The Dan's Blog

We get this question all the time. People want to sell their stuff on eBay or Etsy, or they've got a collection they want to document, and they run into problems getting clean, consistent pictures. It's not easy, either. Getting the light nice and even, getting rid of shadows, and managing reflections can be tricky. In this video, Ben shows off a gadget that helps fix all that and gives us a few tips for using it effectively. Meet the Promaster Still Life Studio: We have three different sizes available, to accomodate whatever you need to photograph. Shop Online If you want to try one out, stop by either of our stores. We've got them set up and ready to use.

If you're taking portraits, formal or candid, and you think of yourself as a "natural light" photographer, the first tool we always recommend to start to take control of that light is the trusty old 5-in-1 reflector. Reflectors give you more control over harsh shadows and allow you to redirect the light you're working with. It's a simple way to take your pictures to a new level. The Promaster ReflectaDisc 5-in-1 Plus includes a translucent, silver, gold, black and white disk. In this video, Ben shows you each part of the 5 parts, explains why you'd want to use them, and gives you a few examples to see it in action. Check it out! We have a bunch of different sizes available, and they all pack up small and light. They're easy to use, and probably the most affordable piece of lighting gear in your kit. Shop Online If you want to try one out, stop by either of our stores. We've got them set up and ready to use!

Take a look at how Dan's staff member Kyle S. made a great portrait in less than five minutes with some super simple lighting. Katrina, who works in our DigiPrint Lounge, happened to bring her daughter with her, and Kyle saw an opporunity for a quick little portrait session. This first photo was taken with just the available light in the store. Available light only It's not bad, but we can do better, right? So Kyle grabbed a Promaster Light Wand to really enhance the look, letting him use light to really separate his subject from the background. with Promaster Light Wand That's a lot more interesting, but we've got some dark shadows on her face that you might like to fill in. Easy enough! Just grab a 5-in-1 reflector disc and bounce a little more light in there. with Promaster Light Wand and Reflector And that's all there is to it! Stop by and try it out yourself, we've got everything set up for you right here. Yes, that's it- I told you it was a really simple setup. Happy shooting!

This is the story of a photo from an ugly location. Well not really ugly... let's just say it has "character". Because when the light is just right, a plain looking spot can turn into something special. This is the employee entrance to Dan’s Camera City in Allentown. It’s really not much to look at. “Utilitarian” would be a good word to describe it. But one night on the way out the door, I noticed the light and the rain on the window looked interesting. So I poked around a little bit to see if there was something usable here. Yep, there’s some potential! This looks like I could use it for a background: Note that I’ve set my white balance to Tungsten here to keep the sky a nice deep blue. Now the light in here is terrible, there’s just one small, gross-looking lightbulb overhead. And there’s barely enough room to turn around, let alone set up a light stand and umbrella. I needed something small. So I grabbed a Promaster Light Wand that we have on display. This thing is sort of a softbox-on-a-stick. It’s a bank of LEDs with a handle on the end. The diffuser has a white side and an amber side. I switched it around to the amber side, since I’m using Tungsten white balance here. That keeps everything consistent. So I’ve got my background and I’ve got my light, now I just need a model! Lucky for me it was the end of the day, and everybody was headed out that back door to go home. I grabbed Ken here and made this quick portrait. Not too bad, huh? The whole thing took five minutes to set up and shoot, and that’s including the time to convince somebody to pose for me. Big thanks to Ken for playing along. Ken works in our custom frame shop, say “hi” and tell him you saw his picture on the blog the next time you stop by Dan’s! Want to learn more? Take a look at our Lighting & Flash classes with Dan's Photo University »