Bill P, thanks for your suggestion. Question: is the separate hard drive you're using external or internal? It's my laptop that's giving me fits. So I don't have access to a separate internal hard drive there. If you're using an external hard drive for your scratch disk, is it reliable? When I read about isolating my scratch disk contents onto a separate drive, I keep getting warnings from other photographers not to use a source separate from my computer for scratch disk. Please clarify.

Thanks again for your response.

Thank you, Gene51. Appreciate the advice.

Thank you all for your suggestions. I think my big problem is insufficient space on my main drive, an SSD. I'll clear some stuff off and see what happens. I'm grateful to you for your help.

Good morning! I could use some help here. I'm trying to do some work in Photoshop and I keep getting an error message that my scratch disks are full. How can I reset them to continue my editing? Thanks for whatever advice you can send my way. Hope you all are well.

I've had a G16 for three years or so. When I want to travel without my heavy DSLR equipment, I bring it along. I have brought back some decent pictures from Hawaii, Scotland and England. Some of these I have on my business website. If I'm just driving around town and don't want to lug my equipment, I throw it into the back seat and it's there. I know there are better point and shoot cameras, but I like the choices I have for setting ISO, shutter speed, aperture and other features you don't get on cheaper cameras. I don't see myself getting a different point and shoot in the near future. It works great for me.

Nice photos. The high crosses didn't come around till ninth or tenth century. I've seen and photographed quite a few. They are a fascinating part of Celtic history.

I don't remember the source, but I love this quote for portrait photography: "Every portrait is a war between the sitter's vanity and the photographer's guile."

These are beautiful images! I live a couple of hours from the St. Louis Zoo and have photographed there before. These are over the top.

Tracy, for me I used environmental portraits as part of a series of portraits of an individual I group together to tell a story about that person. For that reason they often aren't the only portrait. I can use my 70-200 to get close up. My 35 mm doesn't have to get close. It can take in the whole scene to help tell the story. Both kinds of photos can work together. For single portraits, I would probably rely on my zoom.

Tracy, I love portraiture. My go-to lens is the Canon 70-200L IS f2.8. But lately I've glammed onto Canon's 35mm f2 for environmental portraits of individuals. It has been great for capturing portraits of people doing things. I use a full-frame (5DMkIII) but I've considered attaching it to my backup (Canon 7D) for senior pictures. I've picked up some decent shots with it. It's a personal choice. But I'm liking the investment. Not an expensive lens, but for my use sharp and fast.

Not everyone would rate my Canon G16 "the best point and shoot out there," but for the money I don't think you can do much better. Lens opens up to f 1.8-2.8 and does great in low-light settings. Has a 5X optical zoom (28-140 mm) and a respectable 12.1 megapixel with CMOS sensor and DIGIC 6 image processor. Allows you to choose aperture or shutter priority or manual, along with the usual settings. You can choose to shoot raw or jpeg. Great video (in my estimation). For people who insist on having a viewfinder, it's there (although the view of the lens edge is a bit distracting). Not wanting to carry heavy DSLRs with me to trips in Hawaii, Scotland and England, this was perfect, and I came back with some great images. I even used it in an open-door helicopter in Kauai, and I was most satisfied with what I came back with. Price around $400-500.

For my part, as I've learned more and more about photography, I've begun to enjoy portraiture, specifically photographing people in places and situations that tell stories. The stories and the people are endearing, and if my photography captures that in compelling ways I'm gratified. The quality and composition of the photograph must tell the story. Ergo, I've begun enjoying taking senior pictures...really enjoyed that. Did some engagement pictures for my niece and highly enjoyed that. That is what has made photography most enjoyable to me.

What an opportunity!! I spent a few days in Kauai in January...did the open door helicopter thing. It was a blast! Because I was traveling from the Midwest to Hawaii and wanted to travel light, I took my Canon G16 and got some great shots with it. (I ordinarily use Canon 5DMk3 and the 24-105 f4 lens). I welcomed the zoom possibilities on my little point and shoot and used them to capture landscapes from the air. So on your camera, bring a zoom with some wide angle. You do need a little telescopic zoom. I got a great shot from the air at a goat climbing one of lush green hills. Lots of great places to visit in Kauai. Enjoy!

Thank you, all, for your suggestions. I'd still like to find ways to use music legally (burkphoto...thanks for these suggestions!). But this should get me started.

I'd like some advice on what my fellow photographers think would be the best slideshow software for senior pictures. I'm thinking along the lines of software that would be economical, relatively easy to use and offer a good final package for clients. How much leeway do I have on choice of background music, etc.? Thanks!