GeekSugar

How to Zombify Your Pictures!

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:00:12 -0700

Halloween is nearly upon us, my friends, and if that doesn't give you an excuse to make yourself look like a zombie then I don't know what will!

It's super easy: Using the web-editing site I told you about before, Picnik, just upload a photo with a human face in it, then in the create tab, and scroll down to the Halloween options.

Use the zombie brush to coat your subject's face, body, and clothes, and watch as the life is drained from the face. Finish it up with some blood stains around their mouth (because that's what zombies do), and voila! Zombie youth!

Do You Still Keep Photo Albums?

GeekSugar — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:14:09 -0700

It used to be, you got your film rolls developed (and what came out was what you shot, no choosing what to print beforehand), and put your faves into your photo albums or frames. Then you kept them around, pulling them out when you wanted to reminisce over the plastic and paper pages filled with photographs.

Now, our photo-lives are completely different; we pick and choose which digital shots to keep and print, and are often more selective about printing because we know we can always access the photos electronically. Things do still get framed - but we have to decide, regular or digital frames.

And it seems to me that one old staple - the physical photo albums - have fallen by the wayside. Sure, you've got your Picasa and flickr "albums" online, but do you still pull out that old binder, and stick your photos inside? I sure don't, sadly, though I do still keep my childhood and school albums around.

What about you? Do you still keep physical albums, and if so, are you still making new ones?

Source

A Last Minute Mother's Day Gift Idea!

GeekSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:35:34 -0700

Looking for a last-minute gadget to get your mom for Mother's Day?

This digital picture converter by Hammacher Schlemmer is a great way to bring your mom into the 21st century! Easier then a conventional scanner, this nifty device will back up all your mom's photos into digital format, so she'll never have to worry about losing negatives or prints again!

By placing photos in a tray that slides into a converter, the pictures will be recorded with the touch of a button. The converter is connected to your computer via a USB cable and unfortunately is for PCs only. It's priced at $150, which isn't totally outrageous considering you can scan all your albums in a short amount of time!

Blow Up Your Digital Pictures with Pottery Barn Kids' Picture Canvas

GeekSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:10:17 -0800

After months of hunting down the perfect piece of art for my bedroom wall, I think I've finally decided to let my geekery be the artiste! Pottery Barn Kids offers the coolest service: You upload a digital picture, and they will print it onto a canvas and stretch it over a wooden frame, so all you have to do is hang it after you get it in the mail.

To learn more about this great service, read more

I have read a couple DIY articles and heard of a few services that do this, too, but this one seems to be the easiest and most convenient, since all you do is upload the photo and pay for it (I may be geeky, but I can also be very lazy). Pictures must be a minimum of 2200 pixels high and at least 1700 pixels wide, and the cost is $120 for a 24" x 30" canvas, and $200 for a 30" x 40" one. Of course, now I just have to decide what picture to immortalize, and the cycle begins again. . .

Give The Gift Of Captured Memories This Mother's Day

GeekSugar — Wed, 09 May 2007 14:30:32 -0700

Still wondering what to get your mom this Mother's Day? Send her the gift of memories and special moments with a digital photo frame or photo book. I've compiled three of my favorites below which are all timeless gifts that your mom will cherish for years to come. Just a small token of your love and appreciation (and your geeky touch)!

Digital Photo Frame With Sound

Surprise your mom this Mother's Day with a digital photo frame with sound from Brookstone! You can jam pack this frame with pictures, digital home movies and even songs in Mp3 format. No PC required...as you can directly download from your PC or camera via a USB. Great features include sideshow capability, LCD screen and an included remote control...all for a grand total of $300.

Momento Wireless Digital Picture Frame

Share your moments instantly with Momento Live. Now you can send and receive pics directly to any Momento picture frame in the world. Just upload and send images from your computer or a camera phone to one or many Momento picture frames at once. Even if you're miles away from your mom this Mother's Day, you can send her images on her new Momento picture frame instantly. Gotta love technology! A free trial subscription of Momento Live is included with the purchase of the wireless frame. Click here to purchase for $200.

Kodak Photo Books

Take your digital images and transfer them to a lovely album for your mom this Mother's Day. Kodak's Photo Books come in a variety of styles and colors to suit your mom's taste. Each one includes a front window, is extra heavy and uses archival-quality, acid-free photo paper and professional binding. Choose layouts, write captions and let Kodak do the rest! Prices range from $7 to $70.

