Be careful! Be very very careful when sending digital photo cards. This is an observation I made after receiving a digital holiday card from a good friend of mine. Let’s call her Mary so I don’t get in trouble. Mary has two children. Her daughter, Cindy, is an adorable eight year old who is polite and pleasant to be around. Nicky, her six year old brother, has his moments, but basically is an even tempered little guy who has a wonderful toothy grin.

I have always believed Mary when she told me that her little “angels” are just about as close to perfect as possible. Mary tells me (and anyone else who will listen) about them all the time. In fact, since I am fairly certain she won’t see this, I have to say she tells us about them until we could scream.

Well, when I got one of the digital photo holiday cards she sent out this year, I said to myself, “Dr. Freud, time to roll out the couch!” I saw mom and dad back to back in western outfits and arms crossed. Then, to my utter astonishment, the two “angels” were sitting in chairs, tied up and gagged. Underneath the picture was the greeting, “Have a Happy Holiday and a Peaceful New Year!”

I wonder if Mary realizes how grateful those of us who suffered the bragging abuse of the past sat with broad smiles and hopes of relaxed crowing rights in future conversations with her. Yes, it is the 21st Century and the wonder of things like digital photo holiday cards has made enthusiasts of us all. Never truer are the words, “One picture is worth 1,000 words.”

I was delighted when I opened the mail the other day. In it I found a holiday photo card from friends of mine who live in Seattle. Before they moved there, I didn’t realize how water-oriented that area was. It even seems that hundreds of people live year-round in houseboats. The pictures Lisa and Doug occasionally send show how incredibly picturesque the region is. I can’t wait to visit.

What I found most delightful was a very original nighttime picture of a parade of boats all decked out in their finest Holiday lights. There were boats of all shapes and sizes – sailboats, motor boats, fishing boats and even a trio of jet-skis – all outlined in lights showing their graceful lines. It’s an enchanting sight not many get to enjoy, so they picked Doug’s most sparkly shot of last year’s parade and used it to print this year’s digital holiday photo cards.

I’m happy more and more people are thinking of unusual ways to use their digital pictures to create unique photo holiday cards to share with family and friends. It makes opening the mail around the Holidays even more special.

Stop it! Stop it right now and let’s get creative! No more lining people up like glazed-over mannequins for the annual group photo! Life is beautiful and so is your family, your friends, and even your coworkers. With a little forethought and a few simple steps you too can bring forth award-winning digital photo holiday cards without running to the local portrait studio. Here are a few ideas to get you going:

• - The number one trick to taking good photos is to take lots of them. You delete or discard the unusable ones and are left with only the spectacular. Digital cameras make this very easy to do.

• - The second technique is to find refreshing locations, even if it is in your own backyard. Parks, golf courses, churchyards, beaches, and gardens all offer lovely settings with natural light. Seat everyone on a sand dune or on an outcrop of rocks. Have some standing, some seated; variety can come together into the perfect shot of a warm family gathering.

• - A third technique is to match apparel or manner of dress for your family photos. Have each person wear casual white shirts and blue jeans, for example. Shoot a few pictures with everyone barefoot. And it is not necessary to have everyone look directly into the camera. Some or all participants can look off into the distance or other direction for a more thoughtful pose.

• - Finally, think of several scene settings in advance; be the director and put them to work. Sometimes it takes careful planning to come up with that natural and spontaneous shot, but if you work your plan you will be absolutely delighted with the outcome!

There are several times in my life where I took things for granted.  I took for granted how easy it was to live at home; I took for granted how easy it was to find a good-looking girlfriend; and I took for granted how uncomplicated life was when I was in college.  Well, add one more to the list: taking pictures of my two cats Franky and Sandy.

My friends keep sending me digital photo holiday cards that are unbelievable.  It’s like someone stuffed the cat, put it in a studio, and bang…there’s the perfect image.  So I thought why not take some funny pet photos and see if I could make my friends jealous by forwarding a tantalizing photo gallery all over the web.

You know what I learned?  Don’t take for granted the fact that your pets don’t want to pose when taking pictures!  Photographing pets is not easy.  You can read all the photo tips you want, but listen to me.  I now know what I’m doing.

First things first, you want to take a lot of digital pictures.  The more digital photos you take, the better the odds are of you actually getting something worth sharing.  And get that digital camera towards the pet’s eye level.  Any pet looks cuter when you get right down to that face of theirs.  Their expressions are told just like ours.  Franky’s face said, “Beat it with this camera.”  The other important photo tip to know is to take a lot of action shots.  Let your pet do whatever it is they do and take candid pictures while they are doing it.

What all these photo tips come down to is this: don’t stage your photos, people.  Don’t be that guy or girl!  Before you know it, there will be pictures of your favorite pet all over every photo card, Christmas card, and blog you can think of…or at least yours.  Just remember please do not dress your pet up when taking photos – that’s just not right!