If you love to take photos but sometimes miss the perfect picture by a detail, an image editing programme can help you to erase little imperfections! Our series of articles about such programmes is to present technical support that is easy to use, turns your photos into pieces of art and yourself into a professional photographer.
Part two deals with Picasa by Google.

Where can I find Picasa and how can I get it?

Simply visit the Picasa website, choose your language and download this free programme to organise, edit and share your photos. After downloading and opening the programme Picasa asks you to search your files or your whole computer for photos. If you allow this search, Picasa will order your photos or rather the files where you stored them according to the date you added a photo or rather created a file. You can edit a photo in several ways if you double-click on it.

Which features does it offer?

Picasa enables you to crop or straighten your photos, alter its colour and contrast or add text and special effects (like sepia, black & white or saturation). Additionally you can create picture collages, pencil sketches or polaroids as well as screen savers. After editing your pictures according to your needs and wishes you can rename and rate them before exporting them to other files or sharing them in a web album.

Apart from those editing tools, Picasa provides other options like several views, a slideshow and a timeline as well. If your photo shows people, you can create a list that tells others (whom you share your photos or albums with) who is displayed on that picture. Simply have a closer look at the navigation bar (especially the menu “view”) and find out all options Picasa offers.

If you love to take photos but sometimes miss the perfect picture by a detail, an image editing programme can help you to erase little imperfections! Our series of articles about such programmes is to present technical support that is easy to use, turns your photos into pieces of art and yourself into a professional photographer.
Part one deals with the Pixum Photo Show.

Where can I find the Pixum Photo Show and how can I get it?

Simply visit the Pixum website, download the Pixum Photo Book software and the Pixum Photo Show will automatically be installed on your computer as well. If you need to edit your photos while you are creating a Pixum Photo Book, you can easily do so by pressing the “Photo Show button” (saying “Edit image”) in the Pixum Photo Book software. The last photo you added will open up in the Photo Show where you can edit it in several ways according to your wishes and needs.

Which features does it offer?

Using the Pixum Photo Show enables you to rotate (by steps of 90 degrees), mirror (vertically or horizontally), scale (width, height and aspect ratio) or crop (by selecting a certain part) your picture as well as to change its colour, contrast and brightness or to reduce red-eyes and add a certain effect (like black and white or sepia).
The programme is very easy to use because you can either edit your photo by clicking on the respective symbol of the menu bar or by selecting one of the topics in the navigation bar. If you think you perfected your photo by altering its size, changing its colour and adding a special effect, simply save it as a new file and use it in your Pixum Photo Book, get it printed on a lovely gift or create an impressive Pixum Big Print.

For newcomers as well advanced photographers – professional tips for everybody!

If you want to enter our photo competitions but would like to increase your skills as a photographer first, you might find helpful advices on Light Stalking. Whether you want to improve your techniques in general or would like to be able to take the perfect photo of a certain image, you get FREE tips on numerous photography themes. Apart from useful tips for your perusal, Light Stalking also provides some example pictures that illustrate which results you can achieve by putting their advices into practice. To give you an idea of the topics you can get tips for, we collected a varied number of article topics:

• One of the basic articles at Light Stalking for a general improvement of your pictures is “Four ways to design Beautiful Photos”

• “Five simple ways to use Contrast in Your Photos” is an example for an article that is particularly written for people with a slight background knowledge who want to take photos in a more professional way.

• A more difficult topic for people who already are on the point of becoming a professional photographer as a hobby is “5 unmistakable Lessons that Model Shooting teaches you”

So if you want to improve your photography techniques without having to spend money on expensive classes, Light Stalking is more than worth a visit! Read as many articles as you can and discover yourself how much you can brighten up your photos in many ways if you put professional photography tips into practice.

If you have been following our series of articles about Pixum Big Prints, you already know a lot about its materials, sizes and purposes – but we have more detailed information still: This article will help you out of your misery if you do not know which format and size will reveal your photo at its best .

What formats and sizes does Pixum offer?

