4. There is one place that you are going to have to spend some money and it’s on paper. You can have a great image but unfortunately you cannot skimp on paper. Get nice thick glossy paper, it’s worth it. I’ve tried cheaper paper, which is good for test prints, but you need high quality stuff for good prints.

5. DPI, dots per inch. Depending on your printer and your software you may be able to print up to 1200 dpi which is probably unnecessary for what you’re doing. For up to a 4 by 6 inch print you only need about 300 dpi. Most people cannot see difference between a 300 dpi an a 600 dpi at 4 by 6 inches. For 5 by 7 or 8 by 10 you can go up to 600 dpi.

These steps will help you on your way to printing great digital photos at home. Remember though make sure that you have fun printing all those memories.

FYI Just so that you have a frame of reference, I’m a professional photographer and I have a six color ink jet that I paid less than $300 for and photo editing software that I paid less than $100. I print my 5 by 7 images for shows at 600 dpi.

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal

4. If your pet always runs away from you every time you pull camera out try leaving camera sit out where it can be seen. Take photos of other things in home and try turning flash off.

5. Be prepared to grab your camera and take photos when your pet is ready, read “doing something cute.” I’ve been able to get some of best photos of my cat when he’s just doing something on his own.

Remember don’t put pressure on your animal to perform for camera. Think more on lines of catch them in their natural habitat. Our pets want to make us happy and you can easily confuse them by pressuring them to look good for camera. Also be prepared to take a whole lot of bad photos for that one really good one.

Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal