Technology Archives - Page 5 of 42

The Secret to Upgrading Your Printed Photos: HD Pro Glossy Prints

If you’ve been using your time at home over the last few months to hone your photography skills, we applaud you! It’s been an opportunity for many to learn and practice new techniques and upgrade their camera equipment (for instance, to an interchangeable lens system) to really take their photography to the next level. The next step in that evolution is choosing how to showcase those new and improved photos in a way that will do them real justice! The secret? Upgrading to HD Pro Glossy Prints.

These brand-new prints have just recently been launched in our Photolab and will elevate your images with exceptional clarity and sharpness. We sat down with our Manager of Research and Development in the Photolab, Ryan Bennett, to get an insider look at the new prints, and learn why you’ll want to consider them for your latest images.

Q: What is the printing process for these HD Pro Glossy Prints, and what kind of technology is used?

A: What sets the HD Pro Glossy Prints apart is that they are printed at an impressive 1440 x 1440 dpi resolution. We use our professional high-grade dye ink printer system that accurately showcases fine details thanks to its multiple dot gradation technology. We also use professional inkjet paper that is exclusive to the London Drugs PhotoLab. This paper has excellent absorbing quality that enables the printer to produce outstanding print quality.

Q: What makes these prints unique?

A: You’ll find the prints are less grainy, have a smoother graduation of tones, and more detail in areas with fine lines such as eye lashes. Landscape shots have a much smoother tonal graduation in the sky. Black & white subject matter benefit greatly from the extra resolution. The HD Pro Glossy Prints are also available in unique sizing: 3.5×6, 4×7, 5×8, and 6×9. Those are slightly larger than our standard print sizes and are all optimised for the HDTV-type aspect ratio of mobile phones and cameras.

Q: Why are glossy prints so good at making bright colours ‘pop’?

A: Non-glossy surfaces like pearl tend to look slightly less contrasted and detail-oriented due to the nature of the paper surface being less smooth. Our brains perceive contrast as sharpness. The glossy nature of the paper enhances the contrast, which, along with the higher dpi, results in sharper prints.

Q: Any tips for getting the most out of your photos with HD Pro glossy prints?

A: Shoot at the highest possible resolution your camera can produce, which captures the most image information for the high dpi to work with. Black & white photos have great tonal depth. High contrast, vibrant photos, with lots of fine details really get the most out of this printing technology. Try subject matter with lots of colours, texture, and contrast which allows the brain to see the higher definition.

Q: How would you recommend displaying these HD Pro glossy prints?

A: These prints are best viewed in the open, not behind glass. Bright lighting brings out the best qualities.

Curious what these new prints look like? Here’s a peek below. Notice the sharpness of the small details in the landscape photo, the vibrancy and contrast of the flower photo, and the smooth tonal graduation of the sky in the landscape and city photos. The HD Pro Glossy Prints bring even the minutest details to life, crystal clear and razor sharp. The glossiness provides an upscale finish to the images and brings out the contrasts and vibrancy of the colours, making them very eye-catching. As always, our experienced technicians inspect every image and correct as needed: lightening, darkening and even correcting for colour shift.

The next time you’re ordering prints, consider giving your photos an upgrade by trying our HD Pro Glossy Prints. You can easily order online, through our in-store kiosks, or on our London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android). Plus, show us what you think by tagging your photos on social media with the hashtag #LDPhotolab.

3 Ways to Celebrate with Dad on Father’s Day (In-Person or Virtually)

While many types of celebrations have had to change and adjust this year, there are still lots of ways you can celebrate with your dad on Father’s Day, no matter if you’re together or apart right now. Whether you can see your dad IRL (in real life) this Father’s Day or not, here are 3 ways you can celebrate together and show dad why he’s #1.

Serve Breakfast in Bed

The quintessential Father’s Day tradition, breakfast in bed, has become a classic way to celebrate for a reason – it helps him start his day off right, with a little indulgence and a lot of love.

In-person:

Go all-out on a breakfast that is just for dad. Pile it high with his favourites: waffles or pancakes, bacon or sausages, hash browns, eggs – the works! You can also surprise him with his favourite cuppa joe in his very own Father’s Day mug, personalized by you with the help of our Photolab. Add a personal message and some photos that you know will make him smile. Need it last minute? We can have your mug ready for pick up in-store in as little as 24 hours!

