Digital Photography: The Missing Manual

Photo Mugs, T-Shirts, and More

Your photos don’t have to be relegated to a two-dimensional existence—they can become three dimensional objets d’art (well, if you consider aprons and playing cards art). EasyShare, Shutterfly, Snapfish, and a firm named Zazzle provide options that range from the sublime to the ridiculous (see the table at the end of this chapter for a full rundown of all your options). For example, take a picture and put it on a coffee mug, a keepsake box, or a mini-soccerball. It won’t take long before you come up with the perfect combination of photo and object.

Here are some tips for ordering photo-adorned trinkets online:

• Cotton and canvas behave a little differently than high-resolution photo paper, so simple, vivid images usually work better than delicate, detailed ones. Experiment with high-contrast and saturated colors if you want something other than a photo-realistic look, like the examples shown on EasyShare in Figure 17-16. EasyShare’s cartoon and coloring book effects (Section 13.1.3) can also create great looking t-shirts.

  

  Figure 17-16. Don’t be a slave to fashion: create your own. You’d be surprised how many wearable objects you can create

• Many online services offer nearly identical products; compare prices to take advantage of the competition.

• You may even make back a bit of money to support your digital shutterbug habit: Zazzle (http://www.zazzle.com ...