I use Redbubble to market my art prints
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Using an Online Printing Service like Redbubble
If you have a disc of your wedding photos you have endless possibilities for making your own prints. As well as conventional framed prints you can have an enlargement printed on a mounted canvas. When sending thankyou note to your guests it's a nice touch to choose one of your wedding photos and make a personalised card. Redbubble.com can provide a full range of print on demand sevices and have bases in UK, USA, and their home, Australia
I use Redbubble to market my art prints
I use Redbubble to market my art prints
Friday, 26 February 2010
Watch the Birdie
The best portraits usually have the subjects tooking directly at the camera. It's obvious really; how often have you heard someone describe how the eyes of a great portait painting seem to follow you around the room. What the old masters of art knew applies just as much to photography. Unfortunately it's all too easy for the happy couple to be distracted by the sea of people milling around behind the official photographer. There will be faces you haven't seen for ages and cameras waved at you from all angles and it's easy for your attention to wander and the chances increase of having someone staring distractedly into space as the size of party being photographed gets bigger.
So concentrate on your wedding photographer to give him the best chance of capturing the perfect smile and look that will look back at you from your album for years to come.
Watch the Birdie!!!
Saturday, 16 January 2010
Favourite Shots
When I got home after photographing a wedding just outside Exeter and started editing the files this one caught my eye.
I'd seen the reflection of the bride and groom chatting to another couple in a mirror beside the harpist and violinist providing the music during the champagne and canapes. The end picture came out as well as I had hoped and to improve the composition I cropped the original 3:2 to a square and the poor harpist ended up on the cutting room floor.
The couple liked it as well and have had a black and white version framed to hang on the wall.
The venue was Bishops Court at Clyst St Mary which is a charming historic house with lots of nice architectural features which make good settings for wedding photographs.
I'd seen the reflection of the bride and groom chatting to another couple in a mirror beside the harpist and violinist providing the music during the champagne and canapes. The end picture came out as well as I had hoped and to improve the composition I cropped the original 3:2 to a square and the poor harpist ended up on the cutting room floor.
The couple liked it as well and have had a black and white version framed to hang on the wall.
The venue was Bishops Court at Clyst St Mary which is a charming historic house with lots of nice architectural features which make good settings for wedding photographs.
Monday, 4 January 2010
Keeping Your Digital Wedding Photographs Safe
Life was so simple when photography used film and your wedding photos came in an album. All you needed to do was make some space in a drawer and barring flood fire or some other disaster your photos would be safe. Even if the worst happened there was a good chance that if the photographer was still alive he could dust off the old negatives and print some new copies.
With a little thought your digital wedding photos can be just as safe, perhaps even safer as the ability to make unlimited multiple copies allows you to reduce the risk of a disastrous loss.
When you get your disc of wedding photos the first priority is to make some copies. When the CD was first invented some exaggerated claims were made about long life and resistance to damage. These are definitely not true for home written discs which can deteriorate over time to the extent that they will be unreadable.
Copy your original disc onto your PC and store it somewhere safe where it is at normal room temperature and not subjected to changes in temperature or high humidity. Avoid using your original apart from occasional checks to see if it can still be read.
Copy the images from the PC onto CD/DVD and send copies to relatives and friends.
Upload images to an online storage service. Many offer free space but watch out in case images are reduced in size or compressed. Download a sample or two to check quality.
Keep copies on an external hard disc preferably left disconnected from the PC to reduce the chances of a virus infestation
Put a set on a memory stick to carry around and show to friends.
If you are permitted put copies on your PC at work. (Probably best not on a network, but there is usually plenty of room on your C drive.)
If some new memory format comes along don't forget to transfer all your photos and check that you can view them OK. The history of computing is littered with dead formats from punched ticker tape through magnetic tape, floppy discs of different sizes, Jaz drives....Even if your master CD survives you may not have a machine you can read it with.
You are probably starting to get the idea by now! The key is to have multiple copies on different platforms in a number of places. A final good tip is to "twin" with some friends and keep copies of each other's photos.
Paradoxically, one of the best ways to ensure that an image survives is to get a decent large print made. Have prints made by a photographic process, not a dodgy home inkjet print from a machine which has been topped up with a do-it-yourself ink refill kit. Store prints in a waterproof box inside acid free envelopes. Prints made in this way will last hundreds of years and even a torn or faded photo is better than the blank screen produced by a corrupted digital image file.
With a little thought your digital wedding photos can be just as safe, perhaps even safer as the ability to make unlimited multiple copies allows you to reduce the risk of a disastrous loss.
When you get your disc of wedding photos the first priority is to make some copies. When the CD was first invented some exaggerated claims were made about long life and resistance to damage. These are definitely not true for home written discs which can deteriorate over time to the extent that they will be unreadable.
Copy your original disc onto your PC and store it somewhere safe where it is at normal room temperature and not subjected to changes in temperature or high humidity. Avoid using your original apart from occasional checks to see if it can still be read.