How To Edit Digital Pictures On The Go

GeekSugar — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 14:03:45 -0700

So you're on vacay, taking lots of stellar shots with your new digital cam. The only problem is you decided to go gadget less on this trip - no BlackBerry and definitely no laptop. If your only access to technology is a computer in the internet cafe beside your hotel, you just might be in luck. Now there are a slew of free web-based photo editing programs that will let you crop, cut, resize, rotate, change contrast, adjust color, sharpen, brighten and add borders to pics - from anywhere! Get your images picture perfect instantly without needing special software or gadgets. Here are some of my fave free online pic editing programs: Picnik Snipshot Pixenate Fauxto Picture2Life

Watch a Photo Slideshow While Your Camera Charges

GeekSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 11:00:23 -0800

I'm a big fan of charging stations for a variety of reasons, but the fact that I found one that also features a built-in digital picture frame makes me like them even more.

A part of the Bedford Smart Collection at Pottery Barn, this Digital Photo Station offers a three-outlet power strip for plugging in a camera charger, cell phone charger, etc., and the 3.5-inch digital frame that adorns the front of the station.

At $149, it's a tad overpriced in my opinion, but I guess you're paying for aesthetics on this one.

The Oval Digital Photo Keychain

GeekSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:00:44 -0700

Digital picture keychains are something I haven't had the chance to take for a test drive. I'm assuming they'd make the perfect gift for proud grandparents and doting soccer moms or even the party girl in us all.

From what I've read and heard, they are ridiculously easy to use. For instance with this digital picture keychain by Brando, all you have to do is insert the software, connect the keychain to your computer via the included USB cord and start uploading photos. This oval model is said to hold up to thirty-five images, but I'm sure that will depend on quality and size of your pictures.

Each keychain only costs $23 and is available in blue, red and yellow.

To check out more images of this digital pic keychain, read more

View 7 Photos ›

Perfecting Your Evening Photo Skills

GeekSugar — Tue, 26 Dec 2006 00:06:48 -0800

From work gatherings to holiday celebrations and dinner parties, December can be a busy time of the year for social functions. If you are like me and take your digital camera with you to every event, there are some tips to make sure all your nighttime shots are crystal clear and in tip top quality. Check out the suggestions below, so you'll be picture ready just in time for New Years!

Using the Nighttime Setting or Scene Mode
On most digital cameras there is a specific setting to help you take great night pics. Check your manual to find out the mode for your camera. This one-touch setting will adjust to your camera settings, tuning it to low-light conditions and possibly allowing you to take.

For three more tips, just read more

Avoiding Optical Zoom
Try to avoid using your digital camera's optical zoom when taking night photos, because the higher the optical zoom magnification, the longer the lens has to extend to shoot a photo. This also causes the digital camera to become sensitive to movement. With an extended lens, even on sunny days, the results of 'camera-shake' may be evident in blurry photos, while at night, this effect is magnified even more.
A Flash Isn't Always the Answer
While a flash may be helpful in taking photos in low light conditions, there comes a point at night when the flash isn't much help anymore. Flash requires light to bounce off a subject. If your subject is a long way away, your small flash unit will never reach your subject effectively. An expensive external flash may help some in these instances, but consider using other digital camera features when taking night photos, such as decreasing the shutter speed, increasing the ISO settings, or using a preprogrammed night scene mode.
Gotta Love Self-Timers
A digital camera's self-timer mode can reduce some camera shake when taking night photos. Most night photos, especially in situations where you cannot depend on a flash, require a shutter speed of half a second or longer or else the subject will be too dark. This is to compensate for the lack of available light. Unfortunately these situations can result in camera shake. However, if you use the self-timer mode, you might be able to get some acceptable shots just holding your camera very steady. Any shake caused by pressing the shutter button will be eliminated, as the camera will not take photos until several seconds after the button has been pressed.

Levitating Photo Frame: Totally Geeky Or Geek Chic?

GeekSugar — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 08:00:34 -0700

My concept of what's totally geeky and geek chic is ever changing and quite malleable, but I'm not picking up any chic qualities in this Levitating Multicolored LED Photo Frame. It uses electronic magnets above and below the frame to keep the display "floating" in mid-air and you pin your photos to the front and back. Add some built-in digital picture frame functions and I might change my mind. In the meantime, it's clunky, and who cares about a suspended picture?