Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portrait – Part 4

Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portrait – Part 4

Design Tips & Tricks, Everything Else, Expert Advice, Family Lounge, Wedding & Family
You’ve successfully turned your living room into a somewhat convincing Christmas-themed photo studio. Now comes the real fun – getting everyone in the family to pose decently and look at least somewhat happy about it – and framing it all up with the camera to get a great shot! What’s tricky about telling you how to do this is that every family is different, every setting is different and every camera is different; but I can give you some tips to help you guide your own artistic vision and gut feelings on posing and composing your Christmas card portrait. Posing – Hopefully Without Starting a Family Feud… You should already have a spot picked where you can pose your family several feet in the foreground of some interesting, festively decked…
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It’s Gettin’ Hot In Here…123Print’s Chili Cook Off

It’s Gettin’ Hot In Here…123Print’s Chili Cook Off

Everything Else, Family Lounge, Fun and Humor, Wedding & Family
If there’s one thing most of us here at 123Print like to do it’s eat. We’ll turn pretty much anything into an excuse to put the feed bag on! As it turns out, lots of the folks here at 123Print are quite good at rustlin’ up decent grub too. Since tomorrow’s the first day of fall and it’s been a bit on the cool side here in Maryland we thought a little Chili Cook Off would be good for getting in an Autumn frame of mind. Of course it turns out that today was the hottest, most humid day we’ve had in three weeks and we set-up shop in the hottest, stuffiest room in the joint – but the chili, cornbread and fixin’s were good! We’d have loved to invite…
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9 Halloween Costume Ideas for Your Cat

9 Halloween Costume Ideas for Your Cat

Family Lounge, Fun and Humor
Alright all of you feline lovers, your time has come. The dogs had their time to shine. I’m well aware that trying to get a cat to allow you to put a costume on it is like trying to get a rubber band around Jell-O, but if you have patience and are willing to get hissed at or clawed at, then perhaps this Halloween you will dress your cat up. Everyone, if you dare, here are the 9 Halloween Costumes that 123Print wants to see you put your cats in this Halloween. Good luck. A Penguin Just get the mask to stay on long enough to take a picture, and you can consider this costume a full success. Puss in Boots I’m 99% convinced that this cat is a robot,…
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Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portrait – Part 3

Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portrait – Part 3

Design Tips & Tricks, Everything Else, Expert Advice, Family Lounge, Wedding & Family
OK, so you’ve found a room to shoot your Christmas card portrait in, you dug out some decorations to help give a festive feel and everyone has outfits selected.  Now it’s time to figure out what to do with the photographic equipment you’ve also rounded up.  If you’ve been following along since the beginning of this series you know that you need, obviously, a camera as well as a tripod, at least two additional flashes and some white poster board.  You may look at this odd pile of things and know what to do with it or you may look at it and say “huh?”  Either way; follow along and see how you’ll make use of everything. Your Camera Let’s start with your camera first since you likely already had…
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9 Halloween Costume Ideas for Your Dog

9 Halloween Costume Ideas for Your Dog

Everything Else, Family Lounge, Fun and Humor
Just like with small children, Halloween is a time to dress your dog up in ridiculous costumes and snap as many pictures as you can before Fido starts having an issue.  There’s the cliché dress your dog up as a hot dog, a dinosaur, or a pretty princess – but then there are the incredibly creative dog costumes. Don’t worry cat lovers; your post is coming soon. Without further adieu, I’d like to present to you the 9 Halloween Costumes I’d like to see you, 123Print’s loyal and wonderful readers, dress your dogs up as this Halloween year: Elvis “You ain’t nothin’ but a hounddog…” The Headless Horseman Go on! Terrify small children with the help of your dog. I dare you. Darth Vader The force is strong with this…
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Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portraits – Part 2

Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portraits – Part 2

Design Tips & Tricks, Everything Else, Expert Advice, Family Lounge, Wedding & Family
Let’s face it, about the only thing that sets a Christmas portrait apart from any other family portrait is the fact that it clearly says “Christmas.” Any good family portrait tells the story of the family’s personality and bond; but when you’re putting a portrait on photo Christmas cards, the holiday is also part of the story that the photo needs to tell. When planning a photo shoot for a specific reason, a photographer can turn to the setting, props and appearance of the subjects to help make clear the point of the story being told. Let’s look at each of these elements to help you plan for shooting your own Christmas card portrait at home. Choose a Setting that Fits Your Style As a photographer I can tell you…
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Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portraits – Part 1

Shoot Your Own Christmas Card Portraits – Part 1

Everything Else, Expert Advice, Family Lounge, Wedding & Family
As one of the resident photographers here at 123Print a lot of people ask me how they can get the professional looking shots that the sales brochure for their fancy new camera alluded to. After a sarcastic response like “What? You didn’t see the Ansel Adams mode button?” I tell them no piece of equipment “makes” pro-looking photos, but that I can give them some pointers on how to set up and light the shot like a pro would. This being the time of year people start thinking about getting their family portraits for Christmas done for Christmas cards, you can imagine the situation I’m getting asked about how to shoot these days. Follow along – I’ll introduce you to what we’ll be covering in the next few installments of…
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Wedding Planning: 11 Little Things to Remember

Wedding Planning: 11 Little Things to Remember

Wedding & Family, Wedding Lounge
While wedding planning should be one of the most exciting time in a bride-to-be’s life, I imagine it’s stressful. I was getting overwhelmed just doing research for this post. There’s so much to organize, reserve, plan, and create when it comes to a wedding, but don’t get so caught up in the invitations, the dress, the flowers, and the cake… that you forget those extra little things that really make the day a success. Try not to forget the following 11 things: 11.) Look into wedding insurance and decide if it’s right for you. Wedding insurance is exactly what it sounds like. Inexpensive policies that will cover things like if your wedding gets postponed because of bad weather, or your officiant just doesn’t show up. 10.) Send out Save the…
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6 Proofreading Tips

6 Proofreading Tips

Design Tips & Tricks, Expert Advice, Family Lounge, Small Business, Small Business Lounge, Wedding & Family, Wedding Lounge
"I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again." – Oscar Wilde Remember back when you were in high school and your teachers always stressed the importance of proofreading your work, because spelling and grammar counted? The same holds true when it comes time to proof a business card, a wedding invitation or your yearly family Christmas card. You want to make sure everything is perfect! To achieve the desired perfection, please remember the following tips when you’re entering any and all information on a 123Print product, or writing/typing any important document: 1.)   Read every sentence and word out loud, exactly how you have it written. 2.)   Read from the end to the…
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Halloween Party Planning Tips and Inspirations

Halloween Party Planning Tips and Inspirations

Everything Else, Family Lounge, Fun and Humor
When you’re a kid, you count down the days until you can put on your costume and race from house to house collecting as much candy as you possibly can. It seems like a feast is sitting in your plastic pumpkin or pillow case. Life can’t get any better (at least until Christmas). When you’re an adult, Halloween is really just an excuse to act like a jackass and drink a lot of alcohol. The one thing adults and kids alike both look forward to when Halloween rolls around every year are the parties. Obviously for different reasons, but that’s beside the point. Planning any kind of party can be difficult and tedious, but trying to plan a Halloween party has got to be one of the more stressful events.…
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