Of course, J still won't let me take pictures of him, even at the pool. I'm not sure why he is this way as I've had a camera in my hand as long as I remember, perhaps he's looking for a bribe?

Tips for taking pictures of kids who don't want their pictures taken

1. Do it anyway (in the hope they'll give up resisting the camera).
2. Create a distraction or have someone create one for you.
3. Use a flip out screen, drop the camera away from your eye and frame the shoot, look at them not the camera and press the shutter. Don't worry if your horizon gets crooked like mine did. You can straighten in post if needed.
4. Use electronic shutter/silent mode. Yay for mirrorless cameras. Most have an electronic shutter option. It goes without saying to turn off the focus assist lamp and the focus beep too.
5. Take a picture without their face in the frame or where their face is blurry or deliberately obscured. Sounds weird but capturing their hands doing or holding something can still be a great memory.
6. Get them to decide the terms of the photo. Sometimes my kids want me to document a particular action, trick or skill. Anything is better than nothing, and sometimes what they do is amusing.
7. Chimp with them. Show them the great shots and offer to delete any that are less flattering, this builds trust when they see what you're doing and that you aren't going to embarrass them in some way.
8. Bribery.

Conclusion

Don't give up trying to take pictures of your kids, it's why many of us bought a camera in the first place. Try to figure out the limits of what you child will allow and always think about how else you might be able to get a shot, even if it means being a little sneaky.

I have been a long time digital scrapbooker, and paper scrapbooker before that. I made the move to digital as a result of having little kids around the house and not being able to leave scrapbooking supplies out for the time it took to complete a page with all the interruptions.

Digital has been great. I learned to use photoshop, learned to edit photos and basically had a great time filling up my hard drive with about 200GB of "supplies", papers, ribbons, button, and other embellishments. I got my prints made at Costco on 12x18 and trimmed them down. But building these digital pages took just as long as the paper ones - sometimes longer as the options were greater. For example, with paper - you can make it *any* colour in photoshop, you weren't limited to what you had on hand, like paper scrapbooking.

Earlier this year, after a hiatus from digital scrapbooking (and scrapbooking period), I discovered project life. I had already seen and used the 4x6 pocket protectors back from my paper scrapbooking days with CTMH, but the packs of cards already "matchy matchy" appealed to me, and I purchase 2 kits (Midnight and Honey) as well as some more pocket protectors with different shapes. I printed off all my 2*+ photos (I am now doing picks in Lightroom instead) from 2012 and 2013 and tucked them into the pockets, putting in cards from the kits - awesome! I got a lot done, but in the back of my head a little voice said - you only have 1 copy of this.

You see, with digital scrapbooking there is one *major* advantage - you can print multiple copies. One for grandad, one for nanna, one for our family, etc. You can't do that with paper. (Yes you can scan it or take a photo of it, but it's not the same).

Enter.... Project Life, the app.

About Project Life

Becky Higgins, creator of Project Life, and long time scrapbook template queen, has just released Project Life, the app (click the link to read more about the app).

So what is it? It's an app that reproduces the experience of the project life system but on your phone or in my case, my ipad. You are welcomed by an intro screen where you simply select "Make a Page".

Introduction Screen

Then you choose a layout by selecting Change Layouts.

Menu system

These are the same layouts as the pocket protectors so you can match your existing albums easily.

Choose a layout from the layout bar

Select the add photo or add card button

If you choose a journaling card, you then have the ability to add text on top. The cards feature the same sets as you buy on paper, Midnight is one of the 4 free sets and there are several other sets for a couple of dollars each, and additional templates for a couple of dollars each - but really you get quite a bit included in the app itself which is just $2.99 (and I think a bargain).

In about 2 hours, I made 8 pages using the system.

Saving, Printing, Exporting

You can save to ipad, photostream, email, flickr, evernote (basically anything) and even export to print! This is great if you take a lot of photos on your iphone as you have everything you need right in the palm of your hand.

I haven't printed yet, but the 12x12 export produces a file of 2760x2760 (230 dpi) which should be adequate - I typically create 12x12 digital layouts at 3600 (300 dpi).

Ease of Use

It is super easy to use, as my 10 year old made her first page in about 15 minutes with no help from momma.

Criticsms

Criticisms, well I have just one. Only journaling type cards can have text added. Yet there are some other filler cards with speech bubbles that *should* be allowed to have text. This is something that I'm sure they'll realize eventually and given there are lots of journaling cards in each set, its a small issue.

Here's the pages 

Conclusion

One of the most popular posts on my site is a post I made a couple of years back on creating a photo collage in Lightroom. At the time the instructions given were for Lightroom 3 but I've recently updated them to the new Lightroom 5.



In addition I have created a new video tutorial showing how to do this. I'm hopeful the video tutorial will prove just as useful and popular as the written instructions have been.  If you think it is, I'd love if you could leave me a comment either here or on the YouTube page and I'll make some more.

Thanks!

If you own a scanner or multifunction device, you have the ability to make copies of your family photos. Why would you want to do this? Well the original photo may require restoration, perhaps the color has faded or changed, or the photo is cracked or scratched. You might also wish to use the photo in a scrapbook or produce copies for relatives. There are lots of good reasons why you might want to make a copy of a photo.

Even if you don't want to do any of these things, scanning a photo is a way to preserve that photo as it exists, today, knowing that it won't deteriorate any further inside your computer and that if you burn a copy on a disk or back it up to an online service (like Google Docs) it will be preserved forever.

The are hundreds of different scanners and multifunction devices out there, so I can't give you instructions on how to use your particular model, but there are a couple of things you should look for.

Always scan at 300 dpi or greater

To print at true photographic quality, you will need to print at between 240 to 300 dots per inch (dpi). This means that in order to print the photo at the same size it currently exists, you need to scan it at between 240 to 300 dpi. Anything less means that the photo will be printed smaller or, if you force the photo to the same size, the dots will be printed further apart and image detail will be lost. For photo paper prints, 300 dpi is recommended.

Following this logic, if you have a 3x3 image that you want to print at 6x6, you would in fact need to scan at twice resolution for full size (i.e. 600 dpi).

Having said this, many color photos simply aren't very sharp and there may not be a noticeable difference by scanning higher than 300 dpi.

It should also be noted that video displays (monitors) only require 72 dpi to maintain the original size. However, I do not recommend scanning at 72 dpi unless you are absolutely sure you won't ever need to print the photo. You can always reduce the dpi of an image but you cannot increase the dpi after you scan the photo.

Scan in the mode than matches your source document

Scanners offer several optimized settings for each type of source document: color photo, black and white photo, line art/document. Make sure that you select the right setting for your document type.

As a recap you might want to read this article on how I set up my Category Drawers digitally in Photoshop Elements.  Now while Elements lets you set up sub-categories and keywords at different levels, it turns out that when you write them to the files, that they are not hierarchical at all. (And of course, if you don't write them to the files, you won't have any at all).

This means that when you read them in Bridge, they are all jumbled up because they are sorted alphabetically by keyword, and the categories are actually ignored.  To some people this is OK, but in the Library of Memories this is not helpful.

Bridge can support Hierarchical keywording which is just what you need for the LOM system.  To check it is switched on, select Edit, Preferences, Keywords.  I suggest that you uncheck the "automatically apply parent keywords", and check the other two boxes (Write and Read hierarchical keywords).

So I had to look for a way to bring those hierarchies over from Elements to Bridge.  So this is what I did.

1. First you need to open Elements Organizer and make sure that your categories/keywords are all cleaned up, no duplicates etc.  You cannot have 2 tags the same even if they are in different categories.  To fix this, rename the tag to incorporate it's parent category so that the duplicates are now unique.

2. Use the Edit, Write Keyword Tag and Properties Info to file function to ensure that all the keywords are written in the metadata of your files.  You will need to do a Ctrl+A to select All before chosing to do this.  This process can take a really really long time in Elements so be prepared to walk away from the computer for an hour or two.

