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e-Photo Albums
By Jonathon Hardcastle

Grandma might be the one doing the whining, if you have just graduated but your happy pictures can only be found online. Printing out multiple copies of your digital images and then having to assort them, before you have to sit down to create a photo-album that included dates, nametags, and even exam notes, seems like a big hassle. But then again, sending only a couple of hard copies to your mom or best-friend for them to use and decorate their fridge area, will not bring smiles to that poor grandma who wants a chance to show how proud she is of your accomplishment and she also wants to feel special. So, if your graduation, bachelors, wedding, baby, birthday, summer, camping, pool, pictures are corny enough for you to share them with friends by uploading them online in distant servers, why not taking the same amount of time to electronically create a photo-album everyone will cherish for years to come?

It is about time we face it. Although the original idea of pressing some buttons to produce a clear copy of the digital images stored in a computer’s memory seemed extremely hassle-free at the beginning, the truth is that the more you use your digital picture the more digital pictures stay in that computer’s memory for a long time. But storing them in a hard drive at home or online, does not permit everyone that wishes to view them to be able to do so, since not everyone knows how to log on to the Internet, if in fact an internet connection is available, or how to view and download their photograph copies from your choice of online image hosting server.

As a result, more and more people have decided today to return to using more old-fashioned ways in order to present their choice of digital photographs to their beloved ones. Creating an electronically made photo-album and then sending its hard copy to the homes of family members and friends, constitutes a lovely and thoughtful action. In fact, by creating a variety of photographically embellished products, communicating feelings and thoughts is easily done and much less time-consuming. Interested individuals are able to upload their digital images to some of these online image servers (image banks) and then select and create their choice of personalized mug, book cover, bag, t-shirt, and of course, photo-album. Reliving the excitement one once felt, when the local photographer called to inform that the prints outs of that trip’s pictures were finally ready, seems today to excite a great number of technology enthusiasts. With the ready-to-use image software of websites like Shutterfly, Photoworks, and Kodak EasyShare, producing a personalized photo-album version can be a fun as well as an instructive experience.

So, get started by selecting your theme and photo-album design template. Choose colors, textures and captions if you wish and send your lovely grandma her much-deserved copy of photographs. You better hurry up as time is ticking and you will soon be picking up the phone trying to figure out how to answer those “you’ve-forgotten-all-about-me” arguments.

Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Recreation, Beauty, and Travel

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Photoshop Cutouts and Photo Artwork For Adobe Photoshop Beginners
By Michael A Anthony

Using Photoshop cutouts to make photo artwork is probably the most desired skill for Adobe Photoshop Beginners (and Adobe Photoshop Elements beginners). Beginners to the program or people who have never used Adobe Photoshop want to make photo artwork by combining multiple pictures together for graphic art, collages, or just for fun. Using Photoshop to cutout pictures is not only a desired skill, but required for most of this basic photo artwork.

If you are one of the Adobe Photoshop beginners, there is good news! Learning how to use Photoshop to cutout pictures is not very difficult to learn, and with a little practice it can be mastered to help you make amazing photo artwork. If you have tried your hand at photo cutouts, you may be wondering what the tips and tricks are to get rid of jagged corners and rough edges to your cutout images. Why do the images in all the professional photo artwork look so smooth?

For the Adobe Photoshop beginners (Photoshop Elements included), let us start with the basics – and there are certainly enough basic tips to get you going without any super advanced techniques. For Photoshop cutouts – such as a person – from an image, you will want to use the lasso tool. There is a basic lasso tool, a magnetic lasso tool, and a polygonal lasso tool. For precise photo artwork cutouts, we will disregard the basic lasso tool and focus just on the magnetic and polygonal lassos. I primarily use the polygonal lasso but the magnetic is great if your image has very defined borders (against the backdrop) and if you do not want to spend a lot of time for cutting out images. It will attract itself to what it can see as the edge of your preferred cutout image, based on contrasting colors and shapes.

So are you ready to make photo artwork with Photoshop cutout techniques? With your image selected, zoom in to a range of around 150-300% so you can clearly see the image to be cutout. Select the polygonal lasso tool and take your time to select points around the edges of your image. For example, on a person take extra time around the face, ears, fingers, etc. When you get all the way around the image, connect the last point with the first point until the cutout is selected. This is where many people are left with jagged edges in their artwork. Right-clicking will give you many different options and a “Layer via copy” will create a new Photoshop cutout layer with exactly what you cutout (often with a few rough corners.) Instead, an easy way to create a smooth photo cutout is by using the feathering technique.

Selecting the Feather option will bring up an option of how many pixels you want to feather – or blur – around your selection. How precise you want your photo cut out and the size of the image will determine how many pixels you want to choose, and experience will help you to know (remember you can undo any action quickly!). After you feather, you can then use the “Layer via copy” action. If you are Photoshop beginner, try this technique and use a feathering of about 2-10 pixels and look at the result. Chances are it will be a smooth cutout that can be part of your new collage, illustration, or photo artwork.

Feathering is an integral part of skills needed for Adobe Photoshop beginners and can be used for cutouts, blending images, and combining photos. This basic technique for mastering the essentials of Photoshop cutouts is very simple and can be added to by a variety of techniques that you can explore at your own leisure. Once you know the fundamentals behind photo cutouts and feathering, you will learn to have all sorts of fun creating photo artwork in Photoshop!

Michael is the creator and owner of CustomPhotoCollage.com. A longtime Photoshop expert, Custom Photo Collage creates unique, personalized collages for its customers. Visit CustomPhotoCollage.com.

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Interesting and Unusual Fun Gifts Ideas For Him Or Her
By JP Mah

Are you looking for unusual fun gifts or unique gift ideas that are different from those typical conventional gift ideas? Nowadays, if you ask the gift recipients, most of them will say they prefer to receive unusual fun gifts than other common gifts. Finding interesting and unusual gifts for your loved ones and friends has become easier with the advent of the internet.

Before internet shopping, buying gifts was a pain. If you are going to touch on the capability of the internet to help you find unusual gift ideas, I can assure you that you’ve made the right choice. There are various gifts websites online that offer interesting and unusual gifts that will make your gift recipients surprised and delighted. The Internet has come along and changed our lives. In the gift-buying sense, at least…

These days, if you’re looking for unusual fun gifts for a gadget-obsessed brother or unique gift ideas for a has-it-all friend – all you need to do is shop online. Unusual fun gifts are usually a better idea than another tie or that snazzy pair of argyle socks.

Sit back and make yourself a nice cup of tea, put your feet up, and read our guide to buying unusual fun gifts and unique gift ideas for him or her!

Custom made jigsaw puzzles gifts make great gifts, as they combine fun with education. Make a custom jigsaw puzzles with photos of your gift recipients! They can entertain during the winter months and bring families together. Finally, they can be mounted and hung, making a nice decoration. A few months ago, it was my friend’s 23rd birthday and I personally bought a personalized 1200-pieces photo collage jigsaw puzzles for him. This Photo Collage Puzzle gifts is a collection of my friend’s photos designed into a single image and then made into a Jigsaw Puzzle. I deliberately input his most funny photos into the custom made jigsaw puzzles. You know…something like the most embarrassing photo of him ever taken by me!

To my expectation, he was so astonished when he saw the custom made jigsaw puzzles gifts that he almost choked while eating his birthday cake! He was particularly amazed by the unusual fun gifts that I gave him and he thanked me for coming out with such interesting and unusual gifts ideas. Custom made jigsaw puzzles are interesting and unusual fun gifts your gift recipients can relive those special memories!

On the other hand, if you are thinking of honoring your boyfriend, girlfriend, best friend or any of your loved ones in a fun and special way, you can personalize Oscar® statuette trophy for him or her! You can use appreciative titles such as “Best Boyfriend”, Best Girlfriend”, “Best Dad”, “Best Mom”, “Best Friend” etc or add humorous titles such as “Best Coach Potato”, “Best Storyteller” etc.

To make it extra fun and make them feel like a movie star celebrity, you can also organize a fun party using Hollywood party décor and accessories on their birthdays and give out the personalized trophy award in a Hollywood fashion! An unusual fun gifts like this will be so fun and memorable that your family, friends and loved ones will remember for many years to come.

Next, you can consider giving removable wall graphics if your gift recipients or yourself plan to change the decor of the walls and bring in a new awesome atmosphere and decoration. These removable life size wall stickers are great unusual fun gifts for family, friends, teenagers or kids. They are unique gift ideas for him or her. You can choose awe-inspiring images from official licensed sports wall graphics, entertainment wall graphics or Disney wall graphics. I once gave a removable life size wall stickers to my younger cousin. It was an entertainment wall graphics of his favorite star wars character, Yoda. He was so fascinated when he received the life size wall stickers of the star wars character that he stared at it with admiration for almost 20 minutes!

