Storyteller Family Video

We'll be having a oral history film film session in a few weeks. This is could be a great time to capture your family members and their stories on video or audio. Prices to fit every budget. Please contact me at 214-888-6698 for more information.

Scanning Photos for Television

Resolution is an often overlooked aspect of scanning photos. Resolution is the number of dots that make up a photo image, computer or television screen. Each dot on a digital photo or television carries a tiny portion of the of the total picture. A standard definition tv has a resolution of 640 x 480 dots. High definition televisions vary in resolution and start at 1280 x 720 and go up. Photos vary but can be be as high or low a resolution as needed. Today, I am going to concentrate on scanning them for television use.

Keep in mind you’ll need ample dots on your photo to fill the screen. For example, a 4” x 5” photo scanned at 100 dpi (dots per inch) will end up having a resolution of 400 x 500. On a standard definition television screen, a landscape oriented photo of this resolution won’t quite reach the sides of your television, but should show passably well. If you enlarge it much past 100%, you will end up with pixelation which will make your photo look murky and full of squarish distortion. It means that you don’t have enough dots to accurately convey your image. This is especially true when scanning tiny photos such as 2” x 3” at 72 dpi. At 144 x 216, they are just too small for a tv screen.

It never hurts to bump up your scanner to at least 200 dpi. This will increase your file size slightly, but should not present a problem for most computers. Scanning at 200 dpi should cover general uses such as sharing with friends and family as well as most video slide shows. At this resolution, your 2 x 3 wallet photo will scan out at 400 x 600 and you’ll have a sharp, clear image for your standard definition video with enough room to zoom in if needed.

Coming soon...
Never Shoot Your Mother in Front of an Open Window
and Other Common Lighting Mistakes

Check out this hilarious story from Jimmie Wright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAs-3qsQS7o

Jimmie Wright, storyteller extraordinaire, tells her favorite joke Jimmie can tell a joke like no one else.