Picture perfect: Take better photos and keep more memories

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll see we post a lot of links to articles about how to take better photos. The better the photo the less likely you are to hit delete, erasing it from your phone or camera and sometimes your memory. Better photos also make for better sharing via cards, calendars and books.

Below are a few tips pulled directly from articles we’ve linked to (and the links to them) I’ve found helpful in my quest to improve my photography.

Contrast

“Keep it simple! Just as too many cooks spoil the pot, too many visual elements are just as certain to ruin to the photo. Limit the number of elements and subjects in your compositions to what you can easily comprehend in a glance. It runs counter to logic, but the human eye lingers longer over the simpler shot while often “sliding off” more intricate shots. So stick to a maximum of three or four fields of color or texture at any one time.” (Pipedreamergrey, http://www.brighthub.com/multimedia/photography/articles/12793.aspx)

Color

““Black and white is the best way to learn photography, and in my experience, it’s the photography we all go back to,” said Mr. Versace. “If I had my druthers, I’d never shoot another color photograph as long as I live.” That is because without color to “distract,” he said, a photographer has to learn composition and the skill of capturing a story.” (Roy Furchgott, http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/five-tips-to-get-great-black-and-white-photos/)

Lighting

“I love lighting and it impacts the scene. I also love how I can manipulate the lights to achieve the results I’m looking for.” (Brice Burton, http://weeklyphototips.blogspot.com/2011/10/check-out-these-images.html)

Pose vs. Candid

“Have fun! — Posed images are nice, but your friends and family want to see the real you. Take plenty of images, and even consider using some funny outtakes to show your family’s silly side.” (Kristy Korcz,  http://www.geeksugar.com/Photography-Tips-Holiday-Cards-20245326)

Reflection

“Do rainy days and Sundays get you down? Don’t let them: embrace the photo opportunities afforded by the puddles. The rain is as much a part of the story of your holiday as the food you ate and the sights you saw. Use reflections wherever possible for a different take on otherwise well-known scenes.” (Nik Rawlinson, http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/cameras-and-camcorders/50-essential-photography-tips-50006080/)

Captions

Captions aren’t technically part of the photo taking process, but they are important in recording history.  A short blurb containing some key information will be the trigger you need to remember the photo’s significance down the road. Nothing to quote here, simply something I’ve learned since becoming a mother. But as a mother, in 5 years are you going to remember this picture was her first taste of chocolate?

Create a photo blurb: First taste of chocolate

Hope you find something helpful in these tips and links. Happy snapping.

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Free your photos from the shoebox. Have them scanned.

I started my Christmas shopping this past weekend, in that I stumbled upon something that would be perfect for my best friend’s son.  My first official gift of the season meant it was time to sit down and write out who is on this year’s list and what I’d like to get them – if I have an idea of what at this point, and what price range I’d like to stay within. Writing out the list forces me to draft a budget and stay on schedule.

Staying in budget is obviously important as you don’t want holiday joy to be replaced with January regret and February depression.  Writing out the list and adding in the gift ideas months in advance lets you be creative, thoughtful and frugal – by scoping out sales, coupons and promos.

This leads me to my mom. My mom is a conundrum. Shopping for her has always been a challenge.  This year will be different, because I’ve already put a lot of thought into her gift. She is the family memory maker and keeper, but she’s gotten a bit lazy with regard to the keeping part and so, I want to help her out with that and show her how much I cherish the memories she’s made.

I’m going to surprise her by sneaking in her house and stealing her Rubbermaid tote of photos starting with 1987, when she stopped putting photo albums together, to the mid-90s when my parents were relieved of their photographer duties because my sister and I started taking pictures.

How is stealing a good gift idea? Because, I’m going to have her tote full of photos  scanned and made into digital files. Searching the web, I found several companies that do this and appear to do it well – even preserving videos. I also read a few reviews. Below are a few of the companies I’ve looked into, there are many more out there. Aside from saving time, you can save money by searching out current promo codes.

Companies:

www.digmypics.com

www.Scancafe.com

www.scandigital.com

Reviews:

http://www.digitalphotos101.com/photo-scanning-services.htm

http://www.macworld.com/article/143504/2009/10/outsourcescanning.html

I think I’ve decided which route to go and how many to scan to start with (to keep within my budget). Now, I just need to plan my thievery – and soon – so I stay on schedule.

