Flowers are nice, but they don?t last. Chocolates are fine, but who needs the extra calories? Maybe it?s time to rethink the traditional Valentine's Day gifts. Why not surprise your loved one this year with something unique and personalized? Instead of running out to the mall, take a new look at all of those photos you have around the house.

 

            

"Gifts that capture memories and highlight special occasions are the ones that have the most meaning," says Gary Chrisophersen, CEO of PhotoWorks, an online photo finishing service. "By using your photos in creative ways, you can easily put together a variety of special gifts."

You can personalize your photos in a number of ways. Try enhancing your prints with a custom border. PhotoWorks offers a large selection of BorderPrint designs for any occasion, including Valentine’s Day. You can simply indicate the border you want when you?re ordering your prints.

Or use a group of prints to create a Brag Book. This pocket-sized, bound book brings together the photos you choose along with your own captions. You could create a collection that has special meaning for your Valentine, or that documents a happy event or celebration. Mothers would love to receive a specially chosen collection of the kids with descriptive captions.

Photoworks can even help you create your own DVD or VHS photo show with appropriate music and backgrounds. Maybe you want to feature a special occasion or memorable vacation, or just create a Valentine?s message for a loved one. Well, now you can, and it's easy.

In order to make one of these unique Valentine's gifts, you'll need to get your images over to PhotoWorks. They offer an innovative service for both film and digital camera owners.

Customers can create an online archive of their photos, either by sending in a roll of film or a memory card of digital images, or by uploading their digital images from home. Once the photos are online, they can be organized into albums or made into one of these unique gifts. They can also be easily shared with relatives via a link sent by e-mail. Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins can access your photos, view the albums and even order their own set of prints. "Images from the new digital cameras are fairly large. People are not going to want to send them out and clog up everyone?s e-mail," adds Christophersen.

A comparison of online photo services by "Newsweek" magazine found that PhotoWorks per print price of 19 cents is the lowest currently available. Planning to use your digital camera to take pictures for your Valentine?s gifts? Make sure to follow these tips for taking the best pictures with your digital camera from the experts at PhotoWorks:

1. High resolution equals high quality. Take photos in the highest resolution setting possible. Resolution is the number of pixels in an image. As the number of pixels increases, so does print quality and clarity.

2. Crop carefully. When you crop your photos, pixels are removed and quality suffers. Be careful not to crop away too much of your original image.

3. Use your flash. Always use your flash when taking pictures indoors or in low-light settings. Photos taken in low light can result in underexposed photos.

4. Keep steady. Some digital cameras have a slight delay after the shutter is pressed. Hold still to avoid blurred shots.

For more information about unique PhotoWorks gifts and their products and services, go to www.photoworks.com or call (800) 746-8696.

EDITOR?S NOTE: For more information, contact Sarah Schwitters at (206) 272-9858. PhotoWorks, formerly Seattle FilmWorks, has been processing film for more than 24 years.