Get Intentional About Saving Your Family Memories With an Easy to Use Canon Powershot Digital Camera
As a happy grandma of umpteen grandkids, I know how important it is for us to save our family memories.
Since grandparenting (along with caring for elderly parents) also keeps me quite busy, I've learned it's also vital to intentionally set out to get your family memories saved and then use them.
Here's some tips to help with that: 1.
GET AN EASY TO USE DIGITAL CAMERA If you don't already have one, buy an easy to use digital camera.
And I don't mean any old digital camera.
I mean one that is truly easy to use.
I know.
I had one that was NOT that easy and one that was just plain HARD - and I rarely used either of them.
Now I have the Canon Powershot a1100is with a sleek silver body and I LOVE it.
The a 1100is is easy to use, easy to hold - even for hands that are less than steady, and reasonably easy to get that photo storage card out of the camera to put it into the computer.
I've also used the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS ELPH digital camera.
It's slimmer which is nice for the purse but I personally prefer the bigger right handle that mine has.
It's a bit easier to grab on to.
BUT I do like that it's even easier to get the card in and out with the ELPH and it is nice having the bigger, rechargeable battery.
If I owned one, though, I would buy an extra battery, for those times when you don't want to take a chance of losing a photo just because the battery died.
Both of these Canon Powershot cameras have newer models that are even better! But they are still just as easy.
The principle they use on these great cameras is good quality photos AND easy to use.
And for this busy member of the baby boomer generation, caring for elderly parents and keeping up with the grandkids, that's vital.
These Canon Powershot digital cameras are so easy to use it means I can actually have FUN with my camera again.
The last time I could say that was when I was using one of those older 110 point and shoots.
And now my pictures look 100 times better and I've never taken a photo of my fingers like I used to with the 110.
I am DEFINITELY a happy camper and you will be too.
:) 2.
USE THE DIGITAL CAMERA.
As much as I love my Canon Powershot camera, I still manage to forget it once in a while.
Or I bring it but I forget to take the pictures.
I now have an iPhone 3gs which is also easy to use and it's bailed me out several times, since it's always in my pocket.
I've heard the new iPhone 4 has a much better camera in it and in a year or two I'll find out.
But for now, even though it's the easiest solution, the photos aren't quite as good as those taken by my Canon Powershot camera.
So I'm really working hard to make sure I tuck the camera into its case AND into my purse.
AND grabbing it when I'm with the grandkids.
AND by doing that I find that I'm getting a lot more photos.
AND I'm loving all these fun family memories as they flash by on the computer.
Which brings me to step 3.
3.
DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR PHOTOS OF FAMILY MEMORIES With my 110, I took a ton of photos and they're safely stashed in a box...
somewhere...
and not at all being enjoyed because I have no idea where! Now I take a zillion photos with my Canon Powershot camera.
For a long time, they stayed on my computer...
in a file...
rarely being enjoyed.
But thanks to wanting to encourage my senior mom, I've gotten better at this.
I set up an older computer that was too slow to do much of anything.
I stripped it of all unnecessary files and programs.
I added all our family photos to it.
She (and I) now have an awesome "photo frame" with a new photo showing up every 10 seconds, thanks to the slide show screensaver in the control panel (for PCs).
If you don't want have an older computer to spare, you could:
Be proactive and intentional and enjoy your sweet family memories, as well as sharing them with others in your family.
Everyone, from your senior parents to your youngest grandkids, will love to see these family memories in whatever way you settle on.
Since grandparenting (along with caring for elderly parents) also keeps me quite busy, I've learned it's also vital to intentionally set out to get your family memories saved and then use them.
Here's some tips to help with that: 1.
GET AN EASY TO USE DIGITAL CAMERA If you don't already have one, buy an easy to use digital camera.
And I don't mean any old digital camera.
I mean one that is truly easy to use.
I know.
I had one that was NOT that easy and one that was just plain HARD - and I rarely used either of them.
Now I have the Canon Powershot a1100is with a sleek silver body and I LOVE it.
The a 1100is is easy to use, easy to hold - even for hands that are less than steady, and reasonably easy to get that photo storage card out of the camera to put it into the computer.
I've also used the Canon Powershot SD1100 IS ELPH digital camera.
It's slimmer which is nice for the purse but I personally prefer the bigger right handle that mine has.
It's a bit easier to grab on to.
BUT I do like that it's even easier to get the card in and out with the ELPH and it is nice having the bigger, rechargeable battery.
If I owned one, though, I would buy an extra battery, for those times when you don't want to take a chance of losing a photo just because the battery died.
Both of these Canon Powershot cameras have newer models that are even better! But they are still just as easy.
The principle they use on these great cameras is good quality photos AND easy to use.
And for this busy member of the baby boomer generation, caring for elderly parents and keeping up with the grandkids, that's vital.
These Canon Powershot digital cameras are so easy to use it means I can actually have FUN with my camera again.
The last time I could say that was when I was using one of those older 110 point and shoots.
And now my pictures look 100 times better and I've never taken a photo of my fingers like I used to with the 110.
I am DEFINITELY a happy camper and you will be too.
:) 2.
USE THE DIGITAL CAMERA.
As much as I love my Canon Powershot camera, I still manage to forget it once in a while.
Or I bring it but I forget to take the pictures.
I now have an iPhone 3gs which is also easy to use and it's bailed me out several times, since it's always in my pocket.
I've heard the new iPhone 4 has a much better camera in it and in a year or two I'll find out.
But for now, even though it's the easiest solution, the photos aren't quite as good as those taken by my Canon Powershot camera.
So I'm really working hard to make sure I tuck the camera into its case AND into my purse.
AND grabbing it when I'm with the grandkids.
AND by doing that I find that I'm getting a lot more photos.
AND I'm loving all these fun family memories as they flash by on the computer.
Which brings me to step 3.
3.
DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR PHOTOS OF FAMILY MEMORIES With my 110, I took a ton of photos and they're safely stashed in a box...
somewhere...
and not at all being enjoyed because I have no idea where! Now I take a zillion photos with my Canon Powershot camera.
For a long time, they stayed on my computer...
in a file...
rarely being enjoyed.
But thanks to wanting to encourage my senior mom, I've gotten better at this.
I set up an older computer that was too slow to do much of anything.
I stripped it of all unnecessary files and programs.
I added all our family photos to it.
She (and I) now have an awesome "photo frame" with a new photo showing up every 10 seconds, thanks to the slide show screensaver in the control panel (for PCs).
If you don't want have an older computer to spare, you could:
- buy a used computer
- buy a digital photo frame
- take up photo scrapbooking and make lovely photo albums
- use Smilebox to make great photo albums that can be emailed, printed, posted to Facebook or to a family blog - there are several free blogging options including Wordpress or Blogspot - just make sure you set them up for private viewing so only those people you WANT to see them CAN see them.
) - use Blurb or one of the other many options to make soft-cover photo books
- print out the best photos using Shutterfly, Sam's Club, etc.
and hang them around your house
Be proactive and intentional and enjoy your sweet family memories, as well as sharing them with others in your family.
Everyone, from your senior parents to your youngest grandkids, will love to see these family memories in whatever way you settle on.