How would you rate your picture-taking skills? Would you categorize yourself as above-average? Once you have been shooting for a while and find that photography is more of a passion than a passing fancy, you might consider making money from your talent. Depending on how much time and money you have to invest in a photo business, you could go all out and really turn your passion into profit. However, these days most people, who are trying to break into the world of professional photography, start off on a smaller scale by selling their best images online. The boom in … Continue reading →

Confession: I just finished printing out all the photos I snapped on Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Sure, Easter is right around the corner, but that’s how I roll these days. Typically, I let my pictures sit in my camera until I have a need to print them out. And by need I mean receiving a phone call from my mom (who happens to live 5,000 miles away) asking for pictures of her one and only granddaughter. With that kind of guilt motivating me, I was not only inspired to print out my holiday photos, but I also used them … Continue reading →

Whether you are looking for a photo to post on Facebook or you need an image to add to a school newsletter or yard sale sign, there’s a very good chance you’ll head to the World Wide Web to snag the perfect snapshot. Unfortunately, not all pictures seen on the Internet are free to copy and use as you see fit. Many images come with copyright restrictions, usage fees or other conditions. The good news is there are also quite a few websites that feature restriction free images. These photographs are posted by amateur shooters who encourage the use of … Continue reading →

How many photos did you snap of your Valentine’s Day celebration? Snap-happy parents likely have dozens of pictures of their little sweethearts bouncing off the walls after ingesting hardy helpings of chocolate hearts. In addition, there are probably many couples, who took advantage of the holiday to seal the deal on their relationship, or at least make the next step from dating to engagement. So, what should you do with all those amazing memories? You could display them in a digital frame, keep them in your phone for eternity, print them out and add them to a scrapbook, or select … Continue reading →

Over at the Scrapbooking blog, I post a lot about photo organization. After all, there’s no way you can create a cohesive memory book layout if you can’t find pictures to match your theme. With the advent of digital photography, snapping images has never been easier. Unfortunately, having the ability to take 183 pictures of your daughter eating her first slice of birthday cake isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be if it requires an hour of searching through computer files to locate the perfect shot. What’s more, there’s really no sense in transferring images from your camera to … Continue reading →

I gave up featuring just one photo on our family’s Christmas card shortly after giving birth. There’s no way I can choose a single picture that sums up an entire year of milestones. Fortunately, with advances in technology, I don’t have to. For the past five years I have created photo collages and added them to our Christmas cards. Creating unique collages from ordinary pictures is easier than ever thanks in large part to photo editing software programs. In addition to being readily available and relatively affordable, you don’t have to be a computer whiz or a professional photographer to … Continue reading →

What are the greatest inspirations for your photographs? For nature lovers it may be the great outdoors, for parents it’s likely their children, and for fashionistas it’s whatever is sashaying down the runway. While you can read photography books and watch instructional videos for hours, often the best way to find inspiration while honing your picture-taking skills is to get out there and start shooting. For example, if you are planning on taking a trip to grandma’s house this holiday season, why not take the long way and document your adventures? Here are some cool hot spots to consider: NEW … Continue reading →

I heart the Instagram iPhone app. Some of my friends have ditched their traditional digital cameras, and now exclusively use their phones to snap photos of their kids and any other frame worthy subject. I still shoot with my camera, though not nearly as often. For those of you who have not been sucked into the world of Instagram, the free iPhone app is basically a social network for photos. Once you take your pictures you can edit, apply eye-popping special effects and filters, and then share them with your peeps via Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Tumblr, and a several other … Continue reading →

For most parents, the sky’s the limit when it comes to budgeting for professional photos of their children. Of course, these days you almost have to dig deep if you want personalized pictures of your kids. Professional infant photography has come a long way since the days when naked babies were placed on bearskin rugs and mom and dad cooed in the corner as the photographer snapped a few cute shots. Today, baby photography is a sophisticated genre which aims to produce high-quality artistic images that will last for generations. Still, there are a slew of camera-wielding parents out there … Continue reading →