Monday, December 12, 2005
Why Stock Photography is a Great Resource for Web Business
by Kelly Paal
A picture is worth a thousand words.And it still is today.
With the media changing everyday photography has changed along with it and as a result is still a valuable resource for web business.
1. Photos enhance the look of a website.
2. Communicate so much more than words, they communicate emotions.
3. Photos can be customized for borders and backgrounds.
4. Photos have more impact than clip art. (They tend to give a more professional look.)
5. Stock photography is a big business and affordable stock is out there.
As a web business you’re most likely a small business and have a limited budget and that’s where stock photography can be great resource for you. You can spend as little as $10.00 or as much as $200.00 plus on one image. (Consider that if you hired a professional commercial photographer to shoot a few rolls of film to your specifications it would cost you thousands and thousands of dollars.)
Things to remember when shopping for stock photography:
1. Know what you want, start with a generic idea and get specific as you shop (Remember you probably will not find the exact image that you have in your head, be open to good photos that you find along the way.)
2. Shop around, try the larger agencies try the independents too. (Larger agencies offer more to chose from independent photographers offer more personalized service.)
3. Know what you’re going to use it for, stock photography belongs to the photographer who created it, or the agency, so know what you need it for there can and will be limitations of use.
4. Know what format you need, you only need 72 dpi for the web, be careful that you don’t pay for a higher quality when you don’t need it. (300 dpi for printing purposes)
5. Know your terms for the industry, Make sure that you know what the difference is between royalty free and rights managed, and any other terms the business may use. If something is not clear on their site contact them and ask for clarification.
So remember you can add a little more impact and emotion to your site by making use of the stock photography out there today.
Copyright 2004 Kelly Paal Kelly Paal is a Freelance Nature and Landscape Photographer, exhibiting nationally and internationally.
Recently she started her own business Kelly Paal Photography (http://www.kellypaalphotography.com/).
She has an educational background in photography, business, and commercial art. She enjoys applying graphic design and photography principles to her web design
Friday, December 02, 2005
Digital Photo Printing - How To Insure You Get Quality Prints
by Mike Kruske
Now that you have purchased a fine quality digital camera and finally got thatgreat shot of the baby that you would like to get enlarged and framed, how doyou know the digital photo enlargement you order from that online printer willlast without fading?
A good price is nice, but in the world of digital printing, there is a world ofdifference in the quality and archival properties (non-fading), of digital prints.Differences range from the quality and weight of the photographic papers, tothe type and durability of the inks used. The greatest difference may be in theactual print quality, or printing resolution, of the digital printer.All in all....a basic general knowledge of the differences out there can be thedifference between a beautiful framed image and a complete disappointment.
Photographic papers for digital prints range from very light weight, economicalpapers, to professional grade, heavy weight durable papers. Economical papersrange from 5mil to 7mil thickness and can be damaged by creasing very easily.Because the resin coatings on these economical papers are thinner, the printedimage may not be as stable and durable, which can result in color shifting in theprint. If you are looking for a one time use with a photo, this may work for you.
If you are expecting your photo enlargement to last for many year with a vibrantdynamic image, I would always recommend using the professional grade photopapers. These papers will be of 10mil thickness and rated with a weight of 250gm.
The type of inks used in digital printing have the most to do with your photo printlasting for years without fading and color shifting. There are basically two types ofinks, dye inks and pigmented inks. Pigmented inks are produced from organicmaterials and will last the longest with the greatest UV and stability protection.
The final, and most important point related to high quality digital prints is the printresolution or printing dpi of the digital printer. Generally, the higher the printingresolution, the finer quality the print. Higher resolutions will produce a fuller, moredetailed image, close to whats refered to as "solid tone" printing. Many printersuse systems with 600dpi or 1200dpi resolutions. These will produce nice prints,but for the finest quality digital prints, you will want to find printers with higherresolutions like 1440dpi or 2880dpi. These will produce the best visual prints.
As a rule of thumb, you will want to deal with printers that offer a satisfactionguarantee. If a printer does not guarantee their work, how good can it be?
