We were so honored to welcome Andrea Bell last week, who shared with us tons of great tips for turning photos into awesome memory-keeping tools. More than anyone I know, Andrea is very good not just at taking photos but also of making sure that those photographs are displayed for family and friends to see and enjoy. I was delighted that she came with lots of ideas, both for those who are tech savvy and those who are not. And judging by the response on our group Facebook page, you all were also pretty impressed and newly motivated! (Psst… if you aren’t part of our group Facebook page, please message me to find out how to join.)
At first a skeptic of the blog (“Who’s going to read it? What is it for?”), Andrea soon came to love blogging as a way to connect family to her own little ones, and also a way to keep an online journal. Her personal blog is here–please visit! Blogs are free, easy, and with new blog “slurping” programs, it is easy to convert your blog into a bound photobook with only a few steps. (Recommended sites for this: www.blurb.com and www.blog2print.com)
Andrea’s biggest project, though, is her Project 365/Project Life book creation. For every year, Andrea creates a beautiful book chronicling the memories–big and small, momentous and mundane–of her family’s life. Andrea shared the various ways to create these gorgeous books, most of them connected somehow to Becky Higgins, who has really revolutionized the Project 365/Project Life world. You can choose either a bound notebook (though as Andrea pointed out, these do end up being quite large notebooks, so if you plan on doing this every year, you may eventually opt for something more streamlined) or two different digital versions: either with downloads from Becky Higgins’ own digital scrapbooking site and her collaborator Jessica Sprague, or the even easier–but less flexible and “editable–version available by using Becky Higgins’ templates on Shutterfly
Andrea has started her digital book for 2012 and shared with us some sample pages from her album…
Covington and Maple Valley women’s photography group meeting, 2068182009, sara@saraaarrigoniphotography.com
Lastly, for those of you who are a bit overwhelmed by the thought of starting a blog or a photobook project, there is *no* excuse for not being able to meet Andrea’s challenge of participating in a 10-on-10 challenge… which is 10 photos taken over a 10-hour span on the 10th of the month. (Andrea referenced www.rebekahgough.blogspot.com for more info on 10 on 10.) Andrea is an avid participant in 10 on 10, and in fact, that is our challenge for next month’s group meeting!!! So bring some photos from your 10 on 10 experience!
Details for next meeting…
When/Where: December 19, 7 p.m., my home
Topic: Magical Holiday Photos… turning your Christmas photos from blah to beautiful 
Assignment: bring photos from your 10-on-10, taken on December 10 (don’t worry–I’ll remind you via our Facebook group and my page to get your cameras ready!)
And please… do hook up with the group in our Facebook group! And to make sure you receive a last-minute email reminder before the next meeting, get added to our email list, too!