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MANAGING PHOTO PROJECTS: Introducing the Inkubook Gallery Bookshelf

The vacation photobook. The photo calendar. The baby photo book. With all of those personalized photo projects adorning the walls of your life, one thing is clear: you are a bona fide Inkubook artiste!

You just can’t live without compiling some of your most cherished memories into a beautiful collage every once in a while, can you? Well, there’s nothing wrong with that. A dazzling photo book is something that you can be proud to share, unlike your other more questionable artistic endeavors, such as karaoke singing and potholder crocheting.

So now that you have become the Picasso of the photo book world, Inkubook has decided to construct a virtual Louvre in honor of your work. We’ve cooked up a new member homepage design, the Inkubook Gallery Bookshelf, which makes it easier to navigate through and find your favorite projects.

Check out the new setup:

All your projects are conveniently displayed in small thumbnail form and categorized by project type. You can find any calendar, photobook or card by simply scrolling through the easy-to-use gallery. With this view, locating, editing and ordering more copies of your favorite project is a cinch.

We noticed that more than a few of our customers had photobook projects called “My Photo Book.” Sound familiar? Another little helpful feature that we’ve added is the ability to rename your projects. Click on your project from the Gallery Bookshelf and rename your project to something more helpful.

So revel in your love for Inkubook. With the Gallery Bookshelf, it’s easier and more fun than ever to make beautiful, lasting keepsakes and gifts with your digital photos. What are you waiting for? Make something gorgeous today!

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Ohh and Ahh: Our New Feature Is Positively Spine Tingling

Inkubook photo book fans have been clamoring for this addition for a long time, so our team is pleased as punch to unveil our latest feature: Spine Text Printing on hardcover photobooks!

That’s right; you can now personalize the spine with your book’s title, with a special message – whatever you like. And the best part is that it won’t cost you extra!

Spine Text Printing not only gives you another way to make your beautiful photo books from Inkubook as unique as possible, but it makes for easy organization and browsing of all your books on your shelf at home.

The Spine Text Printing option is easily customized through your book editing tool.

HOW IT WORKS:

1. To edit the spine of your hardcover photobook, hover over the spine area and click.

2. Your book will flip around to the spine, and the text editor will open.

3. Now you’re ready to give your book a special title so that you’ll always know which photo book you want to grab off the shelf.

To give you a peak at what your books could look like, we had a little fun creating these teaser books during our testing phase:

Forget “almost” – Spine Text Printing is HERE! Hurry on over to Inkubook to start making your next photo book and try out this cool new feature.

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Photobooks Made Even Easier with Enhanced Autofill

Making a photo book should be fast, easy and fun. So to make it a little easier, a little faster, and hopefully a little more fun, we’re rolling out improvements to Inkubook’s autofill option.

Our autofill feature has always let you have your photos placed automatically when you start your project. But now, you can use autofill at any time you get photos for your Inkubook!

Why You’ll Love It.

Whenever I make an Inkubook, there are always some photos that I really, really love and then there are others that I want to put in the book but they’re just not my favorites. That’s why I personally really love the new autofill. Say you have 20 stand-out shots that you want to put at the front of your book. You can add those 20 photos to your project, place them exactly how you like and write captions.

You may still have hundreds of other photos you want to include in your book, and the improved autofill option lets you load those hundreds of photos and have them placed automatically.

How does it work?

When uploading your favorite photos, check “I want to place photos myself.” You know the pics I’m talking about: your “wow” photos – the ones that are worthy of full-page bleeds or 2-page spreads.

Spend all the time you like personalizing the layout, backgrounds and text that work best for those pictures.

When you’re ready to add the rest of  your photos, select “Get Photos” and then choose “I want photos placed for me.” The autofill program will place up to four photos on each page, saving you the time of arranging them yourself.

Leave a comment, letting us know what you think of the enhanced autofill feature, and please keep your book ideas coming!

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Microsoft Selects Inkubook as Photo Book Provider for Windows Live Essentials 2011

Today Inkubook announced plans to enable a fast and easy way for Windows Live Essentials users to create beautiful photo books in minutes. The Inkubook integration in Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011 will launch in North America beginning September 30th and roll out globally over the next year.

“We’ve seen the demand for professional-quality photo books in recent years, and we want to make it fast, easy and fun for people to create a beautiful photo bookout of their photos from Windows Live Photo Gallery,” said Bryan Saftler, Product Manager at Microsoft Corp. “We’re thrilled to be working with Inkubook.”

In minutes, users can download the Inkubook Photo Book Uploader from within Windows Live Photo Gallery 2011, import photos, and lay out a beautiful photo book. The Inkubook and Windows Live Essentials software is free; users pay nothing until they decide to purchase a book (prices start at $9.95).

“We’re excited to bring Inkubook to the Microsoft community as a Windows Live partner,” said Ken Kratz, GM, Inkubook. “We share the common goal with Microsoft to help people do more on their PCs. We built a fast, easy-to-use bookmaking platform – and this is a great opportunity to help millions of people bring their photos to life in a book. ”

If you’re a Windows Vista or Windows 7 user, get Windows Live Essentials 2011 today. Once you have it installed, add the Inkubook Photo Book Uploader plug-in from within Windows Live Photo Gallery or get it here.

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Photo Book Tips: Sizing an LO So It Fits Perfectly

I am frequently awed by the magnificent works of art that people are able to turn out through digital or traditional scrapbooking. I mean, I can barely draw a rectangle using a software application or put a stamp on an envelope without it being crooked or upside down. So I can pretty much forget about creating a beautiful scrapbook page. I am, of course, envious of the people who are artistic and use Inkubook to collect their LOs.

This is a gorgeous layout, but some of the text on the
right page gets a little lost in the gutter.

Making a photo book of scrapbook layouts is one of the most popular uses of Inkubook, so even though I’m jealous I can put my envy aside in the interest of helping to bring more beauty into the world.

It’s not uncommon for someone who’s working on a layout book to ask our support department the following question: “How do I need to size my layout so that it fills the full page?” Consequently, we’ve prepared a PDF that will hopefully fill in some of the blanks. This PDF addresses such things as

• What is the size of the page before it’s trimmed?
• How much of the page is trimmed off?
• If I have text on my page, how do I avoid having it run into the gutter?

I could go into all of those details here, but the PDF describes it much more concisely than I ever would, and it includes four very nice diagrams that show all the trim lines. It’ll be better if you just check it out.

If you’re still having difficulty knowing how to size your image after looking at the PDF, our support team is standing by to answer additional questions. You can access our live chat support service through our Support page, or you can email support@inkubook.com.

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Using Flickr to Plan Your Inkubook

Yesterday’s post explained how to get photos from your Flickr account into the Inkubook editing space. Today, I want to explore what can be done with Flickr in advance to save a little time in the creation process and to make everything run a little more smoothly.

Use Sets

Adding Photos to Sets in Flickr

Sets in Flickr allow you to group photos into virtual albums. Unlike real world albums, you can put individual photos into multiple sets. Prior to building your Inkubook, it would not be a bad idea to create a new set specifically for the book. Then you can then go and grab all of the photos in one fell swoop.

Rotate Your Photos

While Inkubook allows you to rotate your photos, it is within the context of your book and can only be done to one photo at a time. We are working on adding additional functionality here, but in the meantime there is always Flickr. If you have a lot of photos that need to be rotated, Flickr allows you to do so en masse via their Batch Organize tool. Simply drag the images into the editing pane and select “Rotate” from the “Edit photos” menu.

Edit Your Photos

Editing Photos in Flickr with Picnik

In a previous post, I had mentioned one of my new favorite image editing tools Picnik. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Flickr and Picnik have partnered to provide image editing services to Flickr members. To access the tool, simply select an image and click on the “Edit Photo” icon above it. You’ll be taken to an editing screen with all of your favorite Picnik tools. These include the basics of rotate, crop, resize, exposure, colors, sharpen, red-eye reduction, and auto-fix in addition to the rich Create toolset that allows for all kinds of powerful effects (see here for more details). Upon saving, the updated image is added to your Flickr photostream.

Name Your Photos

While we try to make it as easy as possible to identify your photos in Inkubook, there are some things that are really hard to see – the perennial “Is Kit making a stupid face?” question, for example. There is no easier way to identify a photo than with a good descriptive title. Be sure to add titles in Flickr prior to importing photos into Inkubook to avoid searching for that one good shot.

