I Capture: Getting Your Pictures Off Your Smart Phone

Hi, it’s Trina here today challenging you to print some photos on your smart phone today!

I remember when I got my first smart phone and how thrilling it was (and is!) to take great pictures on the fly, no matter where I was. I had a fabulous collection of priceless photos but did not know how to get them from the phone to print. This blog post is all about how I got it done.

Let’s step back in time to October 2012.

One day I challenged myself to figure it out! My daughter and I were going to ride a ferry to visit my dad and my sister and her family who were in town visiting him. I set a goal to photograph that day trip, figure out how to get the photos printed and create a mini album documenting the day. (Little did I know my dad would pass away shortly after that and those photos and that mini album would be the last pictures I took of him. Needless to say, the mini album is priceless!)

This blog post documents my “get ‘em printed!” photo adventure that day.

1. I took as many pictures as I could (right up to the rainbow that came out as we were almost home from my dad’s).
2. After doing online research and hearing about Persnickety Prints from a friend, I elected to use www.persnicketyprints.com for photo printing.
3. I signed up for Instagram and added special effects to some of my favorite photos. (So all photos in my mini album are square.)
4. Next I uploaded my special effect (and regular) photos to Persnickety, placed my order and 2 days later I received the most adorable little box of photos in my mailbox. (Persnickety also has a mobile app.)
5. I made my mini album using one of the Citrus Twist scrapbooking kits and some flat kraft paper bags.

There are so many online choices for getting your prints printed, most of which are affordable and easy. Some of the reasons I chose Persnickety are: You can print Polaroid-style and print in PL sizes (even 6x8 and 6x8.5). You can also find Persnickety Deals sometimes on their website and you can occasionally visit www.RetailMeNot.com to find Persnickety discount coupon codes.

Fast forward to the present

Here are tips I use for getting my photos off of my phone. I use a combination of all four depending on how fast I want my photos or how many I plan to print: 

• Upload to Costco. (Longer drive for me, but great when I need lots of photos printed. AKA "best pricing where I live")
• Upload to your local pharmacy (our local Walgreens has half-off coupons all the time in weekly mail fliers and the pharmacy is close, compared to Costco. My pharmacy also has a mobile app so I can have photos uploaded and ready for pickup within 1 hour.)
• Upload to a company like Persnickety Prints, prints delivered to your door.
• Print to your photo printer at home. (I love my Canon Selphy.)

Here are just a few pictures of the mini album I made that day. I named it “One Day.” This is one well-loved album and it speaks volumes (to me) for the need to get your photos printed and documented. This is the cover:

Spread of my sister and my daughter baking together. I jotted down my sister's verbal directions for baking as they were busy in the kitchen:

I am so happy I documented the littlest things that day!

Back cover of my mini album:

I challenge you to get your photos off your phone today! Next, create your own “One Day” mini album or scrapbook page or page in your Pocket Life. We would love to see your "One Day" creation uploaded to our gallery and/or shared on the Citrus Twist Kits Fan Page over on Facebook.

Trina