« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
Lately I've been asked by many of my clients if I offer DVD slideshows. I had hesitated on offering these because I didn't want clients to be confused between a DVD Slideshow, and a CD of high res images that they can use for printing. But with so many requests I decided to bite the bullet and to start offering the slideshows with an emphasis on "not for printing" in the description.
I already own ProShow Gold since I've used it for the family slideshows I've created in the past so I figure for now, I'll just go with that. I created a folder under my client folder and saved flattened JPEGS of the images I wanted to use in the slideshow. That way, when I open ProShow Gold, I can just browse to that folder, and select all the images and add them in. It is easy to change the order once they are in by dragging and dropping along a timeline.
I created my sample using images from my fun creative field trip shoot with 6 year old Ana. She had three clothing changes, and a lot of personality, so there were so many pictures from that shoot that I liked. This was the first time I explored beyond the basic slideshow. I made sure the slides were set to fit in the "safe" zone which means they are sized so when it is saved to DVD it'll play on the TV without the images getting cut off. This is important to know because I did one before without that setting and people's heads kept getting cut off!
I also played around the the length of time images displayed in the show. My favorites get a little more screen time, and I cycle through the others more quickly. I also, for the first time, tried out the zoom feature where you can zoom into a selection from the picture. It was pretty exciting.
And what would a slideshow be without music. Keep in mind, if you are selling slideshow to your customer you should use royalty free music to keep with legal compliance! Don't play the "but no one will know if I use this cool popular song" game. You don't want people copying your pictures so don't copy their music! I like StockMusic.net for my music. They have an easy way to preview songs, you can see "more like this" when you find one you like, and you can bookmark the songs to come back and buy later. Once you buy your music you can just drag and drop the file into your slideshow!
After you create your slideshow, you can click button to create a DVD and it'll walk you through the process. Make sure you have a DVD burner attached or in your computer. I've never had a problem playing the DVDs on my tv or in my car on the DVD player.
Now, for online viewing you have lots of options. I'm running an older version so I don't have the option to save to Flash but I tell you, that is worth the upgrade so I'll likely be heading in that direction! However, even with the older version you can save it for the web and it'll give you the file to put up and the code to add to your webpage to view it. Unfortunately the older version required a plug-in be downloaded from their site. But, I was able to save the slideshow as an MPEG-2 and upload it to YouTube!
Next I need to figure out what packaging I'll use. I've seen lots of nice packaging from various photo supply houses.
If you are creating slideshows for your clients, what are you using to make them? About how much time do you spend creating a slideshow? And what type of packaging do you use?
Related Links:
If you are just starting out in children's photography, run, don't walk, to the I Love Photography forums! They have lots of interesting topics from how to shoot in full sunlight, to just fun threads with pictures of your pets.
Today there was a thread about some great baskets that were on clearance at Target. These baskets were big enough for photographing babies! So after my kids got up from their nap I raced to Target to pick up the last one they had at the clearance rack and then I put my 6 month old baby in it as soon as I got home to try it out. I think it'll be so perfect for infants through 9 month olds and I wouldn't have found it had it not been for the I Love Photography forum!
One of the most fun DIY projects I've come across recently, and one I think I can handle. This project is super easy...cut the feet off of a pez dispenser and it should fit in the hot shoe of your camera. I will definitely be picking up a Pez dispenser on my next trip to the store to test this out.
Update: I've replaced the picture with one I took of my 10D with my new Pez dispenser! It was so fun and I have a cars version for boys, and a Hello Kitty for the girls!
I wrote a post back in May about my fears of traveling with my camera equipment. The backpack I am currently using is too big to fit under the seat, and does not always fit in the overhead either. I'm always interested in reading more about what others are using for their travel.
So when I saw the post "Tips for Travelers" on Ben Willmore's blog, I perked up to check it out. For those of you who don't know about Ben, he travels around the US living out of his bus converted into a motor home and flies around as necessary for workshops and other speaking engagements. I figure anyone that spends that much time on the road is an expert!
