Project #2 - "The Everyone-Who-Comes-to-Visit-Me Photo Wall"

Difficulty: Long Term 2/7

In the first section of the Photojojo! book, Do More with Your Photos, is this little gem.  I already started this project at the beginning of the year, but waited to write about it so that I would have something to show you.  It is actually quite simple to set up.  The original idea worked best with a Polaroid, but since those days are behind us, all you need now are a cheap, or extra, digital camera and a printer, plus a wall to decorate.

I realized that since I am one of two main contacts for IT help in my company, and since both of us share the same office, it makes sense that there would be far more visits at work than at home.  Work is also the best place for this because most of our visitors at home are family, and if you knew my family, you would agree that you DON'T want a lot of pictures of them hanging around on the web.  :-)  (Now I just have to hope they are just pretending when they tell me they want to read my blahg.)

If you are following along, this is a one-pager (page 33, in fact) with very simple instructions, including the most important: put the camera near the spot you will take the pictures, and leave it there!  This will eliminate your excuses for not taking pictures.  One of my suggestions is: be very persuasive.  Many people are not going to want their picture taken 'today', or 'in this outfit', or 'ever'.  You have to take every opportunity if you want to be successful, so you have to get that shot now!  Tell them you'll replace it if they come back when they 'look better'.  It will also help if you have a bunch of other people up on the wall already, so make sure you print the photos as soon as you can, and hang them.

Here's my gear. I am using an old Kodak dx3600 that I got free off http://www.freecycle.org/.  It is not perfect.  Sometimes the lens doesn't extend when you turn it on, and sometimes when it does it won't focus.

I can almost always make it get in line though, so it's good for this project.  The on-camera flash is terrible, but aren't they all?  I use HP Everyday 4x6 Photo Paper and load it in to a HP OfficeJet 4215 All-in-One Printer.  Then I take the prints and hang them on the wall using Lomography Fotoclips (also available at The Photojojo Store!)  In an attempt to get the photoclips lined up perfectly, I use a piece of scrap paper as a template for where to put the photoclips. 

 

Finally, since that Kodak camera is soooo bad, I run each picture through some actions in Photoshop to remove a lot of noise and adjust the contrast.  It only helps a little, but every little bit helps!

 

Get your camera out and get started!

-Sean