Here it is, a brand new year. Have you made your resolutions yet? It seems we like to start the year resolving to eat better, exercise more, and be budget wise. But what are your scrapbook goals? Now, don’t laugh – I am serious! Do you have any scrapbook goals for 2010?

If you haven’t made any New Year’s resolutions that have the word ‘scrapbook’ in them, let me help you. The number one thing you should resolve to do this year is take more pictures!. Keep a small camera with you all the time, because you never know when the perfect shot will happen. There are wonderful compact cameras on the market that take excellent photos. So even though you might prefer to take pictures with your ‘nice’ camera, you will find that having a purse camera is very handy!

Next, get the pictures off the camera! So now that you have taken all these great photos, where are they? If you are like a lot of people they are still sitting on your memory card – in the camera. Upload the photos to your computer and then back them up. It is a good idea to have at least to back up copies of your photos and scrapbook pages. You never know when you might have hard drive failure.

Make a scrapbook plan. Set a goal for scrapbooking so many times per month, or finishing so many pages. Make it a realistic goal that you will be able to attain – we want success, not failure! One idea for the new year is to create a ‘year in review’ book. Start now and take photos and create a layout each month. At the end of the year you have a fun book that has all the highlights of the previous month. This type of book makes a great gift for grandparents too!

Make a photo book. Another fun gift for almost anyone is a professionally bound photo book. These books become treasured keepsakes and look wonderful – just like something you would pick up at a bookstore, but it is all about your family!  Learn how to make a photo book today!

Print your pages. As you finish your layouts – print them! Everyone loves to flip through a scrapbook and relive memories. Sure, you can look at the layouts on your computers, but having them in a book you can hold is wonderful. Polka Dot Potato does wonderful scrapbook printing, any size including 12×12. Their prices are great and the quality is fabulous!

Sit down and write your scrapbook goals for the coming year. When you get to next December you will be glad you did!

Remember the old days when you would just pick up a box of greeting card at the store, sign them and send them off to faraway family and friends.  Maybe you included a picture of two, maybe not. Well, because of our great digital cameras, we now have modern Christmas cards as well! You just take your pictures and then upload them to a photo printing site. In just a few days you will have fun holiday photo cards to send to everyone you know.

But what makes a good picture for holiday cards? You may want a holiday or winter background – something that just screams “holiday magic, snowmen, & fun!”. Or maybe a traditional family group shot, with everyone perfectly posed. It is your choice, because it is your family photo card!

Here are a few tips for getting a great picture for your card:

• Prepare! If you are taking your own family photo, spend some time at the location. You should get a feel for the lighting – what direction does the light come from, do you need a flash, where are the shadows.
• Use your flash! Even in a sunny or bright location you may need a flash to brighten faces that may be shadowed. Use a flash diffuser to soften the light from the flash. You can make your own diffuser by placing a piece of tissue secured with a rubber band over a pop-up flash. Or tape a piece of tissue to the flash on a point and shoot camera. You will find you like the lighting better if you use a diffused flash.
• Don’t expect perfection. Taking group shots is hard, it is almost impossible to get everyone looking the right direction, smiling at the right time, etc.  Allow yourself to relax! Pictures don’t have to be perfectly posed, and everyone in their Sunday best to have a great photo!  I love this photo for that reason.  This photo shows family love – look how much these kids love being together and hamming it up for the camera.  This might not be the setting you would choose for a holiday card, but it really shows their personalities!
• Put your self in the picture! How many pictures do you have of everyone else in the family – but not you? Use the self timer on your camera (most cameras have them), or invest in a remote shutter cable.  Remember the WHOLE family – not just the kids!

With a little bit of planning and a little less worry about perfection, you can create the perfect modern Christmas cards to send to all your faraway friends and family. And of course you will need to save some to scrapbook!

No matter how they are dressed, little kids never look scary – just adorable! Capture the moment and the memory by taking great photos of your little ghouls, superheros and princesses! By following a few simple tips, your Halloween photos will be the best you have ever taken!

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In my last post, I talked about Jack-o-Lantern photos and many of the things I pointed out there apply for trick or treat shots as well. Lighting, setting, etc., will all make a good Halloween photo a creepy stunner!

• Lighting – like I said before, Halloween is supposed to be dark and scary. So you don’t want brilliantly lit photos. Adjust your lighting (and aperture if you can) to make the photos dramatic! Use the glow of a fire or the setting sun for some great silhouette photos. Photograph your child looking into their Jack-o-Lantern, this will add a spooky glow to their face!
• Perspective – Don’t take pictures of children from your perspective, get down on your knees and shoot at their level. For even more drama, lay on the ground and shoot up. They will seem larger than life and that much scarier! Get up on a chair or ladder and shoot down from a greater height than just standing for great group shots.
• Tell the story – take photos of the process of getting ready to go trick or treating. Putting on the costume, make-up, etc. Make sure you include photos of pumpkin carving as well!
• Shoot the loot! Trick or treating is all about the treat! So make sure you get photos of the loot as well. Take photos of your child going to a door and getting the treat – it is fun to include the person giving the treat, or at least a hand holding out the basket of treats! Take photos of your child with their candy spread out for all to see (before they get a chance to eat it!).
• Watch the flash – if you do use your flash, make sure you are aware of any reflection off shiny surfaces like windows, etc. You may need to move around to avoid flash reflection.

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After Halloween, have your fun photos made into cards to send to far away family and friends. Share your memories – that is what it is all about!

The scary night is almost upon us. The night when frightening creatures roam the neighborhood looking for treats and threatening tricks! It is also the night when kids look so absolutely darling you just have to take some pictures of them! But what makes the perfect Halloween photo?

Create the Perfect Holiday Card. Buy any Adobe Elements 8 product & enjoy a $20 gift from Shutterfly. Offer ends 11/09/09.

Anyone can pick up a camera and take some pictures of kids in costume or the jack o lantern. But with a few tips and tricks you can take your Halloween photos to the next level!

Jack-o-Lanterns: After all the time you spend picking out the perfect pumpkin and then carving it into a scary creature – you want a picture that does it justice, right?  It only takes a few little tricks to create the perfect Jack-o-Lantern photo: