I apologize in advance for the wordy post and lack of pictures, but hopefully this answers all the questions I have received.
How do I print my photos to fit into the sleeves? Where/how do you get your photos printed each month with the rounded corners?
All my photos are printed in the standard 4x6 size. I order them from Persnickety Prints, because their color seems to be a lot better than local 1 hour photo places like Costco, but it's cheaper than using a pro lab like WHCC.
I round the corners myself using this EK Success Corner Rounder (the small size, in the yellow color). It's very fast and easy, but of course you don't have to round your corners. This corner rounder does mimic the rounded corners of the journaling cards included in the Project Life kits quite nicely though.
How do you put your photos of the day in the format with the script and circle date?
The date overlays are by Ali Edwards and you can purchase them at Designer Digitals. You can buy the entire year or one month at a time (here is January). They are actually on sale right now through November 16th, so it might be worth buying them now if you are interested. I love them, as I do most anything Ali Edwards does, but I probably won't use them every day next year like I did this year.
They are easy to use (after using them over 300 times this year, I pretty much have it down to a science). Just open up the file for the date you are using and rotate if needed (I always rotate 90 degrees clockwise to fit my horizontal photos). If you want the border/date to be white instead of black, just add a color overlay. To do this in Photoshop you just go to Layers -> Layer Style -> Color Overlay. Open up your photo and make sure it is sized to 4x6 inches at 300 pixels/inch resolution. Then just drag the date overlay onto your photo, center it, and flatten the layers.
How do you subscribe or create the calendar for your pictures a day? Is there a website or did you create this on your own?
The calendar format for my photo a day blog is a template offered through my blog provider, Typepad. If you don't have a Typepad blog the only other thing I've come across that is similar is this site:
http://shuttercal.com/
If anybody else knows of something like this out there, please let me know!
How do you organize your photos on your computer to prepare for the project? iPhoto, or something else?
I am a huge Mac devotee, but for some reason I have never embraced iPhoto. I think it's because I prefer to have control over what my files are named and where the originals are located on my hard drive. I save all my original photos in folders by quarter (2011 Quarter 1, 2011 Quarter 2, etc.). When I choose which photo I want to use for my photo of the day, I edit it and save a copy in a folder titled Photo a Day 2011.
What camera(s) do you use for your POTD? Do you do much editing before you print/post your pictures? Are you a manual photo taker or automatic setting kind of gal?
My camera is the Canon 5D (original model). The lens I use 95% of the time is the 24-70mm f/2.8L. I have used my iPhone camera for a few of my daily photos, and while it is much more convenient than using a DSLR camera, I am rarely happy with the quality so my big camera goes pretty much everywhere with me. Maybe that will change when I hopefully upgrade to the iPhone 4S at the end of the year.
I usually keep my camera set to "P" mode, which is basically automatic except I control ISO and white balance. That way, I won't miss a shot if I'm trying to capture something on the spur of the moment. If the lighting is tricky, or if I have more time to get the shot, I will either use aperture priority or full manual mode.
I do edit each photo at least minimally. I do adjustments in Camera RAW (tweak exposure & contrast), and then usually do a curves adjustment in Photoshop. I don't really use any actions. I have followed a method similar to this for a very long time too, and it always gives me great results.
Can you let me know how to get it? Which products did you have to buy separate from the kit to make it work the way you did?
Here are the basics of what you will need to get started:
- A binder: I use the basic black binder from We R Memory Keepers. Becky is coming out with some brand new binders next month from this same company, and you can see the details about those on her blog.
- Project Life Core Kit: There are two versions available right now: Turquoise and Amber. I used the Amber edition this year. Next month, two new versions will become available: Cobalt and Clementine. You can see close ups of what they will look like here. I plan to use Clementine for 2012. If you really want to stick with the very basics, you can always just buy these simple grid journaling cards to start and go from there. Actually, I'd recommend buying those plain journaling cards anyway; I love them and they are really versatile.
- Photo Pocket pages: If you buy this big pack, it will get you through an entire year. If you tend to shoot more vertical photos, you may want to check out this new design as well.
Those are the basics. If you want to add in extra photos + memorabilia throughout the year, these are the products I find myself reaching for most often: