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I love picture gifts - I admit it. I love to give them and I love to receive them. This may have a little something to do with the fact that in the three years since becoming a digital SLR fanatic I've logged over 20,000 images on my various hard drives. (Don't ask me how many of these actually make it into print, because the percentage would be very, very low. But the ones that have? Priceless.)
Photographs done right - capturing a moment in a family or a friendship, handled with care and presented with love - can hit just the right note. And with excellent image quality accessible in increasingly affordable digital cameras, this kind of gift can be literally in your hands, often at a more affordable price than your average mall kiosk tchotchke.
But what can you do with your photographs to turn them into meaningful holiday gifts? Lots. Herewith, a few ideas to trip your creative cord when you're just getting started:
1. Make your gift list, and check it for photo lovers. Decide who among the lucky winners on your shopping list would appreciate a photograph or 20. It won't be all of them, but it will probably be at least a few. Pay attention to special events that might warrant remembering in pictures. Were you in your best friend's wedding? Did your parents have a milestone anniversary or other event that was captured on camera? A vacation with your brother or close family friends? Revisit those sets and see if there are any images worth framing and giving as a holiday gift.
2. Go through your photo library. See it through your eyes, and your loved ones, to see what might fit. I sat with my mom today to show her some photos of my trip to see my sister in California and she said, "Oh, I want that one for my desk!" at least three times about photos I probably wouldn't have chosen for her. Maybe it was because I hadn't been through this pile of pixels in three months, but more likely I just hadn't considered them as gifts yet and maybe never would have.
I filed away her suggestions, so hopefully she won't be too surprised when they're staring up at her from a frame on Christmas morning.
3. Consider photos of inanimate objects - not just people. Sure, I framed the photos of my best friend and me from her wedding for gifts later. But sometimes some of your other shots might be great for cool gift ideas. I think I'm going to enlarge a photo of a cafe I took on the pier in San Diego and frame it for my friend's kitchen. I have another triptych of sorts that I'm working on from my last ride on the New Orleans trolley that I think my sister might like. Fine art is in the eye of the beholder so some of your shots might be appropriate for gift-giving - and decorating - too (Just don't be too upset if people don't automatically put them up - even if it's just when you come over. Like I said, fine art is in the eye of the beholder, but hey, you tried.)
4. Pose. Is every grandchild represented in a single photo at Grandma's house?If not, and it's at all possible, get everyone together for a group photo. Note: You do not all have to match or even be wearing contrasting colors on a scenic sand dune. This is more about the family relationships than it is about the perfect colors. My cousins and I did this for my grandma several years ago and we're a tough group to assemble who will certainly never wear matching clothing, but she still comments on the large portrait that hangs on her living room wall.
I guarantee you'll have a better time if you hire a photographer to do it, ideally a volunteer from among the family ranks who will elicit genuine smiles and donate his or her services. We went to that place in the mall with the props and strange low-to-the-ground chairs and employees who clearly didn't know how to handle a group all over the age of 5. That alone was a holiday memory, though. You do what you have to do.
5. Scanning is an option. If you have a pile of old black and white shots languishing in a drawer, this is a perfect
