December 21, 2008
Eliminating blinking from photos has always been a huge challenge for photographers. And as far as challenges go, we can also add looking in the wrong direction, sneezing, and last-second movements to the list.
So when I ran across the Blink Eradication System, I HAD TO EXAMINE IT. I won’t keep you in suspense until the end of this review…
It Works, at a 4.5 Out of 5.0 Level!
Their Approach?
I was ready to hollar “waste of time,” thinking that the Blink Eradication System would consist of the typical… “make sure you count to 3 so they know when you’re taking the shot” type of “wisdom.”
Instead, they use a logical 2-Phase Approach that addresses every eventuality:
1. Practical information for “Minimizing” blinking before taking the picture (They actually say Minimize not Eliminate, which gained credibility points, since eliminating it is impossible.)
2. A software tool that easily eliminates blinking afterward, if any blinking made it through
What Do They Do And How Well Do They Do It?
For the “Minimizing” phase, it works pretty well. They begin with a scientific conclusion:
“For groups smaller than 20, divide the number of people by three if there’s good light and two if the light’s bad. That’s how many shots you need to
take.”
Then, they address a lot of ground on how to minimize blinking BEFORE taking the image. Categories include equipment set up, preparing the environment and subjects, and even some posing tips. I give this phase a 4 out of 5.
For the 2nd phase, they knock it out of the park! The software worked flawlessly during the 9 times I used it. Even though they didn’t write the program, they were very upfront about all aspects of it.
Two animated tutorials are provided that eliminate the need of reading Help files. This phase gets a 5 out of 5.
Conclusion
Does it Work as Expected?
Yes, and quite well, with an overall score of 4.5 out of 5.0.
Are There Any Drawbacks?
Note that I can find drawbacks to anything. With that said, the only point to be aware of is the software only operates on PCs that use the Windows XP operating system.
Given the state of Vista, that may not be an issue anymore. If you do use Vista, and would still like to use the software, they provide some ideas for workarounds. The simplest one is to maintain two operating systems on your PC (sounds very scary, but after using their software, you just might be tempted).
Is it Worth It?
If you take nothing but landscape shots, the answer is “no.” But if you take photos of people, especially groups larger than 2; the answer is an unmistakable “yes.”
For what you’re getting, the Blink Eradication System is a bargain. In addition to what I’ve mentioned, they include a clever way to remember everything required prior to taking any photos — two “Cheat Sheets;” one for Indoor, and one for Outdoors. Anyone who doesn’t have a photographic memory will find these helpful.
And, as is the custom of online digital offers, they provide a few bonuses to sweeten the deal. Their 5 bonuses actually provide some value. Plus, they stand behind the Blink Eradication System with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
Final Conclusion
Imagine I’m shouting: age-Old photography problem finally solved! The Blink Eradication System is a product that I wish I had 10 years ago. At what they’re charging, all I can say is better late than never.
November 18, 2008
A cricut is a personal electronic cutter which cuts paper and craft materials into various shapes, sizes and letters. This machine really enables fantastic work. Without the cricut cartridges, the Cricut would be nothing. Electronic powering is what enables the blades to move. The Cricut can handle basically any paper stock. There exist specialized cardstock and pads that are tailored to accomodate the Cricut.
When you decide to get the cricut there will be an enclosed set of shapes and fonts. The massive amount of cartridge styles out there ensures that one will never get bored. While different cartridges have different features, two features that cartridges typically share are “Blackout” and “Shadow.” Each cricut cartridges font or shapes cartridge includes a guide filled with creative ideas as part of a pack.
Pooh and Friends Cricut Cartridge: This is the perfect one for your kids. These Cartridges should make for limitless fun. Just don’t regret you didn’t have this when you were younger! Because of these cricut cartridges you can create lovely designs of all the lovable characters of Winnie the Pooh and his friends.
Challenge Your Creative Abilities: Adults can use these cartridges, too! The image available span an incredibly wide range. Don’t be afraid to push cricut to the limit.
Blackletter Font Solutions cricut cartridges: This is perfect for creating stately monograms with a traditional English style font.
