The Photographer's Guide to Black Friday and Cyber Monday Gear Shopping

STUFF TO WATCH FOR

Memory Cards

As a gift, a memory card is the photographer's equivalent to a package of tube socks, but they're necessary and they can get pricy. You'll have a harder time finding deals on CF cards now that SD cards are more common 

Frames

Check the ads for the local department stores and you'll find tons of frames on sale for ridiculously cheap prices. Of course, they aren't great frames, or even good ones, but if you're looking for a high volume of things to display prints for something like a photo wall, you can't beat the deal. Both Walmart and Target offer big bundles of frames in various sizes, too in case you don't want to limit yourself to 4x6. 

A second camera body

There are tons of rebates going on right now, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a retailer not offering serious price reductions on the Canon T3. While the big pro cameras likely won't be receiving much of the Black Friday treatment, the lower-end cameras will see drastic cuts. 

Props and wardrobe

The best time for picking up props on the cheap is right after Halloween, but if you shoot a lot of portraits, this can be a great time to pick up some extra clothing, toys and whatever else you might want to have on-hand for shoots. If you're a wedding shooter, fall colors can be very popular for fall weddings, so picking up non-turkey themed Thanksgiving decorations can come in handy for dressing sets or using during photo booths.

Hard Drives

Storage is another one of those things that isn't fun to buy, but as your digital photo collection grows, you need enough space to back everything up -- at least twice. This is a great time of year to get hard drives on the cheap. If you're not already using a network-connected device with two drives that can be mirrored, now is a good time to keep an eye out for one. You'll get more access to your files and more security thanks to the doubling up of the data. 

Site memberships

This is more or a Cyber Monday deal than it is a Black Friday deal, but tons of photo services and sites tend to drop their prices for a day. Last year, 500PX dropped the price of their "Awesome" membership by half and other hosting solutions will sometimes offer similar deals. Keep an eye out on the sites you've been looking to join or services you've been waiting to use.

Printing

If you have a little extra down time on Thanksgiving night, it might be worth it to get together some images you've been hoping to get printed. Many printers drop prices on certain sizes and finishes in order to get you roped into using their site in hopes that you'll come back. Specialty print materials tend to get the most discount love, so if you're in the market for a canvas, a metallic print, or something like that, you'll likely be rewarded for staying vigilant.

Books

Whether you're looking for how-to books or art books, there's a good chance you'll be able to find them on sale over Black Friday. Big box book stores like Barnes and Noble usually offer blanket discounts across everything in the store. If you sign up for their email blasts, you can also sometimes get a one-time coupon for a certain percentage off of one item. That can be a good savings if you're buying an expensive book. 

You can also check directly without he publishers like Peach Pit, who sometimes offer big discounts. It's not a sure thing, but you have to know what you want.

Batteries

You probably won't get a great deal on camera batteries, but those plain old AAs you use for flashes, radio triggers and all kinds of other things will likely be part of the "door busting" festivities.