DAY 351

PHOTOGRAPHY 101

Creative Projects for Digital Photographs

LET LOOSE YOUR IMAGINATION

Imagine the look on the face of great-grandma as she opens a gift from you to find a sweet portrait of her grandchildren, captured by you and printed on a blanket.

There are many companies offering items personalized with photographs supplied by their customers. These online photo-sharing sites provide nearly limitless potential for ways to display your photographs, either for personal enjoyment or for gift-giving. Since becoming a photographer, my family and friends have been the grateful recipients of many photography-themed gifts for birthdays and holidays.

The basic offerings of these companies are prints, from wallet-sized to postersized. In addition to prints, they also offer photo books, calendars, novelty items, including photo mugs, mouse pads, playing cards, puzzles, and T-shirts. Several offer jewelry items—watches, bracelets, earrings, and dog tags—and I’ve even discovered a few that offer purses, wallets, tote bags, and pillows. The options seem to be endless. I recommend that when trying one of these companies, order a small, inexpensive item first to determine if the quality level is acceptable before placing a larger order.

An added bonus is that most of these companies allow you to store your photographs online in galleries and then share the galleries with friends and family, giving them the ability to purchase photo prints and gifts of their own. —CWN