Getting a Camera
You do not have to own a fancy shmancy camera in order to enter Project Dorm Room. As a matter of fact, you don’t have to own a camera at all. There are several ways that you can get a picture taken of your beautiful space. Most students have entered photos of their rooms over the last couple of years that were taken on camera phones. They take pretty fabulous photos these days! If you don’t own a camera phone or a regular camera, ask a friend to borrow theirs or ask a DLT member to help you out! Snapping a few pictures will not take long at all, and I know they would be glad to help you have a shot at winning Project Dorm Room. You could even make a night of it by getting together with a bunch of friends and taking pictures of everyone’s rooms! Finally, the library offers many cameras that can be checked out at no cost. It’s easy peasy. See their full list for more details: http://tripodclassic.brynmawr.edu/search~S10?/.b3421429/.b3421429/1,1,1,B/holdings~3421429&FF=&1,0,

Representing your space in ONE IMAGE
I know that’s not simple and may even feel impossible. It’s challenging to fit your ENTIRE room in the lens of a camera. There are options, though (see below). What you choose to do completely depends on how you want to represent your room. You know your space and the characteristics that make it unique. You know the parts that you were careful and thoughtful in designing and the little things that make you proud to call it home. These are the pieces that you want to be sure stand out in the image you submit. These are the pieces you want the voters to see. That means you have to get creative! It also means you don’t have to show your entire room in the image you submit.  If you put a lot of effort into designing the area around your bed, maybe it doesn’t matter if the voters see your hamper and desk. Think about what makes your space a winner and then submit an image that highlights those aspects! I would even suggest taking several pictures from different angles and positions and then choosing the one that evokes what you want it to evoke! I encourage you to let your creative juices flow (as long as your image fits into the size requirements and follows the other rules of the contest -see Rules)!

How to Take a Photo
We do not expect you to be a professional photographer. This contest is not about photography skills.  I know that might be shocking, but it’s true. It’s about the creativity and uniqueness of your room. It’s about how you took a small dorm room that a hundred other students have lived in and made it yours. That said, if you would like some pointers on how to get started, I found that this site has some very helpful hints and suggestions: https://www.lightstalking.com/basic-photography-tips-for-beginners/
Poke around the site a bit! Keep in mind that not everything is applicable to Project Dorm Room, but there are bits and pieces that may be helpful. Also, try googling “how to take a photo”. There are millions of sites that offer tips and tricks for people with all different camera comfort levels.

Photo Collages
Yes, there is a one image rule in Project Dorm Room, but remember how I mentioned options and creativity earlier on this page? That’s where collages come in. A photo collage in this context is one image (and therefore one file) that is made up of several photos. It’s a way to represent several parts of your room while still adhering to the one image requirement.

Please keep in mind that you do not have to create a collage in order to enter or be successful in Project Dorm Room. It is not a necessary tool for winning the contest! It is, however, a fun and creative option for showing the voters several sections of your space. If you determine that this is the best way to represent your room, there are many, many ways to go about making a photo collage:

• There are several free websites you can use that do not require registering. It is important to note when thinking about using sites like this that Bryn Mawr College does not support these sites. You should also always be careful when uploading personal pictures to websites that may reserve the right to reproduce or reuse them. Read fine print carefully and use them at your own risk.
• There are smart phone apps that have the ability to create collages. You can use Google to find out more.
• Photoshop is a go-to for many people.
• Good ol’ Paint. This is probably the most accessible and simple program for creating a basic photo collage. It won’ be fancy, but remember- we don’t need fancy! Even if you are a Mac user or don’t have Paint on your computer, you can access Paint by using most of the network computers on campus. Here are the basic steps:
  1. Upload and save your photos to your computer. A collage can be made up of as many photos as you want, but remember that the more photos you use the smaller each one has to be. You want each picture within the collage to be clear and prominent.
  2. Go to “Start” and then “All Programs” on your computer. Then click “Accessories”. Choose “Paint”.
  3. Insert your saved photos by clicking “paste” and then “paste from”. A window will open that allows you to choose a file to insert. Choose the saved photo you’d like to insert first.
  4. Resize it. How you do this will depend on the size of your original picture files and the collage design you want to create. Play around with the resizing button to see what works for you. The size limit for submitting an image to Project Dorm Room is 400 pixels wide. I made an extremely simple collage using 4 pictures (see below), so I resized each picture in the collage to be 200 pixels wide. To do this or something similar, click “resize,” then check “pixels” and “maintain aspect ratio” (this will change your height and width proportionally- VERY IMPORTANT!). Next to “horizontal” (aka width), enter 200 and click “ok”.
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each photo you want in your collage, positioning each one where you want it in the collage before inserting the next photo. You can do this by simply dragging it to the intended space.
  6. Once all of your photos are inserted, resized, and positioned where you want them, click “select” and then “rectangular selection”. Select the entire collage by clicking in one corner of the image and dragging it to the opposite corner. Click “crop”.
  7. You are left with one image! It’s time to save as. You can save it as either a jpeg or a bitmap, but be sure to follow the file naming rule: name_dorm
  8. You are ready to upload it to the Project Dorm Room entry form!
  

  My very own and very simple photo collage (of my office!) made using the program Paint!

Resizing photos and files
Resizing the photo and overall file size is something that tends to be an issue for some Project Dorm Room contestants. The size requirements may seem unimportant or restrictive, but they do serve an important purpose. Photos that are too wide or too tall complicate the voting process, because the entire picture cannot be seen without scrolling down or to the side. It means the voters are unable to get a clear picture of the space represented in the photo. The width and height requirement also go a long way in creating a sense of fairness between contest entries, because voters are able to compare similarly-sized images.  The file size also affects how smoothly the voting process goes. Files that are too large make the wufoo voting pages load very slowly. On certain computers, it prevents photos from loading at all. In these situations, voters are either discouraged from voting because it is unpleasant to wait long periods of time for images to load or they are unable to vote properly (because their computer cannot load certain images at all).  We want to help you stick to the size requirements so we can avoid all of these issues and create a fabulous Project Dorm Room experience for both our contestants and voters! Information Services has helped us compile this list of resources available to you for guidance in resizing photos and files: