Did this ever happen to you? You are at a family event or some memorable event that you want to capture with your camera and definitely plan to use in your next scrapbook. You get the pictures developed only to find a lot of them are too bright, not centered in the frame, blurry because you shook the camera, or you even found blank pictures all together!
This is when you should think about how you use your camera before you go to the event! Most of the time we do not think about how we are going to use the camera, much less even checking if we have film in the camera before we leave our home!
So, here are the basics of what to do to prepare:
1) Make sure your camera has new film. (if film is already in the camera, make sure you know the expiration dates of the film and change out if needed)
2) Check the camera lens to make sure it is clean and not scratched.
3) Check to make sure the on board batteries are still "alive."
4) Keep the camera in room temperature setting if possible. In the dead of summer with extreme heat or the cold of winter, these extreme temperatures can affect the quality of the pictures.
5) When aiming the camera, make sure you take extra care in centering the person or subject in the picture.
6) Hold your camera steady!! Even with high speed or "shake proof" cameras, you can still get a blurry picture if not completely still.
7) If you can find a setting for "day/night," use that setting because it is a general setting that can make the best picture for you.
8) When taking film in for developing, compare photo processing charges with at least two different stores. Quite often you will be surprised at how much you can save for developing per picture costs.
So, if you follow these common sense ideas, you will be guaranteed of outstanding pictures to mount in your scrapbook.
Feel free to make comments here if you would like to add your clever ideas for making great pictures!
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This post will talk about the many different items you can add to your scrapbook. The most popular category is embellishments. They can consist of anything other than a photograph, page or a journal entry.
Here are just some of the materials you can add to your next scrapbook.
Buttons are most common. They can be found on hand me down clothes, or bought very cheaply at your local fabric store. Speaking of fabric, you can buy very unusual and decorative fabrics that you can use to spruce up photos, full scrapbook pages, or make shapes that accents the theme. Paint can be a very viable way of making your pages unique. Just think of what you can do with custom colored paper and then add a touch of paint from your own paint brush. Ribbons can be used to make patterns or frame photos. Rub on transfers and stickers are great to add a special touch. Stickers are available in many materials such as paper, plastic, foil, vellum and glitter, to name a few. And of course we cannot forget the many different paper and paper textures available. The sky’s the limit on how you can use paper.
Some helpful tools used to make your scrapbook are: punches, scissors, and edging scissors, knives, paste, glue, ink pads, embossing machines, die cutting machines, double sided tape, adhesives, brush markers, cutting mat, eyelets, mini drill, glue gun, laminating machine, stencils. paper trimmers, stiching machine, foil press, and acetate. Of course there are many other tools used for making scrapbooks but these are the most common.
When scrapbooking, the most important thing to know is that there is no right or wrong way to make one. There is no rule that says you have to do anything in a certain way. Actually the more you are a "newbie" to this craft, the better! Make sure you have a plan of at least knowing what the theme is and make it consistent with the theme. For example. if you are doing a Valentine scrapbook, make sure you are consistent with having the color red throughout the binder and pages.
Thought you might be interested in how scrapbooker Becky Higgins uses her tools. Please check it out below:
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Here is a great video we discovered about using price tags in scrapbooks. Use your own creativity to make an outstanding scrapbook. Play and enjoy!
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