3. Next open a spreadsheet program (Excel, Works, whatever).  Starting with the top of your LOM categories (in my case People) open up your categories and sub-categories in the Organizer so you can see them all.  Back in the spreadsheet, start typing in each category/tag vertically in column A.  I had around 200 entries by the time I was done.  Phew!

4. Save your spreadsheet if you haven't already!

5. In your spreadsheet program, select File, Save As, and choose a text document (.txt) format with tab delimitation.  In Works this looks like Text & Tabs.

6. Now open Bridge CS4.  You are probably on the default "Essentials" view.  Select the "Metadata" view.  You should have a Keywords pane on the right side of the screen.

7. If there are any keywords displaying in the Keywords pane, right click on them to remove them from the keywords list. You can select multiple keywords if necessary.  It is best to start from scratch to avoid confusion.

8. In the keywords pane, on the right top corner is a drop down menu icon.  Click on it and select Import.  Navigate your way to the .txt file you saved earlier.  And select it, click Ok and import it into Bridge.  You will eventually see your keywords show up in a list.  This list appears alphabetically and is jumbled because there is no hierarchy, all tags are at the top level.

9. Using "drag & drop" mouse technique, go about recreating the same structure you had in Photoshop Elements.  Simply drag the sub-categories onto the top level categories, and the keywords onto their parent categories.

Now when I go to a photo, I can see the keywords with their correct hierarchy, a la Library of Memories.

There's a *FREE* Photoshop course here http://creativetechs.com/tipsblog/free-6-month-photoshop-course/

They need 1000 people signed up to make it viable. The classes are weekly at 11am PST for 6 months. Check it out!

One of the great features of the new Photoshop Elements 7 is the ability to set an album to backup/synchronize automatically. While it is disappointing that you can't do this for a smartalbum, just a regular album, it is a great feature to have these photos backup automatically online so you don't have to worry about computer failure.


There have been a number of people reporting that their backup/synchronization is getting stuck saying the files are "pending" backup/synchronization and isn't actually backing up their photos. This seems to only be a problem with existing photos in an album rather than new photos or a new album.

To check that your are photos backing up/synchronizing:

1. Click on the green arrows in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

2. Select "View files pending backup/synchronization". If you see files in there, they are problem stuck (unless you just added them to an album that is going to be backed up).

To force backup/synchronization:

1. Create a new tag called "pending".

2. Click on the green arrows in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

3. Select "View files pending backup/synchronization". Click any photo now displayed then Ctrl-A (select All in Windows).

4. Drag the new "pending" tag onto the selected photos.

5. Right click on the tag in the Keyword Tags and select Delete tag. If may explain that the tag is going to be removed from all the files and ask for confirmation. Say "yes" if it does.

6. You should now see your files start to backup. You can either wait to see if the "View files pending backup/synchronization" files reduce to 0, or select "View backed up/synchronized files" or go online to your photoshop.com account to see which files are now backed up.

When I purchased my Nikon D50 two years ago, the only other choice from Nikon was the D70. At the time the D70 was an older camera (little did I know the D80 would be out in a few months) but more expensive. The D70 did have a feature I was interested in, a commander mode for the flash system. The mode meant that the internal flash could trigger an off camera SB800 flash unit.

In the end the D50 won out because of (IMHO) the better picture quality right out of the camera. I later purchased the SB800 flash as it had a commander mode built in, meaning that I could mount it on the camera to control a 2nd off camera Nikon flash (SB600 or SB800). I've never bought that 2nd flash to do that though.

A while ago I read on Strobist that the SB800 would work wireless in a legacy mode with almost any camera, so I though I'd try it out with the D50.

To set up the D50 to control the SB800 wirelessly:

1. Access the D50's menu system and select Flash Mode, Manual. Select the level of on-board flash you want. If you want the off camera flash to do most of the lighting then select 1/16 (the minimum).
2. Turn on the flash (while off camera).
3. Hold the "sel" button down for 2 secs to access the menu.
4. Arrow right to select the wireless menu.
5. Push the "sel" button to select.
6. Arrow down to select the SU-4 option.
7. Push the "sel" button to select.
8. Hold down the "sel" button to exit the menu.
9. The flash should now say remote.

