Picturetelling!

P + S: Keep on Organizin'!

WOW!  How'd I let this get away from me again?

Heidi Dillon of Scrapgirls.com has already posted 3 more steps to getting your pictures organized, and I've left you hanging!

Now that you're importing your pictures into your dated folders it's time to start giving your photos tags to identify them by a keyword.  After you do that, they will be easier to retrieve from all the folders they're in, when you want to use them.  Heidi explains the concept and the process so well in Part 3 of her series.

If you're taking the next step and uploading the pictures from your computer into online photo storage, you can use the same tags to identify your pictures in your online system.  I know that when you tag people in Picasa, you can recall all the pictures that have a person in them.  In Heritage Makers, I create folders for broad content--people and dates, and albums for events or projects--more specific tags.

As Heidi says, you'll develop your own system for tagging pictures in a significant way.  It may take refinement as you get the hang of it.  I'm learning this from Heidi right along with you!  One thing I'm sold on--meaningful organization allows me to make sense of the mish-mash of photo collections I have stored on my computer and online, and that makes it easier to get the pictures I want, and related pictures that I've forgotten about, for the projects I make, such as storybooks, cards, and canvases.

I hope you're discovering that, too.

P + S is best! ~Donna

P + S: In Defense of Bad Photos, Part 2

THE SETUP

Will you be unhappy? In this age of Facebook and cell phone cameras, it's likely that the photos you obtain from others will have poor resolution when you decide to use them in projects.

 

THE PICTALE

Illustration #2:  I must sound like a broken record when I whine about being so far away from my granddaughters.  Sorry!  But until I can visit them in Las Vegas, I have to rely on my daughter to update me with pictures, which she usually does with her camera. A few of those pictures made their way into an 8x8 storybook I made about the two sisters, A Sister is a Forever Friend.  I didn't have to use them, but they told a little story, and they were the best pictures I had (the only pictures) of their first Trick-or-Treat together.

This is one unhappy little bee!  Her costume itched and she wanted OUT! 

Mommy hugged her, Daddy made her smile, and she became a happy bee-girl! 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm glad Allie shared the moment with me--she's actually better about sending these spontaneous moments to me than I was about mailing a second set of developed prints to MY parents, back in the day.  

The convenience of phone cameras is a real boon, but I'm sure you can relate to my frustration at the lack of clarity in some multimedia messages.

Allie captured her 6-month old looking fantastical in her elephant costume, and I'm grateful she thought to send it, too.  These memories mean the world to me! (For some reason, this phone-photo came out sharper--my guess is that everyone was sitting still for the shot, and the photographer had more time to utilize recommended distance and light.) 

 
Facebook thumbnails pose the same kind of problem--When you download a thumbnail, it won't be at the same resolution your camera took the picture at.  When you make a digital project using a thumbnail, the image will be blurry unless you can keep it small for your project.  The "Sisters" book contains some shots lifted from Facebook, and you can see that they're grainy.  Specifically, this family pose, when they were just three:

Kept  tiny, it's clear, but I knew that my mom, if not others, would need to see a larger view in the book. 

 

 

I'm pretty sure I made the wrong decision about using this picture.  I probably could have been more diligent about obtaining good pictures from Allie.  My excuse is that I was under an end-of-the-year deadline, but procrastination could be a whole other post!

 

LESSONS LEARNED

• Cell-phone photos don't provide professional-quality pictures, particularly for digital projects, but we still love them if they're the only record we have of a moment.
• Facebook thumbnails need to be used as small images in digital projects.  They would work as small charms or framed in tiny frames, such as page 1 of this wedding album template.
• Original photos are the best.  Original photographs uploaded to Heritage Makers free online photo storage can be downloaded at their original resolution.  That's not the case with all online photo storage.  You'll find that valuable when you want to print or send a stored photo, or make your first Heritage Makers online project!  Why don't you sign up for a free account today? 

What's your experience with online photo storage and cell phone pictures?  I'm not experienced with Blackberries or iPhones.  Do they take/send better photos than what I'm used to?  Are there other companies that offer high resolution photo storage?

What's your favorite cell-phone photo?

Do share! (Click on Comments at the end of this post to upgrade MY knowledge base, or share your own cell phone/Facebook-photo moments!)

 

P + S is best! ~Donna

 

 

P + S: Write With Your Voice

THE SETUP

My friend mentioned a storybook she wants to make about family members, but she expressed doubt about her writing style. If she's feeling that way, then she's not alone. I'm going to try to relieve your anxiety about picturetelling your own memory book.

 

THE PICTURE

How would you describe this picture if you were telling the story to someone? 

 

THE STORY-- NATURALLY

1.  In a family storybook, people will be comfortable with your conversational tone as the text.  Imagine you are telling Aunt Gladys about this picture--help her experience the event:

"We had the most wonderful carrot cake for Ryan's first birthday, with loads of creamy frosting, but do you see any of it in his mouth?  He just had a blast smooshing it between his fingers!  He's about to cry because he's gonna lose his birthday hat--he's trying to keep it on his head."  You might change "gonna" to "going to"...or you might not.

 

2.  Are you a jokester? :

"COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP AND SURRENDER THE BIRTHDAY CAKE!"

 

3.  It's OK if you take a less animated tone:

"June 8, 1985 was a miserably hot and humid day in Columbus, but I think Ryan was just glad we didn't make him wear his special birthday outfit. Grandma and Grandpa and his favorite uncle were here to celebrate his first birthday (and help him finish that cake)!   

 

4. Sometimes a quote evokes the moment quite nicely: 

"Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world." ~Unknown

 

5. You can use remarks by the subject instead of your own narration (which in this case would probably just be "Mommie?")

 

6. Emote:

"Honey, you were SOOO cute at your first birthday!  Just as "SWEET" as ever!"   

 

My point is, when you're preserving a special (or even an ordinary) event in a custom storybook that will be enjoyed by family and loved by the subject, the story needs to sound like you.  Push all pretense out the door and don't stress!  Just talk your text, tell your picture, write with YOUR voice.

WHY BOTHER TO WRITE THE STORY?

Well, when you take the picture, you must want to preserve the memory for someone--yourself, the subject, absent friends and family, to use in an embarrassing video montage someday....  Do you want your FB friends to supply their own details?  Do you really trust yourself to remember the small stuff years from now? 

 

Pictures alone invite speculation; imagine finding a box of your grandmother's pictures.  Your heritage is a precious gift that you have the power to convey to your descendents.  Maybe the rich details of your ancestors' pictures will remain mysteries, but you can make sure that your children and their children know all about their roots in YOU, and you can make their experiences more memorable by using pictures and stories.  P and S.

YOUR TURN!

I'm offering up this picture to all of you to write your own pictale.

You weren't there, so of course, you'll have to make something up!  No rules--except write with your own voice.  I think the statute of limitations has run out on this picture--he's 25 now and shouldn't mind!

Write your pictale or caption as a comment and I'll give you a free Heritage Makers invitation(2-sided postcard) to create!  Have fun!  Tell your friends to contribute a tale!

P + S is best! ~Donna