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Jenna Caplette
photo editing for the holidays

Jenna CapletteJenna Caplette migrated from California to Montana in the early 1970s, first living on the Crow Indian reservation. A Healing Arts Practitioner, she owns Bozeman BodyTalk & Integrative Healthcare. She says, " Health is resiliency, a zest for the journey. It’s about coming awake to the joy of being alive. As a practitioner, its a privilege to facilitate that healing process, to help weave new patterns of health & well-being. “ And by the way, healthier, happier people help create a healthier, happier world.

Let’s face it. The holiday season can be stressful. Heck, any season in life can be. Editing photos can be a potent de-stressor. Really.

Not the intense photoshop type of editing but the editing provided by the amazing variety of easy-to-use apps available for your iPad or iPhone. Editing with these feels like fun rather than work. They allow you to be almost infinitely creative and are a great antidote to the “fried brain” inherent to overwhelm. They offer an exceptional opportunity to profoundly inhabit the present moment.

Editing photos on an iPad can feel a bit like making magic. Bernard L. De Koven writes in Psychology Today, “Imagination is the home of an infinite toy kit wherein lies, for example, your ultimate paintbox with your own, personal, never-dry-until-you-want-it-to brush of many colors.” Yeah. Exactly.

Editing can be beautifully social and private all at one. Edit on your flight to visit family, and the person in the seat next to you may suddenly be partnering with you on design. Join your family in the living room to watch a holiday movie even if you’re not tremendously interested in the film, and happily edit photos while they watch.

First of course, is the technology that comes right with an iPad or iPhone: Photos. Briana Bell, who teaches “Photos” at Bozeman’s F-11 Photographic Supplies, describes iPad editing as “Super easy, interactive, and fun.”

Sure, you can edit photos on your iPhone, but the screen on your iPad is bigger, allowing you to see a lot more detail— a handy feature when photo editing.

Sometimes you want to turn your photos into real works of printable, framable art. If you don’t have the skills to create art freehand, try out some of these incredible apps and make yourself a masterpiece in minutes. Take one photo and try several different ways.

Here are some favorite apps from the staff at F-11 Photographic Supplies.

• Snapseed. You’ll have so much fun with the variety of effects available here.

• Collage-it with Pic Collage

• Over — Creative Typography, Graphic Design & Photo Editing

• A Beautiful Mess — make and share pretty photos

• Glaze — turn your photos into paintings with your unique style

• Polarr — some advanced editing capabilities for just about every platform you might work in. The culinary add-on could be great fun over the holidays.

Apps allow you to be completely in charge of the feeling of a photograph. It takes some practice to understand what each app can do for you but that’s OK. All apps take practice and this practice is both creative and fun.

When you create something that you really love, SAVE it. Back it up. The best way to save and back up is when it is automatic, so consider iCloud, Drop Box or Box for solutions that just work. F-11 Photo’s Briana Bell says, “iCloud is inexpensive, simple, and an awesome way to share images between devices.”

Ready to print? Using an app like F-11’s “Print and Share” makes that easy too. You can order your photos from the couch in those relaxing moments through the holidays.

Teaser Media
photo editing for the holidays