digital photos | Fingertips Blog

No matter how organised you might be for the festive season, there is always someone on your gift list who is ‘difficult’ to buy for. The good news is that you may already have the ideal solution, tucked away in a box under the bed. If you’ve got old photos, negatives or slides, there are all sorts of great presents that you can make, if the images have been scanned to a computer.

Once the pictures are on your computer, it’s easier than ever to have your photos ready at the touch of a button, whether it’s just to browse through, to display, or even to wear. So how do you get your old prints from those scruffy albums or shoe boxes on to your computer? If you live in or near Chiswick, Fingertips can help, with our photo scanning service. We think a printed photo book, a calendar or framed photo is the perfect present for someone you love.

We can scan your existing prints at 300, 600 or 1200 dpi, create digital photos from your negatives, and even convert your VHS home videos to digital formats. There’s no reason to lose precious memories to the mists of time and defunct technology – we can help you share those memories again. And with this season of love and family celebration upon us, there is no better time to do it.

Why choose Fingertips for your scanned photo gifts this Christmas? Because we take the time and the effort to talk through your needs and what’s right for you. We’ll take you through everything – from the best quality for your needs, to how to organise your photos once they’re scanned. Best of all, our Tipsters will take you through the process of building your album or custom gift, so you’ll be much more confident next time you want to give someone a photo present.

I recently scanned a whole bunch of photos to create a book for my son’s 18th birthday – this is one of my favourites…preparing for his economics A’level even then…

Just think what fun you could have creating gifts with your old photos. The big day is almost here, so don’t wait to order your Christmas photo gifts – call Fingertips on 020 8994 7773, or email info@fingertipslondon.com to find out more.

How many ‘New year, new you’ articles have you seen since January 1^st? New year resolutions have mostly gone out of the window by now – I fell off the wagon a week ago. But a quick look at your computer desktop or filing system may persuade you to start a new way of sorting your digital documents, music, movies and photos.

Here are some top tips for taking control of your digital world.

First of all – if you share a computer, create a different account for each person that uses it. Then you are in charge of your own files and no-one else can delete your contact lists or favourite recipes.
Then, it sounds obvious, but for your documents, use the Documents folder on your computer and make new folders for every topic, such as holidays, school, work or utilities. Right clicking on your desktop is the easiest way to make a new folder. Don’t be put off by a lifetime’s backlog – just create a folder called filing to 2013 and start your new organised system off with this year’s files. You may never sort out the chaos of yesteryear, but at least you’ll be able to find the most recent tax return or school report.
When it comes to photos, it’s best to do your filing from within a programme and let it do all the organising. iPhoto on a Mac or Windows Photo Gallery are both excellent, but beware of other systems that come free with your camera or printer. They are not as good and, if you change your equipment in the future, it may be hard work moving your photos. See also https://fingertipsblog.com/2014/01/10/a-new-broom/ for how to slim down your photo library.
Movies are very similar – we would suggest using iMovie on a Mac or Movie Maker on a PC – part of the Windows Essentials package – and making folders within your chosen programme. These programmes will sort your video files by date so that you can easily find what you’re looking for.
Delete old and useless files – just like de-cluttering your house, be ruthless to free up space on your hard drive.
When you download a file from email or the Internet, it will go to a designated folder. There is a folder called Downloads, but we change our settings so that everything is saved to the Desktop. Whatever you choose, don’t leave downloads where they land – file them or delete them.
Don’t keep any files on your desktop – apart from the ones you are using at that moment. You won’t be able to find anything and it slows down your computer.
Most importantly, back up all your files. There are lots of different ways to do this – but we’ll get to that another day.