jay_reiter1

Check out Boss backdrops ( http://www.bossbackdrops.com/) - they sell a real quality product at very reasonable prices, their sales staff is both well informed and thorough - I've bought wrinkle free backdrops from them and been very satisfied with the products.

-Jay

Cindy - I was torn between the two and 3 months ago went with exposure manager (exposuremanager.com) - I couldn't be happier, my customers all remark how easy ordering is, how well the interface works - worth checking out.

jay

another possibility is to use an online gallery such as printroom or exposure manager, upload the proofs and let your client see them electronically. Its fast and some of my clients are so internet oriented that they wouldn't want proofs any other way.

Priti -

I'll strongly second the recommendation about printroom.com - I've been with them 4 years and never a bad print or complaint.

if you decide to use the here's a promo code that will save you 50.00 on pro account membership:

> The following code, jayphotos, can be used at the bottom of the

following page https://www.printroom.com/proRegisterUser.asp

jay reiter

Check out Imagewell - It might do what you need since the watermarking options are both highly customizable and able to be batch processed. Its a part of XtraLean Software Inc and its developer, hagen Kaye, is very helpful.

jay

I use dreamhost and I've been very happy - they answer questions promptly and thoroughly, never make you feel stupid if its a simple question. My site's galleries were built using JAlbum with fhotoplayer flash plugin and the upload was seamless. If you google dreamhost promotion you'll almost alwayss find a code for a good deal. Lots of band space, great customer service, low prices - worth checking out.

jay

One thing to investigate is the B/W conversion plugin and write up available ( free) from John Nack's blog - he's an Adobe guy who shares great information - the conversion via lab color, though a bit complicated until you get the hang of it becomes a piece of cake with the plugin - then you just tweak to your like - it also starts by making a copy so your original is intact.

jay

 

http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/2006/12/new_digital_photo_guides

 

Black and White Conversion Tutorial

by John Paul Caponigro

Are you looking for more detail in your digital B&W conversions? Or perhaps better contrast and tonal separation? Here?s an opportunity to learn how to get maximum flexibility out of your B&W conversions. Follow along step-by-step, as John Paul Caponigro shows you how the pros do it in this dynamic PDF tutorial.

PDF Download Link (2.5MB)

 

Black and White Conversion Action

This download is a Photoshop Action (.atn) that automates the sequence of steps outlined in the JP Caponigro tutorial above. It is not required to complete the tutorial. This Action is compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS and CS2. Action Download Link (10k)

Janice - if you want to try printroom.com, you can use this URL:

https://www.printroom.com/proRegisterUser.asp?Reseller=jayphotos

it will get you a 1-year pro account for $50 rather than the normal $99.

Jay

Hey Ken - those brackets are what I've been looking for. Do you have a name or ebay number to try to track them down?

thanks,

jay

I'll second the kudos to JAlbum - the learning curve is really short, the galleries are excellent.

Its my understanding that the issue isn't whether the building is public (IE a government building) but more what can be seen from a public spot like a sidewalk. Even if you are on a sidewalk, you can't shoot what you see inside a house as you see it through the window because the building isn't open to public view. the same goes for government buildings - and if you think they're public, try going into a court house to take photos - you won't get past the guards and metal detectors without a near-presidential edict!

Colin - I forget, the way to get it to your webhost is simply to FTP the folder. JAlbum will put all your stuff with whetever coded files are necessary in a folder called "ALBUM". All you need to do is FTP the folder to the control panel of your website - I uploaded mine last night - which incorporated all the files etc for 5 different galleries and the FTP time was about 18 minutes.

Hi Colin - I just started using JAlbum - my newly designed site should be up in a couple of days. Yes, JAlbum is free, the onlyt cost is if you decide to purchase other "skins". I opted to spend $35 on Fotoplayer, which gives me the capability to have a flash gallery within a text site. The learning curve was incredibly easy, I found a couple of users who shared tips etc. If you go to my website www.jayreiter.com, today and then by the end of the week you should be able to see a before and after. If there's any help I can give you, feel free.

Search engines will find your site if you have flash galleries within type pages. A program like JAlbum can help you create that combination.

Janice - I use printroom.com and have had the following experience - if you let people know where the pictures are, they WILL buy them. I sell a ton of online photos that way, the hardest part being getting the word out. My experience with printroom has been nothing but positive - they have great support, handle the orders very quickly and are at the top of the quality pile. A pro membership costs $99 a year and you will probably pay that off quite quickly.

as for the life of CF cards, hard to know, but my oldest card is a Lexar that's probably averaged 500 shots a week for the past 11 years - its still going strong.

Jay Reiter