Our Guide to Giving Mom a More Memorable Gift This Year

Spring has sprung and Mother’s Day is right around the corner. It’s time to find a thoughtful gift for Mom, and Photobucket is here to the rescue!

What better way to honor Mom than by sharing your favorite memories together? With just a bit of planning, you can easily create a fun photo gift that she’ll cherish for years to come.

Below are a few tips for creating – and giving – an unexpected gift for Mother’s Day that will allow her to relive happy moments…and put a smile on her face every single day.

From photo books to mobile phone covers to wine openers and more, there are all sorts of gifts you can personalize for Mom. First is to decide what type of gift you’re creating and how many photos you’ll need to use (see our ideas at the end for inspiration), then comes selecting the best shots to showcase in your gifts.

Create a collage of baby pictures, a remembrance of a favorite day or even a collection of shots of her whole brood. Whichever you choose, you can upload your mobile phone pictures and photos onto your PC with ease to create a new Mother’s Day-themed album on Photobucket in which to store these shots for safekeeping. You can always edit them down later, but having them all in one place will give you easy access and will make the project go much more smoothly.

Finally, print your gift by visiting our handy photo gifts page to design your project and have it delivered to your doorstep. It doesn’t get any easier than that!

Stumped on what to make to make Moms’ day? Here are a few of our favorite ideas:

Family Photo Slideshow: Make a slideshow with family photos from throughout the past year. Place it on a digital photo frame, iPad or burn it to DVD for a gift that keeps on giving year-round
DIY Photo Jewelry: Try a cool, DIY project that turns ordinary necklaces, bracelets, key chains and charms into these gorgeous photo keepsakes
Hand-Picked Photo Book: A sweet album allows you to combine your favorite photos and quotes into a personalized album for mom. It’s so easy to create, and you can even view our video about getting started or learn more about our photo book types for added inspiration
Custom Mobile & Tablet Cases: Check out our chic cases, where you can add your own photos and showcase her personality. Score some bonus points by putting the case on her phone Mother’s Day morning
Stainless Steel Travel Mug: One of our most popular items, you can warm Mom’s heart (and her belly!) on those chilly morning commutes with this sleek, modern mug. Add your favorite photos to ensure she’s got miles of smiles ahead of her!

We hope this post has brought you some Momspiration for the May 12, 2012 celebration, and don’t forget that these ideas can apply to Dad’s and grads in the coming months, too!

Mother’s Day Tips & Ideas

From playing in the yard to making the imposssible possible, moms are quiet special people. She always puts her children ahead of herself and loves to be on the sidelines as everyone's #1 fan. This year make your favorite lady feel special by making her a collage showing off why she's your go-to rock.

You can create a collage like this using our new editing tools, here's how:

For you proud moms, try creating a collage like this on why you love being a mom. Do the same steps as above on creating a collage.

Whether you create a collage or just have your favorite picture of you and your mom, upload it to our Mother's Day contest!

Giving Thanks for a Great Year

By Tom Munro, CEO of Photobucket

It has been a great year for Photobucket and the photo-sharing industry overall. For our company, 2011 has seen the launch of our second mobile app, Snapbucket, a partnership with Twitter, enormous growth in our user and upload numbers, and so much more. For the industry as a whole, 2011 has brought an amazing array of new apps, devices, cameras and companies, all looking to capitalize on the momentum of this hot market.

I am extremely thankful to be a part of both the industry and a fantastic company such as Photobucket, so – in keeping with the theme of the season – I wanted to share some thoughts on things I am specifically thankful for as the CEO of Photobucket and the husband and father to a great family.

First I want to say thank you to our loyal Photobucket customers. We are grateful for your patronage, not to mention your love of Photobucket. Everything I do, every decision I make, is based on what I think is best for you, and you help us by giving us input on new products, site design and more. In fact, we are right in the middle of a significant product redesign of which our users have been the major source of input. I am very thankful to have customers who care enough to spend the time to help us make our site and our products better.

I am also extremely grateful for our employees – it has really been a incredible year. We have grown together, played at the dude ranch and worked hard to drive changes at Photobucket. A big thank-you goes out to them for the late nights, early mornings and continual thoughts on how to make Photobucket THE place for a lifetime of photos and videos.

We also have a fantastic management team from whom I have asked – and continue to ask – a lot. I love collaborating with them and am thankful for their tireless work and friendship. In addition, we have great investors who see the vision of where Photobucket is headed. I appreciate their patience, advice and well-timed reality checks.

Finally, it has been a fantastic year at home. My 10 and 13 year-old boys love to camp, ski, fish, golf and just “hang” with dad. It doesn't get any better than that. Our second oldest daughter headed off to school, which was a sad event, but it is exciting to see her success at college. And, as always, I am thankful to my wife for being the glue that binds our family.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving. While times are difficult, our problems always seem lighter as we are surrounded by family and good food.

Create Cute Valentine’s Day Greetings

Get creative this Valentine’s Day and send your special valentine cute greetings and messages! Whether it’s showing love to your BFF, boyfriend, girlfriend, mom or dad, we have launched a bunch of features and tools to help you create your perfect greeting. Here are some ideas for your Valentine’s Day project:

Create a slideshow!

Turn your favorite photos into a video-like slideshow with a heart themed border and transition! Slideshows are a fun way to bring movement to your photos and remember them in a unique way. Click here to start!

Add cute stickers and icons

From scene-looking smiley faces to adorable “I love you” stickers, add something fun to your photos! Look for the Valentine’s Day tab in the image editor or click here to start creating!

