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Quote: Originally Posted by ethrondson So are you saying that the books aren't that great if you have to pay for them but good enough to get them free? The books are worth $30. They are really cool & people love them. But, when you can get them for a lot less it's hard to pay $30 for them. I have never paid full price for one. I have heard mypublisher is better so if you are paying full price, that site might be the way to go. even then, you should get a BOGO free deal. Really the value of the book is in the pictures & the layouts. if you put a lot of time into making a really nice book it is totally worth the $30 or even more. But, I've also slapped some together really fast because I had a free coupon that was expiring. They were fine, but it's not something I would have ordered if it wasn't free.

I love shutterfly because of all the free stuff i get. But, I did my photoshare with snapfish because of the option to download high res images for 5 cents each. I plan on purchasing the best images from our guests. I didn't do the group room option. I just made an account & gave everyone the passord. Then they can share the albums with their personal accounts if they want to order anything. I also picked snapfish because I have 1000 prints that I bought on ebay for $12. My next 3 photobooks will be from snapfish because I bought 3 photobook giftcards from circuit city for 3 cents (deal has passed). previously all my photobooks have come from shutterfly & i have been very happy with them. If one ever is defective, they replace it right away for no charge. The quality isn't as great as some of the higher end companies, but they are still very nice & make great gifts. Snapfish pros 5 cent high res image downloads snapfish cons to see an album, people must have an account. Shutterfly & kodak just lets you look at an album without logging in shutterfly pros better selection of templates for photobooks shutterfly cons no option for getting high res images Kodak pros ability to pay subscription to be able to download all of the high res images for one fee I don't know the quality of their books, but there other products are great. I bought a pen holder, jewelry box, mouse pad, and some other stuff before christmas during a really good special. It was all really nice. I'll probably use one of the more expensive sites for making my coffee table book, but I plan on using a mix of shutterfly & snapfish for buying books for gifts. I design the pages with my own software so it's easy to upload them onto multiple sites for ordering. Summary I would not use shutterfly for the photoshare because there is no option for getting high res images. Then your pictures are stuck in shutterfly for all projects and prints. Scan ebay & slickdeals.net for photobook codes. I've never paid full price for a photobook.

Quote: Originally Posted by JODEY Oh yes, of course, if they were going to pay for their own dresses I would just ask thet they be the colour of our theme (Aqua / Turquoise ) but as for style I would leave that up to them to decide, even if they were all different as long as the colours were similar, I'd love to be able to pay for them and who knows its still a long way off I might be able to, you girls know how it is... things just just keep mounting up LOL... I think it's fine to have the girls pay for their own if it is something like that where they can pick just about anything in a color.

Quote: Originally Posted by ethrondson A friend of mine from highschool used to take in foster ferrets when she lived in the city. She had a DW and at her AHR a guy dressed as a big giant ferret stopped into to say congrats and to thank them for being great foster ferret parents!!!! I totally forgot about that. Quote: Originally Posted by PenMarie very cool, Kate!!...my babies LOVE going outside -- they especially love camping!...kind of hard with 15 ferrets and a dog, but somehow we manage..ha! I need pictures now! Don't y'all know the BDW rules. Pictures!

Quote: Originally Posted by Dbld78 Morgan... I would go with the 30d or 20d if you can get your hands on one... the 50mm lens is great the only thing is the one you linked isn't a digital lens. Which isn't such a big deal since it is a prime lens, the price is right though. I noticed someone mentioned that they wouldn't suggest a prime lens, personally that ALL I shoot with! I find the zoom lens' aren't as sharp but it's really a preference thing. I wouldn't really know what you would do with a Macro lens.... are you planning to shoot flowers and such? Macros are pretty expensive and I would stick to the basics first. Happy hunting! The macro question was TammyBs. She already has a basic package & is starting to expand.

that is plenty! only add more if you want to.

Quote: Originally Posted by becks OMG! I am the oldest bride on BDW!! I got engaged at 37. Me, and my wrinkles. I heard you comment before about how "old" you are. Then I saw your pictures & wondered what you were talking about. So I started thinking that maybe you consider 30 to be old. Honestly, you could pass for so much younger. atleast I don't have to feel so inadequate now. You seem so established & I keep thinking, "geez, becks already has this great house at 30 & I'm still living in an apartment with an imaginary ferret." OK, to answer the question, I was 3 weeks short of 26, so I went ahead and picked the 26-30 box instead of 22-25. Now that we are married, I'm a few weeks short of 27. Mike is 27. We started dating when I was 22. I knew he was the guy I wanted to marry, but I'm glad we waited. I've always been 18 going on 40, but at 27ish I do feel more like an adult & truely ready for the committment of marriage. By 18 going on 40 I mean that in high school I was fascinated by retirement savings. So it's not like I wasn't responsible, but I really am solid in who I am now.

Quote: Originally Posted by COFPhoto Cool, just approved your account. Hope to see you posting soon. =) I am about to tell y'all about my underwater camera I found the disscussion about underwater cameras, but was waiting until I was activated to reply.

Quote: Originally Posted by COFPhoto You also might want to scan the photography forums for used equipment. yes, I saw someone on your forum selling a 30D. I was too late for it though. I just realized how hectic the next two months will be for me, so if it takes a few more months to find the right camera that is fine. I'm not in a hurry. I've been waiting about 20 years since & got my first camera. I found it in a drawer at my house. It was a red Kodak camera that used I-10 film & said "1984 olympics" on the side. I ran out into a field and tried to take some really inspiring pictures. Instead I got a bunch of pictures of my thumb. I've loved taking pictures since then, but I've never known how. I'm just a frequent snapper. Atleast i know to move my thumb now. it's something i'm really excited about learning, but I don't need to rush. it would be nice to have something by christmas, because I have a lot of downtime when I fly home for the holidays to practice.

Quote: Originally Posted by Nic Dragomire well the 20 and 30d will have more options/menus than the lesser models normally. I don't have an xti so I have no idea. but the first time you walk through a doorway and your xti catches the frame and breaks into tiny pieces you will know why I recommended the stronger body. yeah, i'm pretty clumsy. the 20/30Ds are still fairly light. maybe I can carry them in a backpack case so it doesn't feel as heavy. I watched a bunch of used ones on ebay & they went for $420-$450. If anyone sees a good deal on a used camera please let me know. Should I also considered a refurb? Should the lenses be new though?

Quote: Originally Posted by Nic Dragomire Morgan buy these: used 20 or 30d 28 1.8 50 1.4 then when more funds become available 430ex flash 10-22 zoom (ask Leigh about this lens - she loves it) 70-200 f4 is the 20 and 30d are going to be more sturdy than the xti. try craigslist, but be careful. you can find a great bargins on CL but also get ripped off. I buy all of my cameras used. I buy my most of my lenses new. in fact if you would like for me to keep my eye out on the professional forums I belong to, I will. I bought the tamron 28-75, and sold it, I hated how slow it focused. I like your thinking with going with prime lenses.. you will love em. Thanks! I really appreciate all of the photographers helping me out. It's great to get some pro advice. Yes, if anyone sees a used 20D, 30D or XTi for sale I'd be interested. I'll scan craigslist too. I have seen posts of people selling 20D & 30Ds because the got the new 40D, but they were already sold. But, I imagine if I look around more I'll find something from a source I can trust. Is the main benefit of the 20/30D the sturdiness? I am a little concerned about it being heavier than I want once I put the camera & a bunch of lenses in a bag. I don't want to feel weighed down while hiking or on a vacation. We walk a lot on vacation usually. Mike is usually my packhorse for most things, but I always carry my own camera because I'm constantly pulling it out. My little Canon SD is great on vacation so I don't want to get so heavy that I opt to take the SD instead. Even my purse strap starts to hurt after a long day.

Quote: Originally Posted by COFPhoto That's easy, I actually run a photography forum called Learning Digital Photography Together. It's totally free, but you do have to participate (100 posts) to get into the business area. Our members are mainly hobbyists and people who have started side businesses shooting photography. Only a couple of Pros. We're not one of those huge, overwhelming, intimidating forums. Our members are very helpful and supportive of one another. Check us out some time: LDPTForum.com - Learning Digital Photography Together Forum I signed up.

Quote: Originally Posted by movephotography One other thing, make sure also that you want to go with canon and not Nikon. There are good things to be said about both systems, it is largely a matter of personal preference regarding menus and usability (I have to shoot Canon because otherwise, I wouldn't be able to borrow $5,000 lenses from newspaper photo closets to shoot sports). My main reason for picking a canon was that all of my digital cameras have been canon. So I thought it would be easier to learn on a camera that resembles what I already have. Still, I'm not set on getting a canon. I was reading reviews (that I think were old so possibly outdated) saying that the consumer nikon cameras were specific for their lens. Is this true? I do like that the lenses would work on other cameras so that if I want to upgrade cameras someday I don't have to start over.

Thanks everyone for all the feedback! I can already tell this is going to become an expensive hobby. I've been wanting to learn photography since I was a kid, but I put it off because I knew it would be expensive. I do think it's the kind of hobby that will pay off. With pictures, not money. I don't see myself making money with photography which is why I feel like I need to constrain myself with how much I spend. But, I don't want to go to cheap & feel very limited once I start to learn something. My idea was to spend $800 now and then continuously add to my collection. So I want to make sure I get something good to build on. I read Kevin Kubota's Digital photography bootcamp last night. But, it was more about photoshop that taking pictures so I still need a good photography book. Still, I found it to be very helpful in getting some photoshop stuff down I haven't figured out yet. I have been told this is good. Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera Bryan Peterson Any other suggestions?

hijack away tammy:)

I enjoy photo.net They are very willing to help a noob. Critiques are friendly & constructive. Rarely does it get dirty & when it does the thread gets closed.

