Scrapbook Photography 101 Part 2 of 3

Posted on November 16th, 2011 by wwaddell.
Categories: Digital Photography, Scrapbook Articles, Training.

Title:  Scrapbook Photography 101 Part 2

Author:  Wes Waddell

Article:  Scrapbook Photography 101 Part 2 Basic Photo Composition

Now that you have the basic photography equipment and a better understanding of your camera, its’ different modes and how they affect your images… it’s time to start learning how to best use this knowledge to take photos that are not only in focus, but tell the right story and fit into your scrapbook of memories.

Basic Scrapbook Photography Composition:

Anyone can easily, in just a few hours, learn to operate a camera, point it at something and take a clear, in focus image. But it takes lots and lots of practice to have that image composed so that it also tells the story, preserves the memory and fits onto your scrapbook page the way you need it to.

In all your standard photography courses, they teach you the basic principal of: Use all the available space!

For your scrapbooks… this is sometimes the totally WRONG ANSWER!

Yes, if you are going to print an image of your child’s smiling face and hang it on the wall, you want to get in closer and capture the face close up. The difference with the scrapbook or memory journal is that while you may want to have a close-up on the page, you are also going to be adding captions, journaling and other artwork that not only tells of your child’s wonderful smile, but that it’s their 1st birthday and they were smiling at grandma for the very first time.

Scrapbook Photo Technique: Take the close-up image, but also take one with grandma in the image and one of the child’s profile from the front of the ears forward on the very edge of the frame. (great to use as a scrapbook background) In short, think page background, and how you will tell the story on the page or page set. Then take the images needed for that one part of the story.

Photos of the birthday cake in the lower corner of the photo with a solid color wall or background and photos of the presents off to one side or along the bottom of the picture make wonderful scrapbook background images with plenty of empty space to fill with photos and journaling notes.

Landscapes are different:

When you travel or go on family outings, a lot of people take beautiful images of the landscapes and scenery.

The problems you run into as a scrapbook photographer is that these landscapes don’t make for good backgrounds in many cases because you will be covering much of it up with other photos and stories. And if you just put the images on the scrapbook page by themselves, they make for some very boring scrapbook page sets.

So, what do you do about it?

There are a couple of techniques that you can use to help jazz up your scrapbook scenery pages.

First, keep your family in the images but off to the side or near the bottom of the image and don’t be afraid to use the fill flash mode (if you have one) to highlight their faces. This keeps the story about them and that they were there.

Second, use the viewfinder and look at the image as if it were a background page. Imagine your images, titles and journaling over the top of the image you see. Now, move the camera around, turn it on end for portrait style and capture several images that work as backgrounds with the most important parts of the scenery around the sides of the photo.

Third, use a tree, some plants, a fence post or other close object to frame all or part of the image. Grandma and Grandpa holding hands and you shooting between them with just their shoulders, arms and hands framing the scenic is a really cool way to tie the family into the story.

Scrapbook Photography Tip: If your camera doesn’t have manual focus or it’s hard to use, then almost all cameras today allow you to point the camera somewhere else (like into the distance or at the sky), press the shutter button part way down so it activates the focus and light settings, then without releasing the shutter, point it where you want the photo taken and finish pressing the shutter. In this way you have the camera set to shoot a different setting than would be otherwise. You may need to practice this a bit, but it really works great at sunset and to place focus on other thanthe close up face or object.

Now it’s time again for the fun part… practice all these principles and techniques at the same time.

It’s not as easy as you might think! At least not at first anyhow.  Now you get an idea of why photographers take years to really learn their craft well.

This week’s assignment: Create 2 complete scrapbook pages using only your images and journaling/titles.

Go out in the morning or early afternoon with your friends or family. Take photos of backgrounds, people and nature.  Then, that evening go out again and take images in low light and of the sunset with someone as the focus of the story. Now, put the images onto your computer and using a digital scrapbook or photo editing program (you can print and do it by hand too, but that will cost you money for the prints and paper), create one page that tells the story of your morning and one page that tells the story of your evening. You can only use the images your took and titles/journaling boxes.