Virtually:

Not there to make dad breakfast in-person? No problem. Pick dad’s favourite local breakfast spot and order him a surprise breakfast, delivered right to his door! Plus, we can deliver our photo mugs anywhere in Canada, so you can customize a Father’s Day mug for dad online and then have it shipped to dad in time for Father’s Day. Then set up a Facetime or Zoom call together so you can catch up virtually while he enjoys his breakfast in bed.

Fire up the Grill

If your dad is a self-proclaimed grill master, why not center his Father’s Day celebration around the BBQ?

In-person:

On your run to the grocery store, pick up some barbeque must-haves like steaks, ribs or burgers that you can grill up on the BBQ together on Father’s Day. Make sure you have the necessary condiments too. As a special gift for dad, customize his own BBQ apron that he can proudly wear as you both grill up a perfect Father’s Day dinner.

Virtually:

See if there are any local restaurants offering meal kits that you can send directly to dad, complete with everything he needs for a great Father’s Day BBQ. Better yet, order one for yourself too, so you can grill together (while apart) and enjoy over Facetime or Zoom. Order his own customized BBQ apron with a photo of your choosing, and have it shipped to him in advance, so he can wear it the day-of.

Play Some Golf

Does dad’s idea of a perfect day involve golf? If so, why not make it an activity for the two of you to partake in on Father’s Day!

In-person:

Some golf courses are open and allowing people to play while physically distancing. If available in your area, book a tee time for you and dad to get out and play a round of golf in the fresh air – just make sure to book soon, as tee times are now more spread out. As the perfect accompanying gift, personalize dad a golf towel with a fun photo that he can use while on the course!

Virtually:

Play golf together…virtually! PlayStation 4 has an online multiplayer option for the Everybody’s Golf game, so you can both play together. Send dad a copy of the game, along with a golf towel from our Photolab that you personalized yourself.

Of course, a Father’s Day card is always a thoughtful addition to any Father’s Day gift. Customize your own card from the comfort of your home with the help of our Photolab! Pick a Father’s Day template, add some photos and a personalized message, and either pick up in-store or have it shipped (to yourself or directly to your dad). It’s a great way to show him you’re thinking of him, whether you’re together, or apart right now.

Life at Home: Documenting Life’s Experiences for Future Generations

Documenting your life experiences is important. It’s a way of preserving your personal memories to share with generations to come – to help them understand what life was like. Now more than ever, during this unusual period in history, it is incredibly valuable to document what you have seen, heard, felt, and done. After all, life right now is like nothing we have ever experienced before, and is perhaps nothing like what future generations will ever experience. This pandemic has affected daily life in so many different ways, and has affected us all differently.

To help you document your perspective during life at home, our LDExperts are sharing tips for what moments you may want to capture and notate, and how you can turn those moments into a photobook you can preserve for years to come.

Moments to Include in Your Photobook

Life has changed. Routines have been altered, workspaces look different, streets are quiet, jeans have been replaced with pyjamas …how has life changed for you? For those who have had extra time to spend at home, social media has been a place of inspiration for new hobbies – everything from bread baking to elaborate TikTok dances. All of these changes and experiences can be preserved forever with the click of a button. So get your camera or smartphone ready, and start snapping!

Here’s a list of moments you might consider capturing with your camera:

Baking bread
Learning TikTok dances
At-home date nights
Kids making puzzles
Kids playing in the backyard
Trying whipped (Dalgona) coffee
Painting hearts in the window
Virtual paint nights
At-home workouts
Banging pots & pans during the nightly cheer
Kids ‘attending’ their online classes
Zoom calls (taking a screenshot might be easier than trying to take a photo)
Photos of your homemade face mask
Photo challenges (like the pillowcase challenge)
Lines at the grocery store
Social distancing stickers and signs
Empty store shelves
Makeshift work-from-home set-up

Bonus photo idea: clone yourself!

You may have seen photos like this circulating around the internet. Camera-savvy kids and adults alike have been creating ‘quarantine life’ images of themselves spending time at home. A photo like this would make an excellent cover for the front of your photobook! Want to create one yourself?

