How to Organize and Produce a Church Photo Directory for Free

Creating a church photo directory has many benefits.

* It is a great aid for pastors and families to remember who is who

* The entire congregation can benefit from photo directories, in that they can keep in touch with other people easier, and learn about others in the community.

* Staff members find the photo directories invaluable in that they can add notes to certain people, and then visually remember what role(s) those individuals play within the Church

Producing a photo directory is rather easy, but here are a few things you should do first.

* Talk with your priest/pastor/bishop about organizing a photo directory shoot, and organize one day when you will do nothing but take pictures. You need the help of the priest so that he/she can announce the photo shoot several weeks in advance, so that everyone can make sure that they can attend. As well, of course you want everyone wearing their Sunday Best!

* Find someone to take pictures. You can either find someone within the congregation, or hire a professional photographer. Advantages of in-house photography is that you can save some money, i.e., it's free. Plus, nowadays, pretty much any digital camera can take the kind of quality pictures that you need.

* However, in some cases you might want a bit higher quality if you can't find someone within your congregation. Professional photographers generally know how to bring out the best smiles in individuals, plus know what kind of lighting is necessary to create the best looking pictures. So you should decide whether someone within the congregation has the expertise you need to take high quality photographs, or look at hiring someone else.

* Send out an e-mail reminder to remind individuals and families of the photo shoots, or announce it several weeks in advance, every Sunday.

Now that you have the photographs, if you'd like to create a photo directory for free, you can do it this way.

Free Method

* Use something like Microsoft Word (or any word processing application such as OpenOffice)

* Create a table, and divide the table into sets of 2 columns. (For example, if you wanted a photograph on the left hand side, and text on the right, you would make it two columns. If you wanted two sets side by side, then you would make it four columns)

* Cut & paste the photographs into Microsoft Word. Resize them so they fit, and add the information.

* Make sure you organize everything alphabetically!

* Add pertinent information, such as the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the families you wish to add.

Alternatively, if time is important to you, and you want something that you can edit easily later on down the road, you might consider a professional photo directory application. Advantages include the following:

* It is much faster, you just import the photographs, and then the software automatically resizes it.

* Easy to edit/make changes - If you add new members, you can generally just insert the member where you want them to appear. Doing it manually might take a while, because you would need to shift everything around.

* Many other uses. Software can allow you to keep track of extra information (phone numbers, e-mail addresses, etc), customize the look & feel of your directory, plus much more. Doing it by hand would take some time

* Plus many more benefits, depending on your needs

Creating a church photo directory is a pretty simple and straightforward process. Just make sure you organize a time and date with your priest/pastor/bishop to take the photographs. Then, download all the photographs to a computer, import them into a word process or a photo directory application. Organize it, print it off, and then enjoy all the compliments you get for a beautiful photo directory!

Now of course you can create a photo directory for free. But it can be time consuming, and extremely frustrating if you have a lot of pictures and are trying to do it by hand. Why not get this church directory software that makes creating photo directories a breeze? It has been picked by the Top 3 Churches in the world, every year, for the last 7 years for making church photo directories, and is currently in use by 1000's of churches worldwide. See which software has made such a difference. Click here now

Selecting Custom Photo Playing Cards

You have decided to give photo playing cards at your wedding or party and want to make sure that they turn out well. Here are a few tips for success:

Start with a good photo. This is probably the most important step because the end result depends on your photo choice.

Select a photo that best represents you. Your guests will have these photo playing cards for a long time, so you will want to choose an image that portrays who you are. Many couples use an engagement picture, while others use a casual photo where the subject(s) appear very natural.
Decide upon the orientation of the photo. If you prefer a full body shot, than a vertical image is best. If the photo is more of a close up and is wider than it is long, a horizontal orientation will work well.
Focus on the face. A standard playing card is small, fitting into the palm of your hand, so close-ups work best. A photo from the waist up tends to allow the face or faces to be truly visible and clear.

Scan your image. You will want to use a high-resolution setting when scanning your image. Experts suggest a minimum of 300 dpi, which stands for "dots per inch." If you don't have access to a scanner, many office supply stores are able to scan your photo for a small fee. Fed Ex Kinkos and Office Depot offer this as a service.

Request a sample before placing an order. Photo quality can vary greatly, so you will want to get an actual card, from a previous order, in your hands. This will allow you to judge photo clarity.