Show the results to family and friends that were not there and see if they understand the story and like what they see. After all, it’s only through the minds of others that we know we have told the complete story.

In Part 3, we’ll cover mood and some more tricks to make your photo’s look like a pro.

Until then, practice, practice, practice!

Wes Waddell

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Scrapbook Photography 101 Part 1 of 3

Posted on November 15th, 2011 by wwaddell.
Categories: Digital Photography, Scrapbook Articles, Training.

Title: Scrapbook Photography 101 Part 1 of 3

Author: Wes Waddell

Article:
Scrapbook Photography 101, Part One: Equipment – Bag, camera, flash, tripod

This article is a simplified photography course directed at new photographers and scrapbookers out there who want to know the basics of where to start.

First, a short introduction to what this course is.

The basics of photography are not hard and just about anyone over the age of 12 can learn them in very short order. With today’s modern digital cameras, it’s very easy for anyone to take clear focused images in most any conditions. What really takes time and practice is taking images that capture the memory and fit the needs of the scrapbooker who is capturing not only the memory and the emotions, but the story itself.

We will highlight the basics and what you need to get started. We’ll really be concentrating on how to apply the basics and the techniques/tips to use to get the most out of the images you capture for your scrapbooks.

That said, let’s get started.

If you really want to learn the basics of photography the first thing you need is a reliable camera. It doesn’t have to be the most expensive camera out there, but it must, and I repeat must, be able to shoot in a variety of modes and conditions. At a minimum, this means in full auto mode, in portrait or people mode, in sunset or low light conditions, with fill flash (we’ll talk more on what that is later) and at night.  Optional nice to have options are: moving objects mode, landscape mode and Macro settings.

The nice thing is that most of today’s digital cameras, even the ones on your smart phone come standard with this. The only catch is that it needs to be 4 mega pixel or better resolution if you plan on making 8×10 or larger prints out of your best images.

Now comes the hard part that most people ignore… To really get the most out of your photography you must understand the equipment. You’ll need to learn how your camera and all it’s modes and capabilities work. After all, if you don’t know what it can do and how to use it, then how can you take advantage of it when the time comes that you need it?

For example, full auto is OK for taking candid shots at a family reunion, but so much is out of focus in the auto images taken of mountain or lake scenery photos. You need to know how to put your camera into landscape mode to get the full Depth of Field (how much is in focus) out of your camera lens.

Read the manual, practice with the different settings and keep your manual handy to review the modes you don’t use all the time.

Let’s talk bags and cases:

If you have a camera but can’t get to it quickly when you need to take a quick photo… then you are going to miss out on a lot of great pictures. I always recommend getting the smallest bag you can for the camera and your everyday basics. That way you are more likely to always have it with you when you need it. If you have a lot of accessories, use a seperate bag and swap out what is needed for the situation you are in at the time.

The one accessory you should never leave out: Your Tripod!

Face it, you’re going to need a tripod whether it’s for portrait work, landscapes or sporting events. You will need one eventually if for no other reason then to include your self in a few of the images with your self timer or remote. Luckily you don’t have to spend a lot here. Just something lightweight and durable. If your camera (cell phone camera’s especially) doesn’t have a tripod attach point, don’t worry about it, just get one of the multi-finger or spider grip tripods that can be adjusted to hold almost anything.

Your Flash:

You will need some kind of Flash.  You can buy a separate remote mounted flash, which is great to have around if you can afford it to supliment your built in flash on the camera. These external flash units have a remote sensor that goes off when it senses the flash on your camera go off and adds light just where you need it. I use mine to light backgrounds up most of the time.

You’ll will need to consider what kind of photography that you will be doing most though before you spend your cash on another flash unit. If you’re going to do mostly nature and landscape, you may only need the fill flash that comes with most cameras built in today. On the other hand, if you are planning on doing portraiture or large group shots, you will want to consider a larger high power camera mounted flash that has an adjustable angle.

