It is all about the photographs. When you put photos into a scrapbook, whatever your method, the pictures should be the focus. Make sure your paper choice reflects the colors you want to highlight from your photos (both what they're wearing, and the mood). Include only embellishments that draw the eye to the photographs. Above all, include journaling that gives the reader insight into why these photographs are important. Remember your focus!

To avoid glare from eyeglasses...tilt them downward

Hold It Steady~ A problem with many photographs is that they're blurry. Avoid 'camera shake' by holding the camera steady. Use both hands, resting your elbows on your chest, or use a wall for support. Relax: don't tense up. You're a marksman/woman holding a gun and it must be steady to shoot.

Put The Sun Behind You~A photograph is all about light so always think of how the light is striking your subject. The best bet is to move around so that the sun is behind you and to one side. This front lighting brings out color and shades, and the slight angle (side lighting) produces some shadow to indicate texture and form.

Get Closer~The best shots are simple so move closer and remove any clutter from the picture. If you look at most 'people' shots they don't show the whole body so you don't need to either. Move close, fill the frame with just the face, or even overflow it. Give your shot some impact. Use a zoom to crop the image tighter.

Choose A Format~Which way you hold the camera affects what is emphasized in your shot. For tall things (Redwoods, Half Dome) a vertical format emphasize height. Use a horizontal format to show the dramatic sweep of the mountains.

Include People~Photographs solely of landscape and rocks are enjoyable to take but often dull to look at. Include some of your friends, companions, family, or even people passing by, to add human interest. If there's no one around, include yourself with the self-timer.

Have you ever got your photos back only to discover that something that looked awe-inspiring at the time looks dull on paper? This is because your eye needs some reference point to judge scale. Add a person, car, or something of known size to indicate the magnitude of the scenery.

Search For Details~It's always tempting to use a wide angle lens and 'get everything in'. However, this can be too much and you may loose the impact. Instead, zoom in with a longer lens and find some representative detail. A shot of an entire sequoia tree just looks like a tree. But a shot of just the tree's wide base, with a person for scale, is more powerful.

Position The Horizon~Where you place the horizon in your shot affects what is emphasized. To show the land, use a high horizon. To show the sky, use a low horizon.

Photo Preservation CD's that burned at home will last about 10 years due to the chemical process they go through in development. If you have to many photos to print off make sure you put date the CD copy every 5 to 8 years just to be on the safe side. Also try a portable hard drive.

Try and keep two copies off all your photos one at home and one somewhere else parents or friends house just incase something happens to them.

Say it in Sand. The next time you are at the beach, write the date and location in the sand and take a photo. This is a wonderful way to use a photo as a journal entry.

You may have noticed that your older photographs and portraits don't have a protective coating on the backside. Photos developed prior to 1975 have only paper, so handle them with care. Use a photo safe pencil to write missing dates and names. Use photo corners when adding these photos to a layout to insure that the back won't ever be torn should the photo need to be removed at a later date.