Monthly Archives: January 2015
How to Make a Successful Camera Phone Video
Are you ever on a trip, experiencing a special occasion, or doing something spontaneous and taking pictures isn’t quite enough? You want to remember the sound of the kids laughing or the way the ocean sprayed your face? Taking video on your phone is a great way to remember an experience at a different level, but also can be hard to get creative with- so here are a few tips to help you capture the moment on video with your camera phone.
- Back up and get the whole scene in a shot- make sure to get the big picture, film the event from far away.
- Zoom in- get close and film the little details of the event that made it special, like the rings at a wedding, or sandy feet on a beach trip.
- Get it from beginning to end- be sure to film everything with the timeline in mind. If you want to put all of the videos together, you don’t want the middle missing, or the end of the event not there- get it all on video!
- Kodak moments- try and record it so you’re capturing the “Kodak moments” or unscripted, real reactions and emotions, not just a bunch of people smiling and waving.
- Have fun with it! This is for you to remember this moment by, so make sure you are recording what’s meaningful to you, and what you loved most about that specific point in time.
Cleaning Up Digitally
Are you one of the many people who feel like January is a time for cleaning out the old and making room for the new? Whether it’s the closets, bookcases or the garage, it seems our living spaces are begging to be reorganized and de-junked. Your computer is no different. Through your daily tasks with work and family, your computer can become over stuffed with unnecessary items, or cluttered with a lack of disorganization. Either way, it can hinder productivity and weigh you down!
Take a day or two to sort through your digital files. Organize things by category and also by date. Move anything that is old and unused but still valuable onto an external hard drive. Delete the unnecessary files and temp files. Create separate files for your family members to keep their data in so that it stays organized and functional.
Your picture files will always be better organized when you save them by the year, then the month and then the event. It’s smart to create all of your monthly folders for 2015 right now, so that when you go to download, the space is there and waiting.
To set it up, create folders for each year, then inside the folder labeled by the year, create a folder for each month, and in there have different folders for every photo shoot or event, so you can easily find where that specific picture you need is. We remember events in our lives by time, so it is easiest to use dates (month and year) to organize your photos, whereas if you titled each folder by the name of the occasion there is a thousand ways to write it, and the odds aren’t very good that you’ll remember the exact title.
When you have all of your files organized, enjoy the peace of mind that comes with being prepared for a new 2015!
5 New Years Resolutions for the Picture Lover
This new year, find some new ways to explore life and picture taking, so you are getting the most out of every experience! Here are some ideas…..
- Print out your Instagram pictures. There are so many companies that have made this possible, and so many different products you can get as well to print your
pictures on- books, magnets, cards, Polaroid’s, you name it! Just Google exactly what you are looking for (example: print Instagram pictures in a book) and sort through the many companies and results to find what best fits you. This is an awesome way to turn your virtual documentation of life into something tangible that will last forever! - Go live. Instead of tying yourself down to social media, technology, or any other simulated distraction, challenge yourself to get out and do something, anything! Try a new restaurant, take a nice drive, check out an old music store, or pick up friends for a treat. Then, record it. Take pictures of what you did, and keep track of every time you turn off the technology and live a little.
- Try video. Pictures are an awesome way to make a record of your memories, but so are videos! Try videoing your life, especially vacations or holidays. You’ll never regret capturing those special moments through video.
- A picture a day. Many people have taken on this challenge, and it is a fun way to journal your life through the camera. Every day challenge yourself to take at least one picture of anything, especially things that are important to you at that point in your life. This is an awesome way to record your life!
- Capture your family with professional photographs. This is an investment you’ll never regret, because it marks your family at that specific point in time, in the best possible way, and you will have those pictures to look back on forever.