15 Tips to Chase Away Scrapbooking Burnout
July 29, 2008
It happens to every scrapbooker. No matter how long you’ve been scrapbooking, you’re going to face scrapbooking burnout at some time. There can be so many reasons for it. Maybe you just can’t decide what papers to use or which embellishments. Here are a few tips to help you overcome your scrapbooking burnout.
1. Learning a new scrapbooking technique can cure your burnout. Just try a new technique on one page layout today.
3. Is your photograph backlog keeping you from starting to scrapbook? Just choose a single photograph to be your focal point on a page layout. Just starting can get rid of scrapbookers’ burnout.
3. Give yourself permission to throw out poor quality photographs. Your backlog will start to shrink and just looking through your photos may inspire you.
4. Start organizing your supplies. Just seeing all the cool materials you have to work with may spark your creativity.
5. Your scrapbooking magazines are a great resource of inspiration. Read one today for review of the latest products and ideas for page layouts.
6. Sign up for a scrapbooking class. The excitement of a class is a terrific boost to motivate you to get more pages done.
7. Plan a scrapbooking crop for your friends. If you don’t want to plan one yourself, attend a crop at your local scrapbooking store.
8. Go shopping! Browse through your local scrapbooking store or craft store and get inspired by all the new products available.
9. Don’t think you have to be perfect. Scrapbooking doesn’t have to be complicated. Allow yourself to make mistakes and make simple pages. Not every page needs to be a work of art.
10. Sell or give away some of your scrapbooking supplies. Scaling down can help you overcome supply overload. Sometimes too many choices can keep you from taking action.
11. Try it page by page. Don’t set a goal of creating a scrapbooking album a night.
12. Sign up for a scrapbooking challenge. You can find these online in scrapbooking community message boards. Joining the competition and excitement will start your scrapbooking creativity going again.
13. Try digital scrapbooking. Learning how to creative scrapbook albums on your computer can be inspiring.
14. Read online scrapbooking message boards and peek in their members’ galleries. Just reading about the excitement of other scrapbookers may jump start your own creativity.
15. Show off your scrapbooks. When was the last time you pulled out your scrapbooks when family comes to visit or let your children read through your albums? When you see all the pages you have designed, you just may be motivated to create some more.
Just a few of these tips will chase your scrapbooking burnout away.
Digital Photos Sharing with Friends and Family
July 29, 2008
Let’s say you’ve taken a bunch of beautiful digital photos and you want to share them with friends and family. What’s the best way to do this? There are many options, from printing and burning onto CDs or DVDs, to emailing and uploading the photos.
Lets walk through some of the best ways to share your cherished digital photo collection. Knowing these options, sharing your photos with others is simple to do. There are basically four main ways to share digital photos:
You can always share your pictures by having a hardcopy printout just like with film-based photography. Requirements include a good photo printer and some quality printing paper, after that its just printing! I typically print my photos from an inkjet printer (the Canon Pixma iP4000) on a glossy photo paper. The end results are high quality prints comparable to those printed at photo kiosks.
Of course, if you don’t have a printer, you can still approach a photo kiosk to do the job, or even submit your images to an online photo print website. These websites usually print your pictures and are able to deliver them to your doorstep. Make sure you do some shopping around first - digital photo printing services don’t come cheap.
Storing your photos on CD and DVD is another great alternative for sharing photos, particularly if you have an enormously huge photo compilation. A disadvantage might lay in that your family and friends need to have a CD player or DVD player in order to view the content of the disk.
These days, CD burners and DVD burners are very affordable. A single CD-R stores 650MB and a DVD stores 4GB. That is an amazing amount of storage space for your photo collection.
Another option for sharing photos is to email them to a friend or family member. Be careful though; make sure the receiver would like to receive the photos first. Overloading him or her with a 10MB email containing photo attachments might not be appreciated. Always check for the go ahead before you hit send.
An alternative to emailing photos is to upload your photos to a website and then simply email the website link to your friends or family. This circumvents the dilemma of huge email attachments.
One of the best ways to share digital photos is to upload them to a website. There are many online photo storage sites available. SmugMug is one of my favorite photo sharing sites. It allows you to upload photo albums and determine who can view those albums.
There are limitations to using photo sharing websites. Some charge a fee for their services, while others require that you to order prints to keep your account active. Also, you also not be able to personalize the appearance of the website easily.
My personal recommendation is to set up your own web site to host your own picture gallery. If you’re looking for a good web hosting company, I’d suggest you try Yahoo! web hosting. I’ve used them for years without any problems and their customer support is first-rate.