Determine if and where you would like the personalization displayed. Most people like the copy on the bottom of the card. Be sure to limit the amount of information you include to the name of the guest of honor, event and date. This will prevent you from ending up with very small words or having the words interfere with the photo.

Give yourself time to order. Product of photo playing cards can take up to three weeks, so you will want to get started earlier than later. Include time for shipping when determining your timeline.

Ensure that you receive an email proof of your playing card image. It should include both the image as it would be displayed on the cards as well as your message.

Joyce Kreger is a party planner and recommends these custom photo playing cards offered at Cool-Party-Favors.com.

DIY Holiday Photos

The holiday season is upon us! For any of you camera enthusiasts out there, this is the perfect time to put those cameras to good use. Use photos to show and tell people about your holiday traditions, whatever you celebrate this time of year. It's the perfect time to take advantage of the free on-camera talent that you have - your family and friends!

Here are some tips on how to capture your next holiday get-together using your point-and-shoot camera.

Photographs Tell Stories

The whole point of documenting an event in a powerful way is to tell a story in pictures. Like all stories picture stories have a beginning, a middle and an end that take people through the experience. If they weren't there, you want them to feel as if they were. If they were there, it reminds them of the experience in intimate, loving detail.

Many people celebrate many holidays during this time of year, but let's use Christmas as one example of a popular holiday gathering because most people know the general events surrounding the holiday:

1) Check your gear - make sure you have enough batteries and space on your memory card. Bringing a tripod may be cumbersome, but if you don't mind the extra weight, it's good to have. For various alternatives to tradition tripods, see the Resources section at the bottom of this post.

2) Let people know what you're doing-"I'm going to be taking photos for a slideshow for later," or "I'm creating a Christmas story book we can all enjoy." This helps people relax and enjoy the spirit of the event when they know what you're doing with the photos.

The Beginning, Event and End

All good stories have an introduction, a main event and an ending or conclusion. For the photographer, this means shooting photos that show each of these phases.

THE BEGINNING - When photographing your event, there are several types of photos or shots that will anchor your storytelling. These are called: Establishing shots and consist of portraits, detail photos and pre-event or preparation photos. The various kinds of establishing shots tell the beginning of your story. They not only introduce the viewer to your story, they set the mood for the story.

To document an event most effectively, you have to get there early, at least an hour before it begins. Begin putting your story/day together by taking "Establishing shots." These will set the time and location for your photo documentation. Establishing shots put the rest of the photos that you'll be taking in the right context for what you do with the photos later, such as creating a photo album, photo book or slideshow.

Examples: Wide shot of your mom's house / A highway sign that says, "Welcome to Townsville," or a shot of your parents opening the door.

Preparation Shots - When there's a big event, there's always preparation in the background. This is a good time to take some candid shots of people getting ready before the big event so your viewer feels the excitement and anticipation begin to build.

Examples: Mom taking the turkey out of the oven / Kids sneaking under the Christmas tree / People getting dressed or ready for the big day, especially if they rarely get dressed up (teenagers, children, etc). Think fun and silly.

Detail Shots - Your photos don't have to have people in them all the time and it's better if they don't. Details shots will help enhance the flow of your photos and give viewers a chance to appreciate the details of the day. Detail shots can help evoke a mood or emotion as well. You'll shoot these throughout the day, not just in the beginning.

Examples: Shots of decor in the house, like twinkling Christmas lights / Close-up of hands breaking an egg and other food shots / Shot of window looking out / A family pet sniffing presents / Shots establishing the weather - snow or frost on a window or ledge, leaves changing color in a tree in the yard / Flowers or candles / The centerpiece on the table or the table set and waiting for guests to arrive.

Portraits - Portraits help remind everyone of who was at the event. A group shot, or poised portraits are great, but candid shots are more fun and interesting for the viewer. Think natural light and candid shots as well as posed portraits. Use light coming in through windows, firelight and lights from sources in the room more than you use flash. You'll tend to capture some of your best portraits when people are unaware you're there. Hard to do, but so worth it! You'll also shoot these throughout the day as well. They can be hard to get if you wait, so shoot them as you see them.

Examples: Close-up of someone unwrapping a present/ Staring thoughtfully into the fireplace or out a window/or admiring the tree / Portraits involving parent and child / children playing or sleeping / Think about a portrait of carving the turkey or ham.

