correctmyphotos

Create Greeting Cards Out of your Photos

Merry Christmas
It certainly looks a lot like Christmas in Minnesota. So far in December we have exceeded the average snowfall and the month still has over a week to go. It has been snowing since early this morning and the forecast is for it to continue through tomorrow.  This afternoon I was working at my computer watching the snow and couldn’t resist taking a few photos through the window.  And, I decided to create a Christmas Card out of the photo.  You can create a greeting card out of virtually any photo. All it takes is a little cropping, color correction, and adding a some text.  So, you say, “Easy for you, but….!” Actually it is easy if you know how to do it.  If you have Photoshop Elements or another photo editor and know how to use it you already know what to do.  If you don’t; well, ..I know the feeling.  I think I could do it with Elements, but, for me, it is too complicated and takes too long. So, I used CorrectPhoto  and ImageTitler, both products of PictoColor (my company) to create the greeting. If you are interested in learning how to create your own card go to http://www.correctphoto.com/Greeting_Photos.htm.

Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas. Stay warm if you are in snowy country and think of us if you are in a nice warm place.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com

One of the real benefits of digital imaging is printing photos on a desktop printer.  The quality of photos printed on most desktop printers available today is truly remarkable and the inks are archival quality.  And, it is easy and relatively fast to print photos from your computer. That said, I generally prefer to upload photos to an online print service for a number of reasons which I will discuss in a future post. (For information on online printing go to http://www.correctphoto.com/online_print_services.htm). But, when you need a photo fast, like when your wife wants a current photo of the grandkids to show her friends and is leaving in 15 minutes, the desktop printer is real handy. But, how do you print photos from your computer? Do you need special printer software or a complicated photo editing program to print photos? The answer to these questions may surprise you.

Microsoft Windows XP and Vista Print Wizard
Most people don’t realize that Windows XP and Vista operating systems have an easy to use print function for photo printing.  You really don’t need anything but your computer, printer and glossy photo paper (I recommend Premium paper from the printer manufacturer) to print photos. Here is a step by step procedure. (continue reading…)

Does your email inbox get full with large photo attachments?
If you are like me you cringe every time you get an email with a photo attachment from one of your friends because you know it is a huge file. My friend Dick does it to me every time he sends a photo. A more personal question is, “Do you do the same thing when sending a photo to a friend?”

Should you Resize the photo before emailing?
As with most questions, the answer is “It Depends.” It depends on what the recipient will do with the photo attachment.  If you are sending the photo so that a high quality print can be made it is better not to resize. However, if the recipient is simply going to view the photo on a computer screen, which is probably the case with the majority of photos sent via email, you should resize the photo before sending it. When you compare the file size of an original photo as it came out of the camera to “screen resolution” files you will understand why resizing is the prudent thing to do.

I will use my Canon G5, 5MP camera as an example. When shot at the max resolution (5MP-2592×1944) the jpeg file size is 2.9 MB (million bytes). Resizing the file to the historic standard computer screen resolution of 640×480 reduces the file to 90 KB (thousand bytes) or today’s more common size of 1024×768 yields a file of 230 KB. That is quite a difference. And, with the resolution of newer cameras at 7, 8, 10, or 12 MP the difference is even greater.

Therefore, I suggest you resize photos to at lease 1024×768 if you are going to email them. If you have more than a couple photos you want to send to someone for printing I suggest you upload them to an online photo service and give the recipient access to the files or record them on a CD and mail it.

How To Resize Photos for Email
There are certainly many alternative ways to resize photo ranging from free online services to photo editing software. These alternatives are worth considering when you need to resize photos for other purposes, such as website design, eBay, Facebook, etc. When you are simply going to email a photo(s) I suggest using the email resizing function in Windows XP and Vista. (The Mac probably has something easy as well, but, as I have said before, I am a Windows guy.) If you are like most of my friends they look at me with a blank stare when I tell them to use Windows to resize the photo. Yes, there is a function in the OS that will resize the photo for emailing, it is FREE, and it is easy to use.  What could be better? Here is how you do it. (continue reading…)

How White Is Your Dog?-Dickens is a Westie and He is White.

This is Dickens, a West Highland White Terrior (Westie) and he is white. “Well, ya! So What?”, you say. One of the more frustrating things about being in the “color” business is that most people, except for pro and semi-pro photographers, tend to be insensitive (how is that for being polically correct?) to color. They either don’t recognize that the color of their digital pictures is wrong or they just assume that the photos from their digital camera just aren’t as good as Kodak or Fuji film. In a way, that assumtion is correct, however, the color information is really there (unless the photo is over or under exposed) and it can be fixed. Here is a comparison of the original photo and the cropped and color corrected shot of Dickens.

PhotographyBLOG (how is that for an original name for a photo blog?) is one of the UKs (most of us think that’s England, but I really don’t know where in the UK its based) biggest digital photography websites, which offers informative new product reviews and original in-depth news from around the world.

PhotographyBLOG started life in January 2003 with the sole purpose of being a weblog about photography. PhotographyBLOG is run by professional photographerMark Goldstein and the site has several key aims:

• to report on the latest photography news, both film and digital, both global and UK-based
• to offer opinion on that news from the unique perspective of Mark Goldstein, and to allow you to add your comments on that news and opinion
• to review digital cameras, printers, scanners, software and books
• to provide a meeting place for photographers of all abilities

I suggest you take a look visit PhotographyBLOG (http://www.photographyBLOG.com) and sign up for his newsletter.  Regardless of your experience level you will find something of interest. Check out the photo gallery for examples of outstanding photography submitted by amateurs and professionals and those in between. Sometimes those Brits spell words a little funny (like “colour”) but you will get used to it. Mark and his associates really do know what they are talking about.

PhotographyBLOG is one of the biggest UK photography blogs

Periodically, I will recommend a blog or website that I think might be of interest to you. If you have a recommendation don’t hesitate to send it to me. Just click on Comment at the bottom of a post.

Wayne http://www.correctphoto.com