You’ll need:

Make sure your room has good lighting. Put your camera or phone on a tripod and set a timer or use a remote shutter. Take one photo of the empty scene without you in it. Then one photo at a time, make a pose in one spot in the frame, take a photo, and then change to a different pose elsewhere within the frame and take another photo. Continue this process several times – all without ever changing the position of your camera/phone.

Once you have your photos done, fire up Photoshop on your computer and create a canvas that is in the same size of your images. Then import your images all into Photoshop. Make sure that the photo of the empty scene is the bottom layer. Go through each of your photos one at a time, and erase the background of each of your photos (leave you in the photo!). You can hide the other layers as you go to make it easier to see what you’re working with. Once you’re done, toggle back on all of the layers. If you notice some layers aren’t perfectly blending, just toggle back to that individual layer to blur and clean up the image up a little. It’s a relatively simple process, but can take some time to erase and blend to make your photo look as believable as possible!

Keep a Journal

One of the best ways to ensure you can remember important past events is to write them down in a journal. These are the things you would tell future generations about this time if you could. For your photobook, you can reference your journal for particular entries, or reference dates/times that you want to include along with your photos.

Here are some questions to help you get started with your journaling:

Have you learned any new hobbies? What did you learn?
How are you keeping in touch with friends and family?
What do you miss the most right now? People? Places foods?
Are you cooking interesting new dishes? Or ordering takeout from restaurants you hadn’t tried before?
Have you created your own home workstation? What does it look like?
How has your grocery shopping experience changed?
How has your daily routine changed?
Are you or your kids doing virtual classes? How has it changed the learning experience?
Have you experienced any heartwarming moments that have shown you the best of people during this difficult time?
What are the biggest things you have seen change in day-to-day life? (wearing masks, social distancing…)
What TV show are you binge-watching right now?
What has been the hardest thing to adjust to during this time?
Do you participate in the nightly cheer for frontline workers? How does your household or neighbourhood participate?

Creating Your Photobook

Once you have your photos and your journal notes altogether, you can start creating your photobook! Our Photolab has a variety of photobook styles to choose from, as well as a number of templated themes for the pages of your photobook. You’ll be able to add text excerpts from your journal entries to personalize your book, as mentioned above, as well as include many of those great photos you’ve taken to capture this historic moment in time. Choose how to organize your photos in the book, where to include the text, and even customize things like the cover of your photobook. Once you’re happy with your photobook, order a copy (or a few, so everyone in your family has one!) and we can have it ready for you in the Photolab for pick-up, or ship it right to your door.

Years from now, when someone asks what it was like back in 2020…you’ll be able to simply flip open your photobook and show them!

Elevate Your Photography – Food Photos at Home

While spending more time at home, have you found yourself enjoying the art of cooking or baking more? If so, you are not alone. A quick scroll through any social media feed and you’ll see everyone is cooking up a storm. If you want to capture your home creations in photos, we are here to help. We’re sharing 3 concepts to improve your food photography using your phone, a piece of paper and natural light, and it won’t interfere with enjoying dinner!

Follow along to learn how to elevate your food photography beyond the snapshot by considering content and framing, staging, and lighting. The examples below were all shot with an iPhone 11 and available light.

1. Content & Framing

What makes the images above different? The image on the left looks busy with all the counter items distracting focus from the food. To make your food photos shine, consider everything that is present in the frame. Ask yourself if something is required to tell the story, and if so, how does it interact with the rest of the items. A clean background will allow the food to stand out.

In the above right, you see the image is taken at a ¾ height with the salad as the prominent item, and the sandwich slightly out of focus in the background. You can also take an overhead shot looking straight down depending on how you feel the plate will come to life best. For an overhead shot, you will want to consider the surface it will be on, and any items that are visible. There are many other angles you can do, and if using an interchangeable lens system, a macro lens will allow you to get in to capture up-close details. For this blog, we will keep it to phone photography.

2. Staging

When plating your dish, carefully craft your plate. Examine the above two images. Notice the sandwich is cut differently, and in the left it is stacked and has some unnecessary items in the frame, whereas the right is side by side.

