The Best of Digital Scrapbooking

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chapter 1

GET STA S C R A P B O O RT E D DIGIT KING U S I N G T H AL ESE TIPS hether you’ve been scrapbooking for

most important things in common with the paper

years or have recently discovered how

scrapbooks you know and love. It gives you a

rewarding scrapbooking can be, you’ve

way to express your creativity and, most impor-

most likely heard of digital scrapbooking.

tantly, it’s a safe way to preserve your memories,

Digital scrapbooking differs from traditional

images, and stories for future generations.

scrapbooking in more profound ways than

We invite you to start scrapbooking digitally,

just the replacement of paper with pixels. It

and we hope that by using the basic infor-

draws heavily from graphic design, featuring

mation in this chapter you’ll find the process

exact measurements, precise color matching,

of creating your first digital scrapbooks a

and clean lines. Yet it has, at its core, all the

simple and enjoyable one.

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Olympus PEN E-PL1, olympusamerica.com

Since the Victorian era, scrapbooks have been created using paper, scissors, and glue. But digital scrapbooking requires a new set of equipment: a digital camera (which you probably already own), a scanner, a printer, and photo-editing software.

Stylus NX420 All-in-One Printer, epson.com

Read on to discover the top features you should consider in order to find the high-tech equipment that will work best for you.

Cameras: Top Features to Consider

1. The number of megapixels 2. How fast the camera is 3. What features its lenses offer 4. How much time you want to spend learning the camera Scanners: Top Features to Consider

1. The maximum resolution 2. How accurately it scans color

Epson WorkForce 1100 Wide-format Printer, epson.com

3. The formats it scans to 4. The speed at which it scans Printers: Top Features to Consider

1. The quality of the print 2. The sizes of prints you need 3. The kind of ink it uses Photo-Editing Software: Top Features to Consider

1. Flexibility to save work in different formats, such as JPEG or TIFF 2. The level of experience you need to get started 3. The size of photo collection it can help you manage 10

creatingkeepsakes.com

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8, adobe.com


chapter 3

TAKE AND D IGI B E ST P H TALLY SCRAPB OOK YOUR OTO S THESE ID E AS very great scrapbook layout, digital or

But whether you’ve been a photographer for

traditional, starts with great photos. But

two weeks or twenty years, you can take better

far too often, we’re compelled to work with

shots now and improve the photos you already

what we have rather than what we’d like.

have. Read on to learn simple techniques for

Colorful fireworks displays, joyous birthday

getting great results with your camera, photo-

celebrations, solemn moments at weddings—

editing software, and scanner. We’ll also share

when we review our photos later, they

our top ideas for getting the best images you

just don’t seem to reflect our memories

can as well as a few cool ideas for perking up

of the occasion.

your layouts with neat photo tricks.

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[ before ]

Original photo: muddy colors and odd shadows distract from the subject.

[ after ]

After five-minute fix: bright colors and sharp details make the image pop.

Pop Your Photo’s Color

Run the photo through a noise reduction filter.

Bump up the Levels to brighten, increase the Contrast to make the colors pop, and adjust the overall color to warm up the winter blues or cool down the summer yellows.

Use the Dodge tool with a light touch to emphasize the eyes.

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chapter 2

MAKE DIGIT AL T H I S O R S C RA P B O O K I N G GA N I Z A E AS I E R TIONAL SY S T E M hen you began scrapbooking digitally,

heirloom photos you scanned. And as your

you probably relished the thought of how

collection of digital kits and elements has

much tidier working with a computer would be

grown, you’re finding it tougher by the day

compared to paper and adhesive. Organization

to find anything.

would be in your grasp at last! Now, if you’ve been working digitally for any

Fortunately, we’ve devised a system for you that’s simple, flexible, and fun to use.

length of time, you most likely have so many

Equipped with our findings and tips, you

photos that it’s nearly impossible to find snap-

can get organized in less time than you ever

shots from your last family picnic, let alone the

dreamed possible.

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You don’t need a fistful of tags to keep your digital elements neatly filed. Pick just two standard tags (three, if you download kits or brushes with specific themes) and you’ll always have the element you need at your fingertips. When tagging an element, first specify its color (each color of the rainbow, plus black, brown, white, and pink), then its type (paper, ribbon, button, brad, overlay, and so on). Searching for “blue button” is much faster—and produces much more useful results—than scrolling through page after page of kit previews! Don’t forget to tag your templates too. To make the element-labeling process easier for you, we’ve created a list of super-handy categories that you can download from our website at creatingkeepsakes.com. Print out the PDF version and add them to your system yourself, or for maximum convenience, just download our sample image (for Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Picasa users) or importable database with tags included for ACDSee users. Open the file in your photo-organizing software, and you’ll find each tag automatically added and ready for you to use. Could it get any easier? We don’t think so! Check out the pre-tagged image and importable database, plus instructions for use, at creatingkeepsakes.com.

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Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.