5 Tips for Taking Holiday Card Photos of Your Children

Thank you to Chooze Shoes for providing the Spark high top sneakers to add some edgy glam to my daughter's wardrobe. All opinions are my own.

I've been taking our own holiday card photos for as long as I can remember.  There was one year that we had photos of the whole family taken professionally, but my husband and I have always been the amateur photographers behind every holiday card photo of just our children.  I usually take individual portraits of each child and then some with all three together.  This usually works out great and I can always find a card layout with four spots for photos to complement the pictures we've chosen.

Since I've been taking photos of our three children for nearly a decade, I have learned some tips and tricks along the way.  Yes, taking photos of multiple children at once can closely resemble a game a whack-a-mole, but it can be done!


5 tips for taking holiday card photos of your children . . .

1.  Become familiar with your camera's settings.  You can take beautiful photos with a D-SLR or with your phone's camera.  All cameras having different settings to accommodate for low light and other conditions.  Experiment with them so you have an idea of which settings to use when it comes time to take portraits of your children.  It's likely your children will get antsy if they have to wait for you to play with your camera settings during a photo shoot.

2.  Dress your children comfortably.  Whatever you choose to dress your children in, make sure that they are comfortable.  Binding clothes, itchy tags, uncomfortable shoes, etc . . . all make the task of capturing a photo of a relaxed and happy child even more difficult.  I always opt for casual outfits.  The boys generally wear polo shirts or henleys.  My daughter's clothes can vary from a casual dress to a blazer paired with jeans to the comfy New England Patriots top she wore this year.  Regardless of what they wear, I try to color coordinate all three children's outfits.  Having all three wear jeans on the bottom is an easy way to do that.

To guarantee a smile on my daughter's face for the photos, I always give my daughter something special to wear, such as a hat or a pretty necklace.  This year, she was all smiles wearing her Spark high top sneakers from Chooze Shoes.  She owns a few pairs of mismatched shoes from this brand and loves them all.  Every pair she's owned has been super-comfortable and fun to wear!

3.  Choose a simple background.  Having to drive 10 miles to take photos does not sound like too much fun for kids.  You really don't need a fancy background.  We've taken beautiful photos of our children sitting on the front steps or huddled together in front of an evergreen tree.  I do recommend taking your photos outdoors for the best light, but having your children sitting on your stairs, on your sofa, or in front of your fireplace together will also work.  If you end up not loving the background in your photos, you can always blur the background with a photo editing program.  There are many free programs online.

4.  Get your children talking.  When taking individual portraits, getting your children talking will help them loosen up.  It also gets you some beautiful, natural smiles when they are telling you about something funny that happened in school last week (much better than the cheesy looking say-cheese smiles).  The tween (pictured below) is a tough nut to crack because he is starting to act like he's too cool for holiday photos.  Sometimes talking works with him, sometimes all I get is a mumble and a shrug, but all you can do is try . . .

5.  Promise your children a silly shoot afterwards.  This has worked amazingly well for us.  It is so difficult to get all three children to be smiling, not blinking, and looking at the camera at the same time.  Promising them a silly shoot (when you take photos of them dancing around, doing silly poses, and making goofy faces) in exchange for them holding it together long enough to get a good group photo really gets them to make an effort to give you that winning shot.

What tips do you have for taking great portraits of your children?  Share your tips with us on Facebook!

Can't Figure Out How Your Children Grew Up So Quickly? . . . Relive Those Precious Moments Through Photos

The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

This photo was taken on Mother's Day 2010!  Our twins were just 3 years old then and their big brother only 6.  Can you believe how much they have changed over the past 3 years?  It is actually extremely easy for me to remember what our children were like when they were first born.  It's everything between then and now that's a bit of a blur.  When people warned my husband and I that time flies by too quickly when you have children and that they would be grown up before we knew it, they were right.  Luckily, I take lots of photos.  By "lots", I mean boatloads.  In fact, I take so many photos that some people think I'm crazy.  Well, I have many more precious photos, like the one I've shared with you today, to help me remember all those blurry moments.  I'll never regret taking the extra time to capture as many of the big and small moments in our children's lives as possible.

If you take as many photos as I do, then you understand where I'm coming from.  If you don't . . . well, it's never too late to start!

