Since my posts from earlier last week about the lessons I’ve learned about printing, (when I took a Scott Kelby class in Arlington in January, I left early and regret that now, but there was a serious Net Safety issue going on at the time.) and the tricks that can be done to enlarge a RAW digital photo, I’ve had a few requests for more information about how to do a pretty cool trick that Scott apparently learned from the world-famous nature photographer Vincent Versace.
As a rule, even after owning my Nikon D-40 for almost three years now, I shoot EVERYTHING I shoot in RAW format. And because it takes up as much memory as it does anyway, I don’t have it do the dual deal where it saves in RAW and .jpeg. What’s the point? If I’m going to do something with a print, it’s most likely going to wind up as a .tiff or a .png anyways.
Repeatedly you’ve heard me say how happy I am that I’m a Mac. Apple has devised a great photo management program called Aperture. I have version 2, but version 3 has been released. Version 2 is doing all I need it to already, so I’ve not upgraded. So, when I get back to my Mac from a photo shoot, I connect it to the Mac and it begins to talk to the Nikon. This triggers Aperture 2 to open and a dialogue box opens allowing me to import my pictures, still in a hi-res format.
It’s in Aperture that I do most of my coloring adjustments, such as fixing the exposure, highlights, white balance, etc. Even without additional plug-ins, I can add a vignetting affect if I so desire.
When I’ve done what I need to in Aperture and if say, I want to have the print done poster size or say, 11 x 14, then I’ve got to make some adjustments.
As you can see, there are short cuts in Apertureto getting a picture over into Photoshop. (The long way is to export the file to a folder or desktop, then move it over into Photoshop.) But why do that when there’s a short cut. Here, look, all it takes is Shift+Command+O on a Mac.
Photoshop
Once in Photoshop, this is where the enlarging process takes place. Some might say, this is where the magic happens, but I don’t want to suggest that Aperture isn’t as powerful as it is. Yes, I could use Adobe Bridge, and maybe the filing structure is a little easier, but I made the change from Bridge to Aperture about 38,000 frames ago.
In this photo, you’ll see the top dialogue box is pre-set at 1,998 pixels by 3,024. And then the Document size dialogue portion says the picture at present is 6.66 inches by 10.08. Another important point is that the Resolution is set at 300 and the bottom drop down box is set to Bicubic (best for smooth gradients.)
Each of these points are important to keep in mind as you go about enlarging a photo. Obviously, you can see that even at 10 inches, the photo isn’t going to print out and fit in an 8 x 10 frame. Until I started trying to print 8 x 10 prints a few weeks ago on MPIX, I don’t think I really understood why this was the case. I learned when I went to Hobby Lobby and asked to get mats done for 8 x 10 prints. The problem is that at 8 x 10 a mat isn’t going to be even on top and on the sides when you try to frame it.
If you took this photo as it is now, you could get a framer, say Hobby Lobby, to put a nice mat around this photo, with equal borders all around, and then stick it in an 11 x 14 frame, etc. (Like I said, I shouldn’t have left Scott Kelby in Arlington when I did back in January. Maybe this would have penetrated my thick skull at that point.
Changes we want to make
So our next step involves this same dialogue box. We need to make some adjustments.
I said above we were going for 11 x 16 for this print. (In case you’re still wanting to get a print for a photo frame of 11 x 14, this 11 x 16.06 still is what you need. When you order the prints at 11 x 14, you’re going to be able to shave off some of the top and bottom, but your widths are going to be where you want them.
So, I’ve entered that in the Document Size boxes for height and width.
An important Kelby/Versace secret here is to boost the resolution from the 72 or 300 that previously was there all the way up to 360. This is crucial and as Kelby notes, it runs counter to everything most photographers have been taught. But I have happy prints I’ve now delivered to clients and they’re all happy with the looks of their enlarged prints.
Now, we’re still not done so hang on. See the drop down box at the bottom of the dialogue screen? Do the drop down and pull down to Bicubic Sharper (best for resolution.) Click and release.
Kelby swears by this method. He says that in his discussions with Versace that this very simple effect is as good as you’d get if you dropped some more cash on a Photoshop plugin, and we all know, those often are a couple hundred bucks. So, if this works, why get one?
Ready for Printing
Unless you’re going to make some more adjustments, you’re pretty much ready to save the print and send it over to MPIX and place your order.
Like I said, I ordered prints this way and I have to say, their quality was quite sharp. For ships and giggles, I probably need to do a test of one with and one without. But then Scott Kelby recommended this as did Versace. And I don’t dare, with my limited but growing knowledge, dare question either of them at this point.