For in-depth information on photo enlargement and digital photo printing visit:Digital Photo Printing
If you have any questions concerning the information in this article:PhotoArt Imaging
Mike Kruske established PhotoArt Imaging Digital Arts Center in 1997 specializing in Photo Enlargement, Digital Photo Enlargement and Wide Format Digital Photo Printing of Digital Images. This targeted experience provides a unique insight into digital photo processing for large format print output. For further photo enlargement and printing info or questions: http://www.enlargephotos.com/
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Printing on Canvas
By Fabio Braghi
Given the progress in inkjet and media technology, demand for printing photographs and art on canvas is growing exponentially.
Whether you have a good inkjet printer or you prefer to have your work done by a professional outfit, it is worth to explore this option for any type of image. We constantly receive requests from wedding and portrait photographers who want to print large canvas for their clients.Artists regularly order limited edition prints on canvas and watercolor papers to sell to collectors.
These reproductions usually are signed and are accompanied by a COA (Certificate of authenticity). Buyers are very receptive to purchasing canvas prints they can hang up without a protective glass, without worrying about scratches and water damage.
The texture of a fine art canvas is unparalleled in beauty; a protective coating is applied on top to give the substrate a matte, luster or glossy look. If you prefer to experiment with this material to see the results, canvas sheets are available at many stores that carry inkjet products.
The differences between a home desktop printer and a professional one are many but I will focus on the most important. First, commercial machines can be outfitted with pigmented inks; these inks differ from dye inks commonly found in the cheap home printers because they are archival and will not fade for decades.
Dyes on the other hand will start losing brilliance in a matter of months. There are some home use printers now that offer a form of hybrid dye/pigment system. The second difference is the nozzle quality; pro level systems have extremely sophisticated nozzles that can render a very fine dot and exceptional tonal rendition.
The process of printing on fine art materials such as canvas and watercolor papers is referred to as "giclee". Giclee is a French term that loosely translated means "sprayed on". It refers to the nozzles which spray ink onto the paper.
Giclee printing involves some of the characteristics described above and it is usually performed by professional shops.You can read more about giclee and fine art canvas printing on our website.
Fabio Braghi is the owner and printmaker of a Fine art giclee print company with over fifteen years of experience in digital imaging.
Given the progress in inkjet and media technology, demand for printing photographs and art on canvas is growing exponentially.
Whether you have a good inkjet printer or you prefer to have your work done by a professional outfit, it is worth to explore this option for any type of image. We constantly receive requests from wedding and portrait photographers who want to print large canvas for their clients.Artists regularly order limited edition prints on canvas and watercolor papers to sell to collectors.
These reproductions usually are signed and are accompanied by a COA (Certificate of authenticity). Buyers are very receptive to purchasing canvas prints they can hang up without a protective glass, without worrying about scratches and water damage.
The texture of a fine art canvas is unparalleled in beauty; a protective coating is applied on top to give the substrate a matte, luster or glossy look. If you prefer to experiment with this material to see the results, canvas sheets are available at many stores that carry inkjet products.
The differences between a home desktop printer and a professional one are many but I will focus on the most important. First, commercial machines can be outfitted with pigmented inks; these inks differ from dye inks commonly found in the cheap home printers because they are archival and will not fade for decades.
Dyes on the other hand will start losing brilliance in a matter of months. There are some home use printers now that offer a form of hybrid dye/pigment system. The second difference is the nozzle quality; pro level systems have extremely sophisticated nozzles that can render a very fine dot and exceptional tonal rendition.
The process of printing on fine art materials such as canvas and watercolor papers is referred to as "giclee". Giclee is a French term that loosely translated means "sprayed on". It refers to the nozzles which spray ink onto the paper.
Giclee printing involves some of the characteristics described above and it is usually performed by professional shops.You can read more about giclee and fine art canvas printing on our website.
Fabio Braghi is the owner and printmaker of a Fine art giclee print company with over fifteen years of experience in digital imaging.
Managing Your Digital Photos
By Christine Sutton
Countless people are touting the convenience of digital photography. "It’s so easy," they say, "no piles of photographs to deal with." While its true that the mess may not be as visible, there’s no doubt that managing digital photos can be an organizing nightmare!
If you’re struggling with how to manage your digital images, then following these tips may help you regain control: Choose Only the Best Photos
Our first recommendation is always the same, whether you’re organizing digital images or physical photographs. You must purge--relentlessly! Immediately delete any photos that are dark, blurry, or otherwise unattractive.
If you’ve got several pictures of the same thing, pick one or two of the best and delete the others.