The Airport International bag from Think Tank Photo is what Ben has been using lately and I like how it sounds. It is designed to fit in the overhead bin or under the seat! No more fear of getting separated from my equipment. And if you decide to plunk down the cash (over $300 for the bag shown), make sure you check out Ben's blog entry to see how to get a free item!
Don't forget that if you join the PPA, you can save on your equipment insurance...essential when you are taking your equipment on the road.
Perhaps you find the idea of accepting credit cards overwhelming. It doesn't have to be. It is quick and easy to set up your business with a PayPal account and by doing so, you can start accepting credit card payments. The benefits-you will probably get paid more quickly, can transfer the payments to your bank account without a trip to the bank, and perhaps you'll get larger orders!
Paypal can be seen everywhere and most people are comfortable using PayPal to make payments. Your customer does not need to have a PayPal account to make a credit card payment to you.
I use business PayPal account to accept credit card payments with my online proofing site (StudioCart). My customers can place their order online and they will automatically be transferred to the PayPal screen to make their payment.
In addition, for those orders not placed throught my online ordering system, or for people that would like to use a credit card to pay their session fee, I can log into the PayPal system and send them an email invoice which will include a link for them to enter their payment information.
And last, but certainly not least, I was able to setup "buy now" buttons for my website for the purchase of gift certificates through my website!
There are fees associated with using PayPal for credit card processing but overall it has been totally worthwhile for me. I'm happy to trade the little % in fees for the convenience of being able to offer credit card payments. So if you are just starting out, this is an easy way to take payments.
And don't forget that many vendors accept paypal payments so you could use that money from your customers to make purchases of equipment at places like B&H Photo, and lots of other smaller vendors selling things like templates and actions to photographers!
One of the best investments in props that I've made has been the Belle Ame Pettiskirt in Raspberry and Orange. I've used in a bunch of shoots and it just has such amazing color. Even when it is not the center of attention, like in this picture, is provides a nice pop. In addition, it seems that the girls just love putting it on. The feel pretty and don't seem to mind me taking their picture.
The skirt I bought was via an ebay store that specializes in botique children's clothes. But if you do a search for Pettiskirt on Ebay you are sure to see lots of really fun items. And one online store that I've been watching is for Jones Girls Tutus which are custom made tutus that all look totally precious. I eventually plan on putting in an order.
Stacey asked:
When you do this, do you print on your own ink jet printer? Also, can you tell me briefly what you use in Photoshop? Is it done by hand or with a filter? It's very cool! I'm eager to try it out.
For the printing part, I do print on my own ink jet printer. I have an Epson 9800. It is a big-daddy, free standing, printer that lets me print up to 44" wide. Not for the light-hearted, or budgetarily challanged. It takes up a full wall of my large home office and I have racks of rolled paper and canvas that I use with it. I bought the printer when I was doing a lot of printing for a couple of other photographers and the idea was that their large prints and canvases would help me pay off the printer. At the time I wasn't out taking a lot of pictures and was running a boutique pro-lab from my house. Now I'm mostly just printing my own stuff but I can pretty much print everything I need to on it. I have an Epson 2200 also which is a desktop inkjet that also gets beautiful results but it will only print up to 13" wide. I typically use cut paper with it. If you wanted to outsource the printing part, you could use a pro-lab such as White House Custom Color.
In Photoshop to get started I'll do my "dreamy eyes". Essentially I dodge and burn the eyes to lighten the inner part of the iris and darken the outer part. I usually also add a little extra color back into the eyes by painting over the eye with the color I want to add on a new layer, and choosing the "color" layer mode, and again, I change the opacity to make it look just right. Then I use a paintbrush on a new layer with white paint to create the catchlight (changing the opacity as necessary to make it look "right"), and I will also create a crescent shaped highlight opposite the catchlight (again on a new layer). The technique is what I learned from Fay Sirkis so I'm pretty sure it would be on her DVD.
For the skin smoothing to get it ready for painting, I use the surface blur under the blur filter menu.
The actual brush strokes part I do in Corel Painter.
Good News!!! Corel has a PDF file that you can download with Fay's instructions for creating the painting!!
Recent Comments