Thursday, January 31, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Photo Book Review: Lulu
We are on a journey to find you the best photo products to show off your digital images. The latest: a photo book done through Lulu.
Lets start with the cons: The upload time was fairly slow. Maybe it's because I had high resolution photos, and a lot of them, but I got a little impatient waiting. That's about the only con I have with this experience.
Pros: The designs were simple and perfect for the traditional minded. When I received the photo book in the mail, I was so happy with the finished product! The pages were extremely durable, and the print quality looked fantastic. My three year old has loved looking through the book, and has yet to wrinkle a page after her rough page turning, proving the good construction of the book. The hardback was well made and I loved the slight shimmer of the cover.
Overall I would recommend lulu for your photo book needs. I was able to find a coupon to make the price amazing, and the design options and quality were superb.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Taking Pictures: Film vs Digital
Isn't this the truth...
Make sure you convert all your photos memories to digital! Not only will you be preserving your memories, but you can have your images on your phone or computer to show off on your lunch break!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Our Favorite Newborn Photo Poses
Seems like Spring is a popular time for babies to be born, and the trend is to take photos of your newborn days after their birth. The best photos are those that showcase just how precious and tiny your itty bitty baby is. Here are our favorite newborn poses that you might want to consider when planning your photo shoot.
Put your baby in something! We love the crocheted slings that you can find on etsy. Other cute ideas include a treasure chest (the child would lay on blankets within the chest of course), a football helmet if you are avid sports fans, pumpkin, Christmas stocking, or basket. Posing your baby inside of something captures their small and precious size. It's hard not to let out an "ohhh" when looking at one of these poses because they are just so cute.
We also like the poses that show love and family. The ones where mom and dad hold the baby against their chest, or even holding the bundle of joy in their hands. We've seen many photos where the parents are dressed all in black, but their hands are uncovered. The reason they do this is so that their hands are the only objects the camera captures- giving the photo a magical feeling. Another family pose we love? Sibling poses! Capturing the way older children feel about your new addition not only shows emotion, but it helps the brothers and sister feel involved and important as well.
Another pose we love when it comes to looking at newborn pictures- the fetal position, bum in the air pose. Doesn't that just wreak of adorable? Baby bodies are so delicate, small, and innocent that the photo capitalizes on the preciousness of your child.
The last photos being highlighted in this post are hospital pictures. Hire someone to come to the hospital and freeze that moment in time with you. There is nothing more intense than those first moments right after an infant is brought into the world.
Whatever poses you decide to implement in your photo shoot, just make sure you take pictures! They grow so fast, and the moments of newborn innocence will be over before you know it. Capture your new baby before those first months are gone.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Self Portraits to Capture on Vacation
Let's just take it from the time you leave for your vacation till the time you get home. As we go through your personal trip agenda, you will find several moments that you must capture. Of course landscapes and skyscrapers are beautiful on their own, but having you in your photos will take it one step closer in making it more real and more personal.
Transportation Photo Whether you are flying or driving, you probably woke up early to make sure you got everything ready on time. Your anxiety is killing you as you longingly wait for your plane to board and get your vacay started. Have someone snap a pic of you in this moment. Take a photo with our luggage, or with your plane snacks. Make sure you wear a huge smile on your face!
Then you arrive at your destination of slumber. You are exhausted from a long day of travel, so you lay down on the bed to take a rest. Where's your camera? If you are anything like me, you will spend a lot of time on that bed and in that room, so you will want to remember it! Take the iconic self taken picture of you in the room.
What do you go on vacation for? Whatever your personal reason, make sure you are ready to capture the moment. Take pictures wherever you can. At a fancy or legendary restaurant, in front of a national landmark, enjoying a drink on the beach. Stopping these moments in time will create a timeline for your vacation that you won't want to forget.
After you've had all your fun it's time to get back to real life. You force all your clothes and extra items you've purchased since you've been gone in your luggage that instantly seems way too small. Wouldn't that be a funny picture? Insert your face wearing a frown, and that will capture two things. How much you loved your vacation, and how sad you are to leave.