There are various ways to share your digital photos with friends and family. Personally, I tend to burn my images to CD or DVD and pass them around. I also like uploading images to websites for all to see. Do try one of the above techniques the next time you want to share photos!
Mickey Mouse and Disney Scrapbooking Ideas: Keeping It Simple
July 29, 2008
Did you just return from a Disney World vacation? You’ll enjoy these Mickey Mouse and Disneyland scrapbooking ideas. Don’t just use pre-made Disney papers and stickers. Find ways to make your scrapbooking page layouts more personal and unique.
Start by thinking of the main subject of the page before you even think about what Mickey Mouse and Disney scrapbooking ideas you can incorporate. If you start with your embellishments you may find that your main subject of the page is overwhelmed or overshadowed by your accessories.
Only use the Mickey Mouse and Disney scrapbooking page elements that will really highlight your main focal point. Too many embellishments make a page look disorganized and unfocused.
The best Mickey Mouse and Disney pages are well-thought out and organized. Resist the urge to put too many Disney-themed accents on your page, and leave plenty of white space.
If you have leftover Disney scrapbooking supplies, make a gift album for a grandparent. If you don’t have enough Disney accents, make Mickey ears on one corner of your page using 2 half circles. You can draw a roller coaster by using curving lines through your page layout.
These types of Mickey Mouse and Disney scrapbooking ideas are simple things that you can do on your own rather than simply buying embellishments and accessories and adhering them to your page.
You also can get more creative with your Mickey Mouse and Disney scrapbooking ideas. Try drawing Mickey ears onto the photo of your child.
You can place a sticker of Mickey Mouse right into a photo and make it look like he is right there with you. Take an outline or large sticker of the state of Florida or California and use it as your page background.
Use your creativity and imagination and you’re sure to come up with some fun Mickey Mouse and Disney scrapbooking pages.
Professional Photography Degrees Fit You For a Fabulous Career
July 29, 2008
All too often people come up with a lot of misconceptions about professional photographers. They often think photographers are privileged, having access to people and events others just dream about. They may think that photographers are always heading off to tropical destinations for photo shoots. They look at photographers and wonder how they scored such a luxurious job, just carrying around a camera and shooting pictures all day.
It may be easy to look at photography as a profession and believe that. After all, photographers find themselves in some pretty enviable situations. Photographers are needed to shoot professional sporting events, exclusive celebrity affairs, political campaigns, horrifying disasters?they are always right in the middle of the action, clicking away! How can people not be jealous?
The truth is, photography involves a great deal of expertise and education. Photographers have to have a huge body of technical and artistic knowledge to ascend to the height of their profession. Just look at any good camera. The number of manual adjustments necessary to get the light and focus right before shooting befuddle most mortals. The average Joe is happy to set his camera on automatic and never attempt with such things as shooting fireworks against a night sky or capturing a downhill skier in the dead of winter.
To be sure, photography is a rewarding profession. The ability to take great photos is highly rewarding in and of itself, and many people take it up as a serious hobby. With all the possibilities afforded by digital cameras and state of the art computer programs with which to manipulate photographs, the profession is affording newjob opportunities all the time.
Professional photography degrees have been the training ground for many careers. If you love photography, but are not in a position to take classes at a traditional trade school or college, there is a superb online program offered by one of the nation?s oldest and most respected photography schools. You can train for a photography career without interrupting your present schedule or breaking the bank. Online classes are an optimal solution for busy, budding photographers.
Basic Photoshop Tutorial
July 29, 2008
Photoshop can seem overpowering at first glance due to the program’s lack of simple tutorials and seemingly challenging interface. Cast your worries aside, because the basics of Photoshop are much easier than they might appear.
Photoshop is basically made up of four areas: the menu bar, at the top, the toolbar just below it, the toolbox on the left and the palettes on the right. The menu bar and toolbox always stay the same, as they contain the different modes and options that you can choose, but the toolbar changes depending on context.
An updated status of your image is provided by the palettes. This includes a history of all of the actions and changes you have made along with a thumbnail image of the current results.
To demonstrate the way the interface changes as you use it, try selecting the type tool from the toolbox (the one that looks like a capital T). You will see straight away that the toolbar changes entirely to allow you to set font name, font size and so on.
In the history palette, your use of the type tool will be added to your history, and a new layer will be created for your text and shown in the layers palette.
The toolbox or the menus will most likely be the starting point for projects done with in Photoshop. Everyday tools such as selecting, filling and making shapes will be found in the toolbox. More advanced functions, such as blurring sharpening and most other effects Photoshop can produce are found in the menus, most of which are found under the Filter menu.