Consider how the elements of the dish appear together. On fancy cooking shows, or at high-end restaurants they always take great care in the presentation, and at home should be no different. A simple bowl of spaghetti can be twisted in a circular motion vs dumped on a plate. These small details will go a long way to help the visual presentation. Once you have your plate ready, make sure there are no unintended fingerprints, or drips on the rim of the plate, and then it’s time to set up your shot.

3. Lighting

Lighting is what will make or break the image. In all photography, the easiest way to improve is to learn how light behaves, how to manipulate it and control it. We will be using only available light for this tutorial.

Your camera has a built-in white balance. Mixing natural and artificial light will create colour casts of warm (yellow cast) and cool (blue/cyan cast). This is due to the different light temperatures of the light sources. It is better to use one or the other to avoid various colour casts in your final image.

In the two images above, the available light sources are from a window on the left side and an overhead light. In the left image, the overhead light is on and in the right image, it is lit only with the window. Notice how the colour is more balanced using a single light source? In the left, there is a yellow glow in the plate and a harsh shadow from the mug. The lighting in the left image is more balanced, but the shadows are still too dark.

To fill our shadows and help balance the light in the right image above, we will use a white piece of presentation board. Any white surface can work with varied results, from a sheet of printer paper to a white paper box. Get creative with what you have around the house. Place the white paper beside the object, on the opposite side from the window. This allows the light to reflect back on the subject, and fill in that shadow. Move the card around at different angles, and watch how the light changes on the plate.

Putting it all together

Next time you make something tasty in the kitchen, consider these 3 points and watch your food photography come to life! By taking a minute to consider your image content and framing, staging, and lighting, you can craft photos as beautiful as your kitchen delights are tasty. Below is a comparison of different outcomes with the lighting conditions described above.

1 – Background untidy, 2 – Naturally lit with overhead artificial light, 3 – Naturally lit, 4 – Add white card, 5 – Result with white card

Be sure to consider bringing your new home chef images to life. A homemade cookbook is great for future generations to preserve your unique and tasty recipes. Our Photolab makes book-making easy, and with your new food photography skills, your cookbook will be loved by all.

Stay Inspired This Photo Month with our Photo Challenge!

Looking to take up photography as a hobby or hone your photography skills while you’re at home? Especially with May being Photo Month, we want to help keep you inspired to not only take more photos, but also take your photography to the next level!

During the month of May, we’ll be running a photo challenge on Instagram with weekly themes to encourage you to sharpen your skills, experiment with new photography techniques and explore the photo opportunities around you.

You can share a photo of the weekly theme on Instagram using that week’s hashtag for a chance to win 1 of 3 weekly prizes (a 10×10 coffeetable photo book!). After the 4 themes have wrapped up, our 12 weekly winners will be put to a popular vote on our Instagram Stories, with the grand prize winner receiving a $250 London Drugs gift card and a 12×18 canvas gallery wrap!

To enter for a chance to win:

Follow @LDPhotolab and @LondonDrugs
Share a photo of the weekly theme using that week’s hashtag. Entries are taken for the week’s theme only and are due by midnight (pacific time) at the end of each week.
The weekly themes are as follows:
- May 1- 7: Within My 4 Walls #LDwithinmy4walls
- May 8 – 14: Reflections #LDreflections
- May 15 – 21: The Living World #LDthelivingworld
- May 22 – 28: Perspective #LDperspective

Scroll to the end of this blog for full contest rules.

To help inspire your weekly entries, below are some photo tips based on each category, curated by our LDExperts.

Within My 4 Walls

This theme is meant to get you thinking about all the photo opportunities you might not have noticed in your current surroundings! This could mean anything from photographing your children, spouse or roommate, to taking still life photos of objects in your home.

If you haven’t experimented with macro photography before, this could be a chance to give it a try! Find some small unique items in your home, and photograph them close up to show their detail. If you have an interchangeable lens camera, a macro lens will come in handy for this, as it will allow you to get very close to your subjects. If you’re using a smartphone, a macro lens accessory will work too. A macro lens will give you a very shallow depth of field, meaning that you will be able to keep certain parts of your object in the frame in focus, while the rest will fall out of focus. Experiment with focusing on different parts of the object – either use your manual focus or switch to a single point auto-focus in your settings to help you achieve the best, sharpest results.

