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For
your Christmas inspiration - Two articles by Soren
Breiting (see below):
Christmas
Cards - Created as Personalized Gifts with your
Digital Camera
By
Soren Breiting
It
is very easy nowadays to give your Christmas cards
a fully personal look and feel by using modern technology.
And it isn't expensive either. With a digital camera,
your computer and your printer you can do everything
yourself. But just with the digital camera you can
create the part that turns your Christmas cards
into a personalized gift for Christmas and have
it produced by a Christmas cards printing service.
Remember,
that for many the annual Christmas card is the thing
that keeps the connection to other family members
and friends living far away. Many people hold the
feeling of belonging to someone's inner circle for
years without meeting just by receiving the annual
Christmas card. Christmas cards should be taken
more seriously than we might use to do.
Tips
to make the personalized picture card - read on
As
pictures taken with digital cameras come as immediate
results you can easily experiment a little and take
some alternatives.
Here
are some ideas for what to focus on. Later I will
give you ideas to including the Christmas feeling
into the picture:
Alternative
1: You are living alone
Take
a picture of yourself or of your dog, cat or pet.
Alternative,
take a picture of your house, a room, part of your
garden or something else people will clearly relate
to yourself.
Alternative
2: You are living in a family or the like
You
have very many options:
-
Take pictures of the youngest member of the family.
The youngest member is the one that receivers of
the Christmas card will appreciate most to see the
development of 'since last Christmas'. If you have
a pet in the family include that with the child.
-
Take pictures of the whole family. It isn't a problem
that it is an arranged photo.
-
Take pictures of the youngest child with the oldest
member of the family. That will always generate
a lot of feelings and attention.
How
to include the Christmas feeling into the picture?
You
will need very little to add that extra Christmas
feeling into your photography.
If
you are only taking a picture of a single person
or two you can let a candlelight play a big role
in the picture frame. A newly married couple looking
from each side into a candlelight without any strong
light added might be an intimate and cute picture
for Christmas.
We
have a lot of symbols we use for Christmas: Christmas
tree, red ribbons, red apples, red in general, Christmas
decorations, candle lights, Christmas presents made
as nice packages, yes, even snow and darkness. All
symbols of Santa Claus. You might have many more
ideas.
Include
one or two of these in the picture when you take
it to underline that feeling of Christmas. (I don't
expect you to include a full Christmas tree - just
a small twig will do.
How
should the Christmas picture look like?
Make
the Christmas picture look as simple as possible.
Not a lot of detail. Focus on the main motive and
idea of the picture and avoid a lot of things around.
These will only make the picture messier. That means
go close to capture the essence of it as a Christmas
picture.
Include
if possible just a few colors as that will make
the picture look more professional.
Select
the best alternative shot, stay with it and be happy
with that
Layout
of the Christmas card and printing the cards
Do
it your self cards
Depending
on the word processor you use you will have access
to the possibility to insert pictures and insert
the text you want to have printed on the card.
In
many cases you will have access to card formats
with pre-made card templates. That makes the whole
process much easier. You can also search in Google
for templates for Christmas cards or the like.
When
you have finished your layout and made a proof print
you can start your production of your own personalized
Christmas cards. T use more heavy paper will improve
the look and feel of your self-made Christmas cards.
Use
a printing service for your personalized Christmas
cards
Most
photo service providers will be able to deliver
your personalized Christmas cards in the number
you want. The more cards the cheaper. You can search
for bargains in Google. You will be able to select
the layout and additional text online with many
photo printing providers.
The
earlier you start your production of your own personalized
Christmas cards the better a chance you will have
to get them done in time for a modest cost. Your
efforts this year to provide family and friends
with a truly personalized Christmas card will be
highly valuated, you will see.
Resources:-
Do you need a new digital camera before Christmas
- take a look on Canon
Digital Cameras with highly recommended digital
cameras at http://www.CanonDigitalCameras.net
.
Soren
Breiting is taking a lot of pictures all year round.
See his high
resolution images at A-Z Fotos http://www.azfotos.com.
Memorable
Christmas Pictures with a Digital Camera
By Soren Breiting
Christmas
is a time for strong sentiments, gatherings of family
and friends, good food and nice traditions. Learn
to make the best out of this memorable time in pictures
for old and young.
Rather
simple point-and-shoot cameras have a great potential
for family pictures during Christmas and they can
also produce most other kinds of pictures during
this important annual event. Small digital cameras
aren’t that intrusive as big professional
cameras.