The great thing about digital cameras is that you can make this decision instantaneously, which is exactly when you should do it! If you don’t, you’ll be creating much more work for yourself later. Creating Your Internal File Cabinet
Once you download your "prized" photos onto your computer, you then need to think of your computer like a file cabinet; and treat the folders like folders in your file cabinet.
You need to decide what filing method works best for you. Do you like to file chronologically or by event? If you’re not sure, then ask yourself how you go about looking for photos.
If you look for things by when they occurred, then you’ll probably want to sort chronologically. (You can set up a folder for each year, with subfolders for each month.)
If you look for photos by the person featured or by certain events, then you should set up folders by people and/or by subject. Of course, you can then sort chronologically within the subject. Creating Folders
An effective folder system will really help you manage your images more easily, because, as you have found, it is difficult to avoid using somewhat repetitive file names.
Another thing you can do to simplify your sorting process is to view your files in thumbnail sketches, which display tiny previews of image files in a folder. That way if you have several photos of the same thing, you can get an idea of which one is which.
You may not be able to avoid calling them Abby 1, 2, 3 but you’ll be able to identify each photo.
It is a good idea to include the date in each file name, like this:
Abby_Oct04
You can also add details along with the name and date to help you better identify the images.
Here are some examples:
Abby_Jenny_Mar03 Abby_soccer_Sep02 Abby_beach_Aug03
If you’ve got multiple photos of the same event, then you can add another number to show that they’re part of a series.
For example:
Abby_bday_Apr03_01 Abby_bday_Apr03_02
If you’re trying to organize multiple images from a single event, just narrow down the event with descriptive titles, like this:
Christmas_2002_tree Christmas_2002_cookies Christmas_2002_pageant Christmas_2002_Eve
Staying on top of your digital images takes the same diligence as managing your physical photographs. Procrastinating only magnifies the mess.
Regularly take the time to organize and manage your images, so that you can enjoy the convenience instead of having to cope with the nightmare. And speaking of nightmares please be sure to read the following segment on what you must know if you’re going to rely on digital photography. Digital Photography -- Help or Hindrance?
Digital photography is taking the photography market by storm -- and with good reason! To be able to take pictures and view them in real time is a true technological wonder!
Digital photography may just be one of the most convenient "photo organizing" tools available -- allowing you to immediately purge bad photos and keep only the highest quality photos.
But before you let yourself get swept away by the excitement; we want to give you a gentle nudge and encourage you to remember the old standby . . . printed photographs. Do you think were being unrealistic . . . . Acting purely from a state of unbridled nostalgia?
Ask yourself this...how many of those digital photos have you actually printed? Are they sitting on your hard drive waiting until you "have time" to print them, "have time" to get them into albums?
When was the last time that you grabbed the family and cuddled around the computer together to view those precious images? (You must admit that nothing beats a traditional album for sitting down with your loved ones and reminiscing over those special memories.)
And what if your hard drive were to crash today? What would become of your families most prized possessions? Would all be lost in just a matter of minutes?
Okay, so maybe you have taken the time to download them onto a CD. Well did you realize that if that CD gets scratched, you have lost the entire contents of the CD? And did you realize that writable CDs have a significantly shorter life span than you may have imagined, and that they can be susceptible to breaking down after just a few short years?
So what’s the solution? Well, were certainly not recommending that you abandon the concept of digital photography. But we do recommend that you set realistic expectations for the technology, and perhaps shift your perception of the concept. Think of it as a means of taking photographs and processing film. It is a means to an end . . . it is not the end!
Take the time to actually print your favorite photographs so that you don’t have to rely solely on technology to preserve your past!
Excerpted from "Save Your Photos and Your Sanity: How to Organize and Safeguard Your Entire Photograph Collection...in as little as 10 days, without losing your mind!"
Christine Sutton and her business partner, Tracey DuBois have helped countless people organize, protect, and enjoy their precious photographs. As authors of "Save Your Photos and Your Sanity" and producers of "Treasure Your Memories", they take a unique and FUN approach to organizing photographs. They offer a FREE Photo Organizing Idea Kit at www.organizedphotos.com
Countless people are touting the convenience of digital photography. "It’s so easy," they say, "no piles of photographs to deal with." While its true that the mess may not be as visible, there’s no doubt that managing digital photos can be an organizing nightmare!
