Six Fun Ways to Share Your Most Adorable Halloween Photos

Here are six great ways to share pictures of your adorable tricky treaters, depending on what your sharing goals are!

There are hundreds of ways to share digital photos these days.  But, unlike Lord of the Rings, none provides “one sharing solution to rule them all”.  The choice of which photo sharing solution works best often depends on a) what your sharing

goals are, and b) who you’re sharing with.  So, here are six great ways to share your best Halloween photos, based on what goal you have for sharing them!

1) Entertain ’em with full slideshow & spooky music:  When you’re looking for the full-blown entertainment effect,  Smilebox is hard to beat.  With dozens of creative Halloween templates, you can add pictures, short video snippets, and seasonal music.  It’s fast and very intuitive to use (you do have to download the software, but it’s not onerous), and you end up with a delightful slideshow with music. Choose your template carefully, depending on how many pictures you want to share. Some templates allow you to add only a few pictures, while others let you add 100 or more.  Some designs are free, others require a small fee.

2) Keep ’em smiling for months to come with a private, on-screen, digital frame:  When you want to share pictures in a lasting way, Photo Mambo’s on-screen picture frame is the way to go.  Photo Mambo lets your loved ones place a frame, filled with your pictures, on their Mac, PC, iPad, or iPhone, so they can enjoy your spooky pictures on Halloween day, and for weeks and months tocome.  On Mac and PC, the frame is a screensaver that keeps your pictures front and center.  An ideal way to let the grandparents enjoy those Halloween pictures

for weeks to come; Photo Mambo lets you share pictures of the kids privately, and is free to use. Like Smilebox, you install an iPhone or computer app.

3) Get the best party shots with group event photo sharing:   When you have multiple people who want to share pictures from one event, Dropbox is my preferred way to share.  For example, if many of your friends take photos of the same Halloween party, you all may want to all put the pictures in one place, so each person can select and keep the sub-set of pictures they like the best.  Dropbox is a convenient way to do this.  One person opens a shared Dropbox, and invites others to upload their pictures.  After all the photos are placed in the shared Dropbox, each person can decide which ones they want to download and keep for their own archives.  Dropbox is free for up to 2GB of storage; so it works best for small groups.  (The group can store about 1,000 photos if they’re 2MB each, but only 200 photos if they are large DSLR files of, say, 10MB each).  Over 2 GB, Dropbox’s pricing model, which requires each person to pay $9.95 per month, gets prohibitive.  So, if you plan to share more than 2 GB of photos, try Shutterfly’s share sites.  The price — free, unlimited, group photo sharing– is great, but the solution isn’t ideal  If you want to keep pictures, you have to tediously download them one at a time.  Shutterfly would much prefer you pay them to print them.  Speaking of which…

4) Paper Please! :  I know several grandparents who’d be happiest if they could get some of the Halloween pictures (along with pictures from the entire year) in a book they can keep around for viewing anytime.  Halloween is a pretty good time to put together a year-long photo book for holiday gifting.  Here is where I am big fan of Shutterfly.  I find their printing to be fast, consistently good quality, and fast to use.  If you have a bit more time and want something even more customizable, Blurb and Mixbook give even more options, but I find that Shutterfly’s blend of speed/ease and enough customization works well for me.  Oh, and they have 50% off of hard-cover photo books until Nov. 2nd!

5) Few & Fleeting for a Quick Smile:   When you want a super quick way to share a couple of snapshots as a way to give them a quick smile–the funny faces during pumpkin carving or mugging with the jack-o-lantern — the tried-and-true texting or emailing pictures works great.  Grandma and Grandpa may have to do a little work if they decide they want to keep or display the photos, but text and email are a nice way to drop a cute photo into someone’s daily routine, and are free to use.

6) Go Broad:  When you want to share pictures broadly with many friends, Facebook and Instagram make it fast and easy to reach many friends and family at once.  (assuming you’ve already connected with friends/followers on those services). Both are free to use, and a great way to reach out broadly.

So, there you have it’ six fun ways to share your sweetest, spookiest, shots of Halloween.  Hope your October 31st is full of fun memories worth capturing in pictures.  Did you know Halloween in one of the top picture-taking days of the year?

Happy Halloween!

 

Deb Whitman is co-founder of photo-sharing start-up Photo Mambo, and former vp of product management for Adobe’s Photoshop product line.  She founded Photo Mambo to create photo sharing solutions that connect the generations.

 

 

Here’s to the Truly Grand Grandparents

Grandparents were the inspiration behind Photo Mambo.  So, we wanted to take a moment this Grandparents Day to say thanks for the remarkable, important role they play in our kids’ lives (and in ours).  Here is a video card to say thanks to the Grands. It is inspired by our own grandparents (my granddad did teach me to bait a hook, although he was perplexed by my discomfort about killing the worms).  We hope it reminds you of the goodness of the grandparents in your life, and we hope you’ll share it with them, and your friends, to honor Grandparents everywhere.  Happy Grandparents Day!

If you’re wondering why grandparents were the inspiration for Photo Mambo ….  I realized, when I became a mom, that my parents really wanted an easier way to be able to see the pictures of their grandchildren day after day.   We created Photo Mambo as a simple, private, more lasting way to share pictures.  Photo Mambo transforms any iPad or computer screen into a digital picture frame that displays shared pictures day after day and updates itself whenever you send new pictures.  No need for the grandparents to download, search for, or save the pictures, they simply pop into the frame and stay there to be enjoyed week after week.  If you feel inspired, give it a try.  We think it makes a delightful way to say “I love you” for Grandparents Day.

#grandparentsday

Do We Really Need Grandparents Day?

Sunday September 7^th is National Grandparents Day here in the United States.  It’s a celebration that’s been disparaged as a Hallmark holiday,* and called redundant in the wake of Mother’s and Father’s Days.  And it’s certainly true, in our family, that grandmas are celebrated on Mother’s Day and grandpas feted on Dad’s Day.   And yet, I just can’t seem to muster cynicism for a holiday set aside to honor the grandest people in my and my child’s life.

I hold some pretty strong beliefs about the importance of “The Grands”, as one friend calls them.  I was lucky enough to have wonderful grandparents – one grandmother who was my #1 cheerleader and who still represents to me the ideal of unconditional love – and another grandmother who embodied a strength, pluck, and independence that inspired you to reach for distant dreams.    In turn, my own child is immersed in a village of equally nurturing grandparents (and god-parents), who shower her with love and acceptance.

There is much research highlighting the supportive role grandparents play in a child’s life.  Scholars have noted that close grand-parental relationships improve emotional well-being in the teen and young adult years, help children adjust during divorce, and create an “emotional sanctuary from the pressures of the outside world”.**

So, the idea that we might set aside a special day to honor these “Grands” strikes me as simply an ideal opportunity to appreciate the wonderful, amazing, important role they play in our lives.  Even if we did already give them a gift for Mother’s and Father’s Day!

We made the video card above to honor The Grands. It was, at least in part, inspired by my own grandparents, ( my grandma did sing Elvis to us).  It features a snippet of some terrific music by Rebecca Roubion.  We hope you enjoy it, and invite you to send it to your Grands.  Either on September 7th, or whenever you the mood strikes you.

 

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Deb Whitman is a co-founder of private, family photo sharing service, Photo Mambo, which allows you to transform loved ones’ iPads and computers into a digital picture frame that updates itself. 

* By the way, National Grandparents Day wasn’t created by either Hallmark or 123Greetings.com, it originated with Marian McQuade, an activist on senior issues and vice-chair of the West Virginia Commission on Aging.  She had 43 grandchildren.  President Jimmy Carter signed a bill designating the first Grandparents Day in 1979.

** The quote is taken from the book, Grandparents, Grandchildren: The Vital Connection by Arthur Kornhaber, Kenneth L. Woodward, the other results are from research by Sarah A. Ruiz and Professor Merril Silverstein, and by Gretchen Lussier, Kirby Deater-Deckard, Judy Dunn, and Lisa Davies.

Father’s Day Pictures to Delight Dad and GrandDads

As we head towards Father’s Day, I wanted to share some of our favorite ideas for Father’s Day pictures.  Pictures can be a terrific gift for even the most tough-to-buy-for dad or grand-dad.  And if you share them via Photo Mambo, your pictures will be enjoyed for months to come.

Fancy Footwork

This photo lets the kids bare their soles.  (Sorry, I know….).   I really love this picture concept.  Just be forewarned that THE hardest thing about capturing this shot is getting ticklish feet to stay still long enough to get the words written.  Much hilarity, and some smudging, ensued in our photo shoot.

The inspiration for this shot came from a terrific blog, BeAFunMum.  Kelly’s image, below, shows how nicely this idea works with  a larger family, as well.  Kelly, many thanks for letting us share your picture here!

Rockin’ Dad

The kids had a LOT of fun taking these photos.  We bought some Paper Jamz guitars ($20 – $30) and some felt letters and let them channel their inner rock stars.  As a bonus, the guitars were a big hit for playing around after the shoot (fair warning….you will want to befriend the volume knob).    And what dad doesn’t want to be told that he rocks on Father’s Day?