Reflections

From a puddle in your driveway, to a mirror or window in your home, there are all kinds of places you can look to try reflection photography. The key is to mix reality and reflection (as you’ll see in the image of the girl and her reflection above). Other than your subject and the reflection, try to keep your frame as free of distractions as possible.

Reflection photography is one of the times that following the common rule of thirds isn’t recommended. Instead, it makes sense to balance your composition along a central line – whether that is vertically, or horizontally. The symmetry of reflections makes this an ideal composition to use.

If you’re shooting reflections on water especially, a polarizing filter can be handy if the sun is causing a harsh glare on parts of the water. It will help control the surface shine. Don’t worry about the water having to be perfectly still, either. You will want to keep an eye out for relatively still water, but adding some ripples to the water (just giving it a tap with your finger or foot) can create a really unique and distorted reflection. If you want to achieve a smoother reflection, you can lengthen your shutter speed (see our tips below on long exposure photography).

The Living World

Nature, landscapes, pets…they’re all fair game here! If you usually take photos of people, why not try shooting landscapes for a change? If you have running water nearby like a stream, or you are near a body of water, you can also work on honing your long exposure photography skills. Long exposure is what will give the water that silky-smooth look. Having a tripod is a must for long exposures, as you need to avoid vibration of any kind. Using a remote shutter will also help reduce vibrations.

Once you’ve set up your camera in position and locked in the focus, set your exposure (try between f/8 and f/11 for landscapes) in either Manual mode or Aperture Priority mode. Make sure to notate the shutter speed when you do a test shot.
Then add a Neutral Density (ND) Filter. This filter will restrict the amount of light that passes through, which in turn will mean the camera will need let in more light to achieve the right exposure (resulting in a slower/longer exposure time).
Switch your shooting mode to Bulb (find in your Manual or Shutter Priority mode), which will allow you to do an exposure of longer than 30 seconds, and control the length by holding down your shutter (or in this case remote shutter). You should see Bulb or B at the end of the list of shutter speeds when you scroll through.
Calculate your exposure to compensate for the ND Filter. For example, if your original shutter speed was 1/30^th of a second in the test shot, and your ND Filter was set to 11 stops, then you should compensate by adjusting your shutter speed to 1 minute. Don’t worry about calculating – there are plenty of ND Filter charts available online!
Then to take your shot using your remote shutter and simply hold down for the length of time you calculated for your shutter speed.

Perspective

Changing your perspective when shooting can have an entirely different effect on the resulting photo! In the photo of the cat above, the low angle of the shot gives the cat a very dominant appearance.

Cameras with a swiveling/tilting LCD screen are helpful in these situations, as you can adjust the screen to make it easier to frame your low or high angle shots. You can find this feature on some DSLR, mirrorless and point-and-shoot cameras – like the Canon EOS Rebel SL2, Fujifilm X-T30 or Sony Cyber-Shot HX99.

Using a wide angle lens can also really add to the dramatic effect of your low angle shots. Try a lens below 35mm. This will give your image a more surreal look, making your subject appear larger than life!

Feeling inspired? Here are the full contest rules for our Photo Month Challenge:

1) To enter on Instagram:

Follow @LDPhotolab and @LondonDrugs
Share a photo of the weekly theme using that week’s hashtag. Entries are taken for the week’s theme only and are due by midnight (pacific time) at the end of each week.
Weekly Themes:
- Friday, May 1, 2020 to Thursday, May 7, 2020: Within My 4 Walls (use hashtag #LDwithinmy4walls)
- Friday, May 8, 2020 to Thursday, May 14, 2020: Reflections (use hashtag #LDreflections)
- Friday, May 15, 2020 to Thursday, May 21, 2020: The Living World (use hashtag #LDthelivingworld)
- Friday, May 22, 2020 to Thursday, May 28, 2020: Perspective (use hashtag #LDperspective)

2) No purchase necessary. Limit one (1) entry per Instagram handle per week of the contest. Limit one (1) prize may be won per household. Weekly entries must be received no later than 11:59 pm Pacific Time on the end day of the weekly contest, as per the dates listed above. London Drugs is not responsible for entries that become lost or misdirected.