If you’re struggling with how to manage your digital images, then following these tips may help you regain control: Choose Only the Best Photos
Our first recommendation is always the same, whether you’re organizing digital images or physical photographs. You must purge--relentlessly! Immediately delete any photos that are dark, blurry, or otherwise unattractive.
If you’ve got several pictures of the same thing, pick one or two of the best and delete the others.
The great thing about digital cameras is that you can make this decision instantaneously, which is exactly when you should do it! If you don’t, you’ll be creating much more work for yourself later. Creating Your Internal File Cabinet
Once you download your "prized" photos onto your computer, you then need to think of your computer like a file cabinet; and treat the folders like folders in your file cabinet.
You need to decide what filing method works best for you. Do you like to file chronologically or by event? If you’re not sure, then ask yourself how you go about looking for photos.
If you look for things by when they occurred, then you’ll probably want to sort chronologically. (You can set up a folder for each year, with subfolders for each month.)
If you look for photos by the person featured or by certain events, then you should set up folders by people and/or by subject. Of course, you can then sort chronologically within the subject. Creating Folders
An effective folder system will really help you manage your images more easily, because, as you have found, it is difficult to avoid using somewhat repetitive file names.
Another thing you can do to simplify your sorting process is to view your files in thumbnail sketches, which display tiny previews of image files in a folder. That way if you have several photos of the same thing, you can get an idea of which one is which.
You may not be able to avoid calling them Abby 1, 2, 3 but you’ll be able to identify each photo.
It is a good idea to include the date in each file name, like this:
Abby_Oct04
You can also add details along with the name and date to help you better identify the images.
Here are some examples:
Abby_Jenny_Mar03 Abby_soccer_Sep02 Abby_beach_Aug03
If you’ve got multiple photos of the same event, then you can add another number to show that they’re part of a series.
For example:
Abby_bday_Apr03_01 Abby_bday_Apr03_02
If you’re trying to organize multiple images from a single event, just narrow down the event with descriptive titles, like this:
Christmas_2002_tree Christmas_2002_cookies Christmas_2002_pageant Christmas_2002_Eve
Staying on top of your digital images takes the same diligence as managing your physical photographs. Procrastinating only magnifies the mess.
Regularly take the time to organize and manage your images, so that you can enjoy the convenience instead of having to cope with the nightmare. And speaking of nightmares please be sure to read the following segment on what you must know if you’re going to rely on digital photography. Digital Photography -- Help or Hindrance?
Digital photography is taking the photography market by storm -- and with good reason! To be able to take pictures and view them in real time is a true technological wonder!
Digital photography may just be one of the most convenient "photo organizing" tools available -- allowing you to immediately purge bad photos and keep only the highest quality photos.
But before you let yourself get swept away by the excitement; we want to give you a gentle nudge and encourage you to remember the old standby . . . printed photographs. Do you think were being unrealistic . . . . Acting purely from a state of unbridled nostalgia?
Ask yourself this...how many of those digital photos have you actually printed? Are they sitting on your hard drive waiting until you "have time" to print them, "have time" to get them into albums?
When was the last time that you grabbed the family and cuddled around the computer together to view those precious images? (You must admit that nothing beats a traditional album for sitting down with your loved ones and reminiscing over those special memories.)
And what if your hard drive were to crash today? What would become of your families most prized possessions? Would all be lost in just a matter of minutes?
Okay, so maybe you have taken the time to download them onto a CD. Well did you realize that if that CD gets scratched, you have lost the entire contents of the CD? And did you realize that writable CDs have a significantly shorter life span than you may have imagined, and that they can be susceptible to breaking down after just a few short years?
So what’s the solution? Well, were certainly not recommending that you abandon the concept of digital photography. But we do recommend that you set realistic expectations for the technology, and perhaps shift your perception of the concept. Think of it as a means of taking photographs and processing film. It is a means to an end . . . it is not the end!
Take the time to actually print your favorite photographs so that you don’t have to rely solely on technology to preserve your past!
Excerpted from "Save Your Photos and Your Sanity: How to Organize and Safeguard Your Entire Photograph Collection...in as little as 10 days, without losing your mind!"
Christine Sutton and her business partner, Tracey DuBois have helped countless people organize, protect, and enjoy their precious photographs. As authors of "Save Your Photos and Your Sanity" and producers of "Treasure Your Memories", they take a unique and FUN approach to organizing photographs. They offer a FREE Photo Organizing Idea Kit at www.organizedphotos.com
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