Immediately, he sticks the life size wall sticker of the star war characters onto the wall of his bedroom. Both of us were simply amazed by the real vivid image of the wall graphics. The contours, profile and look on the life size wall stickers was really very real. It was like the character itself was jumping out of the wall towards you! Not to mention, my little cousin asked me to buy some more of such life size wall stickers to him!

Such interesting and unusual gifts are as fun to give as receive and you can be certain that your gift recipients will appreciate your unusual fun gifts once you experience and witness their wide grin on their faces upon receiving these unique gift ideas.

JP Mah is a gift consultant and an avid astrology learner who uses the wisdom of Astrology to give people a better understanding of man’s and woman’s personality traits, thereby, find the perfect unique gift ideas for him or her.

Using astrological insights is a great way to narrow down your options in choosing “perfect” gifts for your friends and loved ones. (At least you will not end up making the common mistake of buying gifts that you would like to receive yourself!)

Along with his wife, Celeste Tanne, they own and operate Gift-Ideas-By-Horoscope.com. By tapping on the wisdom of Astrology, we hope that you can have the unlimited power to receive and give love and create the happiness and joy that most of us wish to pursue.

For more information on Gift Giving Guide or to learn more about Astrology and Horoscope, go to: http://www.gift-ideas-by-horoscope.com

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Photo Sleeve Album – Scrapbook Style
By Melanie Hansen

Remember the photo sleeve pages that we used to just slip our photos into? They displayed photos so they were easy to look at, but they weren’t very decorative. It was hard to put any feeling or personality into the pages, and there was little room to write information.

Scrapbooks have become very popular and offer a wide variety of ways to display photos, along with memorabilia and journaling. A huge selection of papers and embellishments allow us to express ourselves.

What if you’re not sure you have the time and creativity to make a scrapbook, but you want something with more personality than a plain photo sleeve album? Have I got some ideas for doing scrapbooking for you.

Let’s take a look at some of the ways we can compromise between the stark feel of a photo sleeve album and the elaborate designs of a scrapbook. Who says that all the pockets of a photo sleep page have to be filled with pictures? There are no rules against matting a photo or adding some stickers.

If this has piqued your interest, keep reading. We’ll look at some scrapbook page layout ideas to add interest and personality to your album. You’ll be on your way to completed albums before you know it.

• Titles – If you would like to use a page title, just create one on a 4 X 6 card and slip it into one of the pockets. Use a bold tip pen or stickers.
• Journaling – Use one of the pockets to include journaling. Just write your journaling on a 4 X 6 card or paper and slip it in. Use pre-made journaling boxes or create your own. For an enhanced look, add a sticker or other embellishment.
• Mat Photos – Mat some of the photos. You may need to crop the photo down slightly to allow the mat to show around it. You can mat the photo with an even border all the way around. Another fun option is to crop the photo smaller and mat the photo with extra space to one side. This area can be used for journaling or some embellishments. Smaller size photos can be matted to fit into the pockets.
• Panoramic photos – To fit panoramic photos in, cut the photo into two sections. Place them in to adjacent pockets
• Memorabilia – Memorabilia such as postcards, recipes, tickets and greeting cards can be placed in pockets as well. If the item is too large, crop it down or scan the item and print a copy in the 4 X 6 size to fit.

And you thought photo sleeve albums had to be boring. Guess again! You are only limited by your imagination. This is a fun alternative for those that want to create simple albums quickly, but don’t want to give up all the fun of scrapbooking. Go ahead give these ideas for doing scrapbooking a try.

About the Author

Melanie Hansen simply-stunning-scrapbooks.com http://www.simply-stunning-scrapbooks.com/

Melanie Hansen is an avid scrapbooker. She loves to share the ideas, tips and techniques she has learned. Visit http://www.simply-stunning-scrapbooks.com/ideas-for-doing-scrapbooking.html to find more ideas for doing scrapbooking.

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How to Take Better Photos With a Digital Point and Shoot Camera
By Peter Rabasa

A common misconception with many photographers is that good quality photos can only be taken by using a big bulky digital SLR camera. Technically, yes the digital SLR can produce a photo that has more pixels, but there are more things to a photo than pixels. Here are a few ways to take better photos with a digital point and shoot camera.

