Ten or twenty years from now, will you have a shoebox full of family photos for your kids to look through and remember all those special moments? If you are like me, you take lots of pictures of your kids with your phone and share them on Facebook. Unfortunately, most of us never think about backing up our phone or storing the photos we shared on Facebook.
When is the last time you printed photos of your kids or your vacation? I’m really starting to realize I haven’t added to the shoebox full of photos since I got an I-phone. That’s sad, but I’m going to change my ways and take photos I can backup, print and put on display in our home!
I want really great photos of our kids while they’re still kids…and I want really great family vacation photos that we can pass around and remember great times that we had together. I want photos of our kids in front of the castle at Christmas where they don’t look like a dark silhouette. As good as camera phones are, there are still some limitations to them – like seeing the scene in your phone on a bright sunny day or printing your photos. The Main Street Mouse and Kingdom Camera Rentals are teaming up to help you get better photos! Every Friday, The Main Street Mouse will bring you Photo Friday – DSLR camera “how to” articles and tips from Kingdom Camera that are simplified for beginners. Even if you don’t want to become an amateur photographer – everyone wants better photos of their vacation and Photo Friday is here to help you!
Kingdom Camera Rentals is owned by Ron and Lenise Zika and their three sons, Jeff, Ian and Jared. They rent affordable, high quality DSLR cameras and lenses for every skill level – from novice to professional, to people vacationing in Central Florida.
Why would someone rent camera gear for vacation?
Sometimes people accidentally leave behind their cameras, batteries, or chargers. It’s pretty devastating to realize you are headed to your vacation and you have no camera. I left a charger behind one vacation, and we lost half a day walking around town searching for a place that sold camera battery chargers.
For people who don’t own a DSLR but want really good photos – they can rent one of our camera packages very affordably. Who wants to drop a bunch of money on a camera before you go on vacation? Renting is the perfect solution. Plus, we have selected gear that is SUPER EASY to use for first timers and still offers exceptional quality! Most of our FUN PACKAGE customers are first time DSLR shooters; many are so happy with their photos that they buy the camera when they return home.
Photography buffs love to play with new gear! Lenses can be very expensive so renting is a great solution for trying new gear or something you might not use often. Plus, photography buffs usually carry everything but the kitchen sink – and it’s heavy! You lug it though the airport and it takes up all the carry on room you’re allowed. We have people that bring their own camera bodies and a few small lenses… and rent the heavy lenses from us.
Who are the people that rent from you?
We have clients whose photography skill level ranges from an I-phone to those that are experienced photographers.
We even had a lady tell us we “saved her marriage”! She had packed her husband’s super telephoto lens by mistake -so she and the kids had to get a mile away to be in the photo. He was pretty aggravated and the vacation was off to a bad start; so she searched the web for a lens rental company in Orlando and found us. We were able to get the lens her husband wanted out to them right away. Happy husband, happy wife – wonderful vacation. We love helping out like that!!
How does the rental process work?
The rental process is fast and simple. From our website, you chose the package or gear you want and the dates you want it. You select a delivery time window for morning or afternoon and prior to your arrival, we’ll call you and schedule a specific delivery and pickup time. We realize every minute of vacation is precious and you don’t want to wait around on camera gear to arrive. We meet you in the lobby of your resort; you sign for the gear on our I-phone app and you’re off to have fun! If you need instructions, we will show you how to use the camera and answer any questions you have.
What makes Kingdom Camera different that other camera rental companies?
We want to be a fun part of yourvacation experience! We’ve thoughtfully designed everything about Kingdom Camera to be sort of bright and fun – like a Florida vacation should be. Our most popular camera package is even called the FUN PACKAGE. The cameras have Disney Camera Straps in a variety of colors and styles – we even have vintage Disney camera straps! We offer a free camera bag to use with your rental – and have several styles of bags to choose from. The camera bags and lens cases even have a Mickey Mouse lens cleaner attached to them that people just love. We’ve tested all of our gear in the parks and we show you what kind of photos you can expect to get in the parks. We are a concierge camera company for people vacationing in Central Florida.
We have a lot of return clients – and we remember them by name. Ron even remembers what equipment they rented and where they stayed! We have become friends with many of them. A love of Disney and photography makes for pretty quick connections between people!
What can we expect from Photo Friday?
I enjoy spending my leisure time photographing the parks and resorts! One of the things I love about photography is that there is always more to learn and experiment with. I’m still learning myself – but I love helping those who are beginners. I remember how intimidated I felt taking my first photography class with more experienced people; thankfully my instructor was great at making me feel comfortable. It’s important to me that I help people feel comfortable and simplify things for them to make it easy to learn the basics. I’m a very open person so it’s just natural for me to share whatever tips I’ve learned along the way.
Photo Friday will start with the very basics of shooting with a DSLR –learning to use the auto scene modes – and we’ll progress from there. We’ll have articles on shooting special things like fireworks, night photography and how to process your photo afterward. Hopefully, we have lots of feedback from our readers and we’ll progress together!
As co-owner and co-creator of The Main Street Mouse.Working in a technical support position for 18 years, it was time for a change.As the Webmaster and Project Planner, I spend most of my time researching everything from the latest Disney News, technology advances and of course keeping up on all the Marvel news that comes out.I never considered myself a writer but I’ve come to like blogging and sharing news with all.I feel blessed everyday that I get to spend my days working with my best friend and love of my life while we continue to grow and expand what started as a hobby all those years ago.
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