There are two events that we see the most often when converting film to digital. That is Holiday photos, and travel photos. It's no lie that pictures help you remember the times you've had in your life, and even thought you have to go home eventually, the images will enable you to keep a piece of that time in your life forever. I think I need a vacation now... or i just really want one. Somewhere out of this negative degree weather in Pleasant View, UT please!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Surprising Your Valentine With Film Conversion
So you've decided that you want to give the love of your life the gift of memories this Valentine's Day? Want it to be a surprise? Check out these tips in making sure you can pull it off in secret.
The first hurdle you need to get through is to get the film out of the house and shipped to us! Because your possessions might be bulky or take up a lot of room, you will want to remove the items while your loved one isn't home or in the vicinity Is it all in a big brown box? Take the photos, reels, videos, or whatever film it may be out of the box, but leave the brown empty box there as a decoy. If you want to know the best carrier in shipping your memories to us, there isn't one best provider. Just make sure that whoever you choose offers a tracking program to put your mind at ease.
The next item you need to take care of is payment method. We charge your card either when we upload your images or film, or when we ship your converted belongings, depending on the options you chose on your order form. If your significant other is a hawk when it comes to monitoring your finances, you might want to consider initially putting the purchase on a hardly used card, or ask a family member to put the bill on their card momentarily. Unfortunately we don't accept checks, and don't recommend sending cash through the mail.
Last base you need to cover is making sure the package arrives when the recipient isn't home, or ship it to your office, or a friend's house. Make sure you check out our free shipping offer! Then replace the film secretly, wrap the discs, or image carrying vehicle, and enjoy the reaction you get when your loved one opens their surprise.
Not only do we convert your film to digital, but we also have additional services to hit the emotions even harder. With nostalgic slideshows and digital photo restoration, you can customize your gift to make it the best.
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Photo Book Review: Walgreens
We are on a quest to find you the best products and ideas for your digital images, and have decided to review photo book providers one book at a time.
Today: Walgreens
Some things we really liked about creating a Walgreen's photo book is that they offer same day pickup, the upload process was extremely fast, it's easy to find a coupon code, and there are a lot of designs to choose from.
Basically if you want a photo book fast- Walgreens is a great option. While they are convenient, there are some downsides to choosing them as your printer.
1- The hardback cover quality isn't the greatest. The corners of the book are smooshed, and you can peel off the wrapping.
2- The binding is terrible. It hardly provides any support to the book.
3-In the front, as well as the back of the book, you can see the white threads used to bind the book, giving it a cheap feel.
4-While the print quality itself was good, the pages were really thin, and wrinkled with the slightest turn of the page.
Ratings (on a scale of 1-5):
Quality- 2
Website (Ease of Creation)- 4
Design- 4
Overall- 3.5
Need to convert your old family film to digital to make your own photo book to celebrate your past? Check out our New Year's Sale ending Jan. 17!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Friday, January 11, 2013
Feature Friday: Video of 2 Year Old Dancing the Jive
This video made my day!
Do you have home movies you want transferred to digital? Check out our services- the lowest price for the best quality!
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
What to Look for When Choosing a Scanning Company
Scanning Resolution
Resolution is everything when converting your old film to
digital. Resolution refers to how many
pixels an image contains. The higher the
pixel count, the better quality the image.
Make sure the company you choose gives you a range of resolution options
to make sure your photographic needs are met.
Color Correction
Chances are, your slides, movie film, photos, or other
pre-digital memories have experienced fading and discoloration. Some companies include the cost of applying
digital color corrections to your images post scanning, and others either don’t
deal with it, or charge extra for it.
Scanned in the USA
Do you really want to trust your precious legacy on a barge
ship to travel across the sea so they can be scanned at a cheaper price? Unfortunately, 10,000 large shipping
containers full of packages get lost at sea every year. Don’t let your memories be considered among
that number. Choose a company that will
keep your personals in one location.
Online Viewing
A lot of people don’t have the time or patience to squint
their eyes at tiny frames of film in order to organize them. That’s why online viewing and organizing is
an item you want to ensure is part of your scanning company’s services.