3) Contest is open to all residents of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba who, as of the date the prize draw is made: (i) have not won a London Drugs contest since May 8, 2019;(ii) have reached the age of majority in the province in which they reside as at May 1, 2020 (iii) are not employees of London Drugs, their respective advertising and promotional agencies, or any family member living with any such employee.

4) The weekly winners shall be chosen the day after each weekly contest ends (see dates below) in Vancouver, British Columbia, from all eligible entries received per contest. Winning entries will be chosen based on photographic skill, artistic sensibilities, emotion, impact and originality. The grand prize winner, selected from amongst the 12 weekly winners, shall be chosen based on a tournament- style popular vote on London Drugs’ Instagram stories. Any use of Instagram bots during voting is strictly prohibited and will result in disqualification of that entrant. To win, selected entrants must have correctly answered the skill-testing mathematical question included on London Drugs’ Statement of Declaration and Release form, sent to them by email and must sign the Declaration and Release confirming compliance with the contest rules and acceptance of the prize(s) as awarded, releasing London Drugs from liability in association with the contest and prize and consenting to the use of their name, photograph, voice and statements for promotional and publicity purposes.

5) There will be 1 (one) prize(s) awarded to 3 (three) winners per week of the contest: each receiving a 10×10 coffeetable photo book with photo cover valued at $49.99. At the end of the contest, there will be 1 (one) grand prize(s) awarded to 1 (one) of the weekly winners: receiving a $250 London Drugs gift card and a 12×18 Canvas Gallery Wrap valued at $79.99. The Canvas Gallery Wrap prize will be awarded in the form of a promo code, which will be valid until June 30, 2020. Prize(s) must be accepted as awarded, are non-transferable and no substitutions are permitted. London Drugs reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value should any prize become unavailable for any reason. Prize will be awarded at the closest London Drugs location to the winner.

Contest entry dates: May 1 – June 5, 2020
- Friday, May 1, 2020 12:00AM PT to Thursday, May 7, 2020 11:59PM PT: Within My 4 Walls
- Friday, May 8, 2020 12:00AM PT to Thursday, May 14, 2020 11:59PM PT: Reflections
- Friday, May 15, 2020 12:00AM PT to Thursday, May 21, 2020 11:59PM PT: The Living World
- Friday, May 22, 2020 12:00AM PT to Thursday, May 28, 2020 11:59PM PT: Perspective
- Wednesday, June 3, 2020 12:00PM PT to Friday, June 5, 2020 11:59PM PT: Popular Vote for Grand Prize
Weekly prize draw dates:
- 12:00PM PT May 8^th, 2020
- 12:00PM PT May 15, 2020
- 12:00PM PT May 22, 2020
- 12:00PM PT May 29,2020
Grand prize draw date: 12:00PM Pacific Time June 6, 2020

6) Selected entrants will be contacted by email, or social network they were drawn from. No correspondence will be entered into except with selected entrants. If the winner does not respond then she/he will be notified for the second time, 3 (three) days after the first notification. If the winner still does not respond within 3 days of the second notification, a new winner will be chosen in the same manner until a winner is successfully contacted.

7) The chances of winning a prize will depend on the number of eligible entries received. Decisions of the judges in respect of all aspects of this contest including, but not limited to, eligibility of entries and correctness of answers given to the skill-testing question, are final.

8) London Drugs, their respective advertising and promotional agencies, and their respective agents are not liable to an entrant in any manner relating to the contest or the awarding and use of the prize(s).

9) This contest is subject to all federal, provincial, and municipal laws and regulations. By entering the entrant consents to the collection of all personal information included on their entry and agrees to the use and disclosure of such information by and between London Drugs and their agents. The winner(s) also agrees to the collection, use and disclosure of their name, entry, photographs, voice and statements for London Drugs’ publicity purposes without further compensation. All personal information collected from entrants will be used only for the purposes of administering the contest and for marketing and promotional purposes as contemplated by these rules; under no circumstances will any personal information be sold or rented to third parties. All personal information collected by London Drugs will be kept in accordance with the privacy policy of London Drugs, which can be viewed at www.londondrugs.com, and in accordance with all applicable privacy laws.

10) The right is reserved by London Drugs to terminate this contest, in whole or in part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the contest, and/or these rules in any way, should any cause beyond the reasonable control of London Drugs or its agents affect the proper administration thereof.