When done:

1. Access the D50 menu and select Flash Mode TTL.
2. On the flash, hold the "sel" button down for 2 secs to access the menu.
3. Arrow up to "off" and push the "sel" button to select.
4. Hold down the "sel" button to exit the menu.
5. The flash should now say TTL (or whatever mode it was in before setting to remote).

Have fun using your SB800 with your D50 or other camera.

Disclaimer: these instructions aren't for the faint of heart. While these instructions have been thoroughly tested by a 3rd party, please make a backup before trying any of this. I am not responsible for any computer related issues resulting from your implementation of these instructions.

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To create a new drop down menu item in Photoshop Elements Show Effects (for example Atomic Cupcake) you will need to create a new .xml file for each action (.atn) file that you have (to locate your .atn files see this post). With the current set of Atomic Cupcake actions you would need 111 .xml files!
7. Once you have created all the .xml files, you need to rename the Mediadatabase.db3 to MediadatabaseOLD.db3 it is located at

XP Users - C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Locale\en-US or your own locale


*Edited* - 09/30/2008 - To do this in PSE 7.0 with Vista you will need to rename the name.xml file to be name.metadata.xml and put them in the same directory at the .atn and .png files (i.e. In Vista your Photo Effects folder is located at C:\Program Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\7.0\Photo Creations\Photo Effects). Note: No rebuild of the mediabase database is necessary.

I've used Adobe Camera Raw with Adobe Bridge and Photoshop CS3 but have never been able to figure out how to open a .jpg file into ACR using Photoshop Elements 6. Of course, if you actually have RAW files they will open into ACR automatically but what happens if you want to use the same set of controls or even the same development settings, right you need to open in ACR.

Here are the instructions for opening a .jpg file into ACR using Elements 6:

1. Open Elements Editor.

2. Select File, Open As and browse to the image you want to open.

3. Select Camera Raw (not Photoshop Raw) from the File Type menu and click OK. It will now open into ACR.

4. After editing the image, you can save it as a .DMG file, and in the future it will open in ACR by default.

If you haven't tried the new publishing feature at http://ancestrypress.ancestry.com/ you should try it. This tool is designed for you to produce a family history book.

You can create a tree on http://www.ancestry.com/ (set up a free account not a paid account) either by typing in the information or by using a genealogy software program such as free http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ to export a GEDCOM file which you can then import into Ancestry. Then when you go into the publishing module you tell it to use your tree (and which one if you have more than one). You can then auto-generate a book using the information in the tree.

Books generally consist of a pedigree chart, family group records and individual timelines. However, you can add additional pages of various types as well as importing photos that you can then drag and drop onto the pages. You can also drag and drop various scrapbooking elements such as quotes, labels, journaling tags, flowers, buttons as well as choosing from a number of different background colors, textures and pictures.

When you’re done, you can either order a book or print the individual pages to your local printer for insertion into a scrapbook/ring binder. The tool is free, you only pay if you order a book (and then just the cost of book production).

Yesterday I posted about Atomic Cupcakes special birthday deal, where you can download all their actions for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Most Photoshop users know how to install actions in Photoshop but installing them in Photoshop Elements is much more of a mystery and changes with each version that Adobe releases.Here are instructions for installing them in PSE6 (edited: PSE7) under Vista/XP:

1. For each action there are two files (an .atn and a .psd).
2. You'll need to resave the .psd into .png format.
3. Copy the the .png and the .atn files into your Photo Effects folder making sure the names are identical.
4. In Vista your Photo Effects folder is located at C:\Program Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0 or 7.0\Photo Creations\Photo Effects.
5. In XP your Photo Effects folder is located at C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\6.0\Photo Creations\photo effects
6. Open Photoshop Elements 6.0 or 7.0 Editor.
7. In the Effects pane, select the Photo Effects icon.
8. Make sure the drop down menu has Show All selected.
9. You should now see icons to the actions (each with the Atomic Cupcake logo on it). If you can't see all the icons then switch between the different effects icons until they are all loaded (it took several refreshes on my computer to get them all to show).