You can produce stunning images of your favorite holiday with the Christmas Solutions cricut Cartridge. You can use the Tinker Bell and Friends Cricut cartridge to create images of these lovable characters. The Teardrop Cricut Cartridge allows you to adorn the edges of letters with a magnificent “drop” effect.
One cool thing about the Cricut color cartridges is that they can switch out for the cricut machine and its regular cutter, creating colored styles. Thus, your creations become more unique. This is extremely easy to do – though we wouldn’t recommend children do it. The Cricut color cartridges can be purchased in a variety of colors, including packs of primary, basic, fashion and even sophisticated colors.
November 4, 2008
Many people never tried conventional scrapbooking because there was so much expense involved, such as decorative papers, little gadgets to glue on, little stickers and emblems, not to mention getting copies of your photos, so you don’t ruin or lose your original. Then there’s all that mess of cutting little pieces of paper, gluing and trying to fix mistakes after they’ve been glued down, running out of stickers, letters, and special papers. A free digital scrapbook is something that these people want to get into. If you have a computer, scanner and digital camera, and your free scrapbooking software and photo program, you can start making your free digital scrapbook. Because many are currently utilizing a computer, scanner, and camera, all that’s required is a download of the free scrapbooking software, including templates and printable pages.
Provided without cost are tutorials and suggestions, digital scrapbook tools, and graphics ready for your photos. Everything is free, except your equipment, which most people already have.
The first step in creating a free digital scrapbook is to get all your photos together, scanned, and downloaded to a photo software; some great examples of software would be Kodak Easyshare, Adobe Photoshop or HP Photosmart Essential. If you don’t have a digital camera, or are using older pictures, simply use your scanner to scan photos into your computer. Then you can start laying out your pages, just like traditional scrapbooking. All sorts of free scrapbooking clipart, borders, embellishments and background paper are available for download.
A great way to start scrapbooking without all the expense, the clutter or the mess of conventional scrapbooking is with free online scrapbooking. This is the best method yet to keep photos and scrapbook pages pristine, and there are limitless free scrapbook graphics, including those for unique events and holidays. Not only are these digital scrapbooks free, they are also great as gifts.
The free digital scrapbook pages can be sent through email and on personal web pages or if you prefer you can just print a bunch of copies and share them that way. In the event that your computer breaks down, it is best to have your files saved on an external drive or CD. By burning CD’s of your digital scrapbook design, they make great gifts for Christmas, birthdays, or other special occasions. Free digital Scrapbooking has become popular since almost everybody has access to a computer now. When you have free online scrapbooking software, free digital scrapbook designs, free tutorials on digital scrapbooking, free digital scrapbook graphics and clipart, paper designs and more, the price cannot get any better!
The best thing is you can get really great ideas for free to help with your digital scrapbook and make it beyond beautiful!
October 30, 2008
Digital scrap booking is catching on fast. You can create personalized scrapbook pages with your computer. You can remove red eye, crop pictures, touch up colors, brighten, sharpen, and perform other functions with photo editing programs and make your photos beautiful and more fun!
The subject of a photo should suggest the kinds of sayings and decor that would work well on a computer scrapbook page. Using the text tool of your editing program, it is possible to add the date and location of the picture.
If you have birthday pictures you can add a birthday cake with candles and the age of the person having the birthday on the digital scrapbooking pages that you need for your scrapbook. You can accent your pictures with Christmas trees and date them accordingly. You may continue the theme with every holiday occasion since there are so many themes offered online now. Some caps and gowns in the backgrounds of your pictures is a great way to remember your child’s graduating year. You can make your computer scrapbook pages unique through an almost limitless number of special techniques.
The benefit to using the computer for your scrapbooking is that you can produce more than one copy of your page. This is a wonderful way to make albums for friends and family on your Christmas gift list. There is a variety of textures, paper designs and inks that you can use too. You can even print pages 12 inches by 12 inches if the printer you own can print in wide format. However an 8″ x8″ can be handled well by most regular printers. It is very rewarding to take your digital scrapbooking layouts and see them printed out in an album or a coffee table type book.