Learn the limitations of your camera. The boring method would be to read the manual. The method I prefer is to go out and take a bunch of pictures. Change the settings and then see what the results are. Most digital cameras have these three basic settings: Portrait, Landscape, and Auto(matic).

Portrait and Landscape does not refer to the horizontal or vertical orientation of the picture. It simply means one setting is better for portraits and one setting is better for taking pictures of the landscape.

In the “Portrait” setting, the item that the camera is focusing on will appear in focus, and the background and foreground will normally be out of focus. This is a setting in which emphasis needs to be given to one object in the photo. The next time you watch a movie and two characters are on the screen, but one character is closer than the other, pay attention to who is in focus when someone is talking. Usually, the person in focus is talking. Visually your eyes are drawn to that person and you kind of forget the other person is there. This setting doesn’t apply to just people, it could apply to objects in a photo that need more emphasis.

In the “Landscape” setting, almost everything in the picture will appear to be in focus including the background and foreground. If you are taking pictures of scenery, this would be the setting to use, unless you wanted to focus on a particular subject. What if you are taking a picture of a lot of people? If people are standing at different distances from you, Portrait mode may render a few people out of focus.

Most of the time the Auto(matic) setting will work just fine, and you will have more time to address other items such as composition. I’m not talking about professionally posing a person or thing, I am talking about simple composition.

Dos and Don’ts of composition
1. Don’t center all your subjects. Pictures usually look better when the subject is slightly off centered.
2. Don’t center a person’s head in the frame. This leaves a lot of space above them in the photo.
3. Do try and keep all lines perpendicular when possible. Tall buildings will never be perpendicular when shot from the ground, they will always appear to be leaning backward, but other things can be lined up to look more appealing.
4. Do try to keep garbage cans and drinks out of a picture unless you want those things in the picture.
5. Do be mindful of where people are standing. Is that tree branch coming out of his ear?

These Dos and Don’ts are not strict standards. Sometimes, a photo is more fun and appealing when these Dos and Don’ts are not followed.

The best tip for taking better photos with a digital point and shoot camera is, your camera flash is only good for a distance of about 10-20 feet, and the flash is not only for using at night or in dark places.

Have you ever been to a concert or seen a concert on TV? When the artist comes out on stage, the crowd goes wild and you can see a bunch of flashes from people trying to take a picture of who or what is on stage. Guess what, they probably got a nice picture of the person directly in front of them, but not a very good picture of whom or what was on stage. If the area is dark and your subject is more than 20 feet away, chances are the flash will not help you at all. You can either try to get closer or try to take a picture without the flash (picture will be brighter, but most likely out of focus). Do you know how to turn the flash off?

NOTE: The person with the bulky SLR has a flash distance of around 30 to 100 feet. At a concert, the person with the bulky SLR would get almost the same results as the guy using the point and shoot camera if they were both standing more than a 100 feet away from the stage.

In the daytime, standing under the shade of a tree, or indoors under bright fluorescent lights, these are the times when a flash would be a good idea. Under the shade of a tree, if you are going for the dark, shadowy look, leave the flash off. But if you want to see the details on a persons face, turn the flash on. If you like the greenish or yellowish haze of the lights, by all means, leave the flash off. But if you would rather see the natural color of your subject, turn the flash on. Do you know how to turn the flash on?

Not every picture looks good on the automatic setting. This is why understanding how your camera works and knowing how to turn the flash on and/or off is a good thing. Most people like the simplicity of a digital point and shoot, they didn’t get it to mess with all the settings, in those cases, the best advice is…Take the Picture! Better to capture the moment then worry about all the other stuff.

I worked in a 1 hour photo lab for over 5 years giving photography tips to all my customers, and I have had a few of my own photos published in the local newspaper on Maui.

Peter Rabasa – Honolulu, Hawaii

Thinking about getting into MLM? Visit “The Real Truth About MLM” first!

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Photo Puzzle Collage
By Colin Southwell

Making a collage of photos can be a fun way to enhance and stylize a set of individual photos. Individual pictures are a great way to remember past events, but they lack a certain amount of personality. When you look at a collage, it’s like looking at an original piece of art, rather than just a photo. One way you can enhance the experience even more is by making a photo puzzle collage – which is just what the name implies, a jigsaw puzzle where the picture is a unique montage of photos.