When you have selected a tool from the toolbox, you can alter its settings using the toolbar - options from the menu will generally open a dialog box. Finally, when you want to go back and alter something that you already put on the image, you can use the palettes, although they have some other uses too, notably changing colours.
Scrapbooking Adhesives: Stick to the Basics
July 29, 2008
Scrapbooking adhesives come in more choices than ever. As this hobby grows, the manufacturers are responding to the needs of scrapbookers. Since page layouts have moved from just photos, paper and a few stickers to more complex designs like 3-D elements, metals, fabric and ribbon, scrapbookers now need adhesives that can handle the latest in scrapbooking trends and techniques.
The primary concern when choosing scrapbooking adhesives is to make sure it is archival safe. All adhesives used on scrapbooking pages must be safe for your photos. You have a variety of options available to use on the back of your photos or scrapbooking embellishments.
Photo Corners: These are the first adhesives used in modern scrapbooking. They are still very popular. Photo corners were a great choice because they allow you to remove the item from the page, giving you a temporary adhesive. They would very for heritage photos, and any other page elements you don’t want to permanently glue to your layout. Check your local scrapbooking store for the variety of photo corners available. They come in different colors, including metallic colors.
Glue: Scrapbookers love glue for its versatility. Glue comes in pens, tubes and bottles. You can use just a small dot of glue from a glue pen to stick even the tiniest items to your scrapbooking page. Choose from permanent or repositionable glues, or even specialized glue for metal or fabric.
Tape Runners: These are a necessity for any scrapbooker. Tape runners allow you to quickly place adhesive on a large surface, and makes for quick scrapbooking page layouts. They are double-sided adhesive, and come in a roll or in dispensers. They are one of the more economical options for scrapbooking adhesives. You use only the amount you need.
Glue Dots: A must-have for heavy embellishments, glue dots allow for a strong bond and are perfect for fabric and ribbons. They come in a range of sizes, mounted on either a roll or sheet.
Glue Sticks: Still a favorite among scrapbookers, glue sticks are less messy than most glue. They allow you to cover a wide area quickly. Yet, they still can be used on small items. Before you purchase glue sticks, make sure they are photo-safe. You don’t want the ones made for school projects.
Adhesive Spray: Scrapbookers love adhesive spray because it provides even coverage and transparency. A perfect choice for vellum, it doesn’t show through like some other glue alternatives do. Always cover your work space before you apply adhesive glue. It can easily leave over spray.
Tape: Most scrapbookers prefer double-sided tape for adhering scrapbooking page elements. However, one-sided tape is useful on the back of brads or eyelets to keep paper from catching on the prongs.
Foam Tape: Foam tape comes in a variety of sizes and shapes, such as dots and squares. The adhesive is double-sided, and the foam allows page elements to have a dimensional effect. This adds interest to small items and works very well with letters in titles.
Scrapbooking adhesive is a basic supply for scrapbookers. Stock up on a variety of glue and adhesives before you go to any crop or workshop. Each project may call for a different type of scrapbooking adhesive. Choice the one that best fits your needs.
How to Capture Candid Wedding Moments With a Digital Camera
July 29, 2008
So much happens at a wedding that without photographic images, many of the days events would be lost. Professional digital wedding photographers are usually hired to ensure that memories of the day stay captured and ready to be looked at whenever the couple desires. Looking at an image captured during the wedding or reception can bring the memories back even more than watching a DVD!
Creating that perfect shot isn’t easy if you are taking photographs without help as there is only so much you can do on your own. Here are some tips if you find yourself at a friend or relations wedding taking photos with your digital camera.
First, if you want to take a picture of the couple or any other guest, make sure that the background is good and the shot will not be too crowded. Don’t worry too much if you can’t get a full body shot of the couple as you can get around this problem by taking a portrait shot of them which will solve the problem.
Try to get guests that have spectacles on to either remove them or hold their head at an angle so that there isn’t a reflection obscuring their eyes. If you are shooting into the light, remember to compensate and increase the aperture otherwise the couple (or guests) will appear dark in the image.
Candid shots are also dramatic and these portraits often reveal more than the quality of the picture itself. In fact, many professionals use the zoom to capture intimate and memorable moments. With digital wedding photography always remember to be ready for the shot as it saves people posing and looks more natural.
