Thursday, August 2, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Our Picks: FREE Photo Editing Software
This list is for
those who:
1)
Cannot afford professional photo editing
software such as PhotoShop,
-Or-
2)
Are novices when it comes to editing your own
images.
GIMP
User
Friendly-2
Available
Functions-4
Results-4
Overall Score-3
Pros: This
software is what you want if you are looking for a free version of Adobe
PhotoShop. It offers numerous technical
functions from brightness adjustment and cloning to vector art creation and
image distortion.
Cons: Not for the
casual photo editor! If you are a
beginner there will be many youtube tutorials in your future as you learn the
basics in using this software. It also
requires a download of the software rather than working on a webpage, so you
will want to make sure your computer can handle it!
Bottom Line: The best
free software for those who know what they are doing!
Fotoflexer
User Friendly-3
Available
Functions-2
Results-3
Overall Score- 2 1/2
Pros: Lots of
fun effects, text additions, and borders!
With Fotoflexer you can upload your edited images straight to your
favorite social media website. Edit
without having to download anything! All
you need to do is visit their website, upload your photos, and edit away.
Cons: While this software contains a lot of fun
effects, it’s actual photo editing functions are limited, and most are
automated.
Bottom Line: Good website for creating fun imagery with
images that need little to no fix-ups.
Picasa
User Friendly-4
Available
Functions-3
Results-3
Overall Score-3 1/2
Pros: Contains
lots of interesting photo effects, and a neat Creative Kit. Allows you to add text to your images, and
use the program as a default photo viewer.
Cons: As with
fotoflexer, this software comes with limited functionality. Picasa does require a download to your
computer.
Bottom Line: Lots of
fun effects and stickers + Solid Basic Photo Editing Functions = Awesome Free
Software
Windows Live Photo Gallery
User Friendly-2
Available
Functions-2
Results-2
Overall Score-2
Pros: Windows
allows you to create slideshows and movies with this free software, as well as
order prints and upload your edited images to your favorite social media
website.
Cons: While it does contain a high quality clone
tool for fixing imperfections, there are not many other functions to choose
from when using this program.
Bottom Line: It’s
an ok free program. Better than nothing!
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
What to Look For When Buying a Camera
Those in the market
to buy a digital camera are in the right place!
There are so many terms used when researching, and it’s important to
know what they are, so you get what you need!
Here you will find the most common verbiage when dealing with digital
cameras to help you in your exciting purchase.
First, there are 3
main types of cameras:
SLR (Single Lens
Reflex) - A camera that uses a mirror system to direct light, and can offer
more accurate framing and depth of field.
Because of this, what you see in the viewfinder is exactly what your
picture will be. The user can manually
adjust the lens’ focus, and many other features.
DSLR (Digital Single
Lens Reflex) - The same as an SLR Camera, however this camera stores your
images in digital format on a memory card.
Point and Shoot -
An easy to use camera with limited functions.
Most use autofocus, with flash units that are built in.
Now onto the features
that you should look for, or know about in a camera:
AC Power- Your
camera will be charged in a wall outlet or computer USB port rather than by
traditional batteries.
Aperture- How
much your lens opens through which light will pass.
Aspect Ratio- The
ratio of your images’ horizontal and vertical dimensions. Most cameras have an aspect ratio of 4:3,
but if you are looking to be able to print perfect 4X6 images, then look for a
camera that offers 3:2 ratio mode.
Aspherical Lens-
A lens that is not perfectly spherical, but creates superior images by reducing
or even eliminating aberrations (lighting imperfections).
Digital Image Stabilization- Used to minimize the effect of
blurring or shaking while the camera is in the process of capturing video.
Digital Zoom-
Magnifies the center of an image, keeping the same aspect ratio, while reducing
the amount of pixels.
Exposure- The
amount of light that reaches the photographic film, and is determined by the
shutter speed and aperture
Frame Rate- How
many image frames are shown per second.
The higher the Frames per second, the more “real” or “in person” the
imagery looks.
Image Resolution-
Amount of pixels in the length of an image- Referring to the detail of the
image. The higher the resolution, the
more detailed your picture will be.
Macro- Offers the
ability to focus really well on small objects that are close to the camera.
Megapixel- A measurement
to describe how many dots or pixels are in an image. The
more pixels contained in an image will mean more detail, and more detail in an image
means you can make large prints from your images.
Optical Zoom-
Allows the camera to zoom in on an object without affecting the detail or
resolution of the image. It uses the
lens to draw the image closer, much like binoculars.