Shadow Dancers

Make your father’s day message shadowy.  Generally, shooting near mid-day is terrible because of the harsh shadows.  This will be the one shot you actually want to shoot near mid-day (2 pm is good for shadows that are long enough but not crazy long).  One key trick…to hold the insides of letters like “O” and “D” in place, use toothpicks, which work best when the sign is cut from foam board.  The image on the left is mine; the better shot on the right comes from TwoGirlzStuff.  It’s very popular on Pinterest, and thank you Aja for letting us share your wonderful image and for inspiring our photo shoot!

Chalky Delight

Send dad or grandpa a delightful bit of chalk art to brighten up his Father’s Day.

Signs of the Times

And finally, it’s easy to make (or buy) some signs that let the kids declare their love.  The hand-made messages are always fabulous, but if you are looking for the bubble signs like we used in the bottom two photos, check out Happy Booths on Etsy.  They do a great job.  (We made a special order for the Father’s Day signs).

Of course, we hope you will send your fabulous Father’s Day pictures via Photo Mambo, so Dad and Grandpas can enjoy your Father’s Day greetings day after day.  Send a Photo Mambo frame to dad’s work computer, where he’ll enjoy seeing the pictures this week, next week, and for years to come.  Or send a Photo Mambo frame to grandpa’s iPad so he can enjoy the smiles again and again.

 On behalf of all of us at Photo Mambo, we hope your Father’s Day will be filled with joyful photos and much love!  And thanks so much to our friends who allowed us to share their children’s pictures with you!

A Heartfelt Mother’s Day Gift That Gives All Year

If you’re looking for an easy, heartfelt Mother’s Day gift, send a Photo Mambo Frame filled with the best family photos of the past year.   Photo Mambo transforms mom’s iPad or computer into a digital picture frame that updates itself every time you send new pictures.  It’s a gift that’ll keep giving all year long.  Photo Mambo makes it easy to stay connected by sharing memories in a format that encourages lasting viewability.

Here’s How

Sending a Photo Mambo Frame is easy. It’s a gift guaranteed to “fit” for anyone who has a computer (Mac or PC) or iPad/iPhone.  Here’s a simple step-by-step guide (video version):

1. Download Photo Mambo to a computer where you have a family photos stored (www.photomabmo.com)
2. Choose 20 – 30 of the best family photos from the past year.   Select a frame design that suits your style– a special Mom’s Day frame, an elegantly simple one, a bright cheery frame.  Then, send it off to your mom, mother-in-law, and grandmothers.
3. They’ll each receive an email inviting them to install their new Photo Mambo Frame on their iPad or computer, where Photo Mambo will display your best photos in a frame/screensaver.  The Frame sticks around so she can enjoy your pictures today, next month, and for years to come.
4. To make it even more special, invite your siblings, kids, and cousins to share pictures to her Photo Mambo Frame, as well.  Pictures from the whole family display in rotation, so she can see all the faces she loves in one place.
5. After Mother’s Day….keep sending her pictures via Photo Mambo.  The Photo Mambo iPhone app lets you send pictures off within seconds.  And each time you send her new pictures, they simply pop up in her Frame.  She’ll never need to download or save them –she’ll simply enjoy new pictures as they appear in her Frame.

The Photo Mambo Frame makes it easy to give a Mother’s Day gift from the heart.  Grandma can enjoy pictures of the grandkids day after day.  Mom can have the latest pictures of the kids displayed on her computer at work and/or at home.

Photo Mambo is free to use, and since it can be done quickly, it can be sent even on Mother’s Day.  Send mom a frame full of memories this year.  And easily keep them fresh by sharing pictures with her via Photo Mambo all year long.

Find Photo Mambo here.  Find Photo Mambo for iPhone/iPad here.

What is Photo Mambo? Picture It….

If a picture paints 1,000 words, we thought we’d try to tell the story of what Photo Mambo is using eleven pictures.  Cause let’s face it, you don’t want to read 11,000 words.  So, here it is…

So, there you have it.  Share photos in a lasting way, so family and close friends can see pictures of the faces they love day after day.  If you think someone in your family would enjoy receiving pictures this way, we hope you will give it a try.

Sending Smiles for Mother’s Day

We wanted to provide a little inspiration for sending the grandmother’s (and mother’s) in your life a little love on Mother’s Day.  You really can’t go wrong sending Grandma pictures of the smiling faces she loves.  (And sending them with Photo Mambo means she’ll enjoy those smiles day after day, long after Mother’s Day is over).

Some friends came over for a Mother’s Day photo shoot; maybe their Mother’s Day shots will inspire you to send some photo-love to Grandma and Mom this Mother’s Day!

Someday I will miss the misspellings….for now, I just love ’em.

 

Art to warm a mom’s heart

 

Thanks so much to all our friends and family who let us share their pictures with you!