Continuing on with my List of Unique Gifts for the Holidays, is creating your own Calendar.
1. Get Organized
Save yourself some time and gather your photos first.
a. Choose high-quality photos. More about that in the next tip.
b. If they are not already digitized, get them scanned.
c. Group them into a single folder and rename the files to something like 20160126_SnowSkiing_Colorado. It may sound obvious, but trust me, if you aren’t as organized as you think before you get started, the process will be that much more daunting when you start putting the calendar together.
d. If you’re using captions or other text, I strongly recommend saving a digital copy in a text document. You never know how many times you may need to copy and paste.
2. Choose high-quality photos
You’ll need a high-quality photo, not those downloaded from Facebook or other sites that reduce the quality when uploaded. You’ll need a 2-megapixel image minimum, which has a 1,600 x 1,200-pixel resolution. Most calendar creating tools let you know if the photo you are using is of poor quality. If you don’t have a better quality photo, decrease the size until the warning message goes away. Most tools also provide a way of editing the photos.
3. Select a website or tool
Different websites offer you different tools and options. Some are more basic and some more flexible, with higher-end paper and cover materials.
4. Allow yourself some time
Allow enough time to put the calendar together and for shipping, especially around the holidays. Even with a template, this may take more time than you think; but definitely allow at least an hour, once you have all your photos selected and organized.
5. No time or unsure which tool to use?
Contact a local personal photo organizer to create one for you! One of my favorite publishers is having a 40% off sale through November. Which means prices start for as little as $7.80 for a wall calendar.
A word of caution and I can’t stress this enough. When selecting a website to upload your photos, please read the terms and privacy notifications. Below are some examples from a wellknown publishing company, Shutterfly.
