Photo Wizard Basics
The Photo Wizard was created to help you easily format your pictures for all of the Stories by Me projects.
Click on the Photo Wizard menu option.
Be sure to read Steps 1-3 to make the Photo Wizard process a snap! When you are ready, press the Get Started button.
This will allow you to create a free, personal account. Once you have signed in, you will access the Add Photos page. You can load up to 20 pictures into your account. Press the ADD Photo button after selecting each file that you want to use in your project.
If you try to load a file that is larger than the Photo Wizard can handle, you will get a message asking if you want help resizing your picture. You can tell the size of a file by placing your cursor over the picture in the Explore window. A popup will appear displaying information about that file. At 1.91 MB, this file is too big for the Photo Wizard. You have several options for resizing the picture. Check out your options here.
Once all of your pictures are loaded into the Photo Wizard you can select your project. If you are working on individual blocks or buttons, you will need to specify a project type. This tells the Photo Wizard what size to make your finished pictures.
Because the Puzzle Blocks project is the trickiest to format, we'll use it for our example...
If we try to use this picture as it loaded into the Photo Wizard, we will cut through the girl's eyes on the left. The Photo Wizard offers several tools for improving the layout of the picture.
Option 1:
Try moving the vertical slider up and down. You can also drag the picture around the window by clicking your left mouse button on the photo and moving it to a new position.
Option 2:
In this version, I sized the picture to 109% of its original size. I pushed the picture up so that the line didn't cross anyone's eyes. I also added some text. (You can add a second line of text by clicking on the icon showing the page/pencil and #2.) The Aa icon will let you make adjustments to the text. The ? icon is a useful tool for understanding all of the options available within the Photo Wizard.
Here's what the picture will look like in the file that is sent to you. Be sure to SAVE this file to your computer. We don't save it! You'll want to print the file using a laser printer as inkjet colors tend to smear when the glue is applied.
Option 3:
What if you have a picture that is rectangular in shape? If I try to fill the entire window with this picture, I will leave someone out. Instead, I chose to fill in the extra space with a green background. The more faces in a picture, the more difficult it can be to lay it out. There is not a way to format this picture without cutting through someone's face. I either need to pick another picture, or realize that someone is going to be split in two!
This picture too important not to be included in my project. I think the final layout will work just fine!
Now you know enough to have fun formatting your own pictures. Feel free to contact us if you have any problems using the software. Remember, we're only a mouse click away!