THE MAIN EVENT -This is the moment of truth. As a storyteller, it is best to be an observer at this point, watching reactions and grabbing photos of the emotions you see - surprise, laughter, joy, tears and smiles. Don't be afraid to walk around and document what you see, but don't be in your subject's face. Being too obvious with your camera will take away the spontaneity, and probably their enjoyment of the event. There's not much to photograph when people are eating, so sit down and be a part of the event.

Examples: Unwrapping or handing out of gifts / Family pets playing with wrappings / Goings on of people during event / The interaction of babies, toddlers, children and animals / Food being served or eaten / People playing video games, watching television, having snowball fights or playing sports in the yard / People interacting, cooking, cleaning up in the kitchen.

THE END - The end is really the event's conclusion, winding down, or aftermath. The Main Event may fade into the end slowly, or quickly, but keep shooting. Documenting the aftermath will be a good indication of how successful the event was. It is also a great time for photo opportunities. People are happy, engaged and even sleepy as events wind down. The stressful part of the day - the main event, be it dinner or unwrapping presents, or decorating the Christmas tree - is over and people relax.

Examples: Photos of people leaning back at the table talking, laughing or enjoying a cup of coffee, hot chocolate or a hot toddy / Youngsters, exhausted by the day taking time to nap in unexpected places.

Conclusion - You've worked hard on documenting this event and if it stays in your camera all your hard work is just put to waste. Your great story goes untold until you tell it in a book, slideshow or album. While the moments are still fresh in your mind, take time to put them together where people can see, enjoy and share them. You can:

a) Build a photo gallery and share them with everyone.

b) Print them as a coffee table book

c) Make a calendar out of the best photos and give it to your relatives after the event to help them remember the fun all year long.

d) If you really want to have fun, make badges, buttons, bumper stickers or greeting cards out of your photos.

Photos tell the story of our lives and relationships better than words ever can. Photos not only help us connect our customers to our brands, but they help us connect our friends and families to our hearts and memories. May your holiday season be filled with love, memories and photos to last a lifetime.

For more information, visit Donna Santos Photography
http://www.donnasantos.com

Taking Great Photos - Photos With Impact

Do your photos seem flat?

In this modern day of photography, we have more tools available to use, than ever before. But are we putting them to good use? "A picture is worth a thousand words" is a mantra repeated again and again. However, how do we change those thousand words from boring to inspiring?

It is far too easy with all the resources we have, to get caught up comparing megapixels and other technical jargon instead of taking meaningful photos. The digital cameras we have today are brought to life by over 150 years of photographic growing pains. They are good. They are all good.

We can illustrate it by this point. Give the most cutting edge equipment to an amateur. This includes the latest in lenses, camera, filters, and all the other items we are pushed by retailers on a regular basis. Now take an artful professional. Give them a four-dollar disposable camera, and send the two out into the world. Who do you think will end up with the better photos? And why?

The answer is that the person who is more concerned about seeing their subject matter, and creating feeling on film is the one that is going to produce the best photos. Being concerned with 100 different buttons, and settings is going to get taxing and is certainly more than enough to distract and confuse the amateur who is eventually going to resign to have the camera set to "auto."

The fact is that the camera really doesn't matter. It is the person behind it that will make or break any photos that are produced from it. Don't get me wrong, there is a place for the terrific cameras that we have today, and I am not saying that you should junk that DSLR you just gave an arm and a leg for. But what I am saying is that many aspiring photographers would do well to clear their minds of all the rules they are trying to learn, and start to pay more attention to what they see.

Just like we can sit in front of someone whilst they talk to us and not hear a word they say, we can walk past a scene that truly displays beauty and not even notice. We need to listen more than just hear. We need to see, more than just look. Once we see something, we need to learn how to show it best. How to describe this scene; with the photo we will craft in order to best describe a feeling.

Upon starting out in photography, I was sorely mistaken when I thought taking a photograph was about reproducing reality. And this misconception still runs rampant among people with cameras in their hands. We even speak about "normal" focal lengths, as if a photo taken at the right focal length will take a page right from reality its self. This simply is not the case. Have you ever been taken at the beauty of a sunset, and had your camera handy? Perhaps from a trip or vacation you had taken. When you got the film back weeks later, and were eager to show it to friends and family something just wasn't right. Upon sharing the photo, you had to mitigate your own sense of wonder by explaining that perhaps "you just had to be there."

The fact is that they were not there. And they rely on you to tell the story. Unfortunately we often do a better job describing this vocally after the fact, instead of trying our best to get it in the photo. The photo can speak for itself, we know that because they are worth a thousand words remember? So what are your photos saying? What do they say about the mood of the scene? The mystery, or intrigue? Perhaps the playfulness of it all, or the pain and anguish in this fleeting moment on earth? We often call this capturing the moment. What are the thousand words telling us to feel?

This is easier said than done. As I said earlier, photographs are not about reproducing reality. They are about creating it. If your photo has impact, it will create a reality all its own. It might not be exactly as you remember it, but it has the ability to touch, move and inspire you and anyone who looks at it into something more than just a scene on a two-dimensional piece of paper. A photograph can create a new world for the person viewing it, only if it has impact. There are ways of inspiring this, but not until we have unbound ourselves from the boxes we so easily fall into in this information age.

In conclusion, the next time you are going to take a snap, ask yourself what story you are trying to tell, and hot it will make someone looking at your photograph feel.

Learn Nikon is a site devoted to sharing the wonderful passion of photography with amateurs to experts. Focused on being a definitive source for the aspiring photographer who wants to learn about all aspects of crafting great photos. Please visit Learn Nikon Taking Great Photos [http://www.learnnikon.com/impact-photos.php] For more insightful articles. Though the site focuses on Nikon brand cameras, many of the articles are universal.

Using Your Digital Photo Frame As a Motivational Tool

The advances in photography have now reached the stage where its a whole lot easier for many more people to capture, share and store fantastic looking snaps of all their precious moments in life. You can easily manipulate any image you take before printing it off and there is no need to pay for poor quality photographs, which was the case not so long ago.

And now with the advent of the digital photo frame, displaying your digital photos to their best effect has never been easier, nor have the results ever looked better. It's all very well to take thousands of digital images - some of which may be kept on your camera for an eternity, while the rest languish on your desktop computer's hard drive, rarely - if ever, to be seen again. And for those that are actually given life and printed - either at home or work with the trusty Canon digi printer or via an online order at Kodak or one of its many competitors - these are looked at when first received but what happens next? Left in a drawer along with all the others?

It's all changing now though with the digital photo frame. Your photos can now be uploaded directly from your camera, from your computer or from some other form of electronic storage device. And it's easy too - no time to setup, no fiddling about with lots of settings. It's all fairly much a plug-and-play setup, so you don't have to have a university education to figure out what's to be done just to get your photos from one place to the other.

How can the digital photo frame be used as a motivational tool however?

First, where might you want to use it to inspire? At home of course. Imagine getting out of bed in the morning and feeling the need for some inspiration, just to get the creative juices flowing. How about the idea of having a digital photo frame in your bedroom that has a slideshow of some of the most inspirational type photographs that you either took yourself, or you found on the internet and downloaded to your photo frame. You can add in some of your favorite music too - many digital photo frames have this facility.

Or, how about at the office? You need some motivation to get going in the morning so it makes sense to have your own digital frame filled with highly motivational images and captions. You can insert both images and words and make a slideshow of these. A great booster to add to your productive capabilities.

Or, it may simply be that you want to make some new years resolutions or a single resolution and you need a constant reminder about it too. Make up a slide show of images and captions to keep up the motivation to stay on the right track. This will help serve as motivation to push you in the right direction whenever you feel the desire to stray back to the old ways.

There are countless other ways that a digital photo frame can be used as a tool for inspiration, either on the personal or the professional level - it's really a case of using your imagination - use vivid colored images, and/or words that really sink home to make you think deeply each and every time you read them. This way you're getting the best use of your digital photo frame as a motivational tool.

Looking for a great digital photo frame? Just Click Here for more information.

Photo Birth Announcement Time Savers - 6 Fast, Easy Tips

Many new parents are choosing birth announcements with photos to share the good news of their blessed event. But photo birth announcements don't have to be time consuming.  They don't have to be one more complicated thing to do when your baby arrives. In fact, there are surprising stress-free ways to quickly and easily send out photo birth announcements.  

