This past April, my family welcomed a new addition into our midst: a little bundle of joy named Gregory.  My nephew, without question, is the cutest little baby boy ever (sure, I’m biased, but can you blame me?).  But sadly I can’t play with the little guy as much as I’d like; my brother and his wife live 1500 miles away!  And while I’m eager to show the little tyke off to all my friends, it gets pretty difficult for all of us to hop on a plane and travel down to Florida (though it does make for a pretty good excuse to enjoy the tropical weather!).  Thankfully, photo holiday cards are a great tool to help me be the proud uncle I am!

Since a good amount of my friends have yet to meet Gregory, I have decided to send out a digital photo holiday card to introduce him to the masses.  My brother and his wife are always emailing us tons of pictures: we’ve got the baby-food-all-over-the-face picture, the first-corn-maze picture, even the first-Christmas-in-front-of-the-tree picture.  Emailing pictures to friends is always fun, but sometimes you just want something tangible that you can frame, or throw up on the refrigerator and chuckle at while reaching inside for a snack. Photo cards are a great way to spread some cheer this holiday season, and I’m busy picking the perfect picture of Gregory as we speak.  My sister-in-law has been great with the camera, so I’ve got tons and tons of pictures to choose from.  Living in this digital age helps me stay connected to my family, and I’m excited to see my little nephew grow right before my eyes.  We’ve decided to send out these photo holiday cards each year so that our families can cherish the memories being made right before our eyes.  Once I’m done customizing my card, I’ll be booking my flight to visit Gregory.  It’s been way too long, plus I have to take him his Christmas present!

I took up the hobby of digital photography around five years ago, and love taking pictures of the shore. One of my favorite things to do with the photographs I take is to create digital photo holiday cards. I know you must be thinking that holiday cards should have winter subjects like evergreen trees or snowscapes, but there’s something about a beach memory in the dead of winter that has a universal appeal. From waves crashing against the shore to seabirds in flight; from picturesque harbors and lighthouses to dune fences and piers; from driftwood to sea shells, there just isn’t enough time in a day to capture everything.

As a life-long resident of New Jersey, I have come to appreciate the extensive shore areas along the Atlantic coast. For those of you who have never been to New Jersey, check out a map and look at the barrier islands that extend from Sandy Hook in the north to Cape May in the south. That’s a distance of around 125 miles! Dotted along the length of this vast coastline are numerous seaside communities that offer spectacular beach vistas, just begging to be enjoyed (and photographed). There is even a place on the west coast of Cape May, called Sunset Beach, which affords a terrific view of the sunset into the ocean.

The best time for beach photography, or any photography for that matter, is at dawn and dusk. The low angle and quality of the light at sunrise and sunset make an otherwise ordinary photo extraordinary. If you don’t mind the cold and you are more interested in shooting the natural aspect of the shore rather than summer crowds, winter is a great time to shoot beachscapes. Unless there is snow on the sand, the beach looks pretty much the same year round. Gulls don’t migrate, and shells still wash up in the surf – plus there’s no charge to go on the beach! One of my most popular photos is the one below that I took in Ocean Grove on Christmas Eve 2006. I also photographed this surfer on the same day! I recall that the weather was mild for December, but I was still wearing a fairly heavy coat.  I guess when the surf’s up, surfers surf!

If you’re more interested in getting shots of people, then obviously the summer is the time for you to visit. On a sunny day, you won’t have to look very far to find crowds of people in colorful swimwear under colorful umbrellas. Of course you’ll have to fight the traffic and pay to get on the beach, but it’s still worth the effort.

Whatever the season, go out there and shoot. The more time you spend at the beach, the more you’ll want to return. Get out early, or stay late for the best lighting, and enjoy taking photos at the beach!

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!