No matter how old your children are, there are still new memories made daily.  There will be to come many more Mother's Days and Father's Days, proms nights, graduation days, wedding days, and everything wonderful that happens in between.  This Spring, Best Buy can help you get on the right track to capturing as many special moments as possible.  As much as I love the camera on my Nokia Lumia 920, I still bring out my D-SLR camera when I'm taking photos at home and during special occasions . . . basically whenever I want my photos to be outstanding and not just very good.  Best Buy has a vast selection of D-SLRs, compact cameras with long zoom, Wi-fi cameras, point-and-shoot cameras, and camcorders with the latest technology to fit all budgets.  They also carry digital photo frames ranging from 7" to 10" LCD screens.

7 reasons to shop Best Buy and BestBuy.com for your digital imaging needs this Spring . . . 

• There is currently Free Shipping on all cameras at BestBuy.com.
• Best Buy has a low price guarantee.
• You can bring in your old camera to Best Buy and trade it in for a Best Buy gift card.
• Save an additional 25% off select digital photo frames through June 22nd with promo code.
• You can get a free 8x8 Shutterfly Photo Book with a purchase of a qualifying camera or camcorder.
• Select point-and-shoot cameras come with a free camera bag or a free camera bag plus memory card.
• If you need something quickly, you can purchase online and pickup in-stock items at your local store.

As always, if you shop, be sure to come back and tell me all about what you purchased!

Easy Craft: DIY "Spell It Out" Photo Gift

This is a photo gift craft I had done for Father's Day earlier this year.  I think it would make a great Holiday gift for almost any friend or family member because this craft has so many possibilities.  I got the idea when I saw a baby photo example on Pinterest from a blog called The Coleman Chronicles.  This was really so simple to make that I don't even think I need to write out a formal tutorial.  Basically, all you need to do is . . .

1.  Buy a horizontal or vertical collage frame that fits the number of letters in the word or phrase you want to spell out.  I got my frame at A.C. Moore for under $10.

2.  Since I did not want to spend a few dollars per letter on white wooden letters, I just bought some inexpensive white foam sheets and cut my letters out of those to spell "We [heart] Baba."  If you have any letters that are shown twice, you can reuse a single letter rather than make more than one.  I did buy the wooden red heart though because I would probably use that again in the future.

3.  Have your child or children hold each letter and take a photo.

4.  Print your pictures out on your own printer or have them printed by a photo service.

5.  Trim your photos to the right size and put them into the frame.

That's it!  You're done!!

(Click any photo to enlarge)

If I had to do it all again, I would have had my photos printed by a photo service because my printer just makes everything look darker and duller than it really is.

Regardless, my husband loved this photo gift!  It sits right on his desk in his office at work.  What would your "Spell It Out" photo gift say?

Inspiration plus an Amazing Promotion from JCPenney Portrait Studio

With Mother's Day and Father's Day coming up, you may be considering a new framed family portrait as the perfect gift, especially if you have not had one done in awhile.  After all, our children grow and change so quickly.  To me, photos are the best way to capture their childhoods.  If you're like me, then you have had some great and some not-so-great experiences with young children and professional portrait sittings.  Let me share what I have come to learn about taking family portraits . . .

The main thing I have come to realize about taking portrait photos is that formal is not always better.  Your children can sit still and smile for the camera against a blue background during their school portraits, but a studio experience should be creative and fun.  Even when I take portraits of the children at home, the best photos are often the ones in which they are allowed to let loose.  Checkout these portrait ideas I have pinned on Pinterest.  There is such an imaginative use of composition, props, and angles.  Which photo concept is your favorite?

If you would like to have a portrait done before Mother's Day or Father's Day, you can snag an amazing deal during the month of April at your local JCPenney Portrait Studio.  Through April 30th, 2012 you can receive 6 Traditional Portrait Sheets for $20 plus one Free Sitting Fee (a $9 sitting fee applies to each person after the first).  You are allowed to mix and match photo sizes and you do not have to limit yourself to just one image.  You can even schedule a session online.

To find the closest JCPenny Portrait Studio to you, simply enter your zip code on JCPPortraits.com.  For even more portrait inspirations, visit the JCPPortrait Gallery and Pinterest page.


I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of jcpenney Portrait Studio. I was asked to create a Pinterest Board and pin at least five (5) pins. I give jcpenney the right to repin any or all images/original content from this board. I received a promotional item as a thanks for my participation.

Silly Monkey Stories: Children of a Blogger

If you've spent at least 5 minutes on this site, then you already know that I like to take pictures . . . lots and lots of pictures.  I didn't realize how much my children noticed this until I saw them taking pictures of their play foods with their toy camera.  I do try to photograph quite a few things that non-bloggers might find to be strange.  The urge to document things in photos seemed to have rubbed off on my children.  I know this because they ask me to take pictures of them for the oddest reasons.