Before the baby is born:

1.  Make a list.  Write down everyone who will receive your photo birth announcements.  You can start with your Christmas or Hanukkah card list, and then add to it.  Do you want to send one to your doctor?  Are there old friends or colleagues you haven't heard from for a long time?  This may be just the opportunity to reconnect.  Make sure all your addresses are current.  Now you have an idea of how many birth announcements you'll need.  Be sure to get a few extra for anyone you might have forgotten and the family scrapbook.

2.  Browse online. There is such a variety of photo birth announcements in every color, theme, size and price imaginable on the internet.  This is the time to find exactly what you want.  If you wait until after the baby arrives, you may feel pressured to settle, just so you can get the announcements out.  But if you do your shopping now, you can find the perfect photo cards for your baby.  If you have enough time, you might even want to request some samples of your favorite designs, so you can examine them in person before ordering.  

3.  Decide on the design and the wording you want.  Although you won't know all the statistics yet, like birth date and weight, you can figure out the rest of the words.  Do you want to include a quote, a poem or some clever play on words?  Some companies are very flexible in what text you can use to personalize your photo birth announcements.

4. Preorder your envelopes.  This is a real time-saver.  Once you have selected your photo birth announcement, you can order the envelopes that match the announcement ahead of time.  Some companies will want you to reserve and pay for your birth announcements in advance, and then will ship your envelopes.  Other companies will "sell" you the amount of envelopes you require and include a coupon that refunds the cost of the envelopes when you are ready to order your announcements. Even if a company does not list this option on their website, most of them will offer this service.  It is well worth taking this extra step.   Then, you can address your envelopes, put stamps on them and have them ready to go.

5. Take lots of photos.  Yes, before the baby is born.  The time to learn all the bells and whistles of your digital camera is before you need to take great pictures.  Practice getting the right shot, so that when your angel arrives, you'll be ready to take awesome photos.

After the baby arrives.

6. Take lots of photos.  And then take even more photos.  Don't worry about how good they are, (you've already practiced!). Just click away.  Then leisurely look through them, choose the best ones, and upload or email them to the company you've chosen to create your photo birth announcements.  Let them know all your statistics and personalization, and wait for them to arrive.  The only thing left to do is stuff the envelopes!

Just imagine how delighted everyone will be who receives your baby's photo birth announcement.  And to think, no one will ever suspect that you did so much ahead of time or that it was this easy!

Linda Kling is the owner of www.photo-party-favors.com, which offers personalized photo favors and custom invitations. Visit her website for more information on photo birth announcements, featuring multiple photos of your baby.

Stay Connected With Online Photo Sharing

Memories play a vital role and they will never fade away. They play a confusing role in everybody's life. Old sweet memories bring tears, laugh, smiles, joy and much more emotions. A picture is worth thousand words. It is true in most of the cases. Being a good digital camera owner, one can diligently record all the events. There may have been several photos and video taken on a special occasion. Until few years back, it was not possible to share on a massive scale with friends and family members living at a distant place. The digital era is here and one can share all the photos and video with the click of a mouse how ever large it may be. Online photo sharing services will keep the people connected sharing each other's memory.

Flickr, Smugmug, Ofoto, dotPhoto, Google Web Albums are some of the portals which enable you to share the photos on web. Certain services will let the user to take print outs. Users have to select the services rightly according to the needs. If the objective is just to share the photos, then any service is good. Some of the common features offered by the online photo sharing portals are:

·        Users can have free account with restrictions to upload limited number of photos

·        Storage is limited with free account

·        Sorting photo options according to category is possible

·        Sharing the albums with friends

·        Adding captions and footer messages

·        Enables slide show of the photos

Those were the days to wait for a longer period of time to see the photos of loved persons staying away. The technology has given us great advancement and enables online photo sharing with which photos can be sent across the globe in a matter of seconds. Most companies allow the users to take print copies and they can order it online. They can just go to the nearby shop to collect the printed copies. How cool is this service? Photos speak volume about the past and the good thing is that the persons may change in the photo but not the photo. It stands for truth and originality.

It is now very easy to create photo album [http://www.glimbus.com] of your own. You just need to sign up for image sharing [http://www.glimbus.com/signup] on the website owned by the writer of this article and start sharing your photos with friends, family and some online colleagues you have.