Think BIG When Taking Digital Photos This Holiday Season

Do you know how easy it is to upload digital images and order prints online, create online photo galleries, photo greeting cards, photo books, calendars, posters, personal photo cards and even apparel like t-shirts and baseball T's with your photos on them?

No more rushing around looking for that unique card or one of a kind gift. Today's digital technology will help make this holiday season's gift giving easier then ever before. If you have access to a computer and a high speed internet connection, a world of possibilities is at your finger tips.

Here is some information and suggestions to help assure your final product comes out looking the way it would if a professional did the job.

The term image resolution refers to the number of pixels per inch (ppi) in a digital photo. More megapixels means higher resolution. Resolution relates mainly to print size and the amount of detail in an image. A 5 to 7 megapixel file is a good rule of thumb for taking photos that might be used for specialty items like those previously mentioned or for special events, family portraits, lush scenery, etc. The larger the file size of an image is, the more options you have. In layman's terms, set your camera to the largest possible image size, especially if you are intending to use an image for something other than a standard 4x6 print. If you are shopping for a digital camera, ask for one that is rated at 5 megapixels or higher.

Frequently customers with digital images want to make enlargements or order specialty items that unfortunately won't work because the original file size is too small. Digital camera novices usually do not understand what settings to use in their new cameras in order to take great photos that have universal use. It's simple- set the image size as large as possible.

It is true that larger images will take up more space on your memory card. Now that 1 to 2 gig memory cards are available and have come down significantly in price and hold hundreds of images at large settings, the trade off is well worth it. Another good idea is to have an extra memory card and lots of batteries. Sometimes, memory cards will fail or lose images for no apparent reason and digital cameras have a tendency to burn up batteries very quickly.

Most digital cameras these days are made with a USB connection that plugs into your computer and opens like any other storage device. Once connected, simply copy and paste your images into a location on your computer that you can later view or retrieve. Some cameras store photos into multiple folders, so be sure to copy everything. Remember, always back up your photos to a computer/CD/DVD and check the hard drive/CD/DVD first to ensure that the images you want saved are there before deleting the files from the memory card.

Think big when it comes to taking digital photos this holiday season and have fun selecting from the variety of digital products available that will make this gift giving season more memorable than ever.

Click here for more information.