ScrappingTips

Perfect Prints

Boston and Cincinnati news stations have stories up on their websites with some interesting information on a digital photo printing study that was recently conducted by Consumer Reports.

According to WCPO in Cincinnati "Home photo printing --which was supposed to be cheap and easy -- is not cheap, and for most of us, not easy."

The answer to that quandary is obvious – get your photos printed professionally. But WCPO points out that when Consumer Reports compared more than two-thousand photos from leading stores and online photofinishing sites they found that not all photo developers delivered great results.

 "Most stores use either a Kodak or a Fujifilm minilab. In our test the Fujifilm minilabs provided the best quality prints," Consumer Reports reported, as quoted by WCPO reporter John Matarese.

CBS4 Boston noted that "Printing your digital snapshots at home can actually cost more than getting them printed online or in a store."

"Wal-Mart has Fujifilm minilabs and Consumer Reports says at 19 cents for a four-by-six print, digital photo processing at Wal-Mart is just about the best deal around," CBS4 reported. Costco or Sam's club also got kudos for their photo finishing services.

 I have to admit that I'm pretty blasé about many of the truly magical things I can do with my computer and an Internet connection. But I'm still amazed that I can upload my digital photos right from my computer and then pick them up at a local store within an hour of uploading them. Like science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke said "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."

The study is printed in full in Consumer Reports' "Annual Photo Guide," which is in the July issue of the magazine.

 

Fun with Photos

More tips from Wes, this time on photography:

Know your Equipment: Take the time to actually read the boring manual (you don't have to wade through it all in one sitting) and really learn what your camera is capable of. Practice a lot, take photos on a regular basis so that you become comfortable with the camera and using it is second nature. Release your camera from its lonely bag even when it isn't a holiday, birthday or vacation time. The more often you take photographs, the better photographer you'll be.

Photography is an Active Sport: Be prepared to crouch down, contort yourself into weird positions or clamber up on something high to get the perfect shot. Before you start snapping away consider all the angles, walk around your subject matter, is the view better over there, under here, on top of that? And then get in close and fill the frame – most compositions can always improved by taking a couple of steps closer (unless you're photographing from the edge of a dock or cliff, of course).

Divide to Conquer Composition: The "Rule of Thirds" is a tried and true technique. Don't plunk the primary subject right in the middle of the image – chances are you can make a more interesting photo by mentally dividing your viewfinder into nine squares (3 rows across and 3 down) and then placing the subject into one of the areas where two of these lines intersect. This tends to make a photo with way more energy and eye interest than a static "subject front and center" composition.

Think: Take a moment or two to consider why you're shooting what you're shooting before you press the shutter. Why do you want to take this picture; what's important here, what do you want to remember? Then figure out how you can take a photo that will capture what you want to capture. You may not always have time to think, like when your two-year old is streaking around on a playground or the light is perfect right now – but in all other instances a little contemplation is a good way to help ensure you'll capture a moment or a mood instead of a just a generic snapshot of a pretty place.

 Steady Now: A camera clutched in shaky hands results in many more bleary photos than bad focusing does. If you can't use a tripod put your camera on top of something steady – a wall, a rock, a picnic table – or lean against something solid like a wall, a building or a non-nervous friend when you're taking a photo.

Be Amusing: Make funny faces at little kids (or adults, for that matter) and talk to people when you're taking their photo so the whole procedure doesn't become fraught with anxiety. If all else fails you can always yell "Cheese" in your goofiest voice. Do whatever it takes to break through the strained grins of your subjects and elicit a genuine expression.

Take Chances: Think your camera can't take a good photo at night, in bright light, something tiny or huge, or something that's speeding away from you? Give it a shot – nothing ventured, nothing gained and some of the best photos are made when the photographer is just playing around.

 

Really RAW

Most of us are perfectly happy to let our digital cameras do the work of processing our "negatives." But there are those who want complete control over the process, and the only way to do that is to shoot in RAW format.