******

Edited:

If you can't see the Program Data folder, you need to check that your hidden folders are showing(the Program Data is a hidden folder and won't display unless you expressly set it that way). Note: there is a Program Files folder that isn't hidden, but you want the Program Data folder.

In Vista, open Windows Explorer, Organize, Folder and Search options, View Tab, ensure that the Show hidden files and folders button is switched on.

You will need to restart Windows Explorer for the changes to take.

******

And, if anyone knows how to create a submenu/filter for the Photo Effects drop down (for example, to say Atomic Cupcake) I'd love to know how to do this in PSE6. Email me!

*Edited 07/17/2008* I have now been given a link to instructions on how to do this but am going to post them on my blog. The long and short of it is that you need a .xml file for every action you want to appear in the drop down, so for the Atomic Cupcake collection you are looking at creating over 100 .xml files!

*Edited 09/30/2008* Vista instructions work with PSE 7.0.

This will create a new copy of the photos in the folder you specified which you can then upload. You can also choose to resize the file at the same time if you want.

So after taking iView MediaPro for a whirl, I've decided it's just too slow for my computer. Each time I click on something it goes into the "Not Responding" mode on my computer. I've tried having the catalog locally but the problem doesn't go away. I don't plan to load my photos on my laptop so I don't know if that will fix the problem as I didn't try.

In the meantime, I am taking the opportunity to use Adobe Bridge (part of Photoshop) to catalog my photos with keywords and ratings. This will take me a good week or so to finish up. These ratings and keywords should be recognizable by most programs and are written directly into my .jpg files.

In addition, I'm going to test drive both Flickr and Zooomr as photo galleries. More on this soon.

I've amassed almost 5000 digital photos during my 4 years as a digital camera owner. Finding a particular photo is getting more and more difficult so I decided to look into Digital Asset Management. The bible for DAM is "The DAM Book" which I recommend reading if you are interested. Basically the approach advocates adding keywords and ratings for all images and to have multiple backups of your images.

While I do currently backup my photos as part of my regular backup, I don't back them up separately, and for now that's ok (2 copies exist). However, I have really been slacking off on the keywords and ratings of my images. As part of a plan to get organized (now that I have a lot of time on my hands) I have decided to rate and keyword all my images.

Before I get started, I thought I'd take a look to see if I should change my DAM program. I have been using Photoshop Elements 5 (previously 3 and 2) to manage my photos but it is getting slower and slower to navigate and find the photos I'm looking for and I can't access my catalog from my 2nd computer, a laptop. So I downloaded trials of both Lightroom 1.0 and iView MediaPro 3.1 to see if I might prefer one of those programs instead.

While Lightroom's DAM features are quite powerful, it does miss a few key points that iView MediaPro has:

unable to DAM files that are no longer connected (i.e. files are removed and are on DVD/CD can't be keyworded or rated) - this would also include a disconnected laptop where the files are stored on the network unable to reset paths (if file structure is changed can't reconnect files except on an individual basis - not fun with 5000 files)

unable to run a catalog across a network (this means the catalog can't be stored on one computer i.e. server and accessed from a client i.e. laptop - this might not be important for most people but this my preferred setup. I like to use programs from my laptop but run everything off my desktop/server. This makes for easy backups as only the server needs to be backed up. My dream setup would be to have two catalogs so that I could access it from both locations including as well as while disconnected from the network and sync the two catalogs back together!

OTOH, you are able to edit photos in Lightroom (similar to PSE) whereas iView MediaPro only calls the editing program of your choice to take over. Lightroom will also convert NEF files whereas iView MediaPro won't (you need to import/convert them using Adobe Camera RAW/DNG converter).

So what's my verdict? At this point I'm struggling to decide. On the one hand it'd be nice to have only one application to deal with (Lightroom does everything) but it's lack of flexibility when it comes to using network drives and it's inability to reset the paths as a workaround doesn't work for me either. I expect that I will probably re-evaluate Lightroom in a future version but until then, I won't be using it.

