Month: December 2010

the big event photos: part 2

You’ve got the photos, they’ve been uploaded to your computer. Now what? Let them sit and wait? Print all? Overwhelmed because you have tons of photos and don’t know where to start?

Today I’m going to share my process. I do NOT keep any kind of fancy digital organization system for photos.

While I love the idea of tagging and/or organizing heavily… it doesn’t make sense for the way I work and print. So I save myself time and skip it!

I keep it real simple (think month/year and/or event name/year) and I print any photo I really want. I don’t trust technology, and I like having hard copies ready to go. I’m a “4×6” scrapper, meaning I scrapbook with what I’ve got: 4×6 photos pre-printed. So my process might not work for you. Still, I’d like to take some time and share:

It’s a 3-step program. Once I’ve got photos (I’ll be using my recent Disney World trip as example):

1. I go through them once using the viewer/basic program on computer. I DELETE any that I definitely don’t want. Super blurry, bad, unwanted, excess… anything that I know immediately I don’t want gets deleted. This goes QUICK.

2. I walk away. Then at some later time (at least an hour! clear your mind!) I come back and repeat the process. This time weeding down even further. Do I want to print 6 shots of Rebecca eating a chocolate coin (shown above)? NO. I went back through and deleted the two I liked least. This “second pass” I usually go through twice and pay attention to my worst problem: keeping a LOT of nearly the same/equally good shots of the same thing.

I don’t keep bad pictures, unless there is a story or other reason to. I also don’t save photos I took just for blog/internet/non-print uses beyond when I post them. The above fireworks pictures? I was taking shots FOR FUN – I have no intention of using either and they don’t blow me away. buh bye!!

3. It’s edit time. I do not believe in editing every photo, heavy handed photoshop work, or spending loads of time on it. I don’t want to pretend we all had matching shirts or that the sky was purple… I want to record and document as close to the truth as possible. Basic or Auto-correct, and maybe some light cropping are my most common (if any) edits. I’d say about 75% of the photos you see me use are SOOC (Straight out of camera) and not at all edited. I’d rather have less than perfect pics, and more time for other stuff. If I want some fancy edited, altered, or otherwise “funky” photos I can ALWAYS go back and do that when the mood/project/time strikes. For now, it’s not important.

That’s it – now it’s time to upload, order, and enjoy!! The entire process for all 863 of my Disney World photos (narrowed down to under 400) took about three hours. I order only 4×6 photos, then if I want any enlargements or anything I will re-order. Next up, I’ll share some of my photo-edit “go-to” solutions and rules… and then hopefully next week I will share some comparison of some on-line photo ordering sites. I’ve ordered up my Disney World photos already (split among 3 different sites) and I will continue to share my discoveries, highlights, and tips.

The big event photos: part 1

The holiday gathering is perhaps one of the WORST for me as far as remembering to take photos. Simply put, I don’t. There are a few rules I generally try to remember, and these can be applied to holiday, vacation, or any other special event:

1. First off, you need to TAKE photos!! Have you ever said “Geez, I hate that I have so many great photos to choose from. I wish I’d taken less!” after a vacation or event? I never have! Snap away. Thanks to digital cameras, it doesn’t cost you anything to take lots of pics…

2. What do you enjoy? Do you like candids? group posed shots? detail pictures? A little of everything? Know what you like to have (after), and keep that in mind as you click away…

3. If you think of it, take the picture!!! Do NOT wait for “later”. It won’t come. It’s never going to be the perfect time. Get shots early on!!

4. Know thy camera. I don’t know squat about all the manual settings… but I DO know basics of when to (and not to) use flash, and I do my best to maximize my photos potential. If you are comfortable with your camera, you’ll be more likely to get better photos. Also: don’t forget to zoom (in & out), get both landscape and portrait,

5. Don’t be a wallflower, get in some shots!! For me this is more a “remember to pass the camera” more than a being shy thing. But you’re more than the person behind the camera, you’re a part of this special event too!!!

6. Keep the stories in mind. Take photos of details (signs, food, etc.) that will help you remember the stories you want to tell. You may not use these or even print them – but they can help you recall details better when you are ready to scrapbook or journal your event(s).

7. BURSTS! It’s my style, it’s served me well. I take 5, 10, maybe 30 pictures in a brief period of time then drop camera. enjoy. pick it back up much later for another burst of pictures. I tend to annoy people less + have more time to enjoy since I’m not constantly taking pictures.

Once you’re back home, a whole ‘nother challenge presents itself: organizing, editing, and printing!! I will be sharing both tips & my personal process with you over the next few days as I go through my own Disney World pictures…