The subject of a photo montage can be almost anything. In part, it depends on whether you are making it for yourself or as a gift. If you are making a montage that you want to display in your home or office, then it can just be a collection of your favorite people or things. Alternately, you can pick a theme and make sure most of the pictures fit into that theme. A well designed photo puzzle collage should always tells a story.

You can essentially do the same thing when you’re making a photo collage as a gift. Just keep in mind your friend’s favorite activities and people, and try to include those things. The best part is that you can personalize a collage with your own text to add special significance.

If you are not the creative type yourself, it’s easy to find a company that can professionally design a collage layout for you based on the photos you supply. Once the layout is designed and approved by you, it is used to create a high quality Jigsaw Puzzle. The fees for this service vary depending what photo puzzle collage size you want with the larger the size, the more expensive it becomes.

To find out more about order a Photo Puzzle Collage visit Jigsaw2order.com. Check out some examples of their past work in the photo collage design gallery and order a one of a kind Photo Puzzle Collage today!

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Factors To Consider Before Having Your Engagement Photos Taken
By Christopher Maxwell

If you are planning an engagement photo session, this article will hopefully provide some tips and pointers to consider as you plan.

What style photos do you want?
Studio or outdoor? Formal or casual? Posed or photojournalistic? Try to think of your personalities and how you would like to share your news with your family and friends (and perhaps a photo that can be included with your wedding invitations) – and think of what style of photography would best match that. Discuss your thoughts with your fiancé/fiancée.

Types of photos
Search the web for engagement photos and perhaps print out a few to take with you to your engagement session. There are thousands of sample photos online; having four or five that you like will give the photographer some extra ideas to try out. You should also talk to your married friends and see what they did for their engagement photos.

Professional or amateur?
You are likely to get better results if you hire a professional. They know what they are doing and can work with you to get great photos.

However, if budget is a concern, instead of having no photos taken, try to find a friend that will take your photos. Especially a friend that has some photography skill. If you are using a friend for the pictures, do not do an indoor photo session! Try to have an outdoor photo session in the evening as the sun is setting – but without any direct sun shining on you. Go to a park or other beautiful location. And then have fun! If you need to, go out and take some test photos to see what the location and lighting looks like and then go back the next day for the actual photo session.

Wedding Photographer?
Many wedding photographers include an engagement session in their wedding photography packages. It is a wonderful way for you to “test out” a photographer and see how well you interact with them, and how well they are able to put you at ease during a photo session. If you are having engagement photos taken in the same area where the wedding will be, and you are hiring a professional photographer for your wedding, I strongly recommend you consider using the same photographer for your engagement photo session.

Don’t be Nervous!
The key to a successful engagement photo session, and what many professionals are skilled at, is helping you relax in front of the camera. Don’t get bogged down with the details of the photo session and how you are appearing (it’s hard not to be vain during such an important session – I know!). Instead, focus on your fiancé/fiancée and your love for them. Relax and enjoy being with them. If the photographer has posing tips, have fun while trying them out.

If a friend is taking your photos I believe you have a better chance of success by going out and having a fun, relaxed, photo session than going for a serious, posed session. Even IF you had to go back out for another photo session because the first batch didn’t turn out well – oh, well. Consider it another special outing with the one you love.

What to Wear
The wedding vows have not been exchanged yet, but you have, in essence, already pledged your life and love to your fiancé/fiancée. I would strongly recommend that you coordinate your clothing. Whether it is tan and whites, or perhaps denim – whatever the colors, work at coordinating. Casual or formal? Again, make sure you coordinate.

Christopher Maxwell does engagement photography in the Kansas City area. His desire is to help professionals, and amateurs, take better engagement photos

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Top 5 Funny Photoblogs
By Andrew A Miller

Photo blogging is fun. Needless to say, people love to be at those places where they can socialize and interact with other people online, make friends, send/receive comments & messages and do a lot of other things. There are a lot of photoblogs which offer free services where users can submit photos for free. Recently I googled and came across some awesome photoblog websites. Here are a few of them, check them and have fun.

Kiss-Slap.com

Probably the funniest photoblog I came across in months. Loved the idea how users can upload and submit photos online. Other people who visit the blog can either kiss or slap the user photos. Kiss your way through whole day long or go on smashing pumpkins. Better upload your own photo and see how many kisses you can collect.

