So, your little one just made the cutest face and you want to immortalize it forever. Without hesitation, you grab your camera and snap away. You just know that these shots are frame-worthy. Instead, they just stay on your card. Sound familiar? I know how easy it is to take a zillion pictures, and not a one makes it into a frame. Here are a few easy steps to get those photos off the card and on to your mantel:
- Download your card
This can be the toughest, but most important step. After every shoot, be sure to connect your camera to your computer and just drag the folder to your desktop. It might be a pain, but if you get into the habit, your photos will be right where you need them. Label the photo with the date and a short identifier. For example, create a folder called 030109-Jacks birthday. - Edit out all the bad shots
I know, I know. There are no bad shots of your child. Believe me, I've been there. I know what you might be thinking, "if I delete, I miss that shot that was almost there." But by getting rid of all those blinks, blurry or badly exposed photos, you leave room for all the shots that make your heart swell. Here is a good test, if you don't say "awww" when you view an image, throw it out. It will be so much easier than searching for that one photo you loved. A program that can be a great help is JetPhoto. - Make minor adjustments
By taking a minute or two to adjust the exposure, you can make a decent photo into a winner. You don't need to spend loads of time tweaking (that's what we professionals are for), but if your photo looks like it was shot in the dark, up the exposure a little. A couple of great programs to get you started are Photoshop Elements or the opensource (read: free) program Gimp. - Back up those files
Once you have chosen your best shots, be sure to back up. This means keeping one folder on your desktop and another on a separate hard drive. This might seem like just another annoying step, but if your hard drive ever goes down—and it will if you don't back up—you want to be sure you have extra copies. A good drive to start with is the Passport. It is not only cute, but also portable, a good thing when you want to take your camera on vacation. - Print your favorites
I always know when I take a great shot. I feel it in my bones and I know that I want to get it printed. I often set aside a folder labeled "photos to print" on my desktop and copy my favorites into this folder. That way, once the folder gets full (about 10–30 images), I have them printed. You can copy the folder to a thumb drive or upload them to your favorite lab. When you are ready to print, just head over to Costco—which has been known to produce some nice prints—or you might want to invest in a photo printer like the Epson Picture Mate.
So there you go. That wasn't so painful, was it? Oh, and don't forget to email and print a few for Grandma. Happy printing.
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