According to the Big Print you want to create, you can choose between five different formats and 28 sizes. Choosing one of our Big Prints as direct print (available for Acrylic-, Aluminium-, Gallery- and Forex Prints) means being spoilt for choice in particular because the whole selection is available . You can create your photos as Big Prints at the aspect ratios 3:2 or 4:3 as well as square, panorama or standard formats with a number of sizes ranging from 12″x8″ (3:2) to 118″x39″ (panorama). Although choosing one of those numerous options might be difficult, it also enables you to combine several photos with each other by using different formats and sizes and thus forming a wall that is completely decorated with your fantastic images – the greatest way to remember your favourite moments!
If you do not have enough room to combine a lot of formats and sizes, you could share the new trend of “Triptychs”. You only need to separate your favourite photo into three parts and create a Big Print (e.g. a Canvas Print) using one format and size only (e.g. 16″x12″ of 4:3) – a special eye-catcher for your wall !

How do I know which format and size reveals the best of my photo?

In general we recommend choosing a format according to the aspect ratio of your original file. If you edited your original file (e.g. in order to enlarge an important detail of your photo or to cut off irrelevant aspects like a stranger next to your family) and changed the aspect ratio (for example from 3:2 to square), you will get the best from your photo if you order the same format that your original file already has. When it comes to the size of your Big Print, your decision should also partly depend on the surroundings it needs to fit into. This means, the most essential criteria is the space that is available on your wall – but please make sure, your Big Print does not fill it completely because this would lead to a negative effect looking over-ornate. Regarding the image of your photo, the perfect size depends on the details that are shown on your photo: smaller sizes reveal the best of photos displaying important details like portraits of persons or images of domestic things (like a cup of coffee, a vase of flowers or a fruit-dish) whereas bigger sizes are great to convey the right impression of the width of a landscape, the beauty of a natural phenomenon or the huge buildings of a city.

Requirements for your original files…

… to get the best Big Print possible. If you want to create your favourite photos as Big Prints from 12″x8″, please note the following tips:

• In case you have not taken a photo yet, please make sure to use the highest picture size available and save it as JPEG file at the lowest compression level.
• If you already took photos but are not sure if they have the right resolution, you can still edit them by using image editing programs (like the Pixum Photo Show). For example, you can resize or crop as well as sharpen or lighten your photos to improve their quality – which will lead to a greater Big Print in turn.

Please note our general tip: If you prepare your photos for being printed as a Big Print, please make sure to save while editing. In order to avoid a loss of the original quality of your photo, please save them in loss-free formats like TIF or BMP.

If you have been following our series of articles about Pixum Big Prints, you already know a lot about its materials, sizes and purposes – but we have more detailed information still: This article will help you out of your misery if you do not know which material reveals your photo at its best and fits perfectly into your home – matching your furniture as well as wallpapers and lighting conditions.

Why should I order Big Prints from Pixum?

If you want to display your favourite photos as Big Prints and get best quality at reasonable prices, Pixum has the perfect solution for everyone. Whether you prefer traditional materials and printing methods like a premium canvas fabric mounted on a wooden frame, or whether modern decoration options like acrylic glass, aluminium or forex plates are your favourites – you will get the best from your photo with all Big Prints at Pixum!

How do I know which material reveals the best of my photo?

In general, all Pixum Big Prints display your photo at its best. However each material and printing method has certain advantages for different kinds of photos and purposes.

• Especially if you want your photos to shine and provide a glossy look, acrylic glass and a mixture of acrylic glass and aluminium plates (resulting in a Pixum Gallery Print ) are the perfect materials to print. Pixum Acrylic Prints and Gallery Prints are an elegant way to display your photos that mostly consist of dark colours because those materials have a smooth and shining surface that reveal the best of dark images. If you put acrylic glass in front of a source of light, nobody will be able to resist this particularly eye-catching effect of your personal piece of art! Apart from using one of those shiny Big Prints as a private person, they are also a great choice if you want to decorate public rooms or promote a company or event – they will draw attention in every gallery, the office of a company or the entrance hall of a hotel by providing an extravagant touch.
• In contrast, if you want your photos to get a matt look, choose one of our Canvas Prints, Aluminium Prints or Forex Prints. Materials like canvas fabric, an aluminium plate or a light rigid foam board (forex) display brightly coloured images at their best. Canvas fabric and foam boards are bright themselves and thus enhance the brightness of your picture and provide a matt look at the same time. Although they have similar effects for bright photos, both materials are quite different because Pixum Canvas Prints are the most traditional of our Big Prints causing a homely atmosphere whereas Forex Prints are one of our most recent novelties that cause amazement and provide a modern touch in otherwise “old-fashioned” surroundings. And last but not least, aluminium plates have a reflecting surface that provides a great effect for your bright images .

Final tip for all materials of our Big Prints

Matching both material as well as effect of our Big Prints to the furniture and general look or atmosphere of a room or surrounding is one of the most important aspects you should always pay attention to when you think about using one or several of our Big Prints to decorate your home, office or any other place. Please make sure your Big Print fits into the current style of a room because you will achieve the greatest effect and atmosphere if you keep everything in balance and use the same kind of design.

If you have been following our series of articles about Pixum Big Prints, you already know a lot about its materials, sizes and purposes – but we have more detailed information still: This article will help you out of your misery if you do not know which printing method reveals your photo at its best
Up to now, we presented each Pixum Big Print individually, concentrating on its features in particular, but now we would like to focus on those features that make sure your Big Prints display your photo at its best. Additionally, we provide further tips about choosing the perfect print for certain kinds of pictures.

What is the difference between a Big Print being laminated and one being printed directly?

If you choose the option “laminated”, your photo will be printed on premium paper and then be glued behind the material of the respective Big Print (either an acrylic glass or an aluminium plate) with a transparent film. This printing method provides highest colour brilliance and best quality for your Big Print as well as an impressive effect of depth. As an alternative you can get your photo printed directly on the material of your Big Print (acrylic glass, aluminium plate or forex plate). This printing method enables you to hang your Big Print on every wall – even in moist rooms or outside because your print is resistant to weather and UV-rays.

How do I know which printing method reveals my photo at its best?

Although both methods display your photos in a great way, some kinds of photos look better as laminated Big Prints while others get the perfect touch by being printed directly. We collected some aspects for you to find out which method is perfect for your picture as well as the purpose of your Big Print:

We recommend laminated printing for:

• dark photos because the premium paper ensures high-quality and long durability
• images that are supposed to shine because the silk mat premium paper provides exact colour rendering
• pictures that are going to be disposed to various conditions because the premium paper protects your image from turning yellow or other external damages

We recommend direct printing for:

• colourful pictures because all colours are displayed vividly and true to the original
• images you want to expose at a fair because silk mat ink is used which is perfectly suitable for unpredictable lighting conditions
• photos you want to display in public because the ink of your print is scratch-proof and its colours stay brilliant for a long time

If you still cannot decide which printing method you want to be used for your photo and Big Print, simply try both and discover the amazing quality which you can be sure of either way .

Turn a puzzle into a voucher

A puzzle does not necessarily have to be a puzzle: If you have some knowledge about image editing programs you can turn a Photo Puzzle into something different – like a voucher: Simply use an image editing program to combine your favourite photo(s) with a voucher text and give it to someone as a gift.

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Christmas is approaching fast! Therefore we would like to introduce you to some of our new products, which you can use as gifts. Surprise your beloved ones, by giving something which is personally co-created by yourself!

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We recently redesigned our area of Greeting cards and made room for quite a lot of new designs. To sum it up: We offer two types of Greeting cards – Postcards and folded cards. You can order both types sized either 150x100mm (or rather 140x100mm) or 105x210mm (XXL).

Our cards are perfect for occasions like Christmas, birthdays or weddings because we offer them as sets of 10 – i.e. you only have to create once but can use it ten times.

We collected some ideas and tips for your Christmas cards and gifts that will be a surprise for your beloved ones for sure.

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See previous tips 1 to 3 here.

Tip 4: Design impressive images for your cover – by using automatic collages

You can create great collages for your cover or to fill a page in between very simply by choosing the option „Create collage on left/right page/both pages“. All you have to do: Mark the respective images in the tab „Photos“, right-click and choose the option you want to use.

This way your images are placed without gaps and suitably arranged at the page you chose. If you drag an image onto another, they are exchanged (like the image areas) – i.e. you can exchange your images with each other as often as you like if you do not like the way your images are arranged in the collage.

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