FrigginRandom.com

Friggin Random photo blog is all about funniest videos and photos across internet. The blog is full of funny images ranging from social life to technical humor. With over 2000 funny images and videos, this photoblog is a perfect place to kill some time.

MakeItFunny.com

Make It Funny is another top photoblog featuring funny images, funny video commercials and a lot more. You won’t find such commercials anywhere else apart from the MakeItFunny photoblog. They have some cool Ads and Accidents compilations to start with and you never know how much time you spend looking through those funny photos and vides.

Fun-Blog.biz

Fun Blog is another awesome photoblog with wonderful images and videos across internet, youtube and many other websites. A complete collection of fun and entertainment filled posts. The look and feel of the website is pleasant which ads to a user’s experience and gives full value of the time spent. I generally hinder around such photoblogs which provide full entertainment.

RDDBlog.com

RDD Blog is all about funny artifact images, photos and pictures. The collections comes from thousands of websites across the net. The archives are full of funny pictures, images and photos. One can sit whole day and enjoy these cool photos. I have been lately spending a lot of time on these photo blogs in my free time.

SmileMyDay.com

Whats better than a smiling photoblog? Smile My Day is all about a vast collection of sweet smiling faces. Every morning, this blog stays on top of my priority lists. Find happiness with great smile on the happiest blog. The blog shows you the secret how to pursuit of happiness by self improvement, self help and sharing your happiness on the happiness blog.

There are many such photoblog sites where you can find cool funny photos, images and videos. If you are planning to start a photoblog, make sure to check all these websites and make sure that you to be careful about the look and feel of your blog.

Andrew A. Miller is the President and CEO of Quality Business Links Inc. QualityBusinessLinks.com is a Business Yellow Pages web directory with listings of quality US Businesses. QualityBusinessLinks.com offers FREE business promotion solutions. For more information on business promotion solutions, please visit http://www.QualityBusinessLinks.com/

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How to Prepare For a Boudoir Photography Session
By Bob Pardue

The Day of your romantic glamour session is finally here

OK, you’ve booked your glamour session and everything seems to be all set for this important day.

Now what?

After taking this first step your goal should be to make this intimate photo session the best it can be.

A glamour photographer can do much to help your look but these are must-dos in order for you to help the photographer.

#1 – When is your boudoir session?

If your photo session is in the morning, be sure and eat a good breakfast.

If you are having an afternoon session, eat a light lunch. It takes a lot of energy to do romantic portraits and you don’t want to run out of steam before the session is over.

#2 – Don’t let time stress you out – It will show in your photographs

Try to leave home early enough to be at the boudoir session on time, or better still, a little early.

When you are in a hurry, stress sets in. Although we don’t rush you into a session (some photographers do) the anxiety that you feel because of being rushed to get to your photo session will make it difficult to put yourself into the relaxed, romantic mood needed to have a successful boudoir photo session.

#3 – Don’t try to go it alone

Bring a friend with you to the photo studio. If a romantic photographer refuses this request, check a little closer before using him or her. This is a safety precaution that every woman should follow.

We have no problem with a friend or family member coming with you. All we ask is that they not be in the studio section during the session. Boudoir photography is not a spectator sport. d:-)

#4 – Wear clothing that is suitable to your romantic photo session

Come to your intimate photography session wearing clothing that fits loosely to insure the least amounts of marks on your body.

These marks take time to go away and may waste your limited amount of time allocated for the portrait session. (professional glamour models know this secret and are ready to go without a waiting period)

#5 – The hair! – The hair!

Instead of a pullover, wear a button up shirt so that you won’t disturb the makeup and hair when you begin to change for your boudoir session.

#6 – The Clothes! – The Clothes!

Wear a clear deoderant instead of the white, powdery kind so that your clothese will stay the color they should be.

#7 – But perfume is sooooo romantic

If you wear perfume to the photo shoot (not recommended), make sure it’s very light.

Boudoir photographers sometimes work in small studios and strong perfume will overwhelm your photographer and the others who have to work with you.

#8 – Do I need to wear makeup?

Many boudoir photo sessions will include a makeup and/or hair artist. If this is the case come to your session without any makeup or concealer and make sure your hair is good and clean.

If your boudoir photographer wants you to do your own makeup for the session, go here for glamour makeup tips to help you apply makeup for the camera and lights.

#9 – Have Fun!

Going to a professional female photographer for an intimate photo session does not mean that you can’t have fun.

Following the steps above will help insure that you will have fun during your boudoir session by getting off to a good start.