11) London Drugs is not responsible for any failure of any website during this contest, nor is it responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of computer online systems, servers, access providers, computer equipment, software or any e-mail, online or internet entry lost due to technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to an entrant’s or any other person’s computer or property related to or resulting from playing or downloading any material in the promotion. The right is reserved by London Drugs to terminate this contest, in whole or in part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the contest, and/or these rules in any way, should any cause beyond the reasonable control of London Drugs or its agents affect the proper administration thereof.

12) This Contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or any other social media platform which may be used to communicate this Contest. All such entities are completely released of all liability by each entrant in this Contest. Any questions, comments or complaints regarding the Contest should be directed only to London Drugs.

STATEMENT OF DECLARATION AND RELEASE

All selected entrants will be required to sign the Statement of Declaration and Release attached before they can be declared a winner and receive a contest prize.

Tips for Taking Grad Photos at Home

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

Graduation is a major life milestone worth celebrating, and certainly those memories are worth preserving! With grad parties and grad photos with friends in full swing, our LDExperts, along with some local photographers, are sharing some tips for celebrating and capturing this special occasion with great photos.

1. No Date? No Problem!

Have mom, dad or a sibling dust off their best suit or dress and step in as your grad date. Get a photo of you exchanging makeshift corsages out of garden flowers, and having a first dance.

2. Choose the Time of Day Wisely

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

Tracey Crown, of Crown Photography & Film in Alberta recommends choosing the time of day to shoot carefully, as it will determine how good the lighting is for photos.

“Avoid shooting outdoors in the middle of the day when the sun is overhead; the light is harsh and can cause large shadows and squinting,” says Crown. “Choose instead to take outdoor photos in the early morning or later evening when the sun is either behind the grad or fully in front of the grad for more even flattering lighting.”

3. When Indoors, Use Window Light

Candace Fast, who runs her photography business Candace Fast Photography out of Chilliwack BC, knows shooting indoors can be tricky and recommends using available natural light if possible.

“If you are wanting to take pictures inside then head to a window that gives you nice natural light. Unless you can handle off-camera flash, then natural window light looks so much better than a flash that’s on top of your camera,” explains Fast. “Now once your grad is in front of that window, don’t stand in front of it and point the camera in the direction of outside. You want to use that light to shine on the grad, so the person with the camera should stand to one side of the window, and the grad on the other side.”

4. Add Depth and Texture to Your Background

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

“Whether it’s a garage, the front of your house or the trees in the yard, choose a background that has texture. If you can, have the grad step out and away from it to create more depth between them and the background,” says Crown.

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

Photo: Candace Fast Photography

Fast has shot grad photos in some unlikely places – like in front of the graffiti wall in the photo above, which adds some unique pops of colour to the shot.

“Have fun with it. If you are shooting digital, then play with different lighting and different backgrounds. That is the beauty of digital cameras. You can shoot and then if you don’t like the results then just keep trying.”

6. Capture Some Grad Dance Moves

Why not get the whole family involved? Have everyone in the house dress up in their best formal grad outfits (dust off those suits, tuxes, or old grad/wedding dresses!) for some fun photos together. Have a dance or two, and snap some candids.

7. Do Some Dress Twirls

Photo: Candace Fast Photography

If you have a space like a driveway or patio with some room, do some grad dress twirls! “Have some movement in your photograph. It brings it to life,” says Fast.

To capture crisp photos, either switch to your camera’s sport mode, or use the shutter speed priority mode and select a fast shutter speed. Try about 1/500^th of a second, but you may need to go up to 1/1000^th or 1/2000^th if you are still seeing some blur.

8. Change Your Angle

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

“Have the grad sit or lay down if you don’t have a large space to shoot in,” suggests Crown. “You can create more variety in the images by changing height and angles.”

9. Employ a Tripod

To ensure the family gets to be in a few photos too, use a tripod and a remote shutter or your camera’s self-timer setting. This way you can set up your camera and hop in the photo!

