Digital cameras and smart phones open up an entire area of crafts to people of all ages. When photos are included in your crafts, they become more personal and a reflection of you. Try traditional crafts with your photos as well as digital ones.
NOTE: Due to the many possibilities, this badge program was divided into three badge programs. In general, Photo Crafts I deals with the photos themselves from using them to how to acquire them. Photo Crafts II features easy crafting projects. Photo Crafts III goes into more complicated crafting possibilities.
Steps
1. Originals.
Never use your original physical photos. You do not want to take the chance of destroying the only photo you have. For this reason, digital photos are a great material for crafting. Whether you have traditional or digital photos, always use copies for crafting.
You can make copies by photocopying, scan and print from your computer or you can use your phone / camera to input them before printing. Experiment with these possibilities.
2. Digital.
Are your photos digital? I have two copies of every photo I want to keep > one on my main computer and one on an attached hard drive. File corruption and hard drive failure are always possibilities, so having multiple copies is important.
Even more so are images you want to adjust. Always do a “save as” and use a copy for image manipulation and artistic adjustments. If you mess up, you can always go back to the original and start over.
Examine your current digital photos. Can you find what you want? Do you have multiple copies of the originals? Do you have originals you adjusted and can’t get back?
3. Multiple.
When you prepare to start crafting with your photos, print multiple copies. It is so easy to accidentally cut too much off or crop it in a way that doesn’t work. You might be able to use part of what you chopped off, but having another copy right there means you can fix it and continue working.
Additionally, I have two girls who think they can talk me out of anything (which usually does work for them). When your kids are taking the only copy you made, it stops your creative process in its tracks.
4. Shots.
When you take your photos, do you just take pictures of people? Look at your shots for an event like a wedding or party. Do you have to guess which one it is or who was there? When I take photos, I try to take a variety of shots so when I decide to craft I have more possibilities with what I can do. Two items I always take shots of are for staging and background.
Staging
Signs, handouts and other identifiers that tells you information about the event. This might include the venue sign, birthday cake, printed napkins, concert flyer, event itinerary, map of area, etc.
Background
Anything you can print large and put other photos on top can be considered a background. This includes flooring, tiles, closed theater curtains, wall art, walls, gardens, etc. Also, taking large shots of active people could be counted for this as you won’t be able to really see faces for identification.
Next time you take shots, look at what extra shots you might take to give yourself more crafting possibilities.
5. People.
People . . . or specifically kids . . . are usually what we think of when we think of crafting with photos. While my kids are my favorite subject, don’t stop your thinking there.
Creating a set of bookmarks with animals from your local zoo could be a charitable craft project. Perhaps you have a local garden that you can feature in a photo calendar by showing flowers or plants from each month. You might even use photos of the local area for a series of postcards to sell at your local chamber of commerce.
Brainstorm photos you have or could take for craft projects. What might you like to do to feature these photos? How might you use your photo crafts to help others?
6. Apps.
Software and apps exist for creating photos for your crafts. You can add words, add elements or adjust photos. As an example, I recommend checking out the different apps and software Jixipix has to offer. This vendor’s site will give you some ideas of what’s possible. Continue looking for additional ways to edit your photos easily for crafting.
Photos for Projects
7. Yours.
Yes, we all take way too many photos . . . or maybe that’s just me. Using your photos makes the final crafted item more personal. You can even pose people or move elements around for a specific shot for a project. Determine where all your photos are so you can access them for crafting. Create an organizational system that works for you.
8. Shared.
When my family does something together, we share the photos we take. The same can happen with an organization you belong to or a group of people who decide to share an adventure. The most extreme can be photowalks or photo scavenger hunts where multiple people share the photos they take. If you want a lot of photos of an area or event, this is the way to do it. Do you have shared photos? If not, how might you get some? Be sure you get permission to use the photos in your crafting if you’re planning to sell the final product.
9. Projects.
One thing I like to do is take photos of my girls doing projects. Then, I use the photos from the projects to show the projects as well as to jog my memory of what we did. This helps eliminate any language or knowledge barriers for doing a project since you have a visual of it.
NOTE: You will want to take photos of any photo craft project you create so you have reference images in case you want to do a specific project again or a variation on it.
10. Public domain.
Instead of “taking” photos, you may “acquire” them. Public domain is the largest resource to get photos. Sites like Pixabay allow you access to photos that you didn’t take, but that you can use anyway you wish. In addition to sites with new items that are in the public domain, you can find vintage images as well. Start your own collection of public domain photos for craft projects you would like to work on in the future.
11. Stock. You can pay for an individual photo or groups of photos. When you can’t find a photo in your own collection and there’s no way to take a photo for a project, this is another resource. For example, if you were putting together a calendar for flowers throughout the year for your gardening group and can’t find the ones you took from a certain month, it’s much easier to buy one that fits than waiting for the month to come around again so you can take additional photos.
Badge and Supplement Files
Member Level
- 0EP_B_BPG_PhotoCr_I_2in_12up_MS1_larajla — generic badge printable
- 0EP_BLIST_PhotoCr_I_MS1_larajla — badge items per membership level
- 0EP_BSET0_PhotoCr_I_MS1_larajla —badge set and related badges
- 0EP_SUPP0_PhotoCr_I_Journal_MS1_larajla — badge journal
- 0EP_SUPP0_PhotoCr_I_Planner_MS1_larajla — badge planner
- 0EP_SUPPL_PhotoCr_I_MS1_larajla — supplements currently available per membership level
Supplement Fun
- N/A
Sites to Explore
- www.thesprucecrafts.com/properly-store-old-photographs-148003
- www.scrapbook.com/articles/14-facts-you-must-know-to-protect-your-photos-and-projects
- www.howtogeek.com/393290/how-to-find-all-photos-stored-on-your-windows-10-pc
- www.searchenginejournal.com/find-free-images-online/298887/#close
- pixabay.com
- jixipix.com
Get the infographic here > larajla blog post
Get the PDFs of the badge program / supplements here