Here,
I offer some basic photo tips and some more advanced
photo tricks. If you follow just a few of them you
will probably make much more memorable Christmas
pictures during the Christmas days – and may
be even before Christmas day.
Be
prepared for Christmas photography
Keep
your digital camera in reach during all Christmas.
Make sure your battery is fully recharged and your
memory card has plenty of space for new pictures.
Have your battery re-charger available, too, as
you will take many photos with flash.
Share
the responsibility for taking pictures during Christmas
events
For
some Christmas events you might be quite busy serving
the guest or helping older family members or being
the one who should talk with everybody. Then just
give your camera to another person and ask for him
or her to take a lot of pictures during the event.
Young people will often be very good at picture
taking, not least because the availability of camera
phones has facilitated that habit to even very young
people.
Go
close when taking pictures during Christmas
Go
as close as you can what ever you are shooting family
members or Christmas things and symbols. Most digital
cameras include more in the photo than what is displayed
when you frame it, unless you only use the digital
display screen. You can always quickly check the
result and take a new picture if needed.
Don’t
be afraid of arranged picture taking during Christmas
Many
situations around the Christmas tree are quite messy.
Don’t worry of arranging a fine scene like
grandfather in the big chair with the youngest family
member on the lab with a big Christmas present in
the small hands.
Arrange
an all family members group photo
To
have a picture taken if all family members get together
for Christmas is an opportunity you shouldn’t
miss. If possible think beforehand of a functional
locality – indoor or outdoor with enough room
for all, including the space for the photographer.
Use a tripod to have your self included. Take at
least three frames.
Take
several shots of the most memorable situations in
Christmas
When
you have a very nice situation don’t spare
your shots but take at least 3 alternatives. One
picture might turn out much better than the others,
and the first shot isn’t the best shot very
often.
Christmas
atmosphere: Take pictures without the flash turned
on
As
Christmas in the northern hemisphere is happening
in the dark wintertime many pictures will be taken
with the flash on. That is fine for many occasions
but the strong flashlight will often remove the
nice special Christmas atmosphere. Learn how to
manually turn the flash on and off before any important
Christmas gathering. Increase the sensitivity to
say 400 ASA for natural light photography during
Christmas events.
Take
candlelight pictures in typical Christmas mood
Candlelight
pictures are a rewarding approach to Christmas photography
as they generate a special atmosphere of old time
and traditions. Include one or two faces in the
frame together with the candle. You have to switch
off the flash of the camera and improve the sensitivity.
If possible support your elbows on a table or the
like to avoid camera shake. Still remember to take
some alternative shots. Many Christmas symbols are
also fine in candlelight.
Take
series of Christmas pictures
A
number of Christmas pictures showing a process or
an event from the phase of preparation, through
the main activities until the final stage of saying
goodbye or cleaning up can be very interesting later.
This can be a fine task for a younger family member
to take care of and it is so nice with digital cameras
that we don’t have to worry of the cost of
pictures that become failures. Such a series of
Christmas pictures is excellent for a digital slide
show later.
Take
special interest in the oldest family members
As
time goes by it often turns up that the last pictures
of an old family member that passed away was taken
at Christmas time. Without exaggerating keep that
in mind and make sure you get really nice portraits
of the oldest family members in good mood –
every Christmas.
Make
the best of the newborn and babies during Christmas
Normally
there will be taken a lot of photos of babies and
the smallest children and that is a good tradition.
Just pay a little attention to how to link the pictures
of the children to symbols of Christmas and activities
of other family members or friends during the Christmas
event.
Preparing
for Christmas – also a photo option
For
children the waiting time to Christmas might be
felt like infinity. For us grownups the time might
slip away because of all the preparation for Christmas
combined with our other duties. Shopping in the
decorated streets, preparing presents and cooking
food etc. are all fine options for your Christmas
photography.
Through
away the bad pictures quickly
During
Christmas or just after go through the Christmas
pictures and weed all the bad ones out. When you
have taken three alternative frames of the same
situation, only keep the best one for the future.
Be tuff, when editing your Christmas collection
of pictures – that will reward you in the
long run. Google’s Picasa picture organizer
is a fine help and it is free at http://picasa.google.com/
Share
your Christmas pictures
It
is easy to share your Christmas pictures with family
members and friends. At http://www.OnlinePhotoSharing.net
you will find many options.
Soren
Breiting is a stock photographer and communicator.
Find examples of his Christmas
pictures at www.azFotos.com/christmas/christmas-pictures.htm
and learn to take better
pictures at www.BetterPhotos.net - more about
digital
photography at www.DigitalPhotographyAndPictures.com
™
