Photo Tips

Tips For Better Photos

After bringing your new camera home, we at Art's know that inevitably there will be some questions on how to use it. Here we offer answers and tips to some of the most commonly asked questions we hear at the store.

Preserving your memories digitally

You wouldn't throw your negatives away, would you? If you are not backing up your image files (negatives), you may essentially be doing the same thing to your digital photos! Below are some examples of common methods of digital image preservation. Your best best in backing up your treasured memories is to do ALL of the following.

1. Copy all contents of your camera memory cards to CD or DVD

2. Backup your images on your computer hard drive. 

3. Make Prints.

Image File Management

Keep your images organized. Sort and separate your photos by date or subject matter to make it easier to find images later on. Like with prints, it is easier to find what you are looking for if they are neatly organized in albums, rather than piled in a shoe box! Consider using a program such as Photo Finale to aid you with this task.

Backup your digital images. Good archiving skills will help ensure that your digital photos will be around for awhile. Periodically backup the images on your computer to CD or DVD, and consider archiving your images in an online web album.

Keep your file names simple. When renaming your image files, avoid using punctuation and limit the name to 15 or fewer characters. This will make your photos more accessible.

Be mindful of your image file format. There are a variety of different formats that your photos can be converted and saved as. Use whatever works best for your desired output. For example, to get the best results printing, save a JPEG or Tiff as 8-bit in the sRGB color mode. However, if you are not file format savvy just make sure to bring in JPEGs or TIFs (most cameras will shoot JPEG automatically) and we can make them look great.