Try it out yourself. Let me know how it works.
Next up: Adding a Watermark and Copyright information to your prints you want to put online so no one pirates your hard work.
Since my posts from earlier last week about the lessons I’ve learned about printing, (when I took a Scott Kelby class in Arlington in January, I left early and regret that now, but there was a serious Net Safety issue going on at the time.) and the tricks that can be done to enlarge a RAW digital photo, I’ve had a few requests for more information about how to do a pretty cool trick that Scott apparently learned from the world-famous nature photographer Vincent Versace.
As a rule, even after owning my Nikon D-40 for almost three years now, I shoot EVERYTHING I shoot in RAW format. And because it takes up as much memory as it does anyway, I don’t have it do the dual deal where it saves in RAW and .jpeg. What’s the point? If I’m going to do something with a print, it’s most likely going to wind up as a .tiff or a .png anyways.
Repeatedly you’ve heard me say how happy I am that I’m a Mac. Apple has devised a great photo management program called Aperture. I have version 2, but version 3 has been released. Version 2 is doing all I need it to already, so I’ve not upgraded. So, when I get back to my Mac from a photo shoot, I connect it to the Mac and it begins to talk to the Nikon. This triggers Aperture 2 to open and a dialogue box opens allowing me to import my pictures, still in a hi-res format.
It’s in Aperture that I do most of my coloring adjustments, such as fixing the exposure, highlights, white balance, etc. Even without additional plug-ins, I can add a vignetting effect if I so desire.
When I’ve done what I need to in Aperture and if say, I want to have the print done poster size or say, 11 x 14, then I’ve got to make some adjustments.
As you can see, there are short cuts in Apertureto getting a picture over into Photoshop. (The long way is to export the file to a folder or desktop, then move it over into Photoshop.) But why do that when there’s a short cut. Here, look, all it takes is Shift+Command+O on a Mac.
Photoshop
Once in Photoshop, this is where the enlarging process takes place. Some might say, this is where the magic happens, but I don’t want to suggest that Aperture isn’t as powerful as it is. Yes, I could use Adobe Bridge, and maybe the filing structure is a little easier, but I made the change from Bridge to Aperture about 38,000 frames ago.
In this photo, you’ll see the top dialogue box is pre-set at 1,998 pixels by 3,024. And then the Document size dialogue portion says the picture at present is 6.66 inches by 10.08. Another important point is that the Resolution is set at 300 and the bottom drop down box is set to Bicubic (best for smooth gradients.)
Each of these points are important to keep in mind as you go about enlarging a photo. Obviously, you can see that even at 10 inches, the photo isn’t going to print out and fit in an 8 x 10 frame. Until I started trying to print 8 x 10 prints a few weeks ago on MPIX, I don’t think I really understood why this was the case. I learned when I went to Hobby Lobby and asked to get mats done for 8 x 10 prints. The problem is that at 8 x 10 a mat isn’t going to be even on top and on the sides when you try to frame it.
If you took this photo as it is now, you could get a framer, say Hobby Lobby, to put a nice mat around this photo, with equal borders all around, and then stick it in an 11 x 14 frame, etc. (Like I said, I shouldn’t have left Scott Kelby in Arlington when I did back in January. Maybe this would have penetrated my thick skull at that point.
Changes we want to make
So our next step involves this same dialogue box. We need to make some adjustments.
I said above we were going for 11 x 16 for this print. (In case you’re still wanting to get a print for a photo frame of 11 x 14, this 11 x 16.06 still is what you need. When you order the prints at 11 x 14, you’re going to be able to shave off some of the top and bottom, but your widths are going to be where you want them.
So, I’ve entered that in the Document Size boxes for height and width.
An important Kelby/Versace secret here is to boost the resolution from the 72 or 300 that previously was there all the way up to 360. This is crucial and as Kelby notes, it runs counter to everything most photographers have been taught. But I have happy prints I’ve now delivered to clients and they’re all happy with the looks of their enlarged prints.
Now, we’re still not done so hang on. See the drop down box at the bottom of the dialogue screen? Do the drop down and pull down to Bicubic Sharper (best for resolution.) Click and release.
Kelby swears by this method. He says that in his discussions with Versace that this very simple effect is as good as you’d get if you dropped some more cash on a Photoshop plugin, and we all know, those often are a couple hundred bucks. So, if this works, why get one?
Like I said, I ordered prints this way and I have to say, their quality was quite sharp. For ships and giggles, I probably need to do a test of one with and one without. But then Scott Kelby recommended this as did Versace. And I don’t dare, with my limited but growing knowledge, dare question either of them at this point.
