As a mom I have taken thousands of photos. I have always just used your standard point and shoot style of camera. But when I started Hopelessly Hooked I knew I needed more.My photos started of crude, with low quality and very little editing. I knew that I needed to find a better way.
With the use of my iPad I was able to get pretty good pictures, but it was limited without a flash I had to wait till day light to photograph my projects. Which if you are a crafter you know that as soon as you finish a new project you just can't wait to share it with others!!
Right before Christmas I got an iPhone, hoping that it would take great pictures and because it had a flash. It take great pictures...for a phone. I was pleased but still not satisfied.
Then my WONDERFUL Husband bought me a Nikon Coolpix P510. Better than my previouc camera iPad and iPhone. This is a great little camera, better pictures and features than most point and shoots, and a much better price tag than a high end professional camera. For about $350 it was a great buy.
So then it was on to my next step, editing...Gulp!!
There was no way that I would be able to afford a program such as PhotoShop, but I wanted to do more than just crop and rotate. And I really needed to be able to add a watermark to my photos.
My wonderful brother helped me out with this. He is a graphic designer and he had previously designed my logo and cover photos. I would email him my photos and he would add my watermarks. A huge help!!
But I still was not satisfied. I wanted to edit to change things around, play with different effects, add things and remove others from my photos. So after hours upon hours playing around with different photo editing programs online I found Picasa. I love it! It works great for what I need. I am no professional but still love to show my artistic side now and then.
I was to be able to layer multiple pictures, add text and other effects. Although it cannot do all that some of the higher end software can, it is just about perfect for what I need, although I still have to send the photos to my brother for a watermark.
I have come a long way on my journey of photography, and I can't wait to see where it takes me next!!