To ensure that no great moment is missed, your digital camera should be equipped with enough memory. In other words, make sure to have an extra memory card - especially if you want to preserve as many moments as possible. Something to go by is, if your camera has a 6 mega pixel resolution, you will need a large storage capacity card - a 1 gigabyte card should be sufficient - that will hold a few hundred shots at high resolution.
If you intend to have the pictures blown up to a large size you will need to ensure your cameras resolution is set to maximum. Storing the wedding images on a computer or CD will mean that you can print them off whenever you want but a presentation CD can be played back on a TV.
A new generation has grown up not really knowing what film photography is like, so to them digital wedding photography is quite normal.
The Many Uses of Hispanic Stock Photos
July 29, 2008
If you are thinking hard on using Hispanic stock photos, you assuredly do not need to be educated on the importance of images that are culturally relevant. You know that business communities, constituencies, and opportunities are continuously being redefined. You also know that you have to employ images that are not coupled to stereotypes rooted in the past, but to images that correctly portray how populations live now as well how they imagine themselves living in the future.
If you have thought about all these things but are stressed about the quality of Hispanic stock photos that are presently available, you need to stop. The quality of stock photography has increased radically from the past, when stock photos consisted almost entirely of outtakes or seconds from commercial magazine assignments. Now, a good number of the most talented and accomplished photographers constantly create wonderful, new material to be used by stock photography agencies.
Once the image has been placed with the agency, you can go on-line and browse through a seemingly endless supply of Hispanic stock photos. The finest agencies are not only very selective, which means you get to choose from great images, but they also use market research to amplify the effectiveness of the image. For instance, knowing that Hispanic businesses have expanded three times faster than U. S. businesses as a whole, or that African-, Hispanic- and Asian-Americans total approximately one-third of the U.S. population helps the agency offer you the finest content.
Also, when you acquire a stock photo, the price that you pay depends on many factors. You can pay a one-time-fee to for infinite use of the image, you can pay to have sole use of an image so that no one else can use that photo, and you can pay various prices depending on whether or not the image is used in print, as outdoor advertising, indoor display, low resolution for the Web as well as a large number of other factors.
Since ease of use, flexibility and quality best describe the current state of stock photography, what are you waiting for?
Tips for Photographing your Newborn with Window Light
July 28, 2008
Now that the baby has arrived, everyone is clamoring for pictures. But when you take pictures with your flash camera, the baby just does not look like the beautiful baby you see before you. Here are some tips to take some natural photos of your newborn that can be used for an artistic birth announcement.
- You can use a film camera or a digital camera, but use the best camera available to you that is easy for you to use. If you are using a film camera, you may want to use black and white film, at least 800 ISO. If you are using a digital camera, you can turn the pictures black&white on the computer later, or at via your online printing service.
- Turn off the Flash! Use window light for the best natural soft light to show off your baby. Find a window that has an abundance of good light, not direct sun light streaming in, but good indirect sunlight. Morning light is usually very good if your windows are facing the right way to take advantage of that, and newborns are often calmer in the morning.
- Remove clutter from the background of your shot by putting the baby in a carrier with a solid colored blanket covering it, or on the bed with white sheets. Make sure it is a safe area for the baby so that you can have your face behind the camera and not worry that the baby will fall off the bed.
- Skin is best for newborns. Photographing newborns without clothing yields a timeless classic look. You can keep diapers on if you choose, but try to cover them with fabric or a diaper cover.
- With your camera ready, making sure the babies face and body is turned toward the light from the window, start taking pictures from different angles. Try to fill the frame with the baby and the solid colored blanket or sheet, avoiding additional clutter or items that may get into your background.
- Do not try to get the baby to smile, just take a series of images from different angles, with some of the baby looking at the camera and some of the baby’s profile, some of the top of the head etc. Keep working your way around the baby talking and singing to your baby to try to engage them. If the baby starts fussing, soothe them as needed and when they are calm, try again.
- If the baby falls asleep, no problem - photograph them while sleeping! When they are asleep you can take pictures of feet and hands as they are not moving. Think of the beautiful images by Anne Geddes, who became famous for her sleeping newborns images. When newborns are awake they tend to move constantly which can make it challenging to get still images without motion.
- Take lots of photographs! The more images you take, the more likely you will find something you like. Make sure to take pictures form different angles and perspectives - full body from different sides, half body, different angles of the face, fuzzy ears, wrinkly arms, scrawny legs, etc.
- Develop your pictures at the lab or on your computer, and make sure to look through them with an artistic eye. Find the images that really look like the baby to you - the images that capture their features in the way that you want to remember, and use those ones for a birth announcement.