Try it out yourself. Let me know how it works.
Next up: Adding a Watermark and Copyright information to your prints you want to put online so no one pirates your hard work.
Life has a unique share of struggles. When I was registering to move into this apartment back in March, I told the lady helping me, “My life pretty much sucks right now.” Her answer, without hesitation was, “Whose doesn’t?
But as part of my development as a person out of my previous way of living, I’ve found the most important thing I’ve been able to do for myself is to set some new boundaries and enforce them to no end. And I’m getting healthier by the day because of it.
Over the past few months and more so the past few weeks, I’ve really begun to see this more and more and as a result, I’m putting them into palce.
One of the healthiest realizations is that I don’t have to put up with hurtful comments or tormenting. My counselor of many years has been trying to teach me to “not engage,” when verbal or written sucker punches have been thrown. That’s such a hard thing to learn. But it works and for a long time I’ve needed to do it more.
I’ve not read this book, Where you end and I begin, by Anne Katherine, MA, on boundaries yet, but the title message seems much more definable than just Boundaries–though in fairness, the word BOUNDARIES is all over her cover, too.
In short, I need to help better define this because I get run over when I do not, and my life gets sadly out of control, making me feel helpless in the end.
Reading Boundaries, by Cloud/Townsend has me contemplating all sorts of scenarios. “Ew. Do I allow that? Ew. Why do I put up with that? Hey, I don’t have to. I can put an end to this baloney right now.”
You can and NEED to have boundaries in your life, whether we’re talking about work, marriage, friends, parenting, phone usage, alcohol, drugs, your home, car usage by teens, computer surfing, looking at porn, eating, dieting, direct sunlight and on and on and on. Because when you don’t put up limits, when you encounter those who do not observe boundaries, they come bounding through what your brain/heart is telling you is too much and then you find yourself retreating, suffering, abused, scared, threatened, harassed, over burdened, resentful, fat, anorexic, with skin cancer, acting like a Congressman with an out of control spending problem, an alcoholic, a drug abuser, addicted to porn, alcohol, sex, etc. None of those sound like real swell ways to live.
Safe People
Just as important as having these boundaries, you need to enforce them and recognize people who won’t recognize your boundaries. In Cloud/Townsend’s book, Safe People, there’s a whole discussion on this. The primary point is, if others won’t respect your initial boundaries, you put up more to keep them from coming in. If they still won’t respect them, you lock them out. Period. This can range from getting a new place to live, to keeping yourself isolated from the one who overruns your boundaries, to cutting off or limiting contact, and even contacting the authorities and seeking legal protections.
The more I delve into thought about the book Boundaries, (and hey, there’s a workbook that goes along with it,) the deeper I think about this. I’ve started to analyze relationships in my life that have gone astray. Were they because of my/our lack of personal boundaries, solely because of my own issues, solely because of the other party’s boundary issues, or something completely beyond, and instead, those not observed by third parties?
The way many of us have been brought up, it’s easy to say it’s all someone else’s fault. But in my own personal circumspection, I’m truly seeking to identify my personal contributions and short comings so that I can use this time to also do the fixing I might need.
The Law of Sowing and Reaping
For those of you who consider yourself a Christian, it’s pretty clear in the Bible that God lays out the laws of cause and effect in his own words in Galations 6: 7-9 where it’s said, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that naturewill reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
It’s clear and simple: For every action, there is a reaction and if you’re out doing bad and evil, in the end, the Devil is going to get you, the life you lead will all come to ruin and rot.
We’ve all heard the Biblical quote from where Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either. (2 Thess. 3:10)” That’s a hard thing to enforce some times. But it’s such an important boundary, too. It is not God’s intention that a capable person be sitting around waiting for the world to provide them with everything, just because they’re there.
To me this seems like it’s become an epidemic problem of many in today’s American society. Too many people have the expectation that they are entitled, that they need not try to find work, that they should just be provided for not matter what. And this creates a huge divide between the productive in our society and the slough. And sadly, society more than not these days, protects the sloth, in the form of our big government, that grows at such an astronomical rate that we are almost certain to continue to suffer the consequences of our social society.
The future
I do not know what tomorrow holds for me, but I know that with the passage of time, I grow closer to the understanding of a need for greater boundaries in my life. From my place on the hill looking out over our nation, it seems like many/most of us need to reassess what proper boundaries we need in our lives to make them more healthy. There’s so much pain and suffering out there that could be avoided if we’d just erect some boundaries and keep that which doesn’t belong in our lives, out.