Pixel- One Pixel
refers to one spot on an image. Pixels
combine to make up the resolution of an image, and as with most everything, the
more pixels you have, the better your image is going to look.
Shutter Speed- How long the camera’s shutter stays open to
capture an image.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Unsolved Family Mysteries
What you are about to see is a true story.
To learn more about preserving your memories visit our website
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Beginners Guide To Using Cinemegr.am
Cinemegr.am is a new app that combines the power of video with the stillness of photo to create fun and quirky imagery.
Here is an example:
Here is an example:
Created with cinemagr.am
(Notice how the street is moving, but the signs and lights are still?)
Here we will show you how to create such a visual, with added effects such as giving it a vintage touch.
1-Get the app installed! It's currently only available for your apple products.
4- Create your mask! Selecting where you want your mask to be tells the app what parts of your video you want to remain moving. Everything else will remain still. Simply color over the desired areas with your finger to color your mask.
5-The next step is to add your vintage flavor. Cinemegr.am gives you several options, or you can simply leave it "raw" or untouched.
Hope you've enjoyed creating your own cinemegr.am invention. It can be a fun and interesting way to share the moments of your day.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Beginners Guide to Removing Red Eye
Red eye is an annoying and common problem with photos when taken using a flash. Luckily fixing red eye is extremely easy using PhotoShop.
Red Eye Removal Step 1:
Once you have your digital image opened in PhotoShop you will want to zoom in on the eyes. Your zoom tool is located on the left side panel, it looks like a magnifying glass.
Red Eye Removal Step 2:
Next you will want to select your Red Eye tool. It is located on the left side panel. It is grouped with the healing tool which looks like a band aid. 
Red Eye Removal Step 3:
If you left click & HOLD you will see a drop down with four different tool options.
Select the bottom, which is the Red Eye Tool.
Select the bottom, which is the Red Eye Tool.
Red Eye Removal Step 4:
With the Red Eye Tool selected you will want to go to your eye and click & drag the box around the eye. This tool will automatically correct the red eye.
While the Red Tool is selected, if you look at above your top tool bar on the left you will see two settings you can change which is Pupil Size & Darken Amount. If you don't like how your corrected red eye looks, you can adjust those settings.
That is it- easy enough!
Friday, May 11, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
How to Keep Your Digital Images Safe
Whether you've sent all your photos, slides, or other film format to be converted to digital format for memory preservation, or you just have all your digital camera images just sitting on your computer or DVD, it is important to set up some safe guards. Computer crashes, fires, floods, and other unfortunate events can happen without notice, leaving your memories lost, and you in a bad mood!
You can store your images as actual prints. While this solution is not storage friendly, you can always submit them to a photo scanning company, such as Larsen Digital Services to be scanned to digital format. This method of storage is very volatile, as prints can be easily ruined by floods, fire, children, etc.
Another method of storage is to keep your images on a CD or DVD. While this is a reliable medium for now, CD's and DVD's just won't last forever! It still is a good idea to keep at least one copy of all your images on a CD or DVD to keep in a safe spot, such as a safe deposit box. Just like photos, they are prone to be damaged by fires, and even in car accidents.
Always keep a copy of your pictures on your immediate computer. Yes, they crash all the time, but storing your digital images on your computer allows them to be readily accessible. You will be able to easily share your memories via email, Facebook, Twitter, or any other program of choice.
A Great option right now is to copy all your images to an external hard drive, or a USB flash drive depending on how much space you need. This way, if your computer crashes, because the hard drive or flash drive is not attached to it, your images and files will be safe. You can find many cost-effective choices for an external hard drive at online merchants such as NewEgg.com, mwave.com, and others. Once you have purchased your hard drive, and transferred all your files on it, you will want to make sure it is stored in a well-conditioned area.
The last option, and my personal favorite, is to find an on-line file storage company with which to keep your images. Not only will they keep your images backed up, but they will be easily accessible as well! Most on-line storage companies will charge you a minimal monthly fee depending on how much storage your data requires, but the cost of all your lifetime memories is priceless! When choosing a provider you will want to ensure that they offer password protection, as well as an encrypted file transfer. Some free online file storing companies include 4shared, Humyo, and ADrive.
You can never be too extreme when dealing with your life's legacy, so make sure you take every precaution in keeping your digital images safe.
