Digital Tools - Part One

The Digital Camera

The computer contributes more and more to successful crafting. Not only do we go online for ideas and patterns, but we can buy useful programs to help us cross stitch and embroider, quilt and scrapbook.

I think two digital tools every crafter should consider owning are a digital camera and scanner. They add levels of flexibility and ease of use that every crafter concerned with visual arts needs to have.

Part one of this article is about digital cameras, part two is about scanners.

Digital Tool #1: Digital Cameras

Digital cameras give you the ability to see your picture immediately after taking it. More importantly, from a craft standpoint, they allow you to load your images directly into your computer, where they become very easy to manipulate, using programs such as Photoshop Elements.

These images have obvious uses, such as for making greeting and business cards using programs like Print Shop.

But there are other uses as well. For example you can use your digital photos with the PC Stitch program to create a pattern for a cross stitch or embroidery piece, which will be uniquely your own. Imagine a cross stitch made from a picture of your grandchild taken right after birth?

You can print your images on fabric and sew them into a quilt, or you can edit your photos to create special scrapbook layouts.

If you are selling your crafts, you can photograph them for your advertising brochures, for photos to be placed in online auctions or simply to record your creations so you can duplicate them later. You can also take photos for inspiration and new craft ideas.

You can turn these images into photo collages or print them out for your collage or decoupage project. With a little practice with photo editing software and some imagination, you can turn ordinary photos into works of art.

I have used the Canon PowerShot S45 for several years now. Before I bought it, I checked various websites devoted to photography and they all gave this camera excellent reviews.

This is a compact camera, just slightly too big for a shirt pocket. But it has an amazing array of functions, a lot of which I haven't yet mastered. But whether you want to use the automatic mode and let the camera do all the work or you want to set manual settings yourself, the camera simply takes excellent pictures.

You have the choice of image sizes, so you can take photos that can have very fine detail, or you can use smaller sizes to fit more images on your storage card. This camera is no longer the latest model, which means you can buy it for less than half of what I paid. But whether you buy this model or a newer one, you will be amazed at the ease with which you can take great photos and edit them as you like.

Digital cameras have improved while coming down in price. The Power Shot S45 might still available - check eBay, but Canon has moved on.

Reviewing the ever changing world of digital cameras is beyond the scope of this site. There are print magazines and web sites galore that specialize in this one subject.

Without getting too specific, the major choices are Point and Shoot and Single Lens Reflex - SLR digital cameras.

Generally point and shoot cameras are small, lightweight and do most of the work for you - while making excellent photos. SLR's give you much more control over your photos and allow you to use different lenses - but they cost and weigh more. Unless you are a serious photographer or want to become one, you find you have more than enough control over your photos with the point and shoot variety.

Here are Amazon's offerings for Point and Shoot and Single Lens Reflex - SLR digital cameras.

A digital camera will open whole new areas of crafting possibilities for those of you who like to work with images. It is an invaluable digital tool.

With a digital camera and a scanner, you will have two powerful digital tools to help you take your crafting to a higher level.

For more information about crafting by computer and other digital tools, please visit Computer Crafting, the gateway to all computer related articles on The Artful Crafter.

For more information on specific software programs you can use in crafting, please visit the following pages:

• Artistic Effects Using Photoshop
• Cross Stitch & Embroidery Design Software
• Graphics Programs for Crafters
• Bubble Jet Tips - How to Print on Fabric
• Quilting Design Software
• Quilting & Technology

Read part two of this article, about The Scanner.