Are you stuck? We all hit a brick wall in our family history research from time to time. Here are some strategies for breaking through these walls.

1. Make a list of everything you really know.
• You will need to revisit all your associated records to do this.
• You may have missed a tiny snippet of information that could be the key to the puzzle.
• Don’t be afraid to throw out family legends.

2. Determine what it is you really need to know.
• Are you looking for the right information to help you move to the next step?

3. Where are the logical places to look for that information.
• Use guidebooks (such as the LDS resource guides available at www.familysearch.org) to educate yourself on what is available.
• Check all available sources and record when you DON’T find something as well as when you do.
• Don’t assume that people are dead just because they are missing. Making sure you have exhausted all avenues before making assumptions.

4. Get creative with spellings.
• Try common misspellings or phonetic spellings.
• Try wildcard * ? searches on computerized searches (* = anything, ? = replaces one character only)

5. Try following other people.
• What about his/her siblings?
• What about their traveling companions or neighbors?
• Are there any clues in traditional naming patterns or middle names?
• Who are the witnesses to an event?
• Who are the neighbors/boarders?

6. Try following their land rather than them.
• If they are landowners follow the plot or find the same address on a census record.
Search Suggestion Tools
• Newer genealogy software has them (Legacy 6)
• Existing tools like Gensmarts
IGI Search Integration
• Legacy 6, Rootsmagic 3, TMG 6 – allows users to search on ancestor in database directly from the genealogy program and it will fill in info and retrieve matches based on the information you have entered into your genealogy program. Legacy has an advantage over the other software as you can do this for all or batches of people at a time.

If you have been adding names for years into your genealogy program you have probably collected thousands of names from different sources and have probably changed your methodology style over time. If you have never thought about cleaning up your database or are not sure where to start, this blog entry is for you.

1. Duplicate individuals
Most genealogy programs have a merge feature. This is designed to look for duplicate individuals and to then merge them together. Make sure that the two individuals really are duplicates. Many families named individuals after other individuals in the family and so exact duplicate names are quite common in genealogical research. If your genealogy software allows you to review information during the merge process, make sure that you review parents, spouses and any dated information to ensure that you do not unintentionally merge two real individuals. If the individuals aren't duplicates, mark them as not duplicates so that you do not have to do this review again during another merge in the future. And whatever you do, create a backup before you start this process!

2. Cleaning up individuals
Almost all genealogy programs have a potential problems report. This report can be useful in spotting non-sensical data in your file. Many programs allow you to set threshholds for the data, such as minimum age for marriage, maximum child-bearing age or maximum life span. Check each individual listed and if possible, mark them to be ignored if the potential problem isn't actually a problem. Correct any genuine problems that you find.

3. Cleaning up places
Not all genealogy software programs allow you to merge places but some of the common programs do (such as Legacy). Use the Location List in Legacy to spot duplicate places and merge them together.

4. Cleaning up sources and citations
There are three things to do here. First is to merge any duplicate sources. This happens often when another gedcom is imported into your file. For example, one user might have referred to the IGI, the other to the International Genealogical Index.

Secondly, ensure proper source citation. While it is not necessary to become too obsessed about the proper way (check Elizabeth Shown Mills' "Evidence"), you should at least be consistent. Rootsmagic 3 has a Source Wizard that helps you to enter the information in the correct format and to ensure nothing is left out in the citation. The Master Genealogist has a similar feature where you can select whether you want to follow one of the more popular citation formats and then it guides you to how to do this.

Lastly, every "fact" in your database should have a source. The Master Genealogist has a feature that reminds you to enter a source when you enter data. TMG, Legacy and Rootsmagic all require multiple steps to find missing sources. You will need to search by fact, for example, individuals who have a census record but no associated source. In Legacy this requires that you tag all individuals that have a census fact, and then untag all individuals using census sources (you may have one census source or many, depending how you have set up your sources). This will give you a list of tagged individuals that you can add a source to.

5. Broken trees
Some programs allow you to count trees in your file. Ideally your file should only have one tree. Everyone should be connected in some way or other. There should be no stray individuals disconnected from your tree. Rootsmagic 3 allows you to count trees, select the Count Trees in Database from the Tools menu.