Processing photos shot in RAW -- which are the digital equivalent of film negatives -- can be a challenge, but a new guide from geeky publishers No Starch Press makes it easier. "The Art of RAW Conversion," written by Uwe Steinmueller, editor of web magazine "Digital Outback Photo" and an expert in RAW photography, is both a practical and beautifully illustrated guide that details the advantages of working with RAW files, and then how to use RAW converters to create the best digital image from each shot.

Highlights of the book include:
• Techniques for calibrating a digital camera to work with RAW files
• How to get the best results from the leading RAW converters and when to use each
• Tips for color to black-and-white conversion
• Coverage of basic color management and batch processing
• Sections on Apple’s Aperture and Adobe’s Lightroom

The book's blurbs promise that "whether you’re an amateur or a professional, The Art of RAW Conversion will take you beyond mere point-and-shoot photography, and show you how to achieve art-quality results with your digital camera." I don't shoot RAW often, only when I really want total control over how the image will turn out or I'm in the mood to experiment. Steinmueller's book looks to be a great guide that can help make my RAW adventures less time consuming and more productive. You can check out a sample chapter here. (note: it's a PDF file.)

 

Take Care of Your Images

Digital photos, printed on quality paper with archival inks, have long-life expectancies. Depending on the paper and ink combination used, photos will resist fading for a century or more. And one of the nice things about digital is that you can always easily reprint them in a few decades to ensure your ancestors will have a vibrant visual legacy. To keep your prints looking their best frame them behind glass or store them in a photo album, or – for the absolute longest life possible – store them in archival acid free boxes from a professional photography supply store.

Quality prints protected from heat, light, humidity and air pollution (particularly cigarette smoke) will look great for many decades. Ditto your back-ups and archives, computers and storage media like temperature-controlled, dark, dry and clean surroundings. You don't have to build a safe room for them, just give some thought to where you store your albums and archival media -- damp basements are a no-no, a closet shelf is often a good choice.

Choose Choice Images

One of the joys of digital is that you aren't stuck with lousy snaps – you don't have to pay to print out the picture where every single person in your family has their eyes at half-mast like a Olympic synchronized blinking team. You can pick the perfect shots, print only them, and banish the ones that make you look less than wonderful to the recycle/trash bin never to be seen again. But don't be too quick to hit the delete key, save a few of those goofy photos and have some fun with them. Or dump them all on a CD or DVD and archive them, what looks silly today may strike you as wonderful in a few years.

Good Photos -- Tips And Tricks

Any photo of your loved ones is a treasure, even if everyone looks like crazed red-eyed wombats. That said, there's really no need to take scary, bleary, jittery, under or overexposed photos with today's super smart cameras. If you're not sure what settings to use just trust your camera. Set it on Automatic and concentrate on capturing good images instead of fiddling with the shutter speed and aperture. And please read the manual. Manuals are eager to be of service and their only reason for living is to assist you so don't scorn them.

Apart from reading the manual the best thing you can do to improve your photography is shoot more pictures – the more you practice the better you get. Then incorporate some of the simple tricks that the pros use to compose breathtaking images. First, don't plunk your primary subject right in the middle of the photo, put them a bit off center (this is called "the Rule of Thirds," Google it for further details). Look for interesting angles; squat down, lay low, climb up on something high (you'll get in shape and get great pictures). Move down to eye level when photographing little kids and pets, and fill that frame – when you think you have the perfect photo framed in your LCD screen take a few steps forward and then press the shutter (unless you're standing on the edge of a cliff, of course.)

 Shoot during the "Golden Hour" --  right before and right after sunset, and get up early too– dawn light is amazing even if you're not shooting a sunrise. And look for lines and shapes that can draw the viewer's eyes into and through the photo, a curvy path, winding road, a fence, the shape of the shoreline. Learn to find the lines and your photos will have depth and real interest. It's the difference between taking a snapshot and making a photo.