daneev

Hi,

So i recently shot some headshots for a friend... am not up on how to properly

format the digital file for printing. I'd like them to be as "industry standard"

as possible. is it 1/4" white space around the image at the top and sides, and a

1/2" at the bottom with their name? 3/4" at the bottom? any help would be most

appreciated.

many thanks all to your feedback! i didn't actually think you'd try to see the site itself! i have a separate wedding site from my travel/documentary one... weddingsbydanee.com. Honestly, the ratio of hits to inquiries is about 300:1 for that site.

Mike, thanks for the feedback on loadtime on my other site. I will see if I can do anything with that today.

I don't have an FAQ section (as I figure that everyone else has the same frequently asked questions on their site, and brides look at a lot of sites before getting in touch with anyone).. but Ryan i appreciate the fact that you think of that sort of thing as client prequalification... I need to reconsider my stance, obviously. I guess I was trying to let the work speak for me.

Do you all have any recommendations as far as additional content that might help drive inquiries?

Really appreciate your time!!!

Best,

danee

Hello all,

I'm curious what kind of info is out there about web traffic on wedding sites.

How many unique visitors do you get to your site monthly vs. # of inquiries?

Anyone care to discuss? Ratios are fine if you don't want to give away your

real #s. :)

mine is somewhere in the realm of a gazillion (visitors) to one (inquiry). I

need to work on this, but I want to be realistic with my expectations, so

thought I would see how ya'll are doing. thanks in advance!

best,

d

Hi,

I'm shooting an event this coming weekend and am looking for a portable

ringflash setup. The alien bees version looks really cool but I've been unable

to locate a rental shop that carries it. I want to be able to have whatever I

rent attached to the camera and be mobile. Any suggestions? thanks in advance.

Hi all,

My 50 mm 1.4 AF-D lens isn't working properly on my D200. The camera is

recognizing it as a non-CPU lens-- but it isn't non-CPU (sorry for the double

negative!) I've checked the manual, the nikon website (which says the lens

should work/is compatible), and the forums here.... anyone have any ideas?

Last time I checked, the lens was working properly on my D100. The aperture

lock is on on the lens.

The camera recognizes my other AF lenses.

I know I can use the lens in fully manual mode (old school style!), just would

rather not.

thanks,

d

Anyone have any idea what the trade in value at B&H or Adorama is these days

for a used Nikon d100 with some body wear but in excellent working condition?

Finally upgraded and am looking to trade for a second back up body (lets be

honest, 6.1 mp isn't doing it any more ;) )

thanks-

danee

Help!

Today when I went to rewind a roll of film, the camera didn't rewind

all the way. I opened the back, then gently tugged out the rest of it

(just a few frames and the leader). But now it won't do anything.

the screen at the top is flashing o _ _ and the frame # also flashes

0.

i know in the back of the manual (which nikon doesn't post online

because they want you to pay $15 to buy it from them) has a

"troubleshooting" section. unfortunately i'm travelling and didn't

bring it with me. Could someone be so kind as to look at their manual

and tell me if it's an issue I can fix or if I have to take it to a

shop?

thanks in advance for your help.

Cheers,

danee

This is an actual letter from customer service I recieved when I wrote them about an order that was supposed to go out to the bride. Because of the way the ordering system works, I had to place TWO orders (since they can't have items of different types on the same order form sometimes). I had requested when the order was placed that they be consolidated into one. As far as I can tell, right now, it has not been consolidated; one order has been shipped to the bride, the other to my studio; and I've been charged $9 shipping for each order, even though one was just a CD.

I'm out of town and can't get to my studio mail for awhile; the whole reason I had everything shipped to the bride in the first place.

Here's what pictage had to say about the missing cd, the shipping costs, who the goods had been shipped to, and consolidation of my order *one* week after I wrote them:

Hi Danee,

We try do our best to consolidate your orders for you. However,

please keep in mind that this is not a service we can guarantee due to the custom nature of our products and their varying turnaround times.

Pictage Customer Support

Pictage, Inc.