Other Important Stuff to Know

Import Order

Flickr exports photos to Inkubook in the order that they were loaded into Flickr. Any organizing and reordering that you do on Flickr will not have any affect on this. Import order is also affected by the sizes of photos, such that when Flickr exports a really big photo at the same time as a really small photo, the smaller photo is going to move a little quicker and is going to show up in your Inkubook photo collection first.
The largest impact here is going to be on the new Inkubook Autofill feature (a topic that we’ll touch on in a future post). The happy coincidence is that Autofill is great at grouping photos, and importng them from Flickr in the order they were photographed makes this even better.

The Benefit of Being a Pro

Finally, there are benefits to being a Pro. At Flickr, that means, in addition to all of the other pluses, that Inkubook can import your full size image, which will work in virtually all of our photo templates. For those who are not Pro members, we are only able to access the large size, which is a 1024 pixels wide, and may cause a few of those annoying low resolution alerts to appear.

Flickr and Inkubook are pretty much a match made in heaven. With a little forethought, you can use some of the tools and resources within Flickr to make the process of building your photo book all that much easier.

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Tools: Inspiring Your Child’s Inner Artist with Doozla

Yesterday, we were treated to the artwork of budding artist Nathan McQuillan. Like most of us, Nathan’s medium of choice is the tried and true crayon on paper. But, alas, many members of this younger generation are so much more technically savvy and are itching to make their creations in a digital format. As parents, we can hardly sit them down with Photoshop and send them on their way. Not only is the program far too complicated, but they are just as likely to delete our financial history and hack into W.O.P.R. in the name of art.

That is where Doozla comes in. Doozla is a drawing app for the Mac from Plasq that contains all of the right tools for kids to experiment and express themselves while doing little damage to the computer itself (no guarantee against a peanut butter covered mouse, though).

The program opens full screen to prevent meddling minds from exploring other applications and system settings. It provides kids with the basic tools for drawing in a variety of colors and shapes, coloring book templates, and realistic backgrounds in which to insert their masterful contributions. They can even use the built in iSight to snap self portraits to modify as they see fit. The whole experience is a lot of fun and quite addictive (even for parents). As an add-on, the system uses a fun voice to call out changes in tools and colors within the application. It’s the ideal environment for your child to channel his or her inner Picasso.

Drawing in Doozla

Coloring in Doozla

Drawing on a Background in Doozla

Drawing on a Webcam Shot in Doozla

Once your child is done, you can save or print their artwork. Even better, you can preserve it forever in their very own Inkubook. Doozla is available for download at www.plasq.com/doozla. It costs $24.95, but there is a free 30-day trial.

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Add Awesomeness to Your Photos with Picnik

In their FAQs, Picnik describe themselves thusly:

Picnik is photo editing awesomeness, online, in your browser. It’s the easiest way on the Web to fix underexposed photos, remove red-eye, or apply effects to your photos.

Seems like it would be tough to undersell yourself in a paragraph that uses the phrase “photo editing awesomeness,” but that’s just what Picnik does here. I previously posted on using GIMP to edit your images. While extremely powerful, GIMP is likely a little more tool than most users need. That is where Picnik comes in. Picnik offers the standard tools for rotating, cropping, and resizing your images, plus it has some additional tools like color adjustments, red-eye reduction and sharpening. All these things can be very valuable, but they don’t exactly exemplify “photo editing awesomeness.” The awesomeness comes in under the “Create” tab, where you can access a slew of filters and enhancements that achieve stunning effects with absolutely minimal effort.

Panography-ish Filter – Create Effects within Picnik

The interface for Picnik is perhaps the most usable I have seen for an image editing tool, better than even iPhoto. Applying effects is as easy as clicking a button and then playing with the associated sliders (even this description doesn’t do justice to the simplicity). There are 33 effects in total (two of these are available only to Premium Members). The results of all are dead-on and would require some heavy lifting in Phototoshop to achieve.

The samples below demonstrate the results of a handful of my favorite filters:

Original Image

Boost Effect

Cinemascope Effect

1960s Effect

The beauty of Picnik is that it provides an environment where you can play with your images without risk of destroying them, and once you get started it is, quite honestly, hard to stop. Best of all, Picnik is free. Some advanced features, like full-screen mode, additional effects, and the ability to work with a greater number of photos, are available for a $24.95 annual charge. It is a great way to add some awesomeness to the photos in your drop-dead gorgeous Inkubook.

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