For example, here is a photo our 4-1/2 year old son asked me to take of his Venom action figure the other day.  You see, poor Venom's head had been separated from his body . . . a body that had been missing for a long time.  I have seen poor Venom's head in random places around the house for months.  Well, the other day, our son finally found Venom's body and was able to reunite it with its head.  He was so excited that he thought this moment should be preserved . . .

Click here to learn how to participate in Silly Monkey Stories.

Click here to read all my Silly Monkey Stories!

If you have a Silly Monkey Story to share, sign Mr. Linky below with the link to your blog post (not the link to your main blog page). Please do not forget to visit the other participants and leave them comments to let them know you stopped by!

Holiday 2011: Taking Holiday Portraits at Home

With the exception of one year, our family has always taken our holiday photo card portraits at home.  In fact, I am already thinking about this because we usually do this at the end of October so that we have our cards back in plenty of time to mail out after Thanksgiving.  When it was just our oldest son, we would simply put the tree up early, have him stand in front of it in a cute hat or holding a holiday plush toy and the results were always adorable.  When our twins were added into the mix, the whole portrait-taking experience began to be more stressful for me.  Suddenly, I was worried about matching outfits, poses, a suitable background, and don't get me started on getting all 3 children to smile and look at the camera simultaneously.

Last year, after 6 years of holiday portraits, I finally perfected my portrait-taking technique.  I took photos of each child individually first.  This helped them to warm up to the camera before the group shot.  Then when it came time for the group photo, I skipped trying to have a fancy backdrop and formal poses.  Instead, I asked our 3 children to huddle together with their arms around each other's shoulders on the sofa.  With the frame filled with the 3 children from the waste up, I did not have to worry about the background.  I also only had to coordinate their tops rather than whole outfits.  By allowing the children to be their silly selves, I ended up with some great photos!

Last year's holiday card layout had a place for the group shot and 3 smaller individual portraits.  This year, I am leaning towards the Little Berry Bunches holiday card in Rich Red by Tiny Prints.  I like this one because, once again there is a spot for a group photo and 3 individual photos, but there is an extra spot for a photo of my husband and myself.  We have only ever made an appearance on our Christmas photo cards once.  I think it's time we did again.  Now, I just have to break the news to my husband . . .


Tiny Prints provided holiday photo cards to my family as a thank you for taking the time to participate in this campaign.

Giveaway & Review: Best of 2010 in a Kodak Gallery Photo Book ($75 AMEX GC) [CLOSED]

Thinking of an original gift for our children to give to their father for the holiday was tough. We have had 6 years of Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, and Father's Day gifts from one or more children, so I was starting to run out of ideas. When Kodak Gallery came to me to try their custom photo books, I realized that this would be the perfect gift for our children to give to their Dad. They could even help me select the photos to include.

The Kodak Gallery Photo Books have two options for getting started. You can either utilize the SMARTFIT Technology, which sorts your photos for you and inserts them into different layouts on different pages. The other option is to make an Original Photo Book where you start with a blank book and build everything on your own, including the layout and photo selection for each page. I tried the SMARTFIT Technology and personally would have preferred the Original. I ended up redoing every page anyways. The SMARTFIT would be good for anyone who was publishing a random assortment of photos, rather than wanting to group the photos chronologically or by theme.

I was very pleased with the options for the book size, cover type, cover color schemes, page backgrounds, and page layouts. Both the front cover and the back allow for you to select a photo and text. I titled my book "Silly Moments of 2010" and personalized the back with a holiday greeting from my children to their Dad.

The first content page allows you to add a message or a dedication. Although it is an option to add captions throughout the book, I opted to let my photos speak for themselves. I did customize the background of each page and tried to alternate the layouts through out the book to make it more interesting to flip through. The photo layouts gave you the options of tilted or straight photos, framed or unframed photos, and even full-page photos.

The photos of the book do not do it justice. I hope they at least give you an idea of the print quality. I am extremely pleased with being able to show off my photographs in this format.

Although ultimately I was very pleased with our book, the site's software does have a few kinks. One bug they are currently working on fixing caused the photos on only one page to shift out of the frames even though it did not look that way in my preview prior to ordering. I did notify Kodak Gallery of the issue and they were able to fix the problem for me. The replacement book I received reflected the correction. Although the books shipped quickly both times, I would highly recommend your not waiting until the last minute to order a photo book for a gift. That way, if something does arise, then you will still have time to have it corrected.