OK, now that we have our bag, our camera and our tripod; it’s time to have some fun.

This week’s assignment: Find a willing subject (person) that you can work with, preferably someone that won’t mind playing some games and doing a few silly things.  Now, with your manual reviewed and still handy, shoot 8 to 10 images using each mode of your camera.  Shoot some of the pictures in the morning, some in the afternoon, and finish up at sunset into darkness. Be sure and have a notebook handy so you can take notes on time of day and light conditions along with what your settings (mode) were for each photograph. 

When you get the images off your camera and onto your computer, you should be able to see a difference in each image mode. Be sure and repeat this procedure until you feel that you understand the relationship between the different camera modes and the effects they have on your pictures.

This way you will learn your own particular camera as well as how it reacts in different conditions. In part two we’ll start to learn some tricks and tips on how to make your images look like a pro took them with high end camera equipment. In the mean time, if you have some specific questions please visit our Scrapbook BLOG at: http://blog.princesscrafts.com

About the author:
Copyright 2011 Wes Waddell is a Freelance Photographer and Website designer who, along with his wife Kathy, maintain the Internets largest Digital Scrapbook Membership site (www.MyPrincessCrafts.com). He has an educational background in Photography, Space Systems Command and Control and Business Website Design. He very much enjoys applying photography and memory preservation techniques to his scrapbooks and web design.

Wes Waddell

1 comment.

Your 2012 Scrapbok Photo Calendars are Ready to Download

Posted on August 25th, 2011 by wwaddell.
Categories: Digital Photography, Free Downloads, Scrapbook Tips, Site Information, Training.

Aug 2012

Oct 2012

It’s that time again folks, our 2012 Digital Scrapbook Photo Calendar Templates are ready for download. We even have alternate themes for April, July, September, October & December for those of you outside the US and Canada.

3 comments.

Review of FREE Pho.to App for Droid and Your Computer

Posted on May 3rd, 2011 by wwaddell.
Categories: Digital Photography, Free Downloads, Scrapbook Articles, Training.

Review of FREE Pho.to App for Droid and Your Computer 

Before I get started, here’s a couple of notes that Kathy wanted me to pass on.

First, there are 12 Brand New Mother’s Day Digi Scrapbook sets in the Members Area. Just log into your Members Home page at: MyPrincessCrafts.com to get all three sizes.

We have several FREE Mother’s Day Stationery Downloads (and free training) for you at: http://www.free-stationery.com/

Mother’s day is only a few days away, don’t miss the chance to tell your mom how much she really means to you… put it in writting so she can treasure it always!

Now, on with our review.

Recently I’ve been playing with the new Pho.to app on my Droid 2 Global phone and I’ve been having so much fun with it that I just had to share.

 I got my new DROID for my Birthday in January and loved the new 5 Megapixel camera, but needed a way to edit and crop the photos on the road without a computer.

Long story short… after several apps I didn’t like, I found Pho.to.  It not only works live with the camera, but will edit any photo I have on the phone and let me save and share the results.  I fell in love with the app the minute I used it.

Here’s one of the first images I made with Pho.to of one of the photos I took last Halloween of Kathy (right) and her sister Kris. The frame is one of the hundreds that come with the app. New ones are being added all the time too.

 It’s so easy to use. Just open the app, choose a frame or effect and then choose the photo from the camera or stored on your phone. Some frames even allow multiple images such as the photo book image here of my grandson, Nick helping feed the horses.

Once you have picked the frame and photo or photos, you have the opportunity to crop the images. If the photo has multiple people in it and the affect just needs the face of one person, you can crop the image to choose which person to apply the affect to.

For example, the Jackie Chan frame image of Kathy’s sister Kris, on the left, came from a group shot of her and all her siblings. What do you think?

All in all, it’s a great app and it’s so easy to use. All the processing is done over the wireless web and that keeps the app small and keeps the abilities large. You can even turn off the Pho.to mark and add text to many of the frame effects such as I did for Kris’s image. My favorite effects are the Celebrity collages such as this next one…

 That’s my niece Jessica in this one.

