Sending Photos to People Who Don’t Have Computers Ten years ago, in anticipation of the birth of my first child, I bought a Polaroid camera to take to the hospital so that I could immediately mail photos of my new baby to my friends and family. Today, an expectant mother might bring a digital camera to the hospital. But what about grandparents who haven’t mastered the computer, and aunts and uncles with near-full hard drives, slow modems, and primitive printers? And what about siblings too young to log on and print out a shot to share around the nursery school? Instant imaging remains a quick and convenient medium for communicating with important people who don’t have access to a computer. Foreign Travel Adventures When traveling abroad, an instant-imaging camera is a great asset. You might meet interesting new friends, and leave them with a photo of you as a memento. Instant imaging makes this tribute uniquely possible because all of the technology you need to produce the finished paper photo is contained within the camera. It’s also nice to know that if you opt to take along only an instant-imaging camera, you can use a scanner back home to create future copies. Scanning to Enhance the Quality of Instant Images Although instant images have high resolutions identical to those you’d get with a 35-millimeter camera, the lenses are inexpensive and the focusing capabilities a bit more limited. Be sure to consult the instructions to identify the optimum distance for shooting a photo. Your camera lens is designed to get the best results within this range. Since many instant-image users are kids, they tend to forget this. You probably will notice at least some occasional blurring and distortion in your instant-image photos. Here are a few scanning tips and tricks to make them look their best: Use the sharpening tool The sharpening tool is a Polaroid camera owner’s best friend. It’s a useful antidote for the “blurries.” You can use the sharpening tool or filter in your scanner software when previewing the photo prior to scanning or apply it later in the image-editing phase. Applying it prior to scanning usually yields the best result. Figures 11-4 and 11-5 show an instant-image photo before and after the sharpening tools have been applied. CHAPTER 11: Scanning Instant Images: JoyCam, i-Zone, and Other Polaroid Products 209 11 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. FIGURE 11-4 An instant-image photo scanned without editing FIGURE 11-5 The photo after the sharpening filter-effect has been applied 210 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. Apply color-correction tools I sometimes notice that my instant photos have a gray, blue, or reddish cast to them. I find it helpful to experiment with a correction filter that uniformly reduces the red or blue tones in the entire photo. I also lighten images when necessary. Chapter 10 covers these tools. Enlarge within a reasonable range Although JoyCam and i-Zone cameras produce photos at a resolution comparable to any 35-millimeter camera, the photos are smaller. This means that each time you double their size in the process of enlarging them, you cut the number of pixels per inch by half. The resolution is cut by a corresponding amount. Be realistic in your expectations for enlarging instant images. A good-quality 4×6-inch enlargement is probably the best you can hope for from a JoyCam or an i-Zone picture. Cutting, cropping, and combining photos Your image-editing software offers a solution to the problem of enlarging an i-Zone or JoyCam photo to fit into an 8×10-inch frame. If you want to create an image piece suitable for a larger frame, use your editing programs to cut, crop, and combine photos into a finished composition of the dimensions you desire. The larger the area you want to cover, the more images you might need to splice together. You might also consider using a standard photo or image template to provide a background for your photo, and enlarge the dimensions of the background media to fit your frame. Chapter 10 tells you how to use these tools. Using the Polaroid Mini-Photographic Scanner Polaroid, in continuing spirit of fun and practical innovation, has introduced a mini- scanner specially designed for i-Zone camera users. This amazing little device— possibly the world’s most economical miniature scanning device—is called the Polaroid i-Zone Webster. Webster, shown in Figure 11-6, sells for just $50, and allows you to instantly scan i-Zone photos, other images, or portions of images measuring 1.5×1.75 inches to the Web. This tiny scanner offers you a 352×288-pixel resolution. Since it’s designed with kids and teens in mind, it’s extremely easy to use. It holds up to 20 photos, and runs on three AAA batteries. As is the i-Zone, it’s meant to travel with you in a purse or backpack. CHAPTER 11: Scanning Instant Images: JoyCam, i-Zone, and Other Polaroid Products 211 11 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. FIGURE 11-6 Webster miniature scanner The i-Zone Website: A Perk for Young Scanner Users If you enjoy scanning your instant photos, you should definitely pay a visit to the i-Zone website located at www.i-zone.com. The site is designed to provide a fun and creative outlet for i-Zone users who have access to Webster or any other type of scanner. It’s specially designed with young users in mind, and provides loads of low- cost fun to kids without any cost to parents. Site Safety for Kids You can feel quite safe letting your kids roam the family-friendly i-Zone site, allowing them to edit, share, display, and chat about their photos. When you or your child creates a photo album or uploads photos, Polaroid provides you with a password to 212 How to Do Everything with Your Scanner Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. protect your privacy. If you’re 13 years of age or older, you can create a special photo ID to identify yourself to other i-Zone users with whom you want to communicate (or with no one at all). You share and display only those photos you wish the world to see, and can do so without disclosing your family’s identity, whereabouts, or email address. The ID, as shown in Figure 11-7, can contain your child’s photo or a cartoon logo, but rather a cartoon logo and nickname they select. They can choose to post this ID on the Web or to retain total privacy. Registered users who are 13 years old and above can create an i-Zone crew. They can share photos and messages with friends that they specifically select to be part of their crew—a sort of online scanning club. FIGURE 11-7 The i-Zone website provides an artistic outlet for scanner users. Privacy options CHAPTER 11: Scanning Instant Images: JoyCam, i-Zone, and Other Polaroid Products 213 11 Please purchase PDF Split-Merge on www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. . allowing them to edit, share, display, and chat about their photos. When you or your child creates a photo album or uploads photos, Polaroid provides you with a password to 212 How to Do Everything with Your. www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. FIGURE 11-4 An instant-image photo scanned without editing FIGURE 11-5 The photo after the sharpening filter-effect has been applied 210 How to Do Everything with Your. www.verypdf.com to remove this watermark. protect your privacy. If you’re 13 years of age or older, you can create a special photo ID to identify yourself to other i-Zone users with whom you want to communicate (or