On doing digital scrapbooking pages there are several other benefits. If you goof up as you lay out a page you just need a simple click to redo it, as often as it takes till it’s done correctly. Digital scrapbooking is also less of a mess. Instead of laboring with scissors and paste, or carefully hand writing the pages, you can simply print out the pages and add personal decoration whenever you choose. All of your pictures can be handily kept on your computer or on a CD-R or DVD-R.
October 27, 2008
Digital Scrapbook Graphics – To Make Digital Scrapbooks Unique
Digital Scrapbooking has become a new, cost effective way of scrapbooking without the clutter and mess of conventional scrapbooking. With physical scrapbooking problems such as photos eventually turning yellow and the damaging of photos by cutting them to resize them, an alternative is online scrapbooking where you can ensure protection of your photos and make your very own unique online scrapbook pages. Some websites provide countless graphics for digital scrapbooking for the holidays and special occasions. With your home computer and scrapbooking software ready, your digital scrapbooking hobby is set to begin. If you need some tips to get you started, there are many free tutorials and forums online, where you can get useful and inspiring advice. You can find free scrapbooking clipart and digital scrapbooking kits that contain all the basics you’ll need and are ready to incorporate your pictures.
Our newest tool – allows you to cross-compare up to 4 versions of an article for uniqueness in percentage terms compared to all the other articles. Since nothing is glued down, you can fix mistakes easily with your undo button, and since the digital scrapbook supplies are on your computer, you can re-use them over and over! You can get your graphics from different programs and import them into your pages where you need them. Experimenting while creating your digital scrapbook will help you become more experienced and also help you make your digital scrapbook more unique.
If you want to share your digital scrapbooking pages with family and friends you can send them via email or through personal web pages. You can print as many as copies of your layouts as you want to share them with your family and prints. Always be sure to merge your files if you are saving them to be printed, and save a back up copy of your work on an external flash drive or CD, in case your computer crashes. A unique gift idea for special occasions, such as birthdays or for the holidays, is a digital version of your scrapbook burned onto a CD. Scrapbooking has become more popular since almost everybody has access to a computer now, and with the specialized, affordable software available, many people that weren’t interested in conventional scrapbooking have become interesting in digital scrapbooking.
There are all kinds of great freebies online for digital scrapbook design, tutorials on digital scrapbooking, digital scrapbook graphics and scrapbooking clipart, paper designs and more. You can find fun and creative ideas for your digital scrapbook by visiting the blogs of other scrapbook creators. While many people still belong to scrapbooking clubs, and take the annual scrapbooking convention getaway, they can get great ideas year-round through the Internet.
You can customize your digital scrap book – eventually making it more interesting – by adding journal excerpts and poems: just browse one of the many galleries and websited which offer downloads. Digital scrapbooking is a fun and easy way to make personalized, unique projects for any occasion.
August 27, 2008
The first thing you should do before starting an online scrapbooking store is to make a list of possible names for your store. Choosing a good name is critical to your business. You want your business name to be catchy to that way it attracts more customers, it needs to also represent what you will be selling.
When designing your online scrapbooking store you should next think about what materials your intended product requires. It is crucial to the success of your company to keep in stock sufficient product. Client satisfaction will be improved if there is less delay in obtaining the finished product.
You want to remember that customer satisfaction, and reviews will be a big part of your online scrapbooking store. It may be a good idea to come up with a return policy that you paste right on your website, that way customers know right from the beginning what your policy is before ordering product.
If your online scrapbooking store is easy to use, and self explanatory more people will use your company. Good page setup and graphics will also grab customer”s attention. The more time you put into your site the more customers will notice the quality of your work.
Digital scrapbooking shows people a neat way to make custom photo albums that they will personally like. You might even look into giving a lesson on your site, knowing some people are not in the lingo as others. You as well might set up a monthly contest for return patrons, giving them a little something to look forward to keep coming back. How ever you design your website the better it looks it will bring more people. Happy patrons always come back for more.
Some scrapbooking supplies you might look at for your page are very simple software, digital templates, and many useful tools, and a customized shopping cart is in your best interest. If your patrons are able to save and come back later they will be much happier. You will need to list out things that can be added to make your web site easy for you customers.