I use this all the time for my grandkids now. My grandson thinks it’s cool to be Iron Man:

Since I loved this app so much, I wanted to see if they had a version for my computer. WoW! They do and it’s web based so it works with all computer operating systems, windows, mac, linux, what ever.

Just go to www.Pho.to and you can use it with no signups needed.

The web based version isn’t as easy to use as the one for the DROID, but it still is easy enough to figure out and you won’t need a manual to learn it.  Just play and have fun.

The biggest advantage to using the online version is that it also does animated Avatars and photos such as the one here of me. I just added the effect to an image Kathy took at Lake Perrigin State Park last year. Looks pretty cool here on the web, doesn’t it?

Let’s sum is all up.

Likes:

The Droid version app is easy to use, let’s you save the results as well as share them via email, Twitter, FaceBook or what ever other social site you are in to.

The Web based version also lets you animate many of the frames and effects.

The DROID version also connects to your phone’s camera so you can take images for frame effects in real time.

Hundreds of Frames and Effects to choose from in both versions.

Needed improvements:

I’d like to be able to upload my own .png frames to use with the app. That would make all our PrincessCrafts digital scrapbook pages available to use.

Would love if the DROID version also allowed me to create the animated effects and had the Avatar function.  My .jpg versions that it creates can be used as avatars, it would just be nice to have them sized to start with so I knew exactly what the final avatar would look like.

That’s it, I have nothing bad to say and only just two items on my future capabilities list.

I’m having a ball playing with the app and I know you will too.

Wes Waddell

www.MyPrincessCrafts.com

www.Free-Stationery.com

www.FreeScrapbookTraining.com

www.DigitalsScrapbooking.com (free samples news)

1 comment.

Scrapbooking Tips Tuesday Again

Posted on February 4th, 2011 by wwaddell.
Categories: My Thoughts, Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

Tips for Scrapbookers Block

Here’s a couple of ideas I use all the time when I’m finding it hard to find idea’s for my digital scrapbook pages.

First, I turn on memory music.  What’s memory music?  That’s the music you hear that floods your mind with memories of the past.  It’s also music that makes you think about the subject you are trying to scrap.  For example: I put on 70s ballads when I’m scrapping Valentines Day pages as this brings my dating years to mind and makes it easy to envision love themes.

Even Christmas music in March works wonders for my Holiday photo themes from the last Christmas.  You may want to try a few Celtic tunes for St. Patrick’s Day.

If that doesn’t get your ideas flowing, then the step 2 I use is the Blank Page Shuffle.

All I do is to lay out a couple blank white sheets of paper either on the table (for hand scrappers) or on the computer screen when digital scrapping.  Then I take 4 to 8 photos that go together and start arranging them on the pages until they look right and flow with the eye.  Once they do that, it’s easy to add small elements and some color until I like the finished look.

Some times the simplest look is the best look for the memory story you are trying tell.

Happy Scrapbook Tips Tuesday.  Hope these two scrapbook theme generating ideas get your creative juices flowing again.

Until next time…

Wes Waddell

Http://www.MyPrincessCrafts.com

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Scrapbook Tips Tuesday – 8 Simple Scrapbooking Tips

Posted on January 4th, 2011 by wwaddell.
Categories: Free Downloads, Scrapbook Articles, Scrapbook Tips, Training.

Hello Scrapbook Friend,

It’s Tuesday and that means that it’s Scrapbook Tip Tuesday… at least today it is. So, I’ve collected 8 really simple and easy to follow scrap book tips and jotted them down with some notes for you.

This should get your holiday scrapbook pages off to a great start and make sorting through the hundreds of images you took over the holidays easier to arrange.

Scrapbook Tip Tuesday – 8 Simple Scrapbooking Tips

It’s Scrapbook Tip Tuesday and I’ve collected 8 easy to follow tips that will make your scrapbooking; both digital and the old style hand scrapping go a lot easier.  I’m keeping this short, so here we go.