Yesterday, the Modern Media Man Summit received it’s greatest level of support to date: A whopping, super duper sponsorship from Chevrolet and General Motors. This one announcement has taken M3 to a new level of credibility, and today, we’ve been in touch with two other significant sponsors from two other spaces in the marketplace.
What we as men and dad bloggers now must also come to realize is that it’s now our job to reciprocate in the generosity of Chevrolet and GM, P&G’s project Man Of The House, PitchEngine, and iContact, and bring our A-Games to the equation.
In our quest to seek sponsors, we’ve heard from a good many of them about the frustration brands have when they get taken for granted by other bloggers in the past who seemed a little less savvy to the principles of doing business.
Companies are into social media because of the value of the relationships they have with bloggers and social media mavens. And like all good relationships, there needs to be a balance between give and take.
I’m not speaking on behalf of any of our sponsors specifically, but brands make investments in conferences like M3 so that they also yield a return on their investment. They are, after all, in existence to make money. Investing in conferences like M3, is a newer form of traditional marketing. Likewise, if they make a buy in a local/national newspaper and they don’t see any shifts in purchase trends, they move away from that modality in the future and put it somewhere else where there will be a positive return with measurable metrics.
Seriously, isn’t this how all of us do business? We try something. If it brings tangible results, we consider it a success. If we’re making such investments on behalf of a client and we place their money on something and if in the end, there’s a low ROI, how likely is it that your client is going to let you do it again the following year?
This is one of the prime factors M3 is seeking to make sure doesn’t happen as we assist men and dad bloggers in their formations of partnerships with brands in the future. Let’s face it, there are some Wanna Be Mom Diva bloggers out there, whom we all know and “love,” who contact brands and say, “Hi, I’m @SuzieSweetieSnazzle on Twitter, and I’d like for you to let me know when I can come pick up: a car … try out a new phone … get a whole exercise gym in my house … get a new house to live in … etc. Now, can I come get one tomorrow or when will it be delivered?”
How do you think brands feel when they get this sort of treatment? How would you feel if you were a brand manager and got a DM from @SuzieSweetieSnazzle? **
My guess is the first thing you’d say to yourself is, “Well, let’s ship one out to Suzie right now!” Uh, no.
Ultimately, the questions would start with, now how much would that cost me? How much reach does @SuzieSweetieSnazzle even have? Oh, she has 69 followers on Twitter, is following 1,996, and has 98 friends on Facebook, and has an Alexa ranking somewhere between 5-6 million worldwide. Seeing that, you’d say, “Let me pick up the phone and call shipping!” Uh, no.
Guys, we have our chance to show that we understand how to participate in the social media space with brands. Several of our guys have been knowingly joking in their tweets about how they’d like to use Chevroletproducts for the drive to program to M3 since we made the announcement. While I’m sure all of us would like to get our own Camaro or Corvette to drive cross country to the event, that’s not what our sponsor has in mind. (I’m sure they’re happy though to see us using their product names, so don’t let that stop!)
Indeed, they’re trying to reach family men; Guys who are excited to have a turn at the wheel of one of their new lines of Chevrolet or GM SUVs or Crossovers. (And guys, on a cross-country road trip, it’ll be okay to share the wheel.)
They want us to feature cars that look sleek on the outside, but also are practical enough to use back at home with moms who you have 2.5 kids with; who like 2-2-3 row seating configurations because that means you’re not going to have to fool with a bench row when you get the kids out of the car for school/soccer drop offs; and yet is still sophisticated enough with OnStar, cool gadgets like the back up camera, the Bluetooth connections for your cell phone, and the Bose speakers so you can crank it when you get to drive to the ZippyMart to pick up a gallon of milk at 9:30 p.m or put gas in the car for the next morning’s routine.
And by reaching guys who are interested in those particulars, it’s then where we’re going to be looking for guys who are the mayors of great places to eat on FourSquare, who tell great photo and word stories on Whrrl, who Tweet their business–”Hey Y’all, I just passed a (insert name of cool-looking @Chevrolet product) that looks like the one I’m in & damn, I know I’m hot because she looked hot in hers.” (Obviously, there’d be the hope at that point that the Mrs. doesn’t follow your Tweets.)
And then there’s the prospect of blogging, posting pictures of your adventure, and, even asking others to write about their experiences in the same make of car. (My example to you of such would be from my relationship with @GMTexas, who loaned me a 2010 Traverse in June and we created www.TraverseAdventures.com)
At Modern Media Men Summit, we’re thrilled to have a sponsor like Chevrolet on board. They’ve been great to work with and are really excited about coming to Atlanta Sept. 9-11 for our first-ever event. Obviously, we’re still looking to close the deal on other great brands and get others to join with them. Our essential point to all brand managers and potential sponsors out there reading this is simple: As men and dad bloggers, we get it. We’re happy to do the Quid Pro Quo dance with you in Hotlanta.
