Playing with Pictures

There’s nothing I like better than playing with pictures. First off…you need to go digital. If you are still using film you are wasting money… but it’s your money. All things being equal… price of camera, batteries and equipment, etc… just the cost of the pictures… digital is zero vs the cost of the film and processing (about 27cents/pic).

Plus there’s the storage or albums needed for prints… extra costs. Printing costs are about the same for each. Film: what you see is what you get…. good or bad (including the cost of bad ones printed). Digital: Select what you want, delete bad photos, and alter, correct, or enhance them so not good pictures are now better… so what you got, you’re not stuck with… make them better. Than a whole new door opens… playing with pictures. With a couple of simple not too expensive programs you can have a lot of fun playing with pictures.

I use MS Picture-it, PhotoImpression, and a less costly version of PhotoShop. Not only can you easily “fix” photos, or crop them… you can also play with them in ways only limited by your imagination. Here are some of my different play photos. You can simply alter photos with special effects. Before….

and after with a simple special effect. The second photo now emphasizes the characters and not the background.

You can also combine different photos to make collages of your favorite pictures all in one final picture.

Or make a Themed Collage…..

or a collage of one of your favorite places….

or get creative…..

The thing is…have fun… and aside from the cost of the programs ( which will quickly pay for themselves vs. the cost of film & processing) it’s a rewarding hobby that virtually doesn’t cost you anything! Enjoy it as much as you like… the only thing you will spend is time… doing something you didn’t think you could do. Have Fun.