t._duane_jones

Jeffrey<br>As you'll find out here, digital workflow is personal and each person likely has their own way of going about it. Here's mine: After culling the duds, I tweak in ACR and convert to tiff files. Then I choose the images that need cropping or further corrections. I have an action set up to convert these files to 4x6" @ 300 dpi, with a little sharpening (Jpegs). The 4x6" prints get uploaded to the lab for the proof album. I archive the folder of tiffs & jpegs to DVD, as well as to a 300 GB hard drive. When I receive an order, it's easy to pull it off the HD and shoot it to the lab.<P>By the way, I have to thank Marc for my workflow. He answered a question I posted last year, and listed his Raw workflow. Thanks, Marc! A proper workflow is very important, and as essential for consistent quality as accurate exposure.<br> Best of luck, Jeff.<br>Duane

Kari<br>Thanks for the info. I was reading some reviews after lunch, and the majority of people said the same... that the Spyder2 was ok at best. I'm still doing my research, but the Monaco model is looking good. Thanks for the help.<br>Duane

I really appreciate everyones advice. You've been very helpful.<br>Bill, thanks for the links. I spent alot of time reading from them last night.<br>Mpix is sending me a calibration kit (a print & CD, I'm sure) to ensure that what I see is close to what I get. I'm deciding between the Spyder2 and a Monaco calibrater. <br>Thanks for your help!<br>Duane<div></div>

Should I buy the monitor & printer calibrater ($300 and up) or the monitor only (like the spyder 2) for around 100-200?

Thanks

Good morning, everyone,<br>I want to thank everyone for their help so far, and keep it coming. I know this topic is mundane for alot of folks, but at the moment it is confusing to me, so I sincerely appreciate your time & advice.<br>Alan: Thanks for the link to Dry Creek.<br>Marc: So, when I'm editing images for Mpix, I should be using the mpix profile? That looks like it would give me the most accurate colors.<br>Jason: Thanks for your experience with that. <br>Jennifer: Funny you should ask. The wedding venue is set up for approx. 50-60 guests in that room. They had almost 80 guests. The location I wanted was (of course) in the very back of the rooom... just me, my tripod and 80-200 AF-s. With the extra people, my spot was full. In the end, I shot from the center aisle, knelt down low. Not my choice of locations, but it worked. My goal is to remain unobtrusive as well, but my ultimate goal is to get the shots! <br>Have a great day!<br>Duane<div></div>

I need advice on getting a close match between my monitor (Sony 19"

CRT) and my prints, which are printed at Mpix. First, what is the best

method to color calibrate the monitor? Mpix requests that images are

uploaded in sRGB. I have loaded the Mpix ICC profile, for soft

proofing. When I am correcting the images, should my working profile

be sRGB, or the Mpix profile? The images on my monitor look good, but

the prints seem to have a yellow cast to them. Last Saturday's

wedding was in a room painted yellow, and it seems to be very

overpowering in the prints. I would appreciate any advice you could

offer.<br>Thanks,</br>Duane<div></div>

Erik<br>Try candid2000 Their price on 10x10's are $2.50, on Kodak Endura paper. Their print quality is great; uploading & ordering is easy, and shipping is quick. I've been using them since last year for my 10x10" album prints. Best of luck.<br>Duane

Marc<br>Could you give us a little insight into the techniques you used for the beautiful b&w you did above? It looks great, and I've been struggling to get my b&w conversions to my satisfaction. Thanks,<br>Duane

Thanks to everyone for their help. <br>Eric: I have been reading the tutorials available at Creative Pro's website.<br>Alan, that looks great.<br> Any other books or websites you recommend?<br>Thanks,Duane

