Digital Photography

Here’s a holiday gift idea that’s sure to get rave reviews: Create custom DVD slide shows featuring photos of your loved ones. You might give the grandparents a show featuring just the grandkids, for example, or put together a show that follows a single child from birth through kindergarten.

Almost every photo-editing program offers simple tools for getting the job done; you may even be able to build a show and burn it to DVD through programs that come free with your computer, such as iPhoto on the Mac. And for a cool finishing touch, some DVD recorders enable you to print a custom label on the disc. With a DVD burner that offers LightScribe technology, the label image is burned right onto the disc surface. (Check out LightScribe at www.lightscribe.com.) Some inkjet printers, notably some Epson models, also enable you to print color labels on printable DVDs.

Not up to handling all the details on your own? Online photo sites such as Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com) offer custom photo DVDs, complete with fancy labels and cases, for a small fee. All you do is upload your photos and choose the music, slide transitions, and other slideshow features you want to include.