I have had several adoptees show interest in taking their search to social media. While this method does not work for everyone it is definitely an avenue to consider when looking for you're birth family. This post will give you info on the app I used to make my search photo, other apps that are free, how to start a free blog for your search, and link your search photo to your blog!
Most of you have seen my search photo above. It was simple, readable, inviting, and most importantly shareable!
I used the Rhonna Designs App to make both of the above photos. You can download this app in the Apple App Store or Google Play
from this link. The Rhonna app is only $1.99 and well worth it!
This is what the app looks like when you open it on your iphone. You will either need to select a very good, clear picture of you from your phone or scan one, email it to yourself, and save it to your phone! Once you have your picture on your phone, open the app and select the first box at the bottom with the camera roll.
When you select the camera roll option all the pictures on your phone will open in the app as shown in the first screen. Select the album your picture is saved to and it will open all the pictures in that album as shown in the second screen. Find the picture you want to use and when you select it, it will then show up as the third screen shot does of me at my Birthday. You have the option to choose formats other an a square, however most pictures on social media show up best in the square format so I would just stick with that!
Before you hit the crop button in the top right corner you need to adjust your picture so there is adequate room for your information. You can do so by 'pinching' the screen to zoom in and move to the left or right. Above is what the zoomed in version of my picture looks like. As you can see I have zoomed in on my face and moved the pic to the left. After you have done this you can select the 'crop' button at the top!
After selecting the 'crop' button you will be taken to a new screen where you can add graphics and words! The first button on the top left with the 'T' is where you can select a font. The second button with the little 'sun' icon I guess you can call it is where you can select graphics. This is the first button you should choose because before you add info to your photo you need to add a white box to the right!
When you select the graphic icon your design packs will show up on the left. Scroll down till you see the one with the triangle pyramid, the 'insta geo' pack and select it! When you select the 'insta geo' graphic pack a bar will then show up across the bottom with all the graphics in that pack! The first option is that grey box and when you select it, it shows up as a white box as pictured above! Then all you need to do is make the square bigger using the little pink dot on the bottom right of the square and position it to the right of your photo! Now you are ready to add your info!
Now to add the text. Select the box with the 'T' at the top. When you do this a bar will pop up on the side with font selections. Be sure to choose a font that is easily readable but not harsh, like you are yelling at someone. Each box on the right has several font options so select a box and when you do the font options in that box will pop up on the bottom.
When you select a font box from the right all the fonts in that box pop up along the bottom as well as a box on the screen that says "Double Tap To Edit." So you do just that! The first thing I do is change the color to black so I can see it. To do this just select the color you want at the bottom right above the font choices. You can then select the font you want and move your text around by touching and dragging it, or make it bigger/smaller with the yellow dot at the bottom corner of the text. Double tap the text and your keyboard will pop up for you to edit your text! BE SURE to choose a font and color that is easily readable! When you are done editing your photo simply save it to your camera roll and email it to yourself!
Now that you have your search photo create a free blog with blogger.com. If you have a google account already then you are one step ahead! Why should you post your photo to a blog first you ask? This is so you can share it through a link! If you simply upload the photo to facebook it's just going to drift around facebook being shared who knows how many times and will never stopped being shared no matter what. If you post your photo in a blog not only can you write a little something up for people to read when they come to your blog from the link you post, but when you find who you are looking for you can edit your post to say that you are done searching and eventually people will stop sharing! You can also keep track of how many hits your post gets when you do it this way! When people share the link on facebook your search photo with all you info will appear as well as the link to your blog! See my original search post
here.
The following are not apps that I have used so I can not speak for how well they will work but these are some free photo editing apps:
Just a little something to end on here. Make sure you choose a nice clear picture of yourself. If you don't like any current pictures of yourself choose a cute baby picture! When you are making your photo think "If I saw this would I share it on my wall?" You have to make something that people will want to share to get the best results!
Watch for my next blog about what to include in your search photo and more importantly what NOT to include! I know we are all eager to find whoever we are looking for but over sharing with the world can be bad! There will also be a post on where to share your search link - how I got a little crafty and targeted where I shared my link!
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I hop this helps some of you! Please feel free to ask questions in the comments below!
xoxo - Ashley
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