pictures
>>> Fast response time after taking a flash picture
>>> Takes good videos – better than my expensive Panasonic Lumix
>>> Love the auction setting for grouping shots together in 1 frame
>>> SR Auto – there’s no thinking, just point and shoot
>>> Lithium-ion battery – the charge lasts for weeks

One “pro” which I want to take the time to make stand out among the previous is I love that this camera enables you to choose standard color, saturated color, and even black & white photos.

Choosing the saturated color setting (which is accessed through the Shooting Menu Options), produces almost the same effect as what Canon advertises as the “Poster Effect” on its new line of Canon A495 cameras Canon PowerShot A495 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 3.3x Optical Zoom and 2.5-Inch LCD (Red). You can make some really nice wall art by choosing this setting and tweaking it a bit with Picasa.

Bottom Line: This Fuji is a good entry-level camera and I recommend it for just about anyone that is looking for an easy to use digital camera (even young children) AND it’s built tougher than it appears. Case in point: Two days after I received this, I was sitting at my kitchen table when it slipped out of my hands and hit the floor (my condo is built on a slab). I thought the camera was broken, but I turned it back on and it’s none worse for the wear. Not even a scratch.

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