5 Super Easy Steps to Print-ready Photos (cont'd)

2. Edit out all the bad shots

I know, I know. There are no bad shots of your child. Believe me, I've been there. I know what you might be thinking, "if I delete, I miss that shot that was almost there." But by getting rid of all those blinks, blurry or badly exposed photos, you leave room for all the shots that make your heart swell. Here is a good test, if you don't say "awww" when you view an image, throw it out. It will be so much easier than searching for that one photo you loved.

3. Make minor adjustments

By taking a minute or two to adjust the exposure, you can make a decent photo into a winner. You don't need to spend loads of time tweaking (that's what we professionals are for), but if your photo looks like it was shot in the dark, up the exposure a little. A great program to try is the opensource (read: free) program Gimp.

4. Back up those files

Once you have chosen your best shots, be sure to back up. This means keeping one folder on your desktop and another on a separate hard drive. This might seem like just another annoying step, but if your hard drive ever goes down‐and it will if you don't back up‐you want to be sure you have extra copies.

5. Print your favorites

I always know when I take a great shot. I feel it in my bones and I know that I want to get it printed. I often set aside a folder labeled "photos to print" on my desktop and copy my favorites into this folder. That way, once the folder gets full (about 10‐30 images), I have them printed. You can copy the folder to a thumb drive or upload them to your favorite lab. When you are ready to print, just head over to your local lab or you might want to invest in a photo printer like the Epson Picture Mate.

So there you go. That wasn't so painful, was it? Oh, and don't forget to email and print a few for Grandma. Happy printing.

Jessica Scheufler is a photographer and co-owner of SweetSnaps Portrait Parties, an heirloom portrait boutique. The boutique photography company specializes in children's portrait parties in the Atlanta area, where kids get to have fun during a comfortable, natural-light portrait session. SweetSnaps products reflect the company's commitment to time-tested excellence. www.sweetsnapsphoto.com Jessica (fotogyrl) is a member of GwinnettAreaMommies.