Like I’ve said, a sponsor like Chevrolet is fantastic to have aboard as our Platinum Sponsor. The company that forever has burned the notion of “Baseball, Apple Pie and Chevrolet” has stepped up to the proverbial plate. Now it’s time for Modern Media Men to bring their bats. We’ve got some social media hitting to do.
** (For clarity’s sake, I do not know anyone named SuzieSweetieSnazzle and the characters make the name impossible to have on Twitter.)
@daddyclaxton I think that a lot of it has to do simply with how you were raised, too, oddly enough. I’ve been talking with companies and receiving free products since at least 2003 or so, when I would have been 18. I never had the obnoxious, gross sense of entitlement that your post mentions and that I’ve seen in people. Definitely ugly! 17 minutes ago via web
I have had two clients in the past few weeks that wanted bulk print orders and the printing for framing, memorabilia, etc. was a new side of the house for me. I’ve got some 40,000 RAW photo files in Aperture 2 (yeah, when I get a new Mac, I’ll get Aperture 3) now on this wonderful Mac of mine, but most of the time, I’ve either posted them on the Web on the Flickr account, Facebook, or Twitpic.
But these prints were serious stuff. One was softball team photos and “buddy” prints with 8x10s, 5x7s, wallets, and then I had an opportunity to shoot my city council members for 8x10s and one 11×14. In other words, these prints had to be high quality and they had to be right.
I’ve yet to figure out why my RAW files on the Nikon D-40 seemed to fluctuate in size. I also had a few issues with making the photos printable to 8 x10 without cutting off too much of the person in it. More on that in another post.
But I got out my Scott Kelby seminar workbook and then his all things considered book, Adobe Photoshop CS4 Book for Digital Photographers, and really picked up some great tips, like upping the resolution for 8×10 pics to 360 and then setting the Bicubic SHARPER (best for reduction) settings away from the Bicubic setting in the Image Size dialogue box. Apparently, these two changes made a significant difference in the prints.
MPIX, WALMART, TARGET and WALGREENS
I’d been trying to do my prints through Walmart’s online photo booth. I had even gotten to the credit card ordering section, but then a snag popped up between using my Chase Debit/Credit Card and their Visa Verify system. After even calling Chase and getting the password verified and even reset, the system for Walmart locked up and it said my credit card would never work on ordering on their site again. Can you say LOST SALE?
I then checked out Target’s site. And then Walgreens. Guess what? The ordering mechanism is the same for all three sites. What’s different, is their pricing, and if I recall correctly, Targetgave a few more options on photo sizes.
But then last Saturday, in my weekly hour chat, actually, it was 2.5 hours this past weekend, with Ron Rose, my mentor from Fort Worth who you can find at RonsFaithNotes.com, he, too, a photographer, suggested I use MPIX.
And so, the rest of my day Saturday I began the ordering process. It was easy to set up an account. And there was no Visa Verifymess. The prints were ordered. The platform also made it easy to ensure that all the essential parts were going to be framed appropriately for the larger prints, and shipping, through the USPS standard rate was reasonable without adding a huge overhead cost. On top of that, since there’s not a retail MPIX outlet here in Texas, there was no sales tax either. So with all that, I probably came out ahead of what I would have been paying with Walmart, and for God’s sakes, I would have just handed my wallet over to Walgreens.
So, my endorsement, and I’ve not been paid a penny for it, I’d highly recommend MPIX for ordering prints. Now the post office wouldn’t leave my boxes at the apartment’s mail center, the front office, or heaven forbid, they actually drive the 100 yards to my door, so I had to make a trip to the post office. But everything came nicely, tightly secured in pretty, pristine white boxes, and they were double sealed, wrapped, and highly protected in the boxes, plus, I got a guarantee from Betty that she’d inspected my order to ensure it was all there.
On top of all that, each photo back has ClaxtonCreative.com printed on it so anyone who ordered the pictures knows where to contact me to get more. (Now all I have to do is really get that site up and running!)
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this is where the enlarging process takes place. Some might say, this is where the magic happens, but I don’t want to suggest that Aperture isn’t as powerful as it is. Yes, I could use Adobe Bridge, and maybe the filing structure is a little easier, but I made the change from Bridge to Aperture about 38,000 frames ago.