Larsen Digital Services offers a 5 Year Data SafeKeeping Program when you convert all your old photos, slides and negatives to digital. It is a one time fee with prices starting at $8.15, and is renewable every five years!
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Pixlr Photo Editing Tutorial
Pixlr.com is a photo editing website that offers free editing tools. It is the easiest software I have ever worked with.
I am so excited to share how great this website is.
First: Go to www.pixlr.com
Step 1 Retro Effect:
Click on the circle that says "Computer"This will allow you to browse your hard drive & pick a photo to add fun retro effects.
Once you have selected your photo it will appear on screen.
Step 2 Retro Effect:
First, we will add an effect to the digital image.If you look below there is a film strip, this is where you will select from your different effects.
Start clicking through the different effects on the film strip and it will automatically apply the
effect to your picture. There are a lot to choose from and they are a lot of fun.
Once you have found an effect you like, you can move on to adding an overlay.
Step 3 Retro Effect:
Next, we can work on adding an overlay.If you notice at the bottom middle part of your screen there is a three colored odometer,
click on the blue triangle. Click through the different overlay effects.
Some of them are really dramatic and others are more subtle.
Once you have chosen your overlay you can move on to adding a border.
Step 4 Retro Effect:
Click on the yellow triangle of the odometer and you can click through the different borders.Step 5 Retro Effect:
Once you are done you just need to save your image. You can either hit the SAVE buttonor hit the button with the two forward arrows. You can either save your file as a jpg or an imm.io.
The imm.io a Pixlr service to easily share the image online with friends and family.
For now, I am just saving my images onto my hard drive.
Tips
-If you ever want to go back a step click on the button with the two arrows pointing to the left
-Next to the left arrows you will see a negative canister image, if you click on it, you will have access to even more effects, overlays & borders to choose from.
-Next to the negative canister there is a crop button that will adjust your crop on your picture.
-Next to the crop button there are two crisscrossed arrows. This will randomly apply different effects, overlays & borders to your digital image.
-Next to the odometer is a SAVE button, which means you can save your image at any time. So if you want a version saved with just an effect or just the overlay & nothing else you easily can.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Beginners Guide: How to Resize Your Images
As the years pass, digital images are coming with higher and higher quality. Typicially, the higher the quality is, the higher the megapixels are, resulting in a large file size. When emailing digital images, you don't want to attach a10MB file- so you will need to resize it. Other hassles you might run into include uploading digital images to various social sites that have file size or dimension restrictions. Resizing your digital image will avoid these problems and make it easier for friends and family to view your digital image.
To understand what size you want, you need to understand what "pixels" mean. A digital image is made up of pixels or dots. The number of pixels per square inch is what makes up your dimension. For example, a 12 Megapixel digital camera will give you the dimensions 4000x3000.
When emailing pictures to friends & family, I like to resize my images to ~2000 pixels on the long side.
To resize an image in Photo Shop follow these steps:
Resizing Step 1Go to your tool bar & select IMAGE
Then select IMAGE SIZE
Or just hit " ALT+Ctrl+I "
Resizing Step 2
A window will pop up which will tell you what your current dimensions are set at. You can work in pixels or percents -I prefer to work in pixels.
I am going to change my width to 2000,, which automatically changed my height to 1500. This is important to note, because if the box "Constrain Proportions" is unchecked, you will end up with a squished image (See Example Below). Having this box checked means that when you change one dimension, the other dimension will change in relation.
Hit "OK" when you are done changing your dimensions.Resizing Oops!
Resizing Step 3
You are almost done resizing your image- you just need to save your file. IMPORTANT - don't save over your larger image, create a new copy.
Go to your tool bar & select FILE,
then go down to SAVE AS
& then create a new file name.
If you are saving a JPEG image a window will pop up asking what quality settings you want. Unless want to compress you image, save it as Maximum quality setting.
That's it! You now know how to resize a digital image!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
How to Edit Your Photos in PaintShop
Do you have digital images that just don't look right? Pictures often get faded, or gain a reddish or bluish hue. You can fix these imperfections simply using editing software like PaintShop Pro. After reading these steps, you should be a pro at applying simple editing effects to your own digital images.
1- Lets get your settings in place. Once you have opened up Paint Shop, you will see a gray bar that spans the width of your software window (under the choices for 'File', 'Edit', etc). Right click on this gray bar and scroll down to the option "Toolbars". To the left of "Toolbars" will be choices for which tools you want to have open in that gray space. Click on "photo", and those editing options should appear. To find out what each icon in the toolbar does, just hover your mouse over the icon.
2- Make sure your image is rotated correctly! It's really hard to edit a photo when you don't have the right perspective on what it is. The easiest way to do this is to open the image that needs to be rotated. On your top tool bar you will find three icons in a row containing blue and white shapes, with arrows directing which way they are being rotated. These are your rotation tools. Just click on the direction that your image needs to be rotated. You will keep your image open for the rest of the editing process.
3- Next, let's take a look at your contrast/brightness. No one wants a photo that looks faded or soft. To make you images look more crisp, you will want to adjust the Contrast/Brightness of your photo. The Contrast/Brightness tool takes the blacks and whites in your images and enhances them. The icon is of a triangle, where the top is a light blue, and the bottom of it is black. Click on the icon, and a window will pop up requiring you to fill in numbers for both the contrast level, and the brightness level. If your image is really dark, start out by setting your levels both to 10, then press 'OK'. Repeat until you get your desired results. If the brightness of your picture is fine, but you just want it to look a little more crisp, set your contrast number to 10, and your brightness number to 0. Again, you will want to press 'OK' and repeat until you attain your desired results. To preview what your effects are going to look like, just press the icon that looks like an eye, which is in the 'Contrast/Brightness' window. If you like what you see, press 'OK'. If you don't like the selections you've made, simply press the eye again, which will hide the preview, and re-configure your settings.
4- Now we are going to focus on color. There are several ways to adjust the color on your images, but this technique is a manual tool where you can choose exactly what you want to be applied to your picture. The 'Adjust Color Balance' tool is a triangle that is light blue on top, and black on bottom, with a halo containing red and blue squares on the tip of the triangle. Click on this icon, and a window will pop up. Set your 'Tone Balance' to 'Midtones', and check the box beneath to 'Preserve luminance'. You will find that there are three scroll lines to adjust the color. You can either manually enter numbers in the white boxes, or you can manually move the cursor left or right to select how much you want to adjust a certain color. For instance, if your image has taken on a reddish hue, you will move the cursor between the choices 'cyan' and 'red' to the left, towards 'cyan'. This will add more cyan hues to your image, decreasing the amount of red that appears. A lot of color balancing is trial and error. To preview what your effects are going to look like, just press the icon that looks like an eye, which is in the 'Adjust Color Balance' window. If you like what you see, press 'OK'. If you don't like the selections you've made, simply press the eye again, which will hide the preview, and re-configure your settings.
Now your image looks as good as new. Have scratches, wrinkles, or writing on your images? You will need to use the 'cloning' tool to fix this, which is a whole other ball game! Check out tutorials on using the clone tool in PaintShop to make your editing skills complete.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Monday Makeover: Weber State!
We have the opportunity to scan Weber State University's collection of old film. Today, we are featuring one from their basketball collection. It's faded, off-colored, and looks out of date...
Our color technicians were able to restore the vivid colors and bring the contrast to where it should be, making this makeover a slam dunk!
Want more info about our editing services? Visit us today!
Want more info about our editing services? Visit us today!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Monday Makeover: Wrinkles Sminkles!
Check out this makeover! Looks like this picture has been crumpled- but who wants to throw this memory away when we can fix it for you!
We have dedicated artists who treat your precious photos as their own, and work hard to bring your memories back to life.
Each restoration project is individually priced. See how much yours would cost today!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Interview with Pixorial
We sat down with Pixorial to ask them about how their services can benefit anyone around the world. They allow you to view, edit, and customize your videos and movie film online- truly giving you the control on updating your precious memories.
Pixorial allows people to share their video memories with family and friends anywhere, what inspired the creation of Pixorial? One summer, our founder, Andres Espiñeira, was busy digitizing his father’s large collection of film. He quickly came to two important realizations. The first was that in those videos were the collected memories of not just his mother and father, but also a number of other family members, friends and acquaintances who were also captured in the videos. Clearly, these old family movies would prove meaningful to a group of people outside his father’s household. The second realization was that just getting that video converted was the tip of the iceberg. Once digitized, how could that video be shared with friends and family who would find meaning in the video?
This experience drove his desire to create a platform where users could share and collectively interact with video from anywhere (analog, digital, mobile and HD) to where it matters most – with friends and family. Knowing that we all choose to share video differently, he thought it was important that the platform also remove the barriers created by the walled gardens of social platforms, and that memories captured could be shared with others.
What is the most convenient feature about Pixorial? Most convenient - and also most powerful - is our “Share to Crowd” feature. This allows anyone to share a video in its entirety with friends and family so that they can own, edit and share their favorite parts as well. Using this feature, users can unleash the stories in their crowd and empower their friends and family to tell their own stories through video.
You can download your edited videos off Pixorial's website to your home computer. Are you then free to upload and share your home movies on websites like Facebook? We actually recommend that users keep their videos protected in their Pixorial library. Downloading a copy is always an option but to truly protect those videos from hard drive failure, natural disaster or even human error, the cloud is the safest place. And because we’re a software company, we make sure that your video is accessible and ready to play in the latest format.
As far as sharing goes, Pixorial provides an extensive list of share options including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Vimeo, 1000memories and more. We want to make sure that you always have your original videos available to you from anywhere, along with the ability to share how you wish. We also make it possible to share via email, Videocard or DVD.
How long do you store your customer's videos? We store a user’s videos for as long as they have an account. We store up to 1 gigabyte of video for free and offer a variety of membership plans to meet the needs of any consumer.
If people only have their movies on a DVD or Hard Drive, can they still benefit from the services Pixorial has to offer? Absolutely, users can easily upload those videos and use our simple editing tools to share their videos online or create custom productions.
Can a customer take portions from one movie and add it to another? With our Premium accounts, users can create a montage video using their videos or even videos captured and shared from friends and family. We believe that everyone is a storyteller, and have made it very easy to bring videos together with our web-based editing platform, Pixorial Producer.
In your editing features, customers have the ability to add music. Do you have music on your website for people to choose from, or do they need to provide their own? We provide access to 1600 music tracks that cover a variety of genres. Users can also upload their own music tracks. Once a music track or several tracks are added, the user can adjust the ratio between the video’s own recorded sound and the music track. Music is often a great addition to combined videos, videos where photos have been added, or as a way to cancel out a loud or bad sound recording.
Do you have an app for the i-phone or android? We have video apps for the iPhone and Android so that users can not only capture and share on the go, they can also have access to their entire lifetime of videos without worrying about taking up space on their mobile device.
I see that you are now offering Videocards. What a unique take on sharing past experiences. Is this an included feature in a membership? Videocards are a feature available to consumers of all levels. We believe that the best stories are told with video and created Videocards as a gift that anyone could use to celebrate a special occasion or to just say hi.
Being part of restoring a lost family memory can be a very personal experience. Do you feel connected to your customers? We do. We are so lucky to be in the business of bringing memories to life. We hear wonderful stories on a regular basis for how people are using Pixorial to reconnect with friends, to remember or honor loved ones and as a way to collaborate around shared experiences.
Why is it important for people to share their past? We are living in a time where people are sharing more and more. Though pictures, through status updates, through check-ins and of course, video. Memories happened before the digital age, and sharing those memories provides a moving experience for all who were there. It’s common for people to look through old pictures, but viewing old videos has never been easy; the devices used to show old film and tape is becoming obsolete. Like anyone else, we don’t want our past to fade with time. The technology exists to protect, preserve and share those precious memories!
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
A Pixorial Product: Videocards
A Larsen Digital Partner, Pixorial is the video storytelling platform that empowers you to collect, create and ignite your video memories. They make it simple to capture, edit, organize and share your favorite video moments vintage and new. One way that Pixorial makes video fun and easy is through their customizable Videocards. There is no greater gift then the gift of memories and Videocards are perfect for any occasion.
Get Started with Pixorial Videocards:
- Upload or record a video greeting
- Select a free music track from our list
- Select the ACTIONS button in the header of your library
- Click Videocards
- Choose from 30 card designs
- Personalize with text
- Select some friends to send your card to and your done
Monday, March 19, 2012
All About Pixorial!
This week we are taking a closer look at Pixorial, a partner of ours. Pixorial offers you the chance to customize your movie film the way you want! Some of their features include the opportunity to view, edit, and share your videos online. With Larsen Digital and Pixorial teamed up, your memories are truly given a new breath of life! Check out the video below for more information about Pixorial!
Video: About Pixorial
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
We Have a Winner!
Congratulations to....
Melissa Dussol
for guessing correctly and winning our giveaway prize!
She won a NIX Digital Photo Frame!
St. Patricks Day Giveaway! Day 2!
Here is the image of the prize we will be giving away, only a little clearer now! Can you guess what it is? The first person to comment and guess wins our giveaway!
