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Get prints online
There are distinct advantages of digital photography:
There are many online
services that accept your digital camera files over the Internet. There
are typically two options for receiving your prints using these services.
1. Some
services can only offer to send the prints to you in the mail. If you can
wait a few days to get the prints in your hands, this type of online
processing service is a great option. Most of these services offer you the
ability to store and to catalog your digital photos on the website, as
well as a variety of editing and printing options.
2. Other
services offer you the ability of pick up your photos at a near-by retail
location. This option is usually more attractive to eager photographers
wanting to get their prints right away. Simply upload your digital photos
to the web site, and then pick up your photos at the neighborhood photo
lab usually within a few hours.
What do I do
with my digital photos?
Online
photo processing – There are many
online services that accept your digital camera files over the Internet,
and send the prints to you in the mail. If you can wait a few days to get
the prints in your hands, a website is a great option. These services
offer you the ability to store and to catalog your digital photos on the
website, as well as a variety of editing and printing options.
Digital
Photo Kiosk – Self-service photo kiosks are popping up everywhere,
from local photo labs to drug stores to hotel lobbies. Depending upon the
system, you will have the option of either printing your photos right at
the kiosk or picking them up at the counter later on. Most systems give
you the freedom to remove red eye, crop and alter the photos before
printing so you know exactly what you’re going to get. Some of the newest
kiosks can download your pictures from a website, and print them on the
spot. This gives you the best of both the online and the retail worlds.
Online
photo sharing – After you purchase
your digital camera, you may want to find an online service where you can
upload your photos. Most photo retailers offer this service and there are
also many “dot-com” companies that offer online photo sharing. Here’s how
it works:
a. Upload
your digital photos into “albums” on the Web, categorized by date or event
(or any other classification you choose).
b. Add,
delete, edit/enhance, add captions, etc., to your photos.
c. Send
your friends and family the link to your online photo album for them to
view instantly. (Imagine sending out a birth announcement with all the
photos of the event hours after the baby is born!)
d. Those
who view your album may run a slide show, enlarge images, or even order
pictures directly from the website.
Tips to making
great prints
1.
Keep your camera set at the highest possible resolution and lowest
compression settings.
2.
Avoid using Digital Zoom – while digital zoom may get you closer to your
subject, it often produces an image that is distorted and fuzzy.
3.
Video cameras – if you’re planning on shooting still photos, use a still
camera. While video cameras are capable of shooting still shots, the
quality is not even close to what you can get with a digital still camera.
4.
Cameraphones and PDAs – Everyone is carrying cameraphones and PDAs these
days, and most of the new ones have built-in cameras. The resolution of
these cameras are usually very low, however, and not optimized for
keepsake quality prints. If you do want to make prints from these devices,
you can usually remove their media card and put them in your computer just
like any other media card.
5.
Always make a backup – there is always a possibility of losing the digital
information on your memory card or your computer’s hard drive, so save
your digital images until you have prints or CD-ROM ”Digital Negatives”
made.
6. If burning a CD of
the images to print at home, be sure it actually worked before bringing
the CD into the lab. |