Want to be cupid?

You can! Insert your face into a cupid body and send it your friends! Get started here! (Or click "edit" on the photo you want to use and click the Valentine's tab)

Have a huge crush on some cutie? There’s no time like the present to show them you like them, type a cute little message and see what can happen!

Want to get really fancy?! Try a neat effect of chopping up your photo and making a cool collage out of it.

1. Select the photo you want to use and click “edit”.

2. On the “Basic” tab, click “crop”

3. Crop the photo in 4 equal parts (or as equal as you can get). Select the first area and click “save a copy”.

Select your original photo again and crop it again, but this time in the middle of the photo. Click “save a copy”.

Do this 2 more times so you have a total of 4 photos.

Once you are back in the album, Click “edit photos” and “create collage”.

Select the “1×4” portrait layout and load each photo that you just created.

Optionally you can change the background color to a festive red.

Once you are happy with your photo, click “customize” and type a message, add stickers or anything you want to add to the photo.Voila!

Fireworks Tutorial

Happy 4^th of July! If you are planning on taking
in some fireworks this year to ring in the 4^th, here are some easy
tips on how to take great looking shots.

Point-and-Shoot Cameras:

Turn off the flash of your
camera. (Flash is a lightning bolt looking icon.)
Use a tripod – It will eliminate camera shake which causes your photos to
be blurry.
Change your camera to Night
Mode. Refer to your camera’s manual on how to navigate to this mode.
Low ISO (80-100) – You
don’t need a high ISO because the fireworks won’t stand out in the photo
like you want them to with a high ISO and you don’t want a grainy looking
photo.
Don't press the shutter as
soon as the fireworks explode. Instead wait for the trails to appear and
take your shot. Play around with timing to get a shot that you like.

SLR Cameras:

Use a tripod
For best results use a remote
release, it will reduce camera shake.
Switch to bulb mode and
the shutter will remain open as long as you hold the shutter down.
Shutter: Slow shutter to around
3 seconds.
Aperture: A small aperture
F8 will make the firework trails thin and dark, whereas a larger aperture
such as 2.8 will make them thicker and lighter. Experiment with your
aperture setting to see what you like best.
Low ISO (80-100), you
don’t need a high ISO because the fireworks won’t pop in the photo like
you want them to with a high ISO and you don’t want a grainy looking
photo.

Check out our Fireworks category and enter your photos in
our 4^th of July Contest!

Create Funny Father’s Day Greetings

Father's Day is June 20th and instead of giving the gift of a tie, grill or slipper set, make Dad something he will remember. Easily create a fun and free Father's Day greeting card with our Image Editor features. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Click the "Edit" link above the photo you want to edit. Hint: Try experimenting on an old picture with funny expressions.

2. Click the "Decorate" Tab, then click "Text" to add funny text. Type in your message, and select the font size, color and for the message.

3. Explore the other editing features such as adding stickers or borders if you want to add additional unique effects.

4. . Click "Save a Copy" after you are satisfied with all your edits, and you have yourself a funny and personal Father's Day greeting!

Check out our Father's Day Category for more inspiration and ideas!

Create Mother’s Day Greetings

Your momma is so….WONDERFUL AND BEAUTIFUL! Show Mom you love her with a unique greeting on your favorite picture. It's simple to create a personalized and memorable photo card that Mom will always remember. Here are a few tips:

1. Click the "Edit" button above the photo you want to edit:

You are now in the Image Editor.
2. Click on the "Decorate" Tab, then click "Borders". Select a border that you'd like to add to your photo. You can adjust the width of the border, color, etc. at the top of this page so be on the lookout for those options. The photo below uses the "Daises" border.

3. Add a special message! On the "Decorate" Tab, click on the "Text" box. Enter a message and select a font, font color, and size.

4. Add some stickers! On the "Decorate" tab, click on the "stickers" button. Browse through dozens of stickers and select any that you like.

5. After you are satisfied with all your edits, click "Save a Copy" of your photo and you have yourself a lovely unique Mother's Day greeting!

Log in your account and start editing! Not sure what to say? Head over to our Mother's Day category and find a greeting that fits your personality!

Jack-O-Lanterns Photography Tips

Share your creative and spooky Jack-O-Lanterns by taking
memorable and fun photos. Here are a few tips on how to take photos of your Jack-O-Lantern
masterpiece:

Use a tripod, or place your camera on something
that’s sturdy, like a table.
Place your pumpkin in front of a plain
background or outside with a cool backdrop of plants or vines. Avoid putting it
in front of a congested area as the design won’t capture as well.
Light your pumpkin with at least 2-3 candles
inside. The more candles you use, the more the pumpkin will glow.
Turn off your flash to maintain the spooky glow
of your pumpkin and keep your photo from getting washed out.
Use a manual setting or the TV mode to slow down
the shutter speed if you are using an SLR camera. Try a shutter speed of 0.8-2.5
seconds.

Take a few shots and experiment! Show off your
Jack-O-Lanterns in our group album:

Last minute Mother’s Day ideas for free on Photobucket

It's Mother's Day in the USA on Sunday. Forgot a card? Send her something sweet from Photobucket. You can choose some nice pics. And you can make a scrapbook to email to her. Both are free, fun, and show your love.

Continue reading →

Mom makes you feel more love — make a slideshow on Photobucket

Here's a nice new slideshow style. We like the effects. Try it!