Friday, March 24, 2006

Your Vacation Spot


From the LM Archives 

Product Feature: Your Vacation Spot
By Vickie Brown, Design Team Member
Spring is officially here and the unofficial beginning of the vacation season is upon us! From Spring Break in Florida, an anniversary trip to Sedona or camping on Memorial Day weekend, vacation plans are in the works!
This week, the Lifetime Moments Design Team would like to aid in your vacation photo planning and scrapping. As a child my family took very few vacations, so vacations and their memories are really precious to me. I always feel a bit intimidated and want to do just the “right” pages and take just the “right” photos. I’d like to share a few ideas with you that might help during this vacation season.
  • Take lots of photos. The more you have to work with, the happier you’ll be! Have plenty of film or space on your memory cards. It’s also a good idea to download onto a laptop or have disks made every few days, just as a precautionary measure.
  • Get photo ideas from postcards and brochures! They have certainly looked for the most scenic or exciting spots for their advertisements!
  • Get closer! Professional photographers suggest that you get twice as close as you think you should get to take the photo…you’ll often get better photos if you zoom in close to your subjects.
  • Zoom in from afar! Do you have a child who enjoys cheesy grins while being photographed? Being further away allows you to get “real” shots of people. These are often my favorite photos!
  • Get in FRONT of the camera! Hand the camera to a friend, your spouse, your child or even a stranger… I have done this on several occasions and I’ve never had to chase down the person running away with my camera (this is what my husband envisions happening…) I often see someone taking a photo of their “group” and ask if they’d like me to take a picture of the entire group for them, then will ask if they would do the same for me. It’s a win/win situation!
  • Take your tripod! You’ll want to practice this at home, but once you’ve gotten used to it, it’s a great tool!
  • Plan your wardrobe. It might sound silly, but this suggestion serves two purposes—not only are your subjects “coordinated”, which makes choosing papers MUCH easier, but it’s also easy to spot your family or group in a crowd.
  • Take notes! Journaling is easier when you have detailed notes. Spend a few moments each day jotting down the highlights—names of places you’ve visited, funny things that have been said or that have happened. It will make journaling a breeze!
  • Keep it together! Take a folder or large envelope to hold ticket stubs, postcards and brochures from the places you’ve visited.
  • Get a fresh perspective! From photos to journaling, get the input of others with you. Ask your child what stands out to him and take a picture. Hand the pen to your husband for his thoughts on the day.
  • Be real! Did you get lost on the way to the hotel or have a flat tire while traveling home? Take photos of these unplanned events that happen to us all! It will likely be a funny memory later!
From Saturday trips to the park to Alaskan cruises, this is the season for fun photography while having a little “down time”. Have fun with your photos, be sure to journal your thoughts, and check out the Design Team gallery for ideas on scrapping those precious vacation photos!

Design Team Examples
To view all layout ideas and products used, please be sure to visit the Design Team Gallery: Your Vacation Spot
Nancy  Wendy
BeshkaMadeline
 Vickie Susan
Franny Miranda


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