Quote: Originally Posted by monicabrandon2008 Everyone used their cups but the paint didn't rub off, the rub ons did. How weird! do you remember what brand paint you bought? mine was Zigg. I'm glad to hear your paint didn't come off.

The $350 price was a scam. I looked at reviews & they were good, but they were probably fake. Reseller ratings had bad reviews for that company. I'll stick to a reputable company. The camera is going to be $500-$560 now.

Quote: Originally Posted by MikkiStreak Morgan, before deciding on which lens to get, determine what type of photos you'd take most. The lens equivalent of the human eye interpreting the world around us, is about 35mm. So if you look around at things around you that you would photograph, pay attention to how close/far away you are from that subject. For example, if you're 20ft from a beautiful flower- think about how small/large that flower appears to your human eye--- then ask yourself, do I need to be closer to the flower, or farther away from the flower to take the kind of picture I want? This can help you determine if a 50mm is a good choice for your needs, to start with. If you want a 50mm lens, the 1.8 aperature is going to come in handy and would be a good choice. If, you could see yourself taking pictures of people and maybe buildings/architecture too, then maybe a wide angle would work better (like 18-55mm range, so you aren't limited by a single framework lens). Also, be careful where you buy the SLR kit from---- there's a couple sites out there that are 'questionable' businesses--- as in, they change their names every couple months because they've pissed off too many people doing things like selling a "kit" that actually has stuff missing in it. I think you said something about using an ebay vendor.... might be worth it to compare the price they've given you to a place like B&H Photo Video... B&H is usually comparable, and they have a "bill me later" option that would defer payments/interest for 6 months on a purchase this size... I buy most of my stuff using that program because I can keep my money for 6 months earning interest, and then pay it off before payments kick in. Oh yea, there's an ebay vendor I used for buying batteries that is dirt cheap and has been reliable... a lot of camera suppliers will charge say, $40 for a battery that can actually be purchased from a battery supplier for $15. And, there were some really good deals at Office Depot a few weeks ago on a large, fast compact flash card--- like, about half the price found at electronics/PC stores.... Thanks for all the tips. I'll think about the distances as I walk around campus tomorrow. I set up my ebay watch list to see what used 20D & 30Ds go for. I typically don't buy big items on ebay, because you can usually find a better deal by shopping around. I also check the reseller ratings to make sure the company is good. I'll also keep a lookout for cheap compact flash cards. I scan slickdeals everyday & that is where I found my cheap SD cards.

I prefer the idea of having a table with loved one's pictures instead.

Quote: Originally Posted by Abbie thanks for the update morg, we're using our next week! this way i can let people know it might happen, so they dont rub it against their clothes after or something to-go-cups a'la morgan rock! let me know if it happens to you too so we can update it here. OMG your wedding is next week!!!

Quote: Originally Posted by Davematthews16 I LOVE THIS IDEA! I went and bought cups today and have the paint pens. We having our guests sign a starfish platter with paint pens instead of the traditional guestbook. Love these things Thanks for the post Oh no, I forgot to update this post. I tested the cups in the dishwasher & they were fine. What I didn't check was putting a cold drink in them. The paint would come off when they got cold. I have no idea why. It wasn't a big deal. I still used mine all the time & saw other people using them. The names were still intact, but if you touched it while it was wet some of the paint would smudge on your hands. it washed off easy. The rub ons were perfect. So I guess a good alternative would be to just do rub-ons. Also, I think just giving people big cups would be convenient. The cups were so tiny at our resort. I loved having a big cup to fill with diet coke at meals instead of having to keep refilling. I also got a huge margarita made in mine a few times.

sorry you are having to start again, but there are a lot of wonderful places in the area. you will find something you love.

My mom has asked me to find her a good song to dance to with my brother. She wants it to be slow (easy for her to dance to). She suggested george straight. I scaned his song list, but don't know if any of these are appropriate for a mother/ son dance. I only know his stuff from the 80s- early 90s. George Strait discography - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia So please help me find a country song that isn't about heartbreak (if one exists). Also, something kind of old school country. Like 80s george straight, kenny rogers, ronnie milsap...a steal guitar would be a bonus. And nothing that's really romantic like it should be a couple's dance. TIA!

OK I just got back from circuit city. I compared the XTi to the 40D. I did prefer the size & weight of the XTi. I could easily take it hiking. I think I'm almost ready to order. I would like to get it soon enough that I can take some nice pictures at my brother's wedding. Not THE wedding pictures. They have a pro & I'm a bridesmaid. I just want to take some shots during the reception.