Romantic glamour photography is a collaboration between the model and the photographer and the more you prepare for your boudoir portrait session the more you will enjoy your day of romance.

Bob Pardue is a professional glamour model photographer located in Carolina area. Have Bob create your modeling portfolio or romantic photo session just for fun by going to http://www.bobpardue.com/model/portfolio

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Birthday Party Myths – Busted!
By Linda Kling

Are you planning a birthday party or thinking about it? While you’re deciding on the details for the celebration, take a look at these popular misconceptions about birthday parties. Here are some of the top birthday party myths and the truth behind them.

MYTH: If you add RSVP to your birthday invitations, you’ll soon know exactly how many people will be coming to the party.

THE TRUTH: Many people won’t bother to let you know. Maybe they don’t know what RSVP actually means, or they think they only have to let you know if they will NOT be attending. Sometimes people just get busy and forget. You can try to add something more specific like, “please respond with either an acceptance or regret”. It may help if you add that they should let you know by a specific date. But no matter what you do, be prepared to make some phone calls to those who haven’t responded, if you need an accurate head count.

MYTH: Everyone likes surprise parties.

THE TRUTH: Some people loved to be surprised by a party in their honor. But, it might trigger a panic attack in another. Don’t assume your guest of honor will be thrilled by an unexpected party, unless you know that person very well. Do they enjoy being the center of attention? Or is he or she the type that would shrink underneath the table at a restaurant if a group of waiters marched over singing “happy birthday”? If you think there’s a possibility the birthday guy or girl might feel ambushed instead of flattered, you can still plan a party. Just make sure you plan it with them.

MYTH: “Over the Hill” is a good theme for a party.

THE TRUTH: Sure, it’s fun to joke with someone about their age. And they may even seem to appreciate it. But many people are sensitive about milestone birthdays, even if they don’t show it on the surface. It’s a rare individual who doesn’t ever experience anxiety over aging. Instead of teasing the guest of honor about getting old, you can still highlight their milestone with a year you were born theme. Or have a retro party with music and decorations that reflect the years of his or her youth.

MYTH: Birthday party favors are just for kid’s parties.

THE TRUTH: Everyone loves a fun giveaway at the end of the party (even grown-ups). It’s a great way to thank your guests for sharing the celebration. Send them home with something inexpensive, thoughtful and useful. Personalized party favors can even include a message. Though, of course, they’re not necessary for a successful party, favors can be that little extra touch that tops off the celebration.

MYTH: If you want to put your guests in a party mood, add lots of confetti inside the invitations.

THE TRUTH: This may sound like a festive idea, and lots of people do it, but please don’t be one of them. Just picture it. Your potential guest opens the envelope, pulls out the invitation and unexpectedly, a bunch of confetti spills out all over everything. Instead of putting them in the party mood, they now have to scramble for the vacuum to clean up all the tiny little pieces of shiny mylar before the dog snacks on them.

MYTH: The more you spend, the better the party.

THE TRUTH: Just about everyone can remember a great party that was thrown together at the last minute. Drinks were served in plastic cups and food wasn’t much more than chips with dip. But what made that party memorable were the people. Of course, good food, lovely atmosphere and fantastic music can all add to the party. But they’re not the most important thing. So, if you’re on a budget, don’t skip the birthday party. Cut corners with costs, even pare down the guest list a little, but go out there and celebrate.

MYTH: Some people don’t want you to acknowledge their birthday.

THE TRUTH: Yes, there are those who feel uncomfortable if you make a big fuss over them. But that doesn’t mean that they really want you to forget them. Birthday celebrations come in all sizes. Find out what the special person in your life would like to do for their birthday. They might want a big party. Or they might rather spend a quiet night at a restaurant with close friends. Their birthday is an opportunity for you to let them know how much they mean to you every day.

Of course, the undeniable truth is that birthday parties are fun. So go ahead and plan a big bash, a surprise party, or quiet celebration. And guess what? Even if you throw an over the hill party, stuff your invitations with confetti and serve nothing more than pretzels and soda, it will still be a hit, if you do it with heart.

Linda Kling, as the owner of Photo Party Favors, has offered ideas to people planning birthday parties and other celebrations since 1992. She recommends these Year You Were Born photo birthday favors, featuring your photo and fun facts from the year of your birth. Free printables, party recipes, quotes, trivia, and more are available on her website.

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