| Now that photographs are digital it's all to easy to | | | | 7. Store your pictures carefully. As the resolution of |
| loose them. Memory cards are larger and larger so it | | | | digital cameras improves, our photographs get bigger |
| takes longer and longer to download the pictures, it's | | | | and bigger. If you take a lot of pictures you need a |
| easy to forget or put it off, and just as easy to | | | | lot of storage for them, and if you want to be able |
| loose the tiny memory cards, or folders full of | | | | to get to them all the time you need to keep them |
| pictures if the disk on your computer should crash. It | | | | on disk. Network attached storage is a way of |
| happened to me when I lost a whole summers worth | | | | buying more disk space and attaching it to your |
| of pictures, along with some of a pictures of a much | | | | network rather than to any one individual computer. |
| loved dog, which though I didn't know at the time, | | | | You'll be able to access the pictures from any |
| were the last I would take of him. | | | | computer in the house and using wireless digital |
| Here are some ideas to avoid the problem. | | | | photoframes display the pictures in a constantly |
| 1. Use a digital camera and a portable printer. Take | | | | moving slideshow. |
| the printer with you on vacation and start your | | | | 8. Give your pictures meaningful names. There's |
| scrapbook on a rainy day, you can always add to or | | | | nothing worse than knowing you have a picture and |
| alter your layouts later, but at least you can be sure | | | | then not being able to find it. I find it very worthwhile |
| your photographs are safe. Always print a set of | | | | to spend time naming the pictures when I download |
| your pictures even if you usually store them on PC. | | | | a memory card. Then I can find them with a simple |
| 2. Buy many small memory cards and a storage | | | | search. |
| wallet rather than one super large memory card. | | | | 9. Use an organizer tool to file your pictures where |
| Some of my memory cards take so long to | | | | you can find them. Picasa from google is a free tool |
| download now that's one of the reasons I put off | | | | you can use to organize your photographs and share |
| printing the pictures. | | | | them on the web. Graphic programs like photoshop |
| 3. Clean all your memory cards before going on | | | | elements also contain an organizer function which |
| vacation. Keep your memory cards in order then | | | | allows you to tag pictures individually or in groups. |
| you'll find it easier to find the picture you want. | | | | 10. Always write your pictures to CD/DVD for long |
| 4. When you buy a printer choose one with it's own | | | | term storage. The best solution of all is to write your |
| memory card interface so you can print direct | | | | photographs to DVD as soon as you download them. |
| without using a computer. | | | | You can then store the DVD carefully for the future |
| 5. Remember when you used to get your pictures | | | | (labeled with your vacation date) and should your |
| developed? Take your memory cards to the local | | | | pictures ever get lost or destroyed you can restore |
| pharmacy and get printouts. | | | | them from your DVD backup. |
| 6. Don't get addicted to perfection. You can use | | | | The best solution is not to put off the scrapbooking! |
| pictures that have not been photo-shopped. And if | | | | Get your pictures and albums out and start creating |
| they need to be cropped? Use scissors. | | | | more records of you precious family memories. |