1. Keep a small journal or small planner handy 2 jot down memories, thoughts, events.

This is especially handy while you are on your vacation or holiday, but works really well while you are sorting through all the photos you took.  If the photos are printed, number them on the back and make your notes corrospond to the photo numbers. If you are working with digital images, put the number in the file name at the beginning and it will sort your photos for you as well.

2. Keep your photos organized.

Speaking of sorting your photos… It’s so much easier to scrapbook when you can easily find the pictures you want for each page as you need them!  For printed photos, I use an assortment of ziplock bags and boxes and plan my scrapbook pages as I sort them.  For my digital images (which is most of them these days) I create subfolders on my hard drive and number/name the photos in each directory to make for easy sorting.

3. When hand scrapping a page, write your journaling in pencil first, to make sure it fits and to rectify any mistakes before you ruin the page!

Better yet, even if you are not usine the much easier digital scrapbooking techniques, you can still use your computer and it’s 1000s of fonts to print your titles and journaling and then cut them out and afix to your scrapbook page. This way, you can arrange the page in several ways and get just the look you want.

4. Batch tasks such as photo editing, cropping, and layout planning and do each for several layouts at once.

This should make it possible to get more hand scapped pages done in the time you have. You can be working on another page while glue or other elements are drying on your original page.  Digital scrappers can use this techniqe too. Just create your file with several blank pages and save your photos, elements and background to individual pages. Then go back to each page and arrange and finalize your pieces.

5. Don’t be afraid to hand-write some of your journal entries. The way you write can be just as important as what you write.

If your hand isn’t as stedy as it used to be or you have a condition that makes it difficult to write, the computer can still use your handwritting. Kathy, my wife had her best handwritting made into a computer font. It’s not that expensive and adds a really nice personal touch to not only her digital scrapbooks, but to her letters and emails as well.

6. Use Calendars and Greeting cards in your layouts or clipart versions from the internet.

It gives a different look and feel to your scrapbook layouts. Hand scrappers, be sure and make sure that there are no acids or lingon in the papers as they can destroy your photos.  I don’t recommend anything with glitter or thick dimensional objects as they can cut and perferate your pages that surround them in your scrapbook when stored. Scrapbook Photo Calendars also make great holiday, wedding and baby shower gifts.

7. Try to make scrapbooking a part of your daily or weekly schedule.

Even if it’s just an a hour a week, you’re 1 step closer to being finished! Don’t forget, that if you are digital scrapbooking, you can start and stop at any time by just saving where you are at.  So, with digital scrapbook techniques, you can scrapbook with as little as just 10 minutes a day.  If you have followed the sorting and organizing tips above, you can even finish a digital scrapbook page in just 10 minutes.

8. I like to save lots of souvenir’s from vacation places or special events I have been to.

They are an added bonus to the page layout.  Ticket stubs, napkins, invitations and other paper type souvenir’s work great.  Be really careful with leaves and flowers as they need to be sealed, even when dried, to protect your photos from the gases and oils they contain.  As stated above, avoid thick and sharp items as they will damage your surrounding photos and pages, especially when stored in stacks.  If you really like a large thick object, consider taking a photo of it and using the image on your scrapbook page, then place the object in a shadow box for display with your page.

See, 8 simple easy to follow tips and you are preserving your life’s most precious memories in no time at all.

 By: Wes Waddell

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Kathy also just finished some new Winter Themed FREE Digital Scrapbook Page Downl0ads at: www.FreeScrapbookTraining.com in 8.5×11, 12×12 & Landscape 11×8.5 sizes.

You’ll also find new FREE Stationery Paper Downloads in Winter, Christmas, Kwanza and Hanukkah Themes at: www.Free-Stationery.com

No hassles, signups or junk… just go there and get all the scrapbook and stationery designs you want.  Support the sites by checking out our sponsors links while you are there.

Happy Scrappin’

Wes & Kathy

www.MyPrincessCrafts.com

www.Cookbook4Kids.com

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