Legacy 6 Standard is available for FREE from www.legacyfamilytree.com
The Master Genealogist 6 (www.whollygenes.com), Rootsmagic 3 (www.rootsmagic.com) and Legacy 6 Deluxe are all commercial products.

With the bi-annual seminar of the Kelowna & District Genealogy Society coming up this Saturday, I thought I'd take this opportunity to provide some tips on how to make the most of a genealogical seminar. Here they are in no particular order:

1. Arrive early. This makes it easier for the organizers, yes, but you will also be able to browse the merchandise stands, figure out where the washrooms, lunchrooms are etc, and get a seat near the front of the room.
2. Talk to other attendees and the lecturers. I have been to many seminars where people each their lunches in silence at tables with other genealogists. Instead, make the effort to get to know the people you are sitting with. Ask them where they are researching, what time period, what surnames, any particularly interesting problems they have overcome, useful resources in the community or online. In short, you could be sitting next to a long-lost relative or someone who knows the answer to the particular problem you are having. Make sure that you take the opportunity to find out.
3. Listen. It is so easy to tell others about our family history but theirs never seems as interesting to us. Yet you don't learn anything by talking. Make sure that you are open to listening to the kind of information in point 2 above.
4. Collect and keep the handouts provided to you by the lecturers. Lecturers are usually limited in the number of pages they are allowed to provide in handouts (due to the expense). This means that the handouts should have the "essential" information that you will need to know on their topic. I have been to many seminars over the years and have collected extensive resources. Make sure that you file these as soon as you get home so that you can find them later.
5. Take money with you. It might seem like a no-brainer but with all that genealogical merchandise floating around make sure that you have cash to purchase anything that catches your eye. Most of these vendors probably won't take credit cards (except at large genealogical conferences). While you might need to watch you don't overspend, it is better than to miss out on that book you have been looking for.

Remember, in order to get the most out of these seminars you should be proactive. Talk to people. Ask questions. And don't forget to write down anything that is useful or interesting.

Enjoy your seminar!

For most of us, genealogy becomes addictive after a short time. I think this is why it is so hard for us to commit to actually publishing our findings. We know we are "that close" to finding the next missing link and, for every ancestor found, there are at least two more (the parents) to find, so our work never seems complete. I for one have had a hard time commiting even just a small family history story to paper. So here are some ideas to try to help you overcome this fear.

• Try focusing on just one family or a few generations. For me, it is my Rayner/Aggio family that I have been concentrating on. This family are particularly interesting as the family were in and out of Workhouses (Marylebone and Mile End) for four generations.
• Similarly, you could choose a theme such as the Workhouse theme above.
• Don't worry about only having enough material for a small booklet. The cost of publishing has come down hugely in the computer age. Check out http://www.lulu.com/. This is a self-publishing service where you submit a book for publishing, order copies for yourself and provide a web address to your relatives so they can order a copy of your book for themselves. For $39.95 US it even has the option of applying for an ISBN number as well as using the Amazon bookstore.

If writing isn't your thing (and for many people it is not), then try creating a heritage album instead. My 2nd hobby is scrapbooking so I am creating a scrapbook for my family history. I like this idea because:

• Pages can be created out of order (chronological, alphabetical etc) and new pages inserted in-between. As I write up each family story I just create a one or two page layout for each family.
• Like a book, my album will eventually have a table of contents and an index (although these will need to be created either in a temporary form (pencil) or re-printed on paper each time I add something new to the album.
• Photos are easily added (either originals, scanned copies or photocopies) as are other items such as ships passenger lists, newpaper cuttings (originals or copies). This cuts down the need for lots of written materials. Remember, even if you don't have a lot of documents for your ancestors you can add information about the town where they lived, or the events in their lives.
• Other 3-dimensional keepsakes can be added (either the original item or a colour copy), baby tags from the hospital, tickets or postcards from a trip etc.

Genealogy is hard work. We should take the time to share and enjoy our work with our family while we can.