Digital Imagery

Working with Digital images (photography) can be very enjoyable and fun. Some tips that you might find useful are:

  • Try and work with a higher specification PC
  • Know the application tool you are working with
  • Keep the resolution of the image while editing, to maintain the quality of the image
  • Changing the colour balance of an image can be a quick way to age an image
  • Different file formats compress and save images in different ways

If you wish to do advanced editing of images, then you will undoubtedly find it much easy and quicker to do so with a more high specification system. Images can be very large and once editing takes place these functions can again increase the size of the image.

With so many types of image editing products on the market it is often difficult to choose which one best suits your needs, but once you have identified a suitable one it is often good practise to understand it's workings in order to get the best results.

Digital images are normally stored in your camera in a JPG (pronounced J-PEG) format. This is generally a very flexible format that allows great variation between quality and file size of stored image. JPG compression is very useful for creating small size image files.

  • Example, a 6 mega pixel camera will produce an image in a JPG format of about 1.5MB

However, some modern cameras will also allow you to select different formats, some of which do not use compression - TIFF is one type, and these can traditionally be as large as 3 times the camera resolution.

  • Example, a 6 mega pixel camera will produce an image in a TIFF format of about 20MB

If you wish to have any further support on this topic, please contact us using the following link - we can also provide training or remote assistance.

Please contact us for further information


Presentations

With improved technology and the developing complexity of modern applications - new creative methods of presenting information from a computer is possible.

Designing a suitable presentation is extremely important, some useful consideration points are:

  • How does your presentation application work with the specification of your PC
  • Know the application tool you are working with
  • The timing, format of the presentation
  • Does that presentation include pictures, video clips, sound
  • Does your presentation require specialist codecs (Video decoders) to run correctly
  • Are the colour, font options being used clearly visible from a distance

We recommend that time is taken when drafting a presentation, a useful hint is to spend time setting up a suitable template for your pages, setting a font style, colouring and layout that suits the presentation. This will prove to be a good time saver as you draft your presentation and also assist you in producing a consistent format for your pages.

When inserting pictures, sounds and video clips - please be aware that generally these are added in to the presentation as links, and are not normally embedded (meaning, they are not physically part of the presentation file). This is very important if you wish to send your presentation to anyone else because they will also need the additional files to be sent in order for them to view it as you intended.

When inserting video media please check that the files are encoded in a format that is readable by other computers, as not all codecs are automatically installed and set-up on all PC's, so may need to be installed prior to viewing the required presentation.

If you wish to have any further support on this topic, please contact us using the following link - we can also provide training or remote assistance.

Please contact us for further information


Websites

Websites are currently the modern way to communicate to current and new customers, while informing them about the business. Many new opportunities open up to businesses with website access, so we are always keen to encourage and assist in aiding a business to develop in this way.

We have listed a few thoughts that will help you when developing a website:

  • What is the business
  • Key aims and objectives of the website
  • What style of website suits your business
  • Who is the target audience
  • Could this be used as a portal into other aspects of the business
    (example, using contact information to develop a mail shot database)
  • Develop a suitable website plan/structure prior to starting the building of it
  • Where will your site be held, is it a reliable service provider
  • Confirm the Domain name you are planning to use

When designing and setting-up a website, time needs to be given to many of the above points. The importance of planning and understanding the outcomes of your website are just as important, as knowing what colours graphics you want to include. Attention should be given to what the business is communicating via the website and how best this can be achieved.

There are many applications and tools available to assist you in the development of a website, ranging from specially designed products right through to Freeware based HTML editors.

If you are interested in using the Freeware HTML editor, please access the link below for further information.


The importance of having a reliable service is a crucial factor for any website; this should be considered as part of the design plan. If you wish to have any further guidance on this topic, please contact us using the following link - we can also provide training or remote assistance.

Please contact us for further information


Project Planning

When involved in large activities/tasks, we would suggest that rather than just complete the works as necessary without any form of process - that thought is given to breaking down the works into a Project. This has a number of benefits, including:

  • Allows all involved a clear indication of progress
  • Ensures that the activity/tasks runs to a pre-defined schedule
  • Gives clear accountability of the key members involved
  • Provides a process which it repeatable
  • Will provide early warnings of any difficulties/problems
  • An opportunity to learn from the project documentation

Project methodologies can be used to assist with a range of activities, contrary to belief; they are not only used with large activities/tasks. Good project planning takes the best of these methodologies and tailors the key area to suit the appropriate activity, therefore, can be used for very small to very large projects.

We believe that there are many benefits from using a project methodology; if you feel you would like further information or support from us in this area, please contact us using the following link.

Please contact us for further information