1580 Francisco Street, Suite 101

Torrance, CA 90501

www.pictage.com

Doesn't address the issue at all.

To be honest Duane, I am really dissatisfied with the service at pictage. Though I have not been with pictage long, they have managed to bungle, misship, and misbill each of my three orders placed with them. Their customer service desk takes up to a week to respond to your problems, and often doesn't address the issue you emailed them with in the first place at all. The invoicing system is unclear. The amount of time it takes to process your prints is always longer than they promise. And the interface they use is confusing and counterintuitive.

The actual products (prints)themselves are okay; but the service and the other billing/executing orders thing is a serious problem. Forget about getting help with an order once it has been placed, or once they've sent it to the wrong address. (I don't know, maybe they've outsourced their customer service to India?)

And yet, you are still supposed to pay $250 for the priviledge of being able to upload pictures (which they'll charge you for as well--$.20 a print for digital) to their site?

They do work to do a bit of promotion for you (if your studio is "active" enough you get a free studio listing on their site as well as at www.weddingchannel.com). But I'm not sure it's worth the cash or the headaches.

d

thanks all for the imput....

did you print at fastback? how is their color reproduction? covers?

d

hello,

so all my photo geeky friends keep talking about printing books with

ibook as an affordable way to produce bound

portfolios/albums...being a pc girl myself, i recently found

mypublisher.com... does anyone have an opinion about the quality of

their work, or can you suggest a superior alternative?

cheers,

danee

Folks, I swear up and down by the imagingfactory.com's convert to black and white pro. it emulates tri-x, t-max, several ilford films, agfa pan... allows you to apply any color filter with any degree of intensity (0-100%), adjust the contrast by grade, adjust the negative exposure, even convert to sepia in variable tones. i'm hardcore black and white person to the end, and i almost cant tell the difference with this. compared to photoshop fiddling, i find it far superior, particularly for someone adept in a darkroom.

cheers,

danee

So these days, the M7 has sent the price of a good M6 body to hover

around $1000, with the M7 running 2350-2400. For those who've shot

both, do you think the M7 is worth an extra $1400? (Assuming that

$1400 is a substantial amount of money to you, as it is to me.)

thanks for your input!

danee

too bad it's lacking in photo work.... or work in general....

great for landscape shooting for fun, tho; how 'bout those beaches???

danee

(left oregon in 2001 because i was tired of being broke... but i miss it)

GUILIN.

http://www.imperialtours.net/guilin_main.htm

cheers

danee

Hello!

Any ideas on ways to find models/ costume shops in Mexico City?

cheers

danee

Hi! I lived in hong kong for awhile and shot lots of film while there. Film is a good deal cheaper in Hong Kong-- almost half the price. You certainly can buy the portra films, and i'm pretty sure

about the instant film (though i don't shoot it, so i don't know for sure. you could call photo scientific, see below)

"Photo Row" as it's known, is on Stanley St. in the Central district. Walk towards up D'Aguilar St towards Lan Kwai Fong (the popular nighttime party area, very easy to find off of Queens Rd. Central)... it's the first street on your right.

Color 6 carries a variety of refrigerated film, and does great color processing (though don't take them any delta 3200, they don't understand it.) Did I mention processing is cheaper too? Color 6 deals in pro processing. Another good place for film and various equipment needs is the first shop on the left, Photo Scientific (#6 stanley st.) If you go to www.yp.com.hk, the yellow pages, you can even print out a map. But everyone knows where lan kwai fong is, so you could ask someone.

Do NOT, unless under extreme duress, buy film/equipment in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST, the popular tourist destination on the mainland side.) The quality has no guarantees, camera shops often play a bait-and-switch game, and god knows what conditions the film has been subjected to.

Really, between color 6 and photo scientific, all your bases are covered. There's an excellent b/w printing lab in Wan Chai, but that's another topic.

have fun!! also, there's an excellent thai restaurant on lyndhurst terrace and the escalator, a block and a half up from photo row.

have fun! good shooting spots: the peak, the temple of 10,000 buddhas, temple at repulse bay

danee<div></div>