Monday, July 6, 2009

Creating Photo Specialties From Scanned Photographs

By Pete Fontaine

When you send your photos to a photo scanning service you're probably trying to permanently protect them from damage and destruction, and you're doing the right thing. Going through the work and the expense will also protect your images from the natural deterioration that eventually claims most photos. But when you're done scanning you'll be ready to enjoy new ways to use your scans.

Once your ordinary photos are digitized they can be added to and organized along with your collection of digital photos. And when the work is done you'll be able to use your newly scanned images to generate wonderful photobooks and photo specialties. Several online businesses offer free software that lets you use your digital images to create an assortment of items from mugs to puzzels to t-shirts and more.

An online photo novelty company was used recently to provide t-shirts with the photo of an injured player for the entire team. The decision to attempt to boost the morale of the team in this way was based partly on the fact that producing the shirts could be done quickly and affordably. The effect on the team and the fans was something to remember.

One small company had all of their employees bring in a few meaningful photos of themselves. They then created personalized photo mugs for each person using an online company. The mugs hanging on the rack in the lunch room showed the wonderful diversity of the group. Individuals showed themselves as children, in funny outfits, playing sports, or engaging in their favorite past time. The mugs were the subject of endless conversations and seemed to bring the group closer as people's differences and similarities were discovered.

Impressed by the slideshow display that the funeral parlor had put together for a family member's funeral service, one family had the digitized photos made into photobooks for all of the relatives and friends. The photos tied people's memories together in a way that brought everyone closer together and expressed what it means to be a family in a way that words fell short of doing.

A group of guys in Maine used photo books to immortalize themselves and permanently record their Memorial Day fishing trip to Lobster Lake. Their advice was to hold the fish as close to the camera as possible so that it looks bigger. As time goes by and memories fade those photo books will become an important part of their life stories.

One cheerleading squad recently put together a photobook that included images of all of their activities and photos of the different teams that they cheered for. They made them available to anyone who was interested and they immediately became a hit with players, families, and fans. These inexpensive keepsakes did not replace the yearbook, but the cheering squad enjoyed complete editorial control. Someone even suggested using them as a fund raiser in the future.

Some photo specialty companies offer photobook creation software with exceptional features. Be sure to look for software that automatically performs the layout function. This feature will quickly display endless combinations of photos and layouts until you find one that you like. Another great feature allows you to use one of you photos as the page background. Imagine the artistic possibilities. Software that allows you to complete the entire project on your computer before sending it in is much preferred over systems that make you upload at every step.

So get your photos scanned to protect them from loss, damage, and destruction. And once you've included them in your digital photo collection you will be able to let your creative side run wild designing your favorite photo specialties easily and inexpensively online.

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