To learn more about Kodak Gallery Photo Books, visit KodakGallery.com, Kodak Gallery on Facebook, and @GalleryExposure on Twitter.

Thank you to Kodak Gallery for sending us a gift card to use towards the purchase of this book and for providing a second gift card for our contest prize.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $75 American Express Gift Card (to create a photo book of their own).

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Leave a comment telling me what style of photo book you would like to make AND what would be the general concept or theme of your book. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.
2)  For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3)  For 10 extra entries, join the Kodak Gallery (top right of homepage) and sign up to received special offers via email. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.

4)  For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.

5)   For 1 extra entry each, follow Kodak Gallery on Twitter and/or "Like" Kodak Gallery on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.

6)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10)  Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)




Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Giveaway & Review: Photoworks Photo Gifts for the Whole Family ($50 GC) [CLOSED]

If you are like me . . . someone who enjoys taking photos and someone who swears by giving personalized gifts, then you should really take a look at PhotoWorks, which is brought to us by American Greetings. One of the hottest trends in gift-giving is photo books because they are now becoming so much easier to make and are far more affordable than just one year ago. PhotoWorks just introduced their new line of Studio Books. My husband's and my 10th anniversary is coming up this fall and I think a photo book would be the perfect way to commemorate the 15 years we've spent together.

PhotoWorks offers photo gifts for the entire family . . . from personalized board books for your little ones to photo jewelry to photo cutting boards for your favorite chef and everything in between. I have to tell you it was tough to choose which items I wanted to select for this article. I ended up choosing something that was fun and then something that was practical.

The first item I chose was a Photo Jigsaw Puzzle. I chose this item because it can be enjoyed and cherished by my family for many years to come. I also liked the idea that a puzzle would bring us together for some family time. That is why I think a photo puzzle would be a great gift if you are looking for one special gift to give to a whole family. This glossy 252-piece puzzle sells for $24.95, measures 10-1/2" x 13-1/2", and comes in a storage tin that has the photo printed on the lid. Even if someday the puzzle pieces become too worn or get lost, I will still cherish this tin.

The puzzle the photo was printed on was not made for younger children. Our six year old had a tough time with it because some of the pieces would fit into each other even if they were not meant to go together. Also, the edge pieces and a small handful from the center were all still physically connected and had to be pulled apart. Still, in the end the finished puzzle looked great and my husband, our 6yr old, and myself were able to spend quality time together.

The second product I selected was from PhotoWorks' large selection of photo mugs. I started off designing a mug for my husband, but then decided that I wanted one for myself as well. So I turned two of the white 15oz Photo Mugs into a pair of his and her mugs.

These mugs were $15.95 each and offered five different layouts, some of which included personalized text. I opted for a simple 4-photo design. On each mug, I selected a photo of each of our 3 children to use. Then on my husband's mug, the fourth photo was of myself, while on my mug, it was one of my husband. You can see the designs from three different views below . . .

Both mugs turned out great! The only complaint I had was that the two smaller photos on my husband's mug had a strong red tone, especially the one on top. I find this happens frequently at most photo services when there is something that is red or reddish brown in the photo and I'm not sure how to avoid it since my original photos looked fine. Another thing is that I cannot find the answer to whether these mugs are dishwasher safe or not. There is nothing mentioned in the product description and the bottoms of the mugs are not marked. I think we will have to hand wash these just to be on the safe side.

Aside from the previously mentioned issue with the red tones, my husband and I are extremely pleased with how our his and her mugs turned out. I think a pair of mugs would be a practical and affordable gift for a couple of any age. It definitely makes me smile to look at the photos of the most important people in my life while enjoying a cup of hot cocoa (sorry I'm not a coffee-drinker).

To view the entire selection of photo gifts offered by PhotoWorks, visit PhotoWorks.com . If you are looking for something special to include in a child's Easter basket this year, I found some great ideas, such as photo playing cards, photo bookmarks, photo mousepads, and several themed photo books suitable for children. Through 3/18/10, you can receive Free Shipping on all orders over $15 when you use Code: SPRINGSALE at checkout.

Thank you to PhotoWorks for sending us samples of their photo products free of charge to base this review upon and for providing our winner with a coupon for $50 off their order.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive $50 to use towards their PhotoWorks order plus free shipping.

Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:

Take a look at the vast assortment of photo gifts and photo books offered on PhotoWorks.com . Then leave a comment telling me what you would use your $50 towards if you won this contest. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND PhotoWorks.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 2 extra entries, share the link to this contest post on Facebook. Then leave TWO separate comments with the link to your Facebook profile.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

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(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

Review: iCaughtSanta.com Photo

Throughout the month of December, I had been hearing about other parents being concerned that their children are growing skeptical about the existence of Santa. I know that the same concerns are not too far off in my future since our son will be turning six years old soon.

Last year, I had heard about iCaughtSanta.com, but it was not until this year that I tried out their services for myself. Basically, for $9.99 you can digitally insert Santa Claus into one photo you have taken inside your home. For $19.99, you can use four different photos. There are 20 poses to choose from, including full-body Santas, close-up Santas, and even Santa enjoying milk and cookies. You can adjust the Santa image's size, brightness, color, placement, and you can even flip it from left to right. All these things help Santa to blend into your existing photo. The only thing I would say that was missing is the ability to add a shadow.

After you have finalized your photo, you can download and save it to your computer. You can also share it through a vast number of online social networks including Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger. You can also email the photo to your friends and family. If your child needs even more proof, another service provided by iCaughtSanta.com is a video with Santa moving around a background you provide in the form of a photo. In addition to printing the photos right on your own home printer, you can order prints to be picked up at your local photo place.

Other characters I am anxious to try out in the future are the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. My husband and I work so hard to help our children believe. I really do think that these photos will help the magic live on for just a little bit longer.

Thank you to iCaughtSanta.com for providing me with coupon codes to try their services.

Free Photo Editing Software - Aurora Quick Fix

I just wanted to let my readers know about this great freebie that was brought to my attention . . .

Lightcrafts, the creator of the original Aurora photo editing software has recently released a new simplified version called Aurora Quick Fix. This software is free to download.

Although I have not personally tried this new software, I have used the original full-featured Aurora and loved it. You can read my review of Aurora here. The Aurora Quick Fix allows you to relight, crop, resize, organize your photos, and more. If you get a chance to download Aurora Quick Fix for free, come back and let me know how you like it.

The Aurora Photo Challenge on Facebook

I just received the details about the Aurora Photo Challenge, which is already underway on Facebook. I know many of my readers have an interest in photography, so I thought I'd share how you can each take part in this online photography event.

From the team at Lightcrafts . . .

Have you been capturing some great photos this summer? Well here’s your chance to share them, and win some pretty cool prizes! To celebrate great photos and great photo editing made simple with Aurora, we’re holding a photo editing challenge this month.

HOW IT WORKS: For the next three weeks, share your best edited photo that fits the weekly theme (edited using Aurora, of course!) by posting it to the Aurora page on Facebook.

The weekly themes are:

Week 1 (deadline Friday, July 17): Natural Beauty
Week 2 (deadline Friday, July 24): People & Personalities
Week 3 (deadline Friday, July 31): Up Close

Each week’s themed contest closes on Friday at midnight Pacific Time.

GUEST JUDGES & JUDGING CRITERIA: We’ve got some amazing weekly guest judges lined up to select the winning shot each week. They’ll be looking for the image that they feel best brings to life the reality of the moment captured.

Say hello to the guest judges:
Week 1: Tracey Clark, Shutter Sisters
Week 2: Amy Locurto and Angie Arthur, I Heart Faces
Week 3: Julie May, UnScene Photography Tour

PRIZES: If your image wins the weekly challenge, here’s what you’ll be taking home:

Week 1 Prize: HP PhotoSmart Premium Printer
Week 2 Prize: CanvasOnDemand 16x20” photo canvas
Week 3 Prize: Kodak EasyShare 10.2 megapixel digital camera

GET AURORA: If you don’t already have Aurora, visit www.lightcrafts.com/aurora to download Aurora - our powerfully simple photo editing, organizing and sharing softare - to your Mac or PC. It’s $19.95 to purchase, and you can download Aurora for a free 7-day trial. The trial version is fully functional, so give it a whirl.

Happy photo editing! We look forward to seeing your shots.

The team at Light Crafts

Get Aurora Photo-Editing Software for FREE (24hrs Only)

To celebrate the launch of Aurora photo-editing software for Mac, anyone can download Aurora for both PC and Mac FREE of charge for 24 hours. Having used this software myself, I highly recommend taking advantage of this freebie. Just visit the Aurora website and click "Buy Now." Then just use Code: FREE24 at checkout. This offer is good from 9:15am EST on 6/15 to 9:15am on 6/16.

For Facebook users, Aurora is hosting the Aurora Friday Photo Editing Challenge throughout the month of July. You can learn more about the prizes and the guest judges by visiting Aurora's Facebook page.