Hey everyone,<br>I am posting an untouched negative scan from a

previous wedding. I chose this one because the color doesn't look the

way it should. The prints from the lab look great, but I would like to

know how to do it at home. Could you offer advice on techniques in

PSCS to make the color look more natural? I am trying to learn more

about color correction using PS with negative scans. Thanks for your

advice.<br>Duane<div></div>

I have scanned quite alot of wedding negatives that I need to have

printed. I am in need of advice regarding how to adjust the color to

look the best. Would some of you please share with me your

procedures regarding color mgmt? I am using PSCS. The scanned files

have a slight yellow tint to them. I appreciate any tips/advice you

can offer.<br>Thanks, Duane

Laura, <br> For a traditional style parent album, I use the Renaissance library bound album, and I also order from Albums, Inc. My standard size is 24- 5x7" prints. It's a traditional, very beautiful album. Best of luck,<br>Duane

Colleen<br>I try to have the image sized properly before I drag it to the template. If you're putting several images on the page, I like to edit each one individually. I sharpen them before moving them, because each image may require a different level of USM. Once I get them onto the template, I use layers to place them where I want them. I may have to make minor size adjustments, but I try to do that before moving them to the template. Hopefully this will help, let me know if you have any questions. What size book are you building?<br>Duane

Colleen<br>I open the template & the photo I want to use in the same window. I crop/edit the image/images the way I want it, then drag it over onto the Asuka template. I then work in layers to get the page the way I like it. Let me know if this helps. It takes some time to get used to the templates. The asuka books are beautiful albums. Best of luck!<br>Duane

Andre <br>I am designing one for a promotional piece as well. I have several florists, caterers, and boutiques in my area that send me alot of business each year. I will display a book at each vendor, and it will be a 'partner' album for each business. I will use images from each wedding from that specific vendor in their book, and the cover will contain my logo, as well as their logo/name. I think you have a great marketing idea, and the brides will love it. The price is right, too! Best of luck,<br>Duane

I started using Event pix this year. They charge a one time $99 fee. After that, you can pay by each event that you upload, or by several other methods. You can handle the orders yourself, or choose one of their labs to take care of order fulfillment for you. I have a part time person that handles the orders for me. There are several other companies out there that does the same thing...check them out and see which one works best for your business. Best of luck.

 

Duane

Pete,

I started using eventpix.com back in April to post my wedding, portrait, and event images. They charge a "per-event" fee, and it depends on the # of images you upload. You have the option of watermarking your images using their software. It has been a great decision for my business. I print "announcement cards" and place them at key areas at the reception (bar, guest book, bar, tables, bar), anywhere people frequent. I have averaged 25-100+ emails per wedding for folks requesting the link, and the orders have been great. There are alot of companies that offer the same type of service, so check them out and see which one fits your needs. Best of luck,

 

Duane

You're right Eric, Mary will kill me! I'll try to resize them to see if that clears it up. Thanks for the advice.

 

Duane

When I upload a PS web gallery to my website, everything works ok

except for the horizontal images. They are compressed into a narrower

image box...they look squished. The vertical images look great. Does

anyone know how I can correct this?

 

Thanks,Duane

Mark,

 

I have used Candid 2000 for my 10x10" prints since spring '05. The quality is excellent, and they use endura paper. I've never used their albums, though. Give them a shot.

Here's my first attempt. Except for keeping the red lips darker, am I getting in the ballpark? I'm definitely going to practice this technique until I get it right. Thanks for taking the time to share this with us, Marc.<div></div>

To ProShow Gold users: is it a complex program to learn? and can you use multiple songs in one slideshow? btw, Sandra your slideshows are very nice.

 

Thanks,Duane

Bob,

You'll likely get a wide range of responses on this one, because everyone's business practices are so different. That said, here's mine:

I require 20% of the package as retainer to reserve the day. After that, most clients make monthly/bimonthly payments (depending on how far out they book), and a total of 90% of the total is due 1 month prior to the wedding. The final 10% is due when I deliver the proofs to them. That system has worked for me for several years.

On the subject of late album ordering... I once had a couple take almost 3 years to order their album! I have changed my contract to allow them 6 months from proof delivery to order the album. Man, I would go crazy if it took someone 4 years! Hey, some marriages don't even last that long... Hope this helps, and best of luck.

 

Duane

Check out www.asukabook.com

I design my albums using autocrop, and free-hand some pages in PSCS. Autocrop works very well, and the page designs are easy to change, as they are layers in PS. Good luck,