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Last Updated: Jul 2nd, 2008 - 21:15:22 |
(ARA) - Family photographs are great to have around, unless of course they’re taking over your home. As one of the biggest culprits of home clutter (with videotapes running a close second) photographs, including pesky negatives, are bulky to store and difficult to organize and maintain.
The solution? Convert photos and videotapes into digital formats that are easier to store, safer for your precious images, and according to experts at The Art Institutes, all around easier to live with.
“Converting old visual formats into updated technology is simple and relatively inexpensive to do,” says Jeremy Jackson, an instructor in animation, Web design and digital arts for the Bradley Academy for the Visual Arts.
“Most consumer-grade flatbed scanners come with good software that will help you to scan your photos and preserve them in a digital format,” he says. For those dinosaurs of visual formats, slides, the same goes. Jackson says that some scanners come with accessories specifically for scanning slides. “If not," he says, “you may need to purchase a slide scanner in order to achieve the high resolution that slides are known for.” It’s a worthy investment, he says, especially for slides that are unique visual records.
Updating formats when it comes to VHS tapes can be more complicated, but still perfectly do-able says Tim Kelly, Visual Effects and Motion Graphics instructor in the at The Art Institute of Las Vegas. “Some older computers may not be up to this task, and if that’s the case, check your local yellow pages for services that can convert VHS tapes into digital formats," says Kelly. Ask about prices for the service. If you have a lot of videotapes, you may be able to negotiate a discount.
Before you begin to update your old visual formats, it’s a good idea to think about purging some of what you have. According to Jeffrey Sprague, visual resource manager for The Art Institute of Portland, “While it’s tempting to keep everything you take pictures of, it’s a good idea to go ahead and delete pictures that didn’t turn out right or aren’t of good quality. Those pictures of your thumb or shoe, unless on purpose for art’s sake, are going to quickly add up to a bunch of clutter.” Same goes for 50 shots of the same group or the same statue. Sprague’s advice-- learn that it’s okay to delete!
Once you’ve purged and reformatted onto CDs, DVDs or other digital formats, begin to label and organize. This will save you hours of time searching for that image you know you have somewhere but can’t quite get your hands on. Tim Kelly says sticky labels and label software do the job best. For storing CDs and DVDs, Kelly likes a binder system. “This gets rid of the bulk and it’s possible to store 300 plus CDs or DVDs in the space of 20 normal packages,” he says.
More tips from experts at The Art Institutes for converting old visual images into updated formats, storing and labeling them properly include:
* Label images right away. It’s less likely you’ll do it later, and it makes storage and finding images for the future a snap. Also, keep related images together, i.e. graduations, weddings, sports events, etc.
* Digital images saved on optical media (cdrs, dvds) and kept in a cool, dark, dry place. It is always a good idea to make multiple copies, and occasionally go back and check your media to make sure everything is still intact
* Set up a file structure on your computer that YOU understand. Regardless of any software program you are going to use to organize your photos movies, etc., start with a file structure that makes sense to you. One basic structure that works well is to create folders by type (movies, photos, music) and then by year (2004, 2005) then by month (01, 02, 03, or January, February, March).
* Remember to back up your files, since you don’t have a “negative” with which to make reprints. Back ups also are important since you are storing these files on an electronic device, which have been known to break for unexplained reasons. A good way to back up large numbers of files digitally is with an external hard drive, either USB 2.0 or Firewire.
* Hard copy back ups are good too, as they are less susceptible to electrical surges or coffee spills. DVD-R’s hold a large amount of information, up to 4 GB (the storage size of an I-pod Mini). You’ll need a DVD burner and a reader that can handle the DVD-R format.
* For your most important files consider off-site storage on the Web, through free programs like www.shutterfly.com or www.kodakgallery.com.
* Share your photos. That’s half the fun of having them. In addition to sites listed above, there are many other online avenues for sharing photos and keeping track of them as well. Flickr is a free service that offers a premium upgrade for power users (www.flickr.com).
Courtesy of ARA Content
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