10. Try a Portrait Lens

Photo: Candace Fast Photography

Just have a kit lens? It might be time to upgrade! A 35mm, 50mm, or 85mm lens, for instance, are all great lenses specifically for portraits like formal grad portraits. Each of those lenses come in f/1.8, f/1.4 and f/1.2, which will give that nice ‘blurry’ background (with that depth of field growing in intensity from f/1.8 to f1.2). The photo above was taken on a Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4 lens, and is one of Fast’s favourite lenses for grad portraits.

Grad Invitations & Announcement Cards

Share your celebration with family and friends! Use your graduation photos to personalize your own cards. Our Photolab has a selection of graduation-themed templates to choose from – just add your own photos and text.

Send invitations to your virtual graduation party.

Grad goes virtual this year! Create your own custom invitations and host an online graduation party for your classmates, using an online meeting platform like Zoom.

Send out graduation announcement cards, a great keepsake for loved ones.
Send congratulations cards out to fellow graduates to commend them on their achievement.

Graduation Keepsakes

Special memories like graduation should be preserved for years to come! From prints and collages to photo books and mugs, there are lots of ways to create lasting keepsakes with your graduation photos.

You can order them online through our Photolab, or through our London Drugs Photolab App available for iOS and Android. Then simply order and have your keepsakes delivered right to your home. Or send them straight to your family and friends!

Mother’s Day Gifts Made at Home with Love

If you’ve already exhausted your supply of puzzles, we’ve got a new activity to keep yourself and the kids busy while self-isolating. Our Photolab’s free Take and Create Book is now available online! Even better, you can use this Take and Create Book to create unique and personalized gifts for Mother’s Day – right from home in 4 easy steps.

1. Get your Take and Create Book

You can pick up your free Take and Create Book at our Photolab if you happen to be in-store, but if you’d like to get your hands on a copy while you’re self-isolating at home, you can simply download it here.

2. Fill in the Templates

These Take and Create Books are full of templates for custom gifts like mugs (for mom’s daily cuppa joe) and ornaments (to hang in her car or anywhere at home) that both you and your kids can draw and colour in. Let the creativity flow! Have the kids write a special message for mom, or draw an image they think mom will love. You can even put your artistic skills to the test too – doodle something that shows your appreciation for your own mom. It makes a great art activity for an afternoon indoors. Plus, mom is sure to appreciate that you crafted her Mother’s Day gift yourself.

3. Scan Your Drawings

Once you’re done filling in the book, simply scan the templates using an at-home scanner or a smartphone scanning app to digitize them as image files. Crop what’s outside the template lines, and you’ll be all set to upload to our Photolab’s website or to our London Drugs Photolab App (available for iOS and Android).

4. Upload to our Photolab

After your images are uploaded, you’ll be able to browse our Photolab’s products to find the ones that match your templates, like mugs and ornaments. Then just customize each gift with your images, and choose delivery to have them shipped directly to your home!

All done making a gift for mom and looking for another activity to pass the time? We can help you customize your own puzzles! Just choose a photo, and our Photolab can turn it into a puzzle with 25, 114, 120 or even 1,000 pieces.

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Play Some Golf

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Bonus photo idea: clone yourself!

Keep a Journal

Creating Your Photobook

Elevate Your Photography – Food Photos at Home

1. Content & Framing

2. Staging

3. Lighting

Putting it all together

1 – Background untidy, 2 – Naturally lit with overhead artificial light, 3 – Naturally lit, 4 – Add white card, 5 – Result with white card

Stay Inspired This Photo Month with our Photo Challenge!

Within My 4 Walls

Reflections

The Living World

Perspective

Feeling inspired? Here are the full contest rules for our Photo Month Challenge:

Tips for Taking Grad Photos at Home

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

1. No Date? No Problem!

2. Choose the Time of Day Wisely

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

3. When Indoors, Use Window Light

4. Add Depth and Texture to Your Background

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

5. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

Photo: Candace Fast Photography

6. Capture Some Grad Dance Moves

7. Do Some Dress Twirls

Photo: Candace Fast Photography

8. Change Your Angle

Photo: Crown Photography & Film

9. Employ a Tripod

10. Try a Portrait Lens

Photo: Candace Fast Photography

Grad Invitations & Announcement Cards

Mother’s Day Gifts Made at Home with Love

1. Get your Take and Create Book

2. Fill in the Templates

3. Scan Your Drawings

4. Upload to our Photolab

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