Preserving Memories

It’s tough to please when it comes to photography. And in a day when everyone has a digital camera, the competition can be fierce. However, a friend with a digital camera, does not guarantee good, quality photographs of those special moments that should be treasured forever. These include graduation photos, weddings, anniversaries, and your favorite pets.

Think about lighting, expression, composition, and expression again. This is what makes the photo special. You can adjust lighting and even composition in a computer graphics program. But there’s nothing you can do about expression.

Think about it. That’s why you need a professional to capture those special moments.

About a week ago, I went to a friend’s house to take her daughter’s graduation photos, a very special moment indeed, because every high school senior, especially girls, want those pictures to be spectacular. They want to look glamorous, and they want those pictures to be special.

That’s why I suggest taking several different backgrounds in natural lighting. If someone wants outside shots, that’s great, but make sure you have some close ups because in the long run, the parent and the senior want pictures that showcase them - the subject, not the river, ocean, or other scenic background. By using zoom photography, you can do both. Just make sure you take alot of photos.

Another key to making the photo shoot a success is to try to have the subject be as natural and comfortable as possible. Otherwise, the smile and expressions seem canned and posed. I want the person to look like themselves, and believe it or not, the posed expression does not appear real. It’s faked, and guess what, the senior isn’t going to be happy with those photos.

It’s best to shoot alot of photos from which to choose, and let the senior pick out their scenic background. It’s also a good idea to have some inside portrait photos but if you get the close ups outside in the natural lighting, you just might be able to skip this step.

The result, a perfectionist, found some photos that she was very pleased with. Not that you’d know that quickly, but after going through them, there was one or two posts on FaceBook, showing her friends her senior photos.

I never thought much about preserving memories until my grandmother died. In going through her treasures, I came across photos that I never knew existed. There were pictures of her parents (my great grandfather and grandmother). There were pictures of the old homestead, when it really looked GREAT! Only - the pictures were small; they were faded, and hard to see.

As a photographer I set up a system where I could use a macro lens and photograph all the photos. Then, I went to the darkroom and spent hours trying to dodge, burn and make them look good. The result, a very nice album of about 30 8×10 pictures.

Much has changed since then, and needless to say, I’ve come across numerous other very old photographs on my mother’s side of the family.

I started scanning and scanning and scanning, now having over 2,000 scans. Now they are safe in one place, and with Photoshop, it’s alot easier to fix the scratches, tears and spills on the computer than in the darkroom. There’s also the option of making sepia or duo tones. The beauty is you can do all this from one photo. For an example of these, go to www.preservingandcreatingmemories.com.

The hardest part of Preserving Memories is, what was history when my grandmother died, and what is history some 20 years later, are two different things. That present is now a part of my history, and there is alot more information and memories to chronicle. Back then, nieces and nephews were present. Today, they’ve moved away and pictures of them when they were little has become history.

That’s why the title, Preserving and Creating Memories is apt. We do preserve memories by putting our history on paper. However, we create memories every day of our life - that trip to Boston, a birthday party, or the observance of my cats’ daily life. They all are important. They are a part of my history. Perhaps your history has similar aspects. But we both have a common thread. If we don’t preserve them, and they are lost due to flood, fire, or just by neglect, we will miss them. That’s why preserving them is so important. The photos shown here are just a few examples of items worth preserving.

The following are excepts from a press release announcing Preserving Memories’ Historical Storybook Offerings.

For more information, check out www.preservingandcreatingmemories.com. The Preserving Memories domain name was taken, and after all we’re creating new memories every day!

I hope you check back to this site often to find out new ways to preserve your history.

Preserving Memories Launches New History Storybook Service for People, Businesses and Pets

 With the digital world, it’s possible to provide services around the country or from most anywhere. That includes gathering stories and photos of people’s lives and compiling it into a historical storybook that you’ll cherish for years to come.

These chronicles can take on many forms: a book of text, a book mixing text and photos, interviews transcribed to oral histories, videos, slide shows or websites.

That’s exactly what Preserving Memories, wants to do – help individuals, towns, cities, businesses, organizations, and more, compile, write and publish their histories. These histories can include your story, someone else’s story, an organization or business story, or even your pet’s story. These stories can be complete with quotes from interviews, photographs, news clippings, and much more.

Preserving Memories is owned by an accredited public relational professional with over 20 years of writing, reporting, journalism, photography and production experience with newspapers and non-profit organizations. Now, the owner hopes to take this background to another level and incorporate it with her love of history, pets, and people.

For more information about Preserving Memories, go to www.preservingandcreatingmemories.com.