Copy the images from the PC onto CD/DVD and send copies to relatives and friends.
Upload images to an online storage service. Many offer free space but watch out in case images are reduced in size or compressed. Download a sample or two to check quality.
Keep copies on an external hard disc preferably left disconnected from the PC to reduce the chances of a virus infestation
Put a set on a memory stick to carry around and show to friends.
If you are permitted put copies on your PC at work. (Probably best not on a network, but there is usually plenty of room on your C drive.)
If some new memory format comes along don't forget to transfer all your photos and check that you can view them OK. The history of computing is littered with dead formats from punched ticker tape through magnetic tape, floppy discs of different sizes, Jaz drives....Even if your master CD survives you may not have a machine you can read it with.
You are probably starting to get the idea by now! The key is to have multiple copies on different platforms in a number of places. A final good tip is to "twin" with some friends and keep copies of each other's photos.
Paradoxically, one of the best ways to ensure that an image survives is to get a decent large print made. Have prints made by a photographic process, not a dodgy home inkjet print from a machine which has been topped up with a do-it-yourself ink refill kit. Store prints in a waterproof box inside acid free envelopes. Prints made in this way will last hundreds of years and even a torn or faded photo is better than the blank screen produced by a corrupted digital image file.
How to choose a photographer for your wedding
There is no shortage of wedding photographers. A quick glance at the Exeter Yellow Pages has over three pages of photographers and most offer wedding photography among their services. As well as full-timers there are also many part-time wedding photographers, semi-pro or amateurs, not to mention relatives who can be persuaded to take photos as a one-off.
How to choose?
Do you have a style of photography you are looking for? Formal poses and family groups, photojournalism, arty...? Ask to see samples of the photographer's work in the style you want to see if matches your vision.
Some wedding photographers have very impressive web sites showcasing their work. Naturally these will be edited to show the best. Look for samples showing a variety of couples. Not everyone looks like a fashion model, but a good photographer should be able to show everyone at their best on their big day.
Is the photographer happy to work with you to achieve the look you want? This best done in a personal meeting which is also a chance to assess the photographer's personality and how he will fit into your big day. As well as taking the pictures the photographer will need to be able to organise guests and stage manage some of the proceedings to get the right pictures. Nowadays with the internet there is nowhere for bad service to hide so have a google around for any photographer you are thinking of using to look for reviews from past clients.
Price.
The difficult subject. No price is too expensive if the couple can afford it and are overjoyed with the photos, no level of cheapness can make you feel good if the pictures are terrible. On the face of it professional wedding photography can seem expensive. "How much!?! For three or four hours work on a Saturday!?" To look at it another way. Think of an average annual salary then imagine the number of weddings a photographer can book in a year, say 30 or 40? Divide that salary by the number of weddings and what do you get? On top of this the cost of photographing a wedding will include running a studio or office, renewing digital cameras and computers every couple of years and the costs of getting prints or albums produced if these are part of the package. Many photographers work with an assistant as backup who will also require paying. The actual shooting time for a wedding photographer is the smallest part of their week which is taken up with editing and adjusting the digital images, meeting potential clients, (who may not follow up with a booking), uploading samples to a website for guests to see, taking orders for prints and generally running the business side. By all means if you can afford it hire the most expensive and highly respected photographer you can find. The thousands spent on dress, venue and reception will have evaporated when the big day is over, a good set of photographs will be giving pleasure for generations to come.
Unfortunately, (for clients and photographers alike :-) very few couples have an unlimited budget for their wedding photographs.
The cheapest option is free photography. Most guests carry a digital camera which in the right hands could take some great photos. You could assemble an album from the best of all the hundreds taken. Unfortunately random shots are not likely to capture the important moments without having a stray arm in the frame, and be prepared for lots of red-eye!
Also free is the "Family Photographer". This is the relation who is a keen amateur photographer who has an expensive camera (and is even rumoured to own a tripod!) Many photographers who went on to become top professionals in the wedding photography field started out like this but you are taking a chance especially if they have no experience of photographing people. Photographing beautiful sunsets or steam trains doesn't equip you with the ability to deal with what is a highly pressured situation and your big day is not the right situation to have someone learning on the job. It's also a big ask to expect one of your guests to spend the day working when they could be enjoying the celebration.
Part Timer offering a budget service. Building a wedding photography business can take some years and photographers will probably have other jobs until they can support themselves full time. Because their day job allows them to subsidise their photographic work some part timers may charge significantly less than a full time photographer who must service all his business overheads and will probably be registered for VAT. If considering using a part-timer look very carefully at how they operate. Someone proposing to use a single camera and lens and their pop up flash isn't set up to deal with an equipment failure or to photograph a large group of guests indoors if the weather is bad. Just because someone is a part timer doesn't excuse them fom the responsibility of doing a good job and operating in a professional manner.
There are genuine savings to be made by employing a "non full time" professional. As mentioned VAT may not be due, (though you might like to check that he pays his national insurance and income tax like you have to!) Part timers are more likely to be happy providing a disc only service. Some photographers will only offer a package that includes an album of prints and this involves work to assemble which adds to their production costs and they may aim to make part of their income selling extra prints to guests and will therefore charge a hefty premium to supply high resolution images on disc. Using a disc only service gives you the freedom to do what you want. It's great fun to assemble your own album and many photo printers now offer easy and affordable ways to turn your wedding photos into a glossy coffee table book. You can put your photos on facebook or make a slideshow to display on your TV. Money may be tight now but ten years down the line you may want to get some large canvas prints made to hang on the wall of your new mansion and few would have predicted 20 years ago that we would be looking at 50 inch plasma screens in our living rooms, so who knows what future ways there will be to look at your wedding photos. Having the best possible versions of the original photo files will give you the most options for the future.
How to choose?
Do you have a style of photography you are looking for? Formal poses and family groups, photojournalism, arty...? Ask to see samples of the photographer's work in the style you want to see if matches your vision.
Some wedding photographers have very impressive web sites showcasing their work. Naturally these will be edited to show the best. Look for samples showing a variety of couples. Not everyone looks like a fashion model, but a good photographer should be able to show everyone at their best on their big day.
Is the photographer happy to work with you to achieve the look you want? This best done in a personal meeting which is also a chance to assess the photographer's personality and how he will fit into your big day. As well as taking the pictures the photographer will need to be able to organise guests and stage manage some of the proceedings to get the right pictures. Nowadays with the internet there is nowhere for bad service to hide so have a google around for any photographer you are thinking of using to look for reviews from past clients.
Price.
The difficult subject. No price is too expensive if the couple can afford it and are overjoyed with the photos, no level of cheapness can make you feel good if the pictures are terrible. On the face of it professional wedding photography can seem expensive. "How much!?! For three or four hours work on a Saturday!?" To look at it another way. Think of an average annual salary then imagine the number of weddings a photographer can book in a year, say 30 or 40? Divide that salary by the number of weddings and what do you get? On top of this the cost of photographing a wedding will include running a studio or office, renewing digital cameras and computers every couple of years and the costs of getting prints or albums produced if these are part of the package. Many photographers work with an assistant as backup who will also require paying. The actual shooting time for a wedding photographer is the smallest part of their week which is taken up with editing and adjusting the digital images, meeting potential clients, (who may not follow up with a booking), uploading samples to a website for guests to see, taking orders for prints and generally running the business side. By all means if you can afford it hire the most expensive and highly respected photographer you can find. The thousands spent on dress, venue and reception will have evaporated when the big day is over, a good set of photographs will be giving pleasure for generations to come.
Unfortunately, (for clients and photographers alike :-) very few couples have an unlimited budget for their wedding photographs.
The cheapest option is free photography. Most guests carry a digital camera which in the right hands could take some great photos. You could assemble an album from the best of all the hundreds taken. Unfortunately random shots are not likely to capture the important moments without having a stray arm in the frame, and be prepared for lots of red-eye!
Also free is the "Family Photographer". This is the relation who is a keen amateur photographer who has an expensive camera (and is even rumoured to own a tripod!) Many photographers who went on to become top professionals in the wedding photography field started out like this but you are taking a chance especially if they have no experience of photographing people. Photographing beautiful sunsets or steam trains doesn't equip you with the ability to deal with what is a highly pressured situation and your big day is not the right situation to have someone learning on the job. It's also a big ask to expect one of your guests to spend the day working when they could be enjoying the celebration.
Part Timer offering a budget service. Building a wedding photography business can take some years and photographers will probably have other jobs until they can support themselves full time. Because their day job allows them to subsidise their photographic work some part timers may charge significantly less than a full time photographer who must service all his business overheads and will probably be registered for VAT. If considering using a part-timer look very carefully at how they operate. Someone proposing to use a single camera and lens and their pop up flash isn't set up to deal with an equipment failure or to photograph a large group of guests indoors if the weather is bad. Just because someone is a part timer doesn't excuse them fom the responsibility of doing a good job and operating in a professional manner.
There are genuine savings to be made by employing a "non full time" professional. As mentioned VAT may not be due, (though you might like to check that he pays his national insurance and income tax like you have to!) Part timers are more likely to be happy providing a disc only service. Some photographers will only offer a package that includes an album of prints and this involves work to assemble which adds to their production costs and they may aim to make part of their income selling extra prints to guests and will therefore charge a hefty premium to supply high resolution images on disc. Using a disc only service gives you the freedom to do what you want. It's great fun to assemble your own album and many photo printers now offer easy and affordable ways to turn your wedding photos into a glossy coffee table book. You can put your photos on facebook or make a slideshow to display on your TV. Money may be tight now but ten years down the line you may want to get some large canvas prints made to hang on the wall of your new mansion and few would have predicted 20 years ago that we would be looking at 50 inch plasma screens in our living rooms, so who knows what future ways there will be to look at your wedding photos. Having the best possible versions of the original photo files will give you the most options for the future.
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