Delete Un-wanted
Scans
Not sure what exactly is on your film? Don’t want the image of an accidental picture
of the wall? Choose the ability to
delete the scans you don’t want- and better yet, don’t pay for it!
Scanning Equipment
You want a high quality camera to capture your memories, so
you would definitely want a high quality scanner to preserve them. Go with a company that uses professional
equipment with the latest technology.
Monday, January 7, 2013
Why NOT to Rely on 1 Step Photo Fixes for Your Digitized Film!
A lot of times, people don't want to spend a lot of time editing their photos, and I don't blame you! It doesn't take as long if you only have to do a one step photo fix, and it takes approximately 5% brain power for you to select the photo fix and hit enter. That's really about all it takes. It seems nice, and with a term like "One Step Photo Fix" it sounds too good to be true. Well, I hate to break it to you, but it is too good to be true.
Sometimes, One Step Photo Fixes work awesome, but it's usually not the last step you need to take in order to get your digital images to the level you want them to be. Here is an example of an average photo that received the fix, but it just didn't do the photo justice. It caused a greenish yellowish hue to cover the image, and it didn't get rid of the red eye. More work needed to be done.
Now there are a couple of cases in which you should never ever use a one step photo fix because the results will just be so horrid, that it would take a lot of time, and a lot of small adjustments to get it to a pleasant looking result. They include:
1- Professionally taken photos. If you apply a one step photo fix to a professionally taken photograph, the contrast will most likely be sharpened above and beyond what it needs to be. The colors will also go out of whack by creating portions that are over saturated, and areas that have lost their bold pigments.
2-Sunsets and under water photos. Because of the rich coloring in these types of photos, a one step photo fix will often times throw the coloring off balance, creating a very unnatural and unappealing look.
Again, One Step Fixes can save time, however, it can also cause a lot of headache. When in doubt- edit your digital images manually.
Larsen Digital offers free automatic fade and color correction to slides, photos and negatives when you convert them to digital. Talented graphic designers bring your photo memories from drab to fab using professional software including Adobe Photoshop CS6.
Friday, January 4, 2013
What NOT To Do With Your Child's Photos and Memories
Has this happened to your precious photos and film? Fear not, we can digitally restore your photos after experiencing water damage!
Still store photos, slides, movie film, video tapes, negatives and other film in a box in the garage? Get it out! Convert your memories today, and never worry about the "Leaves and Gook and Stuff" again.
Thursday, January 3, 2013
All About Movie Film
Did you know that there are different kinds of movie film? Well there are! We are going to go over the different kinds we transfer to help aid you in knowing what you have in your inventory.
8mm movie film: Designed by Eastman Kodak during the Great Depression to allow families to watch their home movies without the expensive cost. The film strips are 8mm wide, as noted in the name.
Super 8 movie film: This film format was meant to be an improvement to the original 8mm film. It only has perforations on one side, rather than both, and those holes are smaller than the former product, allowing for a greater viewing space on the film. On the opposite side of the movie film reels was a magnetic strip, allowing audio to be recorded along with the video.
16mm: Both silent, and well as film with audio exist in the 16mm family. It was mostly used for non-theatrical films, or low budget productions. The film is 16mm wide, and was used a lot to get news stories that were outside of the studio. 16mm film is still used today for select tv series and movies. There are 3 types of 16mm movie film. There is 16mm with optical sound, 16mm silent, as well as super 16mm silent with single sprocket.
Luckily for you, we transfer all these formats of movie film, and we do it with the bet equipment out there! Some companies project your film onto a wall and record it that way, but we know your' memories deserve better. That is why we capture your film from by frame, giving you the best quality possible.
The price for each type of movie film is the same, and we offer color correction, high definition transfers, online editing, and blu-ray options. Larsen Digital is the most trusted name in the industry. We keep all your film in one facility, rather than outsourcing it out of the country, and we treat your memories with respect, as thought they were our own.
Have any more questions? Visit our website, or give us a call at 1-800-776-8357.
Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter to take advantage of special deals and tips!
Thursday Thought: Happy New Year's
Make this